Psalm 5 and John 1:11-13

 5:3 LORD, in the morning you will hear me; in the morning I will present my case to you and then wait expectantly for an answer.

This is a trend for my heart to see. The writer of this Psalm prays and waits…expectantly for an answer! How often do I wait expectantly for an answer? Why don’t I wait for an answer? Maybe, I don’t really expect one? Hmmm, point taken.

John 1:11-13 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him. But to all who have received him—those who believe in his name—he has given the right to become God’s children—children not born by human parents or by human desire or a husband’s decision, but by God.

The Light is the He here, who is the Word, who is fully God. He came to His own, the Israelites, and they did not receive Him. But all who receive Him, all, every tribe and tongue, not just the ones he had initially chosen to be His people, to all the people of this earth who receive him, you and me, can become His children.

What does it mean to receive Him? What does it mean to believe in His name? What is His name? What does it mean to become His children, not born by humans?

I have my thoughts on how to answer these questions, but I truly want to read this book with new eyes. I look forward to seeing what is in His written Word. I am curious to find out how many answers are in this book, and then how many will need to be found in other books of the Bible.

Lord, thank You! Thank you for giving me the capacity to read. Thank You for writing a book for me to read that helps me understand You, that helps me understand the depths of what You have done for me, for all who will receive You! Thank you for this feeling of impatience in wanted to learn more about you! And thank you for showing me in the Psalms that I can pray and expect a response from You. Help me to hear you in the midst of all this worldly noise, please, I am expecting an answer now.

Thank you!

Larry

Psalm 4 and John 1:6-10

Psalm 4:4 Tremble with fear and do not sin! Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways!

This verse stuck out to me today. Except for tremble with fear, the rest of these are directive statements, each one is something I can choose to do or not. Sin is a choice, and there are times I do choose it. I can meditate on the Lord and His word, but often times I do not. I can repent, turn from what I am doing, have a complete mind change about the view of my surroundings, but at times I turn right back around. I believe the foundation for taking the verse to action is based on the meditation part. When I meditate on the Lord and His word, there are times I tremble at the thought of my disregard for Him, and then there are times I tremble at His splendor. And when I think about Him, the desire to sin diminishes and the turning from my sinful ways becomes the desire of my heart. There seems to be a minute by minute need for me to meditate on Him!

John 1:6-10 A man came, sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created by him, but the world did not recognize him.

This John mentioned here is John the Baptist, not John, the author of this book. So, John the Baptist, was sent from God to give information about the Light, so that everyone might believe in the light. The Light is the Word, who is fully God. So, The Word sent John to give information about Him; He is the Light! So, what does this mean: the true light, and how does He give it away…to everyone?

So the Word, Who is fully God, who is the true Light, who gives this light to everyone, was about to come to this earth, the earth that He created. And when He came to this world, the people did not recognize Him. What a tragedy! And there are those who still do not recognize Him, those who refuse to recognize Him, and those who have not heard of Him to recognize Him!

Lord, give me a heart for You and for those who do not recognize You! I ask for the perseverance to meditate on You throughout my day. I know I cannot do this without You. I know I cannot comprehend the full extent of Your light, but I know You have placed it in me. Would you help me understand what this means? What Your light means to me. Would you guide me in helping others understand what it means to them? I know it is your work and not mine, but help me to be a part of Your work, so the world today will see Your light shining among the darkness and desire You! Help me love others as you have loved me! I know I cannot do anything without you.

Thank you!

Larry

Psalm 3 and John 1:4-5

Psalm 3 was written by David while he was fleeing from his enemy, who was his son! I have been studying the Old Testament recently, and so it is a little more interesting to understand the details leading up to the situation. What strikes me today about this Psalm is the very first sentence:

Psalm 3:1 LORD, how numerous are my enemies! Many attack me.

Though we follow the Lord, in fact, because we follow the Lord, we will have enemies. Many think just the opposite will occur, but that is not the case. And yet, David says:

Psalm 3:5 I rested and slept; I awoke, for the Lord protects me.

I see he did not say he rested and slept, because of anything he did. It was because of his faith in the Lord that he was able to sleep. I need to take this lesson to heart!

John 1:4-5 In him was life, and the life was the light of mankind. And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered it.

These verses in John when read alone create quite a stir of anticipation in my heart. In Him was life. It appears to me that the Him of “in him was life” is the Word, so in the Word was life, and the Word was fully God, so in God is life!

So what is life, besides not being dead? Verse 4 says the life was the light of mankind. What does this mean? Is this light one that gives direction to me? Does it keep me from kicking my toe in the night? Does it mean He will guide me in my spiritual walk that seems very dark at times? That is what creates my anticipation; there must be greater explanation later in this book or somewhere else in the Bible!

And the light shines on in the darkness! What is this darkness? Is it my heart or the way of the world? It was only five and a half years ago, that I was afraid of the dark, but the Word has taken that fear from me. What is this darkness written of here?

But the darkness has not fully mastered it. Is there a battle between light and darkness? I am striving to only read 1 or 2 verses a day, a paragraph at most, in John, but I am struck by the intensity of desire I have in my heart to find out more about the light, which would require reading further along, but I am not going to! It allows me to chomp and chew, to think and pray on this throughout my day!

Lord, thank you for the stirring in my heart to know more about You and your Word. Help me see the light and understand what your intention is by using these words in the Bible that are so powerful to men and women: life, light, and darkness. Thank you for showing me that when my faith is fully placed in You, I will have rest in the midst of my enemies. Lord I need You in my life in order to have this kind of faith in You!

In Anticipation of Your Word,

Larry

Psalm 2 and John 1:2-3

As I read the Psalms to prepare my heart for learning I am amazed at what I see.

Psalm 2:10-11 So now, you kings, do what is wise; you rulers of the earth, submit to correction! Serve the Lord in fear! Repent in terror!

The Lord desires all rulers of the earth to submit to Him. What would the earth look like if this were the case? What would the world look like if those who follow Christ took the Gospel to all of the nations, and the whole population of the earth submitted to Him?

And then I read;

John 1:2-3 The Word was with God in the beginning. All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

These two verses read very similar to;

Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

This is more supporting evidence for the Word being fully God. All things were created by the Word, not one thing was not created by Him, and Genesis 1:1 says God created the heavens and the earth. So, once again, the Word is God.

Creator of heaven and earth, and all things created. Thank you for the wonder you have given me this morning for you! What must it have been like to create something from nothing? What must it have been like? Was there a great noise, or was it all just there? Did you toss the whole universe out like the dust on a dry day, or one moment there was nothing and then there was a whole lot of something in all the right places? When I think of how I can only make and mold things from what you have already created, I am struck to a point of no words! And if you can create something from nothing, it gives me hope that you can and will create in me a clean heart, and I am so thankful!

Larry

Psalms and John

I’ve thought about going thru the book of John. As I said before, I struggle with praise for my Lord throughout the day, so I will read a Psalm to see the wonderful examples of how praise Him in the Psalms, and then read John to learn more about Him.

I will write the portion of the book I have read, what I have observed, and how my heart is moved by my time in the Word. I do not plan to look at other books during this quiet time, but to focus on what has been read in the Psalms and John.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God.

For a time long ago, that I cannot imagine, was the Word. At this point in the book, I cannot know who or what the Word is, but I know there must be a reason for this writing. The Word was with God. This means that God was in the beginning, too, which means a long time ago.

And the Word was fully God. This seems a bit perplexing to me. But…if the Word was fully God, then is God fully the Word? I need to keep this in mind when reading the remainder of this book, or any book of the Bible. The Word was fully God.

Lord, I thank You for Your written Word, and for the Word I am about to learn more about. I ask You for Your help and wisdom to be able to grasp what Your intent is in the words You have written in this book. Lord, I need You to help me learn to praise You. Please, help me to glorify to You, by learning more about You.

Larry