A LAMP and A LIGHT - Psalm 119:105-112 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - Nun) - #14

No one has ever journeyed through life without realizing this world can be a very dark place.

It's not always dark.  There are joys along the way, even for those surrounded by more darkness than light.    But no one gets a "darkness pass."  And, some of the very best people I have known have had to make their way through some of the darkest furlongs.

David knew this.  "Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death..."  Apparently he did, many times.

Jesus knew this.  He would build a movement threatened by the gates of hell on a daily basis.

Paul knew this.  "We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength...we despaired of life itself...we felt the sentence of death."

Ask  your friends, "Is there more darkness or light in your life today?  More joy or discouragement?" The answers may surprise you.  It's amazing the darkness everyday people deal with.

We need light for dark places, light that the darkness cannot beat back.  Light that overcomes.  Five decades ago, some faithful Calvary Memorial Church Sunday School teacher imbedded in me the following --

Your word is a lamp to my feet

and a light to my path.

I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

to keep Your righteous rules.

I am severely afflicted;

give me life, O Lord, according to Your word!

Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord

and teach me Your rules.

I hold my life in my hand continually,

but I do not forget Your law.

The wicked have laid a snare for me,

but I do not stray from Your precepts.

Your testimonies are my heritage forever,

for they are the joy of my heart.

I incline my heart to perform Your statutes

forever, to the end.

These verses toggle back and forth - one line of vulnerability, affliction, insecurity, the second of security, resource, and reorientation.   One line the darkness, the other line the light.

Sitting at the feet of a colleague in church yesterday, I was reminded that we who wander with God through dark stretches must "never underestimate the power of simple obedience" to the Lord.  You hear that here.  The tenacity, in dark times, to "keep Your righteous rules," to "not stray from Your precepts." 

Unique light comes from the Word of the Lord.  There is light found in sticking with It, light in making It the joy of one's heart.  Light in performing His statutes to the end.

"If we walk in the light, as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, the blood of Jesus God's Son cleanses us from all our sin" (1 John 1:7).

Walk in the light...and along the way, shine His light into some darkness around you.

IQ or WISDOM? - Psalm 119:97-104 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Mem) - #13

I've never forgotten one description of a brilliant person.

"He's forgotten more than I'll ever know."

I've been around many people like that.

I remember when I first encountered Daniel Wallace (who now teaches NT Greek and Exegesis at Dallas Seminary).  Dan was a classmate in an early DTS Greek course.  Vintage 1971.  We sat next to each other in our Goodwill-rack sport coats (shirt, tie, coat required in class back then).

It wasn't long before I realized I was out-of-my-league.  A Wheaton undergrad, Dan knew more about the original language of the New Testament books than some of his profs in college.  [He even had a Greek "ball" for his IBM Selectric typewriter!!]  His passion for God's word in the street-language within ancient Roman empire was amazing.   No doubt, still is.

That's not the first time I've felt like an intellectual Pygmy.

I often preach to brilliant people who do world-class research at Iowa State University.  They've forgotten more than I'll ever know.  In a few short days, I'll be sitting in a room (with a great view of the Pacific Ocean, by the way) with 40-45 pastors, each  who's IQ likely doubles mine.   It's why I keep my mouth shut most of the time during my annual trek west.

I'm there to learn from those who have a greater command of the big picture.

But brilliance can be a blinder.   Big time.  Pride in brilliance can become a god-like idol.  Sometimes, Paul reminded Timothy, you're around people who are "always learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7).

Which is why Psalm 119's author suggests that love of God's Word trumps brilliance:

Oh how I love Your law!

It is my meditation all the day.

Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

for it is ever with me.

I have more understanding than all my teachers,

for Your testimonies are my meditation.

I understand more than the aged,

for I keep Your precepts.

I hold back my feet from every evil way,

in order to keep Your word.

I do not turn aside from Your rules,

for You have taught me.

How sweet are Your words to my taste,

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Through Your precepts I get understanding,

therefore I hate every false way.

Yesterday, I sat with a very young Christian whose mind is being renewed and life is being transformed by memorizing God's Word.  He's been infected with the bug, and his hunger to have God's Word coursing through his mind and spilling from his mouth is...well, it's transformational.

It happens when someone can say, "You (Lord) have taught me." 

How sweet...

TRUE NORTH - Psalm 119:89-96 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - Lamedh) #12

Words evaporate. 

Their shelf-life is painfully brief.  Many times, that's a good thing.  Who doesn't glance back over one's shoulder and wince, "Grief...I wish I hadn't said that."  [Apparently, one of our presidential candidates doesn't think he needs to.]

Some words remain.  Lincoln's address at the Gettysburg cemetery, or his second Inaugural speech, are immemorial.  They deserve, if not demand, re-reading, even memorizing.

But many words (most?) are not worth the air that bears their vibrations. Forgettable as the score of a pro-baseball game in mid-season...1977 (or whatever year).

There are words, however, which are a fixed compass for eternity.

Forever, O Lord, Your Word

is firmly fixed in the heavens.

 

Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

You have established the earth, and it stands fast.

 

By Your appointment they stand to this day,

for all things are Your servants.

 

If Your law had not been my delight,

I would have perished in my affliction.

 

I will never forget your precepts,

for by them You have given me life.

I am Yours; save me,

for I have sought Your precepts.

 

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

but I consider Your testimonies.

 

I have seen a limit to all perfection,

but Your commandment is exceedingly broad.

 

These words deserve, even demand, attention, if not memorizing.  Find in them theology (what we can know about God himself, His character), soteriology (how we are saved by God himself), cosmology ("You established the earth...all things are Your servants"), morality ("I will never forget your precepts"), and so much more.

 

The true north in this author's life are the fixed and beyond-perfection treasure of God's Words.  "By them, You have given me life."  Jesus once asked his disciples, "Are you going to go away as well?", when rootless followers were pealing off.  "To whom would we go?" Peter asked (in one of his better moments), "You alone have the words of eternal life."

 

Find delight and life in God's Words.  Let them be the magnetic field which attracts your compass and aligns your living.

LONGING for RESCUE - Psalm 119:81-88 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Kaph) #11

Almost every Sunday, for many years, I've had the remarkable privilege of opening a Bible with hundreds of people who have come longing for salvation.

Let me be clear.  Not all of them would put it that way, and perhaps each share this "longing" to various degrees.  Some come to church, to be sure, because they have to come, leveraged by this or by that. Yet my sense has been that most come because they are either hopeful to get closer to God or longing for some kind of help.  Some kind of rescue.

Life so easily goes "south."  Physically.  Relationally.  Financially.  Professionally.  Emotionally.  Personally.

Yesterday, a bright, young, female psychologist who had spent some years in our church family -- and has this year started a therapy practice in Illinois -- shared how her practice recently began.  "After I finished my training in school, I simply put out the word...and before I could figure out how I was going to run my practice, I had clients pressing for appointments."

"People are so broken," I replied.  She nodded her head in incredulous agreement.

Psalm 119's poet felt broken.  He longed for rescue.

My soul longs for Your salvation;

I hope in Your Word.

My eyes long for Your promise;

I ask, "When will You comfort me?"

For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,

yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

How long must Your servant endure?

When will You judge those who persecute me?

The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;

they do not live according to Your law.

All Your commandments are sure;

they persecute me with falsehood--Help me!

They have almost mad an end of me on earth,

but I have not forsaken Your precepts.

In your steadfast love give me life,

that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth.

These heart cries are reminiscent of Paul's admission to the Corinthian Christians.  "We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  We felt that we had received the sentence of death" (2 Corinthians 1:8-9).

Why does God hang us out to dry like that?  Why does He allow it to get to such an advanced desperation?  "But that," Paul continued, "was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us.  On Him we have set our hope that He will deliver us again" (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).

"You must," Paul draws them in, "help us by prayer" (vs.11a).

You may feel the press of these verses in your life.  Listen to God's voice.  "I want you to rely on me like you never have before."  And, call on your friends.  Tell them, "you must help me by prayer."  

And while you are at it, help them by your prayers.  Relying on Him...helping one another.  

A LIFE which MODELS - Psalm 119:73-80 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Yodh) #10

These are days when words of truth are in short supply.  When the one word flung back-n-forth, between leading presidential candidates, like a dirty-bomb full of nails, is "liar."

Honestly, don't you think twice before turning on the television these days (February 2016)?  The media is completely beholden to the fracas.  There is scarcely nothing to admire about angry men and women making statements they cannot substantiate, promises they will never be able to keep.  Perhaps there is an exemplary candidate or two.  Clearly, they're painfully in short supply.

Enough already.  Does anyone have a broad, sweeping filter to clean the air?

Perhaps the Psalmist...

Your hands have made and fashioned me,

give me understanding that I may learn Your commandments.

Those who fear You shall see me and rejoice,

because I have hoped in Your word.

I know, O Lord, that Your rules are righteous,

and that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

Let Your steadfast love comfort me

according to Your promise to Your servant.

Let Your mercy come to me, that I may live

for Your law is my delight.

Let the insolent be put to shame,

because they have wronged me with falsehood;

as for me, I will meditate on Your precepts.

Let those who fear You turn to me,

that they may know Your testimonies.

May my heart be blameless in Your statutes,

that I may not be put to shame.

Line one affirms that God's hands have "made" and (literally) "given me a firmness."  That firmness comes Divine hands instilling a strength drawn from a Divine word.  The writer has a knowledge about what is right, about God's steadfast love and promises, about being able to withstand false accusations and barbs.

"Let those who fear You turn to me..." - this is not a boast, but a desire to have a life which is exemplary and winsome, a life that "whets the appetite" of others for God.  

He was often dismissed and belittled.  He bore burdens the extent of which none would know save the Lord Himself.  He became, arguably, our greatest president.  Abraham Lincoln said it, All things desirable to men are contained in the Bible.

Spent some time with God and His Word.  Let your heart be blameless, and exemplary, in His statutes.

The TEACHING of AFFLICTION - Psalm 119:65-72 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth - Teth) #9

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Stand a little taller

Doesn't mean I'm lonely cause I'm alone

What doesn't kill you makes a fighter

Footsteps even lighter

Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone

Kelly Clarkson's hit from a couple of years back bullishly boasts a survivor attitude.  A relationship she had counted on, that went south, was hurtful but not fatal.  She was bowed but not broken.  Now, she stands a bit taller, strides with more strength.  She is not "over" simply because a significant someone exited left.

You have dealt with Your Servant, O Lord,

According to Your word.

Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

for I believe in Your commandments.

Before I was afflicted, I went astray,

but now I keep Your word.

You are good, and do good;

teach me Your statutes.

The insolent smear me with lies,

but with my whole heart I keep Your precepts.

Their heart is unfeeling like fat,

but I delight in Your law.

It is good for me that I was afflicted,

that I might learn Your statutes.

The law of Your mouth is better to me

than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

A humility embraced.  Lessons learned.  The unique and unparalleled value of what God prescribes and directs is freshly appreciated.  Affliction..."it was good" for me.  My whole heart is ready to keep what God's wisdom calls for.

Look for the gold and silver lessons in your tough times.  The Lord's investment in your heart and life will pay dividends, when our response is humility.

Getting BACK on TRACK - Psalm 119:57-64 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth) - #8

Why are our hearts "prone to wander"?  The truth is they are.  The Bible tells us the truth about our insides, as unhappy the news might be at times.  "The heart," Jeremiah forth-told, "is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; Who can understand it?" [Jeremiah 17:9]

Don't stop reading.  "I, the Lord, search the heart, and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds" [Jeremiah 17:10].

WHAT WAY WILL WE WISELY CHOOSE?

If Jeremiah is correct, a most important choice is the "way" in which we choose to walk.   We may rabbit-chase the wanderings of an independent (and often inscrutably deceitful) heart.  Or, we may choose to make the Lord and His way our portion.

The Lord is my portion;

I promise to keep Your words.

I entreat Your favor with all my heart;

be gracious to me according to Your promise.

When I think on my ways,

I turn my feet to Your testimonies;

I hasten and do not delay

to keep Your commandments.

Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

I do not forget Your law.

At midnight I rise to praise You,

because of Your righteous rules.

I am a companion of all who fear You,

of those who keep Your precepts.

The earth, O Lord, is full of Your steadfast love;

teach me Your statutes.

Like all of us, the author of this song had to size up "my ways" and "turn my feet to" God's testimonies.  Not only did his own feet tend toward diverted ways, there were those around who wrapped cords around him and pulled him away.  

All the more important to intentionally refuse to forget God's law.  All the more important to rise at midnight and praise God for His righteous directives.  All the more important to choose companions who share a healthy, life-feeding fear of the Lord.    

PRAISE ON THE RIGHT PATH

The stanza finishes with refreshing joy.  A look at the earth that brims with God's enduring love.  Motivation to learn more of God's statutes.

Should you wake in the middle of the night, sing this song of recommitment to God's ways, and loving praise for God's provision.  And, tomorrow morning, turn your feet toward God's testimonies and run down God's righteous pathway.

When LIFE HEATS up - Psalm 119:49-56 (God's Alphabet of Truth - Zayin) #7

For most of us, life gets hotter if you will) than we sometimes admit.  

Sometimes the temperature builds over time.  Other times, the heat suddenly spikes.   Sometimes the heat comes from without (caused by others); sometimes the pressure builds within..

Prompted by the Spirit, the author of this Psalm is looking for hope, comfort, stabilizing promises, even a new song to sing and for fresh blessing to fall.

Remember your word to your servant,

    in which you have made me hope.

This is my comfort in my affliction, 

    that your promise gives me life.

The insolent utterly deride me,

    but I do not turn away from your law.

When I think of your rules from of old,

    I take comfort, O Lord.

 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,

    who forsake your law.

Your statutes have been my songs

    in the house of my sojourning.

I remember your name in the night, O Lord,

    and keep your law.

This blessing has fallen to me,
that I have kept your precepts.

If you're someone who has a deep passion for the Lord and the truths of His word, you may be fortunate enough to be surrounded by supporters and encouragers.  

But not everyone is so fortunate.  Some pay a personal price professionally, socially and emotionally, and in some cases physically, to walk with a humble focus on the Lord and His "law." 

There is a candid honesty in this song.  Emotions admitted.  Support and comfort sought for.  When belittled, our heart needs to rebound back toward 

• surety of what the Lord has said, 

• the comfort His truth provides 

• the peace God's name gives in the middle of a dark night 

• the bright song which gives energy to daily steps that can feel heavy

The Lord has the resources we need for the heat.

TAUNTED toward TRUST - Psalm 119:41-48 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Waw) #6

"To reproach in an insulting matter, to mock, to belittle."

Her classmates taunted her for her hand-me-down clothes.

So offers one one-line dictionary for the word TAUNT.  It's nothing new.

Let Your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,

your salvation according to Your promise.

Then I shall have an answer for him who taunts me,

for I trust in Your word.

And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,

for my hope is in Your rules.

I will keep Your law continually,

forever and ever.

And I shall walk in a wide place,

for I have sought Your precepts.

I will also speak of Your testimonies before kings

and shall not be put to shame.

For I find my delight in Your commandments,

which I love.

I will lift up my hands toward Your commandments, which I love,

and I will meditate on Your statutes.

A friend today asked for help, for his friend.  The friend's son is enrolled at ISU.  He has taken at least one religion class from an atheistic professor and has had his faith rattled.  Do I know of a book which might help?

Sure I do.  There are hundreds of them that can re-nourish the heart of faith.  Keller's THE REASON FOR GOD.  Veritas Forum's A PLACE FOR TRUTH.  Many more.

But taunts - especially when they come from teachers with advanced degrees - can unsettle.  Words of truth are needed, and need to be spoken.  They are available.  

But even more needed is the experience of the "steadfast love" (or lovingkindness) of the Lord in the life.  A rescue from the Lord in keeping with His promise of salvation.

Life's wide places and our heart's confidences come from delighting in the commandments and statutes of the Lord.  

Abraham's "sacrifice" of Isaac (Genesis 22) - Would God ask me to do that?

Has God ever asked you to do the previously unthinkable?   If He did, how could you be sure you were getting it right?  hearing Him correctly? 

"Did God really ask me to do that?" you might wonder.

These kind of questions arise when you study and apply Genesis 22, God's command to Abraham to "take your son, your only son (Isaac), the son whom you love, and offer him as a burnt offering on the mountain I will show you" (vss. 1-2). 

The surprising response from Abraham?  He went and did it.  And would have followed through had God not stopped him even as he lifted the knife.

"Now I know that you fear God," the Lord said to Abraham, "seeing that you did not withhold your son, your only son, from Me" (vs.12).  God knows that we truly fear Him when we fully obey.

DOES GOD MAKE SIMILAR REQUESTS TODAY?

Some recoil at this story from Abraham's later years.  "How could God require child sacrifice from His friend Abraham?  Wasn't that wrong?"

In my view, there was no way God was going to let Abraham follow through, even though Abraham was fully prepared to do so.  But God did ask Abraham to obey even this extraordinary, repulsive request to "test him."  Abraham's faith was immediately enrolled in a graduate-level course in trust.  Abraham was prepared to offer up his son, believing God would still fulfill His promises to him through raising Isaac from the ashes of the offering (cf. Hebrews 11:17-19).  No matter what God asked him to do, Abraham believed God would be absolutely true to His promise. 

Abraham passed the test.

There was something uniquely non-repeatable about the request God made of Abraham.  No where else in Scripture was any other saint asked to do such a thing--to make one's child go through the slaughter and burnt offering process.  So from this standpoint, the answer to the above question is "No."

On the other hand, God does make similar requests of his tested children.  He routinely asks us to obey His word in ways that push the envelope.  That call from us an obedience not based on feelings or preferences or a negotiated outcome.  He calls us on to love Him with "all your heart, soul, mind and strength."  He asks us to "love our neighbor" with the very same focused love "as we love ourselves."  Any application of these directives from God -- if we take them seriously -- will require a greater personal sacrifice than we have since imagined.

So, in this sense, God does make similar requests.  He also tests us, and wants to know if we fear Him, and desire a closer friendship with Him through obedience.

HOW DO I KNOW IF IT IS GOD'S VOICE ASKING?

Here is how this works for those who give their hearts and ears to God's voice in God's word on a daily basis.  You are reading and reflecting in a passage of Scripture.  You're asking God, "What does this mean?" and "How do you want this to express itself in my life today?"  You are dialoging with God about His word.

As you reflect, the Holy Spirit (essentially) says, "OK...here's what I want.  Take this verse, and _________________________________ today."  Something comes to your mind, a specific application.  A way to live that out in the routine of your day, or with those you are going to interact.  You say, "Lord, really?  You want me to do that?"  And (quite often), the Spirit will confirm it to your thinking.

It is in those moments that you and I check the "No" box or the "Yes" box in our hearts.  Perhaps we talk about what God has said with our spouses, or a trusted friend.  "You know, in my reading and praying this morning, I sensed God's Spirit saying, 'I want you to __________________.'  What do you think (you ask your friend)?"

It's a great exercise.  It builds both of you up in the Lord.  And, you're starting to experience life with God...especially if do what Abraham did.  You actually DO what the Spirit directed you to do from the Word.

Oswald Chambers said it, "Never try to explain God until you obey Him.  The only bit of God we understand is the bit we've obeyed."

Go ahead.  Read.  Reflect.  Ask God's Spirit to prompt you to a step of obedience.  Then Nike it.  Just do it.

You'll find yourself understanding God...and becoming God's friend (James 2:23).

OPEN for DIRECTION - Psalm 119:33-40 (God's Alphabet of Truth - He) #5

The description of "stubborn" cuts both ways.

Some admire a stubborn person.  I've heard young people talk thankfully that a grandparent, or a mentor, was stubborn about standards.  "Grandma was stubborn that way...and I loved her for it."

Still, my take is that a "stubborn" descriptive is mostly negative.  Like a mule that will not budge no matter how it important getting moving might be, a stubborn person often is willfully entrenched simply because he/she finds some idolatrous identity in it.  Forgiveness is not granted because an offense is stubbornly clung to, even nurtured.  Relationships stay broken and distant.  Wrong perspectives nurtured by a sinful heart refused to be reshaped.

A farmer asked his neighbor if he might borrow a rope.
   "Sorry," said the neighbor, "I'm using the rope to tie up my milk."
   "Milk?" exclaimed the first farmer. "Rope can't tie up milk."
   "I know," replied the neighbor, "but when a man doesn't want to do something, one reason is as good as another."

TEACH ME, O LORD

Not so with the one moved by the Spirit to write Psalm 119:33-40 (ESV) --

Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes

and I will keep them as my reward.

 

Give me understanding that I may keep Your law

and observe it with my whole heart.

 

Lead me in the path of Your commandments

for I delight in it.

 

Incline my heart to Your testimonies

and not to selfish gain!

 

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;

and give me life in Your ways.

 

Confirm to Your servant Your promise

that You may be feared.

Turn away the reproach that I dread

for Your rules are good.

 

Behold, I long for Your precepts;

In Your righteousness give me Life.

 

There is a marvelous humility knitted in the fabric of these words.  A sponge-like heart that wants to soak up God's wisdom, and be taught, given understanding not previously possessed, lead in a fresh path.  Eager to avoid a life given to greediness, or being star-struck with what is actually worthless.

 

Again, there is LIFE in God's word.  There is RIGHTEOUSNESS, or "right living."  There are PROMISES which reward and bless and bring goodness.

 

Someone has said that "Obstinate men don't hold opinions--opinions hold them."  Be held by something better...God's life-changing, life-giving ways.

 



DESPERATE for LIFE - Psalm 119:25-32 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Daleth) - #4

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "cling"?

Howard Hendricks noted that the word is variously translated from the Hebrew of Genesis 2:24: A man shall leave his father and mother and "hold fast" (cleave, or cling) to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  Noting that both the male and the female were fashioned from the ground's dirt, he said with a smile, "That's marriage - two clods clinging together!"  [Oh that such clinging would prevail in marriages!]

My mind's eye sees the small child, arms tightly vice-grip-wrapped around a mother's leg in the midst of a large crowd.  The little heart desperate for the feel of someone he/she trusts.  Desperate not to loose contact.  Separation would be unbearably frightening.

In this portion of Psalm 119, there is a fight between "clinging," personal realities.

My soul clings to the dust;

give me life according to Your Word!

When I was told of my ways, You answered me;

teach me Your statutes!

Make me understand the way of Your precepts,

and I will meditate on Your wondrous works.

My soul melts away for sorrow;

strengthen me according to Your word!

Put false ways far from me

and graciously teach me Your law!

I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

I set Your rules before me.

I cling to your testimonies, O Lord;

let me not be put to shame!

I will run in the way of Your commandments,

when You enlarge my heart.

(or "for You set my heart free")

The dirt of life pulls us down, and wants to bury us.  Sometimes it feels like our very soul is wrapped in the decay of the earth.  Our sense of security-life ebbs away.  Indeed, tis the season.  Every four years, we hear candidates promise to virtually turn the world around with their proposals...and every four years, we realize how hollow those promises are.  There is little life in dust.

Real life comes from the life-giving Word of God himself.  To know God, and His Son Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:1-3) is eternal life, unsullied by the turf.  God's prescriptions for what can be wrong with life (His precepts), His wondrous works which revive the reflective heart, the Lord's testimonies which give bold (shame-chasing) confidence - clinging to the Lord's word and voice resurrects the soul from the downward pull.

You've noticed, haven't you, the contrast between the bookends of this stanza.  It begins with one's soul in the dirt (vs. 25); it ends with the soul set free (vs.32).  Wow...how cool is that!!

Be that child who clings to the whole person of the Lord.  You've seen it.  The little one wraps arms tightly around one leg, two if he/she can!  The parent feeling the clamp bends down and lifts the toddler up.  They exchange smiles and hugs.   Cling to the Lord's testimonies.  Wrap your arms around them.  They are full of soul-resurrecting life!  He loves to lift us up.

LIGHT for the WAY - Psalm 119:17-24 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Gimel) - #3

Deal bountifully with Your servant,

that I may live and keep Your Word.

Open my eyes, that I may behold

wondrous things out of Your Law.

I am a sojourner on the earth;

hide not Your commandments from me!

My soul is consumed with longing

for Your rules at all times.

You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,

who wander from Your commandments.

Take away from me scorn and contempt,

for I have kept Your testimonies.

Even though princes sit plotting against me,
Your servant will meditate on Your statutes.

Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.

Every week, and almost every day, I hear from people who are desperate for advice.  Financial advice, relationship advice, medical advice, parenting advice, mental health advice, addiction-beating advice...the list is endless.

That's no surprise.  Life can be complex, and is made more so by the fact that our Spiritual Enemy (Satan) and our propensity to sin consistently muddy the windshield.

A KEY CONTRAST

This set of song-prayers expresses our heart's longing for something clear, fixed, and encouraging in a world in which we are sojourners.  We are making our way through, and heading somewhere else.  Our present experience is on the move, not rooted here, not settling here.  We will not be fooled into thinking otherwise, even when others may scorn or belittle us for such an orientation.  With this perspective, we can handle the plots of even the powerful (e.g., "princes") who live privileged and self-assured.

Still, sojourners need clarity and hope.  Clarity about how to live well in temporary times, and hope about where we will land.  The shifting sands of culture and coolness and morals make our souls long for God's solid commandments and life-anchoring rules.  God's testimonies are like an encouraging friend lifting our hearts and offering timely advice.  We find ourselves eager each day to hear the stabilizing blessing of God's Voice in God's Word.  We want more from our Rock.  "Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of Your Law."

OPENED EYES

I'm finding bright clarity in the eyes of young men and women who find their delight in the Lord.  Just yesterday, I reconnected with a great young ISU football player named Brian.  He is a stellar athlete, but even more an unashamed son of God by faith in Christ.   When I asked about his walk with God, his face broke into that winning smile.  Genuine.  Eager.  Delighted that he knows God and is informed, guided, and blessed by His Father's Word.

When you are checked up by the difficulty of sojourning through this sin-compromised world, beg your Father to reveal His commandments to you.  Meditate on His statutes -- portions from His word that can provide clarity and direction.

His voice in His word will not disappoint.  It gives daily direction on the journey.

KEEPING my WAY CLEAN - Psalm 119:9-16 (God's Alphabet Song of Truth-Beth) - #2

Christianity Today's January 2016 issue features yet another story on Christian leaders' struggle with pornography.

George Barna's firm did the research.  Three-thousand surveyed.  770 pastors in the group.  "Most pastors (57%) and youth pastors (64%) admit they have struggled with porn, either currently or in the past," Barna reported.  "Overall, 21% of youth pastors and 14% of pastors admit they currently struggle with using porn."

Most keep it mostly under wraps. "Almost 6 in 10 recommended that pastors tell their spouses (58%), and even fewer (21%) said to tell the church elders or board.  Almost none (1%) said to tell the congregation."

The battle for personal, sexual purity is as old as the Garden of Eden.  Guilty and shamed in sin, Adam and Eve worked to grab leafy greens to cover their nakedness, while hearing God draw near for his daily visit.

What we do behind our personal "closed doors" we certainly don't want published outside those doors.  Few live in glass houses.

BETH - CAN I REALLY KEEP MY WAY PURE? (119:9-16)

The second stanza of Psalm 119's alphabet of truth about God's word begins with "B", or BETH (the 2nd letter in the Hebrew alphabet).  These words are priceless.

How can a young man keep his way pure?

By guarding it according to Your Word.

With my whole heart I seek You;

let me not wander from Your commandments!

I have stored up Your Word in my heart

that I might not sin against You.

Blessed are You, O Lord;

teach me Your statutes!

With my lips I declare

all at the rules of Your mouth.

In the way of Your testimonies I delight

as much as in all riches.

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.

The young Psalmist asks a timeless question, especially for us who long for the fresh cleanness of a living void of maintaining a secret, locked closet of dirt.   Our recent American generations are flooded with sexual failure.  The question in line one seems almost ludicrous.  The answer feels like "He can't."

But, a negative answer is not the truth.  Note the keys to personal purity.

GUARD - the author knows that purity comes with keeping with, rather than being inattentive.  The Word can pull successful guard duty, if we will station it at its post.

SEEK - this young man recommits to seeing God with a wholeheartedness, even as he is fully aware how easy to is to simply wander off into trouble.

STORED UP - for the life to be successfully guarded, one must store up in the heart (or memorize and rehearse) the Lord's Word.  No stored up Word - no guarding gets done.

TEACH ME - maintaining a humble, teachable attitude to learn more.

DECLARE - speak it!  Say God's Word out loud.  Repeatedly.  It's the key to memorizing and storing.  Verbalizing it and hearing it reinforces the protection.

DELIGHT - MEDITATE - DELIGHT - loving the good that God has commanded and directed will grow inside as you meditate on Scripture.   Meditation leads to application...which becomes a guarded and clean living.

GUARDED WAYS or A SLIPPERY SLOPE?

Just a few days ago, I was discussing personal purity with a young, unmarried couple.  They were awash in impurity.  At first, they simply said it was impossible.  It was too hard to remain out of bed and in purity.  

Further discussion revealed that, in fact, they had done little to "guard  their way," often placing themselves together on a "slippery slope" (dark places, alone, at night).  "Once," I said, "you begin to slide down a muddy hill, there's little chance of stopping."

They weren't storing God's Word up in the heart.  None of the steps above were being attempted.

And, they had not known, or perhaps forgotten, this Divine pledge.  No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful.  He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide a way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.  Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:13-14).

True or not true?  If true, then we can guard, seek, store up, be taught, declare and delight/meditate/delight.

Yes we can.  And God's personal shepherding is also in the mix.  

We can walk purely.  Yes, we can.

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P.S.  For a teaching on Hearing God's Voice-The Cherished Word (Psalm 119), go to www.ccames.org and access the Resources tab for this sermon on-line.