Bible League: Living His Word The LORD is my strength and shield. I trusted him with all my heart. He helped me, so I am happy. I sing songs of praise to him.— Psalm 28:7 ERV It’s not me that is my strength. It’s not my friends or family. It’s not the government or any other human institution. It’s the Lord—the Lord is my strength. When all has been said and done, it’s the Lord that gives me the strength I need to do what I have to do. It’s a good thing too, because I need more than natural, everyday strength. I need supernatural strength, the kind that can’t be explained, the kind that fills people with wonder. A shield is every bit as important too. The Lord is my shield as well. As I go about my daily routine, as I flow in the strength of the Lord, I need His protection every moment. The world is a dangerous place. There are enemies everywhere. Attacks can come from anywhere. Without the protection of the Lord, I am vulnerable to all of them. Without His shield, fear and anxiety would plague my life. With the Lord, on the other hand, I am happy and at peace. Now you can understand why I turned to the Lord when I was in trouble. I needed strength. I needed a shield. That’s why I turned to Him first. So, I trusted Him with all my heart; I came to Him with my request, and He heard my cry and quieted my soul. He gave me the peace that goes beyond all human understanding (Philippians 4:7). It’s the kind of peace that can only come from trust in the Lord. It may not make any sense to those who are not familiar with it, but for those who are familiar, it’s the only kind that really matters. My turning to the Lord was not in vain. He helped me, like He always does. The Lord didn’t leave me to my own devices. He helped me with strength and protection. He helped me once again to make it through what I had to go through. Can you blame me for being happy? Will you find fault with me for singing a song? I’m so happy that my heart is filled with songs to the Lord! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 1, 2, 3 Job 1 -- Job's Holiness; Satan's First Test: Loss of His Children and Goods NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 2 -- Job's Second Test: Job Loses His Health NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 3 -- Job's Lament NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 7:1-19 Acts 7 -- Stephen's Speech, Stoning and Death NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition.”Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” Insight Jesus wasn't against all tradition, but he was against those who made their traditions as important, if not more important, than God's Word. Good traditions shine a spotlight on God's Word, move us to obedient service, and help our hearts sing. They explain and reinforce the teachings of God. God's Word should always be the focus, and tradition a means of bringing that Word alive. Challenge Celebrate your traditions with the prayer that Christ would be exalted. Change your traditions if they become more important than God's Word. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Luke 11:27, 28 A certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.It is fondly imagined by some that it must have involved very special privileges to have been the mother of our Lord, because they supposed that she had the benefit of looking into his very heart in a way in which we cannot hope to do. There may be an appearance of plausibility in the supposition, but not much. We do not know that Mary knew more than others; what she did know she did well to lay up in her heart; but she does not appear from anything we read in the Evangelists to have been a better-instructed believer than any other of Christ's disciples. All that she knew we also may discover. Do you wonder that we should say so? Here is a text to prove it: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant." Remember the Master's words--"Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." So blessedly does this Divine Revealer of secrets tell us his heart, that he keepeth back nothing which is profitable to us; his own assurance is, "If it were not so, I would have told you." Doth he not this day manifest himself unto us as he doth not unto the world? It is even so; and therefore we will not ignorantly cry out, "Blessed is the womb that bare thee," but we will intelligently bless God that, having heard the Word and kept it, we have first of all as true a communion with the Saviour as the Virgin had, and in the second place as true an acquaintance with the secrets of his heart as she can be supposed to have obtained. Happy soul to be thus privileged! Daily Light on the Daily Path Numbers 10:33 Thus they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD journeying in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them.Psalm 31:15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Psalm 47:4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah. Psalm 5:8 O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me. Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. Psalm 23:1,2 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. • He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 103:13,14 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. • For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Matthew 6:32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. 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