Occasionally I assign homework to my Sunday school class. (They grumble.) Our assignment for this week was to read Psalm 119 and pick out any verses that did not refer specifically to God's Word. Yesterday I read through all 176 verses and underlined every time David used words (interchangeably) to mean Law. In the NASB he used word, way, law, judgments, ordinances, precepts, testimonies, commandments and statutes. In a couple of cases I felt David's use of word conveyed more of the meaning of future promises rather than being a synonym for law. I could find only 4 verses that didn't specifically mention the law. That's right - 4 out of 176.

What does this teach me? God's Word was important to David. God's Word should be important to me. In two verses David tells us he hates false ways. How did he recognize false ways? He thought about, meditated on and prayed over God's Word. We have to remember that He didn't have the 4 Gospels or Paul's letters or John's or Peter's. He had the Law handed down at Mt. Sinai, and he loved it. What, to some, is a dry, obsolete, useless document was, to David, alive, fruitful, worthy of his total attention, meant for his instruction. By constantly reading the Truth, he was able to easily recognize a lie.

Our defense against false teachings and spiritual errors today is to immerse ourselves in God's Word. Don't even handle the counterfeit stuff; it begets a dangerous temptation. Some will say we live in a different culture and we must move with the times. To them I would say that God does not change. The Creator of all things is the same yesterday, today and forever. His Word, from Genesis through The Revelation, is relevant for us today - necessary to our total spiritual health. In the Bible we find the answers to all the questions that we have about life and living.

Think about God's Word; meditate on it; pray over it. Soak up the Love Letter from your Father, and depend on the Holy Spirit to lead you to God's Truth.