Ecclesiastes 5

Scripture  Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. 2 Do not be quick with your mouth,    do not be hasty in your heart    to utter anything before God.God is in heaven    and you are on earth,    so let your words be few. Observation  God is in the highest heaven and I’m just here on earth. Understanding  God is God and i am not “Go near to listen…”Listen. Listen until He speaks. Listen, even though there is silence. Do not move away from the silence or get frustrated. Let humility cover you and listen… for Him to speak. “Do not be quick…”Wait. Wait. Do not rush to say anything with your mouth or in your heart. Wait. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts.His ways are higher than our ways. What do i have to say that he hasn’t already heard?What do i think that he doesn’t already know? Let humility cover you and wait… for Him to speak.  “God is in heaven…”The creator of the universe is light years and light years away. He transcends time and space and dimensions.  He created with His words, billions of galaxies and stars and the heavens, and the earth, and all of the millions of creatures... and little ol’, wonderfully made... humans.  God is in heaven and i am not. God is God and i am not.  “Let your words be few…”What do i have to say? I am here LORD.  Application  Listening and humility go well together.  Practicing silence and solitude is fairly new for me but something I have been enjoying as I search for spiritual disciplines that will bring me closer to the LORD.  As we get older, many of us realize how little we know about so many things, lol! So weird because when I was younger I just knew everything! When I read these scriptures i felt like humility was poured out over me like warm anointing oil or like a huge warm oversized blanket that covers every part of me.  Oh, how I wish I would have put on humility so much sooner. Even so, I’m so grateful that Father God has allowed me many opportunities to try humility on, and I’m starting to like it, and more and more I feel like I should just wear it all the time.  I feel that listening, being slow to speak and humility go together. Sitting in silence and waiting on Him is more easily done with humility.  The God that is so high above us...came down to be with us… what do you have to say? I am here LORD. 

Deborah Lee 

Psalm 119: 60-119

Scripture

Psalms‬ ‭119:105‬ ‭

“Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”

  

Observation-What does it say? The overall message of Psalm 119 focuses on the truth of God’s Word.  It encourages us through every generation to stay close and focused on His Word no matter what swirls around us in this world. Living in the freedom and knowledge of God’s ways, obeying His law above all else, and keeping in step with His commandments is the only way to truly live wise, strong lives.

 

Understanding-What does it mean?

 

A good acronym for BIBLE: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

 

God’s Word is powerful, living, and active. It never changes, because He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His words are breathed straight from His heart to us, a love letter for life, not simply an old-fashioned, outdated book with no relevance for today. His Word is sharper than any two-edged sword.

 

Psalm 119 reminds us that God's very charcter is reflected through His Word, He is Righteous, He is Faithful, He is Unchanging, He is True. The opening 2 verses remind us, that we are "blessed" as we walk in His Truth, and seek Him with our whole heart.

 

"Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.-"Psalms 119:v. 1-2

 

Life Application

 

Read God’s Word daily! It is life’s instruction manual.

 

When I was a kid my dad would always encourage me to read my Bible. He would always say, “A chapter a day, keeps the devil away.” I always thought he liked saying that because it rhymes. But there is truth behind it . Staying in God’s Word daily, helps keep me focused on how I should be living my life. It is a light to our path (like the verse I chose today)! So I just want take this time to encourage you all to try some PB&J (Prayer, Bible reading, and Journaling). It is food for your SOUL! 😋

 

-Moses Gaddi

Psalm 119:1-59

Scripture Psalm 119:10-1110 I seek you with all my heart;    do not let me stray from your commands.11 I have hidden your word in my heart

    that I might not sin against you.

 

Observation-What does it say?

 

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses in it and if we can sum up this chapter in two words, it would be God’s Word. According to 2 Timothy 3:16, the Bible is God-breathed, which means it was written by human hands, but by inspiration of our living God. It is only fitting that the longest chapter of His Word speaks about itself.

 

Understanding-What does it mean?

 

The Word of God is our instruction manual for life.

 

Just like every toy, electronic, appliance and car has a manual for how it’s supposed to work properly, our Creator left us an instruction manual too for how He designed us to function, and that is His Word. It is not just a history book. The Word of God is living, breathing and active as Hebrews 4:12 states.  It is also our offensive weapon against the enemy’s attacks (Eph. 6:17).

 

Life Application

In order to experience the transforming power of God's Word in our life, we must read it, study it and apply it to our lives.

 

This is why we encourage you to be in the Word everyday through PB&J and why we have our Soul Journal blog and encourage you all to participate in it. Being in God's Word is a discipline that is vital to every Believer's life. It is also important that we apply it to our lives.

 

As James says in ch. 1:22-24, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

 

Dear Lord, thank You for Your perfect Word. Thank You that we are free to read it, study it and apply it to our personal lives. I pray we would continually meditate on Your Truth instead of the lies that the enemy and the world throws at us. I pray that if we are living a life contrary to Your Word, that You would bring us back to the Truth through Your Spirit. Thank You that Your Word is a lamp for our feet and a light on our path (Ps. 119:105). Please continue to direct our paths through Your Word. Amen. 

 

-Michelle Gaddi