Psalm 119 Striving to be undefiled in the way

As some of you know I have really been studying psalm 119 for a while. I have been reading in a commentary by Charles Spurgeon, and I have really gained a lot of insight into this incredible passage of the bible. Its amazing how much there is to learn in just one verse! So, I would like the share a few things about the first verse of Psalm 119. In verse one David says, "Blessed are those who are undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD." The first thing that Spurgeon points out in his commentary is that the psalmist considers a the person who is walking in the way of the LORD to be happy.

Spurgeon says, "The psalmist is so delighted with God's word that he considers being conformed to it the height of blessing. He has gazed upon the beauties of the perfect law as if this verse were the sum and outcome of all his emotions.....we not only judge the keeping of God's word to be wise and proper, but we are also warmly delighted by its holiness. We cry in adoring wonder, 'Blessed are the undefiled'. Eagerly wanting to be undefiled, we wish for no greater happiness than to be perfectly holy. It may be that writer labored under a sense of his own faults and envied the blessedness of those whose walk had been more pure and clean. Contemplating the perfect law of the LORD was enough to make him mourn his own imperfections and cry for the blessing of an undefiled walk."

So, I think it can be said that the psalmist delighted in the word of God because he saw that others who kept the Law were blessed, or happy. The psalmist says that the undefiled in the way are blessed. We know that we can never be completely without sin or defilement, but the psalmist was rejoicing in sanctification. His blessedness was found in dependence upon God to change him from glory to glory, and in the hope that one day when he has left this world he will finally be able to be totally undefiled before the LORD and experience the ultimate blessedness. So, the blessedness that we can experience on this earth is found in seeking God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and in seeking him he will make up holy. Well guys, I really pray that this will do something in your hearts. I pray that our ultimate joy would be found in going hard after Christ and striving to be undefiled in the way. So, I will close with another quote from Charles Spurgeon and I hope that you will make this your prayer.

"Lord, if I am not yet so blessed as to be among the undefiled in Your way, I will think of the happiness they enjoy and make it my life's ambition."


-AC

The Sake of the Call.

On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliot and six other missionaries were killed by the Auca Indians- men whom Jim had diligently prayed for and sought to serve for six years. He willingly gave his life for the sake of Christ, and his example infused millions with passion for the Gospel.

This is an amazing quote from Jim’s wife Elisabeth Elliot:

“Jim’s aim was to know God. His course, obedience–the only course that could lead to the fulfillment of his aim. His end was what some would call an extraordinary death, although in facing death he had quietly pointed out that many have died because of obedience to God.
He and the other men with whom he died were hailed as heroes, “martyrs.” I do not approve. Nor would they have approved.
Is the distinction between living for Christ and dying for Him, after all, so great? Is not the second the logical conclusion of the first? Furthermore, to live for God is to die, “daily,” as the apostle Paul put it. It is to lose everything that we may gain Christ. It is in thus laying down our lives that we find them.”

After Jim’s death, Elisabeth chose to continue to give her life in service to the very people who had killed her husband. (Eventually, they came to except the gospel message)

For some reason, this got me thinking about another man I read about in a Leslie Ludy book one time:

“A Chinese pastor who was thrown into solitary confinement for more than a year because of his faith. Day after day, week after week, month after month he crouched in a tiny cell hardly big enough to stand up in. He remained there in total darkness. There was no light, no human companionship. It was just him and God. When he was finally released, he had nearly gone blind from the long lack of light. His body was weak and fragile. But his face was radiant and glowing. He seemed to effervesce with joy and peace. His Christian friends peppered him with questions. “How did you survive solitary confinement so long? What was it like?”

The frail pastor paused and smiled. “It was like a honeymoon with Jesus!”

That statement amazes me because here was a man who hadn’t even talked to another human being in a year and yet he was totally fulfilled and fully satisfied with Jesus Christ alone.

These two stories have really made me think. Faced with the circumstances, would I choose to love Jesus more than I love my own life? If everything I had was stripped away (friends, family, facebook) and I was thrown into a prison cell, would Christ be enough?

As we were sitting in church this morning singing “Fairest Lord Jesus,” I realized that I don’t have to be threatened by death or thrown into a prison cell to decide if Jesus is enough for me. I make this decision every day with how I spend my time and energy. Do I willingly die to my selfish desires and lay down my life every day, knowing that Jesus is more than enough? Can I honestly sing “Jesus you’re everything to me” or am I still holding on to things this world offers?

I hope these questions and thoughts will challenge you as they have challenged me!

Okay one final thought. (Sorry, I know this post has been kinda long). But in Acts 7 when Stephen (the first martyr) is right in the middle of being persecuted, it says he “looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God” (verse 55). And that kind of sums up what all of these stories are all about. When our eyes are fixed on Christ, EVERYTHING else, even our lives, seems less important compared to proclaiming His eternal glory.

-CD :)

Canon of Scripture-please read and comment

This is a little bit of my understanding on the Canon. Figured I would share it, and try and get a little discussion going on, so....

The Canon is a list of all the books that belong in the Bible. The importance of us knowing the Canon is summed up in two verses in the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 32:47 Moses says to Israel "These instructions are not empty words-they are your life! By obeying them you will enjoy a long life in the land you will occupy when you cross the Jordam River", and in Deuteronomy 4:2 Moses says "do not add to or subtract form these commands I am giving you. Just obey the command of the Lord your God that I am giving you". Being that the Canon is a list of all the books that belong in the Bible, and the Bible contains our "life" (Deut 32:47), and no one is to add to nor subtract from it, it is the utmost importance that we know for a fact that the Canon is correct.

The Old Testament Canon
The earlist collection of the written Words of God was the Ten commandments,(written by God Himself, Exodus 31:18/32:16), therefore making the Ten commandments form the beginning of the Old Testament Canon. Although the Holy Spirit was not permanently given to man until after the resurrection of Christ, He did move upon whom He chose and made happen what He wanted to happen, and in this case it would be the fact of writing God's Word, (1 Samuel 10:25, 2 Chron. 26:22). The end of the writing process was approximantly 435 B.C., which were around the time of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. After 435 B.C. the Jewish sect did not accept any other writings for they were not deemed worthy as the Old Testament Scripture are deemed because they knew of no one who could speak with the authority of God as the Old Testament Prophets had done. If we go to the New Testament, we find that there was no disagreement between Jesus and the Jews over the Old Testament Canon. Over 295 times, Jesus and the New Testament authors qouted Scripture from the Old Testament, but no one time was there a quote from the Apocrypha or any other writings.
The Apocrypha was not included in the Canon because 1- they do not claim for themselves the same kind of authority as the Old Tesament writings, 2- they were not considered to be Scripture from the people whom they originated, 3-they were not considered Scripture by Jesus and the New Testament authors, 4- they contain teachings inconsistent with the rest of the Bible.

The New Testament Canon
The New Testament Canon begins with the writings of the apostles, to whom the Holy Spirit was promised and was going to teach and bring to rememberance the things that they had learned from Christ, (John 14:26, 16:13-14). Also, if you held the office of an apostle you were seen to have the same authority as the Old Testament Prophets had held, which was to speak and write the ver words of God, giving there words and writings the same authority as the Old Testament Scriptures. There were some books of the New Tesament that were not writen by an apostle, but the authenticity of these books was affirmed by the apostles, (ex would be Paul affirming the authenticity of Luke).
There is no other writings that are going to be added to the Canon, and we can get this from Hebrews 1:1-2. These facts all indicate that there is a finality to the revelation of God in Christ, and that once this revelation has been completed, there is no more to be expected. Now understanding the fact that a majority of the New Testament was written by apostles, the rest was affirmed by apostles, and that the Son of God is the greatest and final revelation to mankind according to Hebrews 1:1-2, we must conclude that in order for "scripture" to be added to the New Testament Canon it must be: 1-written by an apostle, 2- affirmed by an apostle, or 3- be affirmed by the Son of God Himself.

This is my understanding so far, and so I am up for anymore information or any correction. Hope it helps...

K.P.