February 21: Psalm 70-74
Emiri
This week I learned from Psalm 71:3 ”Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.” That God’s word brings us certainty and confirmation when we are uncertain so it is crucial to take it seriously. I think I was lacking the seriousness in doing the Bible reading. I feel like I was not taking it seriously as I should have like when I am reading it everyday I’m skimming through the reading and it’s not coming into me. So I want to change that and do it more seriously.
Jun re: Emiri
You wrote basically the exact same thing not too long ago, which probably means that you weren’t able to do it after writing about it last time. So you need to think in practical terms what exactly you mean by doing Bible reading “more seriously” (“serious” is such a subjective word). Otherwise, the same thing will happen. How do you plan to do it “seriously” (besides not skimming through the reading)?
Like I wrote a couple weeks ago, always write something new. For example, although you wrote the same thing before, if you write in specific, practical terms how you will take Bible reading more seriously this time, that would be something new you will have learned and can implement.
Timothy
In Psalms 73, Asaph confesses that he has “nearly lost my foothold” because he “envied the … prosperity of the wicked” (v. 2-3). The wicked are “always free of care” and say that God does not know of their deeds (v. 12). They ignore God and live selfishly according to the world. I have not been reading the Bible every day and I do usually not think about God or the Bible in my daily life. So, I will set a time for myself every day in the morning to pray and read the Bible. Then, I will have the entire day to think about and apply the passage to my life.
Jun re: Timothy
It’s good that this psalm left an impression on you. It did on me as well. Did you notice where the turning point (from nearly forsaking his faith in God after seeing how the wicked flourish) came for the psalmist?
“When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.” (v. 17)
The psalmist had faith in a good, just God in the beginning (v. 1): “Surely God is good…to those who are pure in heart.” But he lost his way when within his narrow purview, it seemed like God wasn’t really paying attention to people’s actions and thoughts. How familiar is this feeling? “Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure.” (v. 13) But when he enters God’s sanctuary (and hears/reads God’s words), he realizes how foolish he was.
Reading the Bible even a couple of minutes each day is the same as “entering God’s sanctuary.” If you do what you wrote (setting time aside to do it in the morning), I think you will be surprised at the difference it makes. For me, Bible reading is like receiving a text from someone you care about. Don’t you get happy if you pick up your phone in the morning and see someone you love has texted you while you were asleep? The whole Bible is one gigantic text from God, who cares about you so much.
Tomas
This week’s Bible reading in Pslams 73, I learned that we shouldn’t be jealous or follow those that are wrong even if they are prosperous and do not suffer. Applying this to my life, I felt kind of iffy joining track since some of my friends told me not to join it because they said it would be, “boring.” But, I still joined and once our practice began, I realized it was hard, but I found it really fun and I even got faster than last time. So I was grateful I joined.
Jun re: Tomas
Good, Tomas. You learned not to listen to your friends’ words but to the voice in your heart. Be wary of people who are quick to say something is “boring.” This usually means that person him/herself is the boring one.
