Prayer – Lord, hear my
prayer…and continue to bless me, my family, friends and neighbors with
understanding of Your word. Thank you that you hear my prayers…as I plead with
You again to be rescued.
As pressure and stress
bear down on me, I find joy in your commands. Your laws are always right; help
me to understand them so I may live. I pray with all my heart; answer me, LORD!
I will obey your decrees. I cry out to you; rescue me, that I may obey your
laws. I rise early, before the sun is up; I cry out for help and put my hope in
your words. I stay awake through the night, thinking about your promise. In
your faithful love, O LORD, hear my cry; let me be revived by following your
regulations. Psalm 119:143-149
Read all
of Psalm 119:137-176 for yourself in your favorite translation.
Meditate. Know that you can
put your hope in God.
Find joy…be revived. I’ve experienced finding joy and being revived by
reading—really studying—God’s word. I am amazed that God’s word—like God
Himself—never changes, yet I find new and refreshing things each time I read
God’s word, even when it is the same passage that I’ve studied at some earlier
time.
The key to your relationship to God is...
obedience.
Seek God - Study His word.
Find Joy
Blessings during this Advent Season.
Like several other passages
in Psalm 119, these verses describe God’s word using words: commands, decrees,
laws, your words, promise, and regulations. God’s word are not all commands,
like the Ten Commandments. Much of His word deals with relationship. God’s relationship
to people, people’s relationship to God, God’s relationship within the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit divisions of our God, and people’s relationships to each
other. The psalmist was inspired by God when he wrote this—and he was open
about his dependence on God, his hope, and God’s love.
The psalmist, like many of
us, feels stress and pressure from life. He is getting up early and staying up
all night. No wonder he is stressed! Yet, he recognizes his dependance on God
and His word, with resulting joy. Obedience is a key factor in his relationship
with God. That is of utmost importance for me, too. I know that if I don’t
obey, am not repentant, and am stressed by life without leaning on God, then I
am no better off than a homeless drifter who rejects God. I hear the voice of
God…repent, obey, and follow. Read verse 117.
Let praise flow from my lips, for you have taught me
your decrees. Psalm 119:171
God has taught us His decrees.
Now the choice is ours. Obey and follow? Or live our lives the way we want. The
world is becoming more and more evil. Watch out and don’t be deceived. Cling to
God’s word and His promises. He has a righteous wrath for those who do not obey
His word. Do you want to be one of those who experience God’s wrath?
But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from
your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of
anger is coming, when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge
everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those
who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that
God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for
themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.
There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is
evil--for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and
honor and peace from God for all who do good--for the Jew first and also for
the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. Romans 2:5-11
Verse of Salvation ~ As
for us, we can't help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by
the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to
experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you
holy and through your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we
told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
Memory Verse of the Week ~ Let us think of ways to
motivate one another to acts of love and good works. Hebrews 10:24
Did you memorize this verse?
© 2022 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M. Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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