January 04 2026

Sunday January 04

“And In Keeping Them There Is Great Reward.”

Psalm 19:7-11

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward.

Welcome to Pastor's Chat today. It's my prayer that this year you have already started working through some of the spiritual disciplines that will put you in the way of God's grace to give you the strength for the journey that you need every day to serve the Lord, to love the Lord, to live for the Lord, to not walk as the Gentiles walk as unsaved people in the world around you, but that you live a different life. People notice that transformation in your life, that renewal of the spirit in your heart every day where you love the Lord, and you love people.

You're concerned about eternal things rather than temporal things. The delight of the Lord is in your heart. You meditate in His law day and night. You observe to do all that's written therein. Then as God promised Joshua, you'll make your way prosperous. You'll have good success (Joshua 1:8). So, it's my prayer you've started already on the most important disciplines. I'm convinced at the very top of that list is Bible intake and prayer. Remember, Bible intake is reading the Bible, listening to the Bible, memorizing the Word of God, studying the Bible, mainly meditating on it, thinking about it, digesting it spiritually into your soul. So that then it guides and directs and renews your mind every day.

Then right alongside that is prayer. Prayer and the Bible are close companions. Prayer, Bible reading, Bible study, Bible memorization, and meditation go hand in hand. You won't keep doing the one without the other. If you're not praying, it won't be long till you're not reading your Bible. If you're not reading your Bible, it won't be long till you're not praying. My friend, I encourage you to practice these two main disciplines. They will give you the wisdom, the strength to continue on to live for the Lord in other areas of your life.

I can't help but think of Psalm 19:7-11. This Psalm begins by reminding us that creation speaks and tells us that there is a God in heaven who created all things. Creation speaks to us loudly that there is a great and awesome and wonderful God (vv. 1-6). But then it also reminds us that God not only speaks through creation, but He speaks through His Word in verses 7-11.

“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul”. Back in the day when David was writing this psalm, the law of the Lord is that entirety of God's Word. Then, the law of the Lord would have been considered the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. The stories of the patriarchs, the story of the nation of Israel leaving Egypt and going on their journey to the promised land. That's the first five books of the Bible. As we read those books, that's the law of the Lord. They convert, they restore, they renew the soul. That's the first thing we read it does.

“The testimonies of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple”. This would be the stories of these dear people in the Old Testament and how God worked in their lives despite their sins and failures. Then we find that that makes us wise because we don't have to make the same mistakes they made. The best teacher we get is not what we ourselves learn by experience, but what we can learn by the experience of others and especially the Word of God.

“Then the statutes of the Lord are right. They rejoice the heart”. That's the principles of God's word. There are principles in God's word that guide and direct our steps. You find these principles throughout the Bible and the eight main principles listed in Matthew 5:1-11 in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Each one of those represents a principle of living. I wish we had time to go through a list of those. They rejoice the heart. 

“The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eye”. That's those commandments that God gives us throughout His Word. Of course, the Great Commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Secondly, and equal to that, is to love your neighbor as yourself. When you do that, your eyes are looking at God. They're looking at others the way God wants you to look at them. Enlightening the eyes.

“The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever”. Why is it clean? Because you have a fear of the Lord which means that you have a constant awareness of the presence of the Lord in your life. You are not going to do things you shouldn't do because the Lord is right there. You wouldn't want to displease Him.

Then “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether”. Otherwise, God is a just God. He punishes evil. He rewards good. He's a just God. You recognize that. That's what you live for. Then he says in closing, “Moreover, to be desired are they than gold. Yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned. In keeping them, there is great reward.”

When you keep these statutes, these commandments, these principles, these truths of God's Word dear to your heart, and you assimilate them into your soul through prayer and communion with God, my friend, there is great reward in that. You will live a life of significance this year and the years to come that make a difference not only for yourself but for others for all eternity.

God bless!