Focused

Good Morning!

One more and I will move on to some other subjects:

Psalm 119:9-16 (English Standard Version)
Beth
9How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
13With my lips I declare
all the rules[a] of your mouth.
14In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Footnotes:
a. Psalm 119:13 Or all the just decrees

Living life can be tough! There are so many distractions that want to pull us away from the pathway that God has set before us. When I was young (and Rich’s was still a store and was in “downtown Atlanta”), Mom would take us down to Rich’s on the No. 6 bus. This was a time when Atlanta still had the trolleys that ran on electric power. The streets were a maze of electric wires that the trolley driver would hook into. I can still remember when the trolley would make the turn from Ponce de Leon to Moreland Avenue. The trolley driver would have to jump off the bus and pull the two connecters from one set of wires to the other. It was fascinating! Do you see how easily we can be distracted???

Our walk with the Lord takes some concentrated effort if we are going to be successful. The Psalmist makes this plain in the “Beth” stanza of Psalm 119. He understands that Scripture memorization puts God’s Word in a place for ready use. Some of you will no doubt say that you can’t remember a thing – but I would hazard that if you began you would soon find how much you will retain. In the early 1970’s I attended the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts seminar at the Omni in Atlanta. The speaker was Bill Gothard. He share one story that stuck in my mind for what now is almost forty years. And it was this: Bill Gothard was a terrible student. He made C’s and D’s and couldn’t retain water – much less information for a test. But he was encouraged to begin to memorize Scripture – one verse a day. Pretty soon his grades were B’s and A’s and he found himself retaining much more of what he learned. Bill attributed his success to the simple task of Scripture memorization.

Hiding God’s Word in your heart brings the benefit of it being available when the Holy Spirit places a witness opportunity in front of you. I often am surprised when I hear myself quoting Scripture in a certain situation – not because I am that smart but because the Scripture is there – locked in my brain – where the Holy Spirit can pull it out when appropriate.

“I will delight in Your statutes – I will NOT forget Your Word.” What a great way to end this stanza – and to begin this day.

Agape’

Mr. Jim
Fatdad5@comcast.net
"Preach the Gospel everyday - and if you have to, use words" ... St. Francis of Assisi