The Devotional - 1501 - The WORD of God

The Devotional – 1501 – The WORD of God

Psalm 119:9-16 – How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You! Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes! With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Comments and Challenges:

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1.      How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to Your WORD.

2.      With my whole heart, I have sought you, don’t let me wonder from Your COMMANDMENTS.

3.      I have hidden Your WORD in my heart, that I might not sin against You.

4.      Blest are You YAHWEH, teach me Your STATUTES.

5.      With my lips, I have declared all of the ORDINANCES of Your mouth.

6.      I have rejoiced in the way of Your TESTIMONIES, as much as in all riches.

7.      I will meditate on Your PRECEPTS, and consider Your ways.

8.      I will delight myself in Your STATUTES, I will not forget Your WORD.

The stripping away of SIN in our life is not to be taken lightly, our nature is sinful. Okay most of us agree with this but some believe that there is no such thing as sin. If this is true of you then, my dear friend… YOU are not living according to God’s WORD. Romans 3:23 is a blanket statement of the apostle Paul “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. But if you care to know more, the first three chapters of Romans will help.

The psalmist explains that his WHOLE heart is needed in the search of God, then additionally he needs personal help from God to keep him from wondering from God’s Commandments. You and I are no different today; without the help of the Holy Spirit we cannot live in the victory of being justified by faith. Just as Abraham obeyed God, we too must believe and walk in His way. Romans 6:14, however the reading of Romans 4 through 6 will help us see that to continuing in SIN results in a debt, but the victory or gift of God is eternal life in Christ.

(I would like to continue this morning but I have a full plate this morning so I need to stop here) I will pick this up on Thursday, unless the LORD returns before that. Have you looked at the news this morning? The REAL events are not what you may see from our liberal news stations… ABC, NBC, CBS or even CNN, the real news in found in the Old and New Testaments of the HOLY Bible.

Have a blest day in the LORD, if you do not, simply you will not REJOICE in His STATUTES.

The Devotional - 1500 - The Washing and Renewing!

The Devotional – 1500 – The washing and renewing!

Psalm 119:1- 8 – Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with the whole heart! They also do no iniquity; they walk in His ways. You have commanded us to keep Your precepts diligently. Oh, that my ways were directed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, when I look into all Your commandments. I will praise You with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your righteous judgments. I will keep Your statutes; Oh, do not forsake me utterly! 

Comments and Challenges:

Before we begin, Psalm 119 has caused me think again about the Hebrew alphabet. So way back in 1976 I had the opportunity to study Hebrew with a group of young men in a church in Preston City, CT. all of us were given a book entitled “A Beginner’s Handbook To Biblical Hebrew” Authors: John H. Marks and Virgil M. Rogers, Published by Abingdon. 

Why the comment on this? I have not looked or searched for the book in nearly 30 years. Today, just this moment ago in an effort to start again a walk-through of Psalm 119 I found the book within sixty seconds of which before that minute I was thinking… “I will never find it”. Well my take on that is that God knew where the book was and He led me to it. Now the only thought left is will I refer to it, or even effectively use it over the next several days?

ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and equivalent to the English “A” but it is not a vowel, or the son of a vowel. It is a consonant. Now it is not my intention to teach or bore us with the details of the language but to show us some of ways of how the writer of Psalm 119 used every letter of the Hebrew alphabet to express the excellent, inerrant and Living Word of God. So with the start of each section of eight verses I will say something about the alphabet used, like the following.

1.      Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to YAHWEH’S LAW.

2.      Blessed are those who keep His STATUTES who seek Him with their whole heart.

3.      Yes, they do nothing wrong. They WALK in His WAYS.

4.      You have commanded Your PRECEPTS, that we should fully obey them.

5.      Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey Your STATUTES.

6.      Then I wouldn’t be disappointed when I consider all of Your COMMANDMENTS.

7.      I will give thanks with uprightness of heart, when I learn Your Righteous JUDGMENTS.

8.      I will observe Your STATUTES, do not utterly forsake me.

In all of the capitalized words the Hebrew letter ALEPH is found and the writers concern (which is throughout this Psalm is THE NECESSITY of staying tuned in to God (Yahweh) His Law, Statutes, Ways, Precepts, Commandments, Judgments and Testimonies. I find it so very interesting that the Statutes of Our God is so foundational that with each mention or thought we should immediately respond to the JOY of the LORD and the rejoicing effect it is to have on our soul.

His STATUTES as King David says in Psalm 19 “are RIGHT, REJOICING the heart”. SO in the midst of living Life to the Glory of God (God’s will and plan for us) even under suffering and affection is to REJOICE and again I say REJOICE, (Philippians 4:4) and Oh how we need to REJOICE. In fact; the writer of Psalm 119 uses the word “statutes” 22 times out of the 22 sections.

What do the statutes of God pin down for us? God is Truth, He is Noble, He is Just, He is Pure, He is Lovely, He is a Good Report to our soul. He is Virtuous and He is Praiseworthy – Meditate on these statutes of God and you will REJOICE.

The Devotional - 1499 - To Fear the LORD is to Trust Him

The Devotional – 1499 – To Fear the LORD is to Trust Him.

Proverbs 29:25 – The FEAR of man brings a SNARE, but whoever trusts in the LORD; SHALL be SAFE. (The word safe, also means secure, or literally to be set above the snare).

Comments and Challenges:

How much do we rely on the Living Word of God to retain our daily VICTORY over fear? Should I say “VERY LITTLE” since we fail to see that “fear” distorts “truth”, the LORD Jesus expresses His concern for this subject of fear and worry and its effects on the persons who fear. Matthew 23:23-24 – Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

Over the past few weeks we have looked somewhat intently at God’s Will for the heavens and the earth. What is His Will? His Will is for us to know and understand in our soul that the Law of the LORD is PERFECT and that it has the power to “convert and restore the soul” back to Him to whom it belongs. That His testimonies of creation and His lovingkindness to all generations are provided to you and me in order to make us wise in the things of God; rather than the things of the world.

Also that the “statutes” of Him are so wonderful that not a star will fall from the universe nor will a sparrow drop to the ground without God’s knowledge or approval. This should rejoice our hearts at all times, even in the times of uncertainty. His commandments are “PURE” what blessing this is to the torment of a day, while we hear from man “trust me” the overriding purity of God’s commandments give encouragement and light to our weary human eyes.

Then in our text this morning we see that if our fear is directed at the details of living life, it becomes and overwhelming fear or snare; but whoever TRUSTS or FEARS the LORD is secure. Secure and safe because the JUDGMENTS of the LORD are TRUE, these are RIGHTEOUS for all those who abide in the Living Word of God.

So do not be as the religious crowds of today who, like the scribes and Pharisees of the past replaced “faith” in God, for “works” in religion. Justice, mercy and faith in God are truly, easier for the soul to digest and more pleasing to God than a camel load of tithing. In our trust in God we are reminded that there is the approved and the disapproved worker in the kingdom of God and His Christ. Seek always God’s approval. 2 Timothy 2:14-19.

The Devotional - 1498 - What if it were Today?

The Devotional – 1498 – What if it were Today?

Psalm 119:169-176 – Let my cry come before You, O Lord; give me understanding according to Your word. Let my supplication come before You; deliver me according to Your word. My lips shall utter praise, for You teach me Your statutes. My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. Let Your hand become my help, for I have chosen Your precepts. I long for Your salvation, O Lord, and Your law is my delight. Let my soul live, and it shall praise You; and let Your judgments help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, For I do not forget Your commandments. 

Comments and Challenges:

What are your plans for the day ahead? Oh, you need not tell me since I will have forgotten those plans of yours by lunch time. Another question; “What is God’s Plan for the day”? Many of us do not wish to know the answer for that question and yet the LORD Jesus reminds us of God’s Plan daily and billions of people around the world know His Plan by heart and here it is: “Our Father in heaven, Holy is Your Name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” – Matthew 6:9-10. Therefore men and women! We are without an excuse as to the daily Plan and Will of God for heaven and earth.

Psalm 119 is loaded with life’s circumstances and also with the results of trusting God for victory and deliverance. The psalmist does not pull back in explaining his failures OR his victories of living day by day. His struggles of life (like yours and mine) are too numerous to count, just as it would be too numerous to count the blessings of living within the LAW, the TESTIMONIES, the STATUTES, the COMMANDMENT, the FEAR OF THE LORD and the JUDGMENTS of our LORD. 

If you are alive this morning you can count on being challenged in some of the same ways TODAY as the writer of Psalm 119 is. The unique thought that should come to our mind is while we may not know what the circumstance is; God does and His Word in our soul provides the answer to having a proper understanding… Psalm 119:169. Also, keep reading now; in that while we pray and seek His audience in the matter you will according to His Word be DELIEVERED – Psalm 119:170. When we turn to God and His wonderful Living Word, we will not be able to hold back the praise that falls from our lips, remembering his Statutes will always bring JOY to our soul. Psalm 119:171 and Psalm 19:8.

Folks; this is the truth, the only reason I write each morning and the only reason my tongue confesses the LORD Jesus Christ (The Living Word – John 1:1-18) is because His commandments are RIGHTEOUSNESS in ACTION and HIS Hand is my help. Why? Well not because of who I am, but because of His precious PRECEPTS of Love to personally guide me into eternity, therefore His LAW (His Will on earth and in heaven) is my delight – Psalm 119:171-174. This I seek for all of us daily… to KNOW the beauty of the LORD through His WORD.

Yes it is our desire to stay in this body of flesh where our soul, which belongs to God is presently lodged. Thus we must be willing to abide in His JUDGMENTS because these are God’s RIGHTEOUSNESSES for us (Psalm 19:9). When abiding in these we develop a right relationship to the FEAR of the LORD. Yes, it is a truth that we often go astray, (Luke 15:1-7) but there is rejoicing in heaven which we participate in when God, in His Love; seeks us out because we do not forget His Commandments. Do not forget His Commandments as these are pathway to where you are and the one that God will take to find you.

I have determined to go back though Psalm 119, so starting Wednesday, July 30^th I will begin again with verses 1 through 8. In the meantime; keep looking up! My wife, whom I love came rushing to me last night and said these “thought provoking words”. “Since there is no such thing as tomorrow, for tomorrow never comes; then Jesus is ALWAYS coming TODAY”. If this is true and it is; then we need TO ALWAYS be looking skyward for JESUS is coming TODAY. Tomorrow is the never, never land of fictional characters like Peter Pan or “child’s play”. We are not playing church or entertaining anyone, we are simply and truly looking for the return of our KING, His Name is JESUS; Revelation 1:8.