SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 9/10/2012 6:43:45 AM
My Worship Time Focus: Faith
and Patience
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Psalm
119:81-88
Message
of the verses: Today’s SD marks
getting to the middle of Psalm 119, the longest psalm or chapter in all of
Scripture.
Kaph—Faith
and Patience (vv. 81-88): “81 Kaph.
My soul languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. 82 My eyes fail with longing for Your word,
While I say, "When will You comfort me?" 83 Though I have become like a wineskin in
the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.
84 How many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment
on those who persecute me? 85 The
arrogant have dug pits for me, Men who are not in accord with Your law. 86 All
Your commandments are faithful; They have persecuted me with a lie; help me! 87
They almost destroyed me on earth, But as for me, I did not forsake Your
precepts. 88 Revive me according to Your
lovingkindness, So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.”
Jesus says the following in John
16:33, “’These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’” As believers we can expect persecution, and
in the country that I live in the name of Jesus cannot be mentioned in the
schools, although it is ok to mention other religions, just not Christianity.
While watching a news program last night on TV this subject came up and there
are people who are rising up to do things about it, and by God’s grace this
freedom will not be taken away from us, but if it is God is still God and He
will care for us just as He cared for the psalmist who wrote this psalm. The devil is out to destroy the Jewish
nation, from the time that they left Egypt up until today as we see that they
are surrounded by enemies in the Middle East this very day, and this will
continue until he is put into chains and then put into the pit at the end of
the tribulation period. The enemies of
the psalmist were the enemies of God and the enemies of those who fight against
the Church today as also the enemies of God.
We must take courage for I have read the last chapter and we win!
Fainting
by hoping (vv. 81-83): “My soul
languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word. 82 My eyes fail with longing for Your word,
While I say, "When will You comfort me?" 83 Though I have become like a wineskin in
the smoke, I do not forget Your statutes.”
Raymond Edman wrote “It is always
too soon to quit,” and these words were true of the psalmist, for although he
was dried up like a worn out wine skin his hope was still in the Lord as he
awaited the Lord to care for his troubles.
The psalmist hoped in the Word of God and the God of the Word.
Questing
but waiting (vv. 84-85): “84 How
many are the days of Your servant? When will You execute judgment on those who
persecute me? 85 The arrogant have dug
pits for me, Men who are not in accord with Your law.”
Hebrews 6:11-12 says, “11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full
assurance of hope until the end, 12
so that you will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit
the promises.” Romans 15:4 says,
“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and
the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Next time you are waiting in a
traffic jam or at a long checkout line think about this section of Scripture,
and remember that it is hard to wait for things that we see, but harder to wait
upon the Lord that we do not see, but place our hope and trust in. The psalmist was questioning about his
circumstances, but his hope was in the Lord.
Trusting
and reviving (vv. 86-88): “86 All
Your commandments are faithful; They have persecuted me with a lie; help me! 87
They almost destroyed me on earth, But as for me, I did not forsake Your
precepts. 88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.”
Revival is what our country needs
and what I hope and pray for, and that is what the psalmist was asking for at
the end of this section.
There are times when our enemies
spread lies about us, and that is when we are to put our trust in the Lord, and
in His Word like the psalmist was doing, as seen in verse 86. Dr. Wiersbe writes, “When the Father allows
His children to go into the furnace of affliction, He keeps His eye on the clock
and His hand on the thermostat. He knows
how long and how much. To walk by faith
will bring unrest and weakness, but to meditate on the Word will bring peace
and power.” One of the founders of the
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, Robert T. Ketcham wrote “Your
Father in heaven loves you too much to harm you, and He is too wise to make a
mistake.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I see in
this section the psalmist possessing faith and hope and patience along with
contentment, and these are qualities that are good to have, and qualities I too
need to trust the Lord to help me with, so that I can demonstrate them.
My Steps of Faith for Today:
Continue to learn contentment and to demonstrate patience, knowing that
the Lord does indeed have all things worked out for my good.
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 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and have
all knowledge, and have all fait 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, and 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.
9/10/2012
7:37:19 AM
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