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| | Psalm
34:15-16
The
following is a Bible study posted on our Bible Study Group.
Happy Thursday, everyone! Can you believe
another week has already flown by? :-)
I've been busy writing this week, as well as babysitting two little boys (plus
my own four children). It's been wild! Anyway, I'm working on a new
book to help parents prepare their children (ages 0-5) for school. I'm
having a lot of fun, and it's almost done!
Today I was doing heavy research into various learning styles and methods of
teaching that help children retain information. When babies are born, they
naturally learn by touch (tactile) -- everything goes in their mouths. As
they begin to move voluntarily, they start learning by movement
(kinesthetic). As they learn to speak, they begin to learn by what they
hear (auditory), as you'll notice when they learn to follow directions or mimic
sounds they hear. The last way they learn is through sight (visual), which
usually begins about the time they begin to read.
Of course, none of these learning styles are necessarily "biblical" in
and of themselves. However, I thought it was interesting to see how God
"learns" about me and the circumstances I'm caught in.
Our verses today are Psalm 34:15-16:
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those
who do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them
from the earth. (NKJV)
Notice that the LORD's eyes are upon us. Many people don't learn well by
visual methods, yet God's eyes don't miss a thing. He sees all.
Nothing can escape His notice. This is such a comfort, especially when
others seem blind to our problems. Have you ever had a backache, and it
was all you could do to stand up straight? People might brush up against
you, give you a big bear hug or smack you on the back, totally oblivious to the
pain they're causing. Yet God sees our needs, our pain, our hurts, our
secret tears and our brave attempts to smile when we don't feel like it.
Notice that the LORD's ears are open to our cries. My dear husband is a
big, burly guy who really doesn't have much use for my feminine way of changing
moods three times in one day. If I cry, his typical reaction is to hand me
a tissue and tell me to trust God. (Of course, I know that's what I SHOULD
do, but I usually remember better AFTER a big cry!) Poor guy -- now he
also has two daughters who seem as quick to burst into howling tears as their
mother. As much as I love my husband, it is a special comfort to know that
God hears my cries. No, His ears are *open* to my cries. He welcomes
the sound of my helplessness, because He knows that only He can offer true
comfort and solutions to my woes. And He loves to comfort me.
However, notice that the face of the LORD is against those who do evil. It
is as if He turns His back to their problems and refuses to take notice. What a
chilling thought! Unlike a small baby who welcomes touch and love, God's
face is set like a flint against those who have forsaken Him. So the
wicked are left to find their own way through life, without God's touch and
without His blessing.
Yet God goes further! In a swift move of action, His sword cuts off even
the remembrance of evil doers from the earth. How agonizing! No one
wants to be forgotten, unseen, passed over -- like the people who built the
tower of Babel, seeking to make themselves famous and avoid obedience to
God. We don't even know their names! Rather, we hope to accomplish
something of eternal importance and to leave a godly mark on future
generations.
So we have before us a choice. We can be righteous and humble, willing to
cry out to the Lord in our need. (My father reminded me this week that
repentance means we recognize wrong in ourselves and change to do right.) Or we
can choose to do evil and attempt to make a name for ourselves.
Our choice determines God's response to us. I certainly know what I'd
prefer, don't you?
If you would
like to participate in our current study, click
here to join.
Next - Psalm
34:17-18
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