Thought for Today - September 14, 2023
Oh! To Be Godly!
By: Robert A. Searles
“But know that the
Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear
when I call unto him. Psalm 4: 3
What does it mean to be godly? To be godly means to be somewhat
like God. To take on some of the characteristics of God. In the
beginning God made man in his image, to be like him, but because of sin,
mankind fell, and has come short of the likeness of God. But through
the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, mankind has been
redeemed and reconciled to God on an individual basis, providing that
the individual will accept it as a free gift from God.
“As many as received him, to them gave he power (or authority) to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” John 1:
12
As a child of God, we are in the family of God and godly.When we are
born again into the family of God and become godly then the Lord sets us
apart from every other creature. God puts upon us his shield of love
and protection, and we find ourselves in the favor of God.
God gives us
special work and tasks to perform for his glory. He cleanses us on the
inside, and makes us a fit house or vessel in which he can live and
work. Since we are his special workmen, assigned a special job for his
glory, God will give us extra special attention when we call unto him in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“The Lord knoweth how to deliver
the godly out of temptation.....” 2 Peter 2: 9
Knowing that by grace we are saved through faith, and having put on
godliness by God's grace, and knowing that we are God's special vessels
for his honor, we ought to stand in awe and sin not,
We ought to come
before God with such reverence and respect that in his presence we would
be speechless and spellbound to behold his glory, if it were not for
the fact that he gives the privilege to come boldly before the throne of
grace.
When we stand before God, we ought to take off our shoes, as
it were, because the place where we stand is holy ground.
The family
dinning room becomes holy ground when the family is gathered to enjoy
God's bountiful blessing when we meet with God there, and the table
becomes a sacred altar when we offer our gratitude, and offer ourselves
before God.
Our bed becomes a holy place when we lie upon it and
commune with God from our hearts in the long night
hours.
Because we have become the children of God, and made godly in him,
and because we are set apart to receive his special favor; and because
we are the recipients of his great love and salvation; and because we
are called out of the world to perform special tasks for him; we ought
to be more than anxious to offer the sacrifice of righteousness, and die
daily to ourselves, and abandon ourselves completely to God , and put
our trust in him.
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite
heart, O God thou wilt not despise.” Psalm 51: 17
“By him therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”
But to do well and to communicate forget not; for with such sacrifices
God is well pleased.” Hebrews13: 15, 16.
We should be continually praising God with our lips. Open wide
your mouth and let the words flow out loud and clear from your heart:
blessed be the name of the Lord; praise God from whom all blessings
flow; glory to God in the highest. This is a sacrifice that God is
pleased with – then, it follows with good works and service.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God which
is your reasonable service.” Roman 12: 1
.
If we have given our bodies over to God as a living sacrifice, then
we should have no problem opening wide our mouths in praise of God and
in following it up with good works.
“And the scribe said unto him, well, master, thou hast said the
truth: for there is one God, and there is none other but he, and to love
him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all
the soul and with all strength and to love his neighbor as himself is
more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12: 32
PS;
May God bless all my readers! God loves us all! Jesus Christ died for
us, and rose again to save us! Praise God!Share this gospel truth with
your friends and with the world. Amen!
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Psalm 26:7
