Sunday Scripture

 We're continuing with our ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 15.   There are only 5 verses, so I chose to SOAP them all.  Here we go!

S= "LORD, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle?  Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?

"He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart,

"He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor,

"In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but he honoreth them that fear the LORD: he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not;

"He that putteth not out his money to interest, nor taketh reward against the innocent.  He that doeth these things shall never be moved."  (Psalm 15)

O= Psalm 15 is simply titled headed "A Psalm of David".  Scofield titled it "The man who abides with God". 

 Psalm 15 is nearly identical in wording to verses 3-5 of Psalm 24:

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD?  Or who shall stand in His holy place?

"He who hath clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

"He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation."

There are also similarities to Isaiah 33:14-16:

"The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites.  Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire?  Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?

"He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that restraineth his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; 

"He shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the strongholds of rocks.  Bread shall be given him; his waters shall be pure." 

Psalm 15 is very simply constructed.  

Verse 1 asks two questions:

* Lord, who shall abide in Your tabernacle?

* Who shall dwell in Your holy hill?

Verses 2-5 list eleven ways the person who walks with God will live.

Verse 5 ends with a summary that the one who does these things will never be moved.

Cross-reference for "tabernacle" (v.1) -- "I will abide in Thy tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Thy wings.  Selah."  (Psalm 61:4)

Cross-reference for "holy hill" (v.1) -- "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion".  (Psalm 2:6)

Cross-reference for "walketh uprightly" (v. 2) -- "Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved, but he that is perverse in his way shall fall at once."  (Proverbs 28:18)

Cross-reference for "worketh righteousness" (v.2) -- "Blessed are they that observe justice, and he that doeth righteousness at all times."  (Psalm 106:3)

Cross-references for "truth" (v.2) -- "These are the things that ye shall do: Speak every man the truth to his neighbor; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates."  (Zechariah 8:16)

"Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another."  (Ephesians 4:25)

"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds."  (Colossians 3:9)

Cross-references for "backbiteth not" (v.3) -- "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor; I am the LORD.  Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbor, and not allow sin upon him.  Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people; but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; I am the LORD."  (Leviticus 19:16-18)

"Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile."  (Psalm 34:13)

Cross-reference for "taketh up a reproach" (v.3) -- "Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness."  (Exodus 23:1)

Cross-reference for "sweareth to his own hurt" (v.4) -- Jephthah had vowed a foolish, shortsighted vow unto the Lord: "If Thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace ... shall surely be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering." 

As it turned out, it was his daughter who came out to meet him, and "when he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter!  Thou has brought me very low ... for I have opened my mouth unto the LORD, and I cannot go back."  (Judges 11:35)  Certainly a pertinent example of someone swearing to his own hurt!

Cross-references for "putteth not out his money to usury/interest" (v.4) -- "If thou lend money to any of My people who is poor among you, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury."  (Exodus 22:25)

"Take thou no interest from him, or profit, but fear thy God, that thy brother may live with thee."  (Leviticus 25:26)

"Thou shalt not lend upon interest to thy brother; an interest of money, interest of victuals, interest of anything that is lent upon interest."  (Deuteronomy 23:19)

"He that hath not given forth upon interest, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true justice between God and man."  (Ezekiel 18:8)

"In thee have they taken gifts to shed blood; thou hast taken interest and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion, and hast forgotten Me, saith the Lord GOD."  (Ezekiel 22:12)

Cross-references for "nor taketh reward against the innocent" (v.5) -- "And Thou shalt take no bribe; for the bribe blindeth the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous."  (Exodus 23:8)

"Thou shalt not distort justice: thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a bribe; for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the wise and pervert the words of the righteous." (Deuteronomy 16:19)

A= Warren Wiersbe summarizes the application for this psalm so well: "God's children have open access into His presence through the work of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:19-25).  He is our High Priest and Advocate in heaven, and He welcomes us.  We come on the basis of His righteousness, not our own.  But we had better be sure we have experienced the cleansing of Hebrews 10:22 before we rush into His presence."

"Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."  (Hebrews 10:22)

P= "Lord, how I thank You for this psalm!  Although I seek to walk blamelessly every day, there are those inevitable times when I mess up and do (or more often say) something stupid.  I thank You that there is always a way back and an opportunity to start anew.  I pray that You will help me to keep short accounts with You and have victory over sin in my life hour by hour, even moment by moment.  I thank You for how You will help me, in Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: David lists eleven ways we should live if we want to have sweet fellowship with God.  

Which of these stood out to you as something you need to work on in your life?

My response:  I began by jotting down the list of eleven ways to live:

🌲 walk blamelessly

🌲 do what is right

🌲 speak truth in our heart

🌲  do not slander with our tongue

🌲  do no evil to our neighbor

🌲 do not take up a reproach among friends

🌲  despise vile persons

🌲  honor those who fear the LORD

🌲  swear to our own hurt and do not change

🌲 do not put out our money at interest

🌲  do not take bribes against the poor.

As for what stands out as something I need to work on in my life,  I chose the first way: Walk blamelessly.  I seek to do this always, but I can so easily slip up in little things.

Warren Wiersbe explains, "This psalm helps us examine our walk, our work, and our words (v.2).  The inventory includes our relationship with others (v.3-4), how we keep our promises, and how we use our money (v.5)."  He adds, 

"Meditating on this psalm and pondering these 'qualifications' could help us deepen our relationship with God."

And there is our Sunday Scripture!  Hope it was a blessing!

A grammatical challenge for the end of February

 

I haven't had time to join in with the Wednesday Hodgepodge for a few weeks now, but sometimes one just has to take a few minutes to blog even when life is fairly insane.  So I am picking just one Hodgepodge question to answer:

5. Next week's Hodgepodge lands in March. Is that right? I guess so.  Give us one noun, one verb, and one adjective that tell us something about your February. To make you think a little harder, you cannot use the words cold or snowy. 

Oh, let's see.  For a noun, let's pick LISTS.  I couldn't have gotten through February without them, having spent the best part of a week at my volunteer job, cooking for volunteers and staff working on a building remodel.  Lists of menus, grocery lists, cooking utensils and gadgets ... the lists seemed endless and, in addition, I made a time schedule for each day to have the meals ready at the appointed times.  

 For a verb, let's say DRIVING.  We seem to have done a lot of it in February.  Or perhaps my hubby would pick SHOVELING.  He has shoveled roofs, paths, decks, parts of driveways.  A lot of the white stuff has fallen this month.

So, for an adjective, I will pick WINTRY.  We have had the most snow, the most subzero temps, and the most icicles of the winter in February.  I will say it is pretty, though, and a wonderful reminder of all the references to snow, frost, and ice in the Bible.

 
And that's it!  One Hodgepodge question answered!  And the blogging itch scratched.

Sunday Scripture

 

We're continuing with our ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 14.   There are just seven verses, and I chose to SOAP verses 1-4.  Here goes:

S= "The fool has said in his heart,  There is no God.  They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 
"The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.
"They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
"Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge?  Who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon the LORD."  (Psalm 14:1-4)

O= The biblical heading for this psalm is "To the chief Musician, A psalm of David."  C.I. Scofield has titled Psalm 14 "A portrait of the godless."

David is definitely presenting a picture of the godless.  In verse 1 he describes them as 

• fools who say in their hearts that there is no God

• corrupt

• having done abominable things

• doing no good

David then pictures God as looking down upon humanity from heaven to see if there are any who understand their need to seek Him.

Verse 3 describes what God sees from His lofty vantage point:

• They are all gone aside

• They have altogether become filthy

• There are none that do good.

David describes them as 

-- workers of iniquity

-- who have no knowledge

-- who devour people as they would bread

-- who don't call upon the name of the Lord.

The wording of Psalm 14 is very close, nearly identical, to that of Psalm 53. 

Warren Wiersbe notes that this psalm presents a contrast between the generation of the wicked and the generation of the righteous, with the first group described at the beginning of the psalm, and the second group made up of those who've trusted the Lord and seek to know Him and His will.

Wiersbe sees the second group in verses 5-7, so I will show you those verses even though I'm not actually SOAPing them:

"There were they in great fear, for God is with the righteous.  You shame the counsel of the poor, but the LORD is his refuge.  Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!  When the LORD brings back the captivity of His people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad."

Cross-references for "fool" (v.1) -- "Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed Thy name. " (Psalm 74:18)

"Arise, O LORD, plead Thine own cause; remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily."  (Psalm 74:22)

We see Job describing his wife as this sort of a fool:  "Then said [Job's] wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity?  Curse God, and die.  But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh.  What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?  In all this did not Job sin with his lips."  (Job 2:9-10)

Cross-reference for "there is no God" (v.1) -- "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts."  (Psalm 10:4)

Cross-references for "corrupt" (v.1) -- "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."  (Genesis 6:5)

"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted His way upon the earth."  (Genesis 6:11-12)

"There is none that doth good" (v.1) is cited in Romans 3:10 -- "As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one."

Cross-reference for "looked down from heaven" (v.2) -- "For He hath looked down from the height of His sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth."  (Psalm 102:19)

"Understand" (v.2) may also be read "act wisely".

Cross-reference for "understand" -- "There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God" (Romans 3:11)

Cross-references for "seek God" (v.2) -- "Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The LORD is with you, while ye are with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found by you; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you."  (2 Chronicles 15:2)

"Nevertheless, there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the idols out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God."  (2 Chronicles 19:3)

Cross- reference for "they are all gone aside" (v.3) -- "They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one."  (Romans 3:12)

Cross-reference for "filthy" (v.3) -- "How much more abominable and filthy is man, who drinketh iniquity like water!"  (Job 15:16)

Cross-references for "knowledge" (v.4) -- "They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are out of course."  (Psalm 82:5)

"For my people are foolish; they have not known Me.  They are stupid children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge."  (Jeremiah 4:22)

Cross-references for "who eat up my people" (v.4) -- "There is a generation, whose teeth are like swords, and their jaw teeth like knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men."  (Proverbs 30:14)

"Pour out thy fury upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not on Thy name; for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate."  (Hebrews 10:25)

"Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail."  (Amos 8:4)

"When the wicked, even mine enemies, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell."  (Psalm 27:2)

Cross-references for "call not upon the LORD" (v.4) -- "Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that have not known Thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon Thy name."  (Psalm 79:6)

"And there is none that called upon Thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of Thee; for Thou hast hidden Thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities."  (Isaiah 64:7)

A= The person who says in their heart that there is no God is a fool indeed.This psalm has so many similarities to Romans 3!

Wiersbe points out that this Psalm pictures both the generation of the wicked and the generation of the righteous.  He notes that the generation of the wicked "is composed of people who are 'practical atheists'.  God is not in their hearts, no matter what they may say and do outwardly.  They can live without God!  They disobey God and exploit people made in the image of God. They are corrupt and so they do corrupt things."

Concerning the generation of the righteous, Wiersbe notes that these people call on the LORD "and He answers (v.4).  God dwells with these people (v.5), protects them (v.6) and gives them joyful hope (v.7).  This group may not be large, but it is precious to God, and the future of God's program rests with it."

Wiersbe asks, "Of which group are you a member?  Have you made your allegiance known?"

My thoughts: I'm in the "generation of the righteous", thanks to Jesus' substitutionary death.  If not for His unspeakable sacrifice on my behalf, I would be in the generation of the wicked.  Yes, people know of my allegiance to God and His people.

I'm so thankful that God brought me to the place of understanding the futility of life apart from Him.

P= Lord, how I praise You for drawing me to Yourself and for saving me.  How I praise You that You dwell with me, protect me, lead and guide me, and give me joyful hope every day!  I can confidently call to You in times of need, knowing that You hear and answer.  I cannot praise and thank You enough for bringing me into "the generation of the righteous".  Help me to be a light to those who don't yet know you.  I thank You in Jesus' name, Amen.

Reflection question: David reflects on those who reject God and calls them fools.  It's interesting to note where they deny God -- it's in their hearts.  Verse 2 says the Lord is looking down from heaven to see if there are any who seek Him.  

We may have a lot of intellectual knowledge about God but ultimately our decisions are made by the loves and passions of our hearts.  How is your heart today?  Is it seeking God or seeking pleasure -- and how can you align your heart with the heart of God?

My response:  I too found it very interesting that it's their hearts where fools deny the existence of God.  My heart is to seek God rather than pleasure, but of course there are those times when other things get in the way.

It seems to me that the best way to align my heart with God's heart would be to be sure I'm spending quality time in His Word and in prayer, communicating with Him and getting to know his His heart.

And there is our study of Psalm 14.  I hope it was a blessing!

Sunday Scripture

 

We're continuing with our ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 13.   There are only 6 verses, so I chose to SOAP them all.  Here goes!

S= How long wilt Thou forget me, O LORD?  for ever?  how long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?
"How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?  how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
"Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
"Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him; and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
"But I have trusted in Thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
"I will sing unto the LORD, because He hath dealt bountifully with me."  (Psalm 13)

O= The brief biblical heading simply states "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David."  C.I. Scofield has titled this "The testing of delay."  And in verses 1-2 we definitely see David questioning God's delay in coming to his aid.

David has questions for God:

• How long will You forget me?  Forever?

• How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long will I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily?

• How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

He then has some specific requests for the Lord:

* Consider and hear me;

* Lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

* Don't allow my enemy to say he has prevailed against me; 

* Don't allow those who trouble me to rejoice at my sorrow or my plight.

Then, a change of direction.  David says:

BUT

* I have trusted in Your mercy;

* My heart will rejoice in Your salvation.

THEREFORE David can say,

I will sing unto the LORD

BECAUSE

He has dealt bountifully with me.

It is so interesting to see how David's thinking changes as, after his questions and concerns, he can add that he has trusted in God's mercy and rejoiced in His salvation!

In his devotional commentary With the Word, Warren Wiersbe divides Psalm 13 into three parts: ASKING (v.1-2); ARGUING (v.3-4) -- Would God be glorified by David's defeat?  Should the enemy rejoice while God's people suffer? -- and AFFIRMING his faith and trust in God.  (v.5-6)

Cross-references for "How long" (v.1) -- "How long, LORD?  Wilt Thou be angry forever?  Shall Thy jealousy burn like fire?"  (Psalm 79:5)

"How long, LORD?  Wilt Thou hide Thyself forever?  Shall Thy wrath burn like fire?  (Psalm 89:46)

Warren Wiersbe notes that  "How long?" is a question frequently asked in the Psalms.  He points to at least nine psalms where this question is asked of God by a psalmist.

Cross-references for "forget me forever' (v.1) -- "Arise O LORD; O God, lift up Thine hand; forget not the humble." (Psalm 10:12)

"Wherefore hidest Thou Thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?"  (Psalm 44:24)

"Oh, deliver not the soul of Thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked; forget not the congregation of Thy poor forever."  (Psalm 74:19)

"Forget not the voice of Thine enemies, the tumult of those who rise up against Thee increaseth continually."  (Psalm 74:23)

"Why dost Thou forget us forever, and forsake us for so long a time?" (Lamentations 5:20)

Cross-reference for "hide Thy face from me" (v.1) -- "Why hidest Thou Thy face, and oldest me for Thine enemy?" (Job 13:24)

Cross-reference for "counsel in my soul" (v.2) -- "I call to remembrance my song in the night; I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit made diligent search." (Psalm 77:6)

Cross-references for "consider and hear me" (v.3) -- "Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my meditation."  (Psalm 5:1)

"Consider mine affliction, and deliver me; for I do not forget Thy law."  (Psalm 119:153)

Cross-reference for "lighten mine eyes" (v.3) -- "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes."  (Psalm 19:8)

"And now for a little moment grace hath been shown from the LORD, our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage."  (Ezra 9:8)

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints."  (Ephesians 1:18)

Cross-reference for "sleep the sleep of death" (v.3) -- "I will make [Babylon] sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD."  (Jeremiah 51:39)

Cross-reference for "lest mine enemy say" (v.4) -- "Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave themselves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the LORD hath not done all this,"  (Deuteronomy 32:37)

Cross-reference for "moved" (v.4) -- "He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity."  (Psalm 10:6)

Cross-reference for "trusted" (v.5) -- "In the LORD put I my trust; how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain,"  (Psalm 11:1)

Cross-reference for "rejoice" (v.5) -- "That I may show forth all Thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion.  I will rejoice in Thy salvation."  (Psalm 9:14)

A= Wiersbe explains, "Time seems to rush by when we are enjoying life but to linger when we are suffering.  God knows how long our trials should last because He knows exactly what we need."

He adds, "David had examined his heart and knew of no reason why God would abandon him.  The longer God waited, the more the enemy would succeed.  When you have this same feeling, do what David did and talk to God with an honest and humble heart ... David reasoned with God but did not try to tell God what to do.

"Faith does not always give answers, but it does give encouragement.  No matter how successful the enemy appears to be, you can trust the Lord, rejoice in the Lord, sing to the Lord and know that He will always deal bountifully with you." 

These are excellent application thoughts for this psalm!

P= "Lord, I thank and praise You that Your timing is always perfect and that I can trust Your timing.  Your answers may sometimes seem delayed in coming, but I can trust You to answer at the exact right moment.  I thank You that I can honestly share my heart with You and know that You understand.  My questions will turn to praise as I consider You and Your character even in the midst of trials.  I can and do rejoice in the ways You have dealt bountifully with me, and I thank You for them in Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: David opens his heart and shares his raw emotions, but still chooses to praise God in the depths of difficulties. 

Are you in the midst of a trial?  Despite your difficulties, what can you praise God for today?

My response:  I think it was Spurgeon who said that if there is nothing else we can think of to praise God for, there is always this: He has saved us from hell.  But I can actually think of many more things we can praise Him for, even in the midst of difficulties:

🌠 He is with us always and specifically says He will be with us in trouble.
🌠 He has a purpose in all that He allows.
🌠 He is good, all the time.
🌠 He has begun the good work in our lives and promises to bring it to completion.
🌠  He uses trials to bring about spiritual growth.
🌠 He is the God of all comfort, and comforts us so that we may comfort others.

... And much more!

And there is our simple study of Psalm 13.  I hope it was a blessing to someone today!

Just a bit of midwinter decor

  No time for much of a post today, but my simple winter decor is making me smile and I just wanted to share.  Above is a small winter village.  We usually bring out some of our lighted houses after the Christmas tree comes down.  The tree stands in this spot where the pine chest and village are now.

Above, my February sampler.  Love it!

Above, two free printables framed and displayed in the front hallway.

Probably my favorite decorating spot is atop a bookcase in a corner of the living room.  The runner, which has sparkling silver threads in it, was handwoven by my friend Patty.    The little deer is actually a candle holder from my childhood.  The crewel skater was stitched by me in the 1970s.   The cardinal is a keepsake I found in a kitchen drawer at my childhood home, the pitcher a thrift store find.  Tag and beaded heart made by me.

A corner of the garland over our picture window.  Always snowflakes and icicles for the winter.  The pretty Christmas balls were hand-painted by granddaughter Julia.

The opposite corner.  A chickadee and cardinal have flown onto the garland!

Two shelves of my dining room hutch.  Another very favorite place to decorate!

The topmost shelf.  Bottle brush trees in Colonial Homestead teacups.  I have had the pine cone teapot for years, but this is the first time I've thought to put it on the hutch.

 Above is a corner of the lowest shelf of my hutch.  That is a 1950s Christmas card, a sketch of a local lakeside barn.  Even though the card is old and discolored, I love it.  The barn is still standing and still beautiful.

 Icicles on one of our dormers.  Aren't those pretty rings of ice amazing and beautiful!?  I can't take credit for this bit of "decorating" though -- all glory to God!

Sunday Scripture

 

We're continuing with our ongoing series on my simple study of Psalms.  You can see a copy of the journal here: The Book of Psalms 1-50 or you can find all the resources right here on Women Living Well, Psalms 1-50.  I'm attempting to SOAP each Psalm too, though some of them are longer so I will likely only do a selected passage from many of them. [Quick reminder that S stands for Scripture; O stands for for observation; A stands for application, and P stands for prayer.]  Each psalm's study also includes a reflection question, which I will attempt to journal an answer to.  Today's study is from Psalm 12.   I chose to SOAP verses 1-7.  Here goes:

S= "Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
"They speak vanity every one with his neighbor: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
"The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
"Who have said, With our tongues will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
"For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
"The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
"Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation forever."  (Psalm 12:1-7)

O= The biblical heading of this psalm is "To the chief Musician upon Sheminith, A Psalm of David."  In the NKJV, the heading reads "To the Chief Musician.  On an eight-stringed harp.  A Psalm of David."  C.I. Scofield, in the Scofield Study Bible, gives Psalm 12 the title of "The scourge of sinful speech."

It seems to me to present a contrast between the evil words of sinful man and  the pure, tested words of God.

David says: Help, LORD;
• for the godly man ceases;
* for the faithful among the children of men fail;
        * Each of them speaks vanity with his neighbor
        * They speak with flattering lips
        * They speak with a double heart.

He states that
• The LORD will cut off all flattering lips
• The LORD will cut off the tongue that speaks proud things, such as:
    * "With our tongue we will prevail";
    * "Our lips are our own";
    * "Who will rule over us?"

The LORD says:
• Now I will arise for the oppression of the poor;
• Now I will arise for the sighing of the needy;
• I will set these people in the safety they are yearning for 

(The phrase "from him that puffeth at him" reads "for which he yearns" in the NKJV.  Quite a difference! For my purposes, I am just going to go with the NKJV wording as it makes sense.)

I am assuming though that "him that puffeth at him" means "he who threatens in a blustering way."  From C.H. Spurgeon's comments, it seems like this is likely the case.  He noted in a sermon on Psalm 12:5 that "sometimes, the children of God get so much grace, and so much faith, that those who puff at them may keep on puffing, but the godly are far above it all."

David declares:
• The words of the LORD are true words,
Like silver tested in a furnace of earth;
Purified seven times.

• You will keep Your people, O LORD;
• You will preserve them from this generation forever.

  (I am not SOAPing verse 8, but it's a description of "this generation" in verse 7 -- the wicked who walk on every side, and the vilest men who are exalted.  Up until recent weeks, this sounds like the perfect description of our culture.) 

Now, here we go with some cross-references: 

For "godly man" (v.1) -- "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."  (Isaiah 57:1)

"The good man is perished out of the earth; and there is none upright among men; they all lie in wait for blood; they hunt every man his brother with a net."  (Micah 7:2)

Cross-references for "speak vanity every one with his neighbor" (v.2) -- "And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity; his heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad, he telleth it."  (Psalm 41:6)

"Whose mouth speaketh vanity; and their right hand is a right hand of falsehood."  (Psalm 144:2)

Cross-references for "flattering lips" (v.2) -- "For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue."  (Psalm 5:9)

"Their tongue is like an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit.  One speaketh peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in heart he lieth in wait."  (Jeremiah 9:8)

"For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ but their own body, and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the innocent."  (Romans 16:18)

Cross-references for "double heart" (v.2) -- "Of Zebulun, such as went forth to battle, expert in war, fifty thousand who could keep rank; they were not of double heart."  (1 Chronicles 12:33)

"A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."  (James 1:8)

Cross-references for "flattering lips" (v.3) -- "Let me not, I pray you, accept any man's person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man."  (Job 32:21)

"He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets; therefore, meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips."  (Proverbs 20:19)

Cross-references for "tongue that speaketh proud things" (v.3) -- "They are enclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly."  (Proverbs 17:10)

"Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed."  (1 Samuel 2:3)

Cross-reference for "the oppression of the poor" (v.5) -- "When He maketh inquisition for blood, He remembereth them; He forgetteth not the cry of the humble."

Cross-references for "now will I rise" (v.5) -- "Now will I rise, saith the LORD, now will I be exalted, now will I lift up Myself."  (Isaiah 33:10)

"Arise, O God, judge the earth; for Thou shalt inherit all nations."  (Psalm 82:8)

The LORD says He will arise "for the sighing of the needy."  Spurgeon wrote an entire sermon around this titled "The Power of a Sigh".  Here is just a paragraph or two from that sermon: "Note that as the Lord hears our sighs, those sighs touch His heart. The wicked have been puffing at the godly, they said, “Our tongues are our own, who is the ruler over us?” The Lord took no notice of them, but let them blaspheme if they would. But there arose the sad sigh of His children and that touched Him, He could not bear that. It seems to me a very wonderful thing that the Almighty, the Infinite, to whom the heaven of heavens is nothing, who takes up the isles as a very little thing, to whom all this system of worlds is but as the smallest grain of dust that does not turn the scale, yet is, as we say, “all there” when His children sigh, and His heart is touched, His heart is moved, His whole being is full of an infinite compassion."  Oh, did Spurgeon ever have a way with words!

Cross-reference for "safety" (v.5) -- "He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me." -- (Psalm 55:18)

Cross-references for "the words of the LORD" (v.6) -- "The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes."  (Psalm 19:8)

"As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proved; He is a shield to all those who trust in Him."  (Psalm 18:30)

"Thy word is very pure; therefore Thy servant loveth it."  (Psalm 119:40)

"Every word of God is pure; He is a shield unto those who put their trust in Him."  (Proverbs 30:5)

Warren Wiersbe breaks this psalm down into three sections which he labels "David's words" (v.1-2), "man's words" (v.3-5), and "God's words" (v. 6-7).

Concerning David's words, he writes: "In the previous psalm, David saw the foundations failing; in this one, the faithful were vanishing from the earth.  The godly remnant was getting smaller and smaller, and David was feeling very much alone.  No wonder he cried out, 'Help, Lord!'

Concerning man's words: "What made David conclude that godliness was on the decline?  The way people spoke.  David heard flattering words, proud words, and oppressive words, and he knew that God was displeased."

Concerning God's words: "God's Word is pure, proved, and preserved, and you can depend on it.  So much of what man says is cheap and temporary, but God's Word is like pure silver that is valuable and lasting."

A= When things seem to be falling apart around us, we can cry to the Lord for help.  Honestly the description of the ungodly fits our culture in today's world.  So much vain speech, so much rejection of God and His standards.  Sometimes the rhetoric is literally sickening.  

But we can trust God to deal with them -- and we are beginning to see that happening in our country today.  His word is true and trustworthy.  He will protect His people and will deal with the wicked.

P= "Lord, how I thank You that when things seem to be falling apart in our world, we can look to You and cry to You for help.  Even though the wicked proudly proclaim that their lips are their own as in this psalm, we know that this isn't true.  You see all, and all are accountable to You.  You will deal with them, and You will protect Your people.

"I praise You for the pure, tested truths of Your Word.  I praise You that it is completely trustworthy.  Help me to live by the standards of Your Word and to speak truth every day.  I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."

Reflection question: David lived in a generation full of deceivers and prideful people.  He contrasted their words with God's.  God's Word is pure.

As a believer, how can you be accountable to speak truth with every word that you say?

My response:  I can commit to taking God's instructions concerning our speech seriously:

🌲"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man."  (Colossians 4:6)

🌲 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers."  (Ephesians 4:29)

🌲 "Wherefore, putting away lying, let every man speak truth with his neighbor."  (Ephesians 4:25)

Warren Wiersbe asks, "In our 'age of communication', are you able to discern what is true and right?  When you speak, is it communication or manipulation? ... Let your words be controlled by the Word and God will make your words valuable."  His advice will definitely help me be accountable to speak truth with every word.

And there is our simple study of Psalm 12:1-7.  I hope it was a blessing to someone today!

TRUST -- my word for 2025

Lovely graphic from Abby at Little Birdie Blessings

Yes, "trust" is my word for 2025.  It seems like such a basic word, such a foundational word, part of Christian Living 101.  Yet it's indisputably the word that God impressed upon me for this year.

I knew, well before the end of 2024, that "trust" should be my word.  It has taken me this long to pull together my thoughts about it.  So ... 

Partway through 2024 I began to notice something rather disconcerting about myself.  I'm not sure if it had to do with aging or something else, but I noticed that I seemingly wanted to avoid situations that could potentially cause me discomfort or difficulty.  (I'm sure that's fairly normal for most of us!)  But I'm talking about avoidance to a greater degree, such as not wanting to do a certain thing, go to a certain event, or even seeking to manipulate circumstances in such a way that I wouldn't have to face whatever was concerning me.  I finally recognized this as a pattern ... and a problem.  

 

For Sunday School, the last few months we have been going through Jim Berg's series on Quieting a Noisy Soul.  And I recognized what I had been doing as a kind of self-protection.  Shielding myself from things that could hurt me.  Surely, that is not my job, but God's!

 

🌲 I went to my prayer journal and added "an unwavering trust in God" as the most important character quality I want to work on.

 

🌲 I then went to the section of my prayer journal where I keep my pages regarding character flaws and sin issues.   I first made a page titled "Lack of trust".  (With each of the pages in this section, I list out verses that will help me to see why the particular issue is a problem biblically, and also verses that will help me to move forward and do right.  Below is a scan of one of my pages:

 

 So the verses I listed out for my "lack of trust" page were as follows:

"And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You."  (Psalm 9:10)

"The fear of man bringeth a snare; but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe."  (Proverbs 29:25)

"The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knoweth those who trust in Him."  (Nahum 1:7)

"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light?  Let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."  (Isaiah 50:10)

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

"The LORD redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them who trust in Him shall be desolate."  (Psalm 34:22)

 

"Be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God ..." (1 Timothy 6:17)

 

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.  In God will I praise His Word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me."  (Psalm 56:3-4)

🌲 A note from the Scofield study Bible concerning "trust" reads: "Trust is the characteristic Old Testament word for the New Testament 'faith' and 'believe'.  It occurs 152 times in the Old Testament, and is the rendering of Hebrew words signifiying 'to take refuge' (Ruth 2:12); 'to lean on' ((Psalm 56:3); 'to roll on' (Psalm 22:8); 'to wait for' (Job 35:14)."

I thought it would be helpful to look at those Scripture references, so here they are:

* "The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust."  (Ruth 2:12 -- where trust signifies to take refuge)

* "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee."  (Psalm 56:3 -- where trust signifies to lean on) 

* "He trusted in the LORD that He would deliver Him: let Him deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him."  (Psalm 22:8 -- where trust signifies to roll on; He rolled Himself on Him)

"Although thou sayest thou shalt not see Him, yet judgment is before Him; therefore trust thou in Him."  (Job 35:14 -- where trust signifies to wait for)

🌲 For good measure, I made another character flaw/sin issue page for my prayer journal, this one titled "Tendency to want to manipulate circumstances."  I found this tendency in myself quite alarming, as I have never considered myself to be a manipulative person.  But in recent months I have noticed a desire or wish to manipulate circumstances or outcomes, as mentioned earlier.  Below, the verses I chose for this page:

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God."  (2 Corinthians 3:5)

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."  (Jeremiah 10:23)

"Man's goings are of the LORD: how can a man, then, understand his own way?"  (Proverbs 20:24)

"The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me; Thy mercy, O LORD, endureth forever; forsake not the works of Thine own hands."  (Psalm 138:8)

"Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in Him; and he shall bring it to pass."  (Psalm 37:5)

🌲 As I do whenever I settle on a word for the year, I will be making a Pinterest board for the word "trust" where I'll place all sorts of helps and good reads to help me in my application and following through. 

And that's it for my word this year!  I always want to emphasize that choosing a word for the year is completely optional and up to the individual.  It doesn't make one any more or less spiritual; for me, it's just another help to greater personal growth, something that works for me.

If you do choose a word, though, I would love to hear!