Tag: Rules

Find Your Delight

“47for I find my delight in your commandments,

which I love.

48I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,

and I will meditate on your statutes.”

— Psalm 119:47-48 (ESV)

“I find my delight in your commandments,” this is quite the verse and realization. But isn’t it true and with the LORD on a much larger scale.

My wife Lori is a teacher and I am in adult education and what we have found over the years is that people thrive in structure. They are keenly aware of expectations and can focus on producing results when they follow and meet and exceed those expectations. Having rules and guidelines to remove ambiguity and decision making for all of the little things allowing for energy to be expended on achieving results and not on meaningless tasks.

God gives us commandments and rules and expectations on our living life in this world. Some of those are grand, the Ten Commandments and the great commission, and others are less so, caring for the needy. But the one thing we can count on is that these commandments, rules, and expectations are in place for our guidance and direction as we traverse this world we live in as we prepare for our forever home, heaven.

As people in a classroom, we do not look at the structure and think, “wow these are great for me to not have to think about, I can just do”. But in this world, we can and should be looking at the commandments of the LORD as just that, “great for me”. We may not “delight” in the rules and expectations of this world, but we can and should find it in the commandments of the LORD. We should see His promise, His Word, His rules, His precepts, His commandments, and His statues as the structure that keeps us moving through this world as we prepare for our home.

I follow a very strict regimented disciplined daily routine that ensures I complete things on time and I am able to move on to the next with little thought. I am glad to have the commandments of the LORD to drive me forward in the things that matter as I move through this world. I find delight in knowing all my decisions can be made with Him in mind and that when doing so, I am headed in the right direction.

What is your feeling on commandments? Do you see them as restrictive and rigid? What if you saw them more as guidelines to keep you moving and were able to see and find delight in them?

No Law for the Fruit of the Spirit

Yes, that is right, there is no law as it goes to live by the fruit of the Spirit.

“22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” – Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

Look a the list from God’s Word above of the fruit of the Spirit. There are no laws banning or regulating those actions. The world is free to take all of them and there is none out there telling us what we can or cannot do as relates to any of them. Those are written on our heart by God and everyone, no matter your origin, knows of them and can live them without direction.

All things under the flesh are subject to law of some kind. There are entities, whether person or other that have created rules and regulations of those things under the flesh.

“19Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who doe such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)

Again, review the list above and see all the things that are identified as under the flesh and also find that there are rules, regulations, laws against them where entities control what you can and cannot do. Take drunkenness as an example. There is no law against drunkenness, except that you have to be of age, cannot drive while drunk, can be cut off from drinking in public, and I am sure there are others that escape me at this moment. All of those are restricted by some sort of law.

“18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” – Galatians 5:18 (ESV)

But as for the fruit of the Spirit, I again come back to no restrictions. You want to exhibit joy, do so. You want to be kind, go ahead. Patience, please do. No law, no restriction, no rules, as the old Nike slogan would say, “Just Do It”. There is no law for living by the fruit of the Spirit.

What is the restrictions in your actions? Do you find that there are things you cannot do based on rules and restrictions and laws against those things? What If you were to live by the fruit of the Spirit, there are no laws against those?