Tuesday, August 27, 2024
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word. I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands. I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you. Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes. With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth. I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119:9-16 CSB
Open Your Bible
Do you seek God with all your heart? When is the last time you can remember treasuring His words? Meditated on His precepts, thought about His ways, or delighted in His statutes? The Bible is such a gift from God and a wealth of all the knowledge we will need for how to live this life as a follower of Christ. It gives us answers to life’s hardest questions. It gives us examples of how to be a disciple and make disciples. It brings peace and hope. It tells of God’s greatness from the beginning of time and of His character and promises we can trust in.
The only way we can keep our way pure is to keep His word. We cannot keep His word if we do not know it. When we seek Him with all our heart, we will learn His word. We will read it and study and continue to learn as much as we can. We will treasure it in our hearts so that we know it well. Remembering His word will help to keep us from sin. We still have a choice, but without knowing His word we have little chance to stay away from sin.
If we are in a relationship with God, knowing what He says will be very important to us – a treasure in our hearts. We will want to follow His word in our every thought, action, and word we speak. We will delight in His statutes and meditate on His precepts. Memorization is not just the repeating of words in order of recollection. It is planting truth in our minds from which we draw our wisdom for living. Keeping His word on our minds and in our hearts at all times will help us walk The Jesus Way. It will help us to live out the Gospel in every way with our whole lives.
Knowing the Bible and what God says is where new believers start. New believers are like baby Christians who need to learn all the things. It is important to know what God says about how we are to live our lives as His children. It is foundational to our faith. As we grow and apply it to our lives, we grow in our faith and relationship with God. When we are stronger, we can begin to help others grow more in their faith as well by helping them understand the Bible.
Do you need to spend some time in the word? If you want to grow deeper in your knowledge and understanding, there are tools to use and Bible studies you can join to help you. A discipleship partner or a small discipleship group is a great thing to be a part of to grow in understanding and wisdom from the Bible. A mentor, or one person you can meet with to study and discuss scripture from time to time is also another great option. You can open your Bible and read on your own, using online resources to help with understanding and research if needed.
Two good sources are:
Enduring Word Commentary:
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