PRECEPTS
Today’s 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 judgment, 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 of PRINCIPLE!
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).
You are our refuge and our shield; we have put our hope in Your Word, Lord God, and You, alone. Here’s to being “in the womb of Holy Scripture and for the birth of men and women of principle.” Amen and blessings fellow saints in the Lord!
“Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. We have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has grown, but we have forgotten God.” ~Abraham Lincoln~
Only You Are Holy, Lyrics Video By Donnie McClurkin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGYXggof46g
Excellent link on Abraham Lincoln’s Bible!
Amen Beverlee
God bless you Beverlee Kay:
very interesting how God is getting our attention! yes, we have strayed BUT God allows fires and storms and floods and that gets our attention……yes Lord, forgive us, for we have strayed, we are sorry, we ask for Your forgiveness…Thank you Lord for the forgiveness of all our sins, as far as the east is from the west, thank You Lord that EACH day is a new day, yesterday is forgive and forgotten….thank You Lord
bless all the people on this blog! Thank You Lord for each person.
Psalms 46.1
God is our refuge
and strength a very
present help in trouble.
Loved the scriptures and Pastor David’s comments also his prayer which I repeated. So much to glean from today.
Thank you Ron and Ann for continuing this blog. it is very much appreciated.
Sah thank you for you prayer from last night. You are a wonderful lady and are not ashamed to share the Gospel of Christ. Blessings to all, Eleanor M.
Amen! Eleanor M.
Many thanks to everyone for their prayers & input on this blog.
It is a blessing to many who are searching for the truth.
JOHN 3: 16 says it all. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ in whom
we trust for healing & salvation! Amen!!
sweet Eleanor your blogs have given me much peace and grace
I pray God blesses you abundantly and that any needs that you may have will be filled by the Lord God Almightly!
Praying Psalm 46:1, 10 for Norma-Jean as she continues to grieve the ‘human and personal loss’ of her husband, David. A loss to all of us. May God continue to bless, strengthen and comfort Norma-Jean during this transition. The Joy of knowing He is finished with his suffering and enjoying the presence of the Lord he loved and served. Thanks Ron for continuing this blog. Great Vlog and prayer today. Great quote by Lincoln, Beverlee. So, true. May God spiritually awaken our nations – and all of us….
Amen to all your statements Samuel Fame and to all the bloggers, and quotes from Abraham Lincoln. Blessings everyone.
Amen Ger!
Amen
Psalm 118:6-7a The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. The Lord is with me; He is my helper.
Psalm 118: 28-29 You are my God, and I will give thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.
Rejoice in the Lord always…blessings in the Lord to all you saints!
Great truth in Key verses!! .. “Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore, I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
Lord encourage people to swim! It exercises upper body, nodules,good for sleep,mental health,diet,talk to others,socialize,reduces stress, please pray for complete healing for Sherry, send extra employee to Rick, bless our families, TY for all the blessings of this day amen amen amen