Daryl Pint – Page 235

Number my Days

“Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.”

“making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Psalms 39:4 “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!

Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Job 28:28 And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Proverbs 2:2 making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 3:13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

Proverbs 4:5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 4:7 The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.

Proverbs 7:1 My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend,

Proverbs 8:32 “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways. Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it. Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

How are we to gain this understanding and wisdom? It comes from choosing it, applying it, seeking it, listening for it, holding firmly to it, and making the best use of our time. Note David asking got to show how fleeting his time on earth is. And again he asks God to teach us to number our days. Why? Because life teaches us (the older we get) that life is short and we find our path is much better, our lives more fuller, and our purpose more clear when we choose to stay close to God. When we seek more than anything else to humbly serve, honor and obey Him. Keep these scriptures close and review them often.

Guard My Mouth

“May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

Psalms 39:1 I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Psalms 119:9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

1 Kings 2:4 that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’

2 Kings 10:31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

Proverbs 4:26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.

Proverbs 21:23 Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Psalms 73:8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.

Psalms 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

James 1:26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

I am not sure about you but many of these verses speak to my heart. Read them again and again. May God’s quiet voice speak to our heart and mind keeping us from speaking that which does not honor or glorify Him at all times.

Sin

“I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

“Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”

Psalms 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Job 31:33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Psalms 38:15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

2 Corinthians 7:7 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

There is nothing like having done something wrong to a person and being forgiven. How much more so with the Creator of all heaven and earth. We can sin knowingly and unknowingly. Knowingly when we hear God’s quiet small voice speaking to our heart and mind and we deny it, or even worse we choose to close our heart and mind to His voice and leading. Knowingly, when we choose not to stay in His word and unknowingly when that word of warning, direction, or command is not planted in our heart and mind. Choosing to neglect His word does not give us, by any means, an excuse. Set time apart each day to read His word, listen to His quiet small voice, and humbly serve, honor and obey.

Momentary affliction

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,”

Psalms 38:1 O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath! For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has come down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness, I am utterly bowed down and prostrate; all the day I go about mourning. For my sides are filled with burning, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart. O Lord, all my longing is before you; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart throbs; my strength fails me, and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me. My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my nearest kin stand far off.

Hebrews 12:5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Proverbs 15:10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.

We do not have to walk long on this path with God to experience His hand in our life. Blessings, one after another. I wonder if we count His discipline as a blessing. We should but sometimes we have wondered away and He loves us so much that He disciplines us to get us back on path. Staying close to God is always a blessing. What is it that is pulling you away from this closeness?

Stronghold in time of Trouble

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalms 37:39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble. The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.

Psalms 3:8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; your blessing be on your people!

Romans 10:13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

Jonah 2:9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay. Salvation belongs to the LORD!”

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

2 Timothy 4:17 But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

Colossians 1:11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;

2 Corinthians 1:9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again

Isaiah 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.

Psalms 9:9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

How many times do we face trouble and fall into the trap of worry, fret, impatience, and unrest? It is easy isn’t it. God can be our refuge, strength, hope, joy, peace, rest and power if we but go to Him and leave it in His all powerful hands. I recently faced a couple of issues that were eating at me and for over two weeks I kept them to myself and did not leave them or even take them to my heavenly Father. Those two weeks were filled with anxiousness, worry, and with out hope yet my first inclination was to try to handle this myself. Every attempt failed and fueled the worry and anxiousness. Then laying on my pillow I asked for His help. Amazing both of these issues came with resolution. I should not be amazed though should I. God is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. I should not look with amazement but rather with trust and know without doubt that God is sovereign and in control and will handle this in His time with His purpose.

Earnest Counsel

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”

Psalms 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

Deuteronomy 6:7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.

Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Proverbs 27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Matthew 12:35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

Proverbs 4:3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.

Deuteronomy 11:18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Isaiah 51:7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their rivilings.

God has written His laws/commands into our minds and on our hearts. There are four reasons for this. 1. So that we will know Him. 2. So that we can teach them to our children. 3. So they can be used as encouragement / counsel to others. 4. So that we will know how to serve, honor and obey Him. He has also given us His Holy word filled with many promises and warnings. We would do well to spend time in His word being able to use it for building our faith and encouraging /counseling others.

Giving to the Poor

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,”

“give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Psalms 37:26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

Psalms 37:21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;

Psalms 112:5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.

Psalms 112:9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever;

Deuteronomy 15:8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin. You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.

Job 31:16 “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired, or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail, or have eaten my morsel alone, and the fatherless has not eaten of it (for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father, and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow), if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, or the needy without covering, if his body has not blessed me, and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,.

Matthew 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Proverbs 20:7 The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!

Proverbs 24:33 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.

Giving is a heart choice and decision. Giving has two aspects one is obedience and the other is true generosity. In obedience to God and for His glory and honor we give to those in need. God opens our eyes to see those around us and puts us on paths for generosity/compassion/mercy to be lived out. When God shows you a need are you obedient? Do you start your day with the choice to hear His voice concerning those in need? Too many times we are thinking too much about ours selves. When we dwell on self our heart and ears are closed to God in this matter. Everything we have has been given to us by God for His purpose not ours. It is well for us to examine our heart and intents with all that God has given us. Teach yourself to give, give freely, and be a vessel that honors and glorifies God through generousity.

Consider your ways!

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.”

“Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure”.

“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is”

“My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside. I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.”

“but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Psalms 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

Psalms 17:5 My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

Psalms 85:13 Righteousness will go before him and make his footsteps a way.

Psalms 119:133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Psalms 121:3 He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Psalms 121:8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

1 Samuel 2:9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.

Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.

Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

Ephesians 5:15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise

I have been thinking about resting in God. Relying on Him. Waiting on Him. Trusting in Him. I wonder what this looks like lived out. Does resting mean we are not constantly searching to know and understand Him more? I think we have a tendency to become complacent and we stop at “resting”. Notice scripture today in pondering our path and God’s leading. Can we know this if we are complacently resting? Our purpose in this life is to humbly serve, honor, glorify, and obey God. To do this we need to continually spend time in His word with a heart deep desire. Spend time in His word.

Fret Not

“He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.”

Psalms 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

Psalms 37:35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.

Psalms 55:23 But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.

Job 20:27 The heavens will reveal his iniquity, and the earth will rise up against him. The possessions of his house will be carried away, dragged off in the day of God’s wrath. This is the wicked man’s portion from God, the heritage decreed for him by God.”

Job 27: 19 He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more; he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone. Terrors overtake him like a flood; in the night a whirlwind carries him off. The east wind lifts him up and he is gone; it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls at him without pity; he flees from its power in headlong flight

Isaiah 58:14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Psalms 25:13 His soul shall abide in well-being, and his offspring shall inherit the land.

Isaiah 60:21 Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

Revelation 5:10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”

I found this commentary and and thought it so appropriate for these verses today: This is a psalm, grappling with the problem of the inequality of human life and the apparent failure of God to reward His servants and punish His enemies as they deserve. Life and immortality, where we know that the balance will be readjusted, had not then been brought to light, and therefore the solution was far harder before the advent of our Lord than for us.

But though the psalmist’s solution is therefore not complete, his teaching of the blessedness of absolute trust in God’s providence is very delightful. Fret not thyself; that is, do not give way to passionate resentment or bitter disappointment. Live in God; find your delight in contemplating His nature and His works; roll on Him the decision of your life-choices; trust in Him to supply all your need and work in your behalf. Be silent and rest

Precious Promises

” by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

“I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.“

Psalms 36:5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Job 37:23 The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

1 Peter 2:6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

Psalms 139:17 ,

2Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Hebrews 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Great and precious promises have been given to us to escape the corruption of the world. What promises are coming to mind? David recorded it this way, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”. David found value in thinking about God, His thoughts and promises. He called them precious. Something very dear to his heart. He found comfort, refuge, strength, hope, peace, faith, love, joy, mercy…… and more staying close to God. His daily purpose was to know and serve God deeper and fuller each day. He had a heart desire to seek God in both times of trials and in times of blessings. We would do well to reflect each day on God, His promises, and how we to would know and serve Him fuller. Spend time in His word. Seek to know Him. Desire to serve Him.