Psalm 119:133 “Guide my steps by your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil.”

The Word of God guides and directs our walk with Him.  It helps keep us on the right path and gives us the ability to not be overcome by evil.

This is such a practical verse.  I love its simplicity and direct instruction.  What should I be guided by if I want to avoid evil?  The Word of God.

As I think about this verse I need to ask myself the question am I listening, obeying, and following God’s Word.  If I am then it is easier to not be overcome by evil, because I’ve got the Word guiding and directing my life and decisions.

If I’m not, then evil can creep in, temptation becomes more challenging, and my life direction has the potential to get out of “wack.”

God help me to respond, apply, and be guided by your Word.  As I walk may my steps be in direct correlation to your instruction, your truth, and your commands.  Thank you for providing this awesome book that convicts and challenges me daily.  May I continue to read, respond, reflect, and reply to your Word and follow what you say.

Second Samuel closes with an overview of King David’s reflections over a time of crisis in his life. We also see how, ultimately, the moral and spiritual life of a leader can affect the moral and spiritual state of those who are under that leader. Sadly, David’s poor choices regarding sin and his negligence as a father took place at the height of his greatness. Fortunately, when David was confronted with his sins, he confessed them. This contrasts strongly with King Saul, who failed to acknowledge his sinful ways.First Kings opens with the last days of David’s life and the beginning of Solomon’s reign.

Things to Watch for

• Note all the different things David thanks God for in 2 Samuel 22.
• Second Samuel 24:18-25 describes an interesting conversation between David and Araunah. What does David’s comment in verse 24 tell us about his character?
• Note David’s charge to Solomon in 1 Kings 2:1-4. Keep this charge in mind as you read the rest of 1 Kings.

Applications from 2 Samuel and 1 Kings

• Even when life is going well and we are spiritually strong, we are still vulnerable to sin and making poor choices. David’s failure at the height of his prosperity serves as an important lesson to us.
• After reading 2 Samuel 22, think back to the most recent crisis you experienced. How did God help you during that time, and what praises can you give Him?
• If you are a parent or you are in some other position of influence, realize that your spiritual condition can have in impact on those under your charge.

In John chapters 20—21 Jesus makes a series of appearances after His resurrection, and these appearances serve as a wonderful testimony that He did indeed conquer death. John concludes his Gospel by saying the world could not contain the books that could have been written about all Jesus had done. People must choose to either accept the Bible’s claims about Jesus, or reject them.In Acts chapter 1-5 we see the birth of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:8 reveals the way in which the church will grow, and Acts 2:43-47 speaks of what life was like in the earliest days of the church.

Things to Watch for

• What evidences do you see of Jesus’ divine nature in John chapters 20—21?
• As you make your way through Acts, note how everything begins in Jerusalem, and how, as time goes on, the apostles and the gospel message spread outward.
• What are some key points of Peter’s sermon in Acts 3:13-26?
• In Acts 4, how did the disciples respond when they were told to stop speaking about Jesus?

Applications from John and Acts

• Note Jesus’ forgiveness of Peter in John chapter 21. How are you doing in the area of forgiveness—have you extended it freely, or have you been reluctant to grant it?
• Based on Jesus’ commission in Acts 1:8 and the actions of the early church in Acts 2—3, what are the priorities of the church (and Christians)?
• Note how the disciples responded to persecution in Acts 4. Observe not only their words, but their attitudes toward those who opposed them. What can we learn from this?

I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Psalm 119:104

Your statutes are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.  Psalm 119:111  

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.  Proverbs 16:8-9

When I think about God’s will for my life I have learned that it is not about the when, where, how, why, and whats…It is about the word.  As the scriptures from today flow together with a common thread, I see that by being in the word I gain understanding as I head into the day. I may know that today I will be at work, and bible study tonight, but the Lord will determine my steps. The Joy is found for me in giving Him my day, and when I seek to serve him, I will not be on the wrong path. 

I did a word study once on joy. The Lord met me in a hugh way one day during a sermon. I learned how to spell joy that day. J=Jesus, O=Others, and Y=yourself. It was not joy that I was to seek, it was Jesus. I have found him faithfully in the midst of the circumstances of my days. l have received joy in the midst of them because I could see Him.     for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10.

Thank You Lord for your word, and for showing yourself to me this morning. I can see that you are so faithful to keep Me on the right path as I gain my strength and joy from You. Thank You for the peace that I receive when I am not concerned with the when, where, how, why, and whats…please plant these truths deeply into the soil of my heart…so that I may reap Your joy.   Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.  Psalm 119:105.

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17

Truth sets us apart for holy service. Truth’s purpose is not to make us right or make us superior. It is not meant to equip us to be better arguers and put others “in their place”. Truth, God’s truth, is to set us apart. I get the feeling we allow truth to distance us from the very world we are to influence. Truth was not meant to remove us from the presence of sinners, but remove sin from us. Truth makes us holy to make us useful. Jesus had great faith in the truth; he had great faith in the Word of God being truth. He sends us out into a world that is enticing, hostile, powerful and corrupts knowing full well the truth of God’s Word is capable of guiding us, protecting us and keeping us holy and useful.

If I am reading this correctly, Jesus trusts the word of God to do a work in us, and we are then to do his work in the world. In a sense, the more we know God’s truth the deeper we delve into God’s work in the world. It seems to me we foul this up in two ways… either we become too friendly with the world and remain strangers with God’s word, risking the holiness component of sanctification. Or we become fearful of the world not trusting the protection and provision of God’s truth, His Word risking relevance and effectiveness components of sanctification.

If you are reading this, then it most likely means you are reading your Bible. You are fulfilling Jesus’ prayer. You are being set apart for his holy service by the truth of his holy word. Keep up the good work.

He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who knows, the LORD may be gracious to me, that the child may live’. But now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

2 Samuel 12:22-23

The consequence of David’s sin with Bathseba and towards Uriah was severe and strong. The Lord allowed David’s son to die while his was still a baby. Everyone watched David as he handled the death. He took a bath and cleaned up and asked to eat a good meal. He even went to worship God. My guess is that by the way everyone responded to his actions, this wasn’t the normal procedure. “Why isn’t he crying and wailing? How can he eat? Doesn’t he feel anything?”

David’s reply is simple and profound. His mournful sacrifices would not bring his child back, and so He was going to move forward with his actions. In fact he chose to comfort his wife and eventually they were blessed with another child, Solomon.

It’s amazing to me first off at just how good God is. David has done a horrible thing and had to pay for it. But God loved him and blessed him with a great blessing in David’s son Solomon, whom He used to deliver His truths to millions of people and to each of us.

I also am amazed at David’s resolve to move on. It’s not that he wasn’t mourning, I would interpret his desire to live “normally”as a type of mourning. The death of a child is not something you could just ignore, in fact God used the death of his Son, the most painful sacrifice He could make to pay for our sins. Even in the midst of this aching hurt however, David went and worshipped God. He had sinned and it had cost him a lot, but he had also been forgiven and he understood that he was still loved by a good God. When he moved on he did not forget his past but he looked forward to the future God had for him.

God help me to choose to continue to walk towards the hope that you have given me for a future because of your Son Jesus. Help me to recognize the pain in my life and deal with it in a healthy way, and thank you for the grace that you always provide even in the darkest times.

John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. NIV

In this passage Jesus is talking to His disciples the night before His crucifixion. In this section of that talk He emphasizes the importance of His followers bearing fruit. What does He mean by fruit? Is it like the “fruit of the Spirit” in the book of Galatians? Is it the good works mentioned in the Book of Colossians? May be it is the fruit of good standing mentioned in Philippians. May be it is all of these things.

If we look at the figure of speech Jesus is using perhaps that will help. It seems to me that fruit is the outcome or result of the vine and the branches collaboration together. Reflection on this passage, especially verse 8 (John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. NIV), seems to indicate to me that the fruit Jesus might be talking about is anything that brings glory to God. This could be works, or character, or attitudes, or words or any combination of the above. As we join together with the Lord in bringing Him glory those results might be the fruit Jesus is calling us to bear.

Lord, may the fruit that is produced through my walk with you be acceptable and pleasing to you.

WISDOM. . .Probably one of those words that when used makes everybody stop. . .analyze. . .think. . .analyze some more. . .and then try to prove the “wise-guy” wrong. It isn’t, “He is really smart” or “Boy, that lady really has it together”. It is wisdom, WISDOM!!
When I read in John 14:26 that I will not be able to know the things of Christ unless I have the Holy Spirit, it makes the worlds use of the word ‘wisdom’ seem comic. “He is able to out-think common man, to understand the workings of the world, he can even bring together the emotions of a husband and wife. It’s a bird, no, it’s a plane, no, it’s WISDOM MAN!!”
I know the Bible is true because the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the words to write. I know when I read these words that the Holy Spirit will plant truth in my mind, show me God’s simple and perfect will and (the wisdom part) reminds me when I stray from it.
It’s funny. The Bible gives us wisdom and wisdom says to read the Bible. It sounds like a big snow-ball effect right through the gates of Heaven. What a ride!!

Psalm 119:8-9   “I will obey your principles.  Please don’t give up on me!  How can a young person stay pure?  By obeying your word and following its rules.”

Please don’t give up on me! 

I wonder how many people have made that request of the Lord and of others?

The desire is to obey, to follow, to search, to walk with the Lord.  Yet at times I don’t.  I try on my own or I walk in a different direction.  Fortunately I am reminded that obedience is the key, in my relationship with the Lord.  It is a battle between my will and being obedient to God’s will.  How can I do this?  By obeying God’s Word and following His rules.  Not rules imposed upon me by a ruthless unknown ruler.  They are rules given to me by a loving father that I can follow because of this love relationship I have with Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit to help me.

Praise God he won’t give up on me!!!  Thank you Lord for your grace and for you constant love.

John 12:42-43 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

Loving praise from men (or women) I can certainly understand…people-pleaser that I am.  What strikes me in this verse is the final three words…praise from God. The Bible frequently talks about praise being given TO God but I am excited about praise coming to me FROM God. It’s a picture of the personal relationship I have with God. I love words from others that encourage me and hold me up.  How often have I missed praise that comes from my heavenly Father? It’s not an audible voice so how can I recognize it?  Could it be the peace He gives me that surpasses human understanding? Could it be that feeling of pure joy that is mine after a specific ministry is ended? Is it an answered prayer or seeing His hand in the way things unfold in my life?

It takes work on my part to receive praise from God. John 5:44 speaks of making an effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God. We are told to do our best to present ourselves to God as approved workmen in II Timothy 2:15. Pleasing God requires being a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10) and being a servant implies work! The fear of the Pharisees mentioned in v.42 shows something lacking in the hearts. When my heart is fully given to my God and Savior I won’t care about anything other than pure devotion and actions that reflect what I Corinthians 4:5 says; He will bring to light what is hidden in the darkness and expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. It’s what in my heart that matters.  It is a matter of the heart.  The praise of God awaits those who ignore the cost (possible disgrace, damage to popularity or reputation) and make their faith visible and their motives right. Praise be FROM God. There is no greater encouragement I could receive.

Lord, help me to be aware of the state of my heart. May my motives be purely for you. Help to recognize the praise that comes from you so that I can see what pleases you and only do what is pleasing to you rather than using my effort to be nothing more than a people-pleaser.

Prov. 15:22-23 Plans fail without good advice, but they succeed with the advice of many others. People enjoy giving good advice. Saying the right word at the right time is so pleasing. (NCV)

We like to give advice to others. In fact, Prov. 15:23 tells us that we actually “enjoy” giving advice - not just any advice, but “good” advice. Why? Because when we are able to give “good advice” to others, we can make a tremendous difference in their lives. As Prov. 15:22 reminds us, good advice can help others succeed. What we say can help make our friends, spouse, children, grandchildren, employer, employee, coach, player, neighbor, pastor,…successful. And there’s something incredibly satisfying, even “pleasing,” when we’re able to have that kind of impact on those around us.

But what is good advice? When it comes right down to it, I think the end of Prov. 15:23 defines it well - “Saying the right word at the right time.” It makes me think about times when I have given my daughters poor advice, not because I didn’t have the right thing to say to them, but because I shared my “right words” with them at the wrong time. Or the “right times” I have spoken up to advise others, but really didn’t have any “right words” to share with them. It also reminds me of the times when someone had the right thing to say to me at the right time, and how much that impacted my life, as well as their own. Their advice to me changed both our lives!

Father, help me to listen to the advice of those You have placed in my life. Thank you for those who have given me such good advice over the years, and for how much You have used them to change me. Help me to be someone in Your eyes who gives “good advice” to others. Teach me daily the joy of saying the right word at the right time to those who seek my advice, that I may play even a small part in helping them find true success in You