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Show me your ways

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Written by Pastor Ben McCary The psalms are as beautiful as they are diverse, and one of the most powerful lessons we can learn from them is the importance of God's forgiveness.  There are so many times in our lives that we fall short of our goals or God's standards for us; Psalm 25 is one example of how to grow in the midst of it. The Bible is God's word to humanity, his hand book for how we're supposed to live, so you'd think it would be full of stories of people asking God for guidance.  But, believe it or not, that's just not the case.  The Bible is riddled with stories of God offering guidance, but very rarely do people ask for it. However, Psalm 25 is one example of someone asking for God's guidance.

Psalm 25In Psalm 25, God's guidance is shown in so many ways. It comes up 8 times:

  • "Show me your ways, O Lord”
  • “Teach me your paths”
  • “Guide me”
  • “He guides the humble”
  • “He teaches them”
  • “He will instruct him in the way”
  • “The Lord confides in those who fear him”
  • “He makes his covenant known to them”

The Psalm also shows all the blessings that God gives for those who humbly accept God's teaching:

  • "They will never be put to shame" (v. 3)
  • "He guides them" (v. 9)
  • "They will have prosperity" (v.13)
  • "His descendants will inherit the land" (v.13)
  • "He will confide in them" (v.14)

So if this is so common in Psalm 25, why would it not be common in the rest of scripture? The answer becomes more clear when we look at the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.  When people come to Jesus and call him teacher, more often than not they go away with a harsh lesson. Just look at this example:

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah” (Matt 12.38-39). So often we come to God asking him to show us his paths, but we forget to leave behind the “sins of our youth.”

This Psalmist reminds us that we need to give up those old sins and come to get ready to change.  It's only the humble who God is able to teach.

So how can you change? How does God want you to be humble? And how do you think God is going to bless you when you come to him with an open heart.

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