Discipleship Essentials*
Monday, November 8, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, My prayer today is that my life will reflect Your will. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit that I may, indeed, keep Your commandments carefully. I pray that my actions will reflect Your principles, and that others around me will see the consistency of my walk in You, and be drawn to Your great salvation. I pray these things in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.
God’s Word Today
Psalm 119:1-16
1 Happy are people of integrity, who follow the law of the LORD.
2 Happy are those who obey his decrees and search for him with all their hearts.
3 They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.
4 You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.
5 Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your principles!
6 Then I will not be disgraced when I compare my life with your commands.
7 When I learn your righteous laws, I will thank you by living as I should!
8 I will obey your principles. Please don’t give up on me!
9 How can a young person stay pure? By obeying your word and following its rules.
10 I have tried my best to find you—don’t let me wander from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O LORD; teach me your principles.
13 I have recited aloud all the laws you have given us.
14 I have rejoiced in your decrees as much as in riches.
15 I will study your commandments and reflect on your ways.
16 I will delight in your principles and not forget your word.
Background on the Text – Who Wrote It? Why Was It Written? Who Was the Audience?
Psalm 119 was obviously written for the purpose of calling God’s people to integrity, obedience and faithfulness to learning and living His word in their lives. The great care that was taken to cover virtually all areas and even stages of life demonstrates that the author was quite intentional in writing it. We see God’s hand at work in the writing as we see that the author was led to confess his own imperfection in the process of living and learning God’s word, while at the same time recognizing that goal as being worthy of the deepest commitment of His life. As we read the first sixteen verses of the Psalm this week, may we come to the text with the same passion for knowing God and His word and for living it out in our lives as the author!
Observation – What Does the Text Say?
(Specifically look at the bold verses, if any, to answer these questions.)
Interpretation – What Does the Text Mean?
Application – How Can I Respond to the Text’s Insights and Teachings?
Each Week’s Check List
After reading and studying this text, reflect on the following discipleship growth points:
Growth Point |
How |
Encouraged and strengthened me by |
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Fallen short areas |
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What will I do with these insights? |
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What did God say to me today? |
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Share insights and growth points |
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Changed/transformed how? |
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Thoughts...The "Hypocrisy Factor"...
The Author of Psalm 119 recognized that sometimes our actions don’t reflect our words or our professions of belief in knowing and understanding God’s word. I have referred to this over the years as the “hypocrisy factor.” Hypocrisy is the extent to which our words and our actions are inconsistent. The greater the consistency between our words and action, the lower the hypocrisy factor in our lives. It was the psalmist’s desire that his actions would always reflect God’s principles. As he put it, “Then I will not be disgraced when I compare my life with your commands.” His attitude is commendable AND to be replicated in our own lives. After all, the lower the hypocrisy factor in our lives the higher the impact we have on others in the name of Jesus. When folks see that our “walk” aligns with our “talk,” they will take our “talk” seriously. As someone once put it, “Your walk talks and your talk talks; but your walk talks louder than your talk talks!” Amen! As we go about this day, may we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s action in our lives that our walk and our talk may be as one. When that occurs, we experience the joy of obedience to our heavenly Father, and those around us experience the reality of the Gospel. Our lives are either a powerful testimony to Jesus Christ, or to the hypocrisy factor, and we all know that we want to be testifying to Jesus in our daily lives!