Devotional for Saturday, August 4, 2012

Twilight: A Godly Lifestyle

by the Rev. Andrew Kuyvenhoven

Monthly Theme:

These meditations are on the psalms. All those songs about Zion, the temple, and the Son of David really make sense when they are sung In the New Testament church.

Bible Reading:

Psalm 15

Bible Text:

He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me" (Ps. 10:6).

He who does these things will never be shaken. Ps. 15:5).

Devotional:

The self-ruled fellow of Psalm 10 who thinks he has the world by the tail says, "Nothing will shake me." In Psalm 15 God says that the righteous people who live in God's temple "will never be shaken." Worldly people think life is secure because they have money in the bank and food in the freezer. Righteous people have God's promise of everlasting security.

What the Old Testament means by a life that can or cannot be shaken is also stated in a well-known story of Jesus. It forms the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount. A wise man built his house on the rock, and the house stood firm. But a foolish man built his house on sand, and when the rains came down, the house was shaken to pieces. Jesus explained that the wise are those who not only listen to his words but also obey them. "They will never be shaken."

Psalm 15 also emphasizes doing what the LORD requires. We who are deeply and rightly convinced that we are saved by grace alone should remember that the saved show whose children they are by doing the will of their Father.

When the great upheaval comes - for any one of us, and, soon, for the whole world - it will become perfectly plain who is and who is not unshakably secure.