Born for a Purpose

Right and Almost Right Today's Passage: Psalm 119:121-128 Key Verses: Psalm 119:124-125 Deal with your servant according to your love and teach me your decrees. I am your servant; give me discernment that I may understand your statutes.   "Discernment," said C. H. Spurgeon, "is not a matter of simply telling the difference between right and wrong; rather it is telling the difference between right and almost right." Right and wrong are relatively easy to distinguish, but the difference between right and almost right needs special instruction from God's Spirit.   That's what the psalmist is praying for in today's psalm. He can see the bold colors of black and white; he needs help in the gray areas. He desires to understand the hard-to-see line that separates him from obedience and dangerous sin.   It takes only one bad lapse in judgment to ruin a reputation. An errant tweet, a foolish Facebook post, a regrettable Instagram picture, ...

Sustain Me  Psalm 119:113-120 Today's Passage: Psalm 119:113-120 Key Verses: Psalm 119:116-117 Sustain me, my God, according to your promise, and I will live; do not let my hopes be dashed. Uphold me, and I will be delivered; I will always have regard for your decrees.   Sometimes the weight on our shoulders is burdensome. Our legs are heavy and our knees start to buckle. Dread fills our minds and acute anxiety takes our hearts hostage. During these times our prayer is a simple one - Lord, just keep me standing up.   The psalmist must have been going through a troublesome time when he prayed, "Sustain me, my God..."  Help me withstand the challenge. Help me weather the storm. Support my body and soul. Allow me to endure. Protect me from the pressure. Don't "let my hopes be dashed."   Are you carrying a heavy burden today? Do you need God to uphold you? Are you afraid that your hopes will be dashed? Here is a prayer for you to take to ...

Comfort in Suffering |  Psalm 119:49-56 Today's Passage: Psalm 119:49-56 Key Verses: Psalm 119:49-50 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. James Stockdale was a U.S. Navy vice admiral and one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the U.S. Navy. From September 9, 1968 until February 12, 1973, Stockdale was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Jim Collins interviewed Stockdale in his book, Good to Great. Collins asked the Admiral how he survived the Vietnam POW camp. Stockdale said, " I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted . . . that I would get out.... You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end-which you can never afford to lose-with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be." God's Word gives us hope-a certain confidence. It never gives us th...

A Re-Commitment Prayer |  Psalm 119:57-64 Today's Passage: Psalm 119:57-64 Key Verses: Psalm 119:57-59 You are my portion, L ORD ; I have promised to obey your words. I have sought your face with all my heart; be gracious to me according to your promise. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. Lord, you are my portion . I look to you to provide my every need and satisfy my deepest desire.  I promise to obey your words. I have experienced the failure of my own path. My commitment is to obey your instruction.   I have sought your face with all my heart. I will need your constant help. I know I am not capable of obedience on my own. Be gracious to me according to your promises. I depend on your grace in my failure and your forgiveness for my restoration. I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes. I ask that you examine my ways and turn my heart to know you more intimately, follow you ...

The Benefits of Affliction | Psalm 119:65-72 Today's Passage: Psalm 119:65-72 Key Verses: Psalm 119:71-72 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. God is the Center of it All Affliction. It comes in many forms. Illness. Slander. Rejection. Death. Discouragement. Job loss. Divorce. Prodigal child. Financial hit. The list goes on. Afflictions arrive uninvited and unwelcomed. Yet, when they come there are benefits. The psalmist said, "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees."  Difficulties move us closer to God and his Word. They make us depend on him more deeply. They cause us to run to him for comfort. Challenging times highlight our hope. In the midst of inevitable afflictions we turn to God for his sustaining grace. God is more real. His love is experienced more fully. Relationships ar...

Wholehearted |  Psalm 119:73-80 Today's Passage: Psalm 119:73-80 Key Verse: Psalm 119:80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees, that I may not be put to shame. The world is full of choices. Food fills the shelves of the grocery store. Entire aisles are filled with candy to satisfy my sweet teeth (I have more than one). Cable television provides a menu of shows every hour of the day. There is no end to what I could watch. Smartphone apps bring choice to my fingertips. Within five minutes I can check social media, current news and the weather forecast. Cars. Investments. Insurance. Clothes. Travel. The world is filled with choices. Sometimes the "Culture of Choice" follows me to God's Word. I like some commands, but not this one. This instruction seems reasonable, but not this one...at least not for today.  I like this truth of theology, but this one is hard to grasp. Therefore, I choose what is most convenient and ignore the others. Th...