Tethered to Truth

There was a long season of life when I wandered from Truth. I made decisions that felt right in the moment, but led to irreversible consequences later. Had my life been tethered to Truth, so much pain & hardship could’ve been avoided. I think that’s why I now love God’s Word SO much!

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and is, simply put, revelation of God’s written revelation. Over and over the Psalmist proclaims the inordinate value of God’s instructions, laws, commandments, decrees & regulations.

He writes, “I have tried hard to find you- don’t let me wander from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Matthew Henry, an extraordinary Bible commentator from the 18th century, was introduced to this chapter as a child. His father instructed his children to meditate on one verse a day thereby going through the entire psalm twice in one year.  He‘s quoted as saying that he required this practice because he felt it would bring them to fall in love with the rest of Scripture - and it did!

I wish I could go back to my grammar stage of life & memorize many verses! Memory work can be so hard the older we get, but it doesn’t negate the fact that we can start regardless of our age.

Hiding God’s Word in our heart keeps us tethered to Truth, especially in gray moments where Truth feels hidden.

According to the few verses I read today, it:

👉🏽Helps us walk in integrity

👉🏽Brings joy

👉🏽Helps us not compromise with evil

👉🏽Guards us from shame

👉🏽Helps the young stay pure

👉🏽Becomes a Source of delight

Father, Your Word is a lamp unto our feet & a light unto our path. 🔦When things feel dark or cloudy, Your Word reveals The Way forward. Help us to remain tethered to Your Truth so we do not wander from You, our infallible & faithful Source of Truth!💡

#OneYearBible

November 21 One Year Bible Readings

💡Ezekiel 42:1-43:27

💡James 5:1-20

💡Psalm 119:1-16

💡Proverbs 28:6-7

Be Wary of Snatching Back the Sacrifice

Do you ever lay something down before the Lord with praise & thanksgiving only to snatch it up moments later?

I do more often than I’d like.

I carry worry like a snug backpack & when I suddenly realize the weight of it, I lay it down before the Lord & thank Him that it’s not my burden to bear. It doesn’t take long, however, for that same stinkin fear to sneak away from the altar where I left it, only to slither it’s way back into my heart.

I will also come before His altar & offer sacrifices of praise & thanksgiving about something or someone, only to turn moments later back to the hurt in my heart as if it’s a dear friend.

This morning, I read a verse that struck me with peculiar significance.

Psalm 118:27 talks about coming to God’s Presence in The Most Holy place where His brilliance is almost blinding. It’s there that priests would sacrifice an animal to cover people’s sin. What’s odd about the verse is the 2nd sentence. It’s an imperative that instructs us to,

“Take the sacrifice & bind it with cords to the altar.”

I’m such a literal thinker that I couldn’t fathom why a priest would need to bind an animal with cords on the altar if it was already dead?🧐

It made me wonder if it was a prophetic exhortation for years to come?

Jesus became the Sacrificial Lamb for all sin, dying so that we might have eternal life!

Christians are called to worship God by offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy & pleasing to Him!

So often we come to the altar of God & proclaim our love for Him, offering sacrifices of thanksgiving & praise, only to do an about face, leaving His face to face the things of this world apart from Him.

What would our lives look like if we tied our very lives to the horns of His altar, becoming a daily, living sacrifice where He rules & reigns instead of our selfish ambitions?

Father, bind us to your altar! There is no other place that offers the kind of refuge like You! Jesus, be Lord over all of the secret places in our hearts & lives. Cut us open & lay bare anything we think we have hidden from you. Holy Spirit, tie us to our Savior Who died for us & help us resist the temptation to snatch back the living sacrifice of our lives.

#OneYearBible

November 20th One Year Bible Readings

EZEKIEL 40:28-41:26

JAMES 4:1-17

PSALM 118:19-29

PROVERBS 28:3-5

Becoming Bold as Lions

The other day I saw a video clip of what looked like a smallish lion being led into a football field .It had me fooled for a minute. He was the right color, had the big mane, but his fat, dog tail gave it away. It was a golden-colored dog with a fake mane placed on its head so he could act as the mascot of “The Lions”.

It was cute & kinda funny, but it made me think about the enemy. He’s such a stinkin’ coward...such a pretender. He PRETENDS to be a lion who prowls about looking for whom he can devour, but at the very mention of Jesus’s name, he flees like a scaredy-cat who saw a cucumber! (👈🏽Google that- it’s pretty funny too!)

Proverbs 28:1 says that the wicked flee when no one is chasing them, but that the godly are as bold as lions! Jesus is our great Defender when the enemy attacks and all we need do is call on His name! He’s our Living Water when we’re thirsty, our Bread when we’re hungry, our Rock when things feel shaky & overall Jehovah Jireh when we need anything!

Lions seem to be devoid of fear & undaunted by difficulties. They have a saunter that says, “It is well” & yet they are courageous & resolute when it comes to attacking their enemy! Lions even sleep in wide open spaces, unafraid of what surrounds them. 

When we follow Jesus as Lord & walk with a clear conscience, we can  boldly face whatever comes our way because of Who we are following! 

When we go our own way, however, we become like the first part of the proverb and flee even when nothing is pursuing us! Sin makes men cowards, but the ❤️ of a righteous man is as the ❤️ of a lion! We need fear nothing or no one but God alone. 

Father, help us to become undaunted by difficulties & devoid of all fear. As we choose to follow the Lion of Judah, may we remember our bloodline! We are not skiddish-little-scaredy-cats. We can be bold as lions regardless of what kind of fake-lions with big, fat dog tails stand before us!

Thank You that we can lie down in peace & rest knowing Your Name is enough to keep us safe! Holy Spirit, help us to enter our day with bold courage & a heart set resolute to follow You! Give us a lion-like saunter that boldly proclaims, “It is well!”

#OneYearBible

November 17th One Year Bible Readings

💡EZEKIEL 35:1-36:38

💡JAMES 1:1-18

💡PSALM 116:1-19

💡PROVERBS 27:23-27