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| Vol. 15 No. 11 November 2013 | Page 11 |
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| Vol. 15 No. 11 November 2013 | Page 11 |
Mark McWhorter
“Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me” (Psalm 25:4-5). The word “shew” means “make me know.” David had a desire to know God’s ways and paths. The word “teach” comes from a word used for “beating with a rod, to chastise, especially beasts of burden.” Imagine David requesting to be treated like a beast of burden so that he would be made to know God’s paths.
The Hebrew word for “ways” comes from a root verb meaning “to tread, to trample with the feet.” It is used to describe where the ground has been walked on again and again, forming a beaten path. God’s ways are paths that have been well walked by the righteous before us. They are paths that Jesus walked in order to leave us an example.
The Hebrew word for “paths” comes from a verb that means “to decree, to appoint.” This means that God’s paths are a fixed pattern according to His will.
Putting it all together, we see that we should desire God to make us know His paths through this life. Further, we should be thankful for His chastisement to help us learn and live His decrees. Decrees indicate that there must be truth, and that is exactly what verse five states: “lead me in thy truth.”
David knew that to be righteous, he could not just claim he believed in God. He also knew he could not have God apart from a doctrinal truth. Today, we cannot just claim to follow Jesus. We must walk the paths that He left for us, and we must obey His commandments.
Study your Bible. Obey Jesus. If any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.
Blessings or BruisesDonald R. Fox
Do we have a tendency to ponder on our bruised feelings and not our blessings? Too many of us brood over our ordeals instead of appreciating our blessings. Have we learned from our mistakes and from life’s bruises? Some may take their blessings for granted. Good times and fortune are supposed to be our lot. The quest for earthly happiness is paramount for many. Yet, all of us know deep down within our being that we all hurt in many ways. Do we push bad memories, physical or mental hurts to the back of our minds? It is better for us, if we “Take it to the Lord in prayer”.
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
George Scriven and C.C. Converse
Verse 1
What a Friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry Ev’rything to God in prayer.
O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry Ev’rything to God in prayer.
Verse 2
Have we trails and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful, Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our ev’ry weakness: Take it to the Lord in payer.
Verse 3
Are we weak and heavy laden, Cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer;
In His arms He’ll take and shield thee, Thou wilt find a solace there.
Yes, dear friends, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Ev’rything to God in payer.” Our bruises and hurts are part of our human experiences; it’s a human factor. Let’s learn from our experiences, whether good or bad. To remain faithfully obedient unto our God must be our goal. “A faithful man shall abound with blessings…” (Proverbs 28:20). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Unfortunately, many of us are like Scarlett O’Hara, heroine of the classic novel, Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell. Scarlett’s parting words are, “I’ll think of it all tomorrow… After all, tomorrow is another day.” Tomorrow is never promised to any of us. “Today is the tomorrow we dreamed about yesterday” (Author Unknown). “Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:13-14).