This week, as a community, we’d like to pause between plans and refresh the way rhythms we use to read God’s Word. Join us as we dig into some familiar (or not so familiar) pieces of scripture and seek our Father together by reading and processing this truth.
Today’s passage is Psalm 1
First, let’s pray. Ask the Lord to open your heart and your mind and to help you focus on Him. Confess the things that might be keeping you from really truly experiencing His presence and submit your time to His will.
Second, let’s read Truth! Take your time and see what catches your attention. Make notes of what impresses you and moves you. Try to see the whole picture of what the passage is conveying. What does it say about God?
Next, reflect on what He’s saying. What does this passage mean for you and for the body of Christ? Is there anything you feel like He is personally communicating to you for your exact season, situation, or circumstance?
Lastly, let’s respond. Prayerfully and humbly, see what’s next. What do you need to do in light of what you’ve read? How will it affect your day, your life, and your walk with the Lord?
And as always, feel free to share with us in the comments below!
It is our joy to read Truth with you all.
Dear Lord, my prayer is that I don’t want to be dead (lost) in the world but dead (in Christ) to the world! In Jesus’ name, amen.
Hi everyone! My name is Michelle and I am new to She Reads Truth. I just started with this Rhythms of the Word study, and this is my fist time to comment.
I've really loved the theme throughout these passages of growing roots into God and his Word. I feel so week but my prayer is that God, through his love and power, will draw me close to him.
Today I was encouraged by the promise God gives us that he will watch over the path of the godly. I have been declared godly by Christ's death on the cross so I can rest knowing that God will never leave me or forsake me. God is so good.
Welcome Michelle G! May you find this community to be a blessing, as I and countless others have! Blessings to you and all our SRT sisters today! :)
So glad you are here, Michelle! This community of women is simply wonderful. This week’s scripture verses are a little different than our usual reading plans as there are no devotions included with the scripture. The devotions written by the SRT team are excellent! Hope you’ll join in Monday with the new reading plan Women in the Bible. Take care & God bless!
First of all, Happy Independence Day to all my She Reads Truth sisters! Now to the meat of the today's text…
We have basically two options in this life: follow the will of God and live righteously or live a purposeless life and perish. When we obey God, we are blessed and bear good fruit. Be silly with me for a moment and imagine Jesus at the grocery store shopping for produce. He goes to pick up an apple, observes it to make sure it's good. Some He puts back while others He puts in His shopping cart. I don't know about you but I want to be the apple in the shopping cart instead of the apple that perished. I want Him to PICK me and approve me for my obedience.
We must meditate on His word everyday! The moment we slip away, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to the enemy. The more knowledge we have in our camp, the more we can use it to guide in our daily decisions. The Lord's word nourishes us. We must only surround ourselves with people who will help us grow in Him instead of stunting our development.
Verse 4 talks about chaff and I had no clue what that was soIi looked it up! Chaff: the outer shell that must be removed to get at the valuable kernels of a grain inside. It's symbolic of a faithless life that drifts without direction. We must be like the grain… Strong and healthy!
When find yourself at the fork in the road, choose the faithful and righteous path!
Hey ladies! Happy fourth of July to all of my American SRT sisters! I wanted to share (I know, a LOT, as usual) about my morning and how relevant and faithful God is. (Please forgive the length of this message! I hope it is helpful.)
I woke up this morning with a horrible, chaotic dream stuck in the back of my head. It was about seeing my ex and his new girlfriend being together- I was always just a bit away, looking in at their relationship. When I was not pleasing the Lord or wanting to seek His face, a dream like this would've taken hold of every emotion and thought, and I would've (a) acted out irrationally (b) been horrible to everyone I'm interacting with and (c) tried to interpret the dream through friends or myself, as if it was the utmost importance. But I am not of this world anymore! I want to seek Christ's face and fall in love with him more than anything else. So I woke up, stopped my thoughts and feelings in their tracks, and prayed to God that I was weak and in need of his presence. I chose to open up His word and get His perspective on everything. I read Matthew 16:21-28:
21-22 Then Jesus made it clear to his disciples that it was now necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, submit to an ordeal of suffering at the hands of the religious leaders, be killed, and then on the third day be raised up alive. Peter took him in hand, protesting, “Impossible, Master! That can never be!”
23 But Jesus didn’t swerve. “Peter, get out of my way. Satan, get lost. You have no idea how God works.”
24-26 Then Jesus went to work on his disciples. “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?
-that got me on the right track. I learned how to tell Satan to buzz off with a dream like that- one that kept me fixated on the past and on what I wanted, rather than on the present nor future will of God.
After reading this devotional on Psalms 1 in the message, it fit perfectly with Matthew:
2-3 Instead you thrill to God’s Word,
you chew on Scripture day and night.
You’re a tree replanted in Eden,
bearing fresh fruit every month,
Never dropping a leaf,
always in blossom.
6 God charts the road you take.
The road they take is Skid Row.
Lord, help me to know and remember your promises for me. Thank you for getting my head on straight- without you, I am nothing! Lord, I pray that our entire country would give themselves to you, one by one, and that church by church, we'd all come to seek your beautiful face. I love you, Father. Let your blessings fall and community/fellowship abound today.
vs 2…. "his delight is in the law of the Lord", hit me in a powerful way this morning, especially when I looked at it in context of vs. 1…. "Blessed is the man"
So many times we focus on the act of obeying as the result of saying no to the bad things of the world. But as I meditated on this word today, my heart was inspired by this one truth….
v1 Blessed is the man…. v2 whose delight is in the law of the Lord.
Yes, there are things in between vs 1 & 2 that God says 'don't do', but the driving force is not our ability to say NO but our DELIGHT in saying Yes.
Walking in a surrendered relationship with Jesus is all about saying yes to Him, not about saying no to the world.
I am reminded of times when I have been so focused on being the 'good example' because I was strong enough to say no to things that that are against the law of God. Yet, my christian walk was 'joyless'. It might have been right in actions, but it was wrong in motive. My need to be obedient was driven by a need to be seen by the world as a 'good Christian'. However, no matter how obedient I was, there was no 'delight' [delight = joy: great enjoyment and pleasure]
When I am walking hand in hand with my Lord, I find great joy in pleasing Him. I am delighted to focus on and say yes to all that my Lord desires me to do!
Which also means I have a disgust or aversion [antonyms of delight] to all that does not bring Him glory. I don't have to focus on what I need to say no to because I am consumed with a desire to only do what pleases Him. That which does not please Him is repulsive to me.
However, this requires that I am walking hand in hand with Him, which explains the rest of verse 2 that says…"and on His law he meditates day and night."
It's not that I memorize the laws of God's word so that I'll know what to say no to…it's that I'm in His Word constantly, feeding my soul to crave only those things that bring Him glory.
And because of this I am blessed! I'm not blessed because I have worldly success (fame, fortune, titles, recognition, value, possessions…). I am blessed because I live in great enjoyment and pleasure [delight] no matter what the circumstances of my life are.
Lord God, let me crave Your word so that I am consumed with a desire to live a life that glorifies Your name! Thank You Lord for the great enjoyment and pleasure You bless me with when I am walking hand in hand with You. Amen.
I haven't had anything to add lately. have loved all the reflections you ladies have posted. focusing on god is a constant reminder I am being given lately. i need to do it and do it and do it again! Meditate on His Word day and night. I don't want to live out of His will. I love all the reflections, ladies! happy fourth! I read in a devotion on my iPhone today that when we drive the speed limit, we are happy because we know we are obeying the laws and won't get punished for it. it said it is the same with following God's laws. when we do that, we are the most happy. We think laws are restrictive, but this is an example of how they bring freedom.
"…and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
I am reminded of the dialogue Jesus has with the woman at the well about living water in John 4:10:
Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, "Give me a drink," you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
I want to be the type of "tree" that is constantly being watered by the Word of God, that never withers and is never thirsty. No matter the seasons, no matter what the weather. Like D.L. Moody says, "All the Lord's trees are evergreen."
Happy Independence Day to all my American SRT sisters today! May God bless you all as you celebrate with friends and family!
Thank you for connecting John 4:10 with this passage. This is really encouraging!
Just feeling thankful & grateful this beautiful morning. Thank you, Jesus! So wonderful to read everyone’s reflections! Prayers for y’all & Happy 4th!