Learn to hate the temptations constantly surrounding you. They only lead to destruction.
Read / Listen
Read Psalm 1
Listen to passage & devotional:
Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 108
Q. What is God’s will for us
in the seventh commandment?
A. God condemns all unchastity.
We should therefore
thoroughly detest it
and, married or single,
live decent and chaste lives.
Summary
The first two Psalms in the Psalter were not placed there randomly. They form an executive summary of sorts for the 148 psalms that follow them. They beautifully describe who you were created to be, and even more so, these two psalms describe the One who made your salvation possible.
From the very first word, it becomes clear that God wants you to live a blessed life, that is, a life of happiness and joy. So it shouldn't be surprising that nearly everyone who's ever lived has a deep and longing desire to be happy. The problem, of course, is that most of the world has rejected God's good design for obtaining blessedness, and instead has followed the wicked way of the original mocker, Satan.
This is the massively consequential choice you must make every moment of every day: will you walk, stand, and sit in their company, or will you delight in meditating upon the law of the Lord?
The ugly truth is that everything this sinful world glamorizes and that appears so attractive will blow away like chaff. Notice the contrast between the first and final words: God created you for blessedness, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.
Dig Deeper
Most of the time, people don't immediately jump from one extreme to the other. In other words, they don't go from being planted by streams of righteousness to sitting in the company of mockers in one fell swoop. Rather, the transition occurs subtly - although the process can easily accelerate quickly and without warning! First you just sort of walk alongside the wicked, then your presence becomes more permanent as you stand amongst the sinners, until you've finally completely transplanted yourself and you sit down in the company of mockers.
One of the most insidious traps that can ensnare you in this web is sexual temptation. It's constantly invading our minds and thoughts through nearly every media possible. And even worse, in so many ways, we have become completely tolerant of it. We still watch the movies, tune into the shows, and listen to the music as if somehow we're immune to the same temptation that has claimed billions of others.
The Bible NEVER encourages tolerance for sin - especially sexual sin. Quite the opposite: Psalm 139 teaches you to hate those who hate the Lord. Jude 23 instructs you to hate everything associated with sinful desires and temptation.
Keep your roots firmly planted in the streams of Living Water and turn off every source of temptation trying to trick you into walking, standing and sitting in that which your Savior died to save you from.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: The LORD, who watches over the way of the righteous;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray for the strength and godly desire to remain rooted in the good ground God's planted you in, and that God will kindle a growing hatred for sin and temptation within you;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
Read the New Testament in a year, a chapter a day - 1 Peter 2
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