OUR DAILY BREAD SATURDAY 15TH MARCH 2025 ODB MESSAGE
Our Daily Bread 15 March 2025 Devotional TOPIC: Revered and Read
BIBLE IN YEAR: Deuteronomy 26-27; Mark 14:27-53
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KEY VERSE: Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law. – Psalm 119:18
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Psalm 119:17-32
INSIGHT FOR TODAY
The main theme of Psalm 119 is celebration of the law—the instruction of God—called the Torah. The longest psalm, it’s developed as an acrostic with twenty-two sections—each beginning with succeeding letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This structure was no doubt intended in part as a memory device to aid in the memorization of these important ideas.
Each of those sections contains eight verses. It could be said that Psalm 119 is part of a trilogy of psalms that celebrate Torah (see also Psalms 1 and 19). The psalm is anonymous and lacks a superscription, but verse 1 gives a clear idea of the point of the song: “Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.”
Our Daily Bread 15 March 2025 Devotional – ODB MESSAGE
Our home has a well-stocked, overflowing bookshelf. I have a weakness for beautiful books, especially nice hardcovers, and over the years more and more have been added to the collection. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time and energy to actually read nearly as many of the volumes as I’ve collected. They remain pristine, beautiful, and—sadly—unread.
There’s a danger that our Bibles can become a bit like that. Essayist John Updike, speaking of the American classic Walden, commented that it risked being as “revered and unread as the Bible.” The difficulty of understanding ancient Scriptures written in different cultures than our own can tempt us to leave our Bibles on the shelf—beautiful, beloved, but unread.
It doesn’t have to be that way. As the psalmist does in Psalm 119, we can turn to God, asking Him to “open [our] eyes” to see Scripture’s riches (v. 18). We can find trustworthy teachers to help us “understand what [we’re] reading” (Acts 8:30). And believers have Christ’s Spirit to guide our hearts to see how it all points to Him (Luke 24:27; John 14:26).
Through Scripture, God can give us strength in times of sorrow (Psalm 119:28), protect us from deception (v. 29), and broaden our understanding of how to joyfully live (vv. 32, 35). The Bible is a priceless gift. May it be both revered and read.
REFLECT: What resources help you understand the Bible? How has God used Scripture to shape your life?
PRAY: Gracious God, please open my eyes to Your goodness as I read the gift of Scripture.
Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet. (Our Daily Bread 15 March 2025 Devotional)
