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"Order My Steps In Your Word"
"Order my steps in Thy Word" (Psalm 119:133). "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way" (Psalm 37:23).
We
did a lot of walking during our shore trip this last weekend. In fact
we walked the entire length of all the boardwalks along the Delaware and
Maryland coastline. The photo to the left shows Brooksyne and Ester at
the end point of the Ocean City boardwalk which runs 2¼ miles along
the shore.
As we get older we like to walk more and more, especially since we seem limited in regards to some of the more strenuous activities we enjoyed when we were younger. Several years ago we both walked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail. A good walk brightens our outlook, gives us opportunity to talk together, increases our appreciation for God's creation, and certainly is a great health advantage.
Brooksyne wears an Omron device that pretty accurately keeps track of her steps. Once she reaches her daily goal of 10,000 steps a little fellow shows up on the screen and starts applauding her accomplishment. She was quite pleased to see that on Saturday she had doubled her goal and walked over 20,000 steps (8.8 miles)!
This brings to mind an even more vital need in regard to our steps as expressed in the daily text by the Psalmist. I want to have an earnest, ongoing, daily desire that my steps be ordered by the Lord and based on the truths, principles, and spirit of God's Word. Other versions translate the phrase, "Establish my footsteps in Your word" (NASV) and "Direct my footsteps according to Your word" (NIV).
The Bible often uses the example of walking to describe how we are to live out our Christian life in step with God. The very first use of the word in a spiritual sense is in regard to Enoch who "walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." Enoch's great grandson, Noah, was "a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God."
A wonderful reassuring promise we can lean upon is from Leviticus 26:12: "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people." In Moses' final message to the children of Israel he often uses this same theme: "Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess" (Deuteronomy 5:33).
As I studied for this message I was blessed with the abundance of references all through the Bible related to this theme; far too many for this short message, but certainly worthy of study. The final Bible writer, John, uses this theme often in his letters. "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
"Order my steps in Thy word." Certainly one aspect in the personal application of the brief but power packed daily verse is having a submissive heart to learn more about God and to obey His Word. Surely we cannot merely pray this portion without have a growing knowledge of the Word and a determination to obey. Earlier in this very Psalm we read, "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes" (v. 59).
Today may the Lord God help each of us to truly consider our ways and direct our steps according to His statutes. Let us be careful not to get ahead of Him nor fall behind but walk in step with Him!
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
because I love Your commands more than worldly pleasures or temporal
possessions I despise the paths that lead me astray like a lost sheep.
You have gone before me and cleared the way so that I might follow in
Your steps and the steps of other righteous, godly saints. I am
comforted in knowing that I don't walk alone, but I walk hand in hand
with You as my Guide. Through eyes of faith I see a great cloud of
witnesses, those spoken of in the Bible and those I've known in my
lifetime, who've already finished the race cheering me on as I
persevere on this path of righteousness. May I willingly endure hardship as it
disciplines my commitment to walking in Your ways. I want to wholeheartedly seek You above
everything else, for You are a Rewarder of those who diligently seek
You. Amen.
Longtime friends Mike and Kathy Matangelo along with their daughter Tina joined us last night for a long walk along Donegal Creek Trail. They are returning from a trip to Rhode Island where Mike saw his mother along with his sister and her family. Today we expect to show them some of the sights of Lancaster County before they return to their home in North Carolina tomorrow. You might have noticed the ear muffs on the ladies. The temps really dropped yesterday and we had a light frost last night so we had to cover plants. The weatherman on the radio just said that we've seen the last of cool temps till fall. We'll see. (Mike did a great job handling our rascally Mollie. Roxie doesn't run off so she was running ahead of us.)
A few more photos from our trip to the Delaware/Maryland shore
We took a horse and wagon ride in the quaint village of Berlin, Maryland.
A photo of us along the windy boardwalk. The large body of water in the background is the Atlantic Ocean or as our young Amish friend Eli James calls it, "the big pond".
We not only walked along the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach but we rented a bike for Ester and she shared with Brooksyne the last few minutes.
We were blessed with a beautiful place to stay during our shore trip, a blessing from some friends. It was in a resort community near the ocean but away from the busyness of the area. I took this photo from a loft area where Ester slept.
"Order My Steps In Your Word" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"Never Walk Alone" Video Brian Free & Assurance
"Show Us The Ancient Path" Video Hillsong
"Step By Step" Video Rich Mullins
"Walking in the Light of God" Video African Childrens Choir
"Stepping in the Light" Video Homecoming
"Heaven On My Mind" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"I Want To Be That Man" Video Brian Free and Assurance Men especially listen to this song!
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are our daily
encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask
you to consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to
prepare and provide this daily resource
which is accessed by believers and seekers all
over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies
solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here
for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.
Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA
<Previous Message Next Message>
Tuesday,
May 14, 2013
We saw these Columbines yesterday afternoon along our walk on the Donegal Creek trail.
We saw these Columbines yesterday afternoon along our walk on the Donegal Creek trail.
"Order My Steps In Your Word"
"Order my steps in Thy Word" (Psalm 119:133). "The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way" (Psalm 37:23).
Order my steps in Your word, dear Lord
Lead me, guide me everyday
Send your anointing Father, I pray
Order my steps in Your word
Please order my steps in Your word
Lead me, guide me everyday
Send your anointing Father, I pray
Order my steps in Your word
Please order my steps in Your word
We
did a lot of walking during our shore trip this last weekend. In fact
we walked the entire length of all the boardwalks along the Delaware and
Maryland coastline. The photo to the left shows Brooksyne and Ester at
the end point of the Ocean City boardwalk which runs 2¼ miles along
the shore.As we get older we like to walk more and more, especially since we seem limited in regards to some of the more strenuous activities we enjoyed when we were younger. Several years ago we both walked the entire width of the Appalachian Trail. A good walk brightens our outlook, gives us opportunity to talk together, increases our appreciation for God's creation, and certainly is a great health advantage.
Brooksyne wears an Omron device that pretty accurately keeps track of her steps. Once she reaches her daily goal of 10,000 steps a little fellow shows up on the screen and starts applauding her accomplishment. She was quite pleased to see that on Saturday she had doubled her goal and walked over 20,000 steps (8.8 miles)!
This brings to mind an even more vital need in regard to our steps as expressed in the daily text by the Psalmist. I want to have an earnest, ongoing, daily desire that my steps be ordered by the Lord and based on the truths, principles, and spirit of God's Word. Other versions translate the phrase, "Establish my footsteps in Your word" (NASV) and "Direct my footsteps according to Your word" (NIV).
The Bible often uses the example of walking to describe how we are to live out our Christian life in step with God. The very first use of the word in a spiritual sense is in regard to Enoch who "walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away." Enoch's great grandson, Noah, was "a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God."
A wonderful reassuring promise we can lean upon is from Leviticus 26:12: "I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people." In Moses' final message to the children of Israel he often uses this same theme: "Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess" (Deuteronomy 5:33).
As I studied for this message I was blessed with the abundance of references all through the Bible related to this theme; far too many for this short message, but certainly worthy of study. The final Bible writer, John, uses this theme often in his letters. "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
"Order my steps in Thy word." Certainly one aspect in the personal application of the brief but power packed daily verse is having a submissive heart to learn more about God and to obey His Word. Surely we cannot merely pray this portion without have a growing knowledge of the Word and a determination to obey. Earlier in this very Psalm we read, "I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes" (v. 59).
Today may the Lord God help each of us to truly consider our ways and direct our steps according to His statutes. Let us be careful not to get ahead of Him nor fall behind but walk in step with Him!
Trying to walk in the steps of the Savior,
Trying to follow our Savior and King;
Shaping our lives by His blessed example,
Happy, how happy, the songs that we bring.
Trying to follow our Savior and King;
Shaping our lives by His blessed example,
Happy, how happy, the songs that we bring.
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer: Father,
because I love Your commands more than worldly pleasures or temporal
possessions I despise the paths that lead me astray like a lost sheep.
You have gone before me and cleared the way so that I might follow in
Your steps and the steps of other righteous, godly saints. I am
comforted in knowing that I don't walk alone, but I walk hand in hand
with You as my Guide. Through eyes of faith I see a great cloud of
witnesses, those spoken of in the Bible and those I've known in my
lifetime, who've already finished the race cheering me on as I
persevere on this path of righteousness. May I willingly endure hardship as it
disciplines my commitment to walking in Your ways. I want to wholeheartedly seek You above
everything else, for You are a Rewarder of those who diligently seek
You. Amen.Longtime friends Mike and Kathy Matangelo along with their daughter Tina joined us last night for a long walk along Donegal Creek Trail. They are returning from a trip to Rhode Island where Mike saw his mother along with his sister and her family. Today we expect to show them some of the sights of Lancaster County before they return to their home in North Carolina tomorrow. You might have noticed the ear muffs on the ladies. The temps really dropped yesterday and we had a light frost last night so we had to cover plants. The weatherman on the radio just said that we've seen the last of cool temps till fall. We'll see. (Mike did a great job handling our rascally Mollie. Roxie doesn't run off so she was running ahead of us.)
A few more photos from our trip to the Delaware/Maryland shore
We took a horse and wagon ride in the quaint village of Berlin, Maryland.
A photo of us along the windy boardwalk. The large body of water in the background is the Atlantic Ocean or as our young Amish friend Eli James calls it, "the big pond".
We not only walked along the boardwalk in Rehoboth Beach but we rented a bike for Ester and she shared with Brooksyne the last few minutes.
We were blessed with a beautiful place to stay during our shore trip, a blessing from some friends. It was in a resort community near the ocean but away from the busyness of the area. I took this photo from a loft area where Ester slept.
Today's Suggested
Music
and Supplemental Resources
"Order My Steps In Your Word" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"Never Walk Alone" Video Brian Free & Assurance
"Show Us The Ancient Path" Video Hillsong
"Step By Step" Video Rich Mullins
"Walking in the Light of God" Video African Childrens Choir
"Stepping in the Light" Video Homecoming
"Heaven On My Mind" Video Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir
"I Want To Be That Man" Video Brian Free and Assurance Men especially listen to this song!
Send a message to Stephen
& Brooksyne
To receive the "Daily Encouragement" each Monday-Friday through email see this page to subscribe to our email list. You can also subscribe to the Wordpress rss feed or through a Wordpress email subscription. (See the email subscription on the right side after opening this page.)
Are our daily
encouragement messages a blessing to you? We ask
you to consider making a donation to Daily
Encouragement Net so that we can continue to
prepare and provide this daily resource
which is accessed by believers and seekers all
over the world. Daily Encouragement Net relies
solely on the generosity and financial support
of its readers and podcast listeners. See here
for more information on supporting this
ministry. Gifts are tax deductible.Permissions: Please feel free to pass on, reproduce and distribute any material on Daily Encouragement Net, in part or in whole, in any format, provided that you do not alter the wording in any way or charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. It is our desire to spread this material, not protect or restrict it. I do request that you keep the contact, copyright and subscription information intact.
Text only version for printing: To make a text only version for printing (without photos or any of the supplemental materials)
1) Open the basic text editor that comes with all computers (known as wordpad, textpad, etc.) You can also use a program like Word and select paste text only.
2) Select and copy the text from the portion of the message you want to print.
3) Paste into the text pad. (The photos won't show up but you will have a brief text description of the photo which you can delete or just ignore.)
4) Format if you desire (change font, increase or decrease size, etc.)
5) Print!
Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version.
Personal Mission Statement: "I am created by God to bring Him glory. Through God's Son Jesus Christ I have been redeemed and I make it my life's goal to please the Lord. My mission in life is to honor God through my faith and obedience and to prepare myself and all whom I may influence for eternity."
© Copyright 2013 Stephen C. Weber - All Rights Reserved
Daily Encouragement Net - 495 Kraybill Church Road - Mount Joy, PA 17552 USA