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Wednesday, March 6, 2013
These sheep were enjoying some weather several days ago. As we prepare to send this message out we are expecting a nice snow storm so the scene may look different!
Listen to this message on your
audio player.
"Give Me Discernment"
"I am Your servant; give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes" (Psalm 119:125).
These
days we are barraged with
information that deals with every subject imaginable. Our increased
access to this information grows almost daily. Now we can have the
latest news from practically anywhere in the world instantly on our
smart phones and keep up with all that's going on.
The "information superhighway" just keeps getting bigger and bigger and provides an abundance of information that can be very useful and informative. But there's also alot of information that will confuse or sidetrack the more important message. Not only life-giving truths but disastrous errors crowd the information superhighway.
Psalm 119 is well-known as the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. What is less familiar is that each verse, in one way or another, has a reference to God's Word; His laws and statutes, etc. I believe the various Scriptural expressions are used synonymously and all reveal the heart's desire of the Psalmist; to live by God's revelation.
Another interesting feature in this long
Psalm is that it consists of 22 parts, according to the number of the
letters in the Hebrew alphabet, with the names of which these letters
stand for between each part. Each part consists of eight verses, all of
which begin with the same letter in the Hebrew: thus, for instance, the
first eight verses begin with the letter a, "aleph," and the second
eight verses begin with the letter b, "beth," and so on throughout;
hence the Masorah calls this Psalm "The Great Alphabet". *
In today's Scripture the Psalmist prays in humility, "I am your servant." I find blessing in the Psalmist's humble approach to God. We must always remember who's in control; He is the Master and we are the servant.
The nature of the Psalmist's request is urgently needed by those who live by faith today: "Give me discernment" The Hebrew word for discernment means "to separate mentally." We need to be clear-minded in properly discerning many things. Certainly each generation needs to have those who are like the men of Issachar, "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
But the specific request regarding discernment made by the Psalmist is "that I may understand your statutes." God's statutes; His laws and precepts are intended not only for our good, but He desires His very best for us. The longer we walk with Him the more we come to understand His rules for governing our lives. We need to fundamentally realize that God's statutes are always for our good. Nehemiah stated, "You gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments" (Nehemiah 9:13).
We do well to oft repeat the Psalmist's prayer; "Give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes." May we not only read about God's statutes but seek to understand their meaning as we apply them to our lives.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, I
ask for discernment that I may understand Your statutes. I pray for
understanding that I might know how to implement these truths into my
life. I also pray that I will grow to love and embrace Your laws so
that it becomes a natural outflow of my commitment in following You.
Amen.
* John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Slow Down" Video Chuck Girard Today's message prompted a search for this song, a concept that I suppose was needed in the seventies but so much more now.
"Little Pilgrim" Video Chuck Girard A classic with a great message.
Video Some great music from my earliest days as a follower of Christ in the seventies sung by Chuck Girard's daughters and granddaughters.
"Heart Of America" Video Chuck Girard is still around and is faithfully serving the Lord. This is a prayer for America.
To receive the "Daily
Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this
page
to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed
or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are
our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to
consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this
daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all
over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and
podcast listeners. See here
for more information on
supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
These sheep were enjoying some weather several days ago. As we prepare to send this message out we are expecting a nice snow storm so the scene may look different!
Listen to this message on your
audio player."Give Me Discernment"
"I am Your servant; give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes" (Psalm 119:125).
These
days we are barraged with
information that deals with every subject imaginable. Our increased
access to this information grows almost daily. Now we can have the
latest news from practically anywhere in the world instantly on our
smart phones and keep up with all that's going on.The "information superhighway" just keeps getting bigger and bigger and provides an abundance of information that can be very useful and informative. But there's also alot of information that will confuse or sidetrack the more important message. Not only life-giving truths but disastrous errors crowd the information superhighway.
Psalm 119 is well-known as the longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verses. What is less familiar is that each verse, in one way or another, has a reference to God's Word; His laws and statutes, etc. I believe the various Scriptural expressions are used synonymously and all reveal the heart's desire of the Psalmist; to live by God's revelation.
Another interesting feature in this long
Psalm is that it consists of 22 parts, according to the number of the
letters in the Hebrew alphabet, with the names of which these letters
stand for between each part. Each part consists of eight verses, all of
which begin with the same letter in the Hebrew: thus, for instance, the
first eight verses begin with the letter a, "aleph," and the second
eight verses begin with the letter b, "beth," and so on throughout;
hence the Masorah calls this Psalm "The Great Alphabet". *In today's Scripture the Psalmist prays in humility, "I am your servant." I find blessing in the Psalmist's humble approach to God. We must always remember who's in control; He is the Master and we are the servant.
The nature of the Psalmist's request is urgently needed by those who live by faith today: "Give me discernment" The Hebrew word for discernment means "to separate mentally." We need to be clear-minded in properly discerning many things. Certainly each generation needs to have those who are like the men of Issachar, "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do" (1 Chronicles 12:32).
But the specific request regarding discernment made by the Psalmist is "that I may understand your statutes." God's statutes; His laws and precepts are intended not only for our good, but He desires His very best for us. The longer we walk with Him the more we come to understand His rules for governing our lives. We need to fundamentally realize that God's statutes are always for our good. Nehemiah stated, "You gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments" (Nehemiah 9:13).
We do well to oft repeat the Psalmist's prayer; "Give me discernment that I may understand Your statutes." May we not only read about God's statutes but seek to understand their meaning as we apply them to our lives.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily prayer:
Father, I
ask for discernment that I may understand Your statutes. I pray for
understanding that I might know how to implement these truths into my
life. I also pray that I will grow to love and embrace Your laws so
that it becomes a natural outflow of my commitment in following You.
Amen.* John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
Today's Suggested Music and Supplemental Resources
"Slow Down" Video Chuck Girard Today's message prompted a search for this song, a concept that I suppose was needed in the seventies but so much more now.
"Little Pilgrim" Video Chuck Girard A classic with a great message.
Video Some great music from my earliest days as a follower of Christ in the seventies sung by Chuck Girard's daughters and granddaughters.
"Heart Of America" Video Chuck Girard is still around and is faithfully serving the Lord. This is a prayer for America.
Send
a message
to Stephen &
Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily
Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this
page
to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed
or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)Are
our daily encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask you to
consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to prepare and provide this
daily resource which is accessed by believers and seekers all
over the world. Daily
Encouragement Net relies solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and
podcast listeners. See here
for more information on
supporting this ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA