Wednesday... This is such a practical and important thought.

Psalm 119:29-30 (NLT), "Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations."

Wednesday... This is such a practical and important thought.

I have read the Psalms for many years. I started when I was going though a time when I wanted to live from a positive standpoint and the Psalms has a way of showing how to change ones perspectives.

One of the dangers in coming always from a positive perspective is lying to one's self. There are some negatives in the world and in the Bible that we need to follow. The Ten Commandments have some nots in them and we really need to follow those and so many other regulations.

Now in my reading the Psalms, I had never seen this thought and it jumped out at me this morning.

I start my morning read praying that God would open my eyes to see, my ears to hear, my heart to comply, my mind to comprehend and my hands to communicate. I feel that I need to really be in tune with God and His Spirit so I can know what he is saying so I can obey and follow and even write.

I do find that the Bible is very practical and Psalm 119:29-30 (NLT) is one of those practical and important statements. It says, "Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations." But it can be so easy for us to listen to our own voice and of course the enemies' voice and not to hear what God is telling us and then to lie to ourselves.

Honesty is so important when we come to God. He can see clear through our lies. Yes, it is imperative to have the Spirit's still small voice guiding us through as we read. Now we must have a relationship with God and have His Spirit living in us. Over in the NT it says that the natural man doesn't understand God's Word. The natural man is someone who doesn't have a relationship with God. They so many times lie to themselves. They only see it through their own self-centered perspective but they can see it through the Spirit's perspective and guidance.

You see, one who doesn't have a relationship with God can have an open heart with an open desire and the Spirit can lead them to the truth but too many times the natural part will say that it is not for them, convincing them that it is not for them. But it is for everyone who is open to the truth.

Yes, verse 30 is so important. It says, "I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations." That is when the Bible takes on a total different meaning in our lives and that is so important for us to do. We are free moral agents and we can choose. We can choose the truth or a lie. It is our choice but there are consequences and rewards in our choice if we have chosen to be or not to be faithful and determined to live or not live by God's regulations.

Yes, this is a very practical and important prayer for us to pray and to really be honest with God. Just pray, "Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions. I have chosen to be faithful; I have determined to live by your regulations." And God through His Spirit will for sure answer that prayer. With so many teachings that are out their confusing us, please God, "Keep me from lying to myself; give me the privilege of knowing your instructions." Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Tuesday... I wonder what would happen if we didn't take the credit?

Nehemiah 6:16b (NLT), "They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Tuesday... I wonder what would happen if we didn't take the credit? Over in the Old Testament in the book of Nehemiah it tells of a major task that through the leadership of Nehemiah was accomplished. The walls of Jerusalem had been torn down and God had laid it on Nehemiah to build those walls back up. It was definitely an almost impossible task but Nehemiah 6:15-16 says, "So on October 2 the wall was finished - just fifty-two days after we had begun. When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God." Now, we so many times want to take credit for doing the impossible. It would make such a difference for us. But I wonder what would happen through us if God got the credit? Psalm 96 tells us what we are to do. Verses 2-3 says, "Sing to the LORD; praise his name. ...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

Thursday... Yet, now this is true.

Colossians 1:22a (NLT), "Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body." Thursday... Yet, now this is true. Now Paul a prisoner in Rome is writing a letter to a church in Colossae. And in Colossians 1:21 (MSG) he says, "Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds" The NLT says "This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated by your evil thoughts and actions." And that is where so many in this world live today. They are blowing it and they don't know what to do. Yes, they are hostile in their minds and they are engaging in evil deeds but there is Good News. Now Paul in verses 19-20 sets the stage for an answer to those who don't want to live that way. He says, "For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and earth b...

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