Friday, December 26, 2014

Bible Chapter: Psalms 139 & 140

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    How often do people think of others who are very important to them?  How about the young couple in love who are planning to be married soon?  She is always on his mind and he is always on her mind.  They communicate often, count down the days to the wedding and spend hours together as the time flies by in each other’s presence.  Look at these verses: Psalm 139:17-18 NLT
17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
Wow, think about that.  God’s thoughts about us are too numerous to count.  That is an exceptional encouragement to all to know that God cares about us to much that we are constantly on His mind.  Because our relationship with God is based on love, we must reciprocate and God must be continually on our minds.  He must be a central part of our lives.
    Through the Psalms we are reminded that we can pray to God for His protection in our lives.  Deliver us, Lord, from evil people.  We know that God will help the persecuted and give justice to the poor.  As we trust in God we have the privilege of praising God’s name.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    Psalm 139 ends with a challenging prayer.  God, search me and know my heart and thoughts.  Do we really want God to do that?  Do we really want Him to see if there is any wicked way in us?  That should be our prayer.  As we live close to the Lord, our desire should be for righteousness to shine through us.  We should desire a heart that is pure before the Lord.  That is an important reminder for ourselves: keep the place (inside) clean.

3.  How can I help someone?
    Sin looks like lots of fun.  The tempter always puts it out there with a high gloss to make it look so desirable and fun, with no price or penalties.  That simply is not true.  Always remember that.  Sin extracts a high price.  Right living before God brings the greatest benefits and blessings.