Psalm 119 BETH

Continuing through the longest psalm in scripture, we come to the next set of verses, 9-16. In verses 1-8, we read that if we live a life that is undefiled, and we walk in God's commands and statures, we will be blessed in the Lord. How can we do this? We live so en drenched in sin that it is hard to walk in any kind of spiritual and physical purity. Thankfully, the psalmist knew this, so the very next passage of this chapter show us how to live a life that is pure.

"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!
I have hidden your word in my heart.
That I might not sin against you.
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.
I will meditate on Your precepts,
And contemplate Your ways.
I will delight myself in your statutes;
I will not forget Your word."  -  Psalm 119:9-16

In order to live a life of purity, we must know the word of God on a very deep level. We cannot be only surface deep Christians and expect to withstand heavy attacks form the enemy. We must hide the word of God deep in our hearts, not to keep it buried there, but to be able to pull it out whenever and wherever the Devil tries to trip us up. It reminds me of Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness. In case you aren't familiar with the story, it goes something like this: Jesus had just been baptized by John the Baptist. Upon coming out of the water, the Holy Spirit descends on him in the form of a dove and a voice from Heaven declares," This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased"- Matthew 3:17. Immediately, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness alone for 40 days. This time was spent with Jesus praying and fasting, and the scriptures say that at the end of the 40 day period, Jesus was getting hungry. It is at this time that Satan comes into the picture. He tries to tempt Jesus with 3 different trials of the flesh, doing anything he can to trip up the Son of God in order to make his sacrifice later on the cross insufficient. With each temptation Satan thrown toward the Son of God, Jesus blocks them all not with a legion of angels, like he easily could have done. Instead he uses scripture, God's holy word to combat the devil's attacks. Jesus had the word of God hidden in his heart, for such a time as this, so that when the enemy charged, his defense was ready and he was able to remain faithful to God.   

The psalmist makes it very clear in this passage that if we want to stay pure, God's word has to be at the center of our very being. Without the strength that comes from studying God's word and building up your spiritual armor, the attacks of the enemy are going to bring you to your knees.

"With my whole heart, I sought you; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!"

Seek God with your whole heart and when the enemy chooses to attack, you will be ready to fight back and watch as God helps you to hold your ground and not back down.

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a journey through the Psalms

Psalm 119- ALEPH

In the center of the Bible, we come to the center of the book, the book of Psalms. Composed of 150 poems, it is easy to find when randomly flipping through the Bible. Although most chapters are between 6-20 verses, we come to the longest chapter, not just in the book of Psalms, but the whole Bible itself, chapter 119. With 176 verses, it is definitely not a quick read. But, thankfully for us, the author of the psalms and the writers of the Bible split this chapter into 22 sections. 22? Sounds a bit random at first, especially since God uses numbers over and over in scripture, and 22 is not a common one. It is split into 22 sections because each passage correlates to a letter of the Hebrew Alphabet, consisting of 22 letters. (Our English Alphabet was largely comprised from the Hebrew, with a few letters added to ours, totaling up to 26.) So here we go with the beginning section, Aleph:

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

1) The word blameless here, in the NKJV is undefiled, meaning complete or whole, or perfect. This first verse is saying that whoever walks complete in the way of the law established by God are blessed. God has laid out a floorplan to guide us in the direction we should go, even showing examples of what will happen if we disregard this plan. But here, it simply states that if we follow God wholeheartedly, we will be blessed. No complicated formula, no intense seeking of forgiveness, just simply reading what we should do, and doing it. 

2) Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart: Simply put; seek God and follow his word. We can either try to do our own thing and hope it works out for us, or we can simply walk behind the Father as he guides us down the right path.

3) they do no wrong, but follow his ways: This is not saying that we will never mess up or fall down. What it is saying is that when we fall, God will pick us right back up, brush us off and keep moving. We no longer need to dwell in the past, for that is only the things that shape us into who we are now, not the things that define who we will be. 

4) You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed: God has not given us rubbish commands that are just meant to fill the pages of his word, rather they are a thought out, well thought through plan intended to guide us into who we are supposed to be.   

5) Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees: May we always have a desire to not only obey God's commands, but to do so with a resolute, and faithfully committed heart.

6) Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands: When our hearts are set fully on the Father, outward appearances don't matter and the things people say or think about us have no effect on us, because we are so focused on the things of God, that nothing is able to penetrate the devotion we share with the Lord. 

7) I will praise you with an upright heart, as I learn your righteous laws: This is a heart void of motive. A heart purely focused on the needs of others, rather than the fleshly desires of ourselves. Its the act of inviting someone into your home not to show how well you live, or how great your possessions are, or even trying to bring them under your control. It is done out of Godly love to share the things you have been given with a fellow brother or sister in Christ. to live a pure and righteous life because of how connected to the Spirit and the Father, not to appease the flesh. As we learn the ways of God, our hearts will naturally mend to the things that break God's heart and brings him joy.

8) I will obey your decrees, do not utterly forsake me: We are human, and we are going to fail. This should not stop us from running after God with everything in us. God is so good and so loving that when we set our hearts on his law and commands, his grace comes in to fill in the gap when ourselves are not able to reach the outstretched hands of the Father. 

Will you run after the Father with everything in you and believe that when we focus our hearts and minds on Him and his ways, He will bless us as he sees fit and we will never go without the grace and love that comes with his commands? 

Adam Semple- A Young Man's Journey through the Book of Psalms

Gain a Heart of Wisdom

" All our days pass under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan.
Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is great as the fear that is your due.
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom"- Psalm 90:9-12

The book of psalms is 150 chapter split up mostly even between 5 books. This psalm is the opener of the 4th book. The main theme of this sub-book is the idea that God is above us. Compared to the mortality of man, God is and always has been sovereign.

 "You turn people back to dust and say to them,' Return to dust, you mortals. A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night"- 90:3-4

In contrast to the span of the life, we are but a flicker in the wind, fleeting as quickly as we come. Despite this fact, God does not want us to waste our life with meaningless and frivolous things. God has laid out a plan and purpose for all of us, whether we are on this earth a decade or 10. The psalmist, Moses, lays out precisely what we need to do to make everyday count. "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Although life is typically counted in years, God wants each of us to live each day as if it were our last. "Give us this day our daily bread"- Matthew 6:11. In other words, Lord, give me the things I need today to do what I need to do today. This is along the same lines as the manna that fell from heaven when the Israelites were in the wilderness. Under God's precise instruction, the people would gather only what they needed for their family the manna that would satisfy them for that day alone. If they tried to store up food for the following day, the manna would be full of bugs and maggots. What Moses is telling the people here is that God's wisdom is the same way. Every morning when we wake up, we need a refreshing of God's wisdom and mercy. "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new ever morning; great is your faithfulness"- Lamentations 3:22-23

Trying to gain more wisdom than needed for the day is like studying for a test and trying to cram all the knowledge from all the chapters, from all of your different classes. Besides that being completely overwhelming, it won't do any good to study your math book when you need to test on Biology. Instead, focus your attention on one subject at a time and when you need to learn the other things, you won't be bogged down with less important information. God wants to fill us with his wisdom, but he also wants us to refill every day. The wisdom he imparts to us is given to handle the day you are in, rather than the day your going into. Ask God with the opening of each new day to give you the wisdom for whatever life will throw your direction. He is a loving, giving God who wants his children to be well equipped to handle any attack or roadblock you may face. Don't let a day go by without filling your heart with the wisdom of God, and watch God use that knowledge in you to do incredible things. "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours"- Mark 11:24

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Mission Through the Psalms

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh- I Am that I Am

We know by know that God has been called by many things in scripture. Jehovah, Adonai, Shalom and Elohim, to name a few. Here we see one that is not used all that much- Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh- I Am that I Am. If you are familiar with any old testament history, this is what God sees to Moses in the burning bush back in Exodus chapter 3. Let me lay out some backstory.

Moses was a Israelite who, through divine intervention, found himself as an Egyptian in Pharaoh's palace. After a mishap with a bully Egyptian and a fellow Israelite, Moses flees to the desert, where he meets his wife and has 2 boys. Fast-forward 40 years. Moses is out feeding his flock when a strange occurrence catches his eye. There is a bush in the distance completely engulfed with flames, yet not burning. So, naturally, Moses goes to inspect the strange sight. As Moses approaches, a voice from the bush calls out to him and tells him to take off his sandals, for the ground where he is standing is holy ground. The voice, obviously, is God, who tells Moses that through him, God will free his people, the Israelites, from the oppression of Pharaoh. When Moses asks God how he will get the people to believe God sent him, God says this one phrase, "I Am that I Am." "I Am has sent me to you" This phrase, translated from the Greek in later translations or scripture, is defined as such- "I am the being; the existing one." Essentially, what God is saying is that the people shouldn't fear or doubt following Moses, because the one who is above all things, has instructed this man to go, and whoever goes with that authority is someone who can be trusted to follow God's instructions.

So why does God calls himself, I AM? Because God is who he says he is, wouldn't that have been enough for the people? Perhaps, maybe for a select few, just knowing God is who he says he is is enough to trust him. For others, the hardheaded ones, like myself sometimes, we need to know that God is not just a big deity in the sky, but also a helper in times of need. God saying "I Am" can really be filled in to fit whatever you need him to be in whatever season you are in. For the Israelites, they needed a rescuer- I am the Way Out. For you and I, maybe we need a healer or a guide so we don't have to walk this journey alone. - I am the Healer, I am the Guide.  God's "I Am" is God's way of saying whoever you need me to be in order to grasp how much I love you, that is who I will be for  you.
Whoever the "I Am" is to you, just trust that God will come through, no matter the time frame, or circumstance. For the Israelites, it was 400 years in Egypt, but thankfully, it won't be quite that long for us before God carries out his plan.

"I Am that I Am" "I will prove to be whatsoever I shall choose to be"

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Mission From God

Why Are You Downcast, O My Soul?-psalm 42

"Why, O my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God"- Psalm 42:5, 11, 43:5

Whenever something is repeated in scripture, it is probably worth focusing on. Here is one of those times. This passage is listed 3 times in 2 sequential psalms. It is believed by many scholars that not only are these two psalms in fact one, with each repeat of verse 5, the psalmist is saying it with more confidence and assurance in his soul. There are many who believe that this collection was written by someone who was down in the dumps, whether that be a physical prison or a spiritual slumber. He feels like God has forgotten him, and even the mocking of unbelievers has penetrated his soul to that point that he believes God is only present in the temple, and clearly not in his desert season where he resides at the beginning of the psalm. But then we come to verse 8. He goes from a place of "panting in my soul, as a deer pants for water" to being in the mountains of Hermon and Mount Mizar. He realizes that God's presence is everywhere.

"By day, the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me- a prayer to the God of my life."-vs. 8

Even though his soul is not fully back to where it once was, he knows that God is with him, and always has been. As a follower of God, there will be times when our soul's are downcast because of the trials and deserts of this life, but God is still faithful, and still watching out for us.
I don't know the struggles you may be going through, whether you are being attacked on all sides, or even if God is silent in your life. Something I am certain of, God has no intention of walking away from you, someone he saw worthy enough to send his son to die for. And yes, sometimes our souls will fill forgotten, but that is only temporary. Amidst the hardship dealt to the psalmist, he remembered his past and all the places God walked him through, and that gave him the confidence to keep moving forward until he could get back into the house of God. "-let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God"- 43:3-4"

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Journey through the Psalms

*Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Streams of Living Water-psalm 1

Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither- whatever they do prospers.- Psalm 1:1-3

The book of psalms is the biggest book in the Bible. Comprised of 150 chapters, spanning over a thousand year time with numerous authors, it is essentially one big hymnal to the glory and power of our Lord God, and how he is good to us in every situation. Throughout the psalms, we see the power of God and with that, we see that besides being a loving Father, he is a righteous judge. The authors make it clear that if we follow God's commands and do what he says, our reward in heaven will be great, but if we go the way of the world, we will perish. We see this right of the bat in Psalm 1.

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked...that person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither"

But let us not stop there. Just as the righteous will prosper, we are given a look at the people who are not. "Not so the wicked. They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in judgement nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous."- vs 4-5

Harsh.

When we follow the world, we are spiritually uprooting ourselves from the blessings of God. Through the choices we make, we are cutting ourselves off from the nourishment of the Gardener. By choosing the life of a sinner, our trees have no root in anything that will hold fast when winds and storms come our way. Without those roots, we become weak against attack and our branches become dead and void of substance. I want to rest at the end of my life knowing that as the Lord directed, I positioned myself by the living waters that come from the Father.

"For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction."- vs 6

Adam Semple- A Young Man diving deep into the Psalms

My Salvation, My Fortress-psalm 62

"Truly, my soul finds rest in God, my salvation comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, and I will never be shaken"- Psalm 62:1-2

If you know anything about King David and hos lineage, you have probably heard of his 3rd child Absalom. According to the book of 2 Samuel, Absalom was a very handsome man who wanted to secede his father as king. After a terrible event that happened to his sister, Absalom killed David's oldest son, Amnon. The second child of David is named, but we don't get much of a history of him so he probably died at a young age. So here we have Absalom, who was third in line for the throne, now front and center. Unfortunately, David's son Solomon had already been promised the throne by God. So Absalom precedes to get himself crowned king, and after he builds up a following, he goes after his father so that he can truly claim the throne. Psalm 62, along with several others, was written during David's time of running. Despite the circumstances, David still rests in the assurance that God will protect him. So much so that he repeats the phrase above a few verses down.
"Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge."- 5-8

How crazy is that? Absalom has prepared an army to take the throne from his father and all David can do is express that God is still his fortress. Can any one of us say the same when enemies surround us on all sides. When the devil has built up his army and he is getting ready to strike, Do we believe that God is our rock. I will be honest and say that I don't always hold onto that confidence. But, it is something that we as a body of believers should have. God is our salvation and our rock, and because of this, we shall never be shaken. I can't even begin to imagine emotionally what David was feeling when he heard the news that his son, who had already murder his own brother, was coming for him.
From what we know from the Bible, David was equally angry and heartbroken at how thing played out in his own home. From the death of Amnon to the winning of the hearts of the people by Absalom, David couldn't believe what pieces fell into place to try and bring about his own destruction.
Thankfully, we know the rest of the story. Absalom was killed by his own pride and folly, and David lived on to impart his wisdom and vision to the son who would be king, Solomon.
I pray that in every situation, God will always be our rock, our salvation and our fortress. 

Make Me Lie Down-psalm 23

This world we live in is crazy busy, all the time. We are always moving from one thing to the next, finding new ways to get things faster and easier, and it is hard to slow down and rest every once in a while. In times like these, I am thankful for a God who makes me lie down and rest from time to time. Spend any time in church and you will be familiar with this Psalm.

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows
Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."- Psalm 23

King David knew what it was like to be a shepherd. He knew how the sheep needed someone to protect them from the wolves and lions that came to try and thin the herd. He understood the similarities between sheep and human, in regards to how we respond to dangerous situations. In times of fear, we run to a place of solace, a safe place where we feel secure. As Christians, this should be in the arms of the Great Shepherd, God the Father. He knows how to comfort us, what to provide and when to give this provision. With God, we have everything we need right when we need it. But then David continues by saying that He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters. Besides having all that we need under the protection of the shepherd, we are made to lie down and rest. God knows how to fight our battles and will use his rod and staff to keep at bay the evil around us.
Like any good shepherd, God knows where to lead us so that we can feed on green pastures, but he also leads us along the righteous path. He will guide us in the way we will go, we just need to be willing sheep who will go along with whatever and wherever the Lord directs.
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me." Sometimes, our righteous path has some dark places. Trials of this life and tribulation in the journey that are important to our walk. But, because the shepherd is always there to guide and protect us, we know we will make it to the other side and stand again on the mountaintop. In Israel, there is a physical valley called the valley of the shadow of death, and it is believed that David was in fact loosely referring to this valley. It is a dangerous passageway, that if you traversed it unprepared, you could easily fall from the path, as well as this was a popular place for robbers to hide out and attack unsuspecting travelers. David is assuring believers that even down the rough patches of life, God is still in command and has full control. Our shepherd will guide us through every rocky road life has to offer.
"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" David is reminding us that even though there will be valleys of hardships, we will be victorious, and we we emerge on the other side, there will a table full of provision, abundance and the love of the Father. Are the enemies from death valley gone? Not usually, but we can sit at God's table with the assurance that Satan knows, despite his efforts, we came out victorious and are know resting in the Father's goodness and mercy.
David affirms this point with the last verse of this beloved psalm. "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." we have victory through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, and because of that victory, nothing we walk through has the power to knock us from the trail as long as we trust the Shepherd to lead us through the journey.

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Mission from God.

*photo credit- Catlins Green Pasture Photography-pixel.com

Wise and Foolish builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law- Sermon on the Mount- Matthew 7:24-29

The sermon on the mount is full of little nuggets of wisdom direct from the mouth of Jesus to his church, the disciples and Christians around the world today. 

Here we have the parable of the wise and foolish builder. A wise man is building his house on the rock, a sturdy foundation. The fool has built his in the sand. A grand storm comes along and affects both houses differently. The house of the fool collapses because underneath his house, he had no solid ground to plant the foundation. The house of the Wise was able to withstand whatever the winds threw his way, because his house was structured securely on a firm foundation. The point of this nugget is really simple. Jesus is the rock. Storms of life are inevitable and some may cause damage. We, as Christians, have choice. Will we be a wise builder or a foolish one.

A wise builder is someone who not only goes to church on Sunday, but also is diligent in reading and knowing the living word of God. This person knows the bible is true and lives his life accordingly. Reading God's word for him is not just something to check of a to-do list, rather the thing needed to get his day going,(even before coffee). 

A foolish builder is the one who shows up late to church, only on Sunday morning. They may read their bible, but they don't let it blow their minds like it should. They may know that Jesus came to save them, even pray a prayer every now and then, but they never let Jesus take-over their heart. 

When we commit to being a wise builder, we are trusting our life to the only rock that can support us through life's battles. A house built without a strong foundation will only stand for so long. You may be able to fight off the small battles, but when the hurricane rolls in, your structure doesn't stand a chance. With our house upon the rock, we will come through the storm, maybe a little shaken, but not defeated. 

Ask yourself this question; are you Wise, or are you a Fool? 

Adam Semple- A Young Man on a Mission from God.