If you have integrity

In this disrupted world climate people have changed. Honesty and integrity are almost forgotten values. The confidence has disappeared.

Crime and violence are a worldwide phenomenon.
„Probity or integrity have been well defined as „moral uprightness; honesty.” A sound person is reliably and not corruptible by people or able to be tempted by wrong matters. Probity does not mean natural perfection, but it indicates on a fundamental quality in someone. In our world of becoming rich quickly sometimes integrity can be considered as an obstacle instead of as a virtue.

But in this time all ranks and social order become damaged by or loss of integrity.

In spite of the world-wide reverse gear in criteria in the field of honesty certain people attach still value to integrity. To do what we have promised, is one way to show love for god and our people and to commission people who love justice. - Matthew 22:36 - 39; Romans 15:2.

As Christians we hear to be followers of the master Jesus Christ. Of all students it is required that they stick to a code of conduct which corresponds to what is usually expected in a community or family where the emphasis is laid on courtesy, politeness, regard for parents and the elderly, cooperation, tolerance, friendliness, honesty and integrity. We must work at our self, at our own person-like-driven so that nobody must doubt our person and so that we can win also the confidence of others. How more people follow the way of God, how more that sound people of integrity will populate the world.

Wouldn't you like to live gladly in a world in which everyone displayed moral qualities of integrity, love, allegiance, unselfishness and with interest for people? That is decidedly the type of world which you wish! Absolutely no human dominator is ever able to bring that about. Only Jehovah God can make that possible. And he will do it, because His new world is no unreal air castle. - Psalm 85:10, 11.

Marcus Ampe

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"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. Alan Simpson, former U.S. Senator.

This statement makes a very strong case for integrity. What does the Bible have to say on the subject?

When God spoke to King Solomon on the occasion of the dedication of the temple, He said, "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father when I said, 'You shall never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.' But if you or your sons turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples."

God makes it clear that the keeping of His commandments is the essence of integrity. The high principles, honesty and good character manifested by a man of integrity come from adherence to divine principles. In Solomon's case, he had committed himself to serving God, and the keeping of God's law was an integral part of that commitment.

We don't have to read very much more to find out that Solomon did not walk in integrity of heart all the days of his life as did his father David, and, as a result, the kingdom was divided. Eventually Israel did become a byword and an object of ridicule. Why? Lack of integrity is the answer. A man of integrity honors his commitments.

David knew the value of integrity. Just before he died he went all-out to help prepare for the temple he wanted to build, but God had refused him permission, saying, "No, your son will build it instead." David, rather than being a poor sport, said to God, "I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things have I given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O LORD, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, requirements and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided."

David was correct. God does test our hearts and He is pleased with integrity. Integrity implies willingly doing the right thing no matter what the cost or what we may prefer. David put aside what he would have liked to have done and wholeheartedly supported a plan that was not of his choice and would give the prestige for building the temple to someone else.

Integrity is a quality you cannot fake. There really is no such thing as insincere integrity. If it is insincere then it is not integrity. We need to ask ourselves, Do we have integrity? That is a critical question. We cannot fake it. Solomon who once had it but lost it gives us good advice on the subject: "The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity." "Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner." "The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out."

Let us then walk with integrity. The benefits of integrity are many, both now and in the future. The Psalmist said as he spoke to God, "May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you."

Paul gave good advice to Titus when he said, "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness" A person of integrity is respected, offering a good example for others to follow.

Let us say with the Psalmist, "But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem me, and be merciful unto me." God will respond as David knew he would when David said, "Judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness, according to my integrity, O Most High.""

- Brother Robert Lloyd
Integrity - Minute Meditations

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Als u integriteit hebt

Old age

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth. For my enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, Saying, God hath forsaken him: persecute and take him; for [there is] none to deliver [him].” (Ps 71:9-11 Webster)

Every stage of life has its own problems, and old age is no exception. Many a person, becoming aware of the passing years, finds physical and emotional stresses creeping into his life that were never there before. Old age is not a time for despair or self pity, and God in His Word has given us much counsel on how to make our sunset years rewarding and enriching. Did you know that David devoted one whole psalm to those who are “old and grey headed”? Read Psalm 71, and locked up within it you will discover the Christian philosophy that makes for a meaningful old age.

  This psalm was written by David very late in his life. Apparently it was a time of persecution for him, for we read: “Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength fails. For my enemies speak against me; and they that lay wait for my soul take counsel together, saying ‘God has forsaken him: persecute and take him; for there is none to deliver him.’” Psalm 71:9-11.

  This suggests the incident recorded in 1 Kings where David experienced the very thing he wrote about. We 

read: “Now King David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat.” “Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king; and he prepared chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him.” 1 Kings 1:1, 5.

  It was a time that caused David much concern, and many doubts and fears rose up over him threatening to destroy him. When adverse circumstances in our lives, caused, perhaps, through ill-health or lack of finance or loneliness, threaten to crush us, we should follow the example of David in his extremity. These are his words: “In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust.” Psalm 71:1.

  What does it mean to put our trust in God? It means to place our whole-hearted confidence in Him no matter how black the situation may seem. It means to depend wholly and solely upon Him.

  Two men were in separate adjoining rooms at a large hospital. They were both about sixty-five to seventy years of age, and both of them were dying of cancer. One man cursed bitterly every time someone entered his room, but the other, a godly man, always greeted people with a smile. The one placed his wholehearted trust in God to care for the future. Anyone who talked to him was inspired to a deeper faith in God. It is a terrible thing to be shrunken in body as those men were, but how much worse to be shrunken in soul.

  In 1 Sam. 30 we read of an Egyptian servant who had been found dying in the desert, by David and his armies. His Amalekite master had left him there to perish when he had fallen ill. God is not like that Amalekite master. He will not desert us when we become sick and feeble. He is one we can trust. David uses a very striking illustration in this psalm of what it means to trust in God. “Lord be my strong habitation, to where I may continually resort: You have given commandment to save me; for You are my rock and my fortress.” Psalm 71:3.

  In the days of ancient Israel, the Israelites would choose the sites for their cities in places that could be well fortified. Usually this was amidst rocky outcrops atop hilly places. They surrounded their cities with thick protective walls, and to these cities the people would flee in event of war. Similarly, David says, when the enemies of life surround us, when worry, sin, pain and despair threaten to destroy us, we are to flee to God and hide ourselves in Him. That is what it means to trust in God. We are to cast ourselves into His protecting care completely.

  The next thing David encourages us to do in old age is to look back over our lives and remind ourselves of the times that God has watched over us, has protected us and has delivered us. We might call it “counting our blessings,” but it is a practice that David urges us to establish in our lives. He says: “For You are my hope, O Lord God: You are my trust from my youth. By You I have been helped from the womb: You are He that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually to You” Psa. 71:5, 6.

  There are many, like David, who have served God from their youth up. How rich their lives usually are. Yet those of us who have become aware of God’s love for us only at a later period in our lives need not despair. Christ’s parable in Matt. 20:1-16 of the labourers in the vineyard reassures us that God will accept our repentance and cries for forgiveness at any stage of life. Even those who have wrought but one hour “are made equal unto those who have borne the burden and heat of the day.” Even the thief on the cross was assured of life eternal when in the closing hours of his earthly life he cast himself upon Jesus.

  The next thing in this psalm to give us confidence is that David’s life was not perfect. He had committed dreadful sins; sins of adultery, false witness and murder; sins of which very few of us have been guilty. And yet, deeply repentant as he was, David did not carry the burden of guilt on his shoulders for the rest of his life. He discovered the secret of sins forgiven, and this secret is expressed in the words, “Deliver me in THY righteousness.” Psa. 71:2.

  There are many who are burdened with a sense of guilt, and this carried into old age cripples and embitters the life. We must learn that at any age we need to drop our burden at the foot of the cross. Jesus has assumed our guilt and paid the penalty of it in his death. Therefore we do not have to bear it. David learnt this lesson, and following in the wake of assurance of forgiveness by God came two things: peace of heart, and a desire to praise God. These two things do more to make an aged person’s life attractive than anything else - a knowledge that he is right with God and a disposition to be happy in praising God. Yet another gem of counsel to the aged is found in David’s words, “But I will hope continually.” Psa. 71:14.

  Hope is likened to a star in the darkest night; and hope in the promises of God, in the soon coming of Jesus, in the restitution of all things, in the ultimate banishment of death, is the thing that dispels despair. One favourite text with many people is that which says, “Neither shall there be any more pain.” Rev. 21:4. This text gives hope and hope means that we can never turn inwards on ourselves. Nor has the Christian old person any cause to lose himself in self-pity. Becoming self-centred and having self-pity do more to cripple the aged than anything else. We should continually keep active as long as possible and always have some out-going interest.

  And finally, we might notice David’s parting plea to God: “Now also when I am old and grey-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed Your strength unto this generation, and Your power to everyone that is to come.” Psa. 71:18.

 The aged have a responsibility to this modern generation, and that is to show them their strength. It is certainly  not physical strength spoken of here, for the aged have little of that. It is a spiritual strength, a strong faith that is needed in this modern world. Faith is a thing which is developed and deepened only with personal experiences with God, and most youth today are totally unaware of what such faith implies.

  Old age is not to be an era of barren bitterness. Sanctified by the grace of God, these years can be amongst the most profitable and rewarding years of all.

  - John Aldersley

A new year with hopes and challenges

"How swiftly flies by the time,
A new year with hopes and challenges.
Plan thoroughly and be
Prepared for joy in living
You will achieve joy.

Nothing fearing,
Expect all things possible
With God

Yearning true
Excellence in character
Aim for nothing less than the best you can
Rise up and shine, ready for loving and serving our God!"
- Compilation

"Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day."
Psalm 96:1-2
 

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2013 update + 2014 February update: :

god (Photo credit: Notes for the Voyage)

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• Morning Prayer 1.24.14: Conversion of St. Paul (dailyoffice.org)
  O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Choose you this day whom ye will serve

God asks no man whether he will accept life.
That is not the choice. One must take it.
The only choice is how.
- Henry Ward Beecher

Now therefore fear the LORD, and
serve him in sincerity and in truth: ….
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,
choose you this day whom ye will serve;whether the gods which your fathers served that
were on the other side of the flood,
or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell:
but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
Joshua 24:14-15

Sinners do not turn away from God

"Do not be afraid," Samuel replied [to the people of Israel]. "You have done all this evil; yet do not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart."

1 Samuel 12:20, New International Version

Dutch version: Nederlandse versie > Zondigen verlaat God niet

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    Israel wanted a King. This crushed Samuel's heart and angered God with the people's lack of faith. Samuel, however, reminds them that while they have stumbled and fallen, they must not abandon the LORD himself. Instead, their political concerns must give way to their total allegiance to God and their willingness to serve him fully.

    Forgive me, dear Father, for the sinfulness, short-sightedness, and silliness that I have, at times, shown. I want to serve you with an undivided heart, cleansed by your forgiveness and the transforming power of your Holy Spirit. Thank you! In Jesus' name. Amen.