Psalm 119 - 6.23.26

SCRIPTURE:  PSALMS 119:33-40

“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 towards selfish gain.  Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your Word.  Fulfill Your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared.  Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.  How I long for Your precepts!  In Your righteousness preserve my life.”

OBSERVATION:  This psalm was written by David.  These psalms are anthems of praise and thanksgiving for God and His Word.  David acknowledges that God is his Teacher, Director, the One Who is able to change his heart, the Preserver of life, the Fulfiller, the Promise Keeper, the Forgiver, the good God, the righteous God, and the Preserver of life. 

APPLICATION:  David’s prayer is the perfect prayer for us to pray over our lives. 

PRAYER:  Thank You Holy Spirit for teaching me the Word, and how to obey it.  Thank You for giving me understanding so that I may keep it to the end.  Thank You Jesus for directing my path, and for giving me such delight in finding it. Thank You for changing my heart to want to follow after Your way instead of my selfish gain. Thank You for opening my eyes to the worthless things of this world.  Thank You for preserving my life according to Your Word. Thank You for Your faithfulness to fulfill Your promises to me.  Thank You for forgiving me, and taking away my disgrace. Thank You for being the Preserver of my life.  Thank You Lord that I am able to run to You for comfort and security, and that You are always there to meet me personally, to provide and guide in order to help me walk right before You.

- Robin Orefice

Exodus 9 - 6.22.26

Scripture

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭9‬:‭34‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He and his officials hardened their hearts.”

Observation

In this passage, the back and forth between Pharaoh, and Moses and Aaron continues. Moses and Aaron are relaying God’s Word to Pharaoh. They are instructing Pharaoh to let all the people of Israel-(men, women, children, and animals) go into the wilderness so they can worship the Lord. If Pharaoh refuses God’s request, there will be consequences on Pharaoh and his people. Pharaoh’s heart was stubborn and refused to let the people of Israel go. So, God inflicted plagues upon Egypt’s livestock. He inflicted a plague of festering boils upon Pharaoh’s people and even their animals. God even called down a mighty hailstorm to destroy their crops. You would think Pharaoh would get the message by now. But instead, he would continue to lie to Moses and Aaron’s faces, promising them that he would let their people go if God would bring relief from these plagues.

Application

You can’t fool God.

How many of us have ever done or may know someone who has ever done what Pharaoh did here? Picture it. You have an uncomfortable circumstance in your life. It’s only then that You decide to turn to God. You then try to bargain with Him. You ask God to remove that difficult circumstance from your life, telling God if He does, then you will do what He asks of you. Then, when relief comes your way, you’re back doing the same old dumb things that got you in that predicament in the first place. 🤦🏽‍♂️

Let me ask you something. Do you really think we’re fooling God?! God is all knowing. He knows how it is all going to play out. The learning lesson here is that we can’t keep hardening our hearts towards God. Sooner or later, it will catch up to us. It did with Pharaoh as we will read in the upcoming chapters. Every time we ignore God’s direction and His ways, our conscience grows less sensitive to Him. When we continue to reject God’s calling and decide to harden our hearts towards Him, God eventually gives us what we ask for. God will then harden our hearts like He did with Pharaoh. This time it reaps eternal consequences.

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those whom God says in the end, “Thy will be done.””-C.S. Lewis

“That is why the Holy Spirit says, “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.” -Hebrews‬ ‭3‬:‭7‬-‭8‬

Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your patience with me, for putting up with my foolishness. Forgive me for ever thinking that I can ever fool You. May I never harden my heart towards You and lose the sensitivity of hearing the voice of Your Holy Spirit. Please give me the strength and courage to abide in Your calling for my life. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi

Psalm 119 - 6.19.26

Scripture: Psalm 119:1-8

1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.

Observation

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible and is structured as an acrostic poem, with each section corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The first eight verses focus on the theme of obedience to God's law and the blessings that come from it. The psalmist expresses a deep desire to live according to God's statutes and acknowledges the joy and fulfillment that comes from such a life. (Bing Copilot)

Deuteronomy 6:5 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

Joshua 1:8 - Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Application

This passage of scripture highlights the importance of whole heartedly following God’s law. It emphasizes the blessings and benefits of living a life in obedience to God’s commandments. Not to know them with my understanding but to make them the rule of my life which comes with the help of the Holy Spirit.

When we whole heartedly seek God and follow His commandments, we will experience true joy, fulfillment and blessings in our lives. This is a call to action, to examine our hearts and motivations. Are we aligning our lives with His truth and seeking Him with sincerity and our whole heart? We need to allow His word to guide and transform us from the inside out. As we take pleasure in God’s word and dig deep to know it and practice it, the effect will be a Thankful Heart full of Praise and Worship.

Prayer

Dear Lord, we thank you that you love us so much and you desire to bless us. Thank you for the Holy Spirit that helps us walk in Your path. Help us walk in obedience to your word…not my will but YOURS be done. I praise you with all my heart and soul. Thank you for my Blessed Life.

Michelle Craig