How can a young an keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.

With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!

I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.

Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statues!

With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.

In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches

I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.

I will delight in your statues;
I will not forget your word.

Psalm 119:9-16

but the haughty eyes you bring down.

For it is you who light my lamp;

the LORD my God lightens my darkness.

For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can leap over a wall.

This God—his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD proves true;

he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

For who is God, but the LORD?

And who is a rock, except our God?—

the God who equipped me with strength 

and made my way blameless.

Psalm 18:27-32

I have set the LORD always before me;

because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.

jessicahah:

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

My soul makes its boast in the LORD;

let the humble hear and be glad.

Oh, magnify the LORD with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me…

Thank you for posting this much needed encouragement…the Word never fails to speak perfect truths at the perfect time. 

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 

losingprofit:

I will praise you more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of your salvation all day long,
though I know not its measure.
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, O God,
til I declare your power to the next generation,
your might to all who are to come. 

- Psalm 71:14-18

So this was supposed to get posted a few weeks ago but hey, better late than never right?

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”

Psalm 16:2

This is among one of my favorite Bible verses for many reasons. It convicts me, humbles me, reminds me, and comforts me.  

I’ve always taken great pride in one certain aspect of my personality: being a rational thinker. Even though I like to let me head wander above the clouds now and again, I always keep my feet on the ground and my mind focused. This sort of thinking has become ingrained since childhood and in fact people have often said that I think too old for my age and that I should live in the moment, embrace the present life, and choose passion over planning. While I wouldn’t call myself a totally emotionless stone, I definitely admit that I am the type to choose logic over feeling.

I was blessed to grow up in a Christian household so the ideas of the God, sin, and salvation were nothing new to me. The way I had it figured, God and sin cannot be together so in order to be with God, all one had to do was avoid sin, right? Pragmatism and practicality served me well in this regard and for a long while, I had everyone fooled (including myself) into thinking that I had everything in control, that I was truly a good person, that I could do it all on my own. For years, I did not fully understand the beauty and necessity of Jesus’ death on the cross. Why would such a great God care to save the soul of such a wayward heart like mine? Why would I need saving anyways?

In spite of my stubborn heart, over time, God revealed to me bit by bit the nature of sin and true depravity of my being, my deceit and my hopeless attempts at balancing the field between God and me…but in His loving-kindness, He simultaneously showed me the endless depths of His grace and mercy. There is no work or non-work I can do that will amount to the saving grace that God has already shown. The battle between my mind and my heart has been reconciled. I finally realized that frankly speaking, the Gospel doesn’t make any logical sense…salvation cannot be earned. My sins have been justified by Christ’s humble sacrifice and through God’s amazing grace in giving to me what I did not deserve and what I could not even dare to dream for. Because of this gift, I now live for a hope that is eternal and unswerving and to love and serve the almighty and everlasting God. 

Soli Deo gloria.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit. 

- Psalm 51:10-12

It is one of those things that starts off really small, microscopic even. It first sets in and takes root in a seemingly harmless way but before you know it, the feelings of bitterness and resentment become the forces that are inadvertently shaping and driving my actions and my mindset. It twists my perception and slowly eats away at my ties with others and my desire for fellowship. It is much too easy to justify, especially when it all remains nicely tucked away within my heart and mind. It continually builds and builds in a subconscious fashion until one day an honest realization finally strikes, I am incredibly humbled, and my gaze is directed away from my own self and back towards the cross. 

Father, forgive me, heal me, renew me.