Monday, January 5, 2026

             Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible.  Every verse in Psalm 119, with only two exceptions, speaks about God’s Word.  God has given us His Word as a gift—a gift that can be opened and enjoyed every day by anyone anywhere.  How often do you open God’s Word?  How faithfully do you read it?  Scripture is a free gift that continually blesses the man or woman who reads and studies it.    
            The early days of any new year are times when we often make decisions or resolutions.  These decisions usually involve adding or taking away certain practices, activities or behaviors.  A new year can also be a good time to make a commitment to reading the Bible.  Some people set the goal of reading the entire Bible through in a single year.  We have some great reading plans available for anyone who would like to do this. Psalm 119:11 teaches us some important lessons about reading God’s Word worth remembering.
            First, this verse begins with the pronoun “I.”  Reading the Bible is a personal decision and commitment.  No one else can do this for you.  We are only directly blessed and encouraged when we make a commitment to be in God’s Word on a daily basis.  God has graciously given us His Word.  It is available to us twenty-four hours a day.  But we have to choose to open the Bible and engage with the words we read.  We can also be confident that the same Holy Spirit who inspired the Bible’s writing will also illuminate the Bible as we read it.
            Second, this verse encourages us to hide God’s Word in our hearts.  We are not to read it casually or carelessly—but to seek and to search the Word of God each day as we walk with Him.  To hide God’s Word means we will commit it to both knowledge and memory.  You might want to set a goal of memorizing a verse each week for the next year. To hide God’s Word in our hearts means that we are readers, hearers and doers of God’s Word.  Remember the words of James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”  God’s Word was given to change our hearts and minds and to draw us closer to Him.
            Third, to hide God’s Word in our hearts means we keep it before us.  We recall it.  We are shaped by it.  We do not neglect it.  You probably have some memories that you cherish and relive in your mind.  These moments captured something special in your life. A memory is a mental photo.  The same approach works with God’s Word.  We commit it to memory.  We return to it daily.  We cherish and hold on to God’s promises that have seen us through storms and fiery trials.  We take a photo of God’s Word and replay it as we need to do so.
            And finally, we read God’s Word so that we develop a distaste for sin.  We want to guard our minds and hearts from sinning against God. We learn what is good or bad by reading Scripture.  We expose ourselves to God’s ways and truth to the extent that we can readily recognize anything that is sinful, wrong or harmful to us or others.  When we find ourselves tempted to sin, we can turn to God’s Word to find promises that help and encourage us to choose what is right and good above the temptations. 
            God said that His Word does not return to Him void.  It will do what He chooses for it to do.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  We will never grow in our walk with the Lord apart from the Bible.  But the Bible is the single biggest resource we have to develop and to deepen our walk with the Lord.  Make 2026 a year of encountering and experiencing God’s Word.  Have a great Monday!