Month: May 2023

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Precepts or Principles for Life

Psalm 119:89-176 A precept is a word that encourages principles for a long life and a life blessed by God. There are thousands of them! So what is a precept? It is a command or principle dictating how one should act or behave. The Ten Commandments give us the principles or precepts of what God expects. We are to love God with all our heart; He is to be the only God; we are to seek Him and serve Him only.

The psalmist reminds himself and us that to know how to act or behave, one must never forget and always seek the precepts. In Deut, Moses told the children of Israel to teach them when they sit down and when they walk by the wayside so that they, their children, and their grandchildren will be blessed with a long life. [Deut 6:1-5] The first is to: love the Lord our God with all our minds, whole being, and strength.


If you have yet to start teaching these precepts to your children or yourself, there is still time! Begin today! Isaiah gives us the way to do that: “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little.” [Is 28:10 NKJV]

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Are you Timid or Bold?

2Chron 1 Do you have a need in your life? What is keeping you from asking God to answer it? Are you timid or bold before God when He asks? The world says, don’t trouble God with your needs; seek outside help. The Word says, “Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. [Phil 4:6] If you are a child of God, come to God because He is never too busy or doesn’t care!!!

Solomon had a need; God perceived it but wanted Solomon to respond. He came to Solomon in a dream and asked Solomon what He should give him. Plain and simple! Solomon told God, I need wisdom and discernment so I might effectively lead the nation. God heard, answered, and blessed him.

Do you feel timid, anxious, or afraid to come to God? Listen to the words of James; ask in faith, and do not doubt. Again “God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 4:19]

What is your need today? Go to God, sit before Him, and wait on His answer.

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Lamp and Light

Psalm 119 Many years ago, so far back to remember, I was given Ps 119:105 in KJV, “thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path,” as a verse to memorize. It still is a precious memory, and I encourage you to ponder its meaning. Now to the psalm:

The psalmist wrote a lengthy prayer and thoughts to remind himself of this one important principle: God’s Word is our lamp and our light to guide us step by step through each day. Two phrases continually are repeated: teach me and revive me. It is noted that this is a poem to be read just as it is. There are 22 stanzas which, if you took time each day to just meditate on just that stanza, would just about carry you through a month’s days. This in itself seems to be a marvelous way to begin each day, see life, and hear the psalmist as he seeks the face of God.

What verse stands out to you as one you want to ponder and memorize for this day?

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Planning Ahead

Pray and prepare

1Kings 1: The game of chess is like the story before us today. In chess, the first player with a white piece starts, alternating between white and black, and continues until only one piece is the winner.  Adonijah, thinking of himself as heir apparent, saw his opportunity to declare himself king as David lay on his deathbed. Nathan, the prophet, knew of God’s plan for Solomon and instructed Bathsheba to remind David and anoint Solomon as king.

There is a lesson here for all of us. Whether you are near the end of your life or not, we all should take time to inform those we will leave behind as to our wishes.  David knew whom God had planned to be the next king, but it seems he did not take the necessary steps to complete that simple task.

Do you have a written will that can be executed should God take you home?

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Preparation

Ps. 111- As you read each day, ask God to reveal Himself to you. Ask Him to open your eyes, ears, and heart. Then do as the Psalmist: give thanks to the Lord with your whole heart. [Ps 111:1 paraphrase] Praise Him for His work is majestic and glorious, and his faithfulness endures forever. [Ps 111:3] Praise Him because all his precepts (commandments) are reliable and forever firm. [Ps 111:7]

The Psalmist closes his meditation by exclaiming: “All who carry out/practice his precepts acquire good moral insight.” [Ps 111:10]

Take time today to meditate on these verses from this short psalm to prepare for your day. Then share with us your thoughts.

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Pray for your children.

1Chron 19:19 David as the earthly king of Israel is near the end of his life, and because of that, he leaves a legacy of prayer for his son, who will reign after him. As part of his lasting legacy, he offers a prayer for his son Solomon and his words reveal his heart and teaches us how we, too, are to pray for our children.

  “Make my son Solomon willing to obey your commands, rules, and regulations, and to complete building the palace for which I have made preparations.” [1 Chron 29:19]

We can incorporate three parts of David’s prayer into our own prayers for our children. (1) “make” means that Solomon needed not just a heart but also a mind; (2) a willingness to obey God; (3) endurance to complete the task set before them. 

Children need molding and training, and they need Christ as their maker. May we pray this way today for our children. Am I praying this for my son, my granddaughter, and my godchildren?

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What are your aspirations?

Ps 131 Are aspirations a good or not-so-good thing? Let’s take a look at one man, King David in particular, who said he did not aspire to a higher calling. What did he aspire to? Is there any advice for us in scripture?

We live and move in a busy world with work, family, church, and community. In those times, what aspirations do you seek? King David said that he did not have great aspirations or, as other translations say, things too great or awesome for him to grasp. In all things, David was still a shepherd boy at heart. He did not seek to be king nor to be the leader of his nation, yet God put His hand on him and called him.

What has God called you to do or be? Solomon understood that God has placed eternity in our hearts. [Eccl 3:11] He did that so we would seek Him and His ways.  A piece of advice from Paul; aspire to lead a quiet life, attend to our own business, and work with our hands. [1Thess 4:11]

Today as you move about in your world, what thoughts or aspirations come to mind? Do you seek a loftier position or to be satisfied like King David? Paul said that he learned to be content in any circumstance. How about you?  

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God is a God of Order

1Chron 23-25 When the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, which was having problems with unity, he reminded them that God is a God of order. 1Co 14:33 “for God is not characterized by disorder but by peace. As in all the churches of the saints,”

How often are our churches a mixture of peace, harmony, disorder, and factions? King David spent several chapters recording the work of the Temple, who was to do what, and their lineage.
The same is true for families. Today, a gentle soul who was just shy of 108 went home to heaven. His family is noted for sweetness and cohesiveness. His life was joyful, and his leadership is seen in his family following the Lord.

Is my family following the Lord? When I look, what do I see, what do others see, what does the Lord see? So today, choose ye this day whom you will serve. [Josh 24:15] Again, 1Pe 2:17 Honor all people, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Are we fishing for men of the next generation to lead?

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Life isn’t fair, but God is! :-)

Psalm 108-109 Two sides of the coin
We have all heard the saying that there are two sides to every coin or two sides to every argument. So with that idea in mind, we look at these two psalms side by side. Ps 108 contains words that comfort and encourage, and Ps 109 is full of words that are stinging rebukes. So how do we face each and come away with words to guide us?

Psalm 108 speaks of waking up to a glorious day, and we rise and shine with thoughts of joy.
Psalm 109 speaks of one’s deep hurt and resentment at others who have sought vengeance against us.

It behooves us to read and then ask the Lord to guide us in our quiet time. Then, when we are dashing out the door and ready to meet any situation with words of joy, we can meditate on Psalm 108. If we are feeling put out by another’s humiliation of us, we can turn to Psalm 109 and see how David faced days like this. God has placed both of these here for us to read and prepare ourselves to meet the day ahead.

May our day be full of blessings, and may we not have to face intruders seeking harm in our space. Zechariah 2:5 is a prayer: put a hedge of fire around our families and us so that the enemy of our souls can not see us and harm us. (author paraphrase)

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God turns Mourning into Dancing

Ps 30  Do you ever feel like someone is looking over your shoulder as you pen your daily thoughts in your journal or quiet moments of prayer? As we read this psalm we learn a little about something that David has faced, yet he takes his quiet time to speak from the heart.

When you pray, what words do you use to honor and extol the virtues of God? David uses the terms YHWH, God as Savior, and Elohim, God as Creator. As he closes his prayer, he is overwhelmed with gratitude for God has turned his lament or mourning into dancing; He has removed his garments that reflect profound sadness and takes up the mantle of joy.

Where are you today in your quiet time? Has God turned your mourning into dancing? Has He removed the garments of death and clothed you with garments of joy? Share with us your thoughts after you have listened to this praise song right out of Psalm 30:

https://genius.com/Hillsong-worship-this-is-how-we-overcome-lyrics

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