II Timothy 1:7; Psalm 19 - "Jesus Lord of Heaven"

The Lord took me Psalm 19 this morning. I love the way this Scripture describes God's Word in The Message. The beginning of the chapter speaks of all God created. Then when David gets down to verses seven through nine he writes about how Scripture is so important for all. God directs our lives through His Word. He gives wisdom, peace, love, etc. through His Word. 

The revelation of God is whole
    and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
    and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
    showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
    and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
    with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
    down to the nth degree.

Oh how these words resonate with me. I know anytime I pick up my Bible my Heavenly Father will reveal something new to me. I know the more I am in His Word, the more I will feel His presence. The words found in verses seven through nine truly give a great word picture of His Word. As we allow God to reveal through His Word we will be blessed. He will bless us with His wisdom, direction, and joy. The result of us accepting these blessings will be a walk of obedience. That will lead us to life in eternity with Him. The way David describes God's Word in verse ten is the 'icing on the cake' for me.

I love sweet strawberries. I love being out in nature picking them. As the sun shines down on me while picking I feel God's presence. So far this season I've been able to pick two times and am hoping to get to go again before the season ends. I don't ever want my season with God to end. I desire to walk with Him on this earth so I can walk with Him in heaven. The way to accomplish this goal is to stay in His Word. I love how Matthew Henry describes His Word: The word of God, received by faith, is more precious than gold; it is sweet to the soul, sweeter than honey. Yes! God's Word is so sweet to read. Sometimes His Word is hard to read when it is discipling us but when discipline is needed His Word does it with love. Verse eleven tells us that it warns us of danger and directs us to hidden treasure. That hidden treasure is eternity with Him. We must stay in His Word to spend eternity with Him. Otherwise, we would not know how to live our life. I love the ending verses of this Psalm. David realized the need to confess his sins. This included the ones he knew or remembered and the ones he did not. His pray to God in verse fourteen is one I pray regularly. It reads in the New Living Testament...

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

That is the desire of my heart every day. I want Him to pour out of me. I desire Him to be seen/heard through my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts. As I live in this manner, He will hear my prayers and I will not only hear His voice but will walk in obedience to Him. I desire for Him to be proud of me. I want the desires of His heart to be the desires of my heart. I want to be empowered by His Holy Spirit so I can walk in His love and not fear anything that comes my way as II Timothy 1:7 directs. 

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead in this day! Thank You for giving peace in the midst of a long day! Thank You for the approval for the electric at the church building! Thank You for rest when the day was finally over! Thank You for giving Doc strength for the day! I pray today will be a day filled with Your encouragement and strength for him. Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me so I can do life today in the way You so desire. May You be my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts throughout this day in a more intentional way. May You shine through me brightly. Lord, thank You for reminding me how important it is to be in Your Word. I am sorry when I fail at not being in it enough. Thank You for being My Twenty-Four-Carat Gold! Amen.