Saturday, December 10: Scripture – Psalm 19:7-14, The Message
The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.
10 God’s Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.
11-14 There’s more: God’s Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
My wife Carol and I met and began dating when we were in high school. After graduation, I went away to college, and we continued to build our relationship by writing letters, lots of letters. Those handwritten and often lengthy epistles revealed our thoughts, desires, and hopes. As we learned more and more about each other, our relationship blossomed, and we fell more and more in love—thanks in no small part to all those love letters.
While the creation reveals God’s glory in limited ways, the Scriptures reveal God more clearly and fully. In the Bible, God teaches us about himself and guides us through life, constantly encouraging us and drawing us back when we wander off course. Then, as we hear and heed God’s Word to us, we fall more and more in love with God. That’s why I’ve come to see the Bible as a love letter from God. But it’s a letter that calls for a response. And the way we send a love letter back to God is with our lives. As we follow God’s ways and seek God with all of our heart, our lives become our love letter to God. May those love letters bring much joy to our Lord.
Prayer: Loving God, thank you for the Bible, your love letter to me. During this Advent season and beyond, help me to become more attentive and faithful to your Word so that my life might be a heart-felt love letter to you. Amen.
Rev. Steve Simon