God thought - Bible #7

Read
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. -Psalm 119:

Reflect
Have you ever heard a song on the radio that kept playing in your head all day long? Sometimes it's the last song you hear before getting out of the car. Or it's the song playing on the radio when your alarm goes off. This probably happens a good bit, doesn't it? You go through the day humming words or tapping your foot to the beat. You might even find yourself singing it out loud before immediately stopping once you realize people are staring. What is it about a tune that gets so deep in your mind that you can't stop thinking about it? The more you think about it....well, the more you think about it!

Have you ever had this scenario happen with Scripture? This isn't as far-fetched as you might think. Psalm 119 actually talks a lot about this very thing: God's Word playing constantly in your mind, to the point that it becomes a part of who you are. If this concept seems foreign to you, keep reading.

Read Psalm 119:9-16. The author asks a question in verse 9: "How can a young man keep this way pure?" Verse 11 gives the answer. The challenge is for you to hid God's Word in your heart so that it is constantly on your lips and in your mind. Do you want to live a life worthy of a follower of Jesus? Then learn and follow His Word. God's words are pure, insightful, and true. Knowing and obeying them is what we are called to do as followers of Christ. These verses remind us that God's ways are pure and that they help us not to sin against Him.

Think today about how seriously you take the call to seek, understand, and remember God's Word.

Respond
1. Write down three verses from memory. How does your ability or inability to do this reflect how well you've hidden God's Word in your heart?

2. Why is it important to know and remember God's Word?

3. What things in your life stand in the way of you being more dedicated to memorizing God's Word?

4. Here is a challenge. Write down today's verse two times. Try to remember it as you go throughout your day. When you go to bed tonight, see if you can remember it. (Here's the trick....If you do this little exercise, you are practicing what it means to "meditate" on God's Word. If you make this practice a habit, you will find yourself longing to know more Scripture).