daily java

This article was writtten to inmates in the Creek County Jail in Oklahoma in 1996.

Daily Java: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked 
        or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season 
        and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1)

A person grows where he is planted.  If you are planted in a sorry, dark, dirty place, chances are high that you won't grow to be good, bright or clean.

If you grow up in a good, bright and clean place, chances are high that you won't grow up to be bad.

That's what the writer of this psalm meant.  A person who doesn't walk with bad people will probably be blessed.

Walking, or living, with good people tends to keep you out of places like jail or prison.  Good people don't try to talk you into stealing or hurting others or using drugs.

Good people want you to be like them.  They want you to be good and will generally do what they can to keep you that way.  Good people, even though they may not have much money, still are happy and want you to be happy.

The wicked, or those who are bad, don't care either way.  If you fall down, they'll walk away from you and let you take the fall..

In the day of judgment, the wicked will not stand.  They will fall down and start blaming someone else and that person they blame may be you.

The Bible says that you are like the people you associate with.  That's why you are in jail right now.  The people you associate with put you there.

So how do you change?

The first thing you do is change your friends.  That sounds harsh, but think about where you are and where they are.  It was probably their ideas that got you here.  They were the ones that had that stupid idea that got you arrested.

The only thing that will save you is to get new friends, friends that will help you become closer to God, that will help you stay straight.

It's time to get out of the way of "scoffers" and get into a good relationship with someone who really loves you – God.