Psalm 119:1-88 bible reading and devotionals.

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Maxlucado.com: Let Grace Happen

I became a Christian about the same time I became a Boy Scout and made the assumption God grades on a merit system.  Good scouts move up.  Good people go to heaven.

I resolved to amass a multitude of spiritual badges.  I worked toward the day when God, amid falling confetti and dancing cherubim, would drape my badge-laden sash across my chest, welcome me into his eternal kingdom, where I could humbly display my badges for eternity.

But some thorny questions surfaced.  How good is good?  What is the permitted percentage of exaggeration?

Ephesians 2:8 says:  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.”

Unearned.  A gift.  Our merits merit nothing.

Let grace happen, for heaven’s sake. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them.   You have it!

From GRACE

Psalm 119:1-88
New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 119[a]

? Aleph

1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,
    who walk according to the law of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes
    and seek him with all their heart—
3 they do no wrong
    but follow his ways.
4 You have laid down precepts
    that are to be fully obeyed.
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
    in obeying your decrees!
6 Then I would not be put to shame
    when I consider all your commands.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
    as I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will obey your decrees;
    do not utterly forsake me.
? Beth

9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you.
12 Praise be to you, Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recount
    all the laws that come from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
    as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts
    and consider your ways.
16 I delight in your decrees;
    I will not neglect your word.
? Gimel

17 Be good to your servant while I live,
    that I may obey your word.
18 Open my eyes that I may see
    wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;
    do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed with longing
    for your laws at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, who are accursed,
    those who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn and contempt,
    for I keep your statutes.
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
    your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
    they are my counselors.
? Daleth

25 I am laid low in the dust;
    preserve my life according to your word.
26 I gave an account of my ways and you answered me;
    teach me your decrees.
27 Cause me to understand the way of your precepts,
    that I may meditate on your wonderful deeds.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow;
    strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from deceitful ways;
    be gracious to me and teach me your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
    I have set my heart on your laws.
31 I hold fast to your statutes, Lord;
    do not let me be put to shame.
32 I run in the path of your commands,
    for you have broadened my understanding.
? He

33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees,
    that I may follow it to the end.[b]
34 Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law
    and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
    for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
    and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
    preserve my life according to your word.[c]
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
    so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread,
    for your laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts!
    In your righteousness preserve my life.
? Waw

41 May your unfailing love come to me, Lord,
    your salvation, according to your promise;
42 then I can answer anyone who taunts me,
    for I trust in your word.
43 Never take your word of truth from my mouth,
    for I have put my hope in your laws.
44 I will always obey your law,
    for ever and ever.
45 I will walk about in freedom,
    for I have sought out your precepts.
46 I will speak of your statutes before kings
    and will not be put to shame,
47 for I delight in your commands
    because I love them.
48 I reach out for your commands, which I love,
    that I may meditate on your decrees.
? Zayin

49 Remember your word to your servant,
    for you have given me hope.
50 My comfort in my suffering is this:
    Your promise preserves my life.
51 The arrogant mock me unmercifully,
    but I do not turn from your law.
52 I remember, Lord, your ancient laws,
    and I find comfort in them.
53 Indignation grips me because of the wicked,
    who have forsaken your law.
54 Your decrees are the theme of my song
    wherever I lodge.
55 In the night, Lord, I remember your name,
    that I may keep your law.
56 This has been my practice:
    I obey your precepts.
? Heth

57 You are my portion, Lord;
    I have promised to obey your words.
58 I have sought your face with all my heart;
    be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 I have considered my ways
    and have turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hasten and not delay
    to obey your commands.
61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes,
    I will not forget your law.
62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks
    for your righteous laws.
63 I am a friend to all who fear you,
    to all who follow your precepts.
64 The earth is filled with your love, Lord;
    teach me your decrees.
? Teth

65 Do good to your servant
    according to your word, Lord.
66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment,
    for I trust your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
    but now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good;
    teach me your decrees.
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,
    I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling,
    but I delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted
    so that I might learn your decrees.
72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me
    than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
? Yodh

73 Your hands made me and formed me;
    give me understanding to learn your commands.
74 May those who fear you rejoice when they see me,
    for I have put my hope in your word.
75 I know, Lord, that your laws are righteous,
    and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 May your unfailing love be my comfort,
    according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
    for your law is my delight.
78 May the arrogant be put to shame for wronging me without cause;
    but I will meditate on your precepts.
79 May those who fear you turn to me,
    those who understand your statutes.
80 May I wholeheartedly follow your decrees,
    that I may not be put to shame.
? Kaph

81 My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
    but I have put my hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
    I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
    I do not forget your decrees.
84 How long must your servant wait?
    When will you punish my persecutors?
85 The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
    contrary to your law.
86 All your commands are trustworthy;
    help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.
87 They almost wiped me from the earth,
    but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your unfailing love preserve my life,
    that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.



Our Daily Bread reading and devotion

Read: Daniel 3:10-25

10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man who hears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, pay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.[a] But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”

16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.[b] 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics,[c] their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

Standing In The Fire

September 19, 2012 — by Randy Kilgore

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace. —Daniel 3:17

Wrapped in blankets in my grandparents’ pickup, I watched as fire consumed our home. My father says I slept soundly as he carried my brother and me and our puppies out to safety. When I woke up and saw the huge blaze, I was already safe. I was too curious and too young to be scared.

I remember several things from that night. Even inside the truck, the heat was intense and the fire was mesmerizing. I remember too the fear on the faces of everyone else, checking and re-checking to see if loved ones were safe. Later I learned that in the chaos my father raced into the fire to look for my grandfather, which prompted my grandfather (who was not inside the house) to race in to get my father. Their courage affected all who saw it that night.

I’m reminded of that fire every time I read the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. When challenged with the decree to bow to the king or face execution (Dan. 3:10-12), these three bravely faced the fire for the One they loved (vv.16-18). And the Lord stood with them in the flames (v.25).

When life’s “flames” test us, may those who observe our choices recognize our love for each other and for our God.

For Further Thought
Read more of Daniel and his friends in Daniel 1–3.
How do their lives encourage you to stand firm for God?
Ask the Lord to help you make courageous choices today.
Trials are the soil in which faith grows.


My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
September 19, 2012

Are You Going on With Jesus?

You are those who have continued with Me in My trials —Luke 22:28

It is true that Jesus Christ is with us through our temptations, but are we going on with Him through His temptations? Many of us turn back from going on with Jesus from the very moment we have an experience of what He can do. Watch when God changes your circumstances to see whether you are going on with Jesus, or siding with the world, the flesh, and the devil. We wear His name, but are we going on with Him? “From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more” (John 6:66).

The temptations of Jesus continued throughout His earthly life, and they will continue throughout the life of the Son of God in us. Are we going on with Jesus in the life we are living right now?

We have the idea that we ought to shield ourselves from some of the things God brings around us. May it never be! It is God who engineers our circumstances, and whatever they may be we must see that we face them while continually abiding with Him in His temptations. They are His temptations, not temptations to us, but temptations to the life of the Son of God in us. Jesus Christ’s honor is at stake in our bodily lives. Are we remaining faithful to the Son of God in everything that attacks His life in us?

Are you going on with Jesus? The way goes through Gethsemane, through the city gate, and on “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13). The way is lonely and goes on until there is no longer even a trace of a footprint to follow— but only the voice saying, “FollowMe” (Matthew 4:19)


A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft

The Wedding Day "Wow!" - #6703

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wives love to take their husbands to weddings. Hopefully, the love-feast will jumpstart a little romance in the old boy's soul. Recently, I saw a lot of hand-holding and sitting close when Jimmy and Tanya got married. Hey, it works, girls!

I had a ringside seat for it all. Actually, a ringside "stand." I was doing the honors, marrying a young couple I think the world of. My "Kodak moment" was watching that googly-eyed groom as he watched his beautiful bride coming down the aisle.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "The Wedding Day 'Wow!'"

It was beautiful; it was touching. Jimmy's a happy guy, but I saw a glow in those moments that I've never seen in him before. It's pretty hard to describe. Wonder. Amazement. Unmistakable, unconcealable, unrestrained affection. I guess I'd call it the "wow!" factor.

It took me back to a prayer I prayed during our wedding many years ago. "Lord, may I never lose that breathless wonder that exclaims, 'Out of all this world, you have chosen me!'" As every married couple knows, it's just all too easy to lose that wonder in the accumulated storms and hurts and hassles and wonder-eroding familiarity of the years.

But the wonder isn't meant to just be for the wedding. It should be - it can be - for life. Always amazed at the treasure you have in the person who trusted their life into your hands. Asking "the Lord who is acting as the witness between you" (Malachi 2:14) Malachi says, to rekindle the flame. Because as 1 John says, "love comes from God...God is love" (1 John 4:7-8).

I know what it is to suddenly face the prospect that I might not see my bride alive again. I so thank God that He gave her back to me. He gave me a chance to re-treasure this one-of-a-kind, exceedingly precious gift that He entrusted to me. But re-treasuring is a choice that shouldn't require a crisis.

Sometimes, marriages - like ships - accumulate barnacles that encumber them: resentment, stuffed anger, wounding words, stubborn un-forgiveness, a heart turned cold or hard. But your lifetime love is too priceless to lose to any of the dark forces that want to steal it away.

The good news is that the Jesus who chose a wedding to do His first miracle is still in the marriage miracle business. He "binds up the brokenhearted," the Bible says. He replaces "ashes" with a "crown of beauty" (Isaiah 61:1, 3). He restores "the years that the locusts have eaten" (Joel 2:25). He will "remove from you a heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). The Bible says He "makes all things new" (Revelation 21:5). Jesus can rekindle love where love has dimmed - with love from His great heart.

As I saw that adoring look on that young groom's face, my mind suddenly was thinking about Jesus. Looking adoringly at what the Bible describes as His "Bride." That's what He has chosen to call those He died for, those who belong to Him through faith in Him.

Jesus called Himself "the bridegroom," and He said, "The bride belongs to the bridegroom" (John 3:29). Now, our word today from the Word of God explains that we have chosen to give ourselves to Him because He loves us like nobody loves us. First John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:16). As hard as it is to imagine, Jesus looks at us sinners and fools and says, "I'd rather die than lose you."

It's a love I could not and I will not ignore. And at a wedding I saw a picture of how He feels about me and all those who are His - unmistakable, unconcealable, unrestrained love. And I saw, symbolized in that young bride, the response to that love - committing yourself to this One who has proven - in blood - that you can trust Him with your life.

I'm overwhelmed. As I write about this amazing love, I don't want anyone to miss it. So I ask you today, if you've never opened yourself up to the love that died for you - the love of Jesus, today say, "Jesus, finally, I don't want to just go to meetings about you. I don't want to just know about you. I want to belong to you. I'm yours."

Go to our website. There you'll find out how to make sure you belong to Him. YoursForLife.net. Experience this most amazing love in the universe for yourself today.