“1 Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God. 2 Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord, and they study it day and night. 3 They are like trees that grow beside a stream, that bear fruit at the right time, and whose leaves do not dry up. They succeed in everything they do. 4 But evil people are not like this at all; they are like straw that the wind blows away. 5 Sinners will be condemned by God and kept apart from God’s own people. 6 The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord, but the evil are on the way to their doom.” (Psalm 1:1-6 TEV).

Do you want real happiness? Not the momentary fleeting pleasure that so many mistake for happiness, but real, deep seated happiness that can’t be touched? Psalm 1 tells us how to obtain it.

First, watch your associates. I am alarmed at the number of professed believers who constantly seek out unsaved friends for counsel and advice. How can they help you? “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV). My personal opinion is that the only reason a believer might seek the advice of an unbeliever is because that believer is looking for justification to do something he or she already knows they ought not do. Just a thought, but that thought is based on years of experience and observation. What is not my opinion are the words of this Psalm, “1 Happy are those who reject the advice of evil people . . .”

As much as I like modern translations, there is still great value in the older, more traditional translations. When I memorized these verses I did so in the King James Version (which my son is convinced was the newest translation of my youth): “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Did you catch the downward spiral of this verse? First the individual walks with the unbeliever. The concept here is that this is where he or she finds their direction; where they go for advice and comfort. The Holman Christian Standard Bible translates this portion of this Psalm, “How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked . . . .”

The person who seeks such advice as they walk through life soon begin to settle in and find comfort among the wicked. They take their stand with them. I was appalled recently to read of a singles Christian Bible study which is held every Tuesday at Hooter’s. Why? Because that’s where these professed believers are comfortable. They have taken their stand. They are comfortable in surroundings that should really make them very uncomfortable. They are not spiritually sensitive.

The final step downward is the person walks in the company and counsel of the ungodly, then they take their stand with them, finally they are setting down in fellowship with “those who have no use for God.”

So, the question of the hour is, where are you looking for happiness? Where are you looking for fulfillment? Where do you turn when you need advice and guidance? Look in the wrong places and you will go down the wrong path to your own doom. Look to God and you will be firmly established.

One final thing. This has nothing to do with experience. Experience and feelings will mislead you again and again. We need to seek guidance in what Dr. Francis Shaeffer called, “True truth.” The absolute, infallible, inerrant Word of God.

Ezekiel 33:30-32 in the New Century Version (NCV) reads, “But as for you, human, your people are talking about you by the walls and in the doorways of houses. They say to each other: ‘Come now, and hear the message from the Lord.’ 31 So they come to you in crowds as if they were really ready to listen. They sit in front of you as if they were my people and hear your words, but they will not obey them. With their mouths they tell me they love me, but their hearts desire their selfish profits. 32 To your people you are nothing more than a singer who sings love songs and has a beautiful voice and plays a musical instrument well. They hear your words, but they will not obey them.”

When I read those words I thought, “How applicable to the church today!” For many church is nothing more than an alternative from of entertainment. They come and enjoy the music, they participate in the various activities offered, but they don’t take the message to heart. Ezekiel said of the people of his day, “With their mouths they tell me they love me, but their hearts desire their selfish profits.” The prophet Isaiah had a similar observation, “The Master said: ‘These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren’t in it. . . they act like they’re worshiping me but don’t mean it.’” (Isaiah 29:13 MSG).

Now I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I am willing to venture that a whopping 80% of people who attend church today are firmly in Ezekiel’s and Isaiah’s category of people who listen but don’t really care what God has to say.

Tough words; hard words. Some who have read them have responded by calling me in their own minds “judgmental” and harsh. Think about it though. In the area I am writing from we have at least 6 what church growth specialists call “Mega Churches.” Now I would think that if the vast number of people who attend these churches were fully committed Christians their impact on society would be phenomenal. Is that what we are seeing? Unfortunately not. In fact what we are seeing is a large group of people who claim church membership but whose lives reflect the values of the world. “With their mouths they tell me they love me, but their hearts desire their selfish profits.”

Lest you think the above statement is nothing but envy on my part, let me state that one man at one of these churches stated, “We have a beautiful worship service–it’s great. But it is not uncommon to leave the service and find people in fist-fights in the parking lot because someone did not let them out when they wanted out.” “They sit in front of you as if they were my people and hear your words, but they will not obey them.”

What is true in the Mega churches holds true in the mini churches as well. We seem to have a Christianity today that is much more form than function. Oh, dear reader, if this describes you, a beg of you, repent. If your Christianity is a Sunday only thing or if your walk with Christ does not have a major impact in how you walk daily in the world, something is horribly wrong. No one can come to Christ and leave the same!

“I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ. Relax, everything’s going to be all right; rest, everything’s coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!” (Jude 1:1-2 MSG).

In his letter, Jude focuses on the problem of apostasy – turning away from God’s truth into error. In a day that is swarming with false teachers, every Christian needs to read this small book on a regular basis.

So often we know when something is wrong with us physically. The symptoms are obvious and we take immediate action to correct the problem. Unfortunately we are not as vigilant spiritually. The result is bad teaching creeps into our lives and bad thinking corrupts our life-styles.

The problem is not new. Satan is the great deceiver and our sin natures are immanently susceptible to anything that will feed it. The wonderful promise of God is that those who know Christ, really know Him, are kept safe by Him! We don’t have to wring our hands in worry, stress over whether or not things will work out, “everything’s going to be all right” What a marvelous promise!

What has you stressing today? Can you give it over to Jesus? Will you exchange your worry for His rest?