I will behave wisely in a perfect way … walk within my house with a perfect heart … set nothing wicked before my eyes (Psalm 101:2-3)

I started my usual early morning quiet time, a cup of coffee nearby. Then these verses jumped off the page. Talk about a wake-up call.

Sometimes certain verses stick with me for a while. That’s when a process I’ve called “noodling” takes over. I ponder the content, rolling it over and over in my mind. Then I research the meanings behind the words in Hebrew or Greek. I check various versions and confirm where I’m headed with solid commentaries. Throughout the process, I ask the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment.

On the surface, these verses sound presumptuous and impossible. Who can claim perfection? How can anyone pretend nothing wicked ever presents itself? Yet there they are as part of God’s infallible, unchanging, eternal Word. I can either shrug them off, half-heartedly commit to trying to live up to them, or discover how the Holy Spirit wants to apply their truth to my life. God’s Word says, “The entrance of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130). This was today’s enlightening lesson.

So I began breaking down the pertinent words from various resources. From that, I derived three suitable personal pledges for me and every genuine follower of Christ Jesus.

I Will Behave Myself Wisely in a Perfect Way

• I Will – resolution, decision, pledge involving heart and mind, firm desire
• Behave – conduct myself, comport myself, live a certain lifestyle
• Wisely – circumspect, prudently, with wisdom and insight, understanding, intelligence
• Perfect – entire, whole, complete, free from blemishes, honest, sincere, with integrity
• Way – journey, pathway, manner, way of life, lifestyle

I firmly resolve to live prudently and blamelessly with my whole heart. May nothing unholy disrupt my fellowship with God. I will never allow familiarity with holy things to breed spiritual presumptions. I’ll not excuse or defend any lifestyle trait that quenches or grieves the Holy Spirit or harms the cause of Christ. May God align my life with the unbiased, untarnished truth of His Word.

I Will Walk Within my House with a Perfect Heart

• I Will – resolution, decision, pledge involving heart and mind, firm desire
• Walk Within – coming near, intimate proximity, the interior of a thing, in the midst
• House – dwelling place, house, temple, household, mansion, palace
• Perfect – completeness, wholeness, fulness, soundness, uprightness, without blemish, the opposite of mischief
• Heart – most interior or core, inner being, understanding, heart and mind

I firmly resolve to maintain a holy household. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, I’ll resolutely protect my sphere of holiness. May I purposefully establish a wholesome, upright environment that could welcome my Lord Jesus Christ any moment of any day. I surrender everything in my physical and spiritual dwelling places and invite you to fully make Yourself at home in both. May they unite in purpose to reflect Christlikeness.

I Will Set Nothing Wicked Before My Eyes

• I Will – resolution, decision, pledge involving heart and mind, firm desire
• Set – apply, appoint, consider, show, regard
• No Thing – 85 different English words most prominently: word, saying, speech, news, command, promise, thing, incident, occurrence, history, concern, cause, question
• Wicked – unprofitable, worthless, naughty, evil, unholy, pornographic, Belial – a proper name for Satan
• Eyes – countenance, face, look, presence, sight

I firmly resolve to separate myself from anything and everything unholy. Nothing unholy may deliberately be allowed or tolerated in my life through sight, sound, smell, feeling, or senses. As consecrated to God, filled with His Holy Spirit, and pursuing hard after Jesus, I’ll diligently guard my heart, take captive every thought, protect my soul, and shelter my body from all wicked, immoral, false, deceptive, and otherwise ungodly sources.

Help me, Father, to apply these wholeheartedly to my life.

This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Nate Stevens.

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About the Author

A lifelong student of Scripture, Nate Stevens has also enjoyed a banking career in a variety of leadership roles. He is the author of Matched 4 Life and Deck Time with Jesus as well as a contributing author on several of the Moments Books (Billy Graham Moments, Divine Moments, Spoken Moments, Christmas Moments, Stupid Moments, Cool-inary Moments, etc.). He writes online devotionals for ChristianDevotions.us and SingleMatters.com as well as articles for several other publications. Additionally, he leads Fusion, a Christian singles ministry he co-founded. A popular speaker and teacher at conferences, seminars and Bible study groups, he speaks on a wide variety of topics. He currently lives near Charlotte, North Carolina, with his beautiful wife, Karen, and is a proud dad of two awesome kids, Melissa and Mitchell.

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