With All Your Heart 07.16.08

Hello My Friend/Guest,

It is Wednesday July 16, 2008 and today we are continuing our studies on the book of Psalms. Please read Chapter 119 in your Bible or Click Here to read. Cut & Paste to your browser: biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=23&chapter=119&version=9

Today we will read about the greatness, power, and perfection of God's Word. Today's message focuses on the importance of realizing that the disappointments of this life soon teach us that true joy comes from loving God not from the things of the world. We need to focus our attention on the only infallible Guide to Life given by our Creator, God's Word.

In this chapter God has provided everything we need to be the person He created and planned for us to be. It is equally emphasized how indispensable it is to know our Creator, Savior, and soon-coming Messiah and King. "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently." (Psalm 119:1-4). The undefiled means much more than just avoiding sin or living a good life. We are specially blessed by God as we seek to please Him with the whole heart.

Although the writer of this psalm is unknown, David has been suggested as its author. David sought the Lord, observed His Laws, and prayed for His help with his whole heart. "With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments." (119:10). How necessary it is when praying, reading God's Word, or seeking his will, that we do it whole heartly. 

It is by taking daily delight in God's Word, as much as in all riches, that our fellowship with the Lord is assured. The psalmist continues, "I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word." (119:15-17). This kind of forgetting is more than a momentary memory lapse. It is drifting away from God as a result of becoming so involved in other interests that His Word is neglected.

We need to pray daily, "Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way." (119:33-37). As we do this, we have something to sing about regardless of our circumstances.

Though he had been afflicted, the psalmist did not find fault with God, nor did he doubt the Lord's wisdom or His justice. For many, it is in times like these that we painfully recognize that we have made wrong choices in the past which have led to unwholesome consequences. In such circumstances we realize that the Bible is priceless, for it alone reveals life's true values and prepares us for eternity. All who love the Lord can say, "LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments. My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee. Let my cry come near before thee, O LORD: give me understanding according to thy word. Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word." (119:116-170)

In today's reading Jesus Christ is revealed through the psalmist who delighted in the Commandments of God (Psalm 119:47). Jesus said, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38)

Today's Prayer:
Dear Lord,
As Your children we need to regularly examine our hearts to see if there are things, pursuits, or attitudes that are drawing us away from Your heart and thrusting us once again into the mindset of the world. Our heart's examinations are not intended to condemn us but to refresh our spirit and remind us of our godly heritage. Father, since You know our hearts more than we do ourselves, reveal to us that which helps and that which hinders our Christian walk. As we walk in obedience to You we're grateful for the peace and rest we receive in knowing that You do not condemn us but deliver mercy to help us in our time of need.  You do not stand over us in judgment, but You walk alongside us assuring us of Your unwavering love and unending mercy that will see us through on this side of the journey.  In Jesus' name....Amen.

Enjoy the rest of your day!
God Bless,
Christina

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