This May Sting

“I have stored up Your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” — Psalm 119:11
 
How long does it take for what you know to become who you are?
 
I told our congregation before I opened the Word that where we were going might sting. Can I warn you of that too? I’ve got skin on just like you. Sometimes I’ve got more skin on than at other times! And I’ve learned that just because you’ve walked with the Lord for decades doesn’t mean that everything you’ve learned in your head has gone down into your heart.
 
You can know the right verse and still say the wrong thing. You can teach a Sunday school class on patience and then lose your temper in the church parking lot. I’ve seen it, and I’ve done it.
 
The Bible is the manual for pleasing God. If you really want to know how to walk with God, you have to read the Word and find out exactly what He wants. But reading it isn’t the same as storing it up. The psalmist didn’t say, “I have stored Your Word in my notebook.” He said, “In my heart.” That’s the place where it changes what comes out of you.
 
Here’s the hard question. Does what comes out of your life line up with what the Lord has put in? When people bump into you, what spills out is what’s really been stored inside.
 
Living out the Christian life is a journey that’s going to take us all the way to eternity. Nobody arrives this side of heaven. But we can take one more step deeper today.
 
So pick one verse this week that stings you a little. Write it on a card and put it on your bathroom mirror. Read it every morning, and ask the Lord to move it from your head to your heart before the week is out.