Holding Forth the Word of Life

5 yrs

Have you ever woke up with a song in your head, repeating over and over again? I have, and it is really annoying, especially when it is a song you don't even like, and even if it is one you do like, you have to do mental warfare just to get it out. That is how my morning started out, but, praise God, not for long. I turned on my praise music, it was soon gone, replaced with worship and my thoughts of God's faithfulness.
I was out doing my barn chores, and, as I listened, and looked up at the morning sky, the verse 'the entrance of Thy words giveth light ...," popped into my head, and I reflected on that as i finished up and knew this was going to be a verse for me for the day. ?:-)
So, I thought I would share it with you on another of my photos and a little word study. When I looked up the verse, and began to dig a little, I found, as usual, a couple of interesting thoughts...
Psa 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light (or); it giveth understanding unto the simple.
The word 'light' comes from the Hebrew word 'or', meaning '...to be (causatively make) luminous (literally and metaphorically): - break of day, glorious, kindle, (be, en-, give, show) light (-en, -ened), set on fire, shine.
Additionally, the word 'understanding' comes from the Hebrew word "bı̂yn" (bene) which means: to separate mentally (or distinguish), that is, (generally) understand: - attend, consider, discern, eloquent, feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence, know, look well to, perceive, be prudent, regard.
And the word "simple" comes from the Hebrew word(s) pethı̂y;pethı̂y;pethâ'ı̂y
(peth-ee', peh'-thee, peth-aw-ee' which mean silly (that is, seducible): - foolish. This comes from a root word "pâthâh" (paw-thaw', which is a primitive root meaning 'to open, that is, be (causatively make) roomy; usually figuratively (in a mental or moral sense) to be (causatively make) simple or (in a sinister way) delude: - allure, deceive, enlarge, entice, flatter, persuade, silly (one).
With the warnings in the Bible about deception in the last days, and some recent concerns over false teachers, prophets, etc.., I believe the Lord was showing me this morning the power of soaking up His Word. One of my prayers, not just for myself, but for the entire body of Christ, has been for wisdom and discernment in these last days. Jesus said 'If you continue in my Word, then are you my disciples (students) indeed; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free'. That confirms what, I believe, the Lord was telling me this morning ... 'Thy Word ... gives light, even to those easily deceived (all of us), to make us wise, and as we continue in it, grow in true freedom, free from deception and foolishness.
In closing, who, or what, are we going to 'surrender' to today? The choice is simple: Jesus, and soak up His Word, or the world, and the voices that would deceive, confuse, and entice for more of things that have no life, no light. I will choose Jesus!
For those who say 'that is easy for those who have time to say... we don't all have all day to just read the Bible ...', I would just have to say, it is NOT quantity necessarily... but quality. This rather lengthy post just came from one verse of scripture ... okay two verses, including the one from John, but the point is... whether it is a verse, a chapter, a book ... soak up that Word, chew on it, do not let it depart, and see what kind of light it brings in.

5 yrs

As I was reading this morning in Matthew, I came to one of my favorite passages... Jesus walking on the water. There is so much for us in this account, but the one thing that has continued to echo in my mind this morning is that not only was Peter actually walking on the water TO GO TO JESUS, but when he SAW the wind boisterous, that was when he began to sink. Of course, he cried out to Jesus for help, and Jesus of course, rescued him, but not without the loving rebuke 'O ye of little faith, why did you doubt?'

I do not believe it can be stressed enough that as long as Peter's full attention was on Jesus, he walked on the water. It was only when his attention was drawn away, at least in part, from Jesus to the 'boisterous' wind. (the word boisterous here means 'forcible, powerful, strong', that he began to sink.

So, here we have Peter, having made the commitment to go to Jesus, walking on water, and not just on water, but on stormy seas, no longer focused on Jesus, but on the turmoil around him. He had not forgotten Jesus was there, but this moment, he was regarding the storm that was engulfing him.

When Jesus asked him, 'why did you doubt?', the word He used was 'distazo', meaning 'duplicate; mentally waver in opinion', and He used it in direct correlation with faith, or the lack thereof. In essence, He was asking him 'why were you of two opinions?' In Hebrews, the exhortation to be single minded is again referenced: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that promised;" (Heb 10:23); and again in James "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (Jas 1:6-8). The double minded in this verse comes from the same root word 'distazo' that Jesus used when addressing Peter's doubt.

The degree of distraction does not seem to matter.... when it says Peter "saw" the wind boisterous, that comes from the Greek word "blepo" - A primary verb; to look at (literally or figuratively): - behold, beware, look (on, to), perceive. It does not even hint that Peter was obsessed with the distraction, but simply that he looked at it, creating a wavering opinion. He had not forgotten Jesus was there, waiting for him, but was 'looking at' both Jesus and the storm, and it crippled his faith.

So, what are we 'looking at'? The power of the storm? Jesus? Both? My prayer, for myself, as well as all believers, is that we will only see the One Who has the power over the waves and storm, and not the storm itself, and that our faith will be strong and when we ask, we will ask with a single heart, unwavering, knowing that He is indeed faithful Who has promised, and, even more so as the storms around us grow more violent in these last days.

5 yrs

We take every day for granted. We get comfortable in our daily routines and while we may not dwell on it, we rest in the knowing that the sun will come up tomorrow, as it did today. It may, or may not be, a good day, but it will be there.
The Word of God says that it is by Jesus and for Him, and that all things consist, or stand, abide, or continue (together). "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." (Col 1:16-17). Our every breath is in His hand. "In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind." (Job 12:1.
So, the next time you take a breath, you can thank Jesus, for it is He Who is holding, not just the universe together, but keeping us living and breathing at the same time.

5 yrs

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