Great Peace and Sure Steps!

“Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.  I am hoping and waiting [eagerly] for Your salvation, O Lord, and I do Your commandments.”  (Psalm 119:165-166, Amp)
“Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.
I long for your rescue, Lord, so I have obeyed your commands.
I have obeyed your laws, for I love them very much.
Yes, I obey your commandments and laws because you know everything I do.”
(Psalm 119:165-168, NLT)

Don’t you just love that thought of the great peace and never stumbling!?  I think also of how God’s Word is a light and a lamp….

“Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, ESV)

When we are walking in the light of His Word, we CAN see our way, and we can see the obstacles in our path…. so we DO have the means to avoid them.  And God’s Word gives us the strength and courage to face those problems.  We don’t have to stumble over those large, hard boulders.

And with His Word to shine on our every step, we can see the potholes in the road… our foothold remains stable and our ankles don’t turn.  We can walk confidently in His way, and run with His Good News.

We can also stand firmly in the slippery places.  Because we know God’s truth, we will not slide into error.  It has been illumined in our hearts and in our minds.  We are able to discern between true and false teaching.

As a result we will walk uprightly with God and with integrity, and we will experience His great peace.

“And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.”  (Isaiah 32:17, ESV)

And, by chance, if we do go astray, we have this assurance:

“The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.”
(Psalm 37:23-24, ESV)

“In returning and rest you shall be saved;
in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”
(Isaiah 30:15, ESV)

Almost there!!

Yeah!!  I’m almost through the task I’d set myself of reading through and commenting on Psalm 119…. thought it would take much longer than it has!!

It’s been a great journey, and I’ve learned a lot from it…. and if you have, praise the Lord!!  That’s an added bonus!!  I feel honoured that the Lord could have used me that way.

Anyhow, I only have about three more entries to make…. then I’m finished!!

So….

….what next??

Well, logically, Psalm 120 comes after 119!!  However, I think I may take a little breather from this blog for some refreshing, and come back after a break.  How long a break??  Could be a week… could be a month… could be a couple of days!!  Who knows??

Well, God does!!!

All that I know is that I need to leave it for a bit!!  But…..

….. (as Arnold Swarchenegger said)…. I WILL BE BACK!! ….  only I’m for building up, not pulling down!! 

WOW!! What a Find!

“I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great spoil.”  (Psalm 119:162, Amp)

As I’ve thought about this verse, the word “spoil” got my attention.  Some translations say “great treasure”, but this is much more than that.

Another word is “booty”, which consisted of everything taken in battle.  So really, it’s like the icing on the cake.  The victory against the enemy has been won, and the spoils are the sweet rewards of that victory.

So, as I apply that to me, I remember what Jesus did!!   The victory He won at Calvary over the devil.  And now, we can take back all that the enemy stole from us at Adam’s fall.  It’s like the song (by Bruce Bremner) we used to sing:

You exchanged my curses for blessing,
and traded my sickness for health.
You removed my guilt with forgiveness,
and supply all my needs from Your wealth.
For my hatred You’ve given Your perfect love,
and peace in place of my strife.
You have given me faith instead of doubt,
and the death that You died gave me life.

Calvary!  We’re set free!
By His blood we have been redeemed.
Calvary!  Liberty!
He has conquered, we have victory!

And all this wonderful news, and all God’s amazing promises and provisions in Jesus, are found in His Word.  By reading it, we find that “great spoil” that is OURS!!  When we don’t read it, we remain ignorant and miss out on God’s best.  In Christ, you are truly blessed!

“But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.^‘ Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.”  (Galatians 3:13-14, NLT)

Some Biblical Maths

The sum of Your word is truth [the total of the full meaning of all Your individual precepts]; and every one of Your righteous decrees endures forever. (Psalm 119:160, Amp.)

I think this verse sums it up pretty well!! Do I need say more??

Except this….

Consider me…. Revive me!!

Just a quick look at the next section in Psalm 119 (NKJ).  I find it interesting how phrases are repeated:

153 Consider my affliction and deliver me,
For I do not forget Your law.
154 Plead my cause and redeem me;
Revive me according to Your word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked,
For they do not seek Your statutes.
156 Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.
158 I see the treacherous, and am disgusted,
Because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I love Your precepts;
Revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

There are two “considers”…. “Consider my afflictions,” and “Consider how I love Your precepts.”   And once the Psalmist considers the greatness of God’s mercy.

And three times he says, “Revive me according to…”, and I like those three things:  God’s Word, God’s judgments, and God’s lovingkindness.

That sure gives me something to think about as I go through my day!!  Bless ya!!  I’ll write more tomorrow!

When Persecution is Near, Our God is NEARER!!

Hear my voice according to Your steadfast love; O Lord, quicken me and give me life according to Your [righteous] decrees. They draw near who follow after wrong thinking and persecute me with wickedness; they are far from Your law. You are near, O Lord [nearer to me than my foes], and all Your commandments are truth. (Psalm 119:150-151, Amp.)

WOW!! What a comforting thought!! That despite the trouble people may cause to us…. despite how close they come to us to harm us…. OUR GOD IS NEARER!!

This reminds me of my kids. If they are out and happen to get in trouble, they can call home on their mobile (cell) phone. Mum or Dad are mostly there to help.

In the same way, we can call on God, at any time, in our time of need!! And His line never drops out!! It’s ALWAYS in range!!

(Also, see today’s post in my other blog!)

Give me understanding and I shall live!

Trouble and anguish have found and taken hold on me, yet Your commandments are my delight. Your righteous testimonies are everlasting and Your decrees are binding to eternity; give me understanding and I shall live [give me discernment and comprehension and I shall not die]. (Psalm 119:143-144, Amp.)

My son, attend to my words; consent and submit to my sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. (Proverbs 4:20-22, Amp.)

I honestly believe that God’s Word is for the life of our WHOLE being, for our body, soul and spirit. Our body is the house for our soul and spirit… the place where we live while we’re here on earth. If we don’t care for it, we won’t live in it very long.

And seeing that God is the Creator of our bodies, He is also the One who knows how to maintain them, and He has given us the instructions in His Word. And as Proverbs says, if we submit to His sayings, they will be life to us and health to our flesh.

But people will chase all other kinds of other medical answers to try and heal their ailments. We forget the words of our Creator and our Healer. Because we do this, we perish both physically and spiritually.

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]–blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he. (Proverbs 29:18, Amp.)

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you [the priestly nation] have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you that you shall be no priest to Me; seeing you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children. (Hosea 4:6, Amp.)

But, hey!! That doesn’t have to be so. It is for this very reason that Jesus came, to rescue a perishing world. And in the Bible HE is called the WORD of God. And He, the Word is our very LIFE.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. (John 1:1-4, NIV)

And here is what He said He came to do:

I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:9-10, NIV)

Tried, Tested and Well Refined!

Your word is very pure (tried and well refined); therefore Your servant loves it. I am small (insignificant) and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your law is truth. (Psalm 119:140-142, Amp.)

Yeah!! God’s Word has stood the test of time! When I look at the Bible that I hold today, and think of how it all came about… how many people over the centuries have tried to destroy God’s Word… but still it is the only Book that has ever made the distance.

God’s Word still is relevant for us today. People may dispute that, in a world when truth seems to be relative. But all these things that people believe will fade away.

“Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field.
The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
And so it is with people.
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the Word of our God stands forever.”
(Isaiah 40:6-8, NLT)

Men may do all they can to dispute it and destroy it, but all their efforts will be futile.

Praise the Lord for His eternal Word!!

A Sad, Sad Thing!!

Streams of water run down my eyes, because men do not keep Your law [they hear it not, nor receive it, love it, or obey it].  (Psalm 119:136, Amp.)

How sad!!  I can identify with the Psalmist, because I see that so much today.  And the saddest bit is that it is happening in the CHURCH!!  You can expect it in the world, but not in God’s House!!

This morning, before I read this verse, I was thinking about the church as a whole.  I was thinking of how music has become a predominate part of worship these days.

Don’t get me wrong!!  I LOVE music and I love to sing.  I see it as a precious gift that God has given us, so that we can express our love to Him.  I loved when contemporary Christian music was introduced into our worship… the early “Scripture in Song”…. and the music from the Jesus Movement back in the seventies.  My present, favourite album is “First Love”, which is a historic gathering of Jesus Music pioneers.  (Artists include Randy Stonehill, Barry McGuire, Honeytree, Andrae Crouch, Annie Herring, 2nd Chapter of Acts.)  This was a time of great revival!!  But gee, I miss it!!

Today, things are different!  It seems something is missing!!

How I see it, is that, as a Church, we have lost our first love.  We have made music our main focus.  We tend to worship the music instead of Christ!  Whew!!  Not a good thing!!

And more emphasis is put on the “worship” than on the Word of God.  You go along to Church… have a great sing… and then fed a few crumbs from God’s Word.  And sometimes those crumbs are not even from God’s Word, but just man’s philosophy!  The preachers don’t preach the full truth of God’s Word, and people don’t want to hear it!

In the Bible, Paul recognized the same thing, and he gave these instructions to Timothy:

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.  (2 Timothy 4:2-4, NKJ)

Oh, how sad!!  This should be enough to course the godly to weep!!

Establish My Steps!

Establish my steps and direct them by [means of] Your word; let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Deliver me from the oppression of man; so will I keep Your precepts [hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them]. (Psalm 119:133-134, Amp.)

Whoooe!!! There sure is a lot to this one!!

Earlier this year… well in fact, on New Year’s Day, I read something similar:

“Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:17, NKJ)

That one talked about our work and this one is about our walk. Regarding our work, I discovered 5 elements for it being established, which were:

1. The Planning
2. The Preparation for the future event
3. The Presentation of the finished product
4. The Pleasure others enjoy
5. The Personal Satisfaction and SUCCESS!

So how do I apply these 5 elements to our WALK? Well, here is how I see it:

1. Plan the course! (John 14:6; Mat 7:13-14; Psalm 139:3,7-12)
2. Put on your walking shoes! (Ephesians 6:15)
3. Put your best foot forward! (Galatians 5:25; Habakkuk 3:19)
4. Proclaim the gospel of peace! (Romans 10:14-15)
5. Praise God for a successful journey! (Hebrews 12:1-2)

Well, that’s enough for today…. I’ll come back to it tomorrow!! Bless ya!!