“That I may not sin against You” (1)
“Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You” (Psalms 119:11).
The news of December 25, Christmas Day, covered a large number of murders in the city of Covina under the heading “Christmas Massacre”. A 45-year-old divorced man went to his ex-wife's parents' house at around 11:30 pm on Christmas Eve, dressed as Santa Claus, and indiscriminately shot and set fire at the people who were having a Christmas Eve party, killing nine people. He committed committed suicide later. Hearing this terrible criminal case, I came to think in my mind that the shock of a divorce could have these consequences. It thought that he had committed such a terrible crime without being able to control these things, such as hatred, anger, and impulse. In addition to this news and many of the news I hear on TV, I think that when people are filled with sinful things in their hearts, it seems that they have no choice but to commit such crimes. I think this is the same for believers in Jesus. If we are filled with ugly and sinful things in our hearts, we cannot but sin against God. However, if our hearts are gradually filled with God's word, our sins against the Lord will gradually decrease. In order to do that, we must be determined and committed. We must be determined to not sin against the Lord. In order to do that, we must be committed to putting the word of the Lord in our hearts.
In Psalms 119:11, the psalmist confesses that he put the word of the Lord in his heart so that he would not sin against the Lord. How can we put the word of God in our hearts? I thought about five things:
First, in order to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must pray. We must pray to God, saying, ’God, please teach me Your word.’
Look at Psalms 119:12 – “Blessed are You, O LORD; Teach me Your statutes.” The psalmist prayed for God to teach His word to put it in his heart. We too, like the psalmist, must pray to God for Him to teach us His word. The reason is because the author of the Bible is God the Holy Spirit. This is because God the Holy Spirit lives in us, who believe in Jesus, so we can understand the His word only when the Holy Spirit illuminates His word. In the midst of such situation, if we lack a heart to learn God's word, we must pray for desire to long for His word and heart to learn His word while repenting.
Second, in order to keep God's word in our hearts, we must pay attention to His word and meditate on it diligently.
Look at Psalms 119:15 – “I will meditate on Your precepts And regard Your ways.” The psalmist heeded the word of God and meditated on it day and night. Like the psalmist, we must pay attention to His word. We must be close to His word. We must meditate on it diligently and regularly. While reading the Bible, we must reflect on the word of God. We must prayerfully ponder and think over His word. In such meditations, we must humbly listen to what God is trying to tell us.
Third, in order to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must share the word of meditation.
Look at Psalms 119:13 – “With my lips I have told of All the ordinances of Your mouth.” With his lips the psalmist proclaimed all the Lord's ordinances. We must share the enlightenment we have given while meditating on the word of God with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In particular, we must share the gospel of Jesus Christ that we realize while meditating on His word. Then His word will remain more in our hearts when we share. As we write down and share the words we meditate on, our hearts are filled with His word.
Fourth, in order to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must enjoy the word of God.
Look at Psalms 119:14 – “I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.” The psalmist rejoiced in the word of God as he rejoiced in all riches. We must rejoice in His word as we rejoice in our wealth. It will not be easy to enjoy His word from the beginning. However, as we meditate on His word, if we taste the enlightenment that God gives, we will realize a little bit of the psalmist's confession (v. 103) that the word of God is sweeter than honey. In the end, the more we taste the honey of God's word, the more we will be compelled to enjoy His word. In this joy, we will yearn for the word of God more and more and meditate on His word more and more.
Fifth and last, in order to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must not forget His word.
Look at Psalms 119:16 – “I shall delight in Your statutes; I shall not forget Your word.” The psalmist was pleased with the word of God, so he decided not to forget it. We must also have this determination. We must also dedicate ourselves to God that we will not forget His word. The more joyful we have while praying to God and meditating on His word, the less we will have His word in our hearts, not just in our heads. The more we do this, the more we will live a life of personifying His word without forgetting the word. The believer who lives this life progressively and more fully will not sin against the Lord.
When the people of this world commit sins, those who believe in Jesus should not commit sins. When the worldly people commit sins in their homes, we Christians must not commit the same sins in our homes. When all kinds of sins are being committed in the organizations of this world, those sins must not be committed in our church. In order to do that, we must put the word of God in our hearts. We must fill our hearts with the word of God. In order to do this, we must pray, meditate on His word, share the word of meditation, enjoy His word and we must not forget His word. Therefore, by putting the word of God in our hearts, I hope and pray that we all don’t sin against God.
Not wanting to sin against the Lord,
James Kim
(Relying on the blood of Jesus)