Am I worth modelling?
LAMPLIGHT DEVOTIONAL GUIDE“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” Psalm 119:105 (NIV). “Living From the Eternal Perspective”A Devotional FromPATHH MinistriesDATE:Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Am I Worth Modelling?
By Napoleon Black
TEXT: Psalm 69:6
Lord, the LORD Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me. NIV
Don't let those who look to you in hope be discouraged by what happens to me, Dear Lord! God of the armies! Don't let those out looking for you. Come to a dead end by following me— please, dear God of Israel! Message
Let not those who wait and hope and look for You, O Lord of hosts, be put to shame through me; let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusion and dishonor through me, O God of Israel. Amp.
COMMENTARYThe life of the believer has implications for others who put their hope in God. The prayer of the Psalmist was intense - let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusion and dishonour through me. Those who see how the believer lives and who have placed their faith in God must not stumble on his account.
The believer understands that he does not live for himself, he lives for the Lord. He does not live for believers, but he knows that his lifestyle as a model of Christ is going to be held up by others. Where there is duplicity then people will become confused and may question their own faith.
This requires constant personal vigilance. This requires constantly ensuring that one is guarding his life – his speech, his conduct and his attitude, how he is privately and how he is publicly. People fail because others fall. People doubt because others deceive.
It’s neither practical nor biblical to tell people to only look to Jesus and to only ‘follow’ Jesus. There must remain models of Jesus in the flesh that are worth emulating. We do not make them gods, but we can point to them as evidence of the power of the gospel to save, to keep and to satisfy.
Something to meditate on
My failure can be a stumbling block to someone.
A decision I need to make
May those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me
Am I Worth Modelling?
By Napoleon Black
TEXT: Psalm 69:6
Lord, the LORD Almighty, may those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me; God of Israel, may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me. NIV
Don't let those who look to you in hope be discouraged by what happens to me, Dear Lord! God of the armies! Don't let those out looking for you. Come to a dead end by following me— please, dear God of Israel! Message
Let not those who wait and hope and look for You, O Lord of hosts, be put to shame through me; let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusion and dishonor through me, O God of Israel. Amp.
COMMENTARYThe life of the believer has implications for others who put their hope in God. The prayer of the Psalmist was intense - let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusion and dishonour through me. Those who see how the believer lives and who have placed their faith in God must not stumble on his account.
The believer understands that he does not live for himself, he lives for the Lord. He does not live for believers, but he knows that his lifestyle as a model of Christ is going to be held up by others. Where there is duplicity then people will become confused and may question their own faith.
This requires constant personal vigilance. This requires constantly ensuring that one is guarding his life – his speech, his conduct and his attitude, how he is privately and how he is publicly. People fail because others fall. People doubt because others deceive.
It’s neither practical nor biblical to tell people to only look to Jesus and to only ‘follow’ Jesus. There must remain models of Jesus in the flesh that are worth emulating. We do not make them gods, but we can point to them as evidence of the power of the gospel to save, to keep and to satisfy.
Something to meditate on
My failure can be a stumbling block to someone.
A decision I need to make
May those who hope in You not be disgraced because of me
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