Something Greater

Has An Old Man No Hope? Psalm 119:9-16 | Milt Reynolds | December 2, 2021 Photo by Huy Phan on Unsplash “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” (Psalm 119:9–16, NIV) I try to read one of the stanzas from Psalm 119 daily. So, once a month I usually find myself shaking my head in disappointment, or at the very least in doubt. Does this passage speak only to "young people"? What are us old people? Chopped liver? Vienna Sausages? Saltine crackers? Canned mackerel in tomato sause? I think the last t...

Shame and Loneliness...and Happiness | Psalm 119 Milt Reynolds | November 30, 2021 Image source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/shame-loop-spiral-chasing-judgment-2088368/ -  johnhain - no attribution required For me, the key to delighting in, and praying through Psalm 119, has been to notice the many different synonyms used for "God's Word": The law His testimonies His ways His precepts His statutes His commandments His righteous rules All of these are different facets of one gloriously cut gem: The precious Word of God, the Holy Bible. All of the books of the Holy Bible together are the one and only one treasury of all that God has declared to us, and done for us. I first noticed a connection between shame and loneliness, God's Word, and my happiness, in the first stanza of Psalm 119, verses 1-8. This stanza is given the title of  Aleph , which is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The English word, "blessed" is a translation of the Hebrew word,  ...

Christ Himself Is Our Peace | Ephesians 2:14-22 “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:14–22, ESV) This...

The Gap Between Understanding and Trust | John 4:11-15 “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:11-15 NIV) There is a gap between understanding and trust which many of us fail to cross. We may come to understand what Jesus says, or we can imagine it changing our lives. But with...

What Is Work? | Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work , but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work , neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Ex 20:8-11 NIV) WORK : melakah /mel-ä-KÄ/ Properly, deputyship, ministry; generally, employment (never servile) or work (abstract or concrete); also property (as the result of labor) The biblical use of this work involves ones occupation and business: Occupation, business Property Work (something done or made) Workmanship Service, use Public business: political, religious My takeaway: "Work" is not only "effort" and ...

Supervised, Supported and Purposed | Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus... (Eph 1:1) Father, all that you do is motivated by your pleasure and choice. Paul's life shows how you were in control throughout every circumstance and influence, to make of him an apostle of your Son. I rest now in that same control over my life. All that I've experienced, thought and acted in and upon, every moment of my life, has been supervised, supported, and purposed for good by you, in accordance with your pleasure and will. Continue, Lord God! Make it so, Lord God, however you desire and determine! Amen!

Contentment in Every Circumstance "The battle against covetousness is a battle against unbelief in God’s promise to be all we need in every circumstance..." Too good to not pass along! www.desiringgod.org/articles/i-can-be-content-in-every-circumstance Photo by Rostyslav Savchyn on Unsplash