JUST THIS ONCE

JUST THIS ONCE

READ:
Psalm 19:7-14

Keep back Your servant
also from presumptuous
sins.  -Psalm 19:13

As a boy, I used to ride a go-cart that was steered with a rope.  On one occasion, as I propelled my way down the driveway, my parents' warning came to mind:  "Always look up and down the street for cars."  But I rationalized:  It's okay not to do that just this once.  Then I heard the sound of screeching tires as a car came to an abrupt stop to avoid hitting me.  Thinking I could break my parent's rule nearly cost me my life.

The Bible has many examples of those who knew better but who chose to break God's rules.  From boyhood, David had meditated on the law of God while he tended his sheep.  He knew that the seventh commandment condemned adultery, yet when he saw a beautiful woman bathing he used his royal power to take the wife of Uriah for his own.  This sin resulted in terrible consequences (2 Samuel 11-12).

The psalmist wrote:  "Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins" (Psalm 19:13).  Have you felt tempted to do something "just this once" even though you knew it was wrong?  Glancing at Internet pornography, "borrowing" money from an account at work, or stretching the truth may each seem like an isolated activity but can lead to terrible consequences.  With God's help, turn from sin and find His way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). -Dennis Fisher

Prone to wander - Lord, I feel it;
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above. -Robinson
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Temptations will knock at your door;
don't ask them to stay for dinner!

INSIGHT
Psalm 19 is a song about the "two books" through which God speaks to people.  In verses 1-6, David reads the "book" of creation, which reveals God's character and power (cf. Romans 1).  In verses 7-14, he turns to the other book, Scripture.  He explores the nature, characteristics, and impact of God's words can have on those who embrace them.  The song concludes with the desire that David's words would be pleasing to God (v.14), just as God's words should be to us.

Have a blessed day.
God Our Creator's Love Always
Unity & Peace