Focus

Take a few minutes to push the “pause” button on whatever is going on around you and be still with God.

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Read

Psalm 119:105-112 (NRSV)

Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O LORD, according to your word.
Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD,
and teach me your ordinances.
I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
Your decrees are my heritage forever;
they are the joy of my heart.
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, to the end.

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Reflect

Vacation Bible school has been and continues to be a part of my summer activities. As a child, I remember saying the pledges to the American and Christian flags as well as the pledge to the Bible. Then, however, I did not know that the pledge to the Bible included words from Psalm 119.

“I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s holy Word, and will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path, and will hide its words in my heart, that I may not sin against God.”

Recently I have had the privilege of baptizing three teenagers and asking them the questions from our Confession of Faith. One of the questions is “Do you believe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired word of God, the source of authority for faith and practice, and will you read and study them for guidance in living the Christian life?”

Who knew that hundreds of years before vacation Bible school and the writing of our Confession of Faith, the psalmist understood the role and the function God’s Word would play in our daily lives. May the Word of God continue to be “a lamp unto your feet and light unto your path.”

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Prayer

God of light, let your Word guide us on our journey of faith and keep our feet on the path that leads to you. Amen.

Go with God.