{"id":25493,"date":"2015-04-23T00:20:29","date_gmt":"2015-04-23T04:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/?p=25493"},"modified":"2015-04-22T14:45:55","modified_gmt":"2015-04-22T18:45:55","slug":"benefits-of-precepts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/2015\/04\/23\/benefits-of-precepts\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefits of Precepts"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Many of you have gone on Spring Break or are anticipating taking a vacation this summer. \u00a0It is a time to refresh spirit, soul, and body. \u00a0Over the next couple of weeks, our faithful bloggers will be taking a \u2018spring break\u2019 from writing so that they can come back to us refreshed and freshly anointed. <\/span>
\nHowever, Girlfriends\u2019 Coffee Hour website won\u2019t \u2018go black\u2019! \u00a0We will be revisiting some of our favorite blogs and daily devotions which have blessed us in the past. \u00a0We pray that each of you, our faithful friends and readers, will continue to start your day meditating on the devotionals and songblogs, and be encouraged and blessed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s give each of our bloggers a big round of applause,<\/span>
\na hug,\u00a0and the rest they so deserve. \u00a0God bless you, ladies!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"SeekingHimLogo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

The precepts of the Lord are right, making the heart glad; the command of the Lord is radiant, making the eyes light up.<\/span>
\nPsalm 19:8 HCSB<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

As I was reading this passage, the word \u2018precept<\/em>s<\/strong>\u2019 caught my attention. I have heard it many times. \u00a0But what, exactly, is a precept<\/strong><\/em>?<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Merriam-Webster Dictionary<\/span>
    \n\u2013 \u00a0a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action
    \n\u2013 \u00a0a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought<\/li>\n
  • Wikipedia<\/span>
    \n\u2013 \u00a0a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u2026Because Abraham listened to My voice and kept My mandate,
    \nMy commands, My statutes, and My instructions.
    \nGenesis 26:5 HCSB<\/p>\n

    A \u2018precept<\/strong>\u2019 is a statute, mandate, command, instruction, law, or ordinance that gives direct advice.<\/em>\u00a0 The precepts<\/strong> of the Lord will set us right if we heed them. They give us a great advantage and provide many benefits. Matthew Henry states: \u201cThe Holy Scripture\u2026is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in or the light of the sun.\u201d \u00a0 Wow!<\/p>\n

    Psalm 19:11 tells us, \u201cYour servant is warned by them; there is great reward in keeping them.\u201d \u00a0So what are some of the benefits we receive when we pay attention to the Lord\u2019s precepts<\/strong>? \u00a0Verse 8 told us they make the heart glad and the eyes light up. \u00a0Look at some other benefits listed in the following verses:<\/p>\n

    You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies,
    \nfor [Your words] are ever before me. I have better understanding and deeper insight
    \nthan all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation.
    \nI understand more than the aged, because I keep Your precepts
    \n[hearing, receiving, loving, and obeying them].
    \nPsalms 119:98-100 AMP<\/p>\n

    Every word of God is pure; He is a Shield to those who take refuge in Him.
    \nProverbs 30:5 HCSB<\/p>\n

    For a command is a lamp, teaching is a light, and corrective discipline is the way to life.
    \nProverbs 6:23 HCSB<\/p>\n

    Who wouldn\u2019t want these benefits? \u00a0I certainly<\/em> do! \u00a0The Lord\u2019s precepts<\/strong> show us what sin is. \u00a0And they provide great and wonderful benefits. But there is one benefit these precepts\u00a0<\/strong>absolutely cannot provide\u2014righteousness.<\/p>\n

    For no one will be justified in His sight by the works of the law,
    \nbecause the knowledge of sin comes through the law.
    \nRomans 3:20 HCSB<\/p>\n

    On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law.
    \nRomans 7:7b HCSB<\/p>\n

    As Galatians 2:9 (AMP) points out, righteousness comes only through faith in Jesus Christ:<\/p>\n

    For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law]
    \nhave [in Christ\u2019s death for me] myself died to the Law
    \nand all the Law\u2019s demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to and for God.<\/p>\n

    Christ was crucified for us. \u00a0His grace provided our acquittal. \u00a0Even so, we can honor Him by following His precepts<\/strong>. \u00a0We receive so many benefits by being attentive to them.<\/p>\n

    *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ \u00a0 \u2665 \u00a0 ~\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u271e\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0~ \u00a0\u2665 \u00a0 ~ \u00a0 *<\/span><\/p>\n

    Lord, thank You for Your amazing grace that removes all guilt from us. \u00a0Let us be more attentive to Your precepts and use them daily. \u00a0Thank You for the direct advice they provide to us and for the marvelous benefits we receive when pay heed to them. In Your Holy name I pray, Amen \u2013 It is so!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Many of you have gone on Spring Break or are anticipating taking a vacation this summer. \u00a0It is a time to refresh spirit, soul, and body. \u00a0Over the next couple of weeks, our faithful bloggers will be taking a \u2018spring break\u2019 from writing so that they can come back to us refreshed and freshly anointed. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":13840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3020],"tags":[7498,5889,3367,7495,1287,425,7496,7497,7492,5763,7490,7489,7491,7493,7494,3174],"class_list":["post-25493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-devotions","tag-commandments","tag-cynda-cottrill","tag-daily-devotions-2","tag-galatians-29","tag-gch","tag-girlfriends-coffee-hour","tag-gods-precepts-give-us-great-benefits","tag-precepts","tag-proverbs-305","tag-proverbs-623","tag-psalm-1911","tag-psalm-198","tag-psalms-11998-100","tag-romans-320","tag-romans-77","tag-seeking-him-devotional","entry"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/SeekingHimLogo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p39pHp-6Db","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/164"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25493"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25493\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25497,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25493\/revisions\/25497"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girlfriendscoffeehour.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}