REASONS 4 BELIEVING

“Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore does my soul keep them. The entrance of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple.” Psalm 119:120,130

These words written thousands of years ago came from the heart of David. He sought God’s word because of the oppression of evil men around him.   David was especially heart-broken over those simple ones who were being drawing away by those who did not keep God’s word. So David’s response to the LORD was that He would be guided by His wonderful testimonies. He knew that God’s word kept on giving, and that the light of mercy and compassion started by the entrance of His word into the mind and heart.

This week I briefly talked with a group of teenagers hanging out on the corner of our town square. Dressed down in rough clothes along with their tattoos they were bragging about drugs. I asked what all the tattoos meant. One said, “They mean a lot of different stuff.” After engaging them for a while I asked them, “What do think about God?”   After all the head and eye rolling one of them shared with me that every time he went to church he was always judged because of his tattoos. He said, “I don’t have time for all that and I will worship God in my own way.”   Next, a girl bragged about not believing in God and how she even made her therapist into an atheist.   As I continued to kindly challenge this girl to explain what the tattoos meant and why she does not believe in God, she gave her profane ridicule of how she does not talk politics or religion with strangers.   I left knowing what their tattoos and hatred actually meant. They had been exposed to plenty of religion, but they were never really given the light of love found in God’s word.

When we see the evil in the world and the influence that hard-hearted religionists have had remember the heart of David found in our opening verses. Remember that the more we get into God’s word the more we discover how wonderful it is.   This light giving word shines in the dark areas of life giving us understanding so we can avoid the evil.   This light giving word also helps us to help others who have no direction and are easily swayed.

We who have the light giving word should be willing to share it, because the entrance of God’s word illuminates the heart and it gives understanding to those who are simple by penetrating the height, length, depth, and breadth of our inner being. God’s word has a radiance brighter than any sun or star in our solar system, because it is an eternal light that radiates with the very light of God Himself. That is why David’s desire was to keep God’s word in his soul.

David C. Hale, pastor

New Life Community Church

Lewisburg, TN