Most things in my life that have had a profound affect don’t seem that profound. The lessons that have stayed with me from the time I was a young boy, teenager, and young man most of the time are not the deep, complex messages, but the ones that were easy to understand and to follow. God knows me, and I believe He wrote the Bible just for me. It’s okay if you feel the same way, because I believe He wrote it just for you too. Today I read, “Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed” (Psalm 119:80). God put in to words exactly what I had prayed before opening my Bible this morning! How did He know that I would pray this simple prayer? He’s God!
I have never noticed a time in my lifetime when so many people licked their finger and held it in the air to make a decision (for you younger readers that was the way people used to find direction in the old movies … the black and white kind). I believe that one of the reasons so many churches are floundering today is because there is a lack of leadership with a “sound heart.” Part of our problem today in Christianity, is that we have fallen into the trap that our world has created. If there is not an “APP” for that, we cannot seem to do anything.
Seminaries cannot provide a “sound heart.” You cannot find it in the Christian bookstore, or learn it from Christian radio. Your church cannot create a “sound heart” in you either. There is a place you can find it, but it is not “man-made.” Where can we find this “sound heart?” Psalm 119 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. I believe one of the main reasons it is a favorite of mine is because it is totally focused on the Bible. This chapter exalts the Word of God in such a way that it is impossible to miss the message God wanted us to see.
The Bible you hold is the key to having a “sound heart.” There is no secret about it … immerse yourself in the truths of this book and you will have a good opportunity to have the “sound heart” that I hope you desire. If you are reading these devotionals, you have some desire for that to happen in your life. I am hopeful that we will dig deeply into the Word of God for the answers for life’s challenges. I’m more hopeful that we each will allow the Word of God to dig deeply into our hearts to help us to be “sound” in this ever-changing world. There is a day coming when we will each stand before our holy God. I want to allow this Bible to so influence me today that I will stand that day before God with a “sound heart!”