SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 9/11/2012 9:00:44 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Change
& Changeless
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
119:89-96
Message
of the verses: “89 Lamedh. Forever,
O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.
90
Your faithfulness continues throughout all generations; You established the
earth, and it stands. 91 They stand this day according to Your ordinances, For
all things are Your servants. 92 If Your law had not been my delight, Then I
would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never forget Your precepts, For
by them You have revived me. 94 I am Yours, save me; For I have sought Your
precepts. 95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I shall diligently consider
Your testimonies. 96 I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is
exceedingly broad.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes the following at
the end of his introductory commentary on this section of Psalm 119:89-96: “The psalmist made some wonderful
affirmations, which if heeded, will anchor us to the eternal and enable us to
be used of God during these turbulent times.”
Change and changeless is the theme of this section and change is
something that most people do not want, for they love to stay in their “comfort
zone.” Change is something that God will
bring into our lives in order to get us moving for the cause of Christ, whether
it is a change that will cause some kind of trouble in our lives where we will
then be forced to look up in order to began to grow again in our walk with the
Lord which will then bring glory to the Lord.
However if we do not change we will not grow in the Lord for Paul writes
these words to show us the need for change: “2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled
face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from
glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
God’s
Word is settled (v. 89): “Forever, O
LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”
The Word of God has been under
attack since Satan first said to Eve, “Indeed, has God said.” In the United States today, a country that
was founded on the principles of Scripture, and people first came here in order
to get away from a society where there was religious persecution, we are now
almost as the same place where the people were when they first came here from
Europe and it is because the Word of God is under attack, but the Word of God
is settled in heaven and will never change.
These people who are attacking the Word of God will change their minds
in a hundred years or so when they have to stand before their maker. Dr. Wiersbe writes “Though born in eternity,
God’s Word is rooted in history and speaks to every generation that will
listen.” “Build your life on the Word of
God and you will weather all the changes of life!”
God
is faithful (v. 90a): “90 Your
faithfulness continues throughout all generations.”
Psalm 90 speaks about the eternal
God and the changes of life, but God does not change and God is always faithful
to His children. When we read in the
Scriptures that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob we remember that
these three men were very different, and yet God is still their God despite
their differences, and this gives us confidence that we can commit ourselves,
our children, our grand-children, and great grand-children to God who is
faithful and changeless.
God’s
creation is established (vv. 90b-91):
“You established the earth, and it stands. 91 They stand this day
according to Your ordinances, For all things are Your servants.”
In God’s Word we learn of the
creation of earth along with all of the stars and we also learn that until God
purifies the earth and all the stars with fire that His creation will
stand. Genesis speaks of God’s creation
and that God created the earth by His Word as He spoke it into existence and
2Peter 3 along with Revelations 21-22 speak of God un-creating the worlds and
then creating a new heaven and earth along with the New Jerusalem.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says
as He speaks of the end times states “Mt 24:22
"Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been
saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”
God’s
peace is available (vv. 92-95): “. 92
If Your law had not
been my delight, Then I would have perished in my affliction. 93 I will never
forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me. 94 I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts. 95 The wicked wait for me to destroy me; I
shall diligently consider Your testimonies.”
The Bible is a book not to be
read in order for us to escape the reality of life, but a book to go to in
order to be strengthened as we go through changes that we face. Dr. Wiersbe points out that “The verb ‘sought
out’ in verse 94 means ‘to consult, to inquire, to beat a path, to read
repeatedly.’ Here is a believer who beats
a path to the Bible, read it over and over, studied it, and when he had to make
a decision, consulted it carefully.
Philosophies change, political expedients fail, promises and contracts
are broken, but the Word of God still stands.”
God
wants us to get out of our rut (v. 96): “96
I have seen a limit to all perfection; Your commandment is exceedingly broad.”
96 I see the limits to everything human, but the
horizons can’t contain your commands! (Message)
I think that the Message helps us to
understand this verse better, for we can see that there is really no perfection
outside of God and His Word. What we do
as humans is limited because of our limited minds, strength, and ability, but
God is all powerful, and all wise.
Solomon wrote the following many
times in the book of Ecclesiastes “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity!” In writing this he was speaking of human
achievements, but at the end of the book he got it right when he wrote, “The
conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments,
because this applies to every person.”
Dr. Wiersbe concludes his commentary
on this section by writing “Why should God’s people stay in a rut when the Word
of God is so boundless and there are no limits to what He can do! We may not like all the changes going on in
the world, but we need not be frustrated and afraid. Although the news coverage was not as good,
the situation was not much different in the days of the apostles, and they
turned the world upside down! God is on
the throne; He holds the world in His hands; His promises can never fail; so,
let’s get moving.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I suppose
that I am a person that likes change more than most people do, and I suppose
that is the way that God made me, but to realize that change in my life is in
the control of my Savior is the best news that I can have.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Contentment in changes is something that I must learn, and the study of
God’s Word is the best way to learn it.
Memory
verses for the week: 1Cor. 13:1-4
1
If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have
become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all
knowledge; and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have
love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all
my possessions to feed the poor, and surrender my body to be burned, but do not
have love it profits me nothing.
4
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not
arrogant,
9/11/2012
10:28:13 AM
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