Discipleship Essentials*
Saturday, November 13, 2004
My Prayer Today
Heavenly Father, As we close out this week of focusing on Your word and will in our lives, I pray again that You will pour out Your Holy Spirit and empower me to live the commands You have given for my health and welfare, and for the advancement of Your Kingdom to the ends of the earth. Use me as an agent of Your salvation in the lives of family and friends, and whomever You may send across my path today. This I pray in Jesus’ name. 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?
As we draw our week of studying Psalm 119:1-16 to a close, I hope you have seen how important it is to study God’s word, and to not only learn, but live it in our lives. The psalmist who wrote these words so long ago wanted his people to put God first, and that is my prayer for each of us—that we will put Jesus first in our lives, and that we will come to learn and love His word, using it to glorify Him in our daily lives. May we always study and reflect on God’s ways as we go about our lives!
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...Study, Reflect, Delight, Remember...
In a few, short statements the psalmist promises God that His word will be central in his daily living. As we go about our daily lives, we can be sure that we will always be following the right path if we, too study, reflect, delight ourselves in and remember God’s word. After all, if the Bible IS God’s word, God’s truth, God’s instruction manual for our daily lives, then we ought to invest at least as much time in reading and learning it as we do in reading about and learning the tasks of daily lives. Let me ask a question: Would you want a surgeon to operate on you, who has invested the same amount of time in reading anatomy and surgery books over his lifetime as you have invested in reading and learning God’s word? Would you want an electrician who has invested that amount of time in reading books about his or her trade wiring your house? To be sure, we want the surgeon and the electrician to have real-life experience in their respective trades, but before they start operating on people or wiring houses, we hope they have an academic understanding of the principles behind them, right? If that’s true in the physical realm, then ought it not be even more true in the most important realm of life—our relationship with God through Jesus Christ? We can’t leave studying the Bible only to biblical scholars, because it was written for us that we may know the truth of our salvation and live it each day!