Wednesday, March 30, 2011
"Integrity"
“The
troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou
me out of my distresses.
O keep my soul, and deliver me:
let me not be
ashamed; for I put my trust in thee. Let
integrity and uprightness preserve me;
for I wait on thee.”
Psalms
25:17, 20-21
Integrity is defined as “the
state of being complete, unified.” When
I have integrity, my words and my
deeds match up. In
other words, I am who I am, no matter
where I am or who I am with.
The test of our
integrity will
always come during times of trouble.
While it is easy to say one
thing during good times, it is harder
to do
that thing during tough times. Sadly,
integrity is a vanishing commodity
today.
Personal standards are
crumbling in a world that has taken
hot pursuit
of personal pleasure and shortcuts to
success.
The more trouble we see in our
world the less integrity will be seen.
King David prayed
that his
integrity would preserve him in times
of trouble. Too
often people make compromises during a
tough time, thinking that will help
them, but in reality they only find
temporary relief while causing greater
long-term problems.
In ancient China
the people
wanted security against barbaric
attacks from the north, so they built
the
great wall. They believed it was so
high that no one could climb over it
and so
thick no one could tear it down. Yet, in
the first one hundred years of the
wall’s existence, China was invaded
three
times. Not
one of the barbaric armies
broke down the wall or climbed over
it.
Each time they bribed a
gatekeeper and then marched right
through the
gates. The
Chinese were so busy relying
on walls for protection that they
forgot to teach integrity to their
children.
Make sure your
inner man is
strengthened with the convictions of
God.
Then your integrity will
preserve you in times of trouble. Stand on
what you believe in, and you won’t
fall for anything.
Study verses: I
Kings 9:4-8; Job 2:3,9; 27:1-5; Ps
7:8-10;
26:1; Prov 11:3; 19:1; 20:7
Note: If these
"Words of Truth" e-mails are helpful to you,
feel free to
let us know by simply replying to this
email.
Back to top
Previous devotions
"The
Entertainment Shepherd" - March 23, 2011
"Striving
With God" - March 16, 2011
"The
Simple Things" - March 9, 2011
"A
'Yes' Face" - March 2, 2011
"Praying
for the Laborers" - February 23, 2011
"The
Blessing of Burdens" - February 16, 2011
"Living
In Death" - February 9, 2011
"A
Loving Church" - February 2, 2011
"Unnecessary
Burdens" - January 26, 2011
"A
Greater Love" - January 19, 2011
"Investing
In Time" - January 12, 2011
"Making
It Right" - January 7, 2011
"Forever
Faithful" - December 29, 2010
"Pondering
the Christmas Miracle" - December 22, 2010
"The
First Christmas Carol" - December 15, 2010
"An
Unspeakable Gift" - December 8, 2010
"The
Big News" - December 1, 2010
More...
Back to top
|
