Biblical Meditation
Jul 06
The remarkable 119th Psalm, with its 22 eight-verse stanzas, is the unique "song of the word," containing 176 testimonies or prayers concerning God's Word - one for each verse. Eight times the word "meditate" or "meditation" is used, indicating the importance of this practice in relation to the Scriptures. In our text, this word is translated "talk," but its basic thrust is to exhort us to meditate on the wonderful works of God, once we understand the way of His precepts.
Guard Your Heart
Jul 02
The Hebrew word nasar, here translated "keep," carries the strong idea of protection or guarding. It is used 10 times in Psalm 119 to stress the necessity of "keeping" (guarding, protecting) the various kinds of instructions in God’s Word: "testimonies, statutes, laws, precepts, and commandments." Everything written down by God is worth guarding.
Prepare to Meet Thy God
Mar 23
"For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name." (Amos 4:13) This awesome ascription of judgmental power to God is in the midst of a dire prophecy by Amos to the ten-tribe northern kingdom of Israel. He had reminded them of earlier judgments, including even that of Sodom and Gomorrah, concluding with the fearsome warning: "prepare to meet thy God, O Israel" (Amos 4:12).
Are there strange gods in you?
Feb 25
"Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me. . . . open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:8,10).
Our Perfect God
Dec 21
"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
Since God is Creator of the universe, all that He does is right, and all He says is truth, by definition. The world He created was perfected; the Word He authored is perfect; every work He accomplishes is perfect; all the ways He follows are perfect, and the will He reveals is perfect.
His perfect world: "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). Of course, because of sin, the creation is now groaning in pain, but it was perfect as it came from God in the beginning. It will again be perfect in the ages to come, when God makes "all things new" (Revelation 21:5).
His perfect Word: "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul" (Psalm 19:7). God has given us His inspired Word, providing perfect guidance for every need, "that the man of God may be perfect" (2 Timothy 3:17).
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