GIVE ME LIFE!

IN THE WORD, WE UNDERSTAND LIFE!

Psalm 119:153-160

Look on my affliction and deliver me,

for I do not forget your law.

Plead my cause and redeem me;

give me life according to your promise!

Salvation is far from the wicked,

for they do not seek your statutes.

Great is your mercy, O LORD;

give me life according to your rules.

Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,

but I do not swerve from your testimonies.

I look at the faithless with disgust,

because they do not keep your commands.

Consider how I love your precepts!

Give me life according to your steadfast love.

The sum of your word is truth,

and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

Give me life! The psalmist’s request is clear! He is afflicted, surrounded by enemies who persecute him and are opposing him. His adversaries are wicked and faithless. His cry is loud and clear: Merciful Giver of life, give me life!

Notice that the request has some significant modifiers: “according to your promises”, “according to your rules”, and “according to your steadfast love”.

The writer’s request is a supplication that is both informed by, and willing to be modified by, the Word of God. So often, we are frustrated because we want to understand why things happen to us, but understanding God and His role and purposes should produce much peace to our souls.

As the psalmist relies on God’s promises, he expects God to be the one to plead his cause. We know that we also have an advocate Who goes before the Father and pleads our case. Our perfect Redeemer is our attorney, as He pleads on our behalf, and is our assurance that every promise that has been made on our behalf will come to fruition.

God, as the creator and sustainer of all, has every right to set all the rules; our inspired writer knows this well. He knows that God has set His rules and that mercy drives His dealings with us. His grace should always astonish us, as it’s never, ever deserved. Just remembering that God deals with us according to grace should produce even more peace to our weary souls.

Even though the writer asserts that he has followed God’s rules, he knows well that his only hope is to receive life according to God’s unending and unfailing love. We have been loved from eternity past. Before we were ever born, God planned and provided a Savior Who would bear His wrath and shed His blood for the remission of our sins. God’s steadfast love should produce amazing peace to our guilty souls.

Every word, every promise, every judgment, every covenant, every thing about God’s Word is true and stands forever!

Jesus said that He came to give us an abundant life.

John 10:7-11

         So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Jesus is the way to abundant life. He is the giver of life. He is the protector of our life. He is the sustainer of life. He is the enabler of life. He is the goal of our life. Jesus laid down His life so that we might have eternal life!

May we live our life today, resting in the peace of knowing that God is our All!

TROUBLES ARE REAL, BUT GOD’S CARE IS SURE!

WHEN I GET UP MY PROBLEMS WILL STILL BE THERE, BUT SO WILL GOD!

Psalm 119:145-152

With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!

I will keep your statutes.

I call to you; save me,

that I may observe your testimonies.

I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I hope in your words.

My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,

that I may meditate on your promise.

Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;

O LORD, according to your justice give me life.

They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;

they are far from your law.

But you are near, O LORD,

and all your commandments are true.

Long have I known from your testimonies

that you have founded them forever.

There is no doubt that the writer’s situation at this time is very hard. His emotions are overwhelming him. His cry for help comes from the depths of his being. He longs for an answer from the LORD. Jehovah is whom he is looking to for help. We do not know how long he has been confronted with the difficulties that assail him, but we know that he goes to bed knowing that he will face the same problems again.

He is looking for help, he is committed to doing what is right, and he is going to the right Source for help, but his difficulties are not disappearing. His waking hours are consumed with meditating on God’s teaching.

What a great example for us, as we deal with difficult situations: where the solutions are beyond our capabilities, where the weight of the situation seems unbearable, and where the end is not even in sight. There is one Person who can give us rest: it is found in God. Knowing we are steadfastly loved by God should produce trust and peace in our troubles. We know that what is assailing us is there only by the will of God, we know that He has the power to change or stop our difficulties, we are confident in God’s wisdom in allowing those situations to produce His intended results in our life, and we know that all His decisions are driven by His love for us.

God’s love was initiated by God, it was revealed by Him, it is sustained by Him, it is unaltered by our behavior, and is rooted in His faithfulness. We are blessed by its benefit, but we have not produced it or invited it, nor can we maintain it. IT IS ALL OF GRACE!

The enemies of God are intent on living according to their nature. We will always be surrounded by the ungodly. Even believers will bring difficulties into our lives, but all of this will be under the careful watch of our loving God.

It is in these difficulties that extra time needs to be given to meditating upon the Scriptures, to mine for ourselves the eternal truths about the character of God and God’s purposes for our lives.

It is encouraging for the writer to come to the assuring conclusion that God is close to him. He has not been abandoned! One of the amazing truths from the Word of God is that He does not always immediately rescue us from our difficulty, but He is the One Who has lead us there, totally in control of the situation, and with fatherly purpose for our eternal good! How different my actions and reactions would be, if I were conscious of these truths at all times.

In God’s providence, the writer has known and meditated upon these truths for a long time. And that is how God has prepared him for times of intense trial. May we be diligent in preparing for the difficulties that we will no doubt face in our future. May we be careful not squander times of learning, while we have the opportunity to prepare our hearts and minds to be able to rejoice in God’s care for us.

At times, our difficulties are a test of our commitment to God. If we fail the test, let us ask forgiveness and press on. In times where God’s grace shines brightly, may our words of praise ring loud and clear as a witness to those around us!

REST IN THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD

IF YOU LOVE RIGHTEOUSNESS, YOU WILL LOVE THE WORD!

Psalm 119:137-144

Righteous are you, O LORD,

and right are your rules.

You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness

and in all faithfulness.

My zeal consumes me,

because my foes forget your words.

Your promise is well tried,

and your servant loves it.

I am small and despised,

yet I do not forget your precepts.

Your righteousness is righteous forever,

and your law is true.

Trouble and anguish have found me out,

but your commandments are my delight.

Your testimonies are righteous forever;

give me understanding that I may live.

It is interesting to note the way the writer emphasizes God’s righteousness and how it influences all He does. A righteous God makes rules that are right, and all He does and says is righteous.

Growing up, a constant reply from my dad to my complaint over some injustice that I thought was directed towards me was: “David, justice is not part of this world!” How much I resented that statement! But how true it was and is. We humans are incapable of even defining what is just, as we are nearly always driven by self-centeredness. We are indignant about injustices that we see in this world, but is it because we wish to ‘protect’ God’s reputation as holy and just? Or is it merely a desire for our own comfort?

Only our understanding of God’s righteousness can produce godly desire:

Jeremiah 9:23-24

            Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

God finds pleasure in exalting His righteousness, which is foundational to all He does. There is nothing that He allows in our lives that does not promote His righteousness. His righteousness will be magnified by His grace toward His children and His wrath against ungodliness.

Romans 3:21-26

            But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

We have the privilege of knowing Christ and being blessed to have understood how Jesus satisfied the Father’s righteousness. We know that we live in the midst of a world that has rejected the righteousness of God and proposes its own. We rejoice in seeing that God’s Word stands the tests of time and people.

Our certainty is in the fact that God’s righteousness will prevail and stand forever. Knowing this gives us so much peace and assurance. We have no reason to look elsewhere for peace and comfort.

We run for shelter and guidance into the shadow of the righteousness of God. Our only way to evaluate what happens in our lives is to weigh it by God’s standards and then find our peace in Him.

Let us pray that we might live each day in the light of God’s righteousness. It should affect our attitudes, our behavior, and the way we see others.

LOVE THE WORD WITH THE BELIEVERS, LIVE THE WORD BEFORE SINNERS!

SIN ALWAYS OFFENDS GOD

Psalm 119:129-136

Your testimonies are wonderful;

therefore my soul keeps them.

The unfolding of your words gives light;

it imparts understanding to the simple.

I open my mouth and pant,

because I long for your commandments.

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

as is your way with those who love your name.

Keep steady my steps according to your promise,

and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Redeem me from man's oppression,

that I may keep your precepts.

Make your face shine upon your servant,

and teach me your statutes.

My eyes shed streams of tears,

because people do not keep your law.

This stanza is divided in two parts: in the first half, the psalmist enjoys the benefits of the Word of God in the midst of others who also love it; in the second part, he keeps the Word while his unbelieving enemies turn their backs on it.

Loving the Scriptures is a reality for the believer, and navigating the responses of those around us is a responsibility that we all have.

The writer lives the scriptures. They are wonderful and precious to him, as he enjoys the light they bring to his life. He realizes that the Word always has more depth of meaning.  It unfolds, bringing more and more understanding to him.

Oh, that we would realize that there is always more to learn, that knowing and understanding God is an inexhaustible pursuit! This life-long journey brings unparalleled joy. The crescendo in this section rises from the writer’s realization of how wonderful the Scriptures are and then builds to desiring the wisdom that he receives as the Word unfolds before him, until he has an unquenchable desire to know more and more. This desire is never completely satisfied, for the riches of the Word become brighter and brighter to a believer.

What keeps us from having this kind of desire? Certainly a worldly mindset and sin, but also a lack of study. Longing for the Word grows more intense, the more we dive into the inexhaustible depth of truth. How valuable it is to surround ourselves with those who share in this love. How important it is to be part of a local church where the preacher manifests this kind of love for the Word by the seriousness of his study before he preaches. A focused study causes him to be single-minded, as he explains the riches of the Word to a congregation hungry for the Scriptures and submissive to its truth. How gracious is God, to have given us His Word, as well as the ability to understand it and the power, through the Spirit, to implement it!

What a wonderful and necessary preparation, as we are reminded that we learn and live the Word in a dark and crooked world!

We are so needy of God’s protection because we so quickly forget the value of His Word and stray, following the way of the world. We are surrounded and oppressed by the iniquity of the world.

We are in danger when we lose sight of the teaching of God, and allow the perspectives of the world to infiltrate our minds, instead. Only the Scriptures can alert us when our goals and thinking have become polluted by worldliness. When we become accustomed to the darkness of the world, we need God’s face to shine upon us. When we are oppressed, we need His loving and caring guidance to encourage us in what is a difficult journey.

The reality of a dark world should bring tears to our eyes; there should be no arrogance or haughtiness, but an amazed and humble gratitude for God’s care for us. We should be Gospel-minded, remembering that the world does not need political or human transformation, but heart transformation!

I realize that my attitude improves greatly when I look at the sinfulness of men as an offense to God, instead of a wrong committed against me. When I have God’s glory in focus, I am saddened by the offense to my Savior and for the utter darkness that envelopes lost mankind.

May we enjoy and long for the Scriptures, and may they give us a godly perspective toward the unsaved! 

GOD HAS AN ETERNAL PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES!

THANK GOD THAT HE DEALS WITH US ACCORDING TO HIS LOVE!

Psalm 119:121-128

I have done what is just and right;

do not leave me to my oppressors.

Give your servant a pledge of good;

let not the insolent oppress me.

My eyes long for your salvation

and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,

and teach me your statutes.

I am your servant; give me understanding,

that I may know your testimonies!

It is time for the LORD to act,

for your law has been broken.

Therefore I love your commandments

above gold, above fine gold.

Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;

I hate every false way.

The psalmist is again asking God to come to his rescue. He is dealing with oppressors and insolent men. He is totally dependent on God to find help and to show him reprieve. He knows the promises of God and is willing to wait for God’s timing. He expects God to act by coming to his rescue.

I love his humility, that although he claims to have done what is just and right, he yet asks God to deal with him according to His steadfast love. There are never times when we can go to God and demand anything. Any kindness in dealing with man on the part of God is always because of His immeasurable grace and love.

Ephesians 1:3-12

        Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

        In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

We live our lives, knowing that we have been blessed already. The love of God for us was initiated by God, Himself, before we could even ask for it. His work in us is a tribute to His glory and grace. The cost for such love was immeasurable: the death of Jesus Christ. He received the full wrath that we deserved, and because of His work, we may have the forgiveness of our sins.

The world around us behaves according to nature, and only because of God’s gracious work in our lives can we know and understand the work of God and the Word of God.

The psalmist is asking for understanding, realizing the same way we do, that if we have any understanding, it is the gift of God in our lives.

God has a purpose and a time for all things that happen on earth. He knows exactly when and how long to permit the difficulties we deal with in our lives.

As I deal with the ungodly behavior of some people in my life, I need to remember that even this is being allowed by God for my benefit. There is no doubt that I would much rather they stopped, but I also have no doubt that God will not allow it to last a minute longer than He wants, nor a minute short of its benefit that He intends. God is continually working in our lives to conform us to His Son, and to loosen our grip on material things.

I watch even professing believers, driven by money, who are also encouraging others to set their goals on earthly possessions. Our love should be for God’s Word, that produces in us heavenly goals and heavenly endeavors.

The writer knows that left to himself, his evaluations will very likely be wrong, and  thus he has decided to hate what is wrong.

May God help us to be driven by heavenly goals, and not by earthly ones. We should love to see God working in us, because His work is always motivated by His great love, set upon us from eternity past. 

PERSISTENT SIN SHOULD ALARM US!

IF YOU LOVE THE WORD, YOU MUST LOVE PURITY!

Psalm 119:113-120
I hate the double-minded,
but I love your law.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope!
Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually!
You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain.
All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,
therefore I love your testimonies.
My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.

The writer begins this section making a strong statement against the double-minded. The contrast is between loving the law and being double minded. For one to be able to say that they love God and still be double minded about following God’s precepts is impossible.

Being double minded is something that James also addressed:

James 1:5-8

        If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James describes the double minded person as a person who doubts that God will give him wisdom for the trials of life. A double minded person will be tossed and confused; in fact, he will be unstable in all he does. Any difficulty, like a burst of wind, will toss him in every direction.

We know that we receive wisdom through the Word of God. The psalmist loves the word and has no time for those who are double-minded. He realizes that the temptation to be swayed in different directions, to listen to different voices and therefore become unstable (and at the end, hypocritical) is strong. So he commits himself to find refuge from such ideas and people in the Word. In fact, he uses the Word as a shield, and his trust in it is unwavering.

I know that doubts of God’s sovereignty, wisdom, character, power, and love can assail me during the difficult and dark times. My earthly mind, my deceitful heart, and the world will easily drive me to doubt God’s work, and therefore His Word. But I know that my faith and trust in His Law needs to be resolute and sure. I know that I must go to the Word to find protection from wrong thinking and, consequently, wrong behavior.

The writer exclaims for the evildoers to depart from him. He does not want to be influenced by them, for he knows that they are going to be enemies to his resolve. What an admonition for us when we entertain wrong thinking in our minds, when we allow ungodly people and thoughts to whisper into our ears. James warns us that entertaining wrong thinking and feeding our natural desires will have only one kind of outcome: SIN.

The psalmist knows that he needs God’s protection so that he will not be put to shame by his behavior. He needs help to continue to uphold the statutes of God. He knows that God is offended by his sin, and that God judges his actions.

When we coddle our sin or we justify it, we should be alarmed. If we justify or accept it, our relationship with Christ should be questioned. Even in the best of cases, we are inviting the heavy hand of God upon us. The words of John are a great warning for us.

1 John 3:4-10
        Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

These words from John should promote in us the same kind of reaction the psalmist has toward sin. Persistent sin requires genuine repentance. If we are God’s children, God’s correction will come.

Hebrews 12:6

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Dear friend if you do not share the resolve of the writer of this psalm, be alarmed. Continued sin puts your salvation into question, as well as inviting God’s faithful correction of His own. May these verses be a warning for us for our daily lives, and may God use our testimony of total dependence on God’s help to point them to Him. The psalmist knew he could not do it alone; his resolve was accompanied by earnest prayer for help from God.

THE WORLD IS DARK: WE NEED LIGHT!

TRIALS ARE ORDAINED BY GOD

Psalm 119:105-112
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your righteous rules.
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O LORD, according to your word!
Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,
and teach me your rules.
I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.

This section begins with one of the most well-known verses in the whole Bible. It certainly is a wonderful description of what the Word of God is for us. It is a light unto my feet: it shows me, up close, where my feet are walking, and at the same time it shows me my path, as it prepares me for upcoming dangers or twists in the way.

I certainly need this kind of direction in my life, as I need help with both the situations I am in and preparation for situations that are coming. At times we seem so surprised by things that, if we had been reading the Scriptures carefully, should not have caught us unprepared. We easily stumble in areas that we could have avoided, if we had applied the Word carefully.

It is interesting to know that lack of care in the way we walk will also have effects in the way we love Scriptures and, consequently, the way we will obey.

1 Peter 2:1-3
          So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The premise here is that we need to set aside sin, to be sincere in our walk, and then we will long for the pure spiritual milk. These are the consequences of knowing God, and therefore experiencing the Lord‘s goodness.  All these things are so closely connected together:  a genuine conversion, an appetite for the Word and a sincere walk. When there is one missing, we should truly be alarmed and should re-evaluate ourselves spiritually.

As I look back in my life, I can now see so clearly the way that sin squelched my desire for truth, because the Word would only expose the sin that I did not want to abandon. I am so grateful to God for His loving work in my life to bring me back to Him. The dark times in my life and the scars are certainly reminders of the need for a commitment to the daily direction and protection that the light of the Word of God gives my life.

The writer knew the value of the Word, and he had promised solemnly to follow it. Our commitment should be as serious and as resolute as his.

Again the psalmist admits to his affliction, but he confirms his commitment to the Word. He wants life and asks God for life. We should notice that he is going to ask the Word to define what life is. In our difficult times, we sometimes think that our life is not worth living - that, in fact, it is not life at all. God gives life, He defines what life is, He controls our life, He tells us how we should live it, and He uses it not only to make us more like Christ, but also for the encouragement of other believers and  for the reaching of the lost.

John 10:10
          The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

God’s intention is that we have an abundant life, that our joy may be full. For this to be true, we need to allow God to define what life is, what our goals should be, and joyfully submit to His work in us, as He guides us through His Word.

Dear friends, there has never been a trial that was not ordained by God to make us more mature in the faith, that has not prepared us to be a help to other believers and a light to a dark world. If those are our goals, then our satisfaction should be complete. May God help us to evaluate our lives in light of His Word, and therefore be completely satisfied.

The writer describes the difficulty of his life, but he states that he has found his joy in the Scriptures. We may be tempted to look elsewhere for joy, but if we are true children of God, we will not find lasting satisfaction anywhere else.

God’s Word is our sole resource for life and godliness, so we’d better do as the psalmist: incline our heart towards it! 

May the Word of God be what we look to in the times of difficulties! May the Scriptures be what we use daily to prepare and to understand the way God wants us to travel. Life here can be dark and dangerous. We really need the light of God’s Word! 

DOES THE WORD OF GOD INFORM YOUR BEHAVIOR?

ONLY THE WORD GIVES UNMATCHED WISDOM!

Psalm 119:97-104

Oh how I love your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for your testimonies are my meditation.

I understand more than the aged,

for I keep your precepts.

I hold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep your word.

I do not turn aside from your rules,

for you have taught me.

How sweet are your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through your precepts I get understanding;

therefore I hate every false way.

Are we convinced that God’s word is what makes us wise? Are we certain that, when in a conversation, the Scriptures are the only writings that bring absolute truth and wisdom? Are we quick to go to the Word for wisdom when we have situations we need to address?

The writer is convinced that there is no other place he can go for wisdom. He has understood the value of God’s law and therefore loves it with all his strength. He utterly loves it, thinking about it all day. He thinks about God’s word because there is nothing more useful and important to him.

Is that the kind of love and devotion you have for the Word? Do you know it well enough for it to be the light unto your path? Have you allowed it to guide often enough to have experienced its worth? Is biblical truth the first thing that comes to your mind when you are addressing the difficulties of your day?

When the psalmist had to address enemies or adversaries, it was Scripture that guided him. God’s Word gave him the wisdom to know what the real issues were, and to know how to address them. How differently would we react to people and situations, if it was the Word of God we depended upon to guide our thoughts and reactions! Are you dealing with difficult people or situations? Are you allowing the Word to inform your reactions and decisions?

The world tends to demean the truth of Scriptures. At times we participate in conversations that we know are anti-biblical and we listen quietly, thinking that those around us are more informed or more prepared. The writer knew that when he was informed by the truth of the Scriptures, he was the one with the most understanding.

He knew that even the earthly wisdom of the aged, even personal experience, did not give more understanding than what the Scriptures give a younger person. Are you intimidated by age? Are you shaken by other people’s experience? The Word of God stands any of the human tests! When guided by the Law of God, we should never doubt our actions.

Yet, there should never be pride or arrogance in our reactions or attitude. It is not our wisdom we are following, but the wisdom that comes from God, Himself. We should never feel disdain for those around us, but gratitude to God because He has give us the faith to understand and believe His Word.

Knowing this in our life should give us the same resolve that the writer has. He will be active in keeping himself from wrong-doing and will not allow anything or anyone turn him in the wrong direction. He has been taught, and now he knows what to do.

Dear friends, are you studying and loving the Word as you ought? How much time do you devote to your study and preparation? Do you have mature believers in your life who, having known and loved the Scriptures for a long time, can give you biblical guidance? Are you humble enough to believe that you do not have all the answers? Are you convinced that you find the answers in the Scriptures? Are you committed to follow the Word at all cost? These are the questions that I am asking myself, and I realize that I have not had this kind of resolve in my life at all times!

When we come to this kind of understanding, our love for the Word will be profound and evident in our life. Our thoughts will primarily go to the Scriptures. Our decisions will be heavenly directed. Our reactions will be different! We will have a disdain for what is wrong and sinful.

Our life will prove the measure of our love for the Word of God.