Scripture: They also do no unrighteousness; They walk in His ways. You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently. -Psalm 119: 3-4 Observation: -Those blessed people from yesterday's reading walk in His ways and do what is right. -What God has placed in His word He expects us to do...diligently. Application: One dad explained diligence to his daughter like this: "It means do a great job and do it correctly." Other definitions I came across were: steadfast application, assiduousness-which was not helpful at all, careful and persistent work or effort. I like that last one. I like it because I am far from perfect in my Christian walk. I like it because it lets me know that this is something that is ongoing. You know, even Paul struggled to do what is right. That Which I Would Not, That Do I Do-I was given that solo when our church choir performed this musical back in my high school days. (that is not me in the recording) It is a song that has come to mind many times since and is based upon Romans 7:14-25.
I do like the NIV for making these verses even clearer...They do no wrong but follow His ways. You (the LORD) have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. As I said yesterday, the Bible is for more than just gaining knowledge-God fully expects us to apply it, to take what we learn from Him and live it. The recognition that I am still not where I need to be in my walk with the LORD should drive me to work even harder. That is where the diligence comes in. How foolish it would be for me to think that because I am not perfect yet; that because I fell into sin yet again yesterday; that I should just give up now and not even try. How foolish it would be to not open up my Bible and take up reading again today. I could very easily have let my time in God's word slide this morning. Instead of sitting in my office at work I am at home with a stomach bug. Ah, but you see, I love this Book so much that it draws me into its pages even when I am not at my best. Actually, that is probably the very time I need it most, when I am not at my best. I cannot sit down and consider these "wonderful words of life" without a change taking place. Sometimes it brings conviction, sometimes it leads to rejoicing, sometimes it provides peace, sometimes direction. On rare occasions I have neglected it and all I can say about those times is that they have not been my happiest. I suffer when I stay away from my Bible. I will leave you this morning with a very special memory of mine. I had the honor of sitting at the bedside of my younger brother during his last days in hospice care. Cancer had ravaged his body and he slept most of the time; drifting in a morphine induced stupor. I would sit with him sometimes doing some needlework, sometimes having my quiet time: reading my Bible and praying. On his next to last morning, he stirred a bit and I asked him if he would like me to read my three chapters form Galatians out loud. He nodded yes. So I read the first three chapters to him. I thought I would look up to find him asleep once again, instead he was smiling and his eyes were open and bright in a way that I had not seen since arriving a few days before, and he said, "You, know I have been thinking about a lot of those same things-being crucified with Christ, it is not I who live but Christ who lives in me. I just thought you would like to know." And then he told me he was not afraid of death but that sometimes he was tired of fighting. And with that he was back to sleep. That was the last real conversation Jeff had with anyone. I was so struck at the time that it was the hearing of God's word that brought life and light to his eyes. There was so much peace in that moment, so much acceptance of God's plan. This Book is more than words on a page. It truly is living and active (Hebrews 4:12.) with a power that is hard to explain. Grace, Peace, and Mercy, Deb
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I have been trying to decide what to do next since finishing Philippians. Part of me wanted to just dive into the next book in the New Testament but as I began to read my thoughts drifted to Psalm 119. After pausing to read the first couple of verses I decided to run with it. You here a lot these days about listening to God's voice for personal direction, the problem is how does one discern whether or not the "voice" in your head is just you or not. How do I know when these promptings are from God? Does He really get inside our heads that way? I do know that I have been prompted many times to pray for specific people, sometimes I have learned that there was a specific need they had at that very time so I never ignore that little voice that causes me to pray for another person. I have been praying about what I should do next: I guess my answer for now is that I do not see how I can go wrong with any part of the Bible. Was this particular prompting from God? I do not know. Do I like where it led, yes. Psalm 119 has long been one of my favorite passages of Scripture. The problem is I have not ever lingered over it as a whole. It usually just comes up as a part of my daily Bible reading. Now I am choosing to spend some time with it and I am looking forward to what I may glean as I do. Scripture: How blessed are those whose way is blameless, Who walk in the law of the LORD. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. -Psalm 119:1-2, NASB Observation: -Those who follow the "law of the LORD" are without blame, and what a blessing that is. -Those who observe God's words, who obey them, who seek God with their whole heart, will be blessed. Application: These first two verses sum up why this psalm has always been a favorite of mine. It sets forth the importance of God's word, of reading the Bible to those of us who believe. This book that I hold in my hands is unlike any other. It contains the thoughts of God, it tells me all I need to know about God, about His Son, about salvation, about how to live in this world. Psalm 1 states, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, not sit in the seat of scoffers! But His delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night." (Ps. 1:1-2) Commentators agree the word law used here is "torah" and encompasses the whole of God's word, not just the does and don'ts found in the ten commandments and the book of Leviticus. If you want to know what a blessed life is look no further than your Bible. We are told that true happiness can be found in all sorts of things, wealth, our physical looks, our family, our homes, our jobs; but the Psalmist insists that the only way to be truly happy (blessed) is to know and obey God's word. We cannot be half-hearted about it. It demands our whole hearts. I cannot be a Sunday christian who lets the pastor open up the Bible and preach from its pages during a service then never pick it up again until the following Sunday. If you want to know what true blessing is, then the Bible is the place to start, it is the place to come to again and again, daily if it is at all in our power to do so. But we cannot stop there, we cannot be merely readers of the Word, we have to be doers as well. To experience the blessing the psalmist speaks of we have to walk according to God's word, we have to obey what we read, we have to live our lives as God lays out for us in Scripture. We just finished the book of Philippians-we talked about how we are to walk in this world as Christians. The blessing comes from moving beyond an academic approach of simply knowing what the Bible says to living it in our everyday lives. Our Sunday school class was asked to be prepared to share their testimony this past week. As I considered my own I was struck by how similar I was to the Samaritans at Sychar. Jesus had sat down with a Samaritan woman at a well while the disciples had gone into town for food. There she meets the Savior of the world and leaves her water pot behind to run into town and share what had just happened to her. She shared her testimony with those in the town of Sychar. I was raised in a family with a mom who made sure we attended church every Sunday. I was a little child who came to Jesus unreserved, I do not remember a time when I did not love and follow Him. My early years were based on the testimony of those around me. But when I turned nine; when I had become a good enough reader; my grandparents gave me the wonderful gift of my very own Bible. And I began to read it for myself. I no longer had to rely on the testimony of others for I could read God's own words now too. The Samaritans in that town where the woman lived did the same thing. She invited them to come and see Jesus, and they invited Him to stay with them. "Many more believed because of His word; and they were saying to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:41-42, NASB-emphasis mine) I started reading the Bible for myself when I was nine and I have not stopped. I am more in love with those words now than when I first tasted them. They are light and life and the key to a blameless life. How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart. The secret to a happy life is found in these first two verses of Psalm 119. Come and see for yourself the wonderful treasure that is ours. Grace, Peace, and Mercy, Deb |
AuthorI am a woman with a Mary heart and these are my musings as I read and study God's Word Join me on facebookArchives
October 2014
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