PRECEPTS
Suggested Reading: Psalms 119:73-128
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
One of the Hebrew language Bibles on the communion table in Christ Church in Jerusalem. The church is located 200 metres inside the Old City's Jaffa Gate. More than any other Bible passage, Psalm 119 gives emphasis to the importance of God's Word!
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verses: Psalms 119:73b, 104 and 105
Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments…Through Your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
The word “precept” is repeated 20 times in Psalm 119! The New Oxford Dictionary gives a meaning of this word: “A general rule intended to regulate behaviour or thought.” This may fall short of the true meaning of the word. The word “principle” comes from the same Latin word as “precept.” When we say that a man or woman is “a person of PRINCIPLE,” we are getting the right idea. Our key verses ask God for “UNDERSTANDING” and then answers that prayer as to how to get “UNDERSTANDING!” We feed our hearts and minds in God’s precepts every day and a person of PRINCIPLE is growing. It’s like the gestation period of the elephant…two years. Our through-God’s-Word readings and blogs over these two years should produce a new person of “PRINCIPLE.” Amen?
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, may Your precepts flow into the very core of my being, bringing healthy spiritual growth. I pray that I will emerge from this two year period of absorbing Your Word daily as a “PERSON OF PRINCIPLE.” In other words, Father God, I hope to resemble Jesus more and more. In His name I ask for Your precepts to be the DNA of my life now and in the future. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
In my first years as one who sought to follow Jesus, I decided to read the biographies of people who were, in my judgement, good people. Millions of such biographies should be written. There are too few! I found a common denominator in adherence to basic principles by which they ordered their lives. One such person is Abraham Lincoln, a former President of the United States. In 1957 a devotional book made up of select Biblical passages was discovered. It was owned and used by Lincoln. It’s called, “The Believer’s Daily Treasure.” A subtitle is, “Texts of Scripture Arranged for Every Day of the Year.” Here is a paragraph from a book called, “Abraham Lincoln – Lessons in Spiritual Leadership” by Elton Trueblood:
“Frequently, Lincoln employed a verse from the Bible to clinch a point. He had been importuned saying that he would not interfere with slaves or slavery in states where they were acceptable. ‘I have,’ he wrote to William Speer of Tennessee, ‘done this many many times, and it is in print, and open to all who will read. Those who will not read or heed what I’ve already said would not read or heed a repetition of it. If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.'”
That Bible quote is found in Luke 16:31. In my reading of Lincoln’s words, I have found that they are generously sprinkled with Scriptures. Lincoln knew the precepts of God’s Word thoroughly. I believe that his daily reading of God’s Word helped immensely to produce this great man!
Yours for two years of gestation in the womb of Holy Scripture and for the birth of men and women of PRINCIPLE!
David
P.S. Click here for a look at one of the Bibles of Abraham Lincoln. His Bible was brought from the Smithsonian for the inauguration ceremony of President Obama.
Inside Christ Church in Jerusalem, which is the oldest Protestant Church in the Middle East. It was completed in 1849 and soon after became known as the "Jewish Protestant Church." On the communion table are two Hebrew language Bibles (one of which is pictured above).
7 months remaining on our 2 year journey through the Bible and I am still as excited today as when we first started!!! Thank you Pastor David and your team for your time and energy every morning to make sure that we have “100 words”. It has been and continues to be a blessing to me!!
Have a great Saturday blog-buddies!!!
Amen, Ruby!
Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path , as we walk by faith God shines just enought light to lead us even though we don t know what may be ahead we know through Jesus our Lord we can do all things ,
Trust in the Lord with all your heart , lean not on your own understanding in all your ways aknowledhe Him and He will direct your path
He has led us this far and He will see us through to completion
Lord thank you that ee can trust you knowing that you have your best for us and you love us and you are nt mad at us and you love us today as you always will
Bless all my brothers and sisters and Thank you for David Maines thank you for healing hos body and keeping him strong and God help each and everyone of us in Jesus name Amen 🙂
Amen, Brenda!
The wicked lay snares. Perversity abounds. People are prostituting young teenagers. People are hooking themselves and each other on drugs. The tower of Dubai, space travel, the rudiments of the world, money and sex are chosen over God’s precepts. Would a good God not be angery at this evil?
Thank you for the fascinating story of President Lincoln. He was certainly a man of principle and conviction! Pray also, we continue to grow in our commitment to serving our Lord both now and after completing this journey. In His strength and our determination, we shall. At the airport now typing this on our way Phoenix. Have a great day!
Blessings David and have a safe flight.
Safe travels to you and your wife, David. God bless you!
Thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers! We arrived safely:) Blessings in return!
Praising God that I am changing as I continue in His Holy Word and this blog each day. I love the idea of being “A PERSON OF PRICIPLE” and will continue to join each of you every day as Pastor David brings us our 100 words and all of those who contribute.
Your are right Pastor David, there are many great men/women of God, some of whom you have shared with us, who do not get the accolades they deserve, BUT Our Lord knows who they are. Too much attention in the media is given to others who are lost.
Blessings everyone and have a “saintly” day.
Amen Brenda
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
Thank you Lord for your precepts. We need them for our lives. We need a way to follow. Thank you for your joy. In this world of darkness we stand with joy in our hearts. Joy! Joy! Joy! It comes only from you Lord. Have a good day bloggers and Paster David from where ever you are. May we walk with joy in our back pocket to take it out when we talk to anyone today, so that they too will be filled with God’s joy. Hugs and hugs. Sisters and brothers. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
Amen 🙂
My favourite verses of Psalm 119 are 89-96:
Forever, o Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
You established the earth, and it abides.
They continue this day according to Your ordinances,
For all are Your servants.
Unless Your law had been my delight,
I would then have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have given me life.
I am Yours, save me;
For I have sought Your precepts.
The wicked wait for me to destroy me,
But I will consider Your testimonies.
I have seen the consummation of all perfection,
But Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
The Word of God is our surety and salvation–amen! Wishing all a blessed day, regardless of the achy weather, as we shout praises to our Lord and King! We have been blessed with the gift of life to praise and worship Him–what an honour! Regardless of any circumstances that might weigh us down, we know there are so many others who face worse trials than we do. My prayers, today, are for all of you! God bless each and every saint with an incredible love that passes all understanding. Amen!
As always Thankyou David,through your daily blog I feel my faith hope grace from From Jesus growing every day amen!!!!!!
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path…Thank you Lord for leading me on the paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake!!!
Thank you Pastor David for being faithful in this daily blog through God’s Word!!
Amen Ruby and Brenda, and thank God for answered prayer Catherine. Also for your inspiring leadership to be people of principle. This 100words continues to be the highlight of my life since its beginning and as I have tried to put His Word first, I see God blessing what follows after. Today one of my grand-nephews came and helped me with some winter preparations, and shared with me about his plans after high school; a life change. God is faithful; we are truly blessed by this 100words blog and expecting more to follow. Blessings saints.
My hope is based on nothing else than Your Great Love, Your Righteousness. I will not walk another way. I trust Your Heart, I trust Your Way, I’m holding on, I’m holding on to You Jesus.
Thank You Lord for Your Precious Word, for giving David Mainse more strength every day to carry on and provide us our daily 100 words.
Blessings to all my fellow brothers and sisters,
xxxCarole
Psalm 119 blesses me more and more as I read it. I too want to be a woman of principle. God’s Word is indeed a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. Without God’s Word, where would we be……on the road to destruction. Thank you Jesus that I am born again and now serving You for the last 22 years. Thank you David for your ministry which has been and continues to be a blessing in so many ways, and I pray that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers.
To all my brothers and sisters in Christ, be blessed in all you do.
Nov 2nd 100 Words did not come in this a m. I am not complaining, but 8 more of my friends are missing a special message which I send on once I have read the message. My heart is sad, a friend, former pastor heard yesterday that his son is being charged with having pornography. Please pray for this family. I do not reply often following reading your Blog David, I appreciate it so much. I post scripture verses each day, and know that God will use them for the “right” person. You and Norma jean will be off to Israel with 100 more folks, looking forward to each days message and pictures. Keep well, blessings.
I wrote this in 2004. I hope you like it.
Prayer for Victory
Lord, Thy Word have I hid in my heart
That I might not sin against Thee.
Bring it back to my mind as I need it
When Satan whispers his lies to me.
Thy Word is a lamp to my feed
And a light unto my way.
Help me see clearly the obstacles
Satan has planned for today.
He wants to deprive You of honour
So others Your glory can’t see,
Help me be always alert
So defeated he will be.
Greater is He that is in me
Than He that is in the world.
Let me hold firmly my shield,
As his arrows at me are hurled.
I give you control of my mind, Lord,
Reveal any wrong thinking to me,
So my heart, my mind, and my actions,
Will always bring Glory to Thee.
Help me to stand in full armour
Knowing the victory it will bring.
So all my love and praises,
Unto You my heart will sing.
Lord, Thank You,
For Your love shown at Calvary
And the Holy Spirit You have given to me.
May I always be conscious of Your presence,
And sing Your praises all eternity.
Amen.
David M. Thank you again for this blog, it has been a great blessing to me, I needed it so much, when I started reading it months back. I trust I will be able to continue until I have gone through the Bible in the two years.
May God bless you and your family on the trip. And may He keep You all in the hollow of His hand, safe and secure. And bring you back to us. Amen
Nothing is perfect—-feed should read – Feet
What a treat to read. You have a gift. Many thanks.
Sadly I think the bars are necessary, but God should be on the right side of them. Thanks,
Lynda
I would like to join you for the daily prayers.
I am asking our Lord Jesus Christ to keep you David Mainse in good health always. Amen
I want to join you for the daily prayer. Thank you and may The Lord bless you.