I’m upset about something today.  I’ve noticed that the more I’m around Christians,  the less I see of Jesus in them… and me.  The outside looks fine, but don’t dig below the surface.   What lurks?   Pettiness.  Gossip.  Selfishness.  Greed.  Would hardly know we’re committed followers of Jesus by looking in the mirror.

I’m starting to read the longest psalm of all.  A most amazing one, indeed.  An acrostic psalm with each subsequent 8 verse divisions using the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which has a total of 22 letters.  Each of those 8 verses in a section begins with that same Hebrew letter.  In English it would be those first 8 verses all beginning with the letter ‘a’.  The next section of 8 would all begin with the letter ‘b’.  And so on until the last section with each letter beginning with ‘z’.  Covers everything from ‘A to Z’!

As I read the first 8 verses of Psalm 119, I immediately felt the  ‘conviction of the Holy Spirit’.  Yes, this can still happen when we stop talking at God and start listening to Him!  Shove moth balls in our mouths, opening up our ears to the Master.  I can rarely get past a couple of praises to the Lord without asking Him for something, even when I determine to spend my entire prayer time in praise.  I fail miserably.   Not a pretty sight.

It’s the old story of whether there would be enough evidence to convict us, if we were arrested for being a Christian.  For many of us the case would be dismissed outright for lack of evidence.

Want to get real for Jesus?  Read those 1st 8 verses of Psalm 119.  I can’t get past verse 2.  It rivets my heart.  ‘Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart.’   Blessings come when we actually follow God’s Word.  Presumes that we’re spending time in the Bible,  where we find out about the Lord.

It’s not how much biblical content we know , but how genuinely we follow Him.  Trust me, we know the difference.  Not rocket science to experience a painful conscience.  For verse 2 concludes by saying ‘who seek Him with their whole heart…’  This completes the picture.  Getting real with God is knowing His Word and following through.   Pleasing Him with our lives.  Praising Him.  To know the Bible and act as if I’m paying attention to Him.  No, not an act.  Let’s get real for a change…for Him!  Want to join me?

Prayer:  Dear Lord,  I want to know you and your Word better and better every day of my life.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.