Our pastor spoke from Hebrews 12:11 on affliction in the life of a believer. How we view it and the dangers of falling into sin, unbelief, and possible apostasy with our reaction to the trial that God allows to come our way. Being in the valley is tough, but necessary. Several things came to mind in relation to Psalm 119:
The first question presented in verse 119:9 - "How can a young man keep his way pure". I made the comment in a previous post that the word pure doesn't always mean only sexual purity. Of course it does contain that, but it's not restricted to only that. How can our walk each day be pure unto the Lord? How can we keep our walk unmixed with the world's way of thinking? By "keeping it according to God's word". (see also Romans 12:1-2)
Notice that in these verses ( 9-16 ) that the term "I have" is used:
I have sought...
I have treasured...
I have told...
I have rejoiced...
This is something that He 'has been' (past tense) doing... Not something he runs to when difficulty comes, but something that seems to be a daily habit. So he is now ready when affliction / trials come his way. He already knows Who is behind the trial. He knows that the outcome will be for his good and God's glory. He doesn't get shaken off the path very far, and if he does he doesn't lose sight of it. The trial drives him closer to his Lord and deeper into the word. This is how you keep your way pure; keeping each day by God's word. Looking through the light of scripture at everything; asking God questions as you go and waiting quietly for His answer. This is truly seeking Him... Does your heart ache for this type of relationship with God? (Psalm 119:2, 5, 8, 10) What is getting in the way if it doesn't.
Now look at the present tense and future tense of 119:15-16:
I will meditate on Thy precepts and regard Thy ways
I shall delight in Thy statutes
I shall not forget Thy word
He's been in the word...He sees the value of it...He is determined to stay the course.
What if we had the same determination in scripture that Michael Phelps has in swimming?
One more thing...I'm not trying to be a "Great Bible Teacher" with all kinds of insight...
I "have been" reading this and meditating on it. God drew a parallel from our Pastors sermon to what I had been meditating on... and it really excited me! "With my lips I am telling of the ordinances of His mouth"(119:13) "I am rejoicing in His testimonies" (119:14) "I see the supreme value in His word" (119:14) "I am even more determined to keep going" (119:15-16)
I pray you will do the same... -scott
4 comments:
We spent a fair amount of time discussing Michael Phelps in and out of the session at D-Now. Leading off with... well, we don't even know anything about his faith. He's never professed Christ in any of the interviews I've read or seen. As far as we know, he is simply achieving glory for his country, his team and himself. It's obvious God has given Phelps the perfect body type to do what he does. He has gifted him with special abilities to be the best at what he does. So we discussed how much MORE committed we should be to what we do (and what we DON'T do) in our service to Christ and His Body. He has gifted all of us with the tools we need to serve Him in specific areas. Somebody's gotta be the nose, the big toe, the fourth rib, the left knee, etc...
So, to go along with verse 10, "with all my heart, I have sought You". Is that who we are? Far too often it is not me. I'm not humble enough, not determined emough, not committed enough, not killing sin enough, not praying enough, not seeking Him enough. What IS 'enough'? What does the Bible say?
GIVE US A COMMENT, YOUNG MEN!
AMEN and AMEN!!!!!
We will never be able to sought Him enough.I agree with Bro.Judd that we are not humble enough nor determined or seeking.We sin,yes.Jesus Christ is the only "man" alive ever to be enough.But does not mean we dont or just every now and then try.Let Him be our example.Deuteronomy 6:5 says"you shall love the Lord with all your heart,soul and mind". Read Deuteronomy 4:9 also.Psalm 119 is also a good example of longing and souting God.Let this be your heart, longing for more every day. Me included. Pray that God would not let us wander from Him and His commandments.
By the way,thank you alot Bro.Judd for the amazing sessions that we had at D-Now. I wish we had hours and hours of that.
I have heard someone say that we talk and think about our shortcomings and failures.What we don't think about is what can I do to to fix this problem.To many times have I thought about my shortcomings and repented of them but I never go for the root of the problem.When Bro.Judd told us Wednesday at acountability that we need to attack our that most bothers us.That next morning, I
read verses about the sin I most
struggle with and prayed about it for a while.When I left the room I was so full of Him,I was amazazed with Christ. That same day I was attacked by that sin and fell and repented. I will continue to fight and battle with this sin until I have gained victory over it.
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