From January 30, One Year Bible

Today's Scriptures:

Exodus 10:1~12:13; Matthew 20:1~28; Psalm 25:1~15; Proverbs 6:6~11

My One Thought Scripture: Psalm 25:1~15 (NIV)

1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse.

4 Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths;

5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.

8 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

11 For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13 He will spend his days in prosperity, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14 The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.

15 My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

One reason I attempt to write these “blogs” based on the One Year Bible readings is not to show my talent, wisdom and biblical knowledge. In fact, you won't read very much here before you realize that I don't have much of the above to blog about. I could just read the assigned passages and let it go at that. I've done that plenty of times in the past. The reason I am trying to do this is to force me to seek a truth from God's Word each day that applies to my life and will help me get through the day.

As I read this Psalm today some of my own past flashed before my eyes! Verse 7 says, “Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord.”   How grateful I am that my God has forgiven me and forgotten the “sins of my youth and my rebellious ways...”

I found many “hints” in this passage that show us WHO our God is; WHAT our God is; and WHY our God is. The psalmist (David) pleads with God in verse 6 to “Remember” His (God's) great mercy and love. Verse 8 states flatly, “Good and upright is the Lord” (as our pastor reminded us this morning...”God is good...all the time...”) In verse 10, we are reminded that “All the ways of The Lord are loving and faithful”. These are some of the ways we can know WHO our God is.

Some of the ways we can know WHAT our God is are written about as well. In verses 4 and 8 we learn that God is a dedicated teacher. Verse 8 states: “...therefore he instructs sinners in his ways...”. Verse 9 also tells us He teaches what is right...His way. He is the guide (teacher) of the humble. The ways of our God are loving and faithful, (verse 10).

Finally, the WHY. There are several hints in this Psalm about why my God will bless me (and you) so profoundly. Words that I see are “trust” (verse 2); “hope” (verse 3); “humble” (verse 9); “keep the demands” (verse 10); and “fear” (verse 12 & 14).

It is incumbent on me to always approach Him in these ways. If I will, HE will! How grateful I am that our God is the God of love. His mercy, love, goodness, teaching, guiding and forgiveness are never-ending.

With King David, I can say, “...My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare...”