..."and a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the way of holiness; evil minded people shall not travel on it, but it shall be for those wayfarers who are traveling toward God. (Isaiah 35:8, adapted)



Sunday, April 20, 2008

Devotions from the Heart: I Will Show the Salvation of God

by Pastor Derek Gitsham

"Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:
and to him that ordereth his conversation
aright I will show the salvation of God."
(Psalm 50:23)


Praise is a powerful medium in the saint’s
life. David loved to sing and praise the Lord.
Oftentimes when we are caught up in praising
the Lord, thoughts that have depressed us
begin to lift off us, and we begin to see
more clearly what the Lord is saying to us.
Like a fog slowly lifting from the city in
the early morning as the sun begins to shine
through.

David has much revelation from the Lord in his
Psalms. Much has come through the vehicle of
rejoicing, thankfulness and praising the Lord.
He was like many of us, full of passion at times
in expressing himself, but his one overriding
zeal was his devotion to the Lord. A study can
be made in the Psalms of David’s devotional life
- a study worth making.

But here David makes a wonderful statement,
“He that ordereth his conversation aright, will
I show the salvation of God.” Living right comes
from living in a right relationship with God.
The word “perfect” in the New Testament sometimes
scares the saint into believing that he will
never attain. But the word does not mean “perfect”
as we understand it, but heart, mind and will
being rightly related to God. In that sense we are
perfect, even as Paul says in Philippians 3:15,
as many as be perfect, be thus minded.

We need to think in terms of being rightly related
to God. This is what David is saying here - he that
ordereth his conversation aright (the old word
conversation means behavior) God will show Him His
salvation. We all need to see the saving power of
God working in our lives. Believing God will produce
results, and it cannot be otherwise.

John is clear in his gospel about this, he that
believeth—result—out of his belly shall flow
rivers of living water. God help us to order
our lives, keep them rightly related to Jesus,
that we might see the salvation of God’s operation
in us.

1 comment:

KathyK said...

How wonderful to at least read the words of our dear friend Derek whom we haven't seen in many years. Thank you so much for making the devotionals available and give him greetings from Brainerd Minnesota.

Steve and Kathy Krueger