Psalm 119: Part 5 — A ‘Time With God’ Audio Devotion

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Transcript

Good morning. Great to start the day with you once again. The best way spending time with God.

What a miracle it is that the God of this universe, the supreme being – He wants to spend personal time with you today.

It’s not that his time is rushed and he doesn’t have time. No, he’s timeless. He lives in eternity outside of time, but the fact that he wants to pay attention to you, that he cares about the issues of your life today.

That’s grace.

That’s God.

How foolish though if we ignore the fact that God wants to spend time with us today.

We’re looking at Psalm 119 this week.

Today we look at verses 33 to 40. The psalmist says:

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Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.

Give me understanding, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.

You see, the psalmist’s commitment, and this is the way God wants us to come to Him.

Not just to say, Lord, teach me something interesting so I can say I enjoyed my quiet time. I want to get something out of the Word. No, but here’s the commitment, Lord. If you teach me something, I’m going to observe it to the end. I want to observe your law and keep it with all my heart.

Man, when you come to God like that with your heart already committed to responding and honouring and obeying what God reveals to you, that’s when God unfolds the scriptures to you and lets you see what His message to you is in the passage you’re reading.

He goes on…

Make me walk in the path of your commandments, for I delight in it. Incline my heart to your testimonies and not to dishonest gain.

Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity. And revive me in your ways.

Isn’t this so much the message of Scripture? Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, from looking at what’s useless, at what’s just a waste, and revive me in your ways, the things that are really important. You remember Paul saying in 2 Corinthians 4:18.

We look not at the things which are seen but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

That’s what we should be focusing on in our lives, not the things that are useless. Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, from just focusing on – the possessions that I want or the pay rise that I want or the advancement that I want. Turn away my eyes from looking at pornography or things that turn my heart away from you, God.

Get, get my focus on the things that really matter to you. That’s when my life makes a difference. That’s when my spirit gets revived.

He goes on to say, establish your Word to your servant as that which produces reverence for you.

Have you ever noticed that when your heart starts to get a bit cold and you’re not really that concerned about spiritual things, you’re not even upset if you miss your time with the people of God in church, those things aren’t bugging you, that it’s usually also the time when you’re not spending time in God’s Word.

Time in God’s word gives you reverence for God, helps you see things that really matter.

He finishes off:

Turn away my reproach which I dread, for your ordinances are good. Behold, I long for your precepts. Revive me through your righteousness.

I’m John North.

To go deeper in your faith, visit AFCI.com.au.

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