Mid Afternoon Meditation 2-12-17

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Hear my prayer, O Lord!
    Listen to my cries for help!
    Don’t ignore my tears.
For I am your guest—
    a traveler passing through,
    as my ancestors were before me.
13 Leave me alone so I can smile again
    before I am gone and exist no more. Psalm 39:12-13 NLT

In what way do you think the psalmist means “leave me alone”? How do other versions translate this phrase?

Evening Meditation 2-11-17

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Rescue me from my rebellion.
    Do not let fools mock me.
I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
    for my punishment is from you.
10 But please stop striking me!
    I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline us for our sins,
    you consume like a moth what is precious to us.
    Each of us is but a breath. Interlude Psalm 39: 8-11

What is the importance of the interlude?

Mid Afternoon Meditation 2-11-17

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Rescue me from my rebellion.
    Do not let fools mock me.
I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
    for my punishment is from you.
10 But please stop striking me!
    I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline us for our sins,
    you consume like a moth what is precious to us.
    Each of us is but a breath. Interlude Psalm 39:8-11

Why do you think the writer of this Psalm perceived God as being so harsh? Have you ever felt like this with God?

 

Morning Direction From Scipture 2-11-17

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Rescue me from my rebellion.
    Do not let fools mock me.
I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
    for my punishment is from you.
10 But please stop striking me!
    I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline us for our sins,
    you consume like a moth what is precious to us.
    Each of us is but a breath. Interlude Psalm 39:8-11

What is your reaction when you are justly punished for something you have done? Should it be different?

Evening Meditation 2-10-17

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Rescue me from my rebellion.
    Do not let fools mock me.
I am silent before you; I won’t say a word,
    for my punishment is from you.
10 But please stop striking me!
    I am exhausted by the blows from your hand.
11 When you discipline us for our sins,
    you consume like a moth what is precious to us.
    Each of us is but a breath. Interlude Psalm 39:8-11

How has God rescued you from your own rebellion in the past?

Mid Afternoon Meditation 2-9-17

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Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”  Psalm 39:4,5

What is the benefit of this life being just a breath?

Morning Direction From Scripture 2-9-17

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Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”  Psalm 39:4,5

What are some reasons to number our days?

Evening Meditation 2-8-17

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I said to myself, “I will watch what I do
    and not sin in what I say.
I will hold my tongue
    when the ungodly are around me.”
But as I stood there in silence—
    not even speaking of good things—
    the turmoil within me grew worse.
The more I thought about it,
    the hotter I got,
    igniting a fire of words: Psalm 39:1-3

One of my leadership coaches always reminds us, “it’s not about what your are trying to stop. It’s about what you should do instead. The more you focus on what you are trying not to do the more you will want to do it. Success comes when we are so filled by what we are supposed to do that the desire for the negative behavior is eclipsed by the positive.