Living in the Spirit

October 26, 2023

Scripture Reading: Psalm 1
Happy are those
   who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
   or sit in the seat of scoffers;
but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
   and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
   planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
   and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

The wicked are not so,
   but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
   nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
   but the way of the wicked will perish.

How do we identify righteous advice that is just and true in our world today? I remember well in a discussion about online media when someone said that they did not know what was true or not. One of my nephews said, “Oh, I just don’t believe any of it.” Yet, truth exists. In some instances, we do not want to believe or deal with the truth.  Part of the problem is finding the answer to whom we can trust. We have some leaders who seem to believe if words come from their mouths, it is true.  The truth may hurt their bottom line or political future. I just heard on the news that one of the candidates for Speaker of the House of Representatives could not garner enough votes to win lost because he was one of two of his party’s Representatives who supported Vice-President Pence in following the Constitution and accepting that Joe Biden had won the election after 60 court cases had not found any miscarry of the voting processes that had been challenged.

Change starts with We the People in a democracy. In many instances, we are getting what we wanted; we just do not realize that we are trying to have our cake and eat it, too.

Prayer: Lord, forgive us for being misled by the ways of the world. Help us seek justice and truth and recognize it when we find it.  Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.