Verse of the Day 5/8

Psalm 119:151-152 But you are near, O Lord,

    and all your commandments are true.
¹⁵² Long have I known from your testimonies
    that you have founded them forever.  English Standard Version (ESV)

Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there.  May we as your children stand in awe and appreciate all that you do.

As we stand in awe of our moms, the writers of the Psalms, the prophets, kings, disciples and others through the Bible stand in awe  of  God.  They realized that His Word, His promises were true and that they would endure.  We stand on the promises of His written word, without them we could not stand.  The author of this psalm did not have the privilege of knowing the New Testament as we do.  We have even more to be in awe of and be thankful  for.  What immediately comes to mind is John 3:16:

John 3:16English Standard Version (ESV) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

This verse has been the foundation at the core of our faith.  It may be the first verse that we memorized or that lead us to faith in Christ.  Pastor and  author A.W. Tozer stood in awe of this verse and wrote: "I approach it as one who is filled with great fear and yet great fascination. I take off my shoes, my heart shoes, at least, as I come to this declaration that God so loved the world. Christ the Eternal Son, 85-86.

"Lord, I take off my 'heart shoes' this morning as well as I contemplate this awesome thought. I bow before You in fear and fascination before this text—but also just at the incredible task and privilege of preaching and teaching any portion of Your inspired Word. Amen."

Isn't that how we should approach God's Word, as holy, and worthy of respect and honor?  We may ask the Lord to "open the eyes of my heart", but to truly do so we should first "take off the shoes" of my heart to realize that "all of His commandments are true" and that He has  "founded them forever".

I call out at the top of my lungs,
    "God! Answer! I'll do whatever you say." Psalm 119:45 The Message

  --   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 119:151-152The Message (MSG)

^145-152 I call out at the top of my lungs,
    "God! Answer! I'll do whatever you say."
I called to you, "Save me
    so I can carry out all your instructions."
I was up before sunrise,
    crying for help, hoping for a word from you.
I stayed awake all night,
    prayerfully pondering your promise.
In your love, listen to me;
    in your justice, God, keep me alive.
As those out to get me come closer and closer,
    they go farther and farther from the truth you reveal;
But you're the closest of all to me, God,
    and all your judgments true.
I've known all along from the evidence of your words
    that you meant them to last forever.