August 25 – Overcomers Overcome

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” – 1 John 5:3-5 (ESV)

The Apostle John emphasized what he has written by saying it again because obedience is a characteristic of an overcomer.  It is overcomers that are victorious. In the first five verses of 1 John 5 John weaves faith, love, obedience all together inextricably. It is a dynamic relationship and the genuine proof of love is obedience just as the genuine proof of faith is love. The word “keep” is one that means ‘guarding by constant obedience.’ A special promise is here for us in these verses, along with several others, is that keeping His commandments are not burdensome. We can do it because God has promised to help. Unless of course, we try to do so all by ourselves in our own strength and using our own reasoning. Every other religion in the world has commands to obey to please their system but offers no spiritual help in doing so. The Christian has the Spirit of God alongside. We overcome by being yoked to Jesus who makes our burden light. (Matthew 11:28-30) We confirm ourselves to be overcomers not by our works but by faith believing that Jesus is the Son of God. 

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October 20 – Eye Enlightenment

“The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;  The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.” Psalm 19:8 (NASB)

At first glance one might wonder why the psalmist described the commands of the Lord as “pure.” I believe that the explanation is found in the verse. When we read or hear God’s teachings and if we receive the truth from them, our reaction is joy in our hearts.  Our joy becomes visible in our appearance and others see it in our eyes.  When someone is joyful we can see it in their eyes  We really cannot hid true joy from God.  As the verse says God's commandment, “gives light to the eyes.”  We believe the commands of the Lord bring radiance, enlightenment because their perfect goodness, because they are pure.   That is light in our eyes.  It comes from God’s pure word which shines with radiance through us.  Similar effects happen with our speech and actions but our promise today is the rejoicing and enlightening of our eyes.

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November 13 – See the Joy

“The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”  Psalm 19:8 (NASB)

One of the greatest blessings which God has given us is the Bible itself.  When David wrote this psalm he expressed his appreciation for this blessing in verse 8.  God has given us the Bible to reveal His thinking about how we should live.  This, of course reveals His love for us.  When we read the Bible and are reminded of God's love and His concern for us it does give us much joy.  And when our hears are full of joy doesn't it show in our eyes?  Yes, our eyes reveal our inner spirit as they glisten with joy and that is what David was expressing about his experience.  Let's be sure to pay attention often to what God has revealed to us in His Word.  As we read our Bible or listen to others read it we will experience the rejoicing and it will be seen in our eyes. 

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July 22 – Unbound and Free

“And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts.” Psalm 119:45 (NASB)

When the psalmist wrote the psalm that we have as Psalm 119, he didn't have a printed Bible as we have but he knew of Scripture in scrolls of parchment.  These were the source of much inspiration for him as the Bible is for us in our Christian life.  This verse reveals what the psalmist learned from what he had read in the Scriptures.  He realized that it had set him free.  He felt he could walk about in freedom.  Jesus when He was on earth spoke about this freedom. He promised that the truth would set us free when we come to know it.  So whatever it might be that holds us back in our Christian lives, the place to look for freedom and liberty is in God's Word.  It has answers to so many questions and meets our needs in so many different situations. God's Word provides the wisdom to know how to handle or react to circumstances that seem beyond our control and it teaches us that we do not need to be bound up in a slavery to fear and consequences.  Seek His precepts, His instructions and counsel in the Bible, He promises liberty from the things that bind us.  

Notes on Psalm 119

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July 21 – Understanding The Way

“Cause me to understand the way of your precepts, that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.”  Psalm 119:27 (NIV)

We are continuing to focus on verses out of Psalm 119.  The psalmist realized that God had given His people the Scriptures to teach them many things they needed to know.  We also realize that God has, in love, preserved the Scriptures for us to read because He knows our need as well.  We need God's help to understand what He wants to teach us in the Bible. When He teaches us we need to give real thought to His teaching.  We need to do as the psalmist did. We need to meditate on God's Word.  Meditating is not a mystical practice as it is so often portrayed in stories, movies and on television.  Meditating is taking time to focus on a smaller portion of the Bible and think about what it means, what it means to you personally, and how to respond and apply what it says to do.  We will find as the psalmist did that He is a wonderful God and He does wonderful things. God promises to help us understand His Word.

Notes on Psalm 119

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July 19 – Meditate, Fix, Delight, Remember

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.  I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”  Psalm 119: 15-16 (ESV)

As we mentioned, this is the third posting which is from Psalm 119 and it is about the Word of God. The Psalmist uses ten different words to reference God's Word and today there are three besides the word 'word'.  This may differ in various translations but the one we have today uses, 'precepts', 'ways', 'statues', as well as 'word.'  The messages which we find in the Bible were not conceived by human beings.  The human writers were just passing on to us what God knew we all need.  And that is how the psalmist reacted to what God had said.  We notice that he mediated on God's messages, focused or fixed his eyes on what God had said and noticing how He dealt with people.  As a result of thinking about all this, it brought him delight and gave him a desire to pay attention to what God said.  We can do  the same. Meditating, focusing, delighting and determining to not forget what God has given us to help us on our journey with Him. 

Note on Psalm 119 

January 5

“The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” Psalm 19:8 (NIV)

We are so glad that God has given us a revelation of Himself in the Bible. God has also made clear to us how we should live here in this world if we want to be like Him. Our verse today tells us that God will give us joy in our hearts if we pay attention to His teachings in the Bible. And this joy will not be hidden in our hearts, it will show in our eyes because that is what true joy does. So when we read our Bible or when we hear someone teach it to us let us be sure we pay attention to what God tells us and respond to it. That will bring joy and it’s a joy that will be evident to others.