OUR DAILY BREAD : UNTENDED PLACES

[cimi]

September 10
Thursday


UNTENDED
PLACES

READ:
Psalm 119:9-16
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Your Word I have
hidden in my heart,
that I might not sin
against You.
__Psalm 119:11
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Our family had just arrived at the lake cottage we had rented for a week of much-anticipated vacation when my wife discovered the unmistakable evidence of spiders and mice in the house. It wasn't that we had never encountered such things, but that we had expected the cottage to be cleaned and prepared for our stay there. Instead, the counters, cabinets, and beds were littered with the residue of infestation, requiring much cleaning before we settled in. It wasn't a bad house; it had just been left untended.

We might be guilty of dealing with our hearts the way that cottage was managed. Our "untended places" can become breeding grounds for infestations of wrong thinking, poor attitudes, or sinful behavior--creating problems that require significant attention to correct. The wise path is to recognize our need to tend our hearts by staying in God's Word and embracing its truths.

In Psalm 119:11, King David recognized the danger of not building our lives on the Scriptures. he said, "Your Word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

With a focus on the word, we can build strong spiritual lives that will help us avoid the dangers that inevitably grow in unintended places. __Bill crowder
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`````````````````````Give, me, O Lord, a strong desire````````````
`````````````````````To look within You Word each day;```````````
``````````````````````Help me to hide it in my heart,``````````````
````````````Lest from its truth my feet would stray. __Branon````````
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To grow spiritually strong, read the Word.

************Today's Bible Reading __ Psalm 119:9-16*************

9 How can a young man
cleanse his way? By taking
heed according to Your
Word. 10 With my whole
heart I have sought You; oh,
let me not wander from
Your commandments!

11 Your Word I have hidden
in my heart, that I might not
sin against You. 12 Blessed
are You, O LORD! Teach me
Your statutes. 13 With my
lips I have declared all the
judgments of Your mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way
of Your testimonies, as
much as in all riches. 15 I
will meditate on Your
precepts, and contemplate
Your ways. 16 I will delight
myself in Your statutes; I
will not forget Your Word.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Spurgeon aptly commented on Psalm 119: "Using only a few words,
the writer has produced... combinations of meaning which display
his holy familiarity with his subject, and the sanctified ingenuity of
his mind. He never repeats himself; for if the same sentiment recurs
it is placed in a fresh connection, and so exhibits another interesting
shade of meaning. The more one studies it the fresher it becomes..
..It contains no idle word.... The more you look into this mirror
of a gracious heart the more you will se in it.... Again and again
have we cried while studying it, 'Oh the depths!'" __BILL CROWDER