THE BIBLE WAS WRITTEN TO TEACH US TO ENCOURAGE US AND TO GIVE US HOPE

Proclamation:

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in The Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.  May The God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Romans 15:4-6 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by the Apostle Paul under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to the believers in Rome.  Paul states that The Scriptures were written for them and for future generations to come in order to teach and to encourage believers.  Then he prayed that God would give them the same attitude towards each other as Christ had towards them so that they could glorify God in unity.

Application:

The Bible was written and passed down through the ages for us and for future generations to come.  It has been translated into almost every language so that all people can be exposed to it.  However, we are not only to read it but we are to behave as it teaches. (Romans 2:13 and James 1:22)  It also encourages us and gives us hope because it tells us that in the end we will win because The Lord God is with us.  Another reason for reading The Bible is that we can learn more about The God we serve and The Christ that we identify with when we call ourselves “Christians.”  If we don’t know who He is, then how can we know who we are?  The Bible is also the instruction manual for living a Christian life.  It teaches us how to treat fellow believers and how to treat others.  The more you read it, the more you will learn from it.

GIVE ME DISCERNMENT SO THAT I MAY UNDERSTAND

Proclamation:

“Deal with Your servant according to Your love and teach me Your decrees.  I am Your servant; give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes.”  Psalm 119:124-125 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  This is the sixteenth part, Ayin, of this twenty-two part psalm.  David reminds The Lord God that he is His servant and he requests His protection (Psalm 119:121-122) and His mercy. (Psalm 119:124)  Then he repeats his request for The Lord God to teach him and to give him the discernment so that he can understand His Holy Word.

Application:

It is possible for people to read The Bible and not understand it.  Some people may understand the literal words but not have an appreciation for the spiritual heavenly implications behind them.  U.C.L.A. used to offer a course entitled “The Bible as Literature” which analyzed and compared the various writing styles it contained.  This was not a course in religion and it did not address the spiritual implications of the written words.  Jesus, The Christ, often spoke in parables which He frequently had to explain to His disciples.  We need to understand that we need His help in order to grasp the full meaning of His Holy Word.  Additionally, once we develop an appreciation for and an understanding of His Holy Word, we need to live by it and become doers of His word. (Romans 2:13 and James 1:22)

CHASTISED BLESSED AND TAUGHT BY THE LORD

Proclamation:

“Blessed is the one You discipline, Lord, the one You teach from Your law; You grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.”  Psalm 94:12-13 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David concerning the persecution of the church.  This psalm is a call to God to intervene in His righteousness against the wicked who are causing His people to suffer.  However, these two verses address God’s punishment of His own people.  The Lord chastises His people out of love, for the benefit of the individual that he might learn, change, and not be condemned with the world.  The chastisement of The Lord are tokens of His love and evidence of a man’s being an adopted child of God.

Application:

A parent who loves a child punishes that child in order to change his bad behavior so that the child will learn to do the right thing in the future.  So does The Lord God punish His children out of love in order to teach them to obey The Word of God.  The result of the instruction of God is to change our sinful behavior.  The lessons are sometimes painful but The Lord needs to get our attention because we seem insistent upon doing things our way and not His way.  In the end, His chastisement will lead to our benefit and we will be blessed because of it.  Therefore, we ought to thank The Lord for teaching us to walk His way.

FORGIVE US TEACH US GUIDE US LEAD US AND PRESERVE US

Proclamation:

“Show me Your ways, Lord, teach me Your paths.  Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.  Remember, Lord, Your great mercy and love, for they are far from old.  Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You, Lord, are good.”  Psalms 25:4-7 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by King David.  He begins this psalm by expressing his trust in The Lord. (Psalm 25:1)  However, in this psalm David admits that he is in trouble, distressed, and he is suffering. (Psalm 25:15-18)  He knows that he has many enemies who hate him. (Psalm 25:19)   He also knows that he has committed many sins and transgressions but he is asking The Lord God to forgive all of his sins (Psalm 25:11 and 18) and to have mercy on him and help him.  He prays that God will help him to not be ashamed of Him, will show him His ways, will teach him His paths, and will lead him in His truth. (Psalm 25:2-5)  David ends this psalm by praying for a series of ten personal blessings and then he prays for all of the people in the nation. (Psalm 25:16-22)

Application:

All of us have committed sins that we want The Lord God to forgive us for, and not all of them were done in the days of our youth.  Unfortunately, we cannot “get right” without God’s help.  We need for Him to show us and teach us and lead us in the right way.  We must put out trust in The Lord.  We also, like David, have some troubles that we need God to deliver us from and to keep us from. (Psalm 25:20-22)  Let us pray that The Lord God will have mercy on us and forgive, teach, guide, lead, and preserve us as we continue our Christian journey on earth for we need His help and we cannot make it without Him.

A PRAYER OF DAVID

Proclamation:

“Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.  Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.  Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.  Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.” Psalm 119:33-36 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here David is praying and asking The Lord to teach him and give him understanding so that he would know and follow God’s law.  He also wants The Lord to direct his heart and his path towards God and His laws and to turn him away from selfish gain.  David knows that he is a sinner and that he needs God’s help to keep him from his deceitful ways. (Psalm 119:28-29)

Application:

King David recognized that he needed help to follow The Word of God and he prayed and asked for that help.  We need to come to the same understanding and recognize that we need God’s help to follow His commands and statutes.  Our problem is that we think that we know it all and we offer up excuses for why don’t follow God’s word.  When we pray we should ask for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of His Holy Word.  We should also pray that He would turn our heart away from our selfish sinful desires and towards Him and His righteousness.

The Scriptures Give Us Hope And Help

"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of The Scriptures we might have hope."  Romans 15:4 (NIV)

The Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome and told them to read The Word of God whenever things were getting them down.  He said that The Scriptures were written to teach them, and to encourage them, and to give them hope.  He also said that reading God's Word would help them endure whatever they were going through.

Reading The Word of God can help us today.  The Scriptures offer us a helpful word to address every situation and circumstance which we have to deal with.  All Scripture is given by God and it is good for instruction, direction, doctrine, reproof, and correction. (2 Timothy 3:16)  God speaks to us and offers us guidance and a word of encouragement through His Holy Word.  He speaks to us when we have sinned (Psalms 51:1-15 and 1 John 1:9); when we are feeling overwhelmed (Matthew 11:28); when we are weak (Philippians 4:13); when we feel inadequate (Matthew 19:26); when we are dealing with the death of a loved one (2 Corinthians 5:6-8 and 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18); when we are depressed and despondent (Psalms 30:5); when we are going through tough times (Romans 5:3-4, Romans 8:28, and James 1:2-3); when we have been wronged (Matthew 18:15-17); and many other situations too numerous to mention in this brief discourse.  We just need to read The Word of God more than we do. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Teach Me To Do Your Will

"Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground."  Psalms 143:10 (NIV)

King David wrote this psalm and asked God to teach him, and help him to do God's will.  He asked that The Holy Spirit would lead him in the way of uprightness, to a place of safety and protection where there was goodness. 

David prayed in good times and in bad times.  He asked for God's instruction, guidance, and direction to ensure that he would obey the will of God.  He wanted The Spirit of God to be his guide.  We would do well to follow David's example.  All to often we do things and go places without first praying to God for His guidance and direction, to be sure that we are following the will of God.  We should pray that His will be done in our lives.  In the model prayer that Jesus taught His disciples, He said pray to our Father in heaven, "Thy will be done." (Matthew 6:10 and Luke 11:2)  We need to recognize the fact that if The Holy Spirit is not driving the bus that is our lives, then the devil is driving it.   

Pray For God's Instruction Guidance And Direction

"Let me understand the teaching of Your precepts; then I will meditate on Your wonders.  My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to Your word.  Keep me from deceitful ways; be gracious to me through Your law.  I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on Your laws ... do not let me be put to shame ... Teach me, O LORD, to follow Your decrees; then I will keep them to the end.  Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.  Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.  Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.  Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word."  Psalms 119:27-37 (NIV)

Psalms 119 is the longest of the psalms, in fact, it is the longest chapter in the Bible having 176 verses.  This psalm is thought to be a collection of King David's brief utterances to God.  Here he is praying for instruction and understanding, and for guidance and direction.  He also asks God to keep his eyes and his heart from evil, sinful, deceitful things.

We would do good to ask God for the same things.  We have chosen to follow The Lord, but we need His help in order to do so.  We need to read and study The Word of God more, but we need Him to increase our knowledge and understanding.  As we walk this Christian walk, we need His help, guidance, and direction in order to steer clear of sinful things.  Maybe we should pray this prayer.

Disiplined Taught And Blessed By God

"The LORD knows the thoughts of man; He knows that they are futile.  Blessed is the man You discipline, O LORD, the man You teach from Your law; You grant him relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked."  Psalms 94:11-13 (NIV)

While the author of this psalm is unknown, the intent is quite clear, It admonishes the wicked and it gives assurance to the righteous.  The psalmist acknowledges the omniscience of God and the futility of man.  God disciplines those that He loves in order to teach and bless them. 

God knows all.  Not only does He see all of our actions and hear all of our words, He knows all of our thoughts.  Like a good parent who punishes their child to help them learn what not to do, He disciplines us in order to teach us because He loves us.  That in itself is a blessing.   However, there are many more blessings in store for us if we would learn from our mistakes and His instruction, and follow His directions.  When we know better, we ought to do better.  Some of our future blessings will only be granted to us if we do the right thing.

One Of David's Prayers That We Should Recite

"Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me Your paths;  guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.  Remember, O LORD, Your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You are good, O LORD."  Psalms 25:4-7 (NIV)

King David was a sinner, and he knew that he was a sinner.  However, he confessed his sins, he asked for forgiveness and mercy, and he asked for God's help and guidance to do better.

David prayed, and he prayed often.  We could learn a lot from David.  We should learn some of his prayers, and commit them to memory so that we could recite them as easily as we do The Model Prayer which Jesus taught His disciples.  This is one such prayer.  It acknowledges our sins, it asks for mercy and forgiveness; and it asks for God to show us His ways, to teach us, and to guide us.  Without Him, we would be lost.  So, pray, and pray often.  Let us remember to thank God for what He has done and is doing, and for what He will do.  Let us ask Him to help us to sin less, to follow His Way, to read His Word, and to be more Christ-like in the future.  Not just during this holy day season, but to be more Christ-like throughout this upcoming year and for the rest of our lives.

Seriously Pursue Wisdom

"Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge."  Proverbs 23:12 (NIV)

King Solomon suggests that one ought to sereously pursue wisdom.  One should put their heart into it and listen to wise instruction in an effort to gain knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.

In our whole hearted pursuit of instruction and education in oder to gain knowledge understanding , and wisdom, let us remember that wisdom comes from God and begins with the fear of The Lord.  (Psalms 111:10 & Proverbs 9:10)  It is only useful if God is in it.

Get The Truth Wisdom Discipline And Understanding

"Buy the truth and do not sell it; get wisdom, discipline and understanding."  Proverbs 23:23 (NIV)

King Solomon said obtain the truth at whatever cost, and never give it up at any price.  Get The Truth and in all of your "getting" be sure to also get wisdom, get discipline, and get understanding.

Jesus, The Christ, is The Truth. (John 14:6)  The beginning of wisdom is knowing and fearing The Lord.  (Psalms 111:10 & Proverbs 9:10)  Letting Jesus into your life is the best thing you can do.  Knowledge without wisdom and understanding is useless.  Just knowing a bunch of facts is useless unless one understands the significance of the facts and is able to apply them in the appropriate situation.  Just knowing who Jesus is, is not enough.  We must believe in Him, seek Him, and obey Him.  The devil and his demons know who He is. (James 2:19)  Once we get it we must do something with it.  Applying the wisdom and understanding is where discipline come in.  Sustained effort is necessary to exercise our faith.  Faith and belief without work is useless. (James 2:20 & 26) 

Lead Us Along The Straight And Narrow Way

"Teach me Your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path ..."  Psalms 27:11 (NIV)

This psalm is one of David's many conversations with The Lord.  David literally asks God to help him,  to show him the way that he should go and tell him what he should do.

There is only one right way and that is God's way, and that way must be shown to us.  We would not find or follow the narrow path by ourselves. (Matthew 7:14)   In our walk of life, we want our direction and each step that we take to be ordered by God. (Psalms 37:23)  That is not likely to happen unless we ask God to teach us His way and to lead us along the straight and narrow path.  This is the less travelled way because very few people find it.

Being Obedient To God's Commands

"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become ... The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.  So The Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; men and animals' ... But Noah found favor in the eyes of The Lord ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God ... So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark of cypress wood ... This is how you are to build it ... I am going to bring flood waters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens ... But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark; you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.  You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you ... You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.'  Noah did everything just as God commanded him."  Genesis 6:5-8:21 (NIV)  The great flood followed this.

In this first book of Moses history is recorded regarding the events which led up to the great flood.  God told Noah, who was a righteous man, that He was going to destroy all of mankind and all of the  animals.  However, Noah and his family would be spared along with two of every kind of animal.  God told Noah to build an ark and He told him exactly how to build it.  Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Noah had never built an ark before, or anything like it, but he did what God had commanded him to do.  Because he was obedient, he and his family were spared when the great flood eliminated all of the rest of mankind.  We do not know what the future holds in store for us, but if we walk with and follow God, all things will work out for our benefit. (Romans 8:28)  We may also be blessed and spared from some very bad situation if we are obedient to God's commands. 

Teach Me To Walk In Your Way Lord

"Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name. I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever." Psalms 86:11-12 (NIV)

There are five prayers recorded in Psalms, (Psalms 17, 86, 90, 102, & 142), and this Psalm is one of David's prayers. It includes a petition, adoration, thanksgiving, but it omits the confession of any specific sin. It is a personal prayer, not an intercessory prayer for others. David wants God's help. He wants God to hear him, protect him, save him, and have mercy on him. He also wants God to "teach" him to walk in God's way.

Pray, "Teach me Your way, O Lord." Don't assume that you know what He wants you to do and that you know how to do it. We cannot walk with God without His help. "Ask The Savior to help you, comfort, strengthen, and keep you. He is willing to aide you, He will carry you through."

Joy And Joyous Anticipation

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise The Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set The Lord always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices ... You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand." Psalm 16:5-11 (NIV)

Here King David seeks preservation and a blessing from God. He is grateful and expresses his gratitude. He praises God for His counsel and His instruction. In life and facing death he is hopeful. He knows that God has chosen his path and that it leads to joy and eternal life with Christ.

We should be content with our portion and with God's provisions and promises. We should delight in God's constant presence. We should daily reflect on God's council and instruction should intentionally keep His Word before us. The steps we take and the walk that we walk should be directed by The Lord. We should run this race with joy and joyous anticipation knowing that we are headed for eternal life with Christ.

Pray For Guidance And Direction # 2

When you feel that you are doing your best and things seem to be going wrong or bad for you, keep the faith, and pray.

"So my spirit grows faint within me; my heart within me is dismayed. I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done. I spread out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide your face from me or I will be like those who go down to the pit. Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul ... Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble ... for I am your servant." Psalms 143:4-12 (NIV)

In this Psalm, David is saying that he is doing his best to do the will of God but things are not going well with him. Because of this his spirit is failing him. His prayer is for God to show him the way he should go, to teach him, and to lead him.

We really do not pray enough. We should pray for God's guidance and direction before we say or do anything, even the little things. We get into trouble when we attempt to do something without praying first, because we think that we can handle it without God's help.

Don't be in such a hurry to do anything before you pray. Our lives would be much better if we would pray before we spoke or began to act.

Pray For Guidance And Direction

"Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul ... Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your Good Spirit lead me on level ground. For Your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life; in Your righteousness, bring me out of trouble." Psalms 143:8-11 (NIV)

This was David's passionate plea when he was caught up in one of his many predicaments, and it should very well be our personal plea. "... Show me the way ... teach me to do Your will ... lead me ... preserve my life ... bring me out of trouble." We all need God's help, direction, instruction, and protection to get us out of trouble. Thank God for His "unfailing love".