What is your favorite activity among the following: (choose one)

The survey requirements have been met!

Thank you, Internets! You’re the best!

The first step is to give the doctor a good impression of her teeth. They call this “casting.” All of this is so new to me. If you already know all of this, I apologize.

See all the writing on the walls around Abbey? On the day she has her braces removed, she’ll get to write her message on the wall, too.

Five years. FIVE. YEARS. Here we go…

Ick.

Next week, the real fun will begin.

• “Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, ‘Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!’” (Psalm 35:27)
• “They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” (Psalm 36:8-9)
• “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
• “But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” (Psalm 37:11)
• “The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand.” (Psalm 37:23)
• “O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us, what deeds you performed in their days, in the days of old: you with your own hand drove out the nations, but them you planted; you afflicted the peoples, but them you set free; for not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm save them, but your right hand and your arm, and the light of your face, for you delighted in them.” (Psalm 44:1-3)

I also finished reading Job this week. Those last few chapters are wonderful for meditating on the perfection and majesty and wisdom and power of God. I cannot improve upon Job’s words at the end of his story when he says, “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you [God]? I lay my hand on my mouth. I have spoken once, and I will not answer; twice, but I will proceed no further” (Job 40:4-5). And later, he says, “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what i did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:2-6).

At the same time I was reading Job, I was reading Paul’s letters to Corinth. Though Paul could have boasted in many (self-righteous) things (Philippians 3, 1 Cor. 10, for example), he endeavored to boast only in Christ and the gospel. “‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:17-18). “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:1-2).

Job’s silence and Paul’s speech, not to mention Sunday night’s sermon on the content and priority of the gospel, worked together in my mind and heart all week. It’s been good.

***IT’S YOUR TURN***

I would love to read how you delighted in God through His word this week. Please share!

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• Finding Delight – Week 6
• Finding Delight – Week 5
• Finding Delight – Week 4
• Finding Delight – Week 3
• Finding Delight – Week 2
• Finding Delight – Week 1

There are lessons for us in the [Puritans'] quality of their spiritual experience. In the Puritans’ communion with God, as Jesus Christ was central, so Holy Scripture was supreme…Puritan meditation on Scripture was modeled on the Puritan sermon; in meditation the Puritan would seek to search and challenge his heart, stir his affections to hate sin and love righteousness, and encourage himself with God’s promises, just as Puritan preachers would do from the pulpit. This rational, resolute, passionate piety was conscientious without becoming obsessive, law-oriented without lapsing into legalism, and expressive of Christian liberty without any shameful lurches into license…they found the discipline of self-examination by Scripture (not the same thing as introspection, let us note), followed by the discipline of confessing and forsaking sin and renewing one’s gratitude to Christ for his pardoning mercy, to be a source of great inner peace and joy. We today, who know to our cost that we have unclear minds, uncontrolled affections, and unstable wills when it comes to serving God, and who again and again find ourselves being imposed on by irrational, emotional romanticism disguised as super-spirituality, could profit much from the Puritans’ example.

I just haven’t felt up to thinking and writing this week. I appreciate your grace regarding this dormant blog.

I have continued with my Bible reading, though not every day. And even when I completed my reading for that day, it was just that: reading. I don’t feel like I did very much delighting. That said, I have one little thing to share.

In 1 John 2 and 3, John writes about abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in the believer. I counted the word abide about eight times. Then, I prayed 1) that I would abide in Christ through his word even when I don’t feel well physically, and 2) that I wouldn’t sin against my family even when I feel terrible.

And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in him, and he in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.     1 John 3:23-24

That’s pretty much all for me this week.

I would be very encouraged if you have time to share what delighted you this week.

I have enjoyed these last few weeks of reading what you’ve shared. If you’d like to participate, just enter your post link in the linky tool. Because I was so late posting today, I’ll leave this one open through Monday.

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Related posts:

• Finding Delight – Week 5
• Finding Delight – Week 4
• Finding Delight – Week 3
• Finding Delight – Week 2
• Finding Delight – Week 1