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Day 120 Psalm 119:9 Psalm 119:9 BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. When you determine to make a commitment to anything: relationship, marriage, work, family, friends, or project, you work at it with your whole heart. You do not let anything come between it and you. The psalmist determined to set his entire being on obeying God. That meant he would study the law, the commandments, statutes, and testimonies. He would know all 613 laws given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. He would know their consequences if disobeyed, and he would know what to do for sickness and disease. He would know the Ten Commandments and their consequences, and he would know which statutes were binding forever. He would also know God’s testimonies. When we think of testimonies we think about how we became Christians. We tell everyone how it happened and in some cases the exact day and hour it happened. For instance, I became a Born Again Christian on Tuesday, April 22, 1980 at 10 AM. It was a day that changed my life forever. God also has testimonies. He has them about his children. As you read through the Old Testament, you read the testimonies of God, of the faithfulness of his children, or their disobedience and consequences. You see God’s blessing for those who obeyed, and you see the consequences of disobedience. Those are God’s testimonies. God kept a record of those testimonies in his book. Exodus 32:32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. 33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. (KJV) God also has testimonies about you from the day you were born to the day you were Born Again as Christians. Every day of your life is written down in his book. Psalm 139:16 Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. On the Day of Judgment the books will be opened. There will be two: one book God kept for every person from Adam to the last person born and one representing the Lamb’s Book of Life. Revelation 13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (KJV) Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7 He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. 25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Revelation 22:19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (KJV) God takes his Word seriously, and so should we. The consequences are eternal. The psalmist determined to put them in his heart. In that way, he would know what sin was and could keep himself pure before God. He was determined to keep himself pure before God. As Christians, we too can keep our hearts and minds pure before God. When Satan comes at us with his full arsenal of temptations, and we fall victim to temptation, we can come before God with a repentant heart and ask him to forgive us and cleanse us from our sin, and he will. 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV) It isn’t easy to keep from sinning because Satan knows just which buttons to push, but Jesus paid for all our sins on the cross so that all we need to do is ask for forgiveness and he will forgive us because he already did so on the cross. Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (KJV) Jesus didn’t just forgive those who nailed him to the cross, he forgave us too, and we have that assurance of forgiveness when we come to him with a repentant heart, knowing our sins are forgiven. When we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, our names are blotted out of God’s record book and written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. That is our assurance of salvation as we stand before him on Judgment Day. Let’s pray: Father, help me keep your Word in my heart so I might not sin against you. Help me to come to you with a true repentant heart when I do, knowing you will forgive me and not take my name out of the Lamb’s Book of Life. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 17 July 2016 by Valerie Jean Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay