Text:

"9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. 10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, Lord; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 ‭I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.”
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Lexicon:
vs. 9 - living - "to keep, to watch, to guard, to hedge about as with thorns, to protect, to take heed, to save, to attend, to keep safe, to preserve"

vs. 10 - seek - "to tread or frequent; to worship; to seek out; to rub, beat, tread or trample with the feet; to inquire; to ask for"

vs. 10 - stray - "to wander, to go astray, to commit a sin of ignorance or inadvertence"

vs. 11 - hidden - "to hoard, to reserve, to protect, to guard, to store up, to treasure"

vs. 12 - teach - "to goad (something that encourages, urges or drives; a stimulus), to chastise, to discipline, to train, to train for war"

vs. 13 - with my lips - "to begin to talk, to open the lips, speech"

vs. 13 - recount - "to score with a mark as a tally or record, to celebrate or tell with praise, to scribe, to speak or to utter words, to inscribe, to number, to rehearse"

vs. 13 - from your mouth - "commandment"

vs. 15 - meditate - "to produce, to bring forth, to speak, to sing, to talk with oneself aloud, to ponder, to declare to muse, to pray"

vs. 15 - consider - "to look intently; to regard; to have respect; to regard with pleasure, favor or care"

vs. 16 - delight - "to be caressed, to stroke, to overspread or smear, to look upon"

vs. 16 - neglect - "to mislay, to be oblivious from want of memory or attention, to forget, to leave something"

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What does this reveal about God's character?

God is gracious in that He has given us His Word to live by, that we might not sin against Him.  Rather than letting us fail and figure things out on our own, He gave us an instruction manual for life and righteous living. He knows that if we cling to Him and obey His Word, then things will go well for us (Deuteronomy 12:28) and we will experience true joy and peace in this life (Psalms 1:1-2).  This doesn't promise a perfect, problem-free life, but a life full of the hope of Jesus Christ.

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Questions:

1) Am I on the path of purity or have I taken a few wrong turns along the way?  If you've fallen along the journey, it's not too late.  Pick yourself back up again and wholly commit yourself to Jesus.  He will not fail you or let you go.  He will give you firm footing to withstand whatever may come (Psalms 18:33).

2) Have I hidden God's Word in my heart that I may dwell on His precepts continually?

3) Am I daily in God's Word?

4) Do I have a teachable spirit?  Moreover, do I allow God to mold my heart to be more like His?  Or do I resist and become stubborn and set in my false ways and thinking?

5) Am I memorizing Scripture so that I can quickly bring forth His precepts to my mind?

6) Have I forgotten to take my delight in the Lord through reading and studying His Word?  

7) Have I neglected my calling to go into all the world and tell others of Jesus (Mark 16:15)?

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Prayer:

Father, thank you for your Word.  Thank you for not leaving us to fend for ourselves, but giving us a guide with which to navigate this life.  Lord, let me place such a high value on your Word and precepts that everything else fades in comparison.  Give me an unquenchable desire to seek you and to know you.  Help me to want to want to know and read your Word.  I ask for wisdom and understanding as I meditate on Scripture (Luke 24:45). Lord, give me the ability to memorize your Scripture and quickly recall it when needed.  Let your Word infiltrate my heart, my mind and my whole being, that I may be fueled with the power of the Holy Spirit to minister to and witness to those around me who need you too.  And, Lord, please help me to never neglect or forget you or your Word.  Plant it firmly in my heart and mind.  Thank you, Lord, for your goodness, your mercy and your grace.  In Jesus' name, Amen!

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