A Walk Through Psalm 103, Week 4

WEEK 4:

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 

(Psalm 103:14-18, ESV)

This week's study begins by reminding us who we are and how we were made.  Genesis 2:7 says, "then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature".  What a humbling reminder that we are mere dust and that we were nothing until He breathed life into us.  As my study bible says, "The Lord remembers the finiteness of the human perspective ("dust" is not eternal or omniscient), and he is patient with his people".

Verse 2 goes on to remind us how short our lives really are to the God who created all things and always was, always is, and always will be.  As winter approaches and the growing season is ending, the leaves are turning colors and will soon fall to the ground.  The grass will turn brown and the flowers will fade away, because they cannot last forever.  Every spring, new flowers and plants grow where last year's flowers and plants have died.

Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever."  While our lives are finite, our God is infinite.  For those who trust in the Lord and call upon His name, this brings great hope.  As Deuteronomy 7:9 says, "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations".  As I faithfully follow Him and serve Him, I will be passing on a legacy to my children to serve Him in their own lives.  God is faithful to bless generations to come when we love Him and keep His commandments today.

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I shared some more truths and encouragement today at my dear friend, Katie's blog.  Will you join me in praying for her sweet little Gabe?

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Today is the LAST day to enter my Hooked On You Review & Giveaway to win your choice of a hand crocheted hat or set of three Blossom Hair Clippies.  It ends at 2:00 pm (CST), so hurry up and enter before it's too late. 

A Walk Through Psalm 103, Week 3

 WEEK 3:

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. 
(Psalm 103:10-13 ESV)

The first verse of this week's study in Psalm 103 brings so much hope to me.  I am so glad He does not look at me and see my sins and judge me according to them.  Without His blood covering my sins, I am completely and totally guilty.  And, as Romans 3:23 (a verse I finally committed to memory) says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God".  But, this verse reminds me of the hope that comes a few chapters later in Romans 5:8 (another memory verse) - "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us".  Last night, we were studying Psalm 7 in our Wednesday night bible study.  My friend, Jeremy, pointed out that God feels each and every one of our sins every day.  If that's not convicting enough, he also reminded me that Christ knew each and every one of my sins well before I was born. 

Those were my nails

That was my crown

That pierced Your hands and Your brow

Those were my thorns

Those were my scorns

Those were my tears that fell down

And just as You said it would be

You did it all for me

After You counted the cost

You took my shame, my blame

On my cross

"On My Cross", FFH

Ezra 9:13 says it another way: "And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved...".  I love that phrase - less than our iniquities deserved - because I surely deserve death, as do each and every one of us, because we are all sinners.  But God shows us compassion and steadfast love to those who fear him.  The word fear used here means to revere, to stand in awe of, honour, respect.  How can we not stand in awe of a God who took each and every one of our sins, well before we were even born, and still loved us enough to die a death he didn't deserve...a death I deserved?

A Walk Through Psalm 103, Week 2

 WEEK 2:

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.  He made know His ways to Moses, His acts to the people of Israel.  The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  He will not always chide, nor will He keep His anger forever.  (Psalm 103:6-9)

Remember how I said last week that I was convicted of making time with Him a priority?  Well, time got the better of me again this week.  I am so thankful He still loves me despite all the times I mess up and that His mercies are new every morning.  So, this morning, I stopped myself before time got the better of me and spent time in His word.  One day down, a lifetime more to go!

In these next four verses, we are reminded of who God is - His faithfulness and His steadfast love for those He calls His own.  From these verses, we learn that God is...

• righteous and just
• makes Himself known to His people
• merciful
• gracious
• slow to anger
• abounding in steadfast love
• does not always chide
• will not keep His anger forever

I love that verse 6 says that His righteousness and justice are for ALL who are oppressed.  Most of this psalm is directed towards the people of Israel, but this verse gives hope for ALL those who are oppressed. Psalm 146:5, 7 say, "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God...who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free". 

The fact that He is slow to anger and will not keep His anger forever also give me great hope, because I am far from perfect.  He knows that and yet He still loves me.  He is more patient than any human could ever be.  Just thinking of Him hanging on that cross when He knew me and knew I was a sinner makes me stand in constant awe of who He is.  The more I learn about my Lord, the more I love Him...and the more I realize just how much I need Him.

Quick Update

I've been absent from my blog for the past few days, because we were gone for another bike race and I am still trying to recover from a long, busy weekend.  Plus, Almanzo is teething (again) and has been keeping me up a lot lately at night.  I am exhausted and hoping for a better night tonight.  I know I'm supposed to post my Walk Through Psalm 103 post today, but it will have to wait until I have more energy and more sleep. 

A Walk Through Psalm 103, Week 1

 WEEK 1:

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,  who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
(Psalm 103:1-5 ESV) 

"Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him" (Colossians 2:6).  Our Pastor shared this verse on Sunday evening and went through a cross reference of all the times in the New Testament that the word "walk" is used.  He pointed out how we have a choice to make - to walk with Him or without Him.  We can choose the worthy walk or the unworthy walk, the wise walk or the foolish walk.  And when you recieve Christ as your Savior, it doesn't end there.  Every day is a continuous choose to walk with Him. 

I was so convicted, because I really haven't been making my time with Him a priority, which is foolish, because I need Him and if I don't walk with Him I walk without Him.  Last night, our children went to bed earlier than usual, so Ted and I took advantage of the time alone to spend with Him, studying His word together and allowing Him to grow in our marriage.  It's been a long time since we've made that time and that makes me sad, because walking together with Him is so, so important. 

It is equally important for me to walk with Him each day, to make it a priority to spend time with Him each day.  I told Ted about my study of Psalm 103 and how I was going to commit to memorizing it.  He encouraged me to not stop with Psalm 103, but to continue hiding His word in my heart.  I didn't grow up memorizing verses, so it always amazes me when my husband pulls out a bible verse he committed to memory years ago.  I want to be able to do the same thing and to pass on the importance of bible memory to our children.  So, I am going to memorize Psalm 103 and I'm not going to stop there. 

As I worked on memorizing verses 1-5, I was first drawn to the phrase "and all that is within me".  It reminded me of the verses in Matthew 22 where Jesus says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment."  Jesus wants all of me, not just part of my day or certain areas of my life - everything.  Am I giving Him my everything every day? 

Psalm 103 continues to explain all the benefits of the Lord.  When I give Him all of me, He will bless me in so many ways.  First, He will forgive all my iniquity.  All my guilt and sin was washed away once and for all at the cross.  It never ceases to amaze me that He saved me...and I don't think it ever should cease to amaze me. 

Second, He heals me from all my diseases.  The notes in my study bible (ESV) for this verse say, "heals often refers to curing someone from a physical sickness, but it can also be used as a metaphor for restoring the moral and spiritual life...thus iniquity is like diseases, which weaken and corrupt; it is God's mercy that takes them away".  He has taken away my guilt and He has taken away the disease of my sin-sick soul and made me whole again.  My husband put it this way last night, "We are all dying. But He gave us a way to live." 

Third, He redeems my life from the pit.  The word redeem means "to redeem (by payment)".  He saved me through His blood from the pit of death.  "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth" (Job 19:25). 

Finally, He crowns me with steadfast love and mercy and satisfies me with good so my youth is renewed like the eagle's.  The KJV uses the word "lovingkindness" which means "goodness, kindness, faithfulness".  So, He surrounds me with goodness and kindness and faithfulness.  According to my ESV study notes, "the eagle is an emblem of strength, vitality, and youthful endurance.  These are just reminders that He is continually looking out for me and providing me with exactly what I need to walk this road with Him. 


I look forward to learning more about these verses as I commit them to memory and share this journey with you.  Join me next week Tuesday for a look at verses 6-9.

Also, don't forget to check out my Teething Bling Review & Giveaway and enter to win your own Teething Bling before Friday, September 10th at NOON (CST). 

A Walk Through Psalm 103

As the hustle and bustle of another school year begins, I am challenging myself to commit to hiding His word in my heart this year and being faithful each day to make time for Him before anything else.  I know I am not perfect and there will be days I fail, but I am thankful that His mercies are new every morning.  For a few weeks, He has brought Psalm 103 to my attention and I have read it over and over meditating on the truths and listening for His still small voice to teach me His ways and grow in my heart.  

I want to hide these truths in my heart and want to share this journey with you.  So, I've decided to do a little mini-series of A Walk Through Psalm 103.  I will begin next week Tuesday and post once a week what God has spoken to my heart about these verses.  If you would like to join me, email me for the code to this banner and join in each week to share how He is hiding these truths in your heart.  I look forward to sharing this journey with you and watching Him growing in our hearts and changing us into the women of faith He desires us to be. 

Psalm 103 (ESV)

WEEK 1 (Tuesday, September 7th):

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,  who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

(verses 1-5)

WEEK 2 (Tuesday, September 14th):

The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.  

He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 

The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 

(verses 6-9)

WEEK 3 (Tuesday, September 21st):

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 

As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.  

(verses 10-13)

WEEK 4 (Tuesday, September 28th):

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field;  

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 

(verses 14-18)

WEEK 5 (Tuesday, October 5th):

The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.  

Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 

Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will!  

Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul! 

(verses 19-22)