TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
I’ll never forget the time I heard old-time evangelist Dr. Freddie Gage preaching on the deception of sin as he looked sternly at the congregation and proclaimed, “Sin fascinates and then assassinates. Sin thrills, but then it kills. Sin always takes you farther than you ever wanted to go. Sin always leaves you there longer that you ever wanted to stay. Sin always costs you more that you ever wanted to pay.” Our scripture reading for today, Psalm 1 makes this point powerfully. Read and heed these words!
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers. But whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
“Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. (Psalm 1)