Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

If you have ever watched a serial television show, one that caries the story line over from week to week, you have witnessed people making a lot of bad choices and decisions. It seems to be the formula for what attracts an audience. Something I noticed a while back is that characters in these stories always ask each other for advice.

Let that sink in for a moment. We see one character make a terrible choice that hurts himself and everyone around him. Then we see another character go to him for advice. People keep asking advice from those who are just as messed up (if not more so) that they are.

The reality is that we are all messed up. Any advice that comes from within us will be tainted, “the counsel of the wicked” and “the way of sinners.” But we have a better place to go. We should not seek the answers from within us, but from God and His Word. We turn to the source of mercy, grace, and comfort, which is Jesus. And if we fill ourselves with His Word and Promises, we have something to offer others that does not come from our sinful nature, but from God Himself.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is in God’s Word that you will find a message a Law, the way God expects His people to live, a partial revelation of His will for you. It is also in God’s Word that you will find the sweet proclamation of the Gospel, the good news that Jesus has fulfilled the Law for you, paid for all your sin, conquered death for you and opened the gates of heaven for everyone who will believe in Him. That is the completion on God’s good, pleasing and perfect will. He wants you to accept the gift of forgiveness and eternal life.  He wants you to respond to that gift with at life that trusts Him, gratefully strives to live according to His instruction, and shares His promises with others.

When Paul wrote that young pastor Titus in Crete, he started it this way:

Titus 1:1–2 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time…

Paul was describing how those who have come to faith should live, that the knowledge of God’s truth leads to godliness because He has given us eternal life. And he includes this clarifying phrase:  “God, who does not lie…” God always speaks His truth to us, which is what we need to hear. That is why you should go to Him in His Word, and to people who speak His Word faithfully, when you are looking for advice.

P.S.  Yesterday was a great day fishing. Not a great day catching. I’ll try again soon.

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Cheryl and I will be co-hosting a trip to Greece next year with Donna Snow:  “Walk in the Footsteps of Paul.”

Links to the registration and brochure, along with previous devotions, can be found at revmattil.org.  If you want more information, email mike@revmattil.org.