Living in the Spirit
July 12, 2017
Scripture Reading: Psalm 119:105-112
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word.
Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
and teach me your ordinances. –Psalm 119:105-108
I wonder how many times I have sung Psalm 119:105 the first sentence of the quote above. The truth is I can no longer read it without the tune popping into my head moving the prose to song. Actually, the first word from the NRSV, “Your” causes me some confusion. I sing it, “Thy word” the way I originally learned it. I probably sang it before I could read it.
Learning to live like Jesus was an important part of my upbringing years before the phrase, “What would Jesus Do?” became popular, although that phrase applied then as it does now. I am glad I have these reminders of how I am to live forever etched in my memory banks for they have stood the test of time and are very helpful when life situations require us to respond from automatic pilot mode.
The Homeless Alliance in Oklahoma City started an entrepreneurial program for their participants. They sell a magazine on the streets, which some help write. The first set they sell is subsidized, but they must buy the next set with those first dollars earned and learn to handle the profit they make as income after reinvestment for the next set. It is a teaching tool as much as a source of income. It is also a teaching tool for those of us who purchase the magazines as we learn about the struggles of those on the street. My problem is I never have the two dollars ready when I encounter them at the intersections and thus can not get my purchase made before the light changes. The answer, of course, is to keep two dollars within arms reach. Like those scriptures we learn throughout our life, our application of them needs to become a way of life too.
Prayer: Lord, help my service to you become a natural way of being for me. Amen.