Focal passage: Psalm 119:9-16
Our passage this week states the key to purity is to guard our heart according to God’s Word. We know our speech, behavior and attitude reflect what is in our heart. In order to have in our heart what is needed, we must store up scripture, meditate on the precepts and fix our eyes on the ways of God.
Our lesson this week quickly challenges us to personally evaluate our commitment to the Word of God. As Psalm 119:11 states, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Is it the standard from which you examine how to make choices in life?
The events in Charlotte this past September hit close to home in more than one way. The shooting that sparked such controversy was in a neighborhood just a minute’s walk through the woods from our church property. Two of our church members were at the site of the shooting while doing landscaping work for the neighborhood. Church family and friends live all around the location that became a national news story.
Safety became the topic of conversation for many families and even in planning church events for the next night, a Wednesday. Our family, like many of yours, had discussions about the way we should respond as Christians when hurt, suffering and even violence come to your community.
What do we say in our home about each person involved? What is the appropriate response? What do our hearts reveal when we look at these tough issues?
As our church gathered to pray that Wednesday evening with a big sign on the window that said, “Open for prayer,” we individually and corporately asked ourselves these questions. We asked God to reveal what is in our hearts and to help us live well in difficult times. We confessed our sin, both as individuals and as a congregation.
Thankfully, God gives us direction and God gives us hope. Whether it is a little tension or a community-wide crisis, may we look to God’s Word to keep us from sin.