Bible League: Living His Word Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.— Psalm 26:1 ESV Integrity. Job’s wife urged her husband to let go of his integrity to end his pain; but he would not, and the Lord boasts about the strength of Job’s integrity to Satan (Job 2:3). Satan was trying to break Job’s confidence in God by attacking his health and wealth, but he did not succumb. He said in reply to his accusing friends, “Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me” (Job 27:5). What is this “integrity”? The word is used nearly 30 times in the Bible (mostly in the Psalms and Proverbs), and it is always given a good connotation. It means to be consistent and uncompromising, to adhere to a strict moral and ethical code, to be honest and truthful and accurate in one’s actions. A person with integrity acts in accord with what she says she believes; she is not a hypocrite. In Scripture, this character quality is equated with wisdom and contrasted with crookedness: “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them” (Proverbs 11:3). The concept of integrity is certainly under attack in our modern era. It used to be a laudable character quality, but now it is viewed almost as a handicap to success. How many times do we see politicians promise one thing and then do another? Or they condemn the action of an opponent while the same scandal can be found in their own house. How about climate activists who fly around in private jets that spew more toxins than the gas-powered cars they condemn? As followers of the God of truth, we also must walk in truth, upholding and demonstrating integrity. Scripture promises reward for those who keep their integrity – Proverbs 20:7, 28:18. And Paul commands Titus to show integrity as a part of being a good example to the new converts in Crete (Titus 2:7). It is easy to point out the lack of integrity in unbelievers, but we really need to turn the microscope on our own hearts. If we are to be salt and light for this world, we need to preserve integrity and show the unbelieving world how invaluable it is. So, can you boast about your integrity as David did in Psalm 26? David was not sinless, but he claims he never wavered from trusting the Lord. Do your actions say, “I trust the Lord without wavering”? Do you pay your taxes in full? Your tithe? Have you compromised your stance on God’s moral code because someone you love has chosen to live a sinful lifestyle? These little compromises chip away at our integrity. Let us examine ourselves and pray that we would not be conformed to this world, but that we would be transformed with renewed minds to be like Christ, steadfast in all things. By Grace Barnes, Bible League International volunteer, Michigan USA Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEsther 4, 5, 6 Esther 4 -- Mordecai Informs Esther of Haman's Plot NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Esther 5 -- Esther Prepares a Banquet; Haman's Rage NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Esther 6 -- The King Honors Mordecai, Haman Compelled to do so NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 5:17-42 Acts 5 -- Deaths of Ananias and Sapphira; Apostles Imprisoned, Released by an Angel; Gamaliel Speaks NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”Insight Some people in the crowd were looking for evidence to use against Jesus; others truly wanted to learn and grow. Jesus' words were for the honest seekers. Challenge We hear with our ears, but there is a deeper kind of listening with the mind and heart that is necessary in order to gain spiritual understanding from Jesus' words. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Zechariah 6:13 He shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory.Christ himself is the builder of his spiritual temple, and he has built it on the mountains of his unchangeable affection, his omnipotent grace, and his infallible truthfulness. But as it was in Solomon's temple, so in this; the materials need making ready. There are the "Cedars of Lebanon," but they are not framed for the building; they are not cut down, and shaped, and made into those planks of cedar, whose odoriferous beauty shall make glad the courts of the Lord's house in Paradise. There are also the rough stones still in the quarry, they must be hewn thence, and squared. All this is Christ's own work. Each individual believer is being prepared, and polished, and made ready for his place in the temple; but Christ's own hand performs the preparation-work. Afflictions cannot sanctify, excepting as they are used by him to this end. Our prayers and efforts cannot make us ready for heaven, apart from the hand of Jesus, who fashioneth our hearts aright. As in the building of Solomon's temple, "there was neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron, heard in the house," because all was brought perfectly ready for the exact spot it was to occupy--so is it with the temple which Jesus builds; the making ready is all done on earth. When we reach heaven, there will be no sanctifying us there, no squaring us with affliction, no planing us with suffering. No, we must be made meet here--all that Christ will do beforehand; and when he has done it, we shall be ferried by a loving hand across the stream of death, and brought to the heavenly Jerusalem, to abide as eternal pillars in the temple of our Lord. "Beneath his eye and care, The edifice shall rise, Majestic, strong, and fair, And shine above the skies." Daily Light on the Daily Path Colossians 3:3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.Romans 6:2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 2 Corinthians 5:15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. John 17:21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. 1 Corinthians 12:27 Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. John 14:19 "After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. Revelation 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.' New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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