"Eat this scroll"

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ezekiel 1-4; Psalm 31

TO CHEW ON: "Moreover He said to me, 'Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go speak to the house of Israel.' ... Moreover He said to me: 'Son of man, receive into your heart all My words that I speak to you, and hear with your ears.'" Ezekiel 3:1,10

I love this food/eating metaphor of how we are to relate to God's word. I think of many ways it applies:

• We eat by taking a bite of something.

Similarly we assimilate God's word in small portions.

• We chew our food, mixing it with a part of us (saliva) to make it digestible.

In the same way we think about and meditate on Bible words, mixing them with aspects of our lives to make them our own.

• We swallow food, taking it into our inner beings. In the stomach the assimilation continues, unseen, unfelt but but very real as our bodies change the food  we have eaten into energy, body parts, and fat.

Hopefully God's word gets into us energizing, restoring, and changing us in the same DNA-changing way. As God told Ezekiel, "...receive into your heart all my words..." Ezekiel 3:10.

• Physically we fill our stomachs, eating until our hunger is assuaged. God tells Ezekiel here "...fill your stomach with this scroll..."Ezekiel 3:3.

[Fill - male - means fill, fill up, be full. Male is the source of Hebrew words relating to fullness and fulfillment: filling something to the brim, causing something to be thoroughly saturated... Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 992]

Would this filling imply that there is room for nothing else in Ezekiel's stomach / heart? Maybe part of why we're spiritually malnourished is because we view God's word as a snack or appetizer instead of the main course.

• Of course our appetite and eating is not an end in itself but a means to an end. We eat so we have energy to live, work, and raise families.

Spiritually our eating has a similar purpose. God told Ezekiel, "eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel."  How do we use the spiritual energy we get from Bible study?  Is it just to satisfy ourselves? Or does it fuel testimony, witness, and kingdom work?

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to ingest Your words into my life so that my very self is changed. Then help me to use that stored word as the energy for testimony, witness, and work. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 31

The Bible Project VIDEO: Ezekiel - Part 1 (Read Scripture Series)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Something new in 2018!

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Image: Pixabay

2018 is almost here! With it comes the desire to try something different on this blog. Following the daily Scripture reading guide from the Canadian Bible Society has served us well, but I’m feeling it’s time for a change.

One practice that appeals to me is reading the Bible through in a year. I’ve been on the lookout for just the right one-year reading plan and have found one that I think will not only take us through the Bible but teach us a lot as well. It’s put out by The Bible Project.

What is The Bible Project?

Here is an explanation from the "about us" page of their website:

“The Bible Project is a non-profit animation studio that produces short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcasts, and study guides that explore the Bible’s unified story.

The Bible is a divine-human book that speaks God’s word to his people. We believe it ultimately points us to Jesus, who has the power to change individuals and whole communities when we let the biblical story speak for itself.

We focus on the Bible's overarching themes and each book’s literary design and are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context.”

The Bible Project has put out a reading guide which, if we stick with it, will take us through the Bible in one year and the Psalms 2 1/2 times. Each day’s reading consists of 3 or so chapters from somewhere in the Bible plus a Psalm. (Download a PDF of the reading plan HERE.)

To go along with the reading are several series of animated educational videos that explain each Bible book (Reading Series), delve into its historical roots (Torah Series) and explore Bible themes, words, and more (Theme, Word and other series).

I will still post a devo each day that that will focus on a verse or two from the day’s reading. (Some of these will be re-posts and some newly written.) I will also embed the relevant videos in the day’s post.

Will you join me on this journey through the Bible? We start January 1st!

In the meantime, explore The Bible Project website. It’s amazing!

Treasure Book

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:161-176

TO CHEW ON: "I rejoice at Your word
As one who finds great treasure." Psalm 119:162


Has this ever happened to you? You consider not renewing a magazine subscription because you don't read it a lot anyway. Then, as you think about whether you really should let it lapse, you go through back issues and notice interesting articles that you missed. You realize that it really is a helpful and interesting publication and your life would be poorer without it. So you change your mind. As you walk home from the mailbox after mailing in the renewal form and cheque, you take a deep breath. That was close! The next issue that comes, you read cover to cover. Pondering that magazine's absence has made you realize its worth.

As those who have never been without the Bible and who have most English translations of it on our shelves or at our fingertips online, we can find it as easy to take for granted as a publication that is delivered to our mailbox each month. Do we think of it in the same way as the psalmist describes it — "great treasure"? Probably not, until we consider the ramifications of its absence.

Suppose, for a minute, that all the Bibles on our bookshelves and on the internet disappeared. Think of all the things we would miss.

• No longer could we read the story of Jesus' birth at Christmas or His passion at Easter.

• No longer could we get comfort from Psalm 23 or 139.

• No longer could we refresh our minds with the picture of genuine love from 1 Corinthians 13, or challenge ourselves to bear the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5.

• All we would have of Jesus' interesting parables would be what we could remember of them.

• No longer could we get up every morning to read a bit of it as spiritual nourishment for the day...

I think I would feel as if someone had taken the foundation from under my life.

But, I ask myself, If it's worth that much, why don't I spend more time in it?

And so I challenge myself — all of us — to spend more time discovering, exploring, examining, analyzing, and putting into use and practice this Treasure Book!


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Bible. Thank You for how accessible it is in my culture. Help me not to take it for granted but to read it more and to store more of it in my memory as if I were in danger of no longer having it. Amen.


MORE: "TREASURE BOOK" Wordsearch

(Click on puzzle to open in a new browser and print).

Find the bold words in the verses below in the word search puzzle above:

I have treasured the words of His mouth
More than my necessary food - Job 23:12.

The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether
More to be desired are they than gold
yea than much fine gold
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb - Psalm 19:10.

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies
as much as in all riches - Psalm 119:14.

The law of Your mouth is better to me
than thousands of coins of gold and silver - Psalm 119:72

How precious also are your thoughts to me O God!
How great is the sum of them - Psalm 139:17.

She is more precious than rubies
And all thing things you may desire cannot compare with her - Proverbs 3:15.

Puzzle made by Puzzlemaker at Discovery Education.


"Treasure Book" solution:

(Click on Solution to enlarge/open in a new browser)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Fathers, lead in right paths

 HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Proverbs 4:1-13

TO CHEW ON: "I have taught you in the way of wisdom;
I have led you in right paths." Proverbs 4:11


"I have led you in right paths" says the father to his son in our reading today. There is probably no more persuasive teaching than that done by example. What are the "right paths" on which a father could lead his children? Are they still there for us to find today?

Right paths:

1. The wise father seeks out the paths of God - Psalm 23:3.

2. He goes to the "mountain of the Lord" to get instruction (Isaiah 2:3). For the Old Testament Hebrews this would have been the temple in Jerusalem. In our day instruction can come from many places—church, radio & TV, books and, of course, the greatest book for this is the Bible which we can access in our own homes (no traveling to mountains necessary, although spending time with God in His word is sometimes called a "mountaintop experience").

3. The paths of God are:
- life and joy and pleasure - Psalm 16:11.
- mercy and truth - Psalm 25:10.
- wisdom and justice - Proverbs 2:6-8.
- uprightness - Isaiah 26:7.
- righteousness - Proverbs 8:20; 12:28.
- shining - Proverbs 4:18.

4. He avoids the path to sin. The path specifically referred to here is the path to the  "seductress" i.e. an immoral, extramarital relationship - Proverbs 2:19.

5. If he goes astray he looks for the way back. Jeremiah tells us to find our way back to God via the "old path" (Jeremiah 6:16), and to look for the "signposts" and "landmarks" (Jeremiah 31:21). This picturesque instruction says to me, don't look for a new-fangled way back to God. Come by the way of the book. If you have backslidden, come remembering and revisiting your decisions and experiences from the past.

6. The writer to the Hebrews gives the last bit of path wisdom to fathers and all of us: "…make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed." We need such straight, honest living, not only for our own well-being but for the well-being of those who follow behind, calling us father (and mother).


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for fathers. Thank You for my father who loved Your word and taught it to us in our home. Please give wisdom, grace, and joy to all fathers who read here this Father's Day. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The fair-minded Christian

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 17:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so." Acts 17:11


"These" were the members of the Jewish synagogue in Berea. Though not necessarily believers (yet), they reacted differently to Paul's teaching than "those."

"Those" were a segment of the synagogue attenders in Thessalonica. Paul reasoned with them for three weeks using the Old Testament writings to prove that Jesus was the Christ—the Messiah. There were two reactions. Some were persuaded so that "…a great multitude of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women joined Paul and Silas" (Acts 17:4). Others—"those"—became jealous, sparked a riot and ran Paul and Silas out of town.

"These" Bereans, on the other hand, "received the word with all readiness." They probably followed along (if they had their own copies) and read the passages around those Paul quoted to make sure he was using them in context. Perhaps they asked questions. They didn't let personal insecurity, jealousy and fear interfere with how they read and understood scripture.

The Bereans are a good example for us to follow when we hear Bible teaching of any kind, but especially when it clashes with what we believe. J. Norton Sterrett in his book How To Understand Your Bible talks about  Bible study principles that can guide us as we interpret any passage of scripture.  (Below is his bare bones list; he devotes a chapter to each item.)

1. Interpret a passage in the light of its context - p. 49. This means to read the verses before and after the verse you're focusing on.

2. Interpret according to the correct meaning of the words - p. 55. This could include looking up a word in the dictionary, noting the word's context, and using a concordance and lexicon.

3. Interpret according to the grammar of the sentence … the form of words and the relationship of words - p. 61.

4. Interpret according to the author's purpose and plan. … The purpose of the author is the object he has in mind for writing (e.g. 1 John 5:13). … The plan of the author is the way he structures the writing in order to carry out his purpose - p. 71.

5. Interpret in the light of the historical, geographical, and cultural background as far as that can be known - p. 77.

6. Interpret each passage in the light of the Bible's teaching as a whole"- p. 85.

As we follow these principles, perhaps we'll also gain the reputation of being fair-minded ("better disposed and more noble" - Amplified) Christians.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Bible and those who teach it. Help me to dig into it in a fair-minded way for myself. Please teach me by Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

• How to Understand Your Bible available on Amazon.com (a newer edition than the one quoted)
  

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Exploring some Bible images

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Revelation 21:22-22:5

TO CHEW ON: “The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23

One of a poet’s tools to enrich and thicken a piece of writing is to plant within it allusions to past works of great literature and art. In that department, John’s vision of the New Jerusalem here is a visual poem that has those of us who love the Bible and its images in a tizzy of making connections. Here are a few, made with just three images from this passage:

LIGHT - Revelation 21:23,24; 22:5

• Light is the first thing God created - Genesis 1:3.

• God led Israel through their wilderness wanderings with a cloud that lit up at night - Exodus 13:2122.

• Light shone from Moses’ face after he had been with God - Exodus 34:29-35.

• Lights accompanied the announcement of Jesus’ birth - Matthew 2:1,2; Luke 2:9.

• Jesus declared Himself the light of the world - John 8:12.

• Light shone brilliantly at His transfiguration - Matthew 17:2.

• The light was snuffed out at His death - Mark 15:33.

NO MORE EVIL - Revelation 21:27; 22:3.

• The “curse” (Revelation 22:3) was first pronounced in Genesis 3:14-19.

• The giving of the Ten Commandments that help us understand God’s standard of right and wrong - Exodus 20:1-17.

• The rules of washing and purification that accompanied the Jewish sacrificial system (found throughout its descriptions, e.g. Numbers 8:6,7,15,21).

• Christ’s higher-than-the-law standard of right and wrong - Matthew 5,6,7.

• Christ’s blood shed to wash away and cleanse the stain of our sin - 1 John 1:7.

WATER - Revelation 22:1,2

• The river of life-giving water in Ezekiel’s vision - Ezekiel 47:1-12 (this vision also has a temple and healing trees in it).

• Jesus promised the Samaritan woman living water - John 4:13,14.

• Jesus invited all to come to Him to drink and themselves become sources of living water - John 7:37,38.

I'm sure you could find more connections to the items I've chosen and we could choose more items and continue to make connections. The Bible has many references to the temple, gates, nations, healing, the Lamb’s Book of Life, the Tree of Life. (Maybe you'd like to work on those!)

These connections are what make the Bible such a rich and exciting book. They leave me in awe and wonder and praise—what depth, what a consistent message flowing through 66 books despite a variety of writers, what a Master Author!


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your amazing Word, presented to us through so many writers. Help me to hear what You are saying—today about light, purity, living water—and apply these things to my life. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Spiritual hygiene and diet

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 1:1-6

TO CHEW ON: "And whatever he does shall prosper." - Psalm 1:3


A lot leads up to the righteous person's success. There is conscious avoidance—no walking in step with, standing in the way of, or sitting in the company of the wicked, sinners or mockers. (Does even keeping social company with God's enemies imply a certain sympathy with them?)

Instead there is wilful keeping company with the things of God—meditating on His ways (for David the "law," for us the Bible), letting His presence saturate us to the roots so we stay vital and yield fruit.

This speaks to me of the dailiness of good life habits that, once set, need to be maintained. I love the title of a Eugene Peterson book that expresses it well: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.

I am writing this while on holiday. I confess I am not always faithful, while on vacation, in having a daily time of reading the Bible, finding something relevant for life, and praying over the day.

I know that doing this is not something that gets me points with God. Neither do I sense His frown when I miss. But what I do sense in myself is a spiritual weakening, a lack of spiritual energy as I feel a lack of physical spunk when I skip a meal.

We know eating is daily. We can't eat for the future (we can accumulate fat which will keep us nourished for a while, but not forever). Neither can we be lively and fruitful spiritually when we don't guard our spiritual health and eat and drink His words.

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to put into daily practice these Psalm 1 habits of spiritual hygiene and diet. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Faith food

Jesus at the Feast of Dedication - James Tissot

TODAY’S SPECIAL: John 10:22-42

TO CHEW ON: “‘I told you and you do not believe…. But you do not believe because you are not My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow me.’” John 10:25-27

When the Jews surrounded Jesus in the temple during the Feast of Dedication demanding “'If you are the Christ tell us plainly,'” they had one goal – to get Jesus to incriminate Himself. They were not asking for proof of His deity in order to reassure themselves that He was God and believe in Him. They were not even looking to Him as a potential Messiah to free their nation from the Romans. They completely overlooked the miracles that pointed to the fact He was no ordinary man. All they wanted was proof (again) from His own mouth, of blasphemy. Then they planned to arrest Him and get rid of Him as a rival.

The same teachings and miracles of Jesus referred to when talking to the Jews had a far different effect on the “many who came to Him… and believed in Him.” The difference: a willingness to believe.

The same is true for people of our generation. Though we don’t have Jesus in person as they did, we have the Bible. I’m sure you’ve noticed its different effects on people. Some laugh it off as a collection of archaic writings that have nothing at all to say to them. Others read it with reservations and attempt to twist it to say what they want it to say. Still others consider it truth, the very words of God. To them it is direction for life and hope in death. Whatever one’s perception of Jesus and what He said according to the Bible, it hinges on one thing: a decision to believe - or not.

How do we come to that point of belief? How do we encourage it in others? Through exposure to the Bible. John Piper says:

“The Word of God begets and sustains spiritual life because it begets and sustains faith: “These are written,” John says, “so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name (John 20:31). “Faith comes from hearing,” writes the apostle Paul, “and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). The faith that starts our life in Christ and by which we go on living comes from hearing the Word of God.” - John Piper, Desiring God, p. 146 (emphasis his).

If you are having trouble believing in and hearing the voice of your Shepherd, spend time in the Bible. Read it, memorize it, think about it, do it. Your exposure to God’s word will plant the seed of faith and grow it into the desire and ability to live an obedient life.

PRAYER: Dear God, I want to hear Your voice. Help me to read, understand and obey Your Word. Amen

MORE: At the age of 19 Abraham Piper, son of John Piper, was an avowed atheist. He came to faith one morning by reading the book of Romans. His advice to parents with prodigal kids:

"When you read something in the Bible that encourages you and helps you love Jesus more, write it up in a couple of lines and send it to your child. The best exhortation—better than any correction—is for them to see Christ’s joy in your life.


Don’t stress out when you’re composing these as if each one needs to be singularly powerful. Just whip them out and let the cumulative effect of your satisfaction in God gather up in your child’s inbox. God’s Word is never useless."

Read his story: “Let Them Come Home.”

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Word lover

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "I will meditate on Your precepts,

And contemplate (look into) Your ways." Psalm 119:15

The writer of Psalm 119 — the longest chapter in the Bible — contemplated in more ways than one. A footnote in my Bible about the literary aspects of this psalm explains:

"This skilfully written psalm is an alphabet (acrostic) masterpiece divided into 22 stanzas with eight couplets (set of two lines) in each stanza. All the couplets in the first stanza begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, 'aleph,' the couplets in the second stanza begin with the second letter 'beth' and so on to the end of the poem" - Dick Iverson,  New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 779.

Of course all that literary finesse is lost in translation. Something that isn't lost, though, is the love for God's words (variously called "the law,""commandments," "testimonies," "statutes," "precepts," "judgments," "word," "ordinances," and "way").

Notice the actions the psalmist applies to this precious commodity:

walk in - Psalm 119:1
keep - Psalm 119:4, 5, 8
look into - Psalm 119:6
learn - Psalm 119:7.
heed - Psalm 119:9.
hide (in one's heart) - Psalm 119:11.
declare - Psalm 119:13
rejoice in - Psalm 119:14.
meditate on - Psalm 119:15.
contemplate - Psalm 119:15.
delight in - Psalm 119:16
not forget - Psalm 119:16.

We mustn't lose sight of the fact that this was the law of Moses the psalmist was talking about — not the easy-to-understand psalms (because they were in the process of being written), nor the stories of Samuel, Kings, or Chronicles, nor the passionate poetry of the prophets, nor the stories of Jesus, nor the epistles or Revelation. These were the ten commandments and the rules and regulations about offerings and feasts and food prohibitions and hygiene and how to deal with leprosy and a moldy house.

How could the psalmist love these words so much? I'd suggest it's for the same reason you and I love the words of our Bibles—because they reveal the mind, the personality, and the character of the God that is behind the words. They show us His justice, righteousness, creativity, and care for humanity in the prohibitions about the things that will harm us.

Finally, they were to the psalmist, as they are to us, God's means of re-establishing our broken relationship with Him. In the Old Testament it was through ceremonies and sacrifices foreshadowing the death and resurrection of Jesus as it unfolds in the New.

If the psalmist could be so enthusiastic about the parts of the Bible we can scarcely force ourselves to read, how much easier should it be for us to walk in, keep, look into, learn, heed, hide, declare, rejoice in, meditate on, contemplate, and not forget God's communication to us as we have it in the Bible today.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for Your precious word. Help me to love it as passionately, study it as closely, and follow it as carefully as the psalm writer loved, studied and obeyed the bit of Your word that he had. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Happy New Year!

Dear Reader,

I can't believe another year has gone by! January 1st 2013 begins my fourth year of posting these daily devotions.

When I began writing them in December of 2009 (for 2010) I didn't know how long I'd last. But that's the beauty of God's Word. There's always more to find, to learn, to apply, to obey. I can honestly say after the daily discipline of three years of writing these almost every morning, if I take a day off, I feel 'off'!

In 2013 I will continue following the Canadian Bible Society Daily Reading Guide (prepared for the 28th consecutive year by the Rev. Dr. K. L. Peterson) as the Bible basis for these meditations. Here's what's in store for us according to the Guide's back cover:

"If the Guide is used every day during 2013, 56 books of the Bible will be utilized and 11 will be read in their entirety. With intention for 2013, all 79 biblical texts used by G. F. Handel in his oratorio "Messiah" will be read, as will the 12 so-called Great Prayers of the Old Testament."

(Download a pdf copy of the Guide here for your own use.)

So we'll be on the lookout for those 79 "Messiah" texts and twelve Great Prayers of the Old Testament. I'll try to spot them and give you a little nudge when they appear (but if I miss one, don't hesitate to let me know via  'Comments').

Now that I have a goodly number of these devotions written (and indexed, both OT and NT) it's easy for me to see if, and what, I've written about a text in the past. You may have noticed that from time to time I re-publish a devotion. I will continue to do that this year (those posts are tagged "re-post").

Thank you to all my faithful readers for taking this journey with me. May God bless you all richly in 2013!

Love,

Violet Nesdoly

P.S. I'd also like to invite you to visit my website blog, where I have begun posting articles on the theme of Bringing the Bible to Life. I plan to post once or twice a week on a variety of Bible-related topics such as: 

• the history of the Bible 
• Bible study helps
• interviews with biblical authors, illustrators, and translators
• book reviews (with an emphasis on biblical fiction).

Word-light

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:105-120

TO CHEW ON: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Psalm 119:105

One of the many ways the writer of Psalm 119 portrays God's word is as a light. It's a good comparison on at least two levels. For if life is a journey, we need illumination for the next step ("Your word is a lamp to my feet") and long-range plans ("And a light to my path").  God's word can show us where to go and how to get there.

God's word as the source of the light of understanding is the another thought this verse holds. Sayings that link light and understanding are common in English.

- We talk about the light dawning on us when we finally get it, comparing our new-found understanding to the sun coming over the horizon at sunrise.

- We say there's a light at the end of the tunnel — a reference to the end of a mining or railway tunnel — when we find a solution to a problem or perceive hope in the situation.

- We talk about considering things in the cold light of day when we reconsider the solution to a problem or issue sometime later, in a calmer, more practical way.

The  idea that God's word is the source of understanding about life runs through the Bible:

• The "pure" teachings of God's word are enlightenment (Psalm 19:8).

• "Your words" give understanding to the simple ("Break open your words, let the light shine out, let ordinary people see the meaning" -- Message) (Psalm 119:130).

• Even its negatives, its don'ts, are illuminating and lead to the "way of life" (Proverbs 6:23).

• It is the source of wisdom, knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6).

• When times are dark, its promise of better things brightens our situation with hope (2 Peter 2:19).

• It gives us understanding about success and prosperity (Joshua 1:8).

I ask myself, am I living in the light of God's word — letting its principles inspect my daily actions, trusting its promises for my future? If you've ever tried to walk even a familiar path in complete darkness, you'll know how uncertain and tentative is each step. What a shame if we choose to grope about in the dark of our own understanding, goals, and determination when light is so available.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for your practical and versatile word. Please help me to comprehend its teachings and principles, and to know how to apply them to my everyday living. Amen.

MORE: Wisdom from Psalm 119 - Piper

"Seven Kinds of Prayer to Soak our Bible Reading"

But since our text is Psalm 119:18, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law," we should let this psalmist show us how he prays more generally about his reading of the Word of God. So let me close with a little tour of Psalm 119, and show you seven kinds of prayer with which you can soak your Bible reading this year.
We should pray . . .

1. That God would teach us his Word. Psalm 119:12b, "Teach me Your statutes." (See also verses 33, 64b, 66, 68b, 135). True learning of God's Word is only possible if God himself becomes the teacher in and through all other means of teaching. 

2. That God would not hide his Word from us. Psalm 119:19b, "Do not hide Your commandments from me." The Bible warns of the dreadful chastisement or judgment of the Word of God being taken from us (Amos 8:11). (See also verse 43).

3. That God would make us understand his Word. Psalm 119:27, "Make me understand the way of Your precepts" (verses 34, 73b, 144b, 169). Here we ask God to cause us to understand - to do whatever he needs to do to get us to understand his Word.

4. That God would incline our hearts to his Word. Psalm 119:36, "Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to [dishonest] gain." The great problem with us is not primarily our reason, but our will - we are disinclined by nature to read and meditate and memorize the Word. So we must pray for God to incline our wills.

5. That God would give us life to keep his Word. Psalm 119:88, "Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth." He is aware that we need life and energy to give ourselves to the Word and its obedience. So he asks God for this basic need. (See also verse 154b)

6. That God would establish our steps in his Word. Psalm 119:133, "Establish my footsteps in Your word." We are dependent on the Lord not only for understanding and life, but for the performance of the Word. That it would be established in our lives. We cannot do this on our own.

7. That God would seek us when we go astray from his Word. Psalm 119:176, "I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant." It is remarkable that this godly man ends his psalm with a confession of sin and the need for God to come after him and bring him back. This too we must pray again and again."

Excerpt from "Open My Eyes That I Might See" By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

God's Word: Boundary-setter

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 119:89-104

TO CHEW ON: "I have restrained my feet from every evil way

That I may keep Your Word." Psalm 119:101

It's one thing to declare our belief in the inerrancy of God's Word (our subject yesterday), but quite another to give that Word such an elevated place that it impinges on our lives, curtails our activities, and changes our habits. That's what the psalmist tells us he does.

1. He is so convinced that God's Word is the real thing, that he has put muscle into getting familiar with it: "Your law has been my delight" (vs. 92); "I will never forget your precepts" (vs. 93); "I have sought Your precepts" (vs. 94); "I keep Your precepts" (vs. 100). Then he lets it dictate his action or inaction: "I have restrained my feet from every evil way" (vs. 101).

2. He gives greater regard to God's Word than common sense -- the wisdom that's available to everyone, even his enemies (vs. 98), the wisdom of experts (vs. 99), and the wisdom of experience (vs. 100). In our time that might look like someone who refuses to compromise honesty and integrity even when the boss and the culture at the workplace encourage lying, taking cash payments to avoid taxes, fudging expense accounts, that sort of thing.

3. In fact, he sees all of life through its filter (vs. 104). We'd call that having a Word-centred (or Christian) worldview. Whole books have been written on this. Let's just say, such a biblically centred filter will quickly set you apart from the humanist, the atheist, the agnostic the pantheist and all manner of "ists" among your acquaintances.

I ask myself, do I know God's Word well enough to make it the filter through which I view life?

Do I have such confidence in it that I prefer it when other "wisdom' conflicts with it?

Does it affect my behavior? Do I let its teaching about moderation and self-control keep me from overdoing it while eating or shopping? Do I obey its advice to control my tongue and refrain from gossip, slander, hateful speech, outbursts of anger? Does it restrain my feet to the extent of keeping me away from a questionable movie or TV series when I know the images and language are sure to erode the standards of purity and holiness He has set for me? Have I let it be my boundary setter?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Bible. Help me give its principles and teachings not only lip-service but life-service. May I have the courage to live by it no matter how odd, foolish or naive that may make me appear to those around me. Amen.

MORE: Word-quotes to think about

"Some people like to read so many [Bible] chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart!" --Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"In most parts of the Bible, everything is implicitly or explicitly introduced with "Thus saith the Lord". It is... not merely a sacred book but a book so remorselessly and continuously sacred that it does not invite -- it excludes or repels -- the merely aesthetic approach. You can read it as literature only by a tour de force... It demands incessantly to be taken on its own terms: it will not continue to give literary delight very long, except to those who go to it for something quite different. I predict that it will in the future be read, as it always has been read, almost exclusively by Christians." --C.S. Lewis

"Here, then, is the real problem of our negligence. We fail in our duty to study God's Word not so much because it is difficult to understand, not so much because it is dull and boring, but because it is work. Our problem is not a lack of intelligence or a lack of passion. Our problem is that we are lazy." --R. C. Sproul

"The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that." --Mccosh

Quotes from Tentmaker Bible Quotes

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Love your Bible

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Timothy 1:1-18

TO CHEW ON: ^"Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." 2 Timothy 1:13 (emphasis mine)

"The Bible — God's inspired word — is the only conclusive source of wisdom, knowledge, and understanding concerning ultimate realities.... The only way to healthy, balanced living is through the 'rightly dividing' (Greek orthotomounta) literally 'cutting straight' of God's word,"

says Jack Hayford in a Bible sidebar article about 2 Timothy 2:15, another verse that talks about the merits of God's word.

There are at least three levels on which we can engage with the Bible. We can:

1. Read it
Have you ever read through the Bible — all of it from cover to cover? Do it sometime. Though there are difficult patches, repetitive bits, and some things you won't understand, when you do you will get a rounder, more realistic picture of God and His plan.

There are various ways to accomplish this. Set yourself a schedule to read a certain number of chapters or pages a day. Follow a reading plan. Or purchase a One Year Bible which has the entire Bible divided into days of the year (there are many kinds of One-year Bibles).

2. Study it
The Bible can stand our digging and scrutiny. On close inspection, it is like a piece of fine art that appears ever more consistent and unified (though penned — or should we say quilled — by numerous authors). That's because it really has only one author -- the Holy Spirit.

When you approach the Bible as a student, it helps to have a few aids. Start with a good study Bible in a translation you like. Such a Bible may give you historical background on books and writers. It may have end-notes explaining the text. Cross-references in the margins will send you to other places in the Bible that add background and levels of meaning to the verse(s) you're studying. It may have other features like word studies, articles on Bible themes, a small concordance, character studies, and maps.

3. Memorize it
When you commit parts of the Bible to memory they become yours in a new way. Memorizing is a great way to meditate on Scripture. Having God's word in your mind and at-the-ready will help you live a life of obedience and  keep you from sin. It will make you an effective witness and spiritual warrior.  A thorough knowledge of God's word qualifies you to be a teacher and encourager. During times of personal turmoil and stress the words of Scripture are there to comfort and calm you.

If you are interested in true truth, real reality and investing your life in things that will outlast time, don't neglect your Bible.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the Bible! Help me to not only read, study and memorize it, but to apply it to my life and obey it. Amen.

MORE: Favourite Bibles

"...With its frayed stitching and floppy cover, my favourite Bible resembles my leather loafers. Coffee stains dot its pages, but the burgundy coloured Amplified version fits me as comfortably as my old shoes....


A Bible should become as personal as well-worn sneakers. A new Christian once picked up my Bible from our coffee table. 'You write in your Bible?' she asked. At that time I used a leather-bound KJV Schofield study Bible with my name embossed in gold on the cover: I'd owned it for several years and it showed.


'Yes, if a verse touches my heart or teaches me something, I underline it. And sometimes I make notes beside it.'

She spent several hours that afternoon underlining my special passages in her fresh Bible. 'You're going to end up with a Bible that's more mine than yours,' I told her. She wanted it to look used, she said. And I get that. A seldom-read Bible is a sad sight. More than just another religious book, the words of Scripture penetrate the deepest recesses of the human soul. No other writing, no matter how stirring and brilliant, achieves this."

— Rose Brandon in "Let It Show: Love your Bible enough to wear it out," Pentecostal Testimony, July/August 2009, p. 15.

What is your favourite study Bible? What other Bible study aids do you use?

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Coming January 1, 2010...

Daily devotions from the Bible. 

Right here!

If one of your New Year's Resolutions is to begin having a daily quiet time, you've come to the right place. Starting January 1, 2010, I'll be posting a short meditation each morning right here.

Based on the daily Bible Reading Guide from the Canadian Bible Society each devotion will have:

- Today's Special: the Bible Reading Guide passage, linked through Bible Gateway (you don't even need to own a Bible).

- To Chew On: a focus verse (from the day's reading) and some thoughts on how you can apply the ideas from this verse to your life.

- Prayer: a short prayer.

- More: quotes, links, songs - generally more stuff to help you take what you learned from the Bible into your everyday life.

I'm so excited to start these daily devotions! Won't you join me January 1st?