Last night, back in the hotel after our extended family's Thanksgiving celebration, I had a chance to just lose myself in the book of Psalms. I had no plan, just opened the book and silently asked the Lord where should I go. And I looked down at the page and felt such a compulsion to read the passage I opened to.
I ended up reading from Psalm 139 through to 143. Of course, I have read these before, but since August I have begun using the New Living Translation as my primary study Bible so it was like they were each brand new reading for me.
I LOVE this translation! Using primarily the vocabulary list used when Ken Taylor penned his Living Bible paraphrase some 30 years ago, this is an actual dynamic translation of Scripture from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. If I'm working with someone who doesn't really understand the old language of Shakespeare and the King James Bible, THIS is the version I use to expose them to the Scriptures. And since I grew up with that old English as my primary Biblical language, my decision to use this version has really made me reconsider whether I really understand what I've read in the past.
There was SO much the Lord brought to life as I read, but this morning there's one verse I'm still chewing on: "Take control of what I say, O LORD, and guard my lips." (Psalm 141:3)
We often talk about finding our refuge and safety in the Lord, and even pray that God will protect us from the wicked, but this verse is a clear indication of how we need to also be protected from ourselves! Often I am my own worst enemy.
SO... today my prayer is that I can yield my control of my tongue (that hasn't worked out so well many times) and allow God to take control of what I say... and guard my lips.
That's more than one day's work right there.
About Me
- Dayton D. Mix
- Clarks Mills, Pennsylvania, United States
- I'm a husband, a dad, a son, a grandson, a pastor, & now a grandpa, too! Those are the basic hats I wear in my daily life. I was born & raised in rural Pennsylvania couple of miles from the New York border in a small town, Shinglehouse (Potter County). I struggle with my weight & my own quirks just like everyone else does. I became a United Methodist pastor in 1996 and was ordained in 2003. While I'm officially Methodist, I also consider myself a “charismatic” Christian, as well as an “evangelical”, although not everything identified with either of those labels fits me perfectly. I enjoy genealogy but seldom have time to do much with it. I like playing with eBay. I like to read, watch movies, camp, hike, and talk. I LOVE to write, but usually don't worry too much about formal grammar... instead choosing to write as I probably would speak. And even though I can spell pretty well, I'm a lousy typist, so be gracious. I update my blogs as often as I can, but I have a real life that demands me NOT being at the computer all the time... so there are dry spells!
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