Day 1: September 1, 2025 – Psalm 119

“Thy word is a lamp unto my path and light unto my feet.” Psalm 119:5

What a great way to start our Bible reading challenge. We will be together now for the next 9 months reading through Scripture and trying to figure out together how what we consider and believe to be the Word of God actually has the ability to impact and change our life for the good forever.

It is a great Psalm to start off our challenge for a number of reasons. I get to teach some of you a new word today: acrostic. That means simply that each section of the Psalm, so about every 8 verses or so, begin with the next letter of the alphabet. Now, as you are reading it you are probably saying to yourself that no, it doesn’t begin with A and then the 9th verse begins with B. Well, just in case we forget, the Old Testament, and so the Psalms as a whole, were originally written in Hebrew and not in English.

Psalm 119 also happens to be the longest of all the Psalms and yet it maintains the most consistent them: I love the law of the Lord. If you remember in the New Testament Jesus while he is in a jam packed house is told by those around him that his family is waiting for him outside. He responds by saying: “Who is my family but those who keep my commandments?” Matthew 12:48-50. Keepings the commandments of the Lord is mandatory for those who want to be followers of Jesus.

Now, let’s be clear, being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not meant to be a legalistic endeavor. I remember when I was a senior in high school and not wanting to have anything to do with Jesus. I was a clear cut atheist. I thought it was all made up. The main reason why I was fighting a personal relationship with Jesus was because I thought that it was a list of rules. Following the commandments of the Lord was to me a prison into which I did not want to put myself. On January 14, 1986 the Word of God came to me, yes literally, and told me: stop living for yourself.

It was then that I realized the freedom that I had in following Jesus’ commandments. It led me not to a life of slavery to sin, but rather to freedom in Christ. That was when I took upon myself my favorite Bible verse found in John 8:32 where Jesus tells those who doubted him: You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. Reading the Word of God reminds us of the new life that we have in Christ when we accept him as personal savior and as we live our lives in freedom.

I am so looking forward to taking this journey with you over these next 9 months as we dive into the God’s Word.