Psalm 119:148 - A page turner

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
     that I may meditate on your promises.

Every once in a while I will see a post on Facebook "It's 2 am and I need to go to sleep, but I can't put down this book I am reading!" From the verse above, the author of this portion of Psalm 119 felt this way about the word of God. When we allow the word of God to penetrate our heart and ask God to speak to us personally through his word, his word becomes more than just a book and we too will have this kind of passion about the Bible.

Lord, thank you for your word. Please help us to love your word and meditate on it often. Amen.

Psalm 119:143 - Our rock

Trouble and distress have come upon me,
     but your commands give me delight.

There will always be trouble and distress. There will always be things in our lives and things in the world that are difficult to bear. The blessing for the believer is the constancy of truth. It is our rock and even in the storm, the rock does not move. It is something to firmly hold on to in times of trouble and a place to find rest, peace and even joy.

Lord, thank you for your word and and the stability it brings to our lives. Please help us to cling to the truth in times of distress, Amen.

Psalm 119:120 - Fear?

My flesh trembles in fear of you;
     I stand in awe of your laws.

Two days ago, I read a section of Psalm 119 which contained the above verse, then I opened BibleGateway and the verse below was the verse of the day:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18 NIV

The two verses reminded me of a Bible study I had heard a few days earlier about fear and love of God. Are these two the same God? My short answer is yes, at different times. When Christ died, the forgiveness he offered rolled back to include the Israelites and rolled forward to include us. As great as the law was, it did not save. Like the verse above says, The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Only the blood of Christ saves.

That may sound a little confusing and it certainly merits more study. Let me know if you would like to discuss it.

Lord, thank you for the opportunity to love you. Please help us to understand you and your word. Amen.

Psalm 18:2 - Instant gratification

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

     my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

     my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

This verse is great! So empowering! The Psalms are a great place to go for instant gratification, especially the first or second verse of each psalm. They all begin with praise, worship, or calling to the Lord. If you ever need a quick pick me up from the Word, just read a few first verses of the Psalms.

Lord, thank you for your word and for being our rock. Please help us to keep your word close to our hearts at all times, Amen.