Psalm 119:104
From Thy precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.
God is the Maker and Designer and Builder of everything in the whole Universe--everything that exists. And He has given us His "Manufacturer's Instructions" in His Word, the Bible. This Psalmist has studied all the rules and regulations for operating this world correctly and been able to "connect all the dots" to see the Picture. This is his understanding. As a result of this understanding of how things are to work, he is able to discern that what doesn't conform to this program will be detrimental to it and to us. That is why he "hates" every activity, thought or word that is not in obedience to the Truth, therefore is "false." Falsity throws a monkey-wrench into the works.
This is also why I love to study God's written Word; so that I will recognize anything that doesn't agree with God's ways and avoid it.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, May 22, 2016
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Light And Darkness
Matthew 5:15, 6:22-23
Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel but on the lamp stand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. --
This is what light does: it shines out into the darkness and chases the darkness away, filling the place of darkness with light, giving light to the whole house. The light overcomes the darkness.
The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. --
The eye that sees God's Truth clearly will give "light" filling the whole "body" with the goodness of God.
But if your eye be bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If the eye cannot see God's Truth, it will "see" all the lies and deception the world, the flesh and the devil pour out to disguise and obscure the Truth.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
So if what you consider to be light (Truth) really is darkness (lies and deception), and the darkness is acting like light in you, then the darkness will be spreading extinguishing whatever pockets of Truth that were there, deepening and taking over the whole person. The darkness will overcome the light.
This sounds so seriously drastic. I want to continually question what I consider to be Truth in my life, to make sure it conforms to God's Truth in His Word, to stay in the Word to study and apply God's principles in my daily living and in my relationships with those God has placed in my life. I want His Light to overcome whatever darkness still lurks in my heart.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel but on the lamp stand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. --
This is what light does: it shines out into the darkness and chases the darkness away, filling the place of darkness with light, giving light to the whole house. The light overcomes the darkness.
The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. --
The eye that sees God's Truth clearly will give "light" filling the whole "body" with the goodness of God.
But if your eye be bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If the eye cannot see God's Truth, it will "see" all the lies and deception the world, the flesh and the devil pour out to disguise and obscure the Truth.
If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
So if what you consider to be light (Truth) really is darkness (lies and deception), and the darkness is acting like light in you, then the darkness will be spreading extinguishing whatever pockets of Truth that were there, deepening and taking over the whole person. The darkness will overcome the light.
This sounds so seriously drastic. I want to continually question what I consider to be Truth in my life, to make sure it conforms to God's Truth in His Word, to stay in the Word to study and apply God's principles in my daily living and in my relationships with those God has placed in my life. I want His Light to overcome whatever darkness still lurks in my heart.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, May 20, 2016
The Origin And Purpose Of Marriage
Genesis 2:18-25
Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone;" --
This is the first time God said something was "not good."
I will make him a helper suitable for him." --
God said that this help-meet would be according to his opposites: where he was strong, the helper could be weak; where he was weak, the helper would be strong. Only together would they be complete.
And out of the ground the Lord God [had] formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man --
God already knew all that He had made; now the man needed to know his need.
To see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, --
So the man had to have high intelligence to be able to pick up all the defining characteristics of each animal to think up what to call each one.
But for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. --
So among all the animals that inhabit this Earth with us, there is not any of them that would be an appropriate mate. People love their dogs and other pets as "part of the family," but they don't belong to the human family; not even the monkeys or apes that seem physically very similar to us would be appropriate or suitable as a mate.
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; --
Similar to how the doctor would administer a sedative to the patient prior to surgery.
Then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. --
God Himself performed the surgery on Adam to remove a part of his body, and closed up the surgical wound hygienically.
And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, --
While He was making this part into a whole person, however He did this to grow a woman; at the same time Adam was still sleeping, healing completely from the surgery.
And brought her to the man. --
God fashioned the woman to be the physical counterpart to the man. He didn't make Adam and Steve, nor did He make Ellen and Eve. And God brought this woman to the man He had made to be his mate.
And the man said, "Now, this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man." --
When Adam saw her, the first word out of his mouth was "Wow!" [how "now" is pronounced in the Hebrew language], when he beheld the most beautiful being he had ever seen--she was just like him (bone and flesh), but delightfully different! He was in love at first sight!
For this cause [Marriage] a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; --
God invented marriage, and God brought the woman to the man to be his wife: God officiated at the wedding, and the Son and the Holy Spirit were the witnesses. When a man and woman marry, they create a new family, and no longer are subject to their parents as they had been as children. They will be the parents in this new family.
And they shall become one flesh. --
This is what marriage is: one flesh. This describes a physical connection that is only physically possible with a man and a woman. Two of the same gender are physically unable to accomplish this intimate union.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
At this moment in our human history, there was no need to cover our bodies because there was no sin, no temptation and no death yet in this world. So there was no shame.
God gave us Marriage primarily to show us the intimate one-ness He wants to have with us spiritually. And the result of this one-ness physically with a man and his wife is the producing of children, a special gift from the Lord God to us, to make us into families and continue the human race in this world for as many generations as He has decided to allow us to go on.
In the Old Testament, Israel was God's wife; in the New Testament, the Church is the Bride of Christ. God loves us passionately, as a newlywed husband is enamored with his new bride.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone;" --
This is the first time God said something was "not good."
I will make him a helper suitable for him." --
God said that this help-meet would be according to his opposites: where he was strong, the helper could be weak; where he was weak, the helper would be strong. Only together would they be complete.
And out of the ground the Lord God [had] formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man --
God already knew all that He had made; now the man needed to know his need.
To see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, --
So the man had to have high intelligence to be able to pick up all the defining characteristics of each animal to think up what to call each one.
But for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. --
So among all the animals that inhabit this Earth with us, there is not any of them that would be an appropriate mate. People love their dogs and other pets as "part of the family," but they don't belong to the human family; not even the monkeys or apes that seem physically very similar to us would be appropriate or suitable as a mate.
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; --
Similar to how the doctor would administer a sedative to the patient prior to surgery.
Then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. --
God Himself performed the surgery on Adam to remove a part of his body, and closed up the surgical wound hygienically.
And the Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, --
While He was making this part into a whole person, however He did this to grow a woman; at the same time Adam was still sleeping, healing completely from the surgery.
And brought her to the man. --
God fashioned the woman to be the physical counterpart to the man. He didn't make Adam and Steve, nor did He make Ellen and Eve. And God brought this woman to the man He had made to be his mate.
And the man said, "Now, this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man." --
When Adam saw her, the first word out of his mouth was "Wow!" [how "now" is pronounced in the Hebrew language], when he beheld the most beautiful being he had ever seen--she was just like him (bone and flesh), but delightfully different! He was in love at first sight!
For this cause [Marriage] a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; --
God invented marriage, and God brought the woman to the man to be his wife: God officiated at the wedding, and the Son and the Holy Spirit were the witnesses. When a man and woman marry, they create a new family, and no longer are subject to their parents as they had been as children. They will be the parents in this new family.
And they shall become one flesh. --
This is what marriage is: one flesh. This describes a physical connection that is only physically possible with a man and a woman. Two of the same gender are physically unable to accomplish this intimate union.
And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
At this moment in our human history, there was no need to cover our bodies because there was no sin, no temptation and no death yet in this world. So there was no shame.
God gave us Marriage primarily to show us the intimate one-ness He wants to have with us spiritually. And the result of this one-ness physically with a man and his wife is the producing of children, a special gift from the Lord God to us, to make us into families and continue the human race in this world for as many generations as He has decided to allow us to go on.
In the Old Testament, Israel was God's wife; in the New Testament, the Church is the Bride of Christ. God loves us passionately, as a newlywed husband is enamored with his new bride.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Temptation
Genesis 3:1-7
Now the serpent was more crafty than any breast of the field which the Lord God had made. --
Ancient rock impressions have been found by archaeologists that show the snake having legs up and down its sides. And biologists have seen small impressions on the snake's vertebrae that look like legs had been attached there. A very beautiful creature.
And he said to the woman, --
The one speaking here is Satan using the snake to communicate.
"Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" --
Here is where he plants doubt into the woman's thinking processes.
And the woman said to the serpent, --
She didn't think it strange for a snake to be talking to her!?!
"From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;" --
She is right and accurate in what she said here.
But from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'"
Here either the woman adds to what God told Adam (in 2:17), or Adam added that part when he told her, to not touch it. In any case, apparently just touching the fruit without consuming it would not have resulted in death.
And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!" --
Here Satan tells her a bold-faced lie, completely countering what God clearly commanded.
"For God knows" --
Satan is implying that God is not being honest with them, and is holding something back from them that would be beneficial.
"That in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." --
Satan told her that to eat this fruit would make her "like God," in a way that would let her be her own god, not needing to listen to God any more, or anyone else, either, because she could choose for herself what she thinks would be best.
When the woman saw --
Oh-oh, she's looking right at it now . . .
that the tree was good for food, --
It looked and smelled delicious.
And that it was a delight to the eyes, --
It really was beautiful, like all of God's creation.
And that the tree was desirable to make one wise, --
She considered it a good thing to be enabled to make her own decisions and not "bother" God; to be her own god.
She took from its fruit and ate; --
She's following through on the decision she has already made.
And she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Apparently Adam was right there, and let her do it--or he walked up just then--but he ate, too. We're not told why, but he knew he was disobeying God, and did it deliberately.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, --
Yes, Satan said that would happen, but what did they see? Wisdom?
And they knew that they were naked; --
No, not wisdom, only shame. For the first time.
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. --
This is the first "religion," doing what we can to fix what's wrong and cover over where we're exposed.
Satan is still telling us that we're smart, we're adults, we don't need anyone to tell us what to do or not do, we can decide for ourselves. We certainly don't need to listen to God, because He just wants to "catch" us doing something He can punish. We don't need Him.
But if we're not listening to God Who loves us, to do the right things He leads us to do, then we're only letting our enemy dictate to us, to deceive us, and destroy us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Now the serpent was more crafty than any breast of the field which the Lord God had made. --
Ancient rock impressions have been found by archaeologists that show the snake having legs up and down its sides. And biologists have seen small impressions on the snake's vertebrae that look like legs had been attached there. A very beautiful creature.
And he said to the woman, --
The one speaking here is Satan using the snake to communicate.
"Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" --
Here is where he plants doubt into the woman's thinking processes.
And the woman said to the serpent, --
She didn't think it strange for a snake to be talking to her!?!
"From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat;" --
She is right and accurate in what she said here.
But from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.'"
Here either the woman adds to what God told Adam (in 2:17), or Adam added that part when he told her, to not touch it. In any case, apparently just touching the fruit without consuming it would not have resulted in death.
And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!" --
Here Satan tells her a bold-faced lie, completely countering what God clearly commanded.
"For God knows" --
Satan is implying that God is not being honest with them, and is holding something back from them that would be beneficial.
"That in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." --
Satan told her that to eat this fruit would make her "like God," in a way that would let her be her own god, not needing to listen to God any more, or anyone else, either, because she could choose for herself what she thinks would be best.
When the woman saw --
Oh-oh, she's looking right at it now . . .
that the tree was good for food, --
It looked and smelled delicious.
And that it was a delight to the eyes, --
It really was beautiful, like all of God's creation.
And that the tree was desirable to make one wise, --
She considered it a good thing to be enabled to make her own decisions and not "bother" God; to be her own god.
She took from its fruit and ate; --
She's following through on the decision she has already made.
And she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.
Apparently Adam was right there, and let her do it--or he walked up just then--but he ate, too. We're not told why, but he knew he was disobeying God, and did it deliberately.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, --
Yes, Satan said that would happen, but what did they see? Wisdom?
And they knew that they were naked; --
No, not wisdom, only shame. For the first time.
And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. --
This is the first "religion," doing what we can to fix what's wrong and cover over where we're exposed.
Satan is still telling us that we're smart, we're adults, we don't need anyone to tell us what to do or not do, we can decide for ourselves. We certainly don't need to listen to God, because He just wants to "catch" us doing something He can punish. We don't need Him.
But if we're not listening to God Who loves us, to do the right things He leads us to do, then we're only letting our enemy dictate to us, to deceive us, and destroy us.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Rejoicing In Trials
I Peter 1: 3-9
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, --
All blessing, glory and power belongs to God.
Who according to His great mercy --
His mercy is His not giving us the wrath and punishment we deserve for our our sins.
Has caused us to be born again --
This is the being "born anew" that Jesus told Nicodemus about, that is the miracle that God performs in each person He calls to faith in Jesus Christ, causing them to be born spiritually into His own Family.
To a living hope --
Hope in the world is an "I hope so," but hope in God's word is a certainty that has not yet taken place. This hope is alive in us.
Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, --
Jesus was not resuscitated from a temporary death, like someone who "dies" on the operating table and is brought back; He raised Himself from the death all mankind is destined to suffer, with a new kind of life, a Resurrection Life, far superior to our natural, physical life. This proves that God accepted His payment of our debt in full.
To obtain an inheritance --
Now as God's children born into His family, we will receive an inheritance from Him.
Which is imperishable --
Which means it cannot ever perish, or go bad, or decay.
And undefiled --
Which means that it is perfect, with nothing about it that is damaged or not right in any way.
And will not fade away, --
It will never grow old or get lost or wear out.
Reserved in Heaven for you, --
Reserved, held, like a reserved table at a restaurant, for each of us.
Who are protected by the power of God --
We are safely in God's hand, to never again be lost, held by the greatest Power in the Universe.
Through faith --
By means of our trusting God to have done and will do everything He says, in His word, the Bible; believing that He sent His own Son, God the Son coming to Earth as a Man, the eternal Person to pay the eternal debt we each owe, and a genuine member of the race of Man, to suffer the human death we all deserve and are destined to die; and rising from the dead to prove that He didn't deserve to die and that God the Father accepted His payment on our behalf.
For a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. --
This Salvation, this Redemption, is what we have a down-payment of now, in this world, Who is the Holy Spirit, given to us as the guarantee that we will receive the whole Redemption in the future, at the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, --
Knowing this, we can be happy and have joy in living;
Even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, --
Even in the midst of troubles, trials and sorrows, if that is what we are facing now.
That the proof of your faith, --
Showing that our faith is genuine, being maintained even through being tested by things not going the way we expect; not blaming God, but still relying on Him in gratitude for all He provides.
Being more precious than gold --
Our faith is worth more than the most precious substance in this world.
Which is perishable, even though tested by fire, --
Gold is refined by fire to make it more valuable, but will one day be destroyed when this Earth is destroyed; and we are tested by the fires of adversity and grief.
May be found to result in praise and glory and honor --
Our faith, our trusting in the Lord, will bring us compliments, credit and rewards.
At the Revelation of Jesus Christ; --
At the end of this Age, when Jesus returns to Earth to Rapture His church and set up His 1000-year Kingdom, He will also sit at His Bema Seat, to hand out the rewards to His Saints, who are us, for all the things we have accomplished in His power.
And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, --
We do not need to see Him with our physical eyes in order to know Him, and to know Him is to love Him; and although we cannot see Him in the flesh in the world today, we still put our faith in Who He is and What He has done and will do for us and in us.
You greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, --
Not seeing Him with our eyes, we still can have joy and happiness and fun in a way that is much deeper and satisfying than any the World is able to give, not being tainted by the World, so is pure and wholesome.
Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. --
So the outcome, the result of our having faith, putting our full trust in God, will be this joyfulness that is so rich that we cannot express it in words. And our spiritual parts, our soul and spirit, are ransomed and cleansed and purified now, to be Resurrected in glory with our bodies at that last day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, --
All blessing, glory and power belongs to God.
Who according to His great mercy --
His mercy is His not giving us the wrath and punishment we deserve for our our sins.
Has caused us to be born again --
This is the being "born anew" that Jesus told Nicodemus about, that is the miracle that God performs in each person He calls to faith in Jesus Christ, causing them to be born spiritually into His own Family.
To a living hope --
Hope in the world is an "I hope so," but hope in God's word is a certainty that has not yet taken place. This hope is alive in us.
Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, --
Jesus was not resuscitated from a temporary death, like someone who "dies" on the operating table and is brought back; He raised Himself from the death all mankind is destined to suffer, with a new kind of life, a Resurrection Life, far superior to our natural, physical life. This proves that God accepted His payment of our debt in full.
To obtain an inheritance --
Now as God's children born into His family, we will receive an inheritance from Him.
Which is imperishable --
Which means it cannot ever perish, or go bad, or decay.
And undefiled --
Which means that it is perfect, with nothing about it that is damaged or not right in any way.
And will not fade away, --
It will never grow old or get lost or wear out.
Reserved in Heaven for you, --
Reserved, held, like a reserved table at a restaurant, for each of us.
Who are protected by the power of God --
We are safely in God's hand, to never again be lost, held by the greatest Power in the Universe.
Through faith --
By means of our trusting God to have done and will do everything He says, in His word, the Bible; believing that He sent His own Son, God the Son coming to Earth as a Man, the eternal Person to pay the eternal debt we each owe, and a genuine member of the race of Man, to suffer the human death we all deserve and are destined to die; and rising from the dead to prove that He didn't deserve to die and that God the Father accepted His payment on our behalf.
For a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. --
This Salvation, this Redemption, is what we have a down-payment of now, in this world, Who is the Holy Spirit, given to us as the guarantee that we will receive the whole Redemption in the future, at the last time.
In this you greatly rejoice, --
Knowing this, we can be happy and have joy in living;
Even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, --
Even in the midst of troubles, trials and sorrows, if that is what we are facing now.
That the proof of your faith, --
Showing that our faith is genuine, being maintained even through being tested by things not going the way we expect; not blaming God, but still relying on Him in gratitude for all He provides.
Being more precious than gold --
Our faith is worth more than the most precious substance in this world.
Which is perishable, even though tested by fire, --
Gold is refined by fire to make it more valuable, but will one day be destroyed when this Earth is destroyed; and we are tested by the fires of adversity and grief.
May be found to result in praise and glory and honor --
Our faith, our trusting in the Lord, will bring us compliments, credit and rewards.
At the Revelation of Jesus Christ; --
At the end of this Age, when Jesus returns to Earth to Rapture His church and set up His 1000-year Kingdom, He will also sit at His Bema Seat, to hand out the rewards to His Saints, who are us, for all the things we have accomplished in His power.
And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, --
We do not need to see Him with our physical eyes in order to know Him, and to know Him is to love Him; and although we cannot see Him in the flesh in the world today, we still put our faith in Who He is and What He has done and will do for us and in us.
You greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, --
Not seeing Him with our eyes, we still can have joy and happiness and fun in a way that is much deeper and satisfying than any the World is able to give, not being tainted by the World, so is pure and wholesome.
Obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. --
So the outcome, the result of our having faith, putting our full trust in God, will be this joyfulness that is so rich that we cannot express it in words. And our spiritual parts, our soul and spirit, are ransomed and cleansed and purified now, to be Resurrected in glory with our bodies at that last day.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
His Hand In My Goings
Psalm 139:1-6
O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. --
My sister and I left her house to make what we thought would be a 3 or 4 hour drive, to be with my daughter for a family event at the University prior to her graduation. We missed a turn-off onto the highway we were going to take, which resulted in a much longer but very scenic 6-hour drive. We arrived at the University at about the same time my daughter and her family did, though, and, surprisingly, met up with them on the sidewalk, from among over 18,000 graduates and their families!
God knew that we didn't need to be there earlier, and treated us to a very beautiful mountain drive as an extra bonus. He really does know all my ways, and is so powerful that He was able to arrange all the details, for my benefit, and He receives all the glory!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
O Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. Thou dost know when I sit down and when I rise up; Thou dost understand my thought from afar. Thou dost scrutinize my path and my lying down, and art intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O Lord, Thou dost know it all. Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, and laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. --
My sister and I left her house to make what we thought would be a 3 or 4 hour drive, to be with my daughter for a family event at the University prior to her graduation. We missed a turn-off onto the highway we were going to take, which resulted in a much longer but very scenic 6-hour drive. We arrived at the University at about the same time my daughter and her family did, though, and, surprisingly, met up with them on the sidewalk, from among over 18,000 graduates and their families!
God knew that we didn't need to be there earlier, and treated us to a very beautiful mountain drive as an extra bonus. He really does know all my ways, and is so powerful that He was able to arrange all the details, for my benefit, and He receives all the glory!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, May 16, 2016
Search Me, Know Me, Try Me
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; --
Look into me, O God, into the deep recesses of my heart, even those places I hide from myself.
Try me and know my anxious thoughts; --
Test me to show me where fear still has hold of me, instead of trusting You.
And see if there be any hurtful way in me, --
Show me every thought, word or action in me that is against the good way You have made this world and intend for it to work; or that would be harmful to me or others or Your reputation.
And lead me in the everlasting way. --
Teach me how to live my life each day according to Your good plan for me, that I may be a blessing to others in showing them Your love for them and goodness toward them, to turn their hearts toward You and seek You, that they may find You and enjoy You forever. And You, Lord, will receive all the credit, for that is how You planned it all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Search me, O God, and know my heart; --
Look into me, O God, into the deep recesses of my heart, even those places I hide from myself.
Try me and know my anxious thoughts; --
Test me to show me where fear still has hold of me, instead of trusting You.
And see if there be any hurtful way in me, --
Show me every thought, word or action in me that is against the good way You have made this world and intend for it to work; or that would be harmful to me or others or Your reputation.
And lead me in the everlasting way. --
Teach me how to live my life each day according to Your good plan for me, that I may be a blessing to others in showing them Your love for them and goodness toward them, to turn their hearts toward You and seek You, that they may find You and enjoy You forever. And You, Lord, will receive all the credit, for that is how You planned it all.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)