Home, Sweet Home

Psalm 101:2 ...I will walk in my house with blameless heart.

Is there anything more difficult than living the spiritual life we each attain to in the confines of our own home? I find no place in which the effort to live Christ-like ends up being greater than among those who know me best. It is there that I have to depend the greatest on God's grace to express what I see when I look into the Word of God.

It is not the fault of anyone else in my house, though it can be easiest to fall for that line when it is whispered in my ear. To go that way leads to greater dissension and a divided house. No, the cause as well as the cure lies within my grasp. I must take the responsibility for my choices, my thoughts and intents, my words, my actions.

Psalms 101
v.3 I will set before my eyes no vile thing. The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.
v.4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with evil.
v.5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret, him will I put to silence; whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart, him will I not endure.

As David wrote this segment, he was a man in authority. Whether as a military leader over a group of mercenaries or later over the armies of Judah and Israel, and then as king, with a staff of servants and officials in the palace. He chose to not allow that type of behavior to be part of his daily background, and as he says, he put to silence, did not endure, and put far from him those who carried those attributes and behaviors. He fired staff, replaced officials, and discharged soldiers who did not follow his lead.

As people of God's kingdom, born again and a new creation, we have the responsibility for our selves and the multitude of influences that form who we are. We are also given the authority to meet that responsibility by the Spirit of God so that we can take control of the inner voices and cascading thoughts that form the background against which we live. We may not be able to easily stop thoughts from entering, but we have the power to reject them when they appear and not allow them to linger. According to the country saying, "You can't keep the birds from landing in the tree, but you don't have to let them build a nest."

Psalms 101:6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me.

There are worthy influences available as well as worthless ones. Often the loud clamoring ones are the first ones we need to send packing by disregarding them and focus our attention on the quieter, but more empowering influences. When the Spirit of God has something to tell us, He does not come in yelling and shouting. But when we give Him audience, His power invigorates our entire being. The word He brings may drop directly into our heart by the hand of the Spirit, or may be made real to us through light revealed in His Word, or it may come through the fellowship of the body of Christ operating in the love of God. Those are the faithful sources that we want to keep close to us and give our attention to so that we can be fed and nourished.

Psalms 101:8 Every morning I will put to silence all the wicked in the land; I will cut off every evildoer from the city of the Lord.

We face an ongoing, never-ending  task. Our fleshly nature attracts evil influences like rotting garbage attracts flies. We must daily chose to seek God and His cleansing, renewing, empowering strength in order to resist and overcome with the armor and weapons of the spirit those little annoyances that build up and sap our resolve. We don't fail a test because of some major breach in our defenses; we fail when we do not deal with the little things inside of us. Let God renew us each day so that we can stand in the strength of His joy and shed abroad the love that the Father bestows on us as we keep our face turned steadfastly to Him. Our inner house will be clean, and our home will reflect our choices.

Father, thank You for equipping us for the housekeeping that we need to do on a daily basis. Help us to recall that the great battles are managed by dealing with the little things that are in our reach. Give us a clearer picture, Father, of how to walk, moment by moment, rejecting the vile, the perverse, the slanderous, the haughty and the proud, embracing instead the example of the faithful of the land that You have placed in our lives that we may be obedient, peaceable, considerate, and showing true humility to all people.

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