Saturday, March 11, 2006

How to Never Be Shaken






One of the shortest Bible studies I ever attended was led by my former boss, Dale Lowrimore. He simply said, "How would you like to never be shaken?" And then he read this short psalm:

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.
1. Lord, who may dwell in Your sanctuary? Who may live on Your holy hill?
2. He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, and who speaks the truth from his heart
3. and has no slander on his tongue, and who does his neighbour no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow man,
4. who despises a vile man, but honours those who fear the Lord, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
5. who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things will never be shaken.

I think about that brief Bible study whenever I read this psalm.

Notice that one of the ways we are "never shaken" is to "keep our oath even when it hurts." For me, it is so easy to change plans - even simple ones - because "something better comes up." Yet the simple act of keeping our promise, even when we find it to be difficult or simply inconvenient, works in us the kind of character that will give us stability over the long haul.

Now look at what I've done. This short devotional is already longer than Dale's one-sentence reflection ont his passage. So let me simply encourage you to re-read this psalm and consider his question: "How would you like to never be shaken?"


NOTE: Dale Lowrimore is currently serving as a police chaplain in San Diego. You can check out his ministry info by clicking here.

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