Psalm 119:33-40

33 Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees;
then I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law
and obey it with all my heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commands,
for there I find delight.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to your word.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant,
so that you may be feared.
39 Take away the disgrace I dread,
for you laws are good.
40 How I long for your precepts!
Preserve my lfe in your righteousness.

John 10:3,5

What: The watchman opens the gate for Him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out... But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.

Apply: If we are not the sheep of Jesus' flock, we won't recognize (can't recognize) Hisvoce, so we'll be lead away by the thief or the stranger, the "one who clims in some other way" (vs 1b). But if we instead flee from that stranger's voice and respond to Jesus' voice, then we know we are His own. If we listen to His voice, which implies obediance (John 14:21), and flee from the thief (James 4:7) then we know that we truly are His.

We are compelled to follow the the voice of Christ and repelled by the voice of the thief.

Reference Verses:
John 14:21 - Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.

James 4:7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

2 Timothy 2:22 - Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

1 Corinthians 10:14 - Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

1 Samuel 3:19

What: The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground.

Apply: This reminds me of the ritual sacrifices of the temple, where a sacrifice was considered worthless if the blood was spilled on the ground. It was supposed to go into bowls that were used for sprinkling on and around the altar to make atonement. The Lord spoke to Samuel and he honoring what the Lord had spoken, as it came from God. The Lord fulfilled all that He prophesied to Samuel and Samuel was careful with what he said when he spoke God's Word. Also, this verse imples that the Lord's Word is necessary for his growth: Samuel ate it up, he didn't let even a single crumb fall on the ground. If you read on into verse 20, you'll see that because of this, Samuel was known to be an established prophet of God in all of Israel ("...from Dan even to Beersheba"). Eli's sons (1 Sam 2:12-36) were wicked and abused the office of the priest treating the sacrifices and the temple with contempt, and Eli did nothing, as a result they all died on the same day and the Ark of the Lord was lost to the Philistines. Samuel did all he was commanded and God established him in Eli's place.

These are the practical points I gather from this scripture:

1. When God speaks, listen; when you speak, say no more and no less than what God said. Be accurate, we face judgement for misusing the Word of the Lord. Be careful of what you say.

2. When God speaks, all He says is true and will come to pass. Trust His Word!

3. Whatever place the Lord establishes you, do what is right in the eyes of the Lord there. Don't take advantage of your position in His Kingdom or your freedom or treat His commands with contempt.

4. Only God makes us grow. We plant and water but can do no more. The Lord has given us food for our souls ( Matt 4:4, John 4:34) his Word and to do His Will. Don't let any of your words fall to the ground!

This post has been updated to clarify what I've said. My big brother Mike showed me where I'd made an error in calling what the Lord spoke to Samuel as "the Lord's Words", this is what he had to say:

Only one thing, extremely minor. God doesn't call His word the "Lord's words." Notice that
it is always singular and not plural, as in "the word of the Lord" (over 200 occurrences)
and not word(s) of the Lord. Why is this important? It is especially important when you
capitalize "Word" b/c there is but one Christ as there is but one Word. It is singular b/c the Word of God, all 67 books (to include us 100 mile an hour taped Bible
epistles) must be united and universal to all. The plural form states plurality which is never
good.

My newest memory verse is going to be John 3:34 which uses the word "rhema"
or something that is spoken or said. It is pluralized. The word "logos"
(though it has an "s" at the end) speaks of God's living capitalized Word.
We must be careful not to confuse the two. I think you did in your writing.

Thanks for spotting that Mike! That helps clarify why the second part of 1 Sam 3:19 says "let none of his words fall to the ground" indicating that the words were what Samuel spoke as opposed to God Word! That was the most difficult part of the verse to understand whether that was "the Word" or Samuel's treatment of it. It was Samuel's treatment of what God spoke to Him that is reflected in the fact that he "let none of his words fall to the ground".

Look up Proverbs 9:8 when you get a chance, it's good advice for anyone that desires to serve God and show others how to do the same.

2:6 ﻝﻭﻻﺍ ﺎﻨﺣﻮﻳ

يَلْتَزِمُ أَنْ يَسْلُكَ كَمَا سَلَكَ الْمَسِيحُ 6
!كُلُّ مَنْ يَعْتَرِفُ أَنَّهُ ثَابِتٌ فِي الْمَسِيحِ،