Daily Devotional For Sunday, February 16, 2025
Today is my favorite day of the week. I love our collective gatherings all over the world to worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I pray you do. I thought we could start off today with Psalm 1:1, “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!” (NASB). This verse uses a negative to make a positive. For all you “Grammar Nazis,” we could write it with a positive tone – “Blessed is the man who does . . .” instead of “blessed is the man who does not . . .” What do you think?
So, who is the one who will be blessed (which here means happy, joyful or content)? It will be the one who is pursuing a righteous, godly and holy relationship with God. Meaning – the one who makes it their life priority to stand with God no matter the consequences, who does not give into peer or political pressure, the one whose character mirrors Christ’s character. You do not see many people today, even some Christians, who do not pursue holiness, godliness and righteousness.
The psalmist uses the words “path” and “sit.” These are not referring to specific places, but to wherever we find ourselves throughout the course of our day. But three words – “walk, stand, and sit” could indicate a downward progression to sin. Though we do not always have complete control on our locale, we do have control on our attitude and actions. You’re walking along and something sinful catches your eye or ear. You stop and stand there with it. Then “sit” with it by engaging in that sin.
It doesn’t take much to get us to do this progression: walk, stand and sit with sin. Just like sin starts in the heart, so does righteousness, holiness and godliness. Proverb 23:7a says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (NASB). They say, “You are what you eat.” We are also what we think. Ever said to yourself or someone else, “I don’t understand myself! I know why I did or said that. That is not like me.” Well, it is. That is the point of Jeremiah 17:9. God says this in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is more deceitful than all else, And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (NASB). The battle is won or lost in our hearts.
These are the many choices we make about who we look to for our comfort and our counsel—the people with whom we walk, stand, and sit. When the Bible tells us how we can facilitate God’s blessing in our lives, we should pay attention. So, let’s heed the psalmist’s reminder that, to see God’s blessings, we should choose very carefully who we allow to have influence in our lives.
February 7 is the day Sinclair Lewis was born in 1885 at Saulk Center, Minnesota. Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1930. His best known works of social satire were Main Street, It Can't Happen Here and Babbit. Yet, for all his renown and wealth, Lewis died in Rome of alcoholism.
Upon his death in 1951, he was cremated and his ashes sent to Rome's U.S. Embassy for disposition. One morning a visitor noticed a worker on her knees with a dustpan and broom. Next to her was an overturned funerary urn. When asked what she was doing, she replied nonchalantly, "Sweeping up Sinclair Lewis." If we focus on the words, "sweeping up Sinclair Lewis," we realize the abject futility of the human experience outside of the soul and its relationship to God. This is why the Bible says: "For he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him" (Psalm 103:14, 17) – (Source: On This Day,)
Maybe if we had a little more fear of God in us we would be more intentional to be righteous, holy and godly wherever we walk or stand or even sit. Take a moment to consider the people with whom you spend your discretionary time. Do they encourage your spiritual growth? Do they urge you toward godly thinking and living?
Questions To Consider
- Who would you say motivates you to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have not told them that in a while, take a moment to tell them soon. How do they motivate you to be more like Christ?
- Do you think people are what they think? Why or why not?
- The phrase above “sweeping up Sinclair Lewis” is interesting. From dust he came and to dust he returned. He accomplished a feat so few ever do – the Nobel Prize, yet he died an alcoholic and from alcoholism in the end. How do you want to finish life and why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Proverbs 4:14-15, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not proceed in the way of evil men. (15) Avoid it, do not pass by it; Turn away from it and pass on” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Heavenly Father, I ask You to choose and clearly reveal those You want me to bring into closer friendship. Good friends are a blessing, and I want to be a good friend to others. You have created us to have fellowship with one another. May I always honor You in all my relationships. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly