Showing posts with label Psalms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Psalms. Show all posts

Sunday

Psalm 96 v 9 - Memorizing the Bible


I could never do it!

          Do what?

Memorize loads of scripture!

          Yeah that's not so easy,  BUT  you can learn a verse of the Bible.






Let's look at a verse from one of the Psalms.

Many people think they could never manage to memorize a whole Psalm or a whole chapter of Scripture.

It seems like a rather difficult challenge especially if you have never learned any scripture before.

So we are not even going to tackle one whole Psalm but we will take on one verse of a Psalm - Psalm 96 v 9


"O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: tremble before him, all the earth."



So in memorizing this verse we will look at 4 things:
  • Memorising Tips
  • Graphic of Psalm 96 v 9
  • A short video of the words of the verse
  • Some Freebies to help you.








Memorising Tips
If you read the Top 10 Ways to Learn Scripture you will see that I give 10 tips to help in this process but we don't have to use all 10 of them on each verse - just the ones that suit best with the verse.


For Psalm 96 v 9 I'm going to advise using tips 1, 2, 7, 8, 9



1.  Read the verse often, every day, multiple times in the day.

Leave a bookmark in your bible and every time you go past it grab the bible and open at the verse etc. (you will pick up other ideas later in this post).

Reading and repeating somethings over and over is the natural way to get it into your head.

With this verse it is obvious to think of it in two parts as we read it


"O worship the Lord 

in the beauty of holiness:


   & 

tremble before him,

all the earth."





2.  Write out the verse several times.

Why?  Because he action of  WRITING  helps us learn anything.

The first part above can be written on one line of a page and the second part on the next line.

So you are writing it in two halves just as reading it in the two halves as in no.1 above. 









7.  Understand the meaning of the verse.

We will never memorize anything properly without having understood the meaning of it and knowing the meaning helps us remember the order of the parts of the verses.

In this verse we have the attitude & reverence around how we should
worship God.

The first part of the verse tells us how we should approach God knowing He is Holy and recognize the glory and beauty of His Holiness. 

Then the second part tells us about awe and fear of the Lord which we should never forget as we come before Him.





8.  Make it easy to see the verse clearly and regularly each day.


In no.1 above I mentioned your bible and a bookmark

but

we cannot have our Bible at hand every moment of the day so if you feel you need frequent readings of the verse like pop-up reminders then do the following:

Get a post-it pad and write the verse out clearly on it then tear off the post-it and stick it on
  • the mirror you will use first thing each morning and last thing each night
  • the front cover of your Bible
  • the front cover of the book you are currently reading
  • the door of the fridge
  • the inside of the door of the cupboard where you go to get your favourite mug for that cup of coffee








9.  Make or use Bible Verse Graphics 

The picture of Psalm 96 v 9 near the start of this post is an example of a Bible Verse Graphic.

A picture with the words written on it clearly.
By making these yourself you will learn as you create them.

or

by using ones made for you that you keep close to hand
(see my freebies below)

I post a bible verse graphic every morning on my
so if you want to be encouraged by a verse each day or have a graphic you can Share to your timeline or Save in Facebook then click through to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and follow the page to see those graphics in your feed each day.

or

by watching very, very short graphic video like this one I created








or Colouring Pages

While colouring in a Bible Verse Page you will be spending time around the words and this also helps to learn the verse as you can repeat it to yourself.
(see my freebies below)



or Phone Screensavers / Wallpaper

What better use of your phone - to keep that verse in front of you each time you go to check your messages.

For this you will need it to be a suitable portrait shape and size so most of the normal verse graphics you see will not suit.





Some Freebies to help you.

For today's verse to help you memorize I have

  • Colouring Page


  • Bible Verse Graphic




  • Word Search Puzzle



all of which can be downloaded HERE 




Don't forget 
that many of my other posts on the blog have bible verse graphics and many of these are also available as free downloads in my


also that's where you will find the phone screen savers for 
a few verses.





I've also prepared a playlist of Short Songs to help you memorize some Scriptures on YouTube:







Sunday Scripture - Psalm 16 v 8


Sunday Scripture is just simply a thought or two on a Bible verse that may have struck me afresh or maybe for the first time or has always been special to me.


Today I am looking at Psalm 16 v 8





This week I had a number of different things that had to be done.

We are getting a new kitchen so the old one was being removed this week and the tiles taken up from the floor which meant a lot of packig things up and moving things to use in other rooms.

But some things I had to do were simply because I just was too easily distracted by other things during the previous week and so didn't get round to these things.

Oh how easily distracted we can be!

Our attention flitters from 

      one thing to another, 

            one person to another, 

                  one blog post to another, 

                        one TV programme to another, 

                              one song to another,

                                    one thought to another......



Who do we flitter to instead of looking to God?



We need to have a determined attitude to keep our focus on God.

We need to be able to say






Is this not a great declaration to set in the face of the devil!



Oh yes things will still surround us and we will have to think of other things and other people but if we can truly say the first part of this verse 


I have set the Lord always before me:

then we will be able to hold on to the second part.  



because He is at my right hand I shall not be removed.


We will still be looking to Him,

have His guidance at all times 

and 
have His presence 

so we will not be enticed away by the other gods of this world.



Oh how easily distracted we can be.


What a wonderful position to be in because then we can also say 


Psalm 16 v 11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. 





                                                      


Are you determined to set God always before you?






Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 107

Each Sunday I choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 107 






This Psalm falls into four parts:


V. 1-3
Thanksgiving to God


V. 4-32
We see a pattern repeated four times

  • The Ungodly Man
  • Turning to God & God's Intervention
  • Following God's Way
  • Goodness of God


V. 33-38
God's Good Hand on Nature
God's Good Hand on Man


V. 39-43
God's Justice & Kindness



This Psalm could be summed up simply by verse 1






Though people do not understand or see God's Hand in this world and in their lives that does not change the fact that He is always there in the world and in our lives 
and we would be wise to accept and acknowledge that.

Then we would understand his love and kindness and let Him change our lives.
















Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 146

Each Sunday I choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 146 


This is one of those Psalms I feel is overlooked at times.







This Psalm falls into five parts:

V. 1-2
When to Praise the Lord.

V. 3-4
Who not to Trust in.

V. 5-7
The Hope we have in the Lord.

V. 8-9
The Deeds of the Lord.

V. 10
The Crescendo!



"When should we praise the Lord?"



When to Praise the Lord.
We must praise Him while we are alive.
Not just some of our years but all the years we we live knowing that He is the Lord.









Who not to Trust in.
Oh we should know this but still it has to be mentioned.
Humans are human they are not perfect as God is perfect.
Man has been given life by God and one day each man will lose that life he has been given.
We are finite so can not be the true inspiration for anyone.



The Hope we have in the Lord.
We have true happiness & help when we trust in God because He is our Hope.



The Deeds of the Lord.
Look how much we are told God does just in these few short verses.
He is the Creator, the Truth, the honest Judge, the Provider, the Rescuer, the Healer, the Uplifter of our souls, the Lover of Righteousness, the Carer.
But we must not forget He is also the one who will confront the wicked.



The Crescendo! 
The Psalmist again ends as he started this Psalm with Praise for the Lord.







We are not to choose when or how often we should Praise the Lord.
We are to do it while we live.
While we have breath.



We should start our days with Him in Praise and end them in Praise
to the only one who is worthy of that Praise.

To God be the praise forever and forever!












Pondering The Psalms - Psalm 27



Each Sunday I choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 27 


This is one of the Psalms of David.





This Psalm falls into five parts:

V. 1
Declaration

V. 2-3
Confidence

V. 4-6
Praise

V. 7-12
Teaching

V. 13-14
Hope


Declaration.
We need to physically say these words.
We need to speak forth the truth, to truly grasp that we need not be afraid
       
                        He is our Light

                              and
                                        He is our Salvation 

                                              and
                                                        He is our Stronghold


Confidence.
The speaking out as in the last two verses and the knowledge that there is no need to be afraid leads on to being confident about what we know God has promised  -  this makes me think of Psalm 34 
He has promised that He is on our side.







Praise.
The result of seeking God, wanting to live in His ways and being in His Shelter can only lead to us giving Him all the praise and thanksgiving we can.


Declaration, Confidence, Praise, Teaching, Hope.


Teaching.
Crying out to God, seeking His face and accepting His gracious help leads us to listen and pay attention to Him to learn what is the good and acceptable will of God   (Romans 12:2)
All because we are not leaning to the way of others or to our natural instincts but we are being focused on His way.


Hope.
Knowing God's promises, having gained confidence in knowing God's will and His way and being prepared to wait on Him has all come to the point where we know we have hope for now and for the future.







A Lighthouse and a Lifeboat

illustrations

of 

His Love stretched out to us.

















Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 136


Each Sunday I choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 136 





This Psalm falls into 5 parts:



V. 1-3
God


V. 4-9
Creation


V. 10-22
Redemption


V. 23-25
Love


V. 26
Hope


This Psalm starts and ends with two almost identical verses - verse 1 and verse 26


However they are each placed specifically at those important points.


We Start with God's Goodness



God.
He is the God of gods and the Lord of lords.
 He is Good, He is Merciful and He is Love and His goodness, mercy and love will never end.
 How could we not be thankful?





Creation.
He is full of wonder and creative power.
All that is on, above and around the earth was made by Him.


Redemption.
He provided our Salvation right from the start.
Our lives should be a witness to that.


Love.
He is the one who always sees, cares, and acts on behalf of His people.


Hope.
Even though we have not seen Heaven or can properly understand Heaven we believe in God so we believe in Heaven because we know His love is not going to end.









The Psalm is a portrait of our lives with Him.

 How He is good to us and draws us 
through our knowledge of 
His Greatness, Salvation and Love 
to the culmination of a 
Home 
perfectly prepared for us by Him.



We end with Heaven.








This is a Psalm which some might say is simply repetitive.

But

this is really a Psalm of recognition on our part of how worthy God is to be praised 
over and over again.


This is a Psalm which uses the history of the world to highlight the Love of God
to His people

and

to lead us to 

the Eternal Hope we have in Heaven - our home with Him! 













Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 113


Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 113 




This is a Psalm of Praise from start to finish.



This Psalm falls into three parts:


V. 1
Praise the Lord!


V. 2-4
Blessed be the Name of the Lord!


V. 5-9
Who is like the Lord our God?






Praise the Lord!
Just go on and Praise Him is the feeling blasting out in this verse.
If you serve the Lord then Praise His Name.


Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Now and forever.
During every part of the day.
Because He is the greatest.


No-one cares like Him.

Who is like the Lord our God?
No-one because no-one does what He does.
No-one cares like He does.









Even though we have just been told by the Psalmist that the 
Lord is seated on high,

we are also told of the needs He meets for His people 
and 
the love He bestows on them.


He does not ignore our hurts and our feelings.


Praise the Lord!



















Pondering the Psalms - Psalm 34


Each Sunday I am going to choose a Psalm and write down some brief thoughts on  it.


Today I'm looking at Psalm 34 


Another one of my favourites from when I was a teenager.







This Psalm falls into six parts:


V. 1-3
Exaltation of the Lord





V. 4-7
Testimony of Deliverance from fear & the enemy






V. 8-10
Encouraging people to seek the Lord for themselves







V. 11-14
Advice on how to come before God



V. 15-18
The Reaction of God towards the Righteous & the Unrighteous







V. 19-22
The Results of the Righteous & Unrighteous Life


To me the whole psalm is written because of the knowledge found in these verses 19 - 22

Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He guards all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.
22 The Lord redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.




Exaltation
The Psalmist desires that everyone would worship the True God.
He starts by giving His Adoration but then comes to wanting everyone to experience what he has.


Testimony & Encouragement
He tells what God has done & encourages people to turn to God.


Advice
He gives basic advice on how to have the proper awe and reverence towards God.






God's Reaction
How God treats us as righteous in His sight when we have truly turned to trust Him, compared with how He must treat us if we do not.


Results
The hand of comfort, healing & protection is on us.
God will bring us through all the tribulation others will put on us.


Basic Good Advice to Start your Christian Life



Surely when all of this Psalm is understood and acknowledged then you and I can truly say with the Psalmist: