"Blessed is the man"

“Blessed is the man who walks not

in the counsel of the ungodly, nor

stands in the path of sinners, nor

sits in the seat of the scornful; but

his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and in His law he meditates day

and night. He shall be like a tree

planted by the rivers of water, that

brings forth its fruit in its season,

whose leaf also shall not wither;

and whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly are not so, but are like

the chaff which the wind drives away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand

in the judgment, nor sinners in the

congregation of the righteous.

For the Lord knows the way of the

righteous, but the way of the ungodly

shall perish.”

     Psalm 1:1-6 (NKJV)

This psalm gives us wise instruction for our lives. To be blessed, we must be careful not to walk in the counsel of the ungodly, stand in the path of sinners or sit in the seat of the scornful. Although we live in the world, we should not let ourselves be influenced by those who are ungodly, scornful or living a sinful lifestyle.  Instead, we should make God’s word our delight, our daily nourishment and let it's truth influence us. The path of life and blessing is found by walking with God according to His righteousness; by contrast, those who follow the ungodly way shall perish.

I pray that we heed God’s word today and every day. Amen.

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Flattery

I had a friend years ago that said she would rather hear what she wanted to hear, even if it wasn’t entirely true. I was shocked!!!

After thinking about what my friend said, I realized that she wasn’t any different than most people. Most people probably want to hear what they want to hear. She was at least honest about preferring flattery over the truth!

Flattery doesn’t benefit us, though. We don’t learn, grow and improve without helpful instruction and correction (like Jessica’s Monday devotional on Discipline).

Ecclesiastes 7:5-6

It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person
    than to listen to the song of fools.
⁶ Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
    so is the laughter of fools.
    This too is meaningless.

I would much rather hear the truth, even if it hurt in the moment. 

Seeking wisdom is more beneficial than pleasure.

Seeking truth is more beneficial than flattery.

Let’s seek to give and receive truth, in love, rather than give and receive flattery.

Alice

Discipline

Proverbs 3:11-12

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline,
    and do not resent his rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
    as a father the son he delights in.

As a child, when you are disciplined, you typically are not happy about it.  I can’t tell you how many times my son has told me that I’m the worst mom in the world and that he hates me.  That is normally when I know that I’m doing something right.  Why do I discipline him?  Well, because I love him.  I want him to grow up to be a good, God fearing man.

We are children of God.  He disciplines us at times because he loves us.  As simple as it sounds, we need to not resent his rebuke, rather take the discipline and learn from our mistakes.

Have you seen the Lord discipline you in your own life?  How did you respond to that discipline?  Take the time today to thank the Lord for loving you enough to discipline you so you can learn.