Psalm 119:49
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.” Sometimes we need a reminder that God is Faithful to fulfill His promises. He will never go back on His Word, because He cannot lie. Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” 1 Chronicles 17:23 “Therefore now, LORD, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.” “upon which thou hast caused me to hope.” When it seems there is a delay in the fulfillment of His promise, He has not failed us…for His timing is always right. We can find hope within the trial, even when it feels like He is four days late. 1 Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” When God promises something, He will not only cause it to come to pass, but He will also enable us to have faith that He will do it according to His will. Psalm 119:114 “Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.” If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must cling to His promises that we find within His Word. Bible Reading: Leviticus 5-6 | Matthew 28 | Psalm 18
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Psalm 119:48
“My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.” Loving the Word will cause us to reach for the Word of God. There is nothing like holding the Scriptures in our hands. We have the choice to use our hands in honour of the God of the Bible. Lifting Our Hands In Praise Within Scripture we read of people displaying their respect and reverence to the Lord by raising their hands. May we also praise Him as we read of what He has done for us through His Word. Nehemiah 8:5-6 “And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground.” Lifting Our Hands In Practice Our faith is developed as we hear the Word of God, but the Lord desires us to be more than hearers. Our hands enable us to be a doer of the Word by putting our faith in action by doing what the Bible says. James 1:22-25 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” Our hands have purpose…to glorify the One Who created them. We have the opportunity to share the Gospel using the hands that God gave us. We can also spread His love by lending a hand to those in need. May we lift our hands for Him! If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must lift our hands in praise & practice of the Word of God. Bible Reading: Leviticus 3-4 | Matthew 27 | Psalm 17 Psalm 119:47
“And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.” When we do not have a real love for something or someone, our desire to spend time with them will not be frequent or consistent. If we do not truly love something, we will often neglect it or fail to appreciate its value. Our relationship with the Lord is directly proportional to our love for His Word. The Book of Psalms begins by describing a blessed man and how he conducts himself. Rather than spending time with those that hinder his walk with the Lord, he delights in the Word of God by deliberately making It a priority out of love. Psalm 1:2-3 “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” The condition of our Bible will often reveal the condition of our heart. If It rarely opened, the pages may become stiff or brittle. If It is used often, the leather will soften and the pages will display memories of time spent in the presence of the very One which inspired the Words to be pinned. A love for the Word begins by delighting in the Scriptures. Those that have come to know and love the Word of God desire to know and love the Scriptures more. Psalm 119:97 “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.” If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must remind ourselves that a love for the Word begins by delighting in the Scriptures. Bible Reading: Leviticus 1-2 | Matthew 26 | Psalm 16 Psalm 119:46
“I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.” Liberty in Christ Jesus not only makes us free, it allows us to be bold and unashamed. Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” When we remember where we came from, we too can be unashamed of Christ and His Word. Paul never forgot that he was “a debtor” who had experienced the power of God when he met Him on the road to Damascus. His life after that displayed his belief that if the Lord Jesus could save him, He could save anyone. Philippians 1:20-21 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul was in prison when he pinned these Words, and even behind bars his priority was the glory of Christ. He was unashamed so much that he was even willing to die so that others may know Him. What a testimony Paul had, and what an example for us to follow. If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must be unashamed of the Word of God. Bible Reading: Exodus 40 | Matthew 25 | Psalm 15 Psalm 119:45
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.” As we yield ourselves to the Lord, we begin to walk toward the liberty that is found in Him. We are free because of His sacrifice. Our sin was washed away by the precious blood of Jesus Christ the moment we placed our faith in His death, burial and resurrection. Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Walking requires steps. Each step we take can be ordered by the One that made it possible for us to walk with Him through His Word. Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” “for I seek thy precepts.” We seek Him through His Word as a display of our love for Him. God so loved us that He sent His Son to give His life for us. The greatest way we can express our love for our Saviour is by giving our lives to the service of telling others about Him. Share the love of Christ with those around you today. Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” If we want the Lord to order our steps we must walk toward the liberty that is found in Him. Bible Reading: Exodus 38-39 | Matthew 24 | Psalm 14 Psalm 119:44
“So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.” God knows that even though we are saved, we will still have failures. Our flesh is at war with the Spirit that now lives within us, and sometimes the flesh gets the best of us. We must choose to which we yield ourselves. Romans 8:4-6 “That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” God does not expect us to live a perfect life; He knows that is impossible for us to do. He desires for us to live godly and righteously, striving to do our best for Him. Philippians 3:14 “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” The key is consistency. We must be persuaded to constantly live according to the Word of Truth. He is the Lamp unto our feet and the Light unto our path. We need only seek, follow, and yield to Him as He leads, guides, and directs us. The only way for us to live a life pleasing to God is to allow the Word of Truth to live it through us. For it is only through Him we can truly live. If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must consistently yield to Him each day. Bible Reading: Exodus 36-37 | Matthew 23 | Psalm 13 Psalm 119:43
“And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments.” Jesus Christ is The Word. John 1:1,14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus Christ is The Truth. John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” So in studying the Word of Truth, we can find Christ within every page. He is there, within the pages of the Scripture that He has preserved for us. He is there, within in the Word where we read of the Gospel that He provided for us. 1 Peter 1:24-25 “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” “And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth” We have been given the Word of Truth so that we may read and study the Scriptures so that we can speak truthfully. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must seek to study the Word of Truth and remember what Jesus Christ has done for us. Bible Reading: Exodus 34-35 | Matthew 22 | Psalm 12 Psalm 119:42
“So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.” When we find ourselves hurting due to someone’s doing or lack of responsibility, our flesh’s first instinct is to get even. A reproach against us is not a license to get vengeance. Instead, we have the option of offering a prayerful request to have mercy on others. If we want mercy when we need it, we ourselves must be merciful. Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.” During the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus Christ gave nine descriptions of Blessed people. There is no coincidence that He spoke about mercy in the fifth verse, five being the number of grace. God’s mercy is always accompanied by His grace. “for I trust in thy word.” May we be merciful while trusting in the Truth of the Word of God. Psalm 56:4 “In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.” Psalm 56:10-11 “In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.” If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must be merciful while trusting in the Word of God. Bible Reading: Exodus 32-33 | Matthew 21 | Psalm 11 Psalm 119:41
“Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.” Mercy involves not getting what we actually deserve. God spares us because of His love for us, and through His grace bestows upon us more than we could ever deserve or merit. Where would we be without God’s mercy? There are times when we realize our need to ask God to have mercy on us, and others times when He gives it without our knowledge. God’s Mercy in Salvation We could not and cannot earn our salvation. Nothing we could ever do on our own would merit eternal life in Heaven, but God provided us one simple way. We need only accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour by God’s mercy & grace! Titus 3:4-7 “But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” God’s Mercy in Deliverance He is Faithful to hear us when we call upon Him. In times of trouble, it is His mercy upon which we can rely. He is Merciful to deliver us from times of distress, even those we bring upon ourselves. Our failures can disappear because He never fails. Psalm 4:1 “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.” Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Lamentations 3:22-23 “It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must be thankful for His mercy. Bible Reading: Exodus 30-31 | Matthew 20 | Psalm 10 Psalm 119:40
“Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.” Avoiding or Adoring? Complaining or Craving? Dreading or Desiring? Leaving or Longing? We have a choice in what our attitude is when approaching the Word of God. Psalm 119:9-12 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.” Those days we just don't feel like reading or studying the Word are the ones we need It the most. Yet far too often we allow our flesh to get the best of us as we make excuses or promises to do better or even more tomorrow. It is time we evaluate our motive and attitude concerning the Scripture. “quicken me in thy righteousness.” Do we desire to be made more alive by the Words of our Almighty God? Many people gave their lives so that we could have the Word today. God used them to help preserve the Scriptures. Psalm 12:6-7 “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” God preserved His Word throughout the ages so that we could hold It in our hands today. May that Truth encourage us to have a desire to know more. If we want the Lord to order our steps, we must have a desire for the Word of God each day. Bible Reading: Exodus 28-29 | Matthew 19 | Psalm 9 |
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