"Dealing with the Enemy" Ps. 119:112-120)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/14/2012 9:07:55 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  Dealing with the Enemy

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                          Reference Psalm 119:112-120

 

            Message of the verses:  “112 Samekh. I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law.  114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.  115 Depart from me, evildoers, That I may observe the commandments of my God.  116 Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. 117 Uphold me that I may be safe, That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.  118 You have rejected all those who wander from Your statutes, For their deceitfulness is useless. 119 You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies. 120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.”

 

            As I look around at all the situations that are going on in the world today, and what is going on in our country I know that believers have enemies and their enemies are strong, but our God is the strongest and His Word encourages us today and every day. Acts 14:22b reads as follows, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.’”   When we are like the ten faithless men who spied out the Promised Land and saw their enemy as too big and too powerful and melted at the size of them we know that they were not depending upon the Lord to defeat their enemies, but if we look at Joshua and Caleb they trusted in the Lord to defeat the enemies for they remembered what the Lord had done to the nation of Egypt, how He destroyed them through ten miracles and then dried up the Red Sea and allowed Israel to cross on dry land, while drowning the remaining Egyptians.  Dr. Wiersbe points out “Four assurances in these verses help us face the enemy with courage and win the battle.”

 

            God Protects His People (vv. 113-115):  “113 Samekh. I hate those who are double-minded, But I love Your law.  114 You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.  115 Depart from me, evildoers, That I may observe the commandments of my God.”

 

            We see the term “doubled-minded” in James 1:8 and 4:8, “7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”  I want to give the definition of the Greek word that is translated as double-minded and compare it with the Hebrew word double-minded that is found in Psalm 119:  “1374 διψυχος dipsuchos dip’-soo-khos  double minded 1a) wavering, uncertain, doubting 1b) divided in interest”  “05588 ףעס ce‘eph say-afe’  1) ambivalent, divided, half-hearted.”

 

While studying the book of James by looking at some DVD’s from a man named Chip Ingram he stated that the word found in James as being double-minded could be seen when a person is going through some type of problem and prays about what he should do and then gets an answer from the Lord, but does not like that answer so he goes on to do what he wants to do.  I am not so sure that this is what the psalmist is speaking of when he speaks of a person who is double-minded, for I believe that being half-hearted is a better way to look at this type of person.  There are people who say that they follow the Lord, but don’t and this was the case of the ten spies who were afraid of the enemies, but not the case of Joshua and Caleb.  These people were a great danger to the children of Israel for when they came back and gave their report the people followed them and so all the people who were over the age of twenty died in the wilderness because they followed the advice of these half-hearted men.  Another example of this type of person is found in the book of 1Kings, “Elijah came near to all the people and said, "How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.”  (1Kings 18:21)

 

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “There is nothing strange about believers experiencing both love toward God and His Word and hatred toward those who reject the Lord:  “From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.” (Psalm 119:104)  Psalm 97:10 states Hate evil, you who love the Lord.’  Dr. Wiersbe continues, “If we love the Word, we will hate lies and oppose liars.  The psalmist knew that his shelter and shield was the Lord alone, and he trusted in Him.  He is not hiding in the Lord from fear of facing the enemy, because he addresses the enemy in verse 115.  Only in the Lord could he find the help he needed.  The Lord protects us that He might equip us to face the enemy and fight the battle. The psalmist had his heart set on the Lord (v.112), so there was no need to reconsider the matter.  It was settled!” 

           

            God Upholds the Obedient (vv. 116-117):  “116 Sustain me according to Your word, that I may live; And do not let me be ashamed of my hope. 117 Uphold me that I may be safe, That I may have regard for Your statutes continually.”

 

            Sustain and uphold are very similar words, while sustain is a picture of the believer leaning on the Lord for support and rest, uphold also means that but adds the idea of giving aid and refreshment.  There are times when we feel like giving up and then the Lord will come along side and lift us up in ways that we will never understand.

 

            God Rejects the Wicked (vv. 118:119):  “118 You have rejected all those who wander from Your statutes, For their deceitfulness is useless. 119 You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love Your testimonies.”

 

            The psalmist is speaking about every person who does not follow the Lord and His Word will be rejected by the Lord.  “’He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.’”  Unbelievers will do the wrong thing and be deceitful just to get their own way, but God has rejected them.  The psalmist says that God will remove the wicked of the earth like dross or “slag.”  I know what this looks like because I worked for 35 years in a very large foundry, and in that foundry we melted an average of 3000 tons of cast iron a day and along with the cast iron that we melted we melted many tons of slag or what the psalmist calls dross.  The cast iron went into the molds to make engine blocks and other parts while the dross or slag went into the water to be thrown away, and this pictures what the Lord will do with the wicked.  The melting of cast iron is also a picture of what believers go through as they are being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:29), for the heating process through trials will get rid of the dross (sin) and thus we will be better in serving the Lord.

            In the OT the children of God would fight their enemies with swords, and slings but according to Ephesians 6:17b, we are to take “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  In Mark one, and Matthew four, and Luke four we see the Lord use the Sword of the Spirit in his confrontation with Satan, for Satan is afraid of the Word of God.

 

            God Alone Should be Feared (vv. 120):  “120 My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.”

 

            Let us begin by looking again at verse 63 “I am a companion of all those who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.”  “The fear of the Lord is the fear that conquers every fear” writes Warren Wiersbe.  “So that we confidently say, ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?’” (Hebrews 13:6 quoted from Psalm 118:6)  As believers we can come to the Lord like a son comes to his loving father, and not like a criminal comes to a judge to be sentenced for a crime.  We see in Psalm 15:4 these words, “In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change.”  In Psalm 115:13 we find that God blesses those who fear Him, “He will bless those who fear the LORD, The small together with the great.”  Both in Proverbs 3:7 and Psalm 119:15 we see that if we fear the Lord we will depart from evil.  Dr. Wiersbe writes that “this verse takes us back to verse 113: if we are single-minded, we will fear only the Lord and trust Him. ‘The battle is not yours, but God’s (2 Chronicles 20:15).”  “and he said, "Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ’Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It was in the election time of 2008 that I was very upset about all that was going on and then I read these words, “’It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge to men of understanding.”  What this verse says that it is God who chooses those who rule countries, and not only countries, but other forms of government and so I am not to allow the fear of what my government can do to me, but I am to trust the Lord to accomplish His plans, knowing that I worship a God who is all knowing, all wise, all powerful, Love, compassionate, and above all who is JUST.  I am to fear the Lord and not anything else.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Fear the Lord.

 

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 if I 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

 

9/14/2012 10:50:52 AM

We Will Be Faithful (Ps. 119:105-112)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/13/2012 8:10:23 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  We Will Be Faithful

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                        Reference:  Psalm 119:105-112

 

            Message of the verses:  “105 Nun. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. 106 I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.  107 I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.  108 O accept the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD, And teach me Your ordinances.  109 My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.  110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts.  111 I have inherited Your testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart.112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end.”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe begins the introduction to this section to write “It has well been said that the greatest ability is dependability, and this especially applies to the Christian life.”  Faithfulness is what the theme of this section is and since we desire God to be faithful to us, and He always is, we are to also be faithful to Him.  Dr. Wiersbe concludes his introduction by stating “The psalmist described several areas of faithfulness in the life of the believer.”

 

            Faithful Feet (vv. 105):  “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

 

            In the time when the psalmist wrote this psalm things were much different than they are today and one of the things that was different was that it was much more difficult to see at night because there was not the kind of lights then than we have today.  A person would carry a small clay jar with oil in it and this would give off enough light for one step at a time. 

 

            As we look at this verse we also see the word path and this word is a picture of our life, for we are on a path through life and we need light in order to see where we are going and that light of course is the Word of God, and this helps us take the next step.  The world is a dark place but the Lord Jesus Christ is the true Light that we can follow.  Dr. Wiersbe states “Obedience to the Word keeps us walking in the light “5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; 7  but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1John 1:5-7).”

 

            Faithful Words (vv. 106-107):  “106 I have sworn and I will confirm it, That I will keep Your righteous ordinances.  107 I am exceedingly afflicted; Revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.”

 

            The psalmist is worshiping the Lord with his words and when we worship the Lord with our words it is the highest use of words that we can use.  I suppose that there are many times when we are careless in our worship of the Lord by using words that we will not keep, but the psalmist states that he has sworn and will confirm that he will keep God’s righteous ordinances.  When one makes a vow to the Lord it is a serious thing to do and we are even cautioned not to do such things.  In October of 1980 while attending a conference in Cleveland, Ohio I made a vow to read God’s Word at least five minutes each day.  I did this because I was having trouble reading His Word each day.  I can say that for the most part that I have kept this vow.  I believe that I have missed six of seven days in what will soon be 32 years.  I almost made a foolish vow to the Lord, but for the wise counsel of our Pastor I did not make that vow and I am glad that I did not make it.

 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes this section by writing “If worship is the highest use of words, then to be careless in worship is to commit a great sin.”

 

            A Faithful Memory (vv. 109-110):  “109 My life is continually in my hand, Yet I do not forget Your law.  110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, Yet I have not gone astray from Your precepts.”

 

            Living in the United States in this wonderful day of advanced technology can be beneficial in our walk with the Lord, but it can also be detrimental in our walk with the Lord.  In the psalmist day the Word of God was in the hands of the priests and it was on large scrolls.  It would be read out loud in the worship services and so people would have to pay attention to it if they were to memorize it.  Today we have many Bibles, and even have Bibles that are read to us, but I suppose the art of memorizing Scripture is almost lost in today’s world.  It is hard work to memorize Scripture but the rewards are many as we can meditate upon the verses we have put to memory and therefore learn deeper truths this way.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “The psalmist was taking risks, just as we do as we walk through the mine fields of this world, but he knew the Word would direct him.

 

            A Faithful Heart (vv. 111-112):  “111 I have inherited Your testimonies forever, For they are the joy of my heart.112 I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes Forever, even to the end.”

 

            The Bible is like mining for treasures, and it is hard work to mine treasures, but when the treasure is found then the hard word is worth it.  A causal reading of God’s Word will not produce treasures, but a careful study of God’s Word will bring forth great treasures.  Once we have found great treasures Dr. Wiersbe says “the Spirit helps us to ‘mint’ the treasure so we can invest it in others (witness).  Sometimes God takes us through the furnace of suffering so we can better receive the treasure into our own lives (1Peter 1:6-12).  The Word needs no purifying (v. 140; 12:6; 19:8), but we need to be cleansed so we can appreciate God’s truth and appropriate it.  Once your heart is set on obeying the Word, the life is on the right course.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have great admiration for the psalmist who wrote Psalm 119, for it seems that he had it all together, and the reason was of his knowing the Word of God and applying the Word of God in his life so that even when there were troubles in his life he always had the Word of God to get him through those troubled times.  I am inspired by his devotion to God’s Word.         

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to abide in the vine in order to have my path full of light so that I can walk where God wants me to walk.

 

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 I 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

 

9/13/2012 9:29:48 AM

Beyond Bible Study (Ps. 119:97-104)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/12/2012 7:38:56 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                               Focus:  Beyond Bible Study

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                               Reference:  Psalm 119:97-104

 

            Message of the verses:  “97 Mem. O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts. 101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. 102 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”

 

            When one first reads through this section they can sense the great importance that is found there, and yet it is like what the entire psalm is about, the Word of God.  This section shows the importance of not just having head knowledge of the Word of God, but also heart knowledge of the Word of God.  In today’s technical world we have many great tools that aid in the study of God’s Word, and this makes Bible Study easier, but we have to be careful not to just understand the Bible in our heads and mind, but we must understand it in our hearts so that we can be able to apply it to difficult situations in our daily life.  Dr. Wiersbe writes “Our relationship to the Lord is determined by our relationship to His will, and that is determined by how we relate to His Word.  Too many believers have only academic head knowledge of the Word, but they do not know how to put this knowledge into practice in the decisions of daily life.  What we all need is a heart knowledge of the Word, and this means being taught by God (v. 102).  Here are the conditions we must meet.”

 

            We must love His Word and meditate on it (vv. 97-100):  “97 Mem. O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, For they are ever mine. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the aged, Because I have observed Your precepts.”

 

            In this section we see the word meditation two times and we also see the results of meditation upon the Word of God.  Meditation may seem a bit obscure or difficult to understand and practice in today’s world.  I have heard that when a person worries that he is actually meditating upon his worries, and probably should be meditating upon the Word of God.  I suppose that a crude picture of meditating upon the Word of God, and the results of meditating upon the Word of God could be seen in taking vitamins. We take vitamins in order to build up our bodies so that if we come into contact with something that is harmful to our bodies we are better able to fight it off.  When we meditate upon the truths of God’s Word we are building our spiritual life up so that when troubles come, and they will, we are better off in caring for them.  Joshua is a good example of this as we read in Joshua 1:1-9 these words, “1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, 2 “Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. 3 “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. 4  "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. 5 “No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7  "Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. 8  "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. 9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."  These are the Word’s of God that He spoke to Joshua right after the death of Moses and right before Israel crossed the Jordan.  Joshua learned from Moses, who was his teacher, and he also learned from his enemies in the battles that he had already fought, Joshua also learned from his teachers, and all three of these are mentioned in this section of Psalm 119.  Learning from one’s enemies is found in verse ninety-eight, and learning from teachers in verse ninety-nine, and we find learning from older saints who have had the experiences of live is found in verse 100.

 

            Dr. Wiersbe explains meditation and what it means when he writes, “Rather, it means that our minds and hearts are so yielded to the Spirit that He can remind us of the Word when we need it and give us fresh understanding in the new challenges we face.”  He said that meditation “does not mean that we abandon our daily responsibilities or that we constantly quote Bible verses to ourselves and ignore our work.”

 

            We must obey His Word (vv. 101-102):  “101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word. 102 I have not turned aside from Your ordinances, For You Yourself have taught me.”

 

            As believers we are not to pick and choose what we learn from the Scriptures, but study all of the Word of God and obey the things that we know is true from His Word.  We are not to brag about what we learn, but one must have an obedient heart and love to do the will of God.  In my memory verses for this week from 1 Cor. 13 we read, “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant.”  F. W. Robertson writes, “Obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge” (See John 7:17) “"If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.’”

 

            We must enjoy His Word (vv. 103-104):  “103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”

 

            We know from the study of God’s Word that there are sweet things in it and there are things that are bitter,” “Rev. 10:9 So I went to the angel, telling him to give me the little book. And he said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."  “Rev. 10:10 I took the little book out of the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it was sweet as honey; and when I had eaten it, my stomach was made bitter.”  Jeremiah says, “Jer. 15:16 Your words were found and I ate them, And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart; For I have been called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.”

 

            Dr. Wiersbe concludes with these words, “God’s Word is pure, not defiled, and gives energy we need to obey His commands.  The unsaved person finds the Bible boring, but the devoted child of God feeds on the Scriptures and enjoys the sweet taste of truth.  This is what it means to go beyond Bible Study.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Learning to be a person who meditates upon the Word of God is something that I desire to do.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To go beyond Bible Study.

 

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 if I 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,

 

9/12/2012 8:39:32 AM          

Change & Changeless (Ps. 119:89-96)

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: “2 Co 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 at 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 2 Peter 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