"Goodness and Mercy"

"I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word." (Psalms 119:101)

 This might be the place where "101" came from, as in, the 101 of doing what is right! If life is all about choices, then there needs to be something consistent that keeps tipping the scale towards the right thing to do. Remember those days of the W.W.J.D. decisions? Everyone was wearing brackets and hats and shirts that had those initials on them, and Jesus was actually becoming part of the discussions when it came to making choices. The best thing to do if we are going to error, is to error on the side that is good. I think that was something my mother always said, "If you are going to error, it is best to error on the good side of every issue." She also simply said, "Don't walk down that road," every time I thought it might be okay the challenge her authority. The title up above was taken from the last verse of Psalms 23, where David says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all of my life." My little nephew is so cute; he has discovered how much he loves to walk, sometimes aimlessly and in any direction. When he first learned how to walk, I witnessed him coming to a line on the ground and bending down to crawl over it, as if the line was a step or object to be cautious with. Now I see him walking fearlessly over anything; sometimes he doesn't even look where he walks, he just turns and goes and keeps on going. The point to this verse is pretty much the same as that; not the aimlessly part, but the point of caution. Every time we come to a line, line referring to the choice between good and evil, we must cautiously make a choice. It is not about fear, it is more about the desire to do what is right, regardless of the way we might feel or our desire might speak otherwise. If you could put in a way that is easy to follow; the further we get down that wrong road, the more committed we are to walking down it. It is best if we just don't go down that road, at all...

"Slaves must always obey their masters and do their best to please them. They must not talk back or steal, but must show themselves to be entirely trustworthy and good. Then they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive in every way. For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, is revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." (Titus 2:9-14) NLT