Praise His holy Name...

"All who worship images are put to shame, those who boast in idols-worship Him, all you gods! ... Let those who love the Lord hate evil, for He guards the lives of His faithful ones and delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy Name." Psalm 97:7, 10-12

So be it, LORD. I find myself getting lost in the words God has given us to love Him. I just can't seem to get enough of what the Lord is saying. I cannot fathom the greatness of the Lord's love and grace for me. Even so, I enjoying meeting Him in His word just to catch a passing glimpse of who He is, was and always will be.

When I read this psalm, I just sat there thinking of how merciful and faithful our God really is! I thought about all the "images" I worship, the false gods, the idols I cling to. I thought about how often I choose one of these (all of these) things over the Lord. I guess somehow I justify knitting or watching Dr. Phil as more important than meeting with the Lord. Psalm 97: 7 says "All who worship images are put to shame..." Don't we all worship something? I think Beth Moore said "If we don't worship God, we're going to worship something else." What will it be? I would like to say that I would choose God over shame, but thats not the case. It seems as though I fall into sin much more that I confess, and I use myself as a rational excuse. This should not be so.

It is a pet peeve of mine that people sin and then blame it on their "sinful nature", "Adam and Eve", or "human-ness". Certainly we love and revere God enough to allow Him into little hearts, knowing He alone can cleanse us of this sin. And we can be certain that this God of ours will not let our human nature be an excuse to sin. He is the Creator of the world. "The earth is His and everything in it, The world, and all who live in it." (Psalm 24:1) Why can't we just confess that our hearts don't love God like they should? Are we so consumed with ourselves that we allow sin to rule our hearts more than the One who created them? I am so guilty of this very thing. What a humbling state to be in...knowing that my sin is shameful, offensive to the Lord, and worthy of eternal suffering. Oh, how I want the LORD, my Creator, the Rock of my salvation, my shield, the Most High God to consume every inch of my being.

Although my sin is unbareable at times, there are surely times when I love my sin. My heart breaks to say such a thing, but it is so true. I have loved, even still love, certain sins in my life. Does God not satisfy me, that I must look elsewhere to find my fill? I am broken before the Lord at this very thought. This is my prayer as of lately :"Teach me your ways, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your Name." (Psalm 86:11) Yes, I desire an undivided heart, a holy fear for God's Name, a pure, truthful walk and a love for the Lord that surpasses all things.

At the end of Psalm 97 I couldn't help but smile as I read the words: "He guards the lives of His faithful ones..." There is great peace in my heart, knowing that my life is guarded by the very One who gave it to me. Oh, that I may be faithful, righteous and upright in heart. May I hate what is evil, may I hate my sin. May I know what all of this means and learn to live it out daily. So, ultimately I must choose the Lord and my heart must be undivided. This is about Him anyways, and not about me.

"Rejoice in the Lord... and praise His holy Name."