Where Are You Headed?

This week I want to spend some time in Psalm 1. This short chapter in the Bible is easy to memorize and I encourage you to do so as we meditate upon the truth of God's Word together.

Psalm 1 begins "Blessed are those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." What a powerful encouragement to live life with God!

The word translated in our passage "wicked" was used to describe those who were outlaws, hostile to God and unrepentantly bad. We do want relationships with those who do not know Christ so we might be used of God to lead them to salvation. However, there is a difference between having a relationship with a non-Christian and "walking" with them. The word translated "walk" carries with it much more than the idea of a stroll in the park or simple association! David is here indicating a joining of one's life to the same type of "path" or behavior as those who have chosen to be hostile to God's way of doing things. Make sure your associations with non-Christians never lead you to change the path upon which you are walking!

We do well to remember the meaning of the word repentance when considering the first phrase of Psalm 1:1. We have turned and left the path of wickedness to walk a better way, the way of Christ. We now walk with Jesus and can never live life as one who never met Christ! Proverbs 4:23 reads, "Guard your heart for it is the well-spring of life." You and I walk with Christ now; may our heart never be deterred from the path we have chosen to walk!

James