March 23, 2018 Friday

“BETH. How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes! With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” (Psalm 119:9-16 NKJV)

            Psalm 119 is the longest of the Psalms and is represented by the Jewish alphabet for each section.  Here we see this section is for the letter Beth.  Psalm 119 is an exposition of the law and how we should live by it a life that honors God.

            List the words the Psalmist uses for the law just in this small section of this Psalm and then write their definition.  Then list the ways that are suggested on how best to keep God’s law.

            “With my whole heart I have sought You “.  What a statement to make!  Could it be that the Psalmist is teaching that the degree we seek God is the degree we seek to know and live out God’s law?  We are called to seek the God who has sought us and called us back to Him.  Jesus would tell us if we would seek we would find!

            The Psalmist also places a value on the testimonies of God that equals all riches!  Jesus would ask us if we trade the whole world for our soul.  Imagine the value of not just your soul but your body!  In a world that teaches us we are of little value or that we are merely a cog in some giant and horrendous wheel God tells us that we are more valuable than all the riches and then the whole world!

            God’s law is not just something to learn and to live it is also something we MUST proclaim.  Psalm 119 calls for us to not only proclaim but to teach these laws to others.  God’s law must be so important that we must tell others so they can not only discover God but the value and love God has for them.

            Are you seeking for God?  Do you learn God’s law and teach others?  Do you proclaim the truth of God’s law to others?

            Bonnie shared from a book titled Florian’s Gate she is reading which teaches about the importance and meaning of suffering.  Many times we want God to take away suffering or assume that if God doesn’t take away the suffering than the person must have done something wrong.  But suffering helps us grow in appreciation of the suffering of others and experience God’s presence more clearly.  Suffering is not a comparative thing but an individual experience understood and shared only with God.  We may get mad at God for not ‘answering’ our prayers but we need to see that God has answered our prayer not as we want but as we need!  Every suffering you experienced has been experienced by Jesus on the cross!  God does understand!