Second Nature...

Scripture:
Psalm 119:97-104 (NIV)

  Oh, how I love your law!
   I meditate on it all day long.
Your commands are always with me
   and make me wiser than my enemies.
I have more insight than all my teachers,
   for I meditate on your statutes.
I have more understanding than the elders,
   for I obey your precepts.
I have kept my feet from every evil path
   so that I might obey your word.
I have not departed from your laws,
   for you yourself have taught me.
How sweet are your words to my taste,
   sweeter than honey to my mouth!
I gain understanding from your precepts;
   therefore I hate every wrong path.

Devotional:

I remember when Megan was first learning the piano.  She got frustrated because she couldn’t just sit down and play.  She had to struggle and practice for hours.  Finally she became really good at playing.  She can now sit down and figure out how to play different songs.  She still sits to play on average thirty to sixty minutes a day four to six days a week.  There are times when she will play while I am cleaning the kitchen.  I love to listen to her play.  She gets better and better every day.  What was once a struggle has become second nature to her.

How many times do Christians make the same mistake?  We accept Christ as our Savior and we think we should instantly have perfect lives.  We should be strong in faith able to move mountains.  We should be instant Bible intellectuals and theologians, an expert in God’s word.  Oh how we deceive ourselves.  Just as in anything else in life we must study God’s word.  We must grow spiritually.  Faith is like a muscle and needs to be worked in order to grow.  The more we read the Bible the more knowledgeable we become.  As the Psalmist says God’s word will be a sweet taste to us, like honey to our mouths.  His words will help us stay on the right paths avoiding evil ways.  The more we read the more we learn and grow.  Eventually our faith becomes second nature and we will be smart and wise in the ways of our Lord and Savior…