365 Reflections

Psalm 119:33–37 (ESV) Teach me, O Lord , the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. 34 Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart. 35 Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. 36 Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain! 37 Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. We are fallen. I think that is an understatement. We often do not realize how fallen we are. And the call to obey God is not just to do what's right, but to think it, and feel it, and do what's right right with the right motivation at the right time. That's a tall order. But it makes us realize just how fallen we are. It's good to admit your fallen. Otherwise, how will you ever get help? The Psalmist here has no problem telling God he needs help to obey the Word. He has already made it clear he loves God's Word. Now he's confessing that he lacks he means n...

Typically when God does something special or new in our lives, the enemy is enraged and attacks. Jesus said in the parable of the soils (Matthew 13) the evil one comes in and steals the seed of the Word before it even has a chance to settle into the soil. The enemy of our souls hates the power of God's Word. It's because he (the enemy) knows the power of God's Word even more than us. It is the first thing he sought to question before the woman in the garden. The longest Psalm of the collection is dedicated to the Psalmist's love for God's Word. He commits to it and desires it... praying earnestly:  Psalm 119:18–19 (ESV)   Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. 19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me! He wants God's Word deep in his heart because he knows his time on Earth is strange and at times unwelcome. He needs the guidance of the God of heaven. But notice that as soon as he desires God's W...

I love how the Bible gives us 20/20 vision of the lives who took part in writing it through inspiration of the Holy Spirt. The Biblical authors were not faultless men, they were visibly broken and given to weakness. We know the murder and impatience of Moses. We see the anger and rage issues of Nehemiah. We know about Paul's own struggles (Romans 7:24). We know Peter struggled with ethnic pride (Galatians 2). These were broken men. The author of Psalm 119 has always inspired me. He writes the longest Psalm as an anthology to his love for God's Word. He agrees with it. He is inspired by it. He is protected and guided through it. But he also struggles to do it: Psalm 119:1–5 (ESV) Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord ! 2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, 3 who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways! 4 You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently. 5 Oh that my ways may be ...

These verses were once thought the middle of the Bible. I'm not entirely sure if that's true. Either way, they are a great couple of verses to meditate on. Psalm 118:8–9 (ESV) It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. 9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes. A few thoughts about this passage. Notice it says it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better. It's not always easier. Man is visible and audible and available in our present reality. Man can make promises and seem sincere and appears to be the path to success. Go to the right school, work for the right company, get ahead, move up and move onward. That's the easy way. The better and often more difficult path is to trust God. But this requires faith. God is unseen and not audible (apart from the scriptures). God is not visibly standing beside you and does not specialize in the fast track to financial success the world so often purs...

Psalm 117:1–2 (ESV)   Praise the Lord , all nations! Extol him, all peoples! 2 For great is his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord ! The smallest Psalm in the Bible is a lesson in big-time vision. Though it is the shortest of all the songs in this collection, it has the largest vision possible. It speaks to nations and all peoples concerning the reality of our God! This Psalm is highly evangelistic as it seeks for all people to know the reasons for praising God - His faithfulness and love - covenantal terms for the people of Israel. The Psalmist forsees a day when all nations and peoples will know the love and faithfulness of Yahweh. This Psalm is also post-exilic. Which means it was written after Israel had reached its peak, descended into immorality, was chastened in exile and returned humbly to the city of Jerusalem. The Psalmist and his nation are down but they are not out. He sees a day when even godless nati...

Psalm 116:1–4 (ESV)   I love the Lord , because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. 2 Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 3 The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. 4 Then I called on the name of the Lord : “O Lord , I pray, deliver my soul!” The writer of this Psalm was saved from a near death sickness by the Lord. He cried out, God heard and responded and healed him. It's a fairy tale story of sorts. It's the we all would love our sickness to end, with answered prayer and healing.  But why doesn't it always happen?  To answer that question, we should regard the second verse of this Psalm. The Psalmist makes an astounding vow before the Lord - to "call on Him as long as I live." He's healed. He could do anything now. He could "get on with life" on his terms and wait for heaven. That's what most do. If you don...

The one proof of God from the Bible we do not discuss is actually something many regard as reason for disbelief. We don't see Him. The Hebrew scriptures are clear: You do not make an image of Jehovah. Why? Because NO IMAGE we could make would do Him justice. The religions of the ancient world worshipped scads of images. Paul is vexed by them in Athens in Acts 17. They even had an image to the "unknown" god just in case they missed one. There is something inherent to the human heart regarding idolatry. We want to create God according to our own likeness and image. Israel struggled with this temptation from day one. They made a golden calf as Moses was getting the second commandment from the finger of God on tablets of stone! Remember that Aaron did not call them to worship some false deity but rather called the people to regard the calf as an image of the God who brought them out of Egypt. The human heart loves to recreate God according to our own ideas. So today...