Another bible journal...I wrote this one a while back, but I just reread it and it was a really good reminder/encouragement to me. Hope it does the same for you. ;)
Psalm 19: (6)7-14
This passage talks about how perfect and fulfilling the word of God is. We can turn to it, meditate on it, like dwelling on the words of friends or loved ones, only these are the words of our creator. And then, commit to them because - how incredible is the reward for that? If only I were to just enjoy the sweetness of these words, I can reap reward in eternity. It goes on about how wonderfully desirable the Judgment of the Lord is. Why? How or when can judgment be sweet and desirable? When it is perfect. P-E-R-F-E-C-T. And when we have every opportunity to not only prove our commitment, but also reap reward from it, what holds us back? It’s that moment that happens every day, ten billion times a day, and we slip up. We depart from God’s word only to taste the bitterness of the world. It gets us down too, because we know it’s wrong. And even though we can’t take those moments lightly, there is a time when we need to just realize the error and work at correcting, rather than dragging it along as yet another failure. That in itself is against Him. Verse 13 – “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of transgression.” If we allow our faults to “have dominion” over us, what good are we being to the Lord? None. God grants us freedom from shame. So, rather than lingering in it for no reason, other than self pity and gratification, we should get off our duff, dust ourselves off, and be proud of our innocence in Him. It’s true, there’s nothing hidden from his judgment (I love the metaphor that David uses in verse 6), but it’s also true that all those things which we want nothing more than to hide away, can actually be purified from us. “Cleansed.” Isn’t that a million times better than trying to bury (unsuccessfully) something all by our lonesome? And then, when we’re all free of that depressingly filthy guilt, we have a choice. Fall back into the same old cycle that we’ve tried over and over and found no satisfaction whatsoever in, OR walk away. Pick up our trash and walk away. By the way, I say “pick up our trash” because of an interpretation I once heard about the lame man at the pool in Bethsaida. After Jesus healed him, he said for the man to pick up his mat and walk. The lady who was teaching us said, “What was Jesus thinking when he said that?” I mean, yeah, OBVIOUSLY this guy who hasn’t walked in thirty some years is going to be really concerned about picking up his stupid mat before running off to rejoice. My point? Don’t litter. A lot of times, in our mistakes we leave a trail of destruction behind us and there are times when we really need to go back and clean up, patch up whatever destruction we’ve caused. Doing so, not in our own power, but in God and His righteousness. After that’s all said and done, and we make that oh-so-obvious yet excruciatingly hard choice (hopefully to walk away), then we can take comfort in the words of verse 8: “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Hear that? It’s reason to rejoice. WE CAN REJOICE in a lifestyle that’s really devoted to God. We can live happily in our decision to follow His commandments.
That really does seem hard to accept at first doesn’t it? It is for me anyways, because a godly lifestyle, for some odd reason, is never looked on in a content or happy light. It’s hard to face the world as they tell us how “boring” our life is in comparison to theirs. And wouldn’t you know it, WE BELIEVE THEM! *gasp* Why? The truth is, there is NO satisfaction in anything other than God and righteousness (see Psalm 17:15, it’s good stuff ;). So, in everything I say and do, am I glorifying God? Am I righteous in what I do? At this point, I definitely know the answer to that is a big fat “NO,” but I also see how depressed and distressed my life is because of it. Finally, in verse 14, it says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” That’s what I desire, with my whole heart. I’ve come to this choice before, and as much as I’d like to think differently, I know I’ll probably be back again, but I’ve made my decision...
Psalm 20:8 – “They have bowed and fallen, but we have risen and stand upright.”
Psalm 19: (6)7-14
This passage talks about how perfect and fulfilling the word of God is. We can turn to it, meditate on it, like dwelling on the words of friends or loved ones, only these are the words of our creator. And then, commit to them because - how incredible is the reward for that? If only I were to just enjoy the sweetness of these words, I can reap reward in eternity. It goes on about how wonderfully desirable the Judgment of the Lord is. Why? How or when can judgment be sweet and desirable? When it is perfect. P-E-R-F-E-C-T. And when we have every opportunity to not only prove our commitment, but also reap reward from it, what holds us back? It’s that moment that happens every day, ten billion times a day, and we slip up. We depart from God’s word only to taste the bitterness of the world. It gets us down too, because we know it’s wrong. And even though we can’t take those moments lightly, there is a time when we need to just realize the error and work at correcting, rather than dragging it along as yet another failure. That in itself is against Him. Verse 13 – “Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of transgression.” If we allow our faults to “have dominion” over us, what good are we being to the Lord? None. God grants us freedom from shame. So, rather than lingering in it for no reason, other than self pity and gratification, we should get off our duff, dust ourselves off, and be proud of our innocence in Him. It’s true, there’s nothing hidden from his judgment (I love the metaphor that David uses in verse 6), but it’s also true that all those things which we want nothing more than to hide away, can actually be purified from us. “Cleansed.” Isn’t that a million times better than trying to bury (unsuccessfully) something all by our lonesome? And then, when we’re all free of that depressingly filthy guilt, we have a choice. Fall back into the same old cycle that we’ve tried over and over and found no satisfaction whatsoever in, OR walk away. Pick up our trash and walk away. By the way, I say “pick up our trash” because of an interpretation I once heard about the lame man at the pool in Bethsaida. After Jesus healed him, he said for the man to pick up his mat and walk. The lady who was teaching us said, “What was Jesus thinking when he said that?” I mean, yeah, OBVIOUSLY this guy who hasn’t walked in thirty some years is going to be really concerned about picking up his stupid mat before running off to rejoice. My point? Don’t litter. A lot of times, in our mistakes we leave a trail of destruction behind us and there are times when we really need to go back and clean up, patch up whatever destruction we’ve caused. Doing so, not in our own power, but in God and His righteousness. After that’s all said and done, and we make that oh-so-obvious yet excruciatingly hard choice (hopefully to walk away), then we can take comfort in the words of verse 8: “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Hear that? It’s reason to rejoice. WE CAN REJOICE in a lifestyle that’s really devoted to God. We can live happily in our decision to follow His commandments.
That really does seem hard to accept at first doesn’t it? It is for me anyways, because a godly lifestyle, for some odd reason, is never looked on in a content or happy light. It’s hard to face the world as they tell us how “boring” our life is in comparison to theirs. And wouldn’t you know it, WE BELIEVE THEM! *gasp* Why? The truth is, there is NO satisfaction in anything other than God and righteousness (see Psalm 17:15, it’s good stuff ;). So, in everything I say and do, am I glorifying God? Am I righteous in what I do? At this point, I definitely know the answer to that is a big fat “NO,” but I also see how depressed and distressed my life is because of it. Finally, in verse 14, it says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.” That’s what I desire, with my whole heart. I’ve come to this choice before, and as much as I’d like to think differently, I know I’ll probably be back again, but I’ve made my decision... Psalm 20:8 – “They have bowed and fallen, but we have risen and stand upright.”
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