Part 1 of What It Means to DATE the Word
My Christian journey really began to take root at the kitchen table of Bill and Bernie Crawford. Sitting at their kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a piece of homemade cake Bill told me to turn in my Bible to Psalm 1. After finding it he told me to read the following 6 verses.
Psalm 1:1-6 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Bill then told me to memorize the six verses and be ready to demonstrate that I had when we would meet the following Sunday night. He proceeded to tell me of the value of Psalm 1. He said it was a foundational chapter and that by learning it and living it I would have a successful life. That night I began a journey with Psalm 1 as the cornerstone of my Christian life. I can tell you that Bill was right when he said that learning and living out the principles taught would bring about a successful life. Forty plus years now I have sought to avoid learning the ways of the wicked while seeking to learn God’s Word with a mindset of learning and applying.
As we look at what it takes to DATE the Word, Psalm 1:2 becomes a foundational verse for it calls for a decision to be made regarding our attitude toward God’s Word. Psalm 1:2 says, “But his (the blessed man of v. 1) delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
It is almost natural to focus our attention on the word “meditates” as that is the action with the Word. However, I would point out that the attitude of DELIGHT is the driving force behind taking the action. As we make the internal decision to delight in the Word we find ourselves WANTING or DESIRING the Word. What I delight in is what I then desire!
It is worth looking at other verses that speak of one delighting in God’s Word.
Psalms 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments.
The following verses speak of the decision to delight.
Psalms 119:16 I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.
Psalms 119:24 Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors.
Psalms 119:35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, For I delight in it.
Psalms 119:47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love.
Psalms 119:70 Their heart is as fat as grease, But I delight in Your law.
Psalms 119:77 Let Your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; For Your law is my delight.
Psalms 119:143 Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, Yet Your commandments are my delights.
Psalms 119:174 I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight.
It is interesting that as one delights in the Word the more delightful the Word becomes. For instance, in Jeremiah 15:16 Jeremiah says Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and my heart’s delight, for I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.
As we decide to delight in the Word we will grow in our desire for the Word. In Psalm 19 we find a discussion going on about what the Word of God provides. In verse 8 and 9 we read of the advantages of God’s word as “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.”
Knowing the advantages of the Word we read of a decision to desire Gods’ Word. Psalms 19:10-11 says, “More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.”
Because God’s Word is my delight it leads me to desire it and to desire it more than treasure and more than pleasure.
When we think of the value outcomes of delighting in God’s Word we look at Psalm 119:92.
Psalms 119:92 says, “Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction.”
*The Scriptures sustains the saint during periods of suffering!!
Now comes the decision time. To DATE the Word is to get to know the Word and in doing so it impacts, yes, transforms your life, and in knowing God’s Word you can let others know who God is and what He has done for them. It begins with a decision. To Date the Word is to decide to DELIGHTS in the Word.
The daily devotional for January 2 (1/2) would be helpful:
Verse to DATE the Word on January 2 (1/2) is Psalm 1:2. It says, “But the blessed person’s delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
Psalm 1 is one of the FOUNDATIONAL chapters of the Bible for how to live life! It is one of the first chapters I recommend being memorized. One of the main reasons for learning this Psalm is that verse 1 starts with the word BLESSED as this Psalm tells what one is to be doing to be blessed by God. After the word BLESSED, we find there are two actions that a person needs to do in order to be BLESSED. There will be a NOT action and a DO ACTION.
With the NOT ACTION we do NOT associate with people who will influence us AWAY from God and INTO sinful living. Verse 1 says, Blessed is the person who walks NOT in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners nor sits in the seat of the scorner. I draw the principle from verse 1 that one TAKES PRECAUTION in ASSOCIATING WITH THE WICKED!
To be blessed you need to TAKE PRECAUTION IN ASSOCIATING WITH THE WICKED!
While we have a NOT action in verse 1 we have a DO action in verse 2 as it tells us the blessed man’s delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” The principle I draw here is one TAKES PLEASURE in MEDITATING ON THE WORD!
To be blessed you need to TAKE PLEASURE IN MEDITATING ON THE WORD!
One way of looking at Psalm 1:1-2 is:
in v 1 the WORLD influences the person.
in v 2 the WORD influences the person.
To be BLESSED, a person will NOT just REJECT what the world says but will REMOVE the WORLD’S influencers from their lives. You should be asking WHO and WHAT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED from your life as we begin a New Year.
To be BLESSED means that you BRING the influence of the WORD into your life by DELIGHTING in DISCOVERING what God’s Word says and DOING what it says. It will be in the DOING that God’s blessing begins to FLOW and one will begin to be fruitful and flourish!
By the way – to BRING the influence of God’s Word into your life means you will be READING IT, HEARING IT, MEMORIZING IT, STUDYING IT, and MEDITATING on it. (Meditation means to chew the cud as a cow does with her food.)
I so want you to know the blessings of God. Make the decision to daily be INFLUENCED by the WORD.
Verse to DATE the Word on January 2 (1/2) is Psalm 1:2. It says, “But the blessed person’s delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.”
Continue Strong filling your heart and mind with the WORD OF GOD
And remember to DATE THE WORD
An Article written by our founder Dwayne Carson
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