Are you enjoying this beautiful spring as much as I am?
Out of the sunshine and into greeny-yellow new leafage and dandelions, Bradford pear trees, gorgeously brilliant Formosa pink azaleas and early rhododendron (where I am at least), and a host of dandelions and “cleavers.”
Yes, you heard that right. These frail, sticky, hungry climbers “cleave” to everything they touch and spit their seeds out everywhere you don’t want them! Otherwise known as “stickywilly,” grip grass, catchweed bedstraw, goosegrass, sticky weed, sweetheart (?), and a “host” of other common names (which might not be good to know!).
Between the feathery white seedsnow of flowering dandelion and these and other little ground weeds that climb in and around my cleyeras, boxwoods, ferns, roses, azaleas and perennials, spring’s beauty is also a sign of a lot of back-breaking work. I do not like the job of weeding the yard, nor does my husband enjoy mowing it. But the enjoyment we get out of seeing the fresh green and colorful growth God reliably gives us every year is worth it all. No pain, no gain.
So what does this have to do with Psalm 119 NIV Audio clips? Perhaps the wee bit of “get to it” that finally got those clips ready and now they are there for you and I to use to listen to audio. Play the clips and try to say the scripture along with the reading. Hit replay and do it again. The clips are there to be used to help with memorization or just plain enjoyed.
I’m thinking of a few other disciplines that are hard-won but a joy and a blessing afterward and five of those disciplines follow:
- READ THE BIBLE
- MEDITATE ON ITS MESSAGE
- PRAY THROUGH THE MESSAGE,
- LIVE OUT THE MESSAGE,
- MEMORIZE THE MESSAGE.
Read the Bible. Well, this one seems obvious, but surprisingly, there is a modern tendency to read ABOUT the Bible or to argue about what it says or what it doesn’t say (or what Jesus did or didn’t say or do), without actually reading the actual Bible at all. If you don’t read it for yourself, it is very easy to get its message very wrong, and to get the Author and His Church very wrong as well. Plus, it is just absolutely fascinating! Ask it questions! It loves to be asked questions!
Meditate on its message. This simply means, when you’re reading, read it to understand what it is saying. Who is talking? Who is the audience (in the scene or you as a reader audience)? What is the context? What came before? What is happening at the time the passage is being written or enacted? What comes afteward? What is the greater historical context? Yes, you can look up all this informatino on BibleHub.com or BibleGateway.com or Blue Letter Bible. Those are just for starters. You can ask questionsn on GotQuestions.org or go to the BibleProject.com for some really engaging overview videos (with great artwork and helpful narrations). But the real key to meditating on scripture is to bring all that contextual information and understanding down to how it all applies to you now. What is God telling you? How is He involving Himself in knowing you and guiding you and drawing you nearer to Him in truth? It might help to journal as you read, because we often forget what we learn. You know what James said in James 1:24 . . . look it up. (wink)
Pray Through the Message. This only makes sense if you have done step 1 and step 2. If God is speaking to you, if you’re hearing “messages” from the Creator of the Universe that hits you square between the shoulder-blades and catches your heart with its penetrating truth and love, then the proper response — is to respond. How do you pray? It doesn’t have to sound “churchy”! In fact, true prayer just doesn’t. True prayer, is you pouring your heart and mind and thoughts and emotions out to God with the respect that is due Him as your Creator, Savior, and Lord. Confess what you have learned about yourself, where you fall short (because we all do), and hear His words of challenge in moving foward. Accept His forgiveness, thank Him for the bit you understand, and trust Him for the parts that you don’t yet understand. Resolve in your heart (I don’t mean making empty promises) that you will act on what you have learned. Take your tips from the author of Psalm 119, because all of this Psalm is just that . . . prayer response to God. The human author is just a follower of God like you and I that knows he is weak and in need, and yet is strong because God has made Him so as He clings to God’s Words.
Live out the Message. We learn a lot, but the will is weaker than the intellect. I know not to eat those little tiny ice cream cone things in the freezer (which, well, they shouldn’t even be in the freezer, right?). But I rationalize, justify, and “splurge just this one time” with one….or two….or more? Maybe just three and then I’ll stop. We have to be intentional about turning what we know to be true into what is true in our actions and every single thought (yes, thought) and decision. God is watching, even when no one else is. He is not watching to see if you will trip up (He already knows you will). He is watching to find you FAITHFUL, not faithless. He knows you’re a toddler in the faith and will fall, but He is watching for that wonderful moment you will step out on your own and actually grow up in the wisdom you just learned. Yes, He is a great daddy. He’s richer than all Daddies combined, and He sure knows how to reward his children as they turn to Him in faith. So maybe write down ONE thing (just one!) that you will do as a result of what you learned in Bible reading and study today. Just one.
Memorize its Message.. This is a big one and it causes a lot of guilt, especially if you grew up in a very Bible-centric church, bless them!! They were doing it right to make us memorize scripture! But don’t let the challenge and goal become a boat anchor and a weight of guilt if you’re not memorizing every verse and remembering all of what you memorized months later! God just delights in you when you spend time trying to commit His Word into your mind and heart. You commit it into your mind when you rehearse its message in the traditional sense of memorizing, but you commit it to your heart when you walk it out AS you rehearse its words. The message is complete. A great resource for you here is this website and also VerseLocker App by Scripture Memory Fellowship .
I can’t tell you how grateful I am to SMP for offering this app (and I don’t even like apps). No longer do I waste time playing Solitaire on my phone during “down times” (well, not as much). I use my downtimes now to rehearse a passage I’m working on, or to review an already memorized passage. And do you know, I feel the blessing of the Lord on me. It’s not like I feel good about myself because I’m hitting one of the cool Church practices and can mark a tally in my “See, I’m good” book. Not a chance! No, it is more like a warm glow of knowing that I am pleasing my Savior Who died for me and Who gave me His Word as a gift of His love. It’s like when your Daddy gifts you with the bike you always wanted and you get on the bike and take it for a spin around the block hootin’ and hollerin’ with joy and shouting, “Thanks, Dad!! Wow, this is great!” Yeah, . . . Daddy’s smiling really big.
Happy Spring!!
© 2024 April by ReadPsalm119.com.
