Everyone wants to be happy; everyone wants to live a life free from shame and regret.
The challenge is how to do that.
Psalm 119 provides the answer:
Happy are all who perfectly follow the laws of God. 2 Happy are all who search for God and always do his will, 3 rejecting compromise with evil and walking only in his paths. 4 You have given us your laws to obey— 5 oh, how I want to follow them consistently. 6 Then I will not be disgraced, [NIV translates this “I will not be put to shame] for I will have a clean record. Ps. 119: 1-6
The Reformation Study Bible puts this passage in the context of our relationship to God:
God entered into a covenant relationship with Israel freely out of grace, and within that relationship God gave them His law to obey. He was not asking them to earn His favor, or pay for their redemption. It was the way of thankful obedience for those in covenant with Him.
In summary, based on what our Lord tells us in his Word, we can live a happy life, free from shame and regret (though in the fine print this does not mean a life free from challenge and pain), if we follow God’s laws.
What we need to do before we can follow God’s laws
As we approach the New Year, a new day, or any new chapter of our lives we need to recognize that if we call ourselves followers of Jesus that we must learn to live the way he wants us to.
At the same time, we also need to realize that everything in our world and culture, even many “good” things, things that aren’t obviously evil, are not how God wants us to live.Continue Reading