“Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto thy word” (Psalm 119:65). What is good for you? For instance, is it good for you to miss a flight? Most of us would say no; but what if the plane then goes down? Within a larger picture, small afflictions often appear good. This … More True Goodness Consists in Learning the Rules of God: A Meditation on Psalm 119:65-72
“Thou art my portion, O LORD: I have said that I would keep thy words” (Psalm 119:57). This stanza has two clear sections: private devotion (vv. 57-60) and public association (vv. 61-64). In the first section, the psalmist declares that God alone is His portion; therefore, he pledges to keep His words, he entreats His … More Private Devotion and Public Association: A Meditation on Psalm 119:57-64
“Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope” (Psalm 119:49). Every journey has an element of waiting–the next town, the long stretch of prairie highway, the back-up. The journey of the Gospel is no different. Having heard the good word, and having banked everything on the reality of that … More Comfort as We Wait: A Meditation on Psalm 119:49-56
“My soul cleaveth unto the dust: quicken thou me according to thy word” (Psalm 119:25). What do you do when you feel close to death–either literally, due to chronic illness or peril, or emotionally, as here, due to grief sapping the moisture from your soul (v. 28)? What do you do when you feel trapped, … More Revival along the Way: A Meditation on Psalm 119:25-32
“Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live, and keep Your word” (Psalm 119:17). In asking God for anything, one key is motive. “You ask, and do not receive,” explained James, “because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). In other words, selfish prayers go unanswered. Why should … More "Lord, Treat Me Well!": A Meditation on Psalm 119:17-24
“By what means shall a young man clean up his way? By keeping it according to Your word” (Psalm 119:9). Are you young? Or, are you concerned about the young? How will a young man clean up his life? By the Word. The Word of God. He needs the Word. By nature, we all start … More Delighting the Dirt out of Youth: A Meditation on Psalm 119:9-16
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 119:1). Do you wish to feel no shame the next time you open your Bible or hear a sermon? Then pray for a complete walk, a stable walk, with set patterns of obedience and an established lifestyle. No, do … More The Blessedness of Blamelessness: A Meditation on Psalm 119:1-8
“The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned” (Isaiah 50:4). Like the special features on your favorite DVD, the Old Testament gives … More The Learning, Listening Life of Our Lord: Prayer as Preparation for Persecution
On April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed in Flossenbürg concentration camp for his resistance to Nazi Germany. He had been involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the Führer–to “not just bandage the victims under the wheel” of the Third Reich (as he said), but even “to jam a spoke in the wheel itself” (quoted … More The Treason of Silence: A Lesson from Nazi Germany
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will … More Are Joy and Happiness Different?
Spring Branch Academy - Jonesville, Michigan 