Psalm 119:176 - Find me, God

I have strayed like a lost sheep.
     Seek your servant,
     for I have not forgotten your commands.

I love this! Hundreds of years before the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7) this sentiment is made. We all stray. We all sin and loose our way. How wonderful that we don't have to find our way back on our own. We can ask God to seek us, he will not only show us the way, but to pick us up and carry us back to the fold.

Lord, you are so wonderful and loving. Thank you for seeking us. Please help us to call out to you when we have lost our way. Amen.

Psalm 119:164 - Prayer times

Seven times a day I praise you
     for your righteous laws.

How many times a day do you pray? I am only certain of one, in the morning before I do my study. I offer random prayers through out the day, but nothing structured so that I would know exactly how many times I prayed. One thing I like about the Muslim faith are the specified prayer times, This entire group of people stop what they are doing an pray at least five times a day. Maybe we can find regularly occurring things which happen throughout the day to remind us to pray. Meals are always a good time to pray. Or we could set an alarm on our phone to remind us to pray at certain times of the day. No matter how we do it, the more time communicating with God, the better.

Lord, thank you for the gift of prayer. Please help us to spend several times a day praising you and communicating with you. Amen.

Psalm 119:160 - Words for the word

All your words are true;
     all your righteous laws are eternal.

Yesterday in my blog post I used several words all basically meaning the same thing: the Bible. In this Psalm 119 section all of these words are synonymous: law, promise, decrees, statutes, word, precepts. If you are familiar with the Bible you probably know this, but the old testament has the law (Genesis-Deuteronomy) given by God to the Israelites (Jews). The Psalms are referring to this law. When Christ came to the earth and died on the cross, he fulfilled the law. That is why most Christians no longer follow the Jewish Laws. The new testament books were all written after Christ's death. Both the old and new testaments are God's word and all these words above describe both.

Lord, As we have said so many times, thank you for your word. Please help us to study it and love it more and more every day. Amen,

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 119:126 - Unoffendable

It is time for you to act, Lord;
     your law is being broken.

In our Sunday night small group study, we have been studying the book Unoffendable. This book discusses the concept of not allowing ourselves to act in anger or offense, but rather reacting only out of love. I like the verse above because it reminds me of two things. When someone sins, their sin is against God and it is God's right to act, not mine. My job is to love them. I believe we have the right to leave the situation or even discipline that person, especially a child to teach them right from wrong, but it must be done out of love, not anger. A good police officer will respond to an unlawful act in a calm, deliberate manner, not in anger. When I am wronged, a quick reaction in anger does no one any good.

Lord, thank you for being so trustworthy, you will never wrong us. Please help us to be unoffendable, to slow down and not respond in anger when we are wronged or see sin and injustice. 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 119:105 - Faithfulness

Your word is a lamp for my feet,
     a light on my path.

This is one of those familiar verses (probably due to the Amy Grant song) and now we know where this verse is found. There are so many gems throughout the 119th Psalm. I am really enjoying going through each of the sections of this long chapter. This sections focuses on being faithful to the word, though all of life's paths, no matter how difficult.

Lord, thank you for the light of your word. Please help us to remain faithful on life's path. Amen.

Psalm 119:103 - Sweet!

How sweet are your words to my taste,
     sweeter than honey to my mouth!

If you are like me and you have a sweet tooth, then this scripture speaks to you. This section of Psalm 119 concentrates on the benefits of the word. The word gives us understanding, wisdom, insight and helps us to avoid evil paths. The word is something we come to crave. We feel it's benefits and see it working in our lives the more we study.

Lord, thank you for your word. Please help us to crave your word like sweets. Amen.

Psalm 119:90 - Forever

Your faithfulness continues through all generations;
     you established the earth, and it endures.

This section of Psalm 119 is about how God is eternal. Not only is he eternal, but his word has endured through generation after generation. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His plan for salvation has always been the same. Salvation only comes through his son as the perfect sacrifice. The law is still good and we can learn so much about God from it, but the law did not save. Jesus does.

Lord, thank you for your eternal nature. Please help us to trust you and your enduring faithfulness. Amen.

Psalm 119:81 - Longing, looking and waiting

My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
     but I have put my hope in your word.

This section of chapter 119 uses words like longing, looking and waiting. Are you longing, looking and waiting for the Lord? Or is there something else in your life you are longing, looking or waiting for? It is easy for things and people to take the place of God in our life. Only God satisfies, gives real hope and never fails on his promises.

Lord, thank you for being our unfailing God. Please help us to only long, look and wait for you. Amen.

Psalm 119:76 - Unfailing Love

May your unfailing love be my comfort,
     according to your promise to your servant.

Happy Valentine's Day! Today everyone is looking for love, and many do not find it. Whether you are dating, married or single, you may feel unloved. But the true, unfailing love only comes from one source, God.

Lord, thank you for your unfailing love. Please help us to recognize and feel that love. Amen.

Psalm 119:71 - Good from bad

It was good for me to be afflicted

     so that I might learn your decrees.

Sometimes God lets us go through something bad to get to something good.

Lord, thank you for doing what is best for us, Please help us to endure the afflictions in our life. Amen.

Psalm 119:58 - Study and meditation

I have sought your face with all my heart;

        be gracious to me according to your promise.

This part of Psalm 119 is about study of and meditation on the word. The word is our portion or sustenance, Through seeking his face, considering our ways and giving thanks, we turn toward his statues, obey and remember his law regardless of our circumstances, We also connect with others and enjoy the love the Lord offers. 

Lord, thank you for the benefits of seeking you. Please help us to always seek your face with all our hearts. Amen.

Psalm 119:50 - Hope and comfort

My comfort in my suffering is this:
     Your promise preserves my life.

This section of Psalm 119 is about the hope and comfort found in the law. As Christians, we also find hope and comfort in the word. Primarily this comes from the knowledge that no matter what we suffer on this earth, as a follower we know our final destination is with God in heaven.

Lord, thank you for the comfort and hope you give us. Please help us to live every day with salvation in our hearts. Amen.

Psalm 119:46 - Confidence from the word

I will speak of your statutes before kings
     and will not be put to shame,

When we know the word, we have confidence to share the word. In this section of Psalm 119, the author talks about knowing the law so well, they can answer one who taunts them, trust in the word, put their hope in the laws, walk in freedom and speak the statues before kings. Knowledge of the word gives us the confidence we need to go about our lives.

Lord, thank you for your word. Please help us to be confident in life and speaking to others about you. Amen.

Psalm 119:37 - Turn my eyes...

Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
     preserve my life according to your word.

I love finding verses which relate to what I am studying or issues I am dealing with. I have mentioned the current study I am in regarding the stronghold of food. It is an idol in my life I go to seeking satisfaction I can only get from the Lord. So I pray...

Lord, thank you for your word. Please Lord, in Jesus' name, turn my eyes away from worthless things. Amen.

Psalm 119:24 - Wonderful law

Your statutes are my delight;

     they are my counselors.

This section of 119 praises the law. I have never really thought of a list of rules as something wonderful to long for, but the author of this Psalm did. As a Christian and follower of the teachings of Jesus, I am not as familiar with the Jewish Law as I could be. This passage makes me want to go back and study the law to unlock the wonderful things within the decrees.

Lord, thank you for your law. Please help us to read your law in an effort to learn more about you. Amen.

Psalm 119:5 - Obedience

Oh, that my ways were steadfast
     in obeying your decrees!

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. This chapter is divided into 22 sections, so it may take me 22 entries to get through it...we will see, This section is about obedience. I have seen a bulletin board that says "Real Christians obey God" and I have heard it said being spiritual means sinning less frequently. We all struggle with sin and obedience, but as a follower of God we are always to continue growing, learning how to please God with what we do not do and what we do.

Lord, thank you for opening our eyes to our sin and showing us what you want us to do. Please help us to obey you. Amen.