Bible Pathway - July 13, 2011
Read Psalms 106:1-6
Highlights:
Want to take a 40-year trip? Travel with the people of God as they relive their desert wanderings. They confess their sins, including when they lusted (Ps. 106:14), murmured (106:25), mingled among the heathen (106:35), and shed innocent blood (106:38).
The magnificence of Israel's history was not the result of her heroes, priests, or prophets, but rather it was the fulfillment of the Word of God (Gen. 12:7). All failures which were written in their history — all losses, defeats in battle, famines, and exiles — to be seen as consequences of disobedience to His Word for they believed not His Word (Ps. 106:24). Finally, they praised God for their deliverance (107:19-20). There is a refrain in verses 8, 15, 21, and 31.
It is significant that the psalmist said: He sent His Word, and healed them (107:20) rather than: "The Lord healed them." It simply means there is nothing of this world that will sustain one's spiritual life and nothing in it that will satisfy the hungering and thirsting of the soul. His Word includes the Triune God and is the Healer of all sufferings and sorrows. Jesus Christ is The Word. There is no other reliable source of counsel for the inner conflicts that seek to control our minds and emotions.
He sent His Word — Yes, the same Word by which the heavens were made (33:6) and our lives were brought into a spiritual relationship with Him. His Word is Jesus come in the flesh as well as His Written Word: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). His Written Word, when believed and acted upon, is the means God has chosen to supply and satisfy every need through Jesus Christ who is the Living Word (Phil. 4:19).
God teaches us the necessity of faith in His Word and its unlimited resources. As our Lord often said: All things are possible to him that believeth (Mark 9:23). Most of us are prone to view our problems based on our or others' human abilities. But, throughout the Bible, we are taught the absolute necessity of relying on the Word of God to reveal His will for every problem and every situation — without exception. Through daily Bible reading and prayer, we obtain the insight to guide us to fulfill all the purposes He has for us.
This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us: And if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him (I John 5:14-15).
Thought for Today:
The Word. . . . is my comfort in my afflication: for Thy Word hath quickened me (Ps. 119:49-50).
Christ Revealed:
As the One who maketh the storm a calm (Ps. 107: 29). When Jesus calmed the storm, His awestruck disciples exclaimed: What manner of Man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him! (Matt. 8:27). Jesus offers to calm the storms of our lives and give us His peace (John 14:27).
Word Studies:
106:20 similitude, likeness; 106:29 inventions, deeds, acts; 106:30 stayed, stopped, checked; 107:11 contemned, despised, spurned.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Broadcasts in honor of Jesus Christ • Staff: Pam Murton • Government Official: Rep. Rob Bishop (UT) • Country: Latvia (2.48 million) eastern coast of Baltic Sea in northeastern Europe • Major languages: Latvian and Russian • Religious freedom • 20% Protestant (mainly Lutheran); 20% Roman Catholic; 15% Orthodox; .9% Jewish; .4% Muslim; 43.7% Atheist/Agnostics/Other • Prayer Suggestion: Delight in the Word of God; prayerfully meditate upon it for daily guidance (Ps. 1:2).
Optional Reading:
Memory Verse for the Week:
Psalms 34:2
