Savoring Truth in Psalm 119 Part 2

There are 176 verses in Psalm 119. Every single one of them speaks either to or about God. Every one!
The Bible is a unique communication from God.

In verses 9-11, we see one of the many reasons God's kids should see, share, and savor the truth:
How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
God uses His word to protect His people from sin.

Have you seen the excited look on the face of a lottery winner? What if there is something better AND more accessible?
Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.
The Bible is a precious gift worthy of being learned, shared, and treasured

I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

Let our life stories include a focused commitment to remember God’s word.

Savoring Truth in Psalm 119

The vision of Savoring Truth is to "see, share, and savor the truth". There is a whole lot of this going on in Psalm 119. The entire Psalm is about the Word of God. There is also a distinct focus on God himself. Every verse of this Psalm either speaks to God, about him, or both.

The upcoming series of posts on Psalm 119 will be based on a sermon series I shared last year at Silver Lake Baptist Church. As the Psalm is divided into 22 stanzas of eight verses each, so was the sermon series. So, most likely, will these posts appear. We begin with an observation from the Psalmist as displayed above in verses one and two; there is a blessing for those who faithfully apply the truth to their lives. There is a blessing for those who follow God wholeheartedly. They are happy. They have had good bestowed upon them. We see a first hint in verse three that obedience to the command of God offers protection from sin (more on that in the near future). Finally, in verses 4-8, we find the Psalmist's acknowledgment of God's order to diligently keep his precepts and a commitment to do exactly that. Even a prayer or wish (vs 5) that the motives of the writer could change to be more in alignment with God's will. The good news for modern followers of God is that your motives have been changed by the Holy Spirit living inside of you if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. One of the changes being made in your life is a developing love for the truth. I hope you will come back from time to time and celebrate that change with us as we savor the truth together.

10 free copies of the New Testament Challenge!

Hello, Thank you for reading the Savoring Truth blog. I want to give you a quick heads-up regarding an opportunity that may interest you. Beginning at midnight tonight local time, Goodreads will be hosting a giveaway of my book, New Testament Challenge. In order to make it easier for you, here is your chance to enter to win a copy of your own!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

New Testament Challenge Paperback

by Chuck Orr II

Giveaway ends February 09, 2016.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Devotions - 5 Reasons

Appetizers

     One of the difficult life lessons I still periodically struggle to learn is that our time is limited.  Each day, there are more things that I need to do, want to do, or get to do than I have time to actually do in that day's 24 hour allocation of life.  When extended over a lifetime, we see the same patterns hold true for many of us.  In the words of the Circle of Life from Disney's The Lion King, "there is more to do than can ever be done."  Prioritization matters.  If I can really only do a limited number of things, I want to make sure that I do the most important things before it's too late.  This is one of the reasons for the Savoring Truth blog's existence.  We need a healthy dose of the Bible on a regular basis, whether it comes from devotions, Bible studies with friends, sermons, or preferably, all of the above. 
     One tool that I would like to offer you to help keep on track in this area of life (prioritizing truth) is our new weekly(ish) email called Savoring Truth appetizers.  This content is designed in support of my new book, the New Testament Challenge, but it will be useful whether or not you have the book.  If you would like to give it a try, please sign up on the form below.  You can cancel at any time, no hard feelings.  I appreciate you reading and I hope these emails increase your appetite for more time in the Bible.

    

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     This verse is found in a collection of fatherly advice from the famously wise King Solomon.  These are words from a guy who had everything the world could offer.  He had financial resources beyond those of his peers, power and prestige, he even surrounded himself with beautiful women.  Yet in all of his attaining, he attached a particular value to the truth.  He counseled his readers to “buy the truth”.  Having purchased the truth, he urges us not to give it up.  He counted the truth as precious, valuable, worth retaining.  Solomon also wrote the book we call Ecclesiastes.  If you invest some time in the study that book, you will find that Solomon was not satisfied, even in all his possessions and relationships. It turns out that one of the many reasons the truth is so valuable is that it protects from living lives based on lies.  You can run as hard as you want in pursuit of the lie that a little more money will make you happy, but Solomon has been there and it didn’t work for him.  You can invest as much of your life as you choose in the lie that there is fulfillment in relationships with members of the opposite sex, but Solomon has been there and testifies that this didn’t bring meaning to his life either.  You can become a workaholic because of the lie that your accomplishments will bring about the respect you want from the rest of the world.  Solomon tried that, too.  The Truth tells you that you are created by a God who loves you and desires a relationship with you.  Today.  As you are now.  I’ll buy that.

     What are you doing to acquire and hold on to the truth?  This blog aims to help with that effort by seeing, sharing, and savoring truth. I hope you will become a frequent visitor and help me in that pursuit.  I believe the Bible is the source of truth and that knowing and applying it is still changing lives today.