Verse of the Day 12/21

Verse of the Day 12/21

Psalm 101:3-4   I will not set before my eyes

    anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
    it shall not cling to me.
⁴ A perverse heart shall be far from me;
    I will know nothing of evil.     English Standard Version (ESV)

As I read today's verses in my reading in the Psalms this morning what caught my attention was "I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless".  Something that is worthless has no lasting value.  What came to mind then were all of the commercials about "stuff" for the season. In particular there is a car commercial where a husband and wife come out of a house with not one, but two SUV's on display, a red on and a blue one.  The wife walks up to the blue one and  says "I love it".  You can tell that the husband had planned it the other way around but he makes the sacrifice of accepting the red one as his.  What a sacrifice.

Those SUV's, jewelry, expensive perfumes, TV's and all the other gifts being advertised, in light of eternity are worthless things.  They won't make it to eternity.  They will rust, break down, be used up or end up in a garage or estate sale.  But what will last, what won't pass away is the true worship of our Lord and Savior.  Worshiping Him not only individually, but as families, celebrating the greatest gift, His presence.

Delving a little further into "worthless things"  I'm reminded of the hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", more of an Easter hymn but also the fulfillment of what Christ came to do.   All the vain things are swept away by His sacrifice on the cross.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

VERSE 2
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
Save in the death of Christ, my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

VERSE 3
See, from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

VERSE 4
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

Think of His gift, this season, His sacrifice, His coming to earth for us.  Celebrate it, worship Him for it, sing praises and tell of His love.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 101:3-8 The Message (MSG)

A David Psalm

101 ^1-8 My theme song is God's love and justice,
    and I'm singing it right to you, God.
I'm finding my way down the road of right living,
    but how long before you show up?
I'm doing the very best I can,
    and I'm doing it at home, where it counts.
I refuse to take a second look
    at corrupting people and degrading things.
I reject made-in-Canaan gods,
    stay clear of contamination.
The crooked in heart keep their distance;
    I refuse to shake hands with those who plan evil.
I put a gag on the gossip
    who bad-mouths his neighbor;
I can't stand
    arrogance.
But I have my eye on salt-of-the-earth people—
    they're the ones I want working with me;
Men and women on the straight and narrow—
    these are the ones I want at my side.
But no one who traffics in lies
    gets a job with me; I have no patience with liars.
I've rounded up all the wicked like cattle
    and herded them right out of the country.
I purged God's city
    of all who make a business of evil.