Psalm 149: 3
Let them praise His Name with dancing.
150: 4
Praise Him with timbrel and dancing.
Psalms 148-150 are songs of praise to God for all He has made, in all ways to express this homage.
The dancing they performed before the Lord was not what our society considers as dancing; not a romantic coming together of two people in a sensuous movement of embrace. No, it was the leaping and turning in joy for all the Lord is, what He has made, and all He has done.
We are to give praise to God in every manner we can find: with every instrument, from every created realm, with every faculty of humanity.
He deserves it all, and more, forever.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Monday, March 12, 2018
Understanding Is Life
Psalm 119: 144, 160
Thy testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.
God's rules govern all living and other things. Today we call some of them the Natural Laws, that govern how living things and elements interact and function.
The better I understand how all this works together, the healthier I can be and the better I can get along in my relationships.
And the closer I can align my attitudes and thinking processes with my Father's ways, then the closer fellowship I can experience with Him, too.
By His testimonies I can live.
The sum of Thy Word is Truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting.
All truth is God's Truth. Whatever people believe that is not according to God's Word is a deceptive lie. God is true and His Truth will last forever, because He is eternal.
Psalm 139: 23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
This familiar verse is one I have prayed for many years.
Now I am seeing it new, and it confirms that whatever is contrary to God's ways, anything that does not please Him (sin), is also hurtful, damaging to me. Damaging to my health, my relationships with others, and with my fellowship with God my Father. His ways are my life, in every sense.
O my Father, You are good, everything You do is good. Everything You think, everything You plan, everything You do all comes from Love. You are Love, and Your Love put the order into this Universe. Your Love runs all the machinery of how the stars and planets relate to one another. Your Love designed this Earth for us, and placed us here to manage it. Your Love chose one family to receive Your Law, the Instructions for living. You intended for this family to show the rest of the World how good You are, how much You love us all, so that they can also know You and follow Your ways.
Your Love sent Your own Son, the Lord God of the Old Testament, to fulfill the letter of all the Law You gave Moses at Sinai, and His death fulfilled all the sacrificial laws. Now the prophesies of Your putting Your Law in our hearts are fulfilled, with Your Holy Spirit in each of our spirits, giving us spiritual Life, and teaching us how to Love, the foundation and basis of all Your Law. How to love ourselves, how to love one another, and how to love You back.
Thank You, Father, for Your Love! You are Wonderful, and the impossible for me is Your reality for me. Thank You for doing everything possible to draw us to Yourself, to meet all our needs, to bless us and to teach us and to bring us to Yourself. Thank You for wanting me to spend Eternity with You where You are.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thy testimonies are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.
God's rules govern all living and other things. Today we call some of them the Natural Laws, that govern how living things and elements interact and function.
The better I understand how all this works together, the healthier I can be and the better I can get along in my relationships.
And the closer I can align my attitudes and thinking processes with my Father's ways, then the closer fellowship I can experience with Him, too.
By His testimonies I can live.
The sum of Thy Word is Truth, and every one of Thy righteous ordinances is everlasting.
All truth is God's Truth. Whatever people believe that is not according to God's Word is a deceptive lie. God is true and His Truth will last forever, because He is eternal.
Psalm 139: 23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
This familiar verse is one I have prayed for many years.
Now I am seeing it new, and it confirms that whatever is contrary to God's ways, anything that does not please Him (sin), is also hurtful, damaging to me. Damaging to my health, my relationships with others, and with my fellowship with God my Father. His ways are my life, in every sense.
O my Father, You are good, everything You do is good. Everything You think, everything You plan, everything You do all comes from Love. You are Love, and Your Love put the order into this Universe. Your Love runs all the machinery of how the stars and planets relate to one another. Your Love designed this Earth for us, and placed us here to manage it. Your Love chose one family to receive Your Law, the Instructions for living. You intended for this family to show the rest of the World how good You are, how much You love us all, so that they can also know You and follow Your ways.
Your Love sent Your own Son, the Lord God of the Old Testament, to fulfill the letter of all the Law You gave Moses at Sinai, and His death fulfilled all the sacrificial laws. Now the prophesies of Your putting Your Law in our hearts are fulfilled, with Your Holy Spirit in each of our spirits, giving us spiritual Life, and teaching us how to Love, the foundation and basis of all Your Law. How to love ourselves, how to love one another, and how to love You back.
Thank You, Father, for Your Love! You are Wonderful, and the impossible for me is Your reality for me. Thank You for doing everything possible to draw us to Yourself, to meet all our needs, to bless us and to teach us and to bring us to Yourself. Thank You for wanting me to spend Eternity with You where You are.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Ask, Seek, Knock
Psalm 119: 7-11
Aleph: ...
I shall give thanks to Thee with uprightness of heart, When I learn Thy righteous judgments.
I shall keep Thy statutes; do not forsake me utterly!
Beth:
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.
With all my heart I have sought Thee; Do not let me wander from Thy commandments.
Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.
Psalm 119 is all about how God blesses the one who pays attention to His rules, learns them, and lives his life according to them, thinking through every choice and decision in the light of what God has said about it.
This writer realizes how beneficial it is to value God's instructions, and follow them meticulously. God has shown us in His Word everything we need to know to see how what we say and do can coordinate with how He designed things to work. When we follow the Manufacturer's Instructions to run this World, then the Earth will respond with a favorable outcome. This is how God blesses those who obey His commandments.
When we study the whole Bible, then we can see how all 66 books tell one continuous story: the story of how God made us and provided for us and met all our needs. How He showed His people how to cooperate with Him, and what His Son will accomplish, which He did, and the wonderful future He has planned for those who are His own.
When God brought His people to the land He promised to give to Abraham, He made sure that they would know how to live there to gain the greatest benefit He wanted to give them; then other Nations would see how blessed they were and come to worship God, too, instead of their idols.
But the book of Judges shows us how whenever they did obey and were blessed, they started to congratulate themselves and forget God; then others took advantage of them and took all their benefits; then they would cry out to the Lord and He would rescue them, and they would be blessed again. Over and over we see this pattern repeated, because this is how our human nature responds.
When Satan confronted Eve, he convinced her that if she ate from that particular tree, then she wouldn't need God any more, she could make her own decisions and not bother Him.
Satan is still telling Mankind the same lie. If we just put forth the effort, and use our own intelligence, we can have anything we want without submitting to God and His rules. But the methods the World has found to gain benefits are God's rules, that's why they work.
We are to ask, to seek and to knock (Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10). When we know what God wants to give us, and we ask Him, believing that He hears us and answers us, then our faith has brought about the good result we wanted and He gets the glory (see Matthew 9:22, 29: 17:20: 21:21: Mark 5:34: 10:32: Luke 5:30: 7:50: 8:48: 17:6, 19: 18:42).
Satan has taught the World this faith principle, but subtracted God out of it, and tells people to "ask the Universe." Then they can boast of their own abilities to gain the wealth they want: they rob God of the credit and glory He deserves.
But what profit will anyone gain to have an abundance in these few days of life on this Earth, but lose out on the forever eternity God wants us to have with Him? But if someone doesn't want to be with God, then He won't force them. He has given us a will that is free to choose or reject Him and His ways.
The writer of this Psalm understands the value and worth of studying and knowing the rules and instructions of Life, and following them, obeying God in his very thoughts and attitudes and words. And he knows that God will not forsake him, because He will answer. He knows that he can live his life in integrity and purity by following His statutes. And then he will guard against wandering away from that righteous path and missing the mark.
O my Father, help me to know what You want for me and ask You for it; to seek, to look for the ways to understand how to obtain what I'm asking You for; and to knock, to do what needs to be done, as Your hands and feet in this World, promoting Your Kingdom. Then I know that You will answer me, You will show me what to do and where to go, and You will enable me by giving me the strength to accomplish the dream You have given me to fulfill.
And I will give You all the credit, all the glory for what You are doing in and to and through me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Aleph: ...
I shall give thanks to Thee with uprightness of heart, When I learn Thy righteous judgments.
I shall keep Thy statutes; do not forsake me utterly!
Beth:
How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy word.
With all my heart I have sought Thee; Do not let me wander from Thy commandments.
Thy word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee.
Psalm 119 is all about how God blesses the one who pays attention to His rules, learns them, and lives his life according to them, thinking through every choice and decision in the light of what God has said about it.
This writer realizes how beneficial it is to value God's instructions, and follow them meticulously. God has shown us in His Word everything we need to know to see how what we say and do can coordinate with how He designed things to work. When we follow the Manufacturer's Instructions to run this World, then the Earth will respond with a favorable outcome. This is how God blesses those who obey His commandments.
When we study the whole Bible, then we can see how all 66 books tell one continuous story: the story of how God made us and provided for us and met all our needs. How He showed His people how to cooperate with Him, and what His Son will accomplish, which He did, and the wonderful future He has planned for those who are His own.
When God brought His people to the land He promised to give to Abraham, He made sure that they would know how to live there to gain the greatest benefit He wanted to give them; then other Nations would see how blessed they were and come to worship God, too, instead of their idols.
But the book of Judges shows us how whenever they did obey and were blessed, they started to congratulate themselves and forget God; then others took advantage of them and took all their benefits; then they would cry out to the Lord and He would rescue them, and they would be blessed again. Over and over we see this pattern repeated, because this is how our human nature responds.
When Satan confronted Eve, he convinced her that if she ate from that particular tree, then she wouldn't need God any more, she could make her own decisions and not bother Him.
Satan is still telling Mankind the same lie. If we just put forth the effort, and use our own intelligence, we can have anything we want without submitting to God and His rules. But the methods the World has found to gain benefits are God's rules, that's why they work.
We are to ask, to seek and to knock (Matthew 7:7-8, Luke 11:9-10). When we know what God wants to give us, and we ask Him, believing that He hears us and answers us, then our faith has brought about the good result we wanted and He gets the glory (see Matthew 9:22, 29: 17:20: 21:21: Mark 5:34: 10:32: Luke 5:30: 7:50: 8:48: 17:6, 19: 18:42).
Satan has taught the World this faith principle, but subtracted God out of it, and tells people to "ask the Universe." Then they can boast of their own abilities to gain the wealth they want: they rob God of the credit and glory He deserves.
But what profit will anyone gain to have an abundance in these few days of life on this Earth, but lose out on the forever eternity God wants us to have with Him? But if someone doesn't want to be with God, then He won't force them. He has given us a will that is free to choose or reject Him and His ways.
The writer of this Psalm understands the value and worth of studying and knowing the rules and instructions of Life, and following them, obeying God in his very thoughts and attitudes and words. And he knows that God will not forsake him, because He will answer. He knows that he can live his life in integrity and purity by following His statutes. And then he will guard against wandering away from that righteous path and missing the mark.
O my Father, help me to know what You want for me and ask You for it; to seek, to look for the ways to understand how to obtain what I'm asking You for; and to knock, to do what needs to be done, as Your hands and feet in this World, promoting Your Kingdom. Then I know that You will answer me, You will show me what to do and where to go, and You will enable me by giving me the strength to accomplish the dream You have given me to fulfill.
And I will give You all the credit, all the glory for what You are doing in and to and through me.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, March 10, 2018
The Way Of The Righteous
Psalm 1
(1.) How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
The one who does not pay atention to all the World's enticing attractions.
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Who doesn't pause to consider anything that detracts from following the Lord.
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
The result of walking and standing; getting stuck in the rut of criticism and negative thinking.
(2.) But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night.
Instead, this man continually thinks constantly every day about Who God is and how He loves us, and how this World is designed to work on the Earth.
(3.) And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
He is continually nourished and protected.
Which yields its fruit in its season,
He gets results, and reaps a bountiful crop.
And its leaf does not wither,
He doesn't grow "old" in his elder years, but maintains his vibrant good health.
and in whatever he does, he prospers.
Because he follows God's ways in all the facets of life, he realizes clear profit in every realm; emotional, relational, physical, spiritual, and even financial.
(4.) The wicked are not so,
Those who ignore God and His ways will not experience these good results.
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
This refers to the hulls of the grain that, when threshed, separates from the curnel and blows away.
(5.) Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Those who ignore God will be ignored by God, they will have no standing before Him.
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Those who rebel against God and His ways, convincing themselves that they know better; have nothing in common with those who recognize God's sovereignty over them, who have accepted His love and Redemption.
(6.) For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
God sees, and recognizes, and approves of the path of those who are following in His ways.
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Not only will they not make it to Paradise, but the very path they have taken will be abolished and destroyed.
This is the very first song God saw fit to put into His songbook, so I think that gives it a prominent place; God is saying, "Pay attention to this message."
God loves music, but He didn't put any melodies into this hymnal--only the lyrics. It's the words that makes any music "Christian" or Worldly. And God loves a new song. So every generation will put His songs to different kinds of music, all pleasing to Him.
I don't enjoy some kinds of music, but God enjoys it all. He loves a variety, and He has made us creative, like He is, and He enjoys watching all our creativity.
And the message of this song is that: to be blessed by God and not discarded by Him, we need to learn Who He is, and how He has designed this World to operate on this Earth He made for us. He gave us all the rules and regulations and the directions on how to apply them in our lives, in His Word, the Manufacturer's instructions, so that we can cooperate with what works and be successful in everything we do.
So if we really understand the whole Bible, and we can connect the dots of how everything in the Word and in the World all work together, then we can live successfully in the World without being of the World, doing life God's way.
That's why I continue to try to add to this blog every day, so that I can learn more how it all fits together, as I share with you, so that you can also learn more, and prosper in everything you do, too.
As our loving Father, God wants His children to enjoy all He gives us, just as any father who loves his children wants them to do well. And when life throws curve balls and balls of fire at us, He will stay with us, carrying us across the mire and quicksand that threaten us, teaching us to trust Him more fully and deeply every day.
So may you be found by Him, taught by Him, and carried by Him, until He brings all Creation to its culmination and completion.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
(1.) How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
The one who does not pay atention to all the World's enticing attractions.
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Who doesn't pause to consider anything that detracts from following the Lord.
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
The result of walking and standing; getting stuck in the rut of criticism and negative thinking.
(2.) But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and in His Law he meditates day and night.
Instead, this man continually thinks constantly every day about Who God is and how He loves us, and how this World is designed to work on the Earth.
(3.) And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
He is continually nourished and protected.
Which yields its fruit in its season,
He gets results, and reaps a bountiful crop.
And its leaf does not wither,
He doesn't grow "old" in his elder years, but maintains his vibrant good health.
and in whatever he does, he prospers.
Because he follows God's ways in all the facets of life, he realizes clear profit in every realm; emotional, relational, physical, spiritual, and even financial.
(4.) The wicked are not so,
Those who ignore God and His ways will not experience these good results.
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
This refers to the hulls of the grain that, when threshed, separates from the curnel and blows away.
(5.) Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Those who ignore God will be ignored by God, they will have no standing before Him.
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
Those who rebel against God and His ways, convincing themselves that they know better; have nothing in common with those who recognize God's sovereignty over them, who have accepted His love and Redemption.
(6.) For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
God sees, and recognizes, and approves of the path of those who are following in His ways.
But the way of the wicked will perish.
Not only will they not make it to Paradise, but the very path they have taken will be abolished and destroyed.
This is the very first song God saw fit to put into His songbook, so I think that gives it a prominent place; God is saying, "Pay attention to this message."
God loves music, but He didn't put any melodies into this hymnal--only the lyrics. It's the words that makes any music "Christian" or Worldly. And God loves a new song. So every generation will put His songs to different kinds of music, all pleasing to Him.
I don't enjoy some kinds of music, but God enjoys it all. He loves a variety, and He has made us creative, like He is, and He enjoys watching all our creativity.
And the message of this song is that: to be blessed by God and not discarded by Him, we need to learn Who He is, and how He has designed this World to operate on this Earth He made for us. He gave us all the rules and regulations and the directions on how to apply them in our lives, in His Word, the Manufacturer's instructions, so that we can cooperate with what works and be successful in everything we do.
So if we really understand the whole Bible, and we can connect the dots of how everything in the Word and in the World all work together, then we can live successfully in the World without being of the World, doing life God's way.
That's why I continue to try to add to this blog every day, so that I can learn more how it all fits together, as I share with you, so that you can also learn more, and prosper in everything you do, too.
As our loving Father, God wants His children to enjoy all He gives us, just as any father who loves his children wants them to do well. And when life throws curve balls and balls of fire at us, He will stay with us, carrying us across the mire and quicksand that threaten us, teaching us to trust Him more fully and deeply every day.
So may you be found by Him, taught by Him, and carried by Him, until He brings all Creation to its culmination and completion.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Friday, March 9, 2018
Bless The Lord, O My Soul!
Psalm 103: 1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Early in my Christian life I found this Psalm, and it impressed me so that I set these first five verses to music, repeating the first line at the end. Then, shortly before my Daddy died I sang it to him. I'm so glad I could share this wonderful song with the one who sired and raised me.
I forgave him for the mistakes he made in my childhood, and was able to let him know that God had rescued me out of the sinful lifestyle I had been living. And God also had saved him when he married his second wife.
God has been so good to me, preserving my life from death, knowing that He would draw me to Himself. And He has always met my every need, even before I knew I needed it. And in His generosity, He has also blessed me in so many ways beyond my bare needs, to grant me so many of my wants, also.
He is good, and my soul blesses His holy Name! I thank Him for all the wonderful blessings He has lavished on me in His love for me. He has graced me with good physical health, a loving husband for 30 years, for three beautiful and intelligent children, for brothers and sisters in Christ for me to love and be loved by; for always having a roof over my head and good food for nourishment, and beautiful clothing to cover my nakedness.
He has led me into following His ways in my living my life day by day, and has seen fit to allow me a higher education in learning how to study His Word, and to record my studies over the years, to be able to share with the World how wonderful He is to us all.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; Who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
Early in my Christian life I found this Psalm, and it impressed me so that I set these first five verses to music, repeating the first line at the end. Then, shortly before my Daddy died I sang it to him. I'm so glad I could share this wonderful song with the one who sired and raised me.
I forgave him for the mistakes he made in my childhood, and was able to let him know that God had rescued me out of the sinful lifestyle I had been living. And God also had saved him when he married his second wife.
God has been so good to me, preserving my life from death, knowing that He would draw me to Himself. And He has always met my every need, even before I knew I needed it. And in His generosity, He has also blessed me in so many ways beyond my bare needs, to grant me so many of my wants, also.
He is good, and my soul blesses His holy Name! I thank Him for all the wonderful blessings He has lavished on me in His love for me. He has graced me with good physical health, a loving husband for 30 years, for three beautiful and intelligent children, for brothers and sisters in Christ for me to love and be loved by; for always having a roof over my head and good food for nourishment, and beautiful clothing to cover my nakedness.
He has led me into following His ways in my living my life day by day, and has seen fit to allow me a higher education in learning how to study His Word, and to record my studies over the years, to be able to share with the World how wonderful He is to us all.
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy Name!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Thinking As One
Romans 15: 5-6
Now may the God Who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we all get together in full agreement to do anything, nothing is impossible for us to accomplish (see Genesis 11:6).
Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). Imagine the result when we all will be of one mind and purpose in bringing honor and glory to God!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Now may the God Who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
When we all get together in full agreement to do anything, nothing is impossible for us to accomplish (see Genesis 11:6).
Jesus prayed that we would be one with Him as He is one with the Father (John 17:21). Imagine the result when we all will be of one mind and purpose in bringing honor and glory to God!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
The Purpose Of It All
Psalm 119: 127-128
Because I love Your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all Your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it uses numerous terms:
-Law
-Testimonies
-Judgments
-Path
-Way(s)
-Precepts
-Ordinances
-Word(s)
-Statutes
-Commandments
-Decrees
-Word of Truth
-Wonders
All these describe the ways God gives us to understand His instructions, to teach us how to think, how to order our lives to be in tune with how He designed this World to function.
The writer of this Psalm got this concept, so he valued this instruction over all the wealth this Earth can provide.
This Earth and the World of Mankind upon it will all be destroyed one Day, but God and His Ways will endure forever.
So what will your profit be if you can gain this whole World, but miss out on the purpose of it all, and lose your Eternity?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Because I love Your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all Your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it uses numerous terms:
-Law
-Testimonies
-Judgments
-Path
-Way(s)
-Precepts
-Ordinances
-Word(s)
-Statutes
-Commandments
-Decrees
-Word of Truth
-Wonders
All these describe the ways God gives us to understand His instructions, to teach us how to think, how to order our lives to be in tune with how He designed this World to function.
The writer of this Psalm got this concept, so he valued this instruction over all the wealth this Earth can provide.
This Earth and the World of Mankind upon it will all be destroyed one Day, but God and His Ways will endure forever.
So what will your profit be if you can gain this whole World, but miss out on the purpose of it all, and lose your Eternity?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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