What the Bible Says about Fixing Your Heart

Posted on April 28, 2022 by Wayne Davies

One of the Bible’s main themes is the heart.

The greatest commandment is to love God “with all your heart” (Matthew 22:37) and therefore our top priority should be to “guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).

 

Did you catch that last comment from Solomon: “everything you do flows from” your heart. Really? Everything? Yes. Everything.

According to the book of Proverbs, all of the following are found in your heart:
wisdom (2:10, 14:3)
love and faithfulness (3:3)
faith (3:6)
planning (16:1, 16:9, 19:21)
discernment (15:14, 16:21)
purpose (20:5)
teaching, instruction, and knowledge (22:17, 23:12)

And on the negative side of human nature, Jesus confirmed Proverbs 4:23. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).

Yes, the heart is much more than the seat of your emotions. It’s everything that makes you who you are. It’s the real you.

We have a huge problem here, don’t we? How can I love God with all my heart when my heart is “deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 ESV).

Thanks be to God, there is a divine remedy for a heart that is “beyond cure” (Jeremiah 17:9 NIV). For the repentant sinner who trusts Christ for salvation, God provides a new heart.

“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Our hearts need fixing, but we can’t do it. And we need much more than heart medication or a heart procedure. Spiritually speaking, we need a brand new heart. We need a heart transplant!

And that is exactly what God says he will do when he gives us his Spirit to live within us. This is the miraculous work of God – when he provides the Holy Spirit, he gives us a new heart, and now we have his power enabling us to live a new life.

With that in mind, here are ten things God wants us to do with a Spirit-led, Spirit-filled heart. These are ten ways we can love God with our hearts, in the order they appear in Psalm 119.

  1. Seek God with all your heart (Psalm 119:2)
  2. Praise God with an upright heart (Psalm 119:7)
  3. Hide God’s word in your heart (Psalm 119:11)
  4. Set your heart on God’s laws (Psalm 119:30)
  5. Allow God to set your heart free (Psalm 119:32)
  6. Obey God’s law with all your heart (Psalm 119:34)
  7. Keep God’s precepts with all your heart (Psalm 119:69)
  8. Allow the Word of God to be the joy of your heart (Psalm 119:111)
  9. Call to God with all your heart (Psalm 119:145)
  10. Let your heart tremble at God’s word (Psalm 119:161)

If you’ve ever wondered, “What does it mean to love God with all my heart?”, I hope you find the above list helpful. It sure helps me.

Over the next ten days, why not spend each day focusing on one of these specific ways to love God with your heart. This is what the Christian life is about. This is what the Christian life should look like.

If you’re like me, you’ll have room for improvement. That’s to be expected. This is what sanctification entails – the life-long process of increasing holiness and Christ-likeness.

As you work on these ten areas, keep in mind these powerful and comforting promises. “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

If you find anything in this post beneficial, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

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How to Pray Like Paul on Easter

Posted on April 24, 2022 by Wayne Davies

Jesus the Messiah is risen! He is risen indeed!

What a glorious day it was when our Savior and Lord conquered death. “God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him” (Acts 2:24).

The Apostle Paul had the resurrection of Christ in mind when he wrote his letter to the Ephesians. Here we find how Paul prayed for Christians. And here we also find a model prayer for us. Wondering how to pray for yourself? Or for other believers in your local church and around the world? Look no further than Ephesians 1:18-20.

18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.

Paul asks God to open their spiritual eyes so they would experience three incredible gifts provided by God: hope, an inheritance, and power. The third truth is the focus of this post  because Paul describes this power as “the mighty strength (God) exerted when he raised Christ from the dead.”

Have you ever considered what it took for God to raise Jesus from the dead? Power! This is the power that only God has, for it is “incomparably great” (v. 19), or as the ESV renders it, “immeasurable.”

God’s strength is beyond measurement. It is off the charts. It is “boundless” (NASB).

We serve a mighty God. He created everything from nothing by speaking the universe into existence.

“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. . . Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (Psalm 33:6, 8-9).

This same God raised the body of Jesus to life. That was no small feat!

But there’s more . . .

Please note two words in Paul’s prayer that jump off the page and into our hearts: “for us” (v. 19). God’s power is for our benefit or “toward us” (ESV). God wants his power to be something that we not only read about and marvel at and be blown away by; in addition, he wants us to know that his power is what he exercised to raise us from the dead on the day we first repented and believed in Christ.

Just a few verses later, Paul says this about the working of God’s incredible power for us and toward us:

“You were dead in your trespasses and sins . . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,  in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:1, 4-7).

The same power that raised Jesus from the grave is the power that God used to bring us out of the state of spiritual death. God “made us alive with Christ” and “raised us up with Christ.” Becoming a Christian is a demonstration of the immeasurable, boundless, mighty strength of God, exerted on our behalf so we could receive the life of God and believe in Jesus.

Before coming to Christ for salvation, we were the living dead. Alive physically, but spiritually, a corpse. Because of our “trespasses and sins,” we were dead. And therefore it should come as no surprise that the Bible also describes the non-believer as blind (2 Corinthians 4:4) and deaf (Luke 8:10) – unable to see, hear, or respond to the truth of the gospel. How can we? We’re dead.

But thanks be to God, “because of his great love for us” and because he is “rich in mercy,” God takes the initiative and breathes the breath of his life into us.

Aren’t you glad he did?

This is what Paul prayed for the Ephesians . . . that they would “know the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead” (Ephesians 1:19-20 ESV).

Do you know this power? Have you experienced this wonderful gift? If so, Easter Sunday is the perfect time to offer to God a prayer of praise and thanksgiving that “you have been raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1).

Rejoice, Christian, rejoice, for Christ is risen from the dead, and so are you!

If you find anything in this post beneficial, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

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How to Be Overwhelmed by the Love of God

Posted on April 14, 2022 by Wayne Davies

As we reflect on the meaning of the death of Christ, I’m thankful for these words from J.I. Packer:

“God’s love is an exercise of His goodness towards sinners. As such, it has the nature of grace and mercy.

 

“It is an outgoing of God in kindness which not merely is undeserved, but is actually contrary to desert; for the objects of God’s love are rational creatures who have broken God’s law, whose nature is corrupt in God’s sight, and who merit only condemnation and final banishment from His presence.

“It is staggering that God should love sinners; yet it is true.

“God loves creatures who have become unlovely and (one would have thought) unlovable. There was nothing whatsoever in the objects of His love to call it forth; nothing in man could attract or prompt it. Love among men is awakened by something in the beloved, but the love of God is free, spontaneous, unevoked, uncaused.

“God loves men because He has chosen to love them . . . and no reason for His love can be given save His own sovereign good pleasure. The Greek and Roman world of New Testament times had never dreamed of such love; its gods were often credited with lusting after women, but never with loving sinners; and the New Testament writers had to introduce what was virtually a new Greek word agape to express the love of God as they knew it.”  (Source: Knowing God)

What a profoundly Biblical description of me and you: corrupt and rotten to the core. Unlovely and unlovable. If we got what we deserved, we’d all be in hell right now. What have we earned? “Only condemnation and final banishment from His presence.”

But God, for no reason other than “His own sovereign good pleasure,” has chosen to love us anyway.

This is the message of Romans 5:6-11.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (ESV)

That’s us – apart from God’s grace we are weak: powerless to help ourselves (Phillips), helpless (NASB), utterly helpless (NLT), and without strength (KJV) to escape the prison of sin.  We are ungodly, sinners all, the enemies of God.

And yet God loves us.

Is this not a staggering truth? Does it overwhelm you?

I pray that it does, today and every day.

Rejoice, my friend, for the God of glory loves us and has demonstrated that love most amazingly through the death of Christ. Let it take your breath away!

And if you find anything in this post beneficial, please leave  a comment below.

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The 6 Most Important Verses in the Bible

Posted on April 10, 2022 by Wayne Davies

We will soon celebrate the most important events in the history of the world – the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The four gospels devote much space to the historical reality of these events. And rightly so.

 

And the rest of the New Testament, in addition to many Old Testament passages, explains the meaning of Christ’s death and resurrection in considerable detail. God wants us to know not only what happened to Jesus, but why.

In his letters, the Apostle Paul tells us what Jesus accomplished on the cross in passages that are jam-packed with glorious truths that, when properly understood, will thrill your soul with joy, enable you to persevere through any hardship, and provide the knowledge you desperately need to face death without fear.

Romans 3:21-26 is one of those passages. It has been called the greatest and most important portion of the Bible. And rightly so. Here we find words such as righteousness, faith, sin, glory, justified, justifier, grace, redemption, and propitiation.

These are weighty words that are pregnant with meaning for the believer and non-believer alike. If you comprehend these six verses, take them to heart, and respond to them with faith in Jesus Christ, you will receive a right standing before God, the removal of God’s wrath against you, and the hope of eternal life – which is what you must have to be “unshakable in a hundred crises” (John Piper).

I would like to suggest some resources that can help you better understand and apply the truths of Romans 3:21-26. For example, do you have a good understanding of “justification by faith”? According to Martin Luther, “justification is the article by which the church stands and falls.” John Calvin said, “this is the hinge on which religion turns.”

How about grace, redemption, and propitiation? These are words that God wants us to meditate on often. Can you explain what they mean and why they are in the Bible repeatedly? And if you do know what they mean, how does that knowledge impact your everyday life?

John Piper, one of my favorite Bible teachers, has a series of three sermons on Romans 3:21-26 that I highly recommend. Here they are:

  1. The Demonstration of God’s Righteousness
    https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-demonstration-of-gods-righteousness
  2. God’s Free Gift of Righteousness
    https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/gods-free-gift-of-righteousness

NOTE: This second sermon has the best explanations of sin and faith I’ve ever heard. And he takes the time to explain the meaning of justification so that anyone can understand it, savor it, and rejoice in God because of it.

  1. The Just and the Justifier
    https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-just-and-the-justifier

You can listen to each sermon online, download the MP3 file, and read a written transcript. All for free. Oh, how grateful I am for the abundance of gifted Bible teaching we can access without cost!

Here’s another excellent resource, if you prefer to read a well-written book on the topics addressed in Romans 3:21-26 – How Can I Be Right with God? R.C. Sproul is another of my preferred Bible teachers. This book is part of his “Crucial Questions” series – 36 books on key Bible topics, all free in Kindle format.

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10 Things You Should Know about Marriage

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Wayne Davies


My wife and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary (37 years and counting).

Happy Anniversary, Julie!

I’ve been fortunate to be married to a wonderful woman who loves Jesus and has a passion for His Word. I can testify today to the truth of Proverbs 18:22 – “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.”

God has demonstrated much goodness and favor toward me through my wife!

I’m thankful for good teaching on the subject of marriage from Paul David Tripp. Here’s an excellent article that I recommend.

10 Things You Should Know about Marriage
https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-marriage/
You’ll find the answers to these questions:
1. What does every marriage require?  (Without these things, your relationship is sure to fail.)
2. What is the biggest enemy of your marriage? (hint: You need not look far to find it.)
3. What did both you and your spouse bring into your marriage that is destructive to what a marriage needs and must do?
4. What is the one biblical truth about you and your spouse that you both need to understand to have a good marriage?

If you find anything in this post helpful, let me know by leaving a comment below. I welcome your feedback.

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The Power of a Memory

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Wayne Davies


What I remember most about her room was the smell — a strange mixture of incense, smoke, and alcohol.

I rarely went into my sister’s bedroom, but one day in 1972 I was compelled to do so.

I had recently made a profession of faith in Jesus. As a high school freshman, I had heard the gospel by attending a Baptist church with a good friend. I had been reading the Bible and was learning much about Christianity.

Meanwhile, my sister, two years older, was spending time with a different crowd. Substance abuse was the activity of choice for her and her friends. Drugs and alcohol had become her constant companion. And I could see the effect this was having on her. She was seldom sober.

I had to do something. So I picked up a Bible and knocked on her door. She told me to come in. As I sat down on the couch directly across from her bed, I looked at her and could see the dazed look in her eyes.  She was, as we said back then, stoned.

I asked her: “Is this the kind of life you want to live?”

I don’t remember what she might have said in response. Probably nothing. But I knew she could hear me. Even people in a coma can hear you. It didn’t matter what state she was in. All I knew was that the Book in my hand contained the message that could liberate her from this prison she was in. She was a slave who needed to be set free.

I opened my Bible and turned to John chapter 3. I read the story of Jesus and Nicodemus. I read John 3:16 to her. And then I said, “You need a new life. You need to be born again.”

Then I gave her the Bible and left. I don’t know how long I was there. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes max.

Do you believe in the power of the gospel? Do you believe that God can save anyone, no matter what they’ve done or what condition they are in? No matter how depressed or how drunk or how angry or how depressed or how violent?

I do. I believe God can save anybody, anytime, anywhere. Only one thing is needed: the Word of God must be present. The message of the gospel must be communicated in some way, shape or form, and then the Holy Spirit can take over and come into a person’s heart and change them from the inside out, granting the gift of repentance and saving faith, and in the process of doing that, He forgives all their sin and sets them free from both the penalty and power of sin.

I believe that God can save anybody because the Bible says so.

“Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron” (Psalm 107:14-16).

I believe that God can save anybody because He saved me. Watching my sister’s life deteriorate before my eyes was enough negative reinforcement for me to stay away from alcohol and drugs. But I am just as much a sinner as my sister. I needed forgiveness of sins just as much as she did.

My sister’s conversion experience is, in some ways, more dramatic than mine. But God didn’t liberate her on the day I entered her room and gave her a Bible. A few years later, however, while watching a TV evangelist, she heard the gospel again and suddenly remembered, “That’s what Wayne was trying to tell me.”

Do you ever wonder whether people can be set free from sin by watching television? Yes, God can even save someone while watching TV, because that’s what happened to my sister. While hearing the gospel on television, she committed her life to Christ and started reading the Bible I gave her, which she had kept. It wasn’t easy, but my sister was liberated from a life of substance abuse. Jesus set her free.

In 2006, some 34 years after I shared the gospel with my sister, she sent me a birthday card and wrote these words:

“Wayne, I love you so much. Thank you for planting the seeds of the Word of the gospel, especially John 3:16, back when we were in high school. I can to this day remember the witness you gave me. Your boldness saved me from eternal hell.”

She signed the card, “Your sister who can’t wait to worship our Lord forever.”

I have many memories of my sister. She had a smile that could light up a room. When she laughed, it was contagious, and you couldn’t help but laugh with her.

My sister passed away in 2019. I miss her deeply, more than words can say. Her birthday is March 23, so I just wanted to say, “Happy Birthday, Sheryl! Have a great day with Jesus!”

She couldn’t wait to be with Jesus, to sit at His feet and praise His holy name. That wait is over, for her faith is now sight.

NOTE: The above post is an excerpt from the book, Top 10 Reasons to Read the Bible Today. Available on Amazon. (The Kindle version is free.)

Posted in Evangelism, Salvation | Tagged | 2 Comments

Why Bible Knowledge is Essential but Never Enough

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Wayne Davies

I’ve been reading Humility: True Greatness, by C.J. Mahaney, for the third time. Yes, it’s that good.

Every time I read this book, I am stopped in my tracks, stunned by the Word of God and the way this man explains Biblical truth in profound ways.

Here’s a reminder from the author that knowing the Bible is never an end in itself but rather the means to so much more.

“Though knowledge of Scripture is essential and not optional, by itself it’s never sufficient. As James reminds us, ‘Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves’ (James 1:22).

In his commentary of James, Peter Davids writes:

‘No matter how extensive one’s scriptural knowledge, or how amazing one’s memory, it is self-deception if that is all there is. True knowledge is the prelude to action, and is it the obedience to the Word that counts in the end.’

Mere knowledge of Scripture is not the pinnacle; it’s only the prelude to active obedience, and that’s all that ultimately counts. This truth is present in our Savior’s words: ‘If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them’ (John 13:17).

It’s not complicated! Only obedience is sufficient. Only our grace-motivated obedience and application of holy Scripture can produce growth in godliness.”

Bible knowledge, and the study we do to obtain it, is not enough to please God. Note what the psalmist prays for here: “Teach me, O LORD, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end” (Psalm 119:33).

Even a thorough understanding of Scripture is not enough. This is why the psalmist prayed, “Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart” (Psalm 119:34).

The psalmist prays to not only understand the Word, but that God would enable him to follow, keep and obey the Word.

This is a convicting truth. May we take it to heart and spend much time learning the Word in order to do the Word . . . with all our hearts.

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Where to Go When Death Comes Near

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Wayne Davies

Do you ever think about heaven?

I’ve been thinking about it a lot this week, because a good friend died recently. She was a believer and participated in our home Bible study for many years. We knew her well and saying good-bye has been a bittersweet mixture of sorrow and joy.

What do you do when death comes near? Where do you go to mourn and be comforted?

On Thursday night our small group spent two hours remembering and celebrating the life and faith of our departed sister. We read and discussed several Bible passages that tell us what happens to a believer who leaves this world and enters the next.

When death came, this is where we went to draw near to God and one another . . .

Philippians 1:21-23
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

2 Corinthians 5:6-9
6 So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, 7 for we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Psalm 49:15
But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.

John 14:1-3
1 Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

Psalm 16:9-11
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, nor will you let your faithful one see decay. 11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

John 17:24
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

These passages, and many others, tell us that while heaven is a spectacular place beyond our wildest dreams, the focus of heaven is a Person. I love it when people ask, “What is heaven going to be like?” The answer is right here in these verses: To go to heaven is to be with Christ, where He is, at home with the Lord, taken to Him, filled with joy in His presence, receiving eternal pleasures at His right hand, seeing His glory forever.

That’s what heaven is all about – the experience of never-ending satisfaction in the presence of God. For the believer, the best is always yet to come, for our best life is never in this life. It awaits us in the next. Until then, we can know but a foretaste of glory divine by living out Paul’s instruction in Colossians 3:1-2.

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

Aren’t you glad God has revealed these truths to us in His Word? I am.

Because of these precious promises, when a believer dies, we can be “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” (2 Corinthians 6:10). Amen?

Please take time today to reflect on these questions:
1. Of the seven passages quoted above, which one is your favorite, and why?
2. Based on these passages, how do you describe what heaven is like?
3. How does the hope of heaven make a difference in your life on earth?

And if you find anything in this post helpful, please let me know by leaving a comment below.

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5 Ways to Get a Grip on Your Bible

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Wayne Davies

One of my favorite ministries is The Navigators. Their mission is “To know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same.” They’ve been doing that faithfully since 1933.

I love their Bible-based resources that get me into the Word and keep me there. I’ve been using their New Testament Bible Reading Plan for many years. If you’re looking for a simple yet effective way to make Bible reading a daily habit, you can access a free downloadable copy here:
www.navlink.org/newtestament

Here’s another wonderful Navigators Discipleship Tool: “The Word Hand,” or what could be called “5 Ways to Get a Grip on Your Bible.” Using your thumb and four fingers, this 1-page illustration is an easy-to-remember tool that highlights five methods of learning from the Bible. Get your free copy here:
www.navlink.org/word-hand

As you read reflect on these 5 methods, ask yourself these questions:
How are you doing in each of these 5 areas?
Which one(s) do you consider a strength?
Which one(s) do you consider a weakness?
As you seek to cultivate a higher level of competency in each area, how can others pray for you?

One of those five Bible learning methods is Scripture memorization. That’s the one I tend to neglect. How about you? Just last week I discovered this Navigators gem, Hide God’s Word in Your Heart. This 17-page eBook helps you memorize one key Bible verse each week for the next 4 weeks. I’ve made a commitment to God to hide these 4 verses in my heart. Will you join me? Get your free copy of the eBook here:
https://www.navigators.org/mk212206-scripture-memory-intensive/

You’ll find a boatload of other great resources on the Navigators website. Enjoy!

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How to Pray Like David

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Wayne Davies


What’s the best book in the Bible to learn how to pray?

You can probably think of several. So can I.

Certainly the book of Psalms should be included, don’t you think? I’m convinced that it is one of the best books of the Bible to learn how to pray.

That’s why I wrote my latest book . . .
How to Pray Like David:
A Bible Study on Psalms 1-41

 

It is now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback formats.

Here’s what readers are saying . . .

“This book is simply fantastic! I love the goal of giving lots of ways to apply each psalm into one’s life. I love the format and the content and the superb insights and the focus on application that you have woven into this book. I definitely think this book meets a need that is ‘out there’ for helping to get people into the Psalms with more than merely surface comments on this amazing book in the Bible. You really give the reader excellent things to consider out of each psalm. Superb! I know it is blessing me greatly.”
— Dan Smythe, The Timothy Initiative Ministry Ambassador

 

“I truly loved this book. I most liked the questions at the end of each chapter for further reflection and discussion.”
— Geri Evans

 

“Your writing on each Psalm drew me into God’s Word, and your study questions made me desire to study well and deep and apply what I was learning to my life. Here are some things in particular that I loved about this book:

1. All the applications that are everywhere! Study without application is useless and merely head knowledge. I need things applied to my heart! And I love how you continually reminded the reader to do that.

2. I will greatly profit in my own application through all the authors who are quoted in this study: Boice, Packer, Spurgeon, Piper, Tozer, and probably some more that I’ve forgotten to list!

3. The Gospel message is clearly presented in several places for people that may not truly understand what it is. I especially saw that in the study on Psalm 24. Just excellent!

4. Throughout this study, I see your love for the Lord and the joy in your salvation shining through. Your testimony on page 66 is remarkable. I too am a prodigal, and I understand the gratefulness and humility (although God still points out daily the pride that remains in my heart!) that comes from knowing that God was patient with me, and loved me–despite my sin and me turning my back on him! This book is a testimony of your joy and thanksgiving for your salvation as God graciously turned your heart back towards him. Even though I still suffer consequences of my past sin, yet I am still grateful that God allowed me to go my own way. For me, that was probably the only way for him to truly open my eyes and see that I am his creature, and not my own. I am always  reminded of Psalm 119:67, 71, and 75. I am very grateful for God’s affliction–that bitter medicine of his discipline that he has allowed in my life “that I might learn your statutes” (Ps. 119:71). His mercy and grace are humbling, and he is faithful to discipline those whom he loves. I see your experience of that throughout this study as I see your love and devotion to our gracious God.

5. The additional resources listed in Appendix A. Excellent and trustworthy.

6. The more in-depth study of Psalm 1 in Appendix B.

7. The cross references between the Psalms and the Old Testament, and also those between the Psalms and the New Testament. And they are everywhere! I love seeing how (as always!) God’s Word is the best commentary on Scripture.”
— Georgia Schoelz

 

“This book is not a verse-by-verse commentary, but it is a compilation of lessons Mr.  Davies has learned from Psalms 1-41. There is one chapter for each of these Psalms. Each chapter begins with an explanation of something God has taught him from that psalm. This is followed by “Questions for Further Study, Reflection and Discussion.” These questions guide the reader into a better understanding of the psalm by prompting him to interact with the text.

I appreciate the comprehensive nature of the introduction because it let me know what to expect in the rest of the book. I also liked the short chapters and the questions that followed –this format inspired me to do my own thinking and application. The questions sometimes covered material not mentioned in the explanation of each thought.

Although I had read all the Psalms many times, I gained a greater understanding of Psalms 1-41 after reading the book. I learned how to pray more effectively. Each chapter spoke to a need in my life. I recommend the book highly. I plan to reread this book one chapter at a time and write my answers to each question. We live in an Independent Living Apartment. I would like to share what God is teaching me through the Psalms with some of the residents here.”
— Ken Dover

To access excerpts from the book, please click Here (Chapter 12) and Here (Chapter 40).

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