FLAWLESS WORDS

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts.

May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—those who say, “By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

“Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the Lord. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.

You, Lord, will keep the needy safe and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Psalm 12

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How many times do we find people discounting or reshaping or questioning the word of God?

It seems like an epidemic these days.

First, there are people who decide to pick and choose what parts of God’s word they will obey and which they will ignore. Often, they try and justify this action by saying that times have changed since the scriptures were written and thus are not applicable in the current social times. More often than not, they choose to ignore parts of God’s word that somehow cramp their lifestyles and the pursuit of their own desires.

Then there are those who want to take the word of God and define it to suit their needs. They will take bits and pieces of the scriptures to try and justify their viewpoint or cause. There is little concern for misrepresenting God’s word for their needs or using the word of God out of context. As long as the person reshaping the word of God achieves what they want, then they’re happy.

Finally, we have people who want to question God’s word. These people invest a lot of time to try and disprove or discredit the scriptures, using their own intellect and reason to do so. They never seem satisfied to accept and receive the word of the Lord at its face value, fully placing their trust in it. Perhaps that is because they haven’t placed their full trust in Him first.

Yes, there is little doubt we have people who have failed to be faithful and loyal to a God who has been nothing but faithful and loyal to us. I don’t know about you but I can completely relate to the lament written by David in the 12th Psalm as he shares his concerns about the people of God in His day. Listen to His first words:

“Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore; those who are loyal have vanished from the human race. Everyone lies to their neighbor; they flatter with their lips but harbor deception in their hearts. May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue—those who say, ‘By our tongues we will prevail; our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?’”

Sound familiar?

How many times do we see people opt to be unfaithful and loyal – lying and deceitful – boasting and patronizing? Perhaps things haven’t changed all that much.

So what was the problem of the people of David’s time? They chose to defy God and disobey His commands, expectations, and will, all of which He clearly communicated to them. In the Old Testament, we see over and over how God’s people chose to pursue their own desires and worship other things vice be compliant and submissive to the word of the Lord.

Today, we have a fuller version of the word of God than what existed during David’s time. God has provided far more direction to us but the call to worship Him and Him alone as well as the call to be fully submissive to His holy word and will have never changed. Unfortunately, the rebellious, non-compliant attitudes of David’s day haven’t changed either in the hearts of people today as we continue to repeat the mistakes of the past.

So where do we go from here? How does another flawed generation of God’s children get right with their Maker?

It’s simple. A flawed people need to turn back to a flawless God who provided them with flawless words to live by. David shares this about the faultless nature of God’s word:

“And the words of the Lord are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times.”

We as imperfect people think imperfect thoughts, speak imperfect words, and perform imperfect actions. We need to connect to something that can help us if we ever hope to live lives of kingdom value and worth - lives that are pleasing to God.

Thanks be to God for His flawless words as found in the scriptures. And my prayer is that more and more people commit their hearts and minds to the perfect and inerrant words of the Bible, seeking to become the people the Lord wants them to be.

Our world can only be a better place as a result.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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