Why “Faith, Hope, and Love” Are So Important and WILL Last Forever.

Faith, Hope and Love. These three things will last forever. Love as described in 1 Corinthians 13 is best understood as being a way of life, lived in imitation of Jesus Christ, as focused not on oneself but on the “other” and his or her good.

Love is about action, how a person lives for the Lord and obeys him and how a person lives for others and serves them.

Yet it is also about being. This is because its foundation is in God who is love, and in Christ who shows that love and the Holy Spirit. The sense that this is about more than simply how people behave is seen in passages like Paul’s prayer of Ephesians 3:14–19, particularly as he prays that Christians will be “rooted and grounded in love.” To “know the love of Christ” is to experience his presence “through faith” in their “hearts.” God’s people are to look and become more and more like Christ, and it is this for which Paul prays here.

It is because being and actions are so closely tied together in God and in Christ, first, but then also in his people, that Paul calls love a “more excellent way” (12:31b). It is the way of the new kingdom which has been ushered in with the appearance of the Messiah, who has shown it in his life, passion, and death, but who has also exhibited it in his coming, in his being, His death and resurrection.

Love is the way of existence in the heavenlies. As this break into the present in Christ, his people, filled with the Spirit of Christ, are to take on this way of existence and develop a life where love guides their approach to all things. Of course, this will immediately be seen in how they live and speak and think. Even so, when all that is mentioned here is done, the meaning of love for the believer is by no means diminished, minimized, defeated, exhausted in its importance!

1 Corinthians 13:13 AKJV

¹³And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul describes various spiritual gifts and ways we can demonstrate Godly living in the world. He touches on the gift of tongues, prophecy with understanding, and faith that could move mountains.

Yet somehow, he passes all of these things for just one thing: Love.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13 he says, “Three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love.”

I have found myself skipping over this verse with a thought of “Yep, got that one down.” I have heard it and read it so often that I forget the application and power of it. What is this for? Why are these the things – faith, hope, love – that last forever? The greatest power of our lives is contained in this verse. We just have the high task of unfolding the purpose behind it in order to connect to it.

The Purpose of Faith

Faith is one of the first things we learn about as Christians.

It often starts with the quote from Jesus in Luke 17:6 where He says, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!” Hebrews 11:1 gives this clear definition of faith: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

In my maturing years of my Christianity, I genuinely believed these Scriptures to be that I had the power and authority to believe something “as hard as I could” and it would be done, even if it meant defying the physical realm. I did this patiently for months before I started to lose hope and I began weeping to God. “Why! I truly believe you could deny this from me! Why won’t you do it!?”

The purpose of faith is not to influence my own comfort. The purpose of faith is to lead forward to know the heart of God and then trust His ways to guide us. It is practical exercise reminding us of our place on the vine. We are the branches, and we can do nothing apart from the vine (John 15:5).

Hebrews 11:1 is a great definition of faith, but I believe Hebrews 11:6 gives us the life application of it. It states, “For we come to God in faith knowing that He is real and that He rewards the faith of those who passionately seek Him.” (TPT)

The Purpose of Hope

Hope is defined by Google as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” It can also be defined as “a feeling of trust.” So, faith is the belief that there is something significantly better to seek and to discover, while hope is the expectation, or the certainty, that it is absolutely there. Hope is the 100-octane fuel that keeps our faith alive in our quest to seek and find love.

The way that faith, which is the seeking of the Lord, connects with hope, which is the expectation of finding Him, is through wisdom.

Proverbs 24:14 says, “In the same way, wisdom is sweet to your soul. If you find it, you will have a bright future, and your hopes will not be cut short.”

Jesus is our model of constantly seeking after wisdom. Often in our spiritual development, we hit a place of complacency where we are good with what we have. It is a great thing to be grateful, but there is more for your life when you continually seek wisdom. At each level we should be graduating, moving, and growing, constantly adding to what we understand.

This is what keeps hope alive. As we seek more, we learn more, and we store up confidence in who we are on the vine. In Luke 2:52 we get a subtle, yet powerful, picture of Jesus’ character that reveals the deep foundation of his influence and confidence. It says, “Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Jesus is our only true King! Jesus is our Savior! We should follow his authority, lead by constantly seeking wisdom and relationship with others.

The Purpose of Love

Paul makes it very clear in 1 Corinthians 13:13 that the greatest of all spiritual gifts is love. Based on this, we know that love is the MAX result that we see of our faith and our hope. Love is the pen-ultimate goal. How wonderful is it to understand the goal! When you start a new game, the biggest hurdle is often obtaining an understanding more than physical limitations. If you understand the goal, you can use what gifts and graces you have been gifted to get there.

The purpose of love is evident in 1 John 4:7-8 that it is the clearest picture of God that we have. It states, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” It goes on to say in verse 19 that “we love because God first loved us.” So, the purpose of love is twofold. First, it is revelation of identity. It tells us who God is and who we are in God, God alone.

Second, it is the very power that allows us to do the work of Jesus and even unto greater works as Jesus described in John 14:12. He says, “Whoever believes in me will also do the works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” Love has the power to help us believe again and restore hope in others. It is the ultimate momentum engine that drives all of our spiritual lives.

Faith, Hope, and Love: The Perpetual Cycle of Life

If faith, hope, and love are the things that last forever, it becomes clear these are the things we should pursue with our lives. Some may feel concerned at the thought of knowing what the end goal is, that perhaps there is no point to life if there is nothing left to discover. But there is life in these things that will never be diminished, defeated, minimized, exhausted or drowned or burned out!

In the beginning, we are born with no other understanding besides faith.

As newborn babies, we instinctively, naturally, reach out to our parents, seek care and to be nurtured. We confidently look for someone to give us the care that we need. As we earn the badges of life, we become scarred by experiences which can strip our faith and our hope away, and in turn, we forget our natural instinct to love as we become too consumed with finding a new starting point.

Finding faith, hope, and love for ourselves does not mark the end of anything.

It can, however, mark the exact beginning for someone else. If you have ever been in a broken place, you have spent time trying to find “bottom” then you know the power of someone else showing you kindness or believing in you.

It is a true progression of divinely orchestrated events. When you are shown love, you ignite a new belief of what you could be. Then you become hopeful that there is still good in this world. Then you love yourself. Then you share love with others and spark this cycle over and over again. This is our beginning, our new beginnings, and our forever and ever amen, both for us and fellow man.

Imitating Christ’s love

A further explanation why love comes to function as the marker par excellence of the true believer lies in the imitation of Christ. Christ stands as the supreme example of love through the whole of his life, but specially in his death.

In 1 Corinthians 1 the death of Christ was at the center of Paul’s understanding of God’s wisdom (his plan) to save his people. It was the “word of the cross” that was the power of God to those “being saved” (1:18). Supremely in Christ’s death the love of God and of Christ was shown. The link is explicit in Romans 5:8: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (ESV). It is also clear in Ephesians 5:2: “Walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (ESV).

Finally, perhaps the great surprise of chapter 13 is the MAX depth of intimacy of the love relationship Paul described. It is surely infinitely more than could have been imagined, especially as Paul looks forward to seeing “face to face” and writes, “Then I shall know fully even as I have been fully known” (v. 12).

Through a disciplined devotion to prayer, reading, studying Scripture, we shall know God, not in the sense of having the same omniscience as God has, but “even as” he has known us personally with such extraordinary depths of love.

But this life is the first step into an eternity of love with God; the love of God and our love for God, and these three graces of faith, hope and love must of necessity all continue beyond this mortal sphere, for the attributes of God are incomparable in their beauty, His perfections are unlimited in their number, His excellence is everlasting in its duration, splendour is absolute in its span.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

A Prayer for Faith, Hope, and Love

We can start with this prayer from 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

God, thank you for loving me. Thank you for starting my cycle of life and giving me the wisdom needed to walk with you. I pray I will continually be interested in wisdom so that my faith and my hope cannot be cut off. I pray that as I stay full, I will look for ways to carry out your work to help someone else in need. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Whether I am Abounding within the Abundance of God’s Blessings, in the Absence of Blessings, there is still the Power of “YET!” Habakkuk 3:17-19

We live in a time when we have trouble seeing the forest through the trees. We live in a time where the best-selling Christian books seem to be the ones that tell you how to be optimistic, to prosper, succeed and live the good life. And you know what, it’s easy to put your faith in God when you are prospering, when life is going well and everything according to your plans. But when reality intrudes?

But the book of Habakkuk challenges us to put your faith in God even during the worst times when we can hardly even see the trees. When Habakkuk reached the end of his journey, he had been moved from a place of doubting God to a place of trusting God no matter what. And that “no matter what” was a serious issue for Habakkuk, far more serious than most of the issues we deal with each day.

Do you have hopes and dreams for the future, but no visible signs that they will ever come to fruition? YET do you ever feel like saying, “God, please just give me a sign, some type of hope that things are going to change, something to hold on to?” Then you know how Habakkuk felt. And Habakkuk would tell you, when you have nothing to hold on to for the future, hold on to God, and that will be enough. “YET, though I have no visible sign of hope for the future, nothing tangible that I can see or touch or grasp, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my Savior.” Habakkuk says, “YET, Trust God no matter what.”

Habakkuk 3:17-19 New Revised Standard Version

Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble

¹⁷Though the fig tree does not blossom,
    and no fruit is on the vines;
though the produce of the olive fails,
    and the fields yield no food;
though the flock is cut off from the fold,
    and there is no herd in the stalls,
¹⁸yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will exult in the God of my salvation.
¹⁹God, the Lord, is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    and makes me tread upon the heights.^[a]

To the leader: with stringed^[b] instruments.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Have you experienced times in your life where you can’t feel God’s presence?

When the worst happens in our lives, while we do our best to cling to our faith, when we try our hardest to remain hopeful and upbeat and optimistic, it is still incredible easy to roll our eyes, question God. Where is He when a loved one dies far too young? Where is God in catastrophe and threats of catastrophe? Where is He when both the forests and the trees, standing tall directly in front of us, are invisible, in the moments when the storms of life rage in every which direction?

Where is God in the midst of countless people suffering because of the storms which do not quit? Why can I not feel the trees? Why can I not feel the winds blowing through the forests on my face? Why can I not feel the heat of the sun? I know they are there – I have felt them many times before and they were good! I have always enjoyed their presence, I have always found great joy, much fun! I have always felt abundantly blessed God always gives me one more new day.

Except, in this moment, there are those individuals whose testimony and witness are “I am not sure whether or not I am abounding in the abundance of God’s blessings or abounding in the abundant absence of God’s blessings.”

We can select any corner of the globe, put our fingers on any point on any map anywhere in the world, and we are confronted by these same age-old times and age-old questions humans have struggled with for centuries, and questions we can easily ask today. It seems as if the world is forever on the brink of disaster, so we are left searching for God through all of it. YET! YET! YET! YET! ……!

Habakkuk wrote his prophecy at time when he and God’s people were asking the same questions. The Babylonians were preparing to invade Judah where the remnant of God’s people remained. This was a direct judgment from the Lord, for they had experienced a time of continuous and rapid moral and spiritually decline. Habakkuk complains against God, not understanding how he could use a downright wicked nation in Babylon to judge a less wicked one in Judah. But YET we know (praise Him) that God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-13).

The Lord answers Habakkuk and reminds him that He is a God of justice and mercy and that the righteous have to live by faith (2:4) and YET trust Him.

Habakkuk’s ultimate summary is no matter what comes, he will choose joy and trust God. Though the world seems to crumble, YET he will rejoice in the Lord.

I can’t read this passage and not think about the classic hymn “It is Well With My Soul.” YET How many people know the sadly dramatic story behind it.

Horatio Spafford wrote the lyrics after a series of traumatic events: his two sons died in the Chicago fire of 1871 and the rest of his family perished two years later when their ship crossing the Atlantic sank. YET, even after all of those things, he was able to overcome, to turn his eyes, soul heavenward and write:

“When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

What are you going through today? Does is seem like your world is falling apart?

To put it in contemporary terms: You get laid off after years of faithful service to the company. You lose your job and have no current source of income. You invest all your money in what looks like an iron-clad, “can’t miss” portfolio and the market goes bust. You put years into a relationship with another person and now that relationship falls apart. You are healthy, then suddenly – NOT!

What do you do when all that you are and have been counting on in the present suddenly comes crumbling down around you?

What do you do when you suffer bitter disappointments in life?

Habakkuk says, “YET! Trust God no matter what.”

“YET, Though the olive crop fails, and the fields produce no food, YET I will rejoice in the Lord. YET I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

Habakkuk began his journey in the valley of doubt, and he ended his journey scaling the heights with God with feet like a deer. It is a beautiful journey and one that is open to everyone who will come honestly to God with their questions and seek him with all of their heart.

As God promises in Jeremiah 29:13: “[YET!] You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

And so, wherever you may be in your own personal journey from bouts with doubt to faith, let me encourage you, keep seeking God. Keep coming to him with your doubts and with your questions. Come to God through Jesus his Son, knowing [YET] that God loves you so much he sent his Son to die for your sins.

And I pray that God will also lead you to that place where you will learn to trust him no matter what, where you may run along the heights in God’s presence with feet like a deer. May God help us to [YET] learn the beautiful lessons that he has recorded for us in the book of His Prophet Habakkuk.

Know this: you don’t choose what you go through, but YET you can choose how you go through it and who you go through it with. Choose God! Choose joy, and know that God is YET good, just and merciful. No matter what you face, you can choose to shout, sing, “YET, I will rejoice in the Lord…the God of my salvation.”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

1 When the storms of life are raging,
stand by me; (stand by me)
when the storms of life are raging,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When the world is tossing me
like a ship upon the sea,
thou who rulest wind and water,
stand by me. (stand by me)

2 In the midst of tribulation,
stand by me; (stand by me)
in the midst of tribulation,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When the hosts of hell assail,
and my strength begins to fail,
thou who never lost a battle,
stand by me. (stand by me)

3 In the midst of faults and failures,
stand by me; (stand by me)
in the midst of faults and failures,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When I’ve done the best I can,
and my friends misunderstand,
thou who knowest all about me,
stand by me. (stand by me)

4 In the midst of persecution,
stand by me; (stand by me)
in the midst of persecution,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When my foes in war array
undertake to stop my way,
thou who rescued Paul and Silas,
stand by me. (stand by me)

5 When I’m growing old and feeble,
stand by me; (stand by me)
when I’m growing old and feeble,
stand by me. (stand by me)
When my life becomes a burden,
and I’m nearing chilly Jordan,
O thou Lily of the Valley,
stand by me. (stand by me) Charles Albert Tindley (1905)

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Abounding, Abundant, Faithfulness is the True Keys to God’s Blessings. Wisdom From: Proverbs 28:18-22

In this devotional for today I am seeking to bless your life, shake up, and stir up your affections for God, today we’re going to look at the blessedness of God’s faithfulness and how we ourselves can express our gratitude to God, revealing it, returning it and sharing it. You and I can have faith, because God is faithful. His faithfulness lays the foundation for our faithfulness. We need to love him, follow him, walk with him. May God draw us closer to him and give us a greater measure of His faith today as we focus on his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

Proverbs 28:18-22Amplified Bible

¹⁸
He who walks blamelessly and uprightly will be kept safe,
But he who is crooked (perverse) will suddenly fall.
¹⁹
He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread,
But he who follows worthless people and frivolous pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
²⁰
A faithful (right-minded) man will abound with blessings,
But he who hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.
²¹
To have regard for one person over another and to show favoritism is not good,
Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.
²²
He who has an evil and envious eye hurries to be rich
And does not know that poverty will come upon him.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

In today’s devotional, we are going to look at six areas of life which too many people are being the most unfaithful and what does the Bible say about it. Be faithful to God in these areas, you surely, certainly will unlock his blessings.

1. Being Faithful to God and His Word

A. In such times as these, all of us are forced to wait at certain times of life and waiting is a time when our faithfulness is put into test. If we are faithful, we will wait upon the Lord for sustenance, not anything or anyone else, (Psalm 62:5).
B. We need to be faithful to God’s word also. We are to devote ourselves to it on a daily basis. We are to live it in our heart so that we will not sin, (Psalms 119:11).
C. God will surely, certainly bless when we delve into, when we abide, and we abound deeply into his word. Above all we will have his perfect peace, even while living in a world of tranquility, (John 15:7; Isaiah 26:3, 1 Timothy 2:15).

2. Being Faithful to the Local Church

A. The local church is every Christian’s spiritual family. God has called us to be a family of One God, One Spirit, and One Baptism. Be fed only by the Word of God (Psalm 19, Psalm 34:8 -10, Psalm 119, Proverbs 1, 8, 16:24, Proverbs 22:6)
B. Faithfulness to one’s local church is best expressed by his obedience to his precepts and teachings. Love God, Neighbor and self. Respect their ideologies and the nuances of their various and diverse theologies, biases and prejudices are irrelevant and immaterial and unnecessary (Acts 2, Galatians 3:25-29)
C. Always support each other in ministry, as we all labor for the Kingdom of God, in our tears and in sweat, (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 5:17-18).

3. Being Faithful to Your Family

A. Husbands are commanded to love their wives like Christ loved the Church and gave his life for her and wives are told to be subject to their husbands, (Ephesians 5:22-25).
B. Husbands should be faithful to their wives and wives should be faithful to their husbands, (Hebrews 13:4).
C. Children are told to obey their parents in the Lord. It’s a conditional promise. Parents are told not to provoke their children to anger. but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, (Ephesians 6:1-4).

4. Be Faithful to Your Finances

A. Plan your budget, expenses with great care, (Luke 14:28-30). Constantly give attention to your financial health, (Proverbs 27:23).
B. Pay your tithe on time. Everything you have belongs to God. But he is asking you to give one-tenth of it back, for the welfare of his servant. He has promised to bless your tithe and told you to test him on it, (Malachi 3:10).
C. Give regularly, in addition to the tithe. Not because God wants your money. Giving is a form of worship. To worship means to surrender your whole self and surrendering your finances is a good place to begin with, (Proverbs 3:9).

5. Being Faithful to One’s Country

A. The Bible commands us to submit to the government because it’s the established will of God, (Romans 13:1). Its authority comes from God alone.
B. The Bible forbids rebelling against the governing authorities. Rebellion against the government is the same as rebellion against God, (Romans 13:2).
C. God is in control of all. The Bible also urges us to pray for those who govern, (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

6. Being Faithful at the Work Place

A. We are to obey our employers in the Lord. Means we should obey them, as long as their wishes don’t contradict God’s word, (Ephesians 6:5).
B. Don’t steal from your employer or deceive him. We should work for our employers as if we are working for God, (Ephesians 6:8).
C. Employers should treat their employees with respect. God will judge the employer that that oppresses his employees, (Ephesians 6:9).

Conclusion

You and I were never meant to live life apart from the knowledge of God’s faithfulness. You and I aren’t meant to live with the weight of doing life on our own. Man may fail you, but your God will not. Family and friends may not be there when you need them the most, but your God will always be there for you.

Where do you feel on your own?

In what ways do you need a fresh revelation of God’s faithfulness?

He promises to be true to you.

He promises to see you through any situation you find yourself in.

Isaiah 54:10 says, “‘For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”

Faithfulness is foundational to the very character of God. God’s steadfast love for you is surer than the very ground you walk on.

So, respond to God’s faithfulness today. Let his promises steady the parts of your life that feel unsure. As you step outside today, take time to look at the world around you. Think about the things you’ve put your trust in.

And remember, God promises that his faithfulness will outlast anything your eyes can see. May your affections for him be mightily shaken and stirred today.

May you all come to respond to his faithfulness with your own. And may you experience the love and joy of a Father who loves you perfectly and completely.

I want to urge you to search for yourself and know whether you have been unfaithful in any of these areas. Remember, that the one who conceals his sin shall not prosper. But God will restore us if we confess and renounce them, (Proverbs 28:13).

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Help me Lord to follow you with my whole heart. Help me Lord to be faithful to my calling. Help me Lord to fulfil promises I make to people. Let me abound with all covenant blessings in Jesus’ name. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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God is Asking Us …. Do We want Him to Bless Us today? Proverbs 28:18-22

“Count your Blessings!” “Hug your Blessings!” “Be a Blessing unto Others!”

Each an expression most of us know well. It was made famous by a great old hymn you may not be familiar with if you’re younger. This inspiring hymn of thankfulness to God makes for a truly wonderful meditation for your private devotions or to share in a time of quiet prayer, reflection with a small group,

Do you want God to bless you today? Are you in the mood to be blessed? Do you want to be blessed? Do you genuinely “feel like” being blessed today? Christians obtain blessings by living like Christ. But who wants to live their life like Jesus? “Blessed to be a Blessing?” What is that supposed to mean when all is not well?

I mean, I would never turn away the opportunity to experience feel the comfort of another human being who wants to turn all of my frowns into widest smiles. But, to sort out abundant uncountable blessings from the uncountable curses, to count, to give any number, unto the uncountable blessings promised of God?

I simply do not know, perhaps I do not want to know, how high that number truly is.

Proverbs 28:18-22 NASB

¹⁸One who walks blamelessly will receive help,
But one who is ^[a]crooked will fall all at once.
¹⁹One who works his land will have plenty of food,
But one who follows empty pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
²⁰A faithful person will abound with blessings,
But one who hurries to be rich will not go unpunished.
²¹To ^[b]show partiality is not good,
Because for a piece of bread a man will do wrong.
²²A person with an evil eye hurries after wealth
And does not know that poverty will come upon him.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Although quite precious, abounding faithfulness to God is a rare virtue today.

The Bible has many references to it. But Proverbs 28:20, in particular, says that faithfulness is the key to our abounding in our God’s uncountable blessings.

First, there are two types of blessings in general.

The first kind is known as the common blessings such as rain, sunlight, etc. One does not have to be a faithful child of God to the abundance of receive these.

The second kind is known as the unique blessings which include both spiritual and material riches but available only to God’s children.

In today’s devotional, we are going to look at the story behind the writing of the famous Hymn – “Count Your Blessings” written by Johnson Oatman, Jr. (1897)

The Story Behind Count Your Blessings

Johnson Oatman, Jr. grew up in New Jersey in the middle of the 19th Century singing hymns with his father. His life is a testimony to the legacy left by a loving Father who sings praise to God with his children!

Johnson grew up to become a bi-vocational Methodist minister and he wrote over 5,000 hymns, including Count Your Blessings in 1897. Count Your Blessings is considered his finest hymn and for over one century it has been one of our most loved hymns. It’s a song of thankfulness to God that is sung by English speaking people around the world on Thanksgiving Day and all year long.

One writer said about Count Your Blessings, “It is like a beam of sunlight that has brightened up the dark places of the earth.” Early on it was especially popular in Great Britain, where it was said, “The men sing it, the boys whistle it, and the women rock their babies to sleep on this hymn.” During the revival in Wales, it was one of the most favored of hymns sung at every service.

The Meaning Behind Count Your Blessings

The wonderful encouragement to “Count your blessings” is often misused.

It does not mean to deny that you’re having problems.

It does not mean to ignore your troubling emotions. It does not mean, “Cheer up and act like everything is fine.” That does not work and never will work!

It certainly does not lead to lasting joy and peace. The hymn is actually encouraging us to acknowledge openly that we are “tempest-tossed” or “burdened with a load of care” and bring our concerns unto God in prayer.

When we go to God with our troubles, we can begin to see that we do not need to be discouraged because “God is over all.”

In other words, we bring ourselves and our circumstances to Christ in the Kingdom of the Heavens, which he said is right “at hand” (Matthew 4:17). In the spiritual reality of God’s Kingdom is “wealth untold,” a “reward in heaven” and a “home on high,” “Help and comfort” now and “to [our] journey’s end.”

To count all of our blessings is to appreciate, one-by-one, that we have “every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). And genuine thanks and praise to God goes with openly unburdening ourselves before the listening ears of the “Father of compassion” and “God of all comfort,” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

Meditate on Count Your Blessings

In the name of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I invite each of you readers to join me by prayerfully reading the lyrics to this great hymn, letting God use it to work within, help you count your blessings today. Ask God to make this sweet song become a beam of sunlight to brighten up any dark places in your life and inspire you to shine the light of Christ more brightly in your circle of influence.

Count Your Blessings

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be discouraged, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

Quiet Prayer and Reflection

How has God blessed you?

What has he done in your life?

As the hymn teaches, do not just look to God’s physical blessings, but also to his spiritual blessings, which are eternal and are in the heavenly realms for us to drawn on today and ever more so into eternity.

As you quiet yourself in the presence of the Lord (Psalm 46:10-11) “count your blessings” one by one. You will find that “it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” (Indeed, experiencing a sense of surprise is one of the distinguishing marks that God has spoken to your heart or acted in your life in a special way.)

You may want to then write a prayer of thanks and praise to God. Then it’d be read, wonderful to share with your group or a friend how God has blessed you.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Savior Jesus Christ, I thank you that, on the basis of your merit, I have inherited a full, abundant and eternal life. Awaken confidence in me that I may receive all the blessings that you have prepared for me. In union with you, I ask for special favor today. If it be your will, grant my request and fix my eyes upon you that I may honor and glorify your name. In your blessed and glorious name, Amen.

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Behold! A Day is Coming Soon! One God! One King! One Day! O’ What a Day of Great Rejoicing that Will Be!

“Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The man, Rabbi Jesus taught us all to pray for the day that the LORD would be THE recognized King over all the earth. We very much look forward to that, because our faith will be shown true and the LORD himself will be glorified as he should be. In a world of profanity, a world where God’s name is blasphemed, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is not only LORD Yahweh, but he is also incomparable without rival, that his name is the only name worthy of reverence, honor, and praise!!!

Zechariah 14:1-9 New King James Version

The Day of the Lord

14 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming,
And your ^[a]spoil will be divided in your midst.
²For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem;
The city shall be taken,
The houses ^[b]rifled,
And the women ravished.
Half of the city shall go into captivity,
But the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

³Then the Lord will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
⁴And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.

⁵Then you shall flee through My mountain valley,
For the mountain valley shall reach to Azal.
Yes, you shall flee
As you fled from the earthquake
In the days of Uzziah king of Judah.

Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with ^[c]You.

⁶It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The ^[d]lights will diminish.
⁷It shall be one day
Which is known to the Lord—
Neither day nor night.
But at evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.

⁸And in that day it shall be
That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward ^[e]the eastern sea
And half of them toward ^[f]the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
⁹And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

We’re now drawing to the end of the book of Zechariah here in this last chapter.

And this chapter intends to steer our eyes towards the future and towards God.

When you read this chapter, you can sense that we have an interesting day is up ahead of us, a “Unique Day” that the bible calls the day of the Lord.

There are many Old Testament prophetic books like Daniel and Ezekiel that discuss this subject along with the book of Revelation. And what most of the church acknowledges is that there is a time coming upon the earth that the Bible calls the Great Tribulation.

And it’s hard to say this is the exact interpretation of this passage since some of the events described in this passage seem like events that already happened.

But today, we’ll make an open and honest attempt to see how this passage of text applies to the end times with the Great Tribulation in mind. So, today’s message, as it might surprise you, will be eschatological in nature.

As we read this passage, we get a good sense of some difficult times that are waiting for all of us up ahead. In fact, they are so challenging that our Lord Jesus says they will be unequal to any other times. Evil and hardship will be rampant throughout the world at an unrivaled level. (Matthew 24:21)

If you thought listening to the news depresses and angers you today, well get ready, because I’m sorry to say it’s only going to get worse before it gets better.

And though nations will have such a hard time headed towards them, we must remember who it is that is allowing it. It is the Lord Almighty, who always has a plan and purpose for our sufferings— in yours and in mine. And that is always for repentance, healing and restoration between the Lord God and his people.

Let’s read verses 1-3. “A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.”

Ever since the Lord God created the first day, Heaven and Earth have both seen many of them. In the beginning, when the world was young and fully under God’s holy and beautiful order, we’re told in the book of Genesis that those were some good days. You might have woken up this morning with a smile because you’ve been blessed in your life to have seen many good days— days that were under God’s heavenly guidance and mercy. Or, you could have woken up thinking “Oh Lord, I sure could use another good day right about now.”

Regardless of our experiences, we must always remember that the best days of our lives are the ones where we each humbly submit to the Lord’s loving will.

But the day in this passage doesn’t seem so good.

There are not a lot of pleasant things happening on that day! King David once had the indescribable joy of confessing to God, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies…” (Psalms 23:5) But what’s happening here is quite the opposite. The Lord himself will allow all the nations to march against Jerusalem and do undeniably horrible things within its own walls.

The book of Revelation painted this a little clearer— the Lord allowing Satan to deceive the whole world motivating them to march against Jerusalem.

Something to keep in mind here is that the enemy comes to steal, to kill and to sow discord and spread chaos every which direction; the enemy comes among us to distract, to utterly destroy our “joy of the Lord for the Day of the Lord”!

And if the Lord didn’t command Him to stay his hand, he would exercise the freedom to completely destroy everything, including our lives— your life and mine. His plan is to disrupt and destroy everything belonging to you and me.

But the Lord’s plan is different!

The Lord’s plan is that you “May have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).

And if we recall the previous chapter, the Lord allowed this suffering for a good reason— it was for the refinement of Israel! It was to refine and purify, restore their lives of faith and choose repentance until they sparkle and shine like gold.

In verse 3 we see that after the terrible things’ enemies bring upon Jerusalem and, after half of the city had been ravaged, and the other half taken into exile, that is when our Lord Jesus returns.

Let’s read verse 4.

“On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.”

Many like to believe that the church, the bride, is already with the Lord. Paul mentions to the Thessalonians that we actually meet with the Lord in the air when it is our time (1Thessalonians 4:17).

But in this passage, the Lord comes and sets his feet on the earth, on a specific day, and at a specific place. Verse 4 states that it’s the Mount of Olives.

Why this place? I’m not so sure what this place represents.

We do know that our Lord submitted to the will of God at this place.

The garden of Gethsemane is just at the foot of the mountain. It was where our Lord sweat drops of blood in anguish because of what our filthy and rebellious sins were about to crucify Him.

You might also recall that when our Lord ascends to heaven, and the disciples are looking up in the sky in wonder, two angels visit them. And they say: “Men of Galilee… why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)

The following verse mentions that they were on the hill called the Mount of Olives. We’re not sure why, but we know that it’s consistent with scripture. The place where the Lord submitted to a horrid death on the cross, like a lamb for the slaughter, will be the same place he returns for battle.

This might seem a little different than the Jesus you know. Right? I mean we know and like the gentle Jesus. Gentle Jesus meek and mild, gentle Jesus holds my child. Our Lord is gentle, and he is longsuffering, but as you read the gospels, you will notice that he also says there will be days when things get a bit edgy.

Things will prompt us to make real decisions to repent and turn to Him in faith.

Now in verse 4, after our Lord descends down from heaven, while this great battle against Jerusalem takes place, and we’re told that the Mount of Olives literally splits, making a way for Israel out of this battle, possibly a way to Jesus.

There seem to be many interpretations about this, but I’d like to settle on the literal one, where this incident actually happens.

I would like to also note that although this great tribulation is going on, and although God has begun to judge Israel and the world, it does not mean that people cannot still repent and turn to Him during this time.

In fact, the very reason for this time of tribulation is so that many more souls call on the name of the Lord so that he would answer them. Both from Israel as well as from the Gentile nations. And in case you forgot, that is how our Lord, from Day 1 has always worked. The Lord sends hardships our way to refine us.

In the last chapter Zechariah spoke about refining of the remnant of Israel with fire. Some think it’s so strange we are going through so many hardships here. For some reason we tend to think life’s default settings are ease and comfort.

Peter the Apostle said,

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1Peter 4:12)

That is normal Christianity. Our Lord Jesus rescues us from the flames of hell and puts us into the refining flames. Why does this happen? What’s this all about? Is it because our Lord Jesus is having fun?

Of course not, as there is no one more mindful and understanding of each of our suffering than our Lord. But as we glance back to chapter 13 verse 9, all of this refining has one purpose. It is so that we might “Call on His name.”

It is so that the people of the world might wake up and realizes their sin and say, “Oh Lord, have mercy on me a sinful man. Please save me!”

But what’s truly unfortunate is that sometimes the hardship, the fire, or the tribulation that we’re in causes so many of us to turn even further away from God, seeking comfort elsewhere.

But take it from me, wondering further away from the Lord our God when we’re suffering only leads to more destruction. It leads to more and more mess. Look at the fiery ordeal that the Lord is allowing the world to go through so that they will call on His name!

Though many will turn to Him out of this, the unfortunate truth is many will use their suffering as an excuse to turn away from Him.

I Pray! Let us not, this very moment of this very day, be numbered among them.

Let’s read verses 5 -7.

“You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness. It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.”

Though we are taking this section somewhat literal, I do believe this section has a deeply spiritual component. The fleeing of Israel for safety is more than just to physical safety.

I believe the fleeing is in fact to the Christ whom they’ve acknowledged who’s come to their rescue. Just as when the Israelites fled from Egypt to God through the parted Red Sea, so will they flee once again the destruction of their enemies through the parted Mount of Olives to meet the Lord. And after this incident, it appears we have the end of endings here. And Zechariah says, “Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.”

“See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:14,15)

All the holy ones mean all the holy ones. It means all those who are with the Lord, perhaps you and me. If you are in Jesus Christ, then you are holy, and you will be appointed and anointed as judges to judge the world with Him.

The Apostle Paul said that we would not only come with Christ to judge the people, but even the angels and demons— especially those that have uttered false gospels and acted in an ungodly way. (1 Corinthians 6:2,3)

It will be a day when the Lord and his people are held in high and holy glory, only because they were washed only in the blood of the Lamb, while the rest will have to give an account for what they’ve said and done.

This is the revealing of the children of God that all creation has been groaning for. It will be a unique day indeed. For some it will be the most beautiful day while for others it will be the most dreadful.

This goes without saying, but knowing this truth, is not a means for us as the church of God to gloat in others’ sufferings. We don’t rejoice when others fall, even if they have rejoiced at your failings. We should always forgive and become peacemakers helping the world become reconciled to God.

The apostle Paul reminded the Corinthian church of their privilege as future judges as a means for them to get their own act together.

And we should all discipline and prepare ourselves as well. Living spiritually as self-controlled and as a devoted minister, missioner, harvest worker of God, living in a living hope, from a living hope, having not one thing to be ashamed of- living as one who correctly handles the word of God. (2Timothy 2:15)

Let’s conclude with verses 8 & 9.

“On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter. The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”

It’s amazing how Jerusalem has been the center of so much throughout the age of this world. Remember Melchizedek, he was the first kingly priest of God to be recorded in the bible, and he was actually from Jerusalem. And one in the same order would reign as Priest as and King forever still, from the city of Jerusalem.

And he will reign over the whole earth by providing living water.

What is this living water? Jesus said, “If we really knew the gift of God, we’d be asking our Him of this living water every day”

It’s many things, it’s His presence, it’s His love, it’s the Holy Spirit, it’s His peace. It’s everything that we were meant to have to from the beginning.

While everything in this world will leave us dry and thirsty, the Lord is always willing to give his living water when we ask Him for this gift of God.

And yes, this will flow out freely on that day, but the good news is that you don’t have to wait for then to ask him. You can ask him right now.

This living water is the piece (peace too) of God that we need in our hearts to satisfy our thirsty souls.

Yes, we look forward to the day that the Lord will reign over the whole earth, but the good news is that we can invite him to reign in our hearts, here and now.

We do not have to wait.

I pray that we all do this as we wait on the Second coming of our Lord Jesus.

Let’s read our key verse 9 again. “The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.”

O’ What a glorious day of rejoicing that will be!

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus …… Sweetest name I know ……

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. How we praise You Lord for loving us so much You became man, so that by death You would destroy death and give unto all who believe in You life, eternal life – and life more abundantly. Draw many we pray into and nigh unto Your kingdom today, for You alone are worthy of our praise and worship, for ever and ever.. Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.

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There is Within my Heart a Melody! Jesus, Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know! He Fills my Every Longing, Keeps me Singing as I Go! Jeremiah 29:13-14

God wants us to seek him with our whole heart and the whole of our soul and with every last ounce of strength we have within. In fact, he made us to seek him! Sadly, however, we too often seek God along with the other things which draw our eyes away for a moment. We must never let anything detract from God having the first command of our heart. Only God is worthy of our full devotion.

Jeremiah 29:13-14 New American Standard Bible

¹³And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all of your heart. ¹⁴I will let Myself be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The vast promises of God pepper the pages of scripture like crystal droplets of sparkling rain, sprinkling life into a dry and dusty desert and scattering hope into the sin hardened hearts of all God’s people. The promises of God tumble and glimmer through the Word of God like a myriad of twinkling stars, peeping through the glowering skies of doubt and sorrow – refreshing the soul, giving a song of hope to the faint-hearted, and providing encouragement to the weary.

Though the true context of this verse is Israel’s Babylonian captivity and their eventual restoration and redemption, this precious verse sings o us an eternal principle and timeless promise – that the Lord God is ever near to all who seek Him, and those that search for Him aright, are certain of finding Him. This is a verse that promises all those who seek the Lord with their whole heart and soul, in spirit and in truth, will be sure to find Him, for the Lord God has promised, “you shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart.”

Israel had been carried into captivity as a consequence of their sin and apostasy, and the people are being strongly encouraged by Jeremiah to prepare for quite a prolonged and painful sojourn into the ancient lands of their enemy Babylon.

Even with this stunning turn of events in the lives of the Israelites, they were also being exhorted to look beyond the coming exile unto a new, brighter hope and to build houses, grow crops, get married, and have children, because God had ordained that the punishment, they justly deserved would last for 70 years. With his whole heart and with his whole soul, Jeremiah was asking the people to look to God’s promised time of restoration, write a new song: of a living hope.

No small encouragement to be sure since what was before them was a long and hard journey to a faraway land of a conquering enemy. It was a hard sell for God’s Prophet to make considering the impossible to describe deepest anguish that rested and burned within their hearts and within their souls (Psalm 137).

This anguish and this burning were, by any undefinable measure, not feelings which would soon go away or find any quick and lasting resolution. These are memories which will never be forgotten and quite possibly never be forgiven. It would take generations to find one reason to write any new chapters or verses.

Truth be told, some would die in the land of their captivity, many would never see their homeland again, but God had plans for His people. He had plans for their good and not their harm, peace and good will. He had plans to prosper and to care for them and to give them a new song, a secure future and a great hope. He had plans for His Children to gain a fresh perspective of God’s love for them. In the end, after those seventy years, God’s process of restoration would begin.

But during their exile, when they were separated from their promised land, the people were not to forget the Lord. They were to continue to trust Him and to teach all of their children to do the same. And they were given a very special and encouraging promise, “You will seek Me and you will find Me… when you search for Me with all your heart.” God would not be lost to His people forever, but they must set, reset, their hearts to search diligently for the Lord – to search for Him with ALL their hearts, ALL their souls, ALL their minds, and ALL their strength.

The song of promise given to Israel by Jeremiah 29:10-14 was that those who earnestly sought the Lord would find Him. They would discover Him to be the godly Way, the singular Truth, and the Path of Life to perfect peace with God.

They were given the assurance those who diligently and conscientiously look for Him, WILL find Him. They will find Him to be the only Way, the singular Truth, and Life eternal. Those that sincerely search for the Lord will gain the abundant Life He promises – a life which only comes through faith in Christ.

The majority of Israel have yet to discover that the One for Whom they are to diligently seek is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is their Messiah, Who came to rescue them at God’s appointed time as foretold by His Scripture. He is their Kinsman-Redeemer and their Dayspring from on High. He is the prophet of the Most High God and a light to lighten the Gentiles. He is the glory of His people Israel and the One Who will 100% heal their soul and guide their feet into the way of peace.

He is the Logos! The Word made flesh Who came to dwell among His people, to shine light into their darkened hearts (John 1:1-5). He came to His own people at God’s appointed time – but they did not recognise Him as the only Way, the singular Truth, and One Life eternal and He was rejected and cruelly crucified.

As Christians, we already know Him as Jesus our Savior, for Jesus Christ died to bridge the unbridgeable gap between a holy God and the imperfect race of man.

We are promised a much deeper knowledge and closer communion with Him, if, with our whole hearts, our whole souls, and our whole minds we’ll 100% plough into the searchable depths of His Word, reach into the heights of His Truth, look steadily into the Light of His Countenance – the face of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We have been promised when we seek Him and search for Him with ALL our heart will find Him. Let us, therefore, with wholeness of heart, fervency of our spirit, sincerity of soul, diligence of mind, freely abandon the good to search for the very best, knowing that ALL who seek the Lord, will find Him to be rest for their soul, healing for their heart, hope for the future, and His life everlasting.

Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty! In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, ALL day long My Song of life Raises unto Thee! Praise God that ALL who seek Him and search for Him have been promised, in His WORD, that He will be everything they need, when they search for Him with their whole heart.

1. There’s within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low:
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still,
in all of life’s ebb and flow.
Refrain:
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
sweetest name I know,
fills my every longing,
keeps me singing as I go. – Luther B. Bridgers, 1910

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

Righteous God and Holy Father, please bless me with an undivided heart, one that seeks you as the first and ordering priority of my life. Forgive me, my dear Lord, for letting other things distract my focus from you and interfere with my service to your Kingdom. Fill me with a holy passion for Kingdom matters above all other concerns and interests. In Jesus’ name I pray. Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Living for Jesus: Don’t Grow Weary in Doing Good to All – Galatians 6:9-10

God’s tireless Prophet Jeremiah enduringly wrote some 2650 years ago; blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and he will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit. (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV)

The person who loves God is like a tree with deep roots. During a drought, when all the other trees are perishing, the single tree planted by the river will remain healthy and strong – drawing its nourishment from all the waters flowing by it. There is no anxiety, for the commitment of that single tree reaches far beyond the circumstances, life threatening effects, of the drought which surrounds it.

If we are to succeed in the midst of the swirling circumstances which threaten to continually define and continuously overwhelm our day-to-day existence, and if we are not trying to quit on God or our neighbors or ourselves when the going gets tough, we need to get our roots planted by the rivers of living water steadily flowing forever down unto us from the very throne room of God itself.

We need to set a covenant goal to commit our life unto our Savior Jesus Christ. A covenant commitment which plants, then grows stronger, matures far beyond than what overwhelms us, until only the commitment to Christ remains known.

Galatians 6:9-10 The Message

^9-10So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the very people closest to us in the community of faith.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

The major theme of Paul’s letter to the Galatians is that we are saved by faith, and not by works. Yet what I do as a believer is important. True salvation is not just my accepting Jesus into my heart with an eye toward heaven in the future. It is an ongoing relationship with Jesus as my Lord. And that is what is reflected clearly in this closing instruction in Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia.

Do not become weary in doing good to all. Especially to other believers. We are summoned, “Called to Do Good” But what does that mean to ‘Do Good’?

What Does it Mean to Do Good?

‘Doing good’ is not the same thing as doing no harm. Doing no harm is a quiet passive activity – it is staying seated upon our couches in our living rooms. But doing good is all active. It is something that takes effort on my part. Something that I could grow weary of. And something that is directed toward other people.

Doing good means that when I see an opportunity to help another person, I take it. It may be something simple and with little cost. Or it may be more costly and time consuming too. Doing good simply means that I do what I can to help you.

For God so loved the world, He sent His Son to us to continually love us, not to continuously condemn us. He came unto us that we might find goodness and abundance beyond our ability to comprehend or to receive in one lifetime. This instruction to do commit to a lifestyle of being abundantly good, sharing all of God’s abundant goodness is all inclusive, all of the time, has all people in mind.

Even those who are not believers. And even those that I may not get along with. If I can do good for someone, regardless of my relationship to them, I should.

But it is especially true for those within the family of believers. They are the ones I should care most about. I should actively seek out, look for ways to do good; to be helpful and hopeful and joyous to them. As you live your life with Christ, be doing good to all people, especially within the community of faith.

The simple gospel of grace is to come to Christ and believe – for we are saved by grace alone and not by doing good works, lest any may should boast. But once we do believe and are saved, we should then become a true disciple and take up our cross, follow daily after Jesus – for this is God’s desire for all His children.

If we are going to root ourselves in Christ, if we are to truly grow in grace and mature in the faith, we are to do the good works that God has already prepared for us to do. If we are to mature in the faith and press onward to the goal of our calling, we ought to be living our lives as unto the Lord – and “not lose heart in doing good, for in due time, God’s time, we will reap, if we do not grow weary.”

“Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on Earth.”
― John Wesley

“Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.”
― John Wesley

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

Loving Father, I want to press on in my Christian life, to become more and more like the Lord Jesus. I know that it will require me to put my hand to the plough and press on, with the patient endurance that only comes from You. I pray that I may not lose heart or fatigue or growing weary in doing the good works which You have prepared for me to do. Thank You that in due time I may reap a fruitful reward, if I do not give up on you. In Jesus’ name, Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.

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James 1:12 Trust and Obey. For there is No Other Way. But to be Happy in Jesus. To Trust! Obey! Live! Blessed Is the One Who Perseveres Under Trials.

Why must we endure trials? The truth is that even Christ had to suffer. Jesus Christ was born perfect and never sinned, but to be prepared for what God had sent him to do, he had to suffer. Luke 24:26 says it was “necessary.” Hebrews 2:18 says that Christ “suffered” when he was tempted. Hebrews 5:8-9 says, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”

For God so LOVED the world! He sent His Son – not to condemn but to offer life – life in an unimaginable abundance! If Christ suffered, why would we not, and for the same reason? Peter said we are in the furnace of affliction to be purified (1 Peter 1:7). God is our good Father, and a good Father disciplines his children whom he loves (Proverbs 3:12). If you are not facing trial, you will. Accept it!!! Walk through it! faithfully, obediently trusting God. let Savior God work in you!!!

James 1:12-18 New American Standard Bible

¹²Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has ^[a]been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. ¹³No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted ^[b]by God”; for God cannot be tempted ^[c]by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. ¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it has run its (full) course, brings forth death. ¹⁶Do not be ^[d]deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters. ¹⁷Every good thing given, and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or ^[e]shifting shadow. ¹⁸In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be ^[f]a kind of first fruits ^[g]among His creatures.

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

We are definitely living in uncertain times. There is much going on around us which is not even minimally pleasing to any of our six senses. There is much going on around us which we do not understand, and much which others would rather we not try to understand – just accept and muddle through as best as we can figure out for ourselves and those within our limited spheres of influence.

From the midst of all that which surrounds us and threatens to envelop us, we seek out, receive the greater wisdom and truth from the Word of God. We read now and should prepare ourselves to receive our God’s encouragement to His Children from James 1:12-18. Such should serve as a protection for us. It should guard us from having distorted views of God and of our situation. James offers three reminders that should help us think rightly about God in times of trial.

As We Face Trials, We Must Remember that God Has Promised a Good Reward for Those Who Love Him (1:12)

A blessed people– We don’t usually equate suffering with being blessed, but this is the adjective James uses to describe those who remain firm in their faith and confident in God amid trials.
The promise of God– While this verse has much to say about our response to suffering, the main focus is on the promise of God. God has promised eternal life to those who love Him (the crown of life).
Remaining steadfast– The call to steadfastness is a call to faith and trust in God. While this may seem to imply a works based salvation, we know from Scripture that our love for God and our enduring faith are both gifts from Him given by His grace.

As we Face Trials, We Must Remember that God does not use Trials to Tempt Us to Sin (1:13-15)

Let no one say– James understands human nature well and he knows that when the pressure is really and heavily upon us, we will be tempted to sin. Amid that temptation we may also be inclined to point the finger at God and to accuse Him of being the source of our temptation. James wants to impart wisdom to us to understand God rightly. He warns us against accusing God of being a tempter.
The character of God – God is holy (vs. 13)– In order to prove his point James speaks and writes and he appeals to the holiness of God. Because God is holy and cannot sin, He cannot be tempted, and He will not tempt anyone to sin.
The actual source of temptations – Our own desires (vs. 14) – In verse 14 James explains our temptation to sin does not come from outside of us. Temptation is not an outside force, but an inner battle. The source of our temptations is the evil desires of our hearts. (Mark 7:14-15 21-23; Romans 7:18-25; Jeremiah 17:9)
The results of giving into evil desires – Sin and death (vs. 15) – Reverend Dr. Daniel Doriani, Professor of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Covenant Theological Seminary – [James] personifies evil, saying temptations and desires come together to “conceive.” Their offspring is named “sin.” Sin grows up and sin becomes a parent too. The name of its child is “death.” As surely as our physical conception leads to birth, this kind of ‘sin’ conception “gives birth to death.”

As We Face Trials, We Must Remember that God is the Giver of Good Gifts (1:16-18)

The character of God as the giver of good gifts (vs. 16-17) – God is holy. Since He is holy everything that comes from Him is good and perfect and that even extends to our trials. Even our trials can be seen as good gifts that God allows in order to produce something greater in us. God does not give us anything that is intended to harm us or cause us to sin; everything that comes from His hand is intended grow us and to mature us and strengthen us with God’s own wisdom.
The unchanging God– In times that are uncertain and inconsistent we can find a living hope in recognizing God’s unchanging and never wavering character.
God’s greatest gift – Our salvation (vs. 18) – As James brings this section to a close, he ends with the reminder of the greatest gift that God has given, namely our salvation. Our world is cursed by sin and struggles, but God has promised to make all things new. We are a kind of firstfruits as even now God is making us more and more into the image of His Son.

Summary – We are living in an unprecedented time and now more than ever we must strive to think rightly about God and His dealing with us. Regardless of what we face we can be confident in what God has promised, that He remains the giver of every good and perfect gifts. We can also be sure, certain, that any temptation to sin is not from Him, but from our own hearts. Thankfully we know that in Christ we can have victory over the sinful desires of our hearts.

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

He said that the whole law is summed up in this one command, especially combined with the covenant command of loving your neighbor as yourself.

Indeed, can sin be committed without first breaking this Great Commandment? For those who love the Lord, there is the promise of the “crown of life.” “The crown of life” seems most likely to be another term for abundant life, eternal life, and heavenly reward. Some make distinctions between different crowns listed throughout Scriptures, but it seems to generally mean eternal reward.

James notes that this reward is available only to those who love God. The question then becomes, what does it mean to love God? This answer can be found in three passages within Deuteronomy.

1) Maintaining Fullness of Heart (Deuteronomy 6:5; also, Matthew 23:37; Mark 12:30; and Luke 10:27) – In this verse, we see one must love God with their whole heart. This is a complete commitment and one’s love of God cannot be defined by a partial undertaking.

When Christ called people to follow Him, it was exhaustive, requiring that one give their whole life (Luke 14:25-33). This call included the entirety of one’s heart. Therefore, one is to have a whole heart directed towards Him. Your heart cannot be divided between two worlds, which means that even the smallest corner must be given over to Him in service and sacrifice (See Romans 12:1-2).

2) Maintaining His Ways (Deuteronomy 10:12) – The people of God are called to walk according to the precepts of God. God has outlined His will for every believer, and if one loves Him, they will indeed walk according to that will.

The idea of walk here indicates this is to be a steadfast way of life. Walking according to the ways of God is not something that one chooses to do only part of the time. Remembering each of us continuously battles our sinful nature, each person must make it a priority to put the ways of God first, so that God is made known by the way in which one lives.

3) Maintaining His Word (Deuteronomy 11:1) – Finally, one who loves God will keep the charge of God, the statutes of God, rules of God, and commandments of God. As one who loves God, a believer will keep His law.

Throughout the Bible, the authors (through divine inspiration of course!) refer to it as the law. Being all sufficient (2 Timothy 3:16) the Scripture is meant to be both a guideline and the authority for how you live. Therefore, be in it daily and seek just how to live it, doing so in an act of obedience because you love God.

James has issued the call to persevere through trials, knowing that a person will be made complete through them, noting that they will receive the crown of life.

This crown of life is the motivation of obedience for every believer, not because they desire to have a crown, but because they desire to be in the presence of the true and holy God. Therefore, maintain His ways as outlined in His word, with a fullness of heart. May God, know we love Him by our deeds of trust, obedience.

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

The Prayer of St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.
I arise today
Through the strength of Christ’s birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.
I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.
I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.
I arise today, through
God’s strength to pilot me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me,
God’s eye to look before me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me,
God’s shield to protect me,
God’s host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.
I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man’s body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.
I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

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A Thousand Hallelujah’s, A Thousand Thousand More for My God in Whom is my Dwelling Place, Whom I Trust!!!

We cannot trust a person until we know him or her. It is the same with God too. How well do you actually know God and how well do you genuinely know God? How have you experienced God working in you through those difficult places? Do you 100% believe there is even a 0.1% chance of breakthrough in your life? I pray you will come to find out the truth of “breakthrough!” This devotional will throw light on knowing and trusting God through all the situations of our life.

Psalm 91:1-2 New American Standard Bible

Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.

91 One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.
²I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

For those of us who were born and brought up in Christian homes, Psalm 91 is a familiar one, which many of us may have read or even memorized as a child. Nonetheless, in this devotional we will explore as to what it means to trust in God as the Psalmist declared about God in the above-mentioned verse.

Truth be Revealed, we will only truly trust a person only when we get to know him or her. It is the same with God, we can trust Him only when we know who He is, and only when we are able to comprehend His divine attributes. When Jesus lived here on earth, he chose twelve men to be His disciples. A closer look at their lives will perhaps help us understand why they decided to trust in Jesus.

1. Peter, the fisherman

Peter was a fisherman by profession, but the day he met Jesus who filled his empty nets with a miraculous and bountiful catch, Peter chose to follow and trust Jesus immediately without any hesitation. The reason Peter gave up his livelihood which included his boat and nets to follow after Jesus, was because Peter instantly trusted Jesus. Peter believed that if he made Jesus his Master, He would take care of him, and provide him with all that he ever needed.

2. Matthew, the tax collector

Levi/Matthew who was another disciple, was a tax collector for the Roman government. Matthew always sought to align himself with the powerful and when he heard the call of Jesus, he understood that Jesus was much greater than the Roman Government that he was working for. So, at the call of Jesus, he too surrendered his riches and left everything as it was and followed after Jesus.

Every disciple of Jesus who followed Him did so because they curious what might be waiting if they trusted Him, as a result heeded His call to follow Him.

We too have at some point in our life must make a decision to trust someone. I am not an island; you are not an island unto ourselves. To get through this life feeling as though we are not and never were alone, and never have to be alone, we must (timidly) step forth in faith, baby-steps to trust on at least one front. Humanity is too likely to repeatedly let us down, serving their own interests,

We look to the examples set forth by God through His Scriptures to follow Jesus and to be “hip to hip” alongside His disciples. The point that each of us need to ponder is whether we have learnt to completely trust Him in all circumstances.

Trusting Jesus through the storms

We read in Matthew 8:23-24 (NRSV), “²³And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. ²⁴A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.

Some of the disciples of Jesus who accompanied Him on the boat that day were seasoned fishermen who had probably encountered many fierce storms in the very same sea. Strangely, the storm that challenged them that day seemed to be unlike any that they had seen before. The winds were so fierce and the waves so boisterous that they were quickly overwhelmed with the fear of sudden death. In the midst of such a raging storm, Jesus was fast asleep in that same boat.

When the disciples set out with Jesus, they got into the boat following Jesus.

We read in Matthew 8:23 that the disciples simply did so because Jesus went on board a fishing boat. When the storm raged on with intensity, and threatened their very lives, they might have wondered if they did the right thing to follow Jesus into that boat. They had probably decided to follow Jesus with hope that they would have absolute safety and personal security, no storms whatsoever.

But the storm they encountered, proved to be contradictory to their belief.

There may be those who are stressed out with such incredible hardships and are praying, wondering as to why the Lord has not intervened or revealed Himself, to somehow, in some way ease or even miraculously eliminate their situation.

Do keep in mind that we have a God who is altogether trustworthy. Our many difficulties might make us speculate if we made the right decision to follow Jesus. Our Savior Jesus wants to assure such people that there is no need to be perturbed, for the Lord is with us all the time.

For others who might pontificate that they are weak in their faith, let us be comforted that even the disciples of Jesus, who were with Him, and saw all the wonders He performed, were completely perplexed in the midst of that storm.

We read in Matthew 8:25 (NRSV), “²⁵And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

Jesus and the disciples were all in the exact same boat, but the way they each addressed Jesus was as if He were somewhere else, and not with them in their crisis. That is why they said to Jesus, “Master, save us, we are drowning!”

What they failed to realize was that Jesus was in their boat, and as long as He was there, there would be no way that their boat would drown, and they would not die without fulfilling their life’s mission. Jesus woke up, got up and ordered the winds “to be still,” the waves “to be still,” they immediately calmed down.

In the midst of our fears, let us say along with the Psalmist, ‘my God, in whom I (with maximum possible confidence) trust’ for when we affirm this over and over again, our faith will “grow up,” and our hearts will be filled with courage.

We read in Psalm 107:1-3 (NRSV),

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever.
²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
    those he redeemed from trouble
³and gathered in from the lands,
    from the east and from the west,
    from the north and from the south.^[a]

This is the word of steadfast and immovable encouragement from the Lord that we should trust Him completely in all life’s situations for all our breakthroughs.

The truths which are so intricately intertwined within this beautiful Psalm 91 are precious promises that every one of God’s blood-bought children are able to claim as their own. However, the majority of theologians correctly identify this section as a Messianic psalm… for our Lord and Savior Jesus is the only One Who truly dwells in the shelter of the Most High. He is the Man of men, Who abides forever in the shadow of the Almighty.

When the eternal Son of God was born into His own creation as the perfect Son of Man, He lived His life dwelling in the shelter of the Most High God. He abodes in the shadow of the Almighty.

He depended entirely on the Father as His refuge, strength and fortress and demonstrated to us all how a man should live – by trusting God in all things.

In many respects, the Lord Jesus is the only Man Who can legitimately claim God as His refuge and fortress – His God in Whom He trusted implicitly. But praise God that even when we fail, “GOD IS still our refuge and our strength,” because of our position IN Christ.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus is the one and the only Person Who could honestly claim God as His refuge and fortress – and He did this on our account because He went to the Cross for us – in obedience to His Father’s will.

Ephesians 2:8-10 We who are saved by grace through faith, find our everlasting refuge in Christ, Who took the ultimate punishment for our sin and became our strong Fortress, strength, our everlasting Refuge, and the Rock of our salvation.

Jesus is the only One who can legitimately confess that the Lord is My God, in Whom I place my trust, and Who will deliver me from the snare of the fowler and the deadly pestilence.

Throughout His earthly life, the Lord Jesus was hidden under the shadow of His Father’s wings, in Whom He sought ultimate refuge. God was His hiding place Who preserved Him from all trouble, and because we are IN Christ, we can also sing songs of deliverance for God’s faithfulness and favour towards us. We can also claim and trust our God to be our mighty Shield and an eternal Bulwark.

Throughout His earthly life, the Lord Jesus maintained ongoing and never-failing fellowship with His Father. He only did the things which He heard from His Father. He only did those things that He saw His Father doing.

Throughout His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus was ready and willing to say, “Thy Will, not Mine be done.” He was 100% able to trust the Lord with every circumstance of His life, for His undivided hope was in God.

Jesus was free from every fear because His trust was in God, and in the power of the Almighty, He fulfilled all righteousness and became qualified to become the perfect, sinless sacrifice for the sake of mankind.

And we are called to imitate the way He lived. We are to hide under the shadow of His wings every moment of the day and say to Him – You are my Refuge and Fortress. You are my God, in Whom I trust.

Although the Lord Jesus was fully God, in full trust, he literally surrendered all He was and had. He lived His entire life as a Man. He lived His life and faced His death in utter and total dependence upon His heavenly Father for everything.

Although the Lord Jesus was the eternal God, He lived His life as a perfect Man, setting an example to every member of the human race… showing every child of God how our heavenly Father expects each one of us to live.

Can there be any doubt left that the man who penned this Messianic psalm was himself absolutely convinced of the wonderful security that is found in the Lord his God because his faith was credited to him as righteousness, and he could legitimately confess that his trust was in the Most High God – the Almighty King of all Creation Who is a thousand times a thousand times magnified as the Sovereign Ruler of all, the Divine Protector of those that believe on His name.

But the psalmist was inspired to write words that would look forward to the God-Man, Who was wounded for our transgressions and bore the sin of the world on His shoulders, so that all who trust in Him can identify with His death, burial, and resurrection to a new life, and state confidently 100%, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!”

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

O Lord, my God, I am here to say thank you that your work is perfect, your ways are 100% just, you are a God of faithfulness. You have said that in all things at all times, you will supply all that I need. Please help me to trust in your power to bring breakthroughs in situations where I cannot find a solution. Be exalted far above me and far above the heavens, O Savior God. Let Your glory be above all the earth. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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Search Me, O God, Know My Heart!!! Examine Me and Know my Thoughts! More Time with God. Psalms 139:23

Well, I hope we have decided that we will sit in God’s witness chair and let Him have free reign and ask whatever question He wants. And we have decided we are going to give Him all the answers He requires into the depths with which he needs. The questions will undoubtedly be tough and probing and quite rigorous. This questioning will by no means be comfortable – nor is it ever meant to be so for our sakes. Who knows how long we’ll be sitting there, how many questions we will be barraged by? But we have chosen to stay seated in the witness seat.

The question is … Why should we willingly stay seated for such in-depth times.

Psalm 139:23-24 New Revised Standard Version

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
²⁴See if there is any wicked^[a] way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.^[b]

The Word of God for the Children of God. Gloria! In Excelsis Deo! Alleluia! Amen.

Psalm 139 begins with David’s acknowledgement that God has “examined” his heart. The Lord knows everything about him (Ps. 139:1). Nothing about David or his life can be hidden from God, who knows even what David will say before he says it (Ps. 139:4). If he tried to escape from the Lord, in every place God would be present (Ps. 139:7-13). In fact, God knew David even in his mother’s womb as he knit him together wonderfully (Ps. 139:13-16).

The first eighteen verses of Psalm 139 celebrate the Lord’s intimate knowledge of David. Verse 19 changes the subject abruptly: “O God, if only you would destroy the wicked! Get out of my life, you murderers!” (Ps. 139:19). It’s as if the memory of those who sought David’s life interrupted his celebration of God’s presence and filled his heart with a sudden rush, hatred for his enemies.

Then Psalm 139 takes another unexpected turn, concluding with a prayer for the Lord to examine David’s heart: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Ps. 139:23-24). Perhaps David realized that his hatred exceeded an appropriate zeal for justice, love for God.

Perhaps he remembered that, like his enemies, he himself had done things that badly dishonored the Lord. So, he invited God to search him and reveal anything offensive. “Put me in your witness chair! O God of my salvation!!!” The implied understanding is that David would repent of those sins in order that God might “examine [him] lead [him] along the path of everlasting life” (Ps. 139:24).

With a reluctant heart I confess I need God to search me in this way. Don’t you? Though a part of me resists dealing with what is wrong in my heart, I know that I need to see my sin as God sees it, so that I might confess and be forgiven, and so that I might find hope, turn from my sin to follow the Lord more completely.

The great unknown from sitting in His witness chair. How does God reveal my sin to me? In many ways: through reading Scripture, through hearing the Word of God preached, through the challenging love of friends, and through the still small voice of the Spirit. In asking God to search me, I am inviting him also to open my heart so that I might receive the conviction of his Spirit. I am saying, “Go ahead! Point out anything in me that offends you, and I will listen to you!”

David’s “disquieting thoughts” are those thoughts that caused him to become troubled, or anxious. Again, the challenge is whether we are at peace with our thought life. When the light of God’s truth is shone upon our lives, do we or do we not squirm and hide, or do we or do we not stand up with confidence? Do we or do we not want our sin to be illuminated by our Heavenly Father, so He might lead us away from that path to the eternal path? Or do we or do we not want to hide our sin away from God, and protect it from the Lord’s cleansing grace?

The challenge of Psalm 139? We need to be willing to let go of all that disquiets us–every sinful thought, desire, and motive. Our chief desire is not only to have a blameless reputation before men, but more importantly, to have a character that glorifies God in its reflection of His goodness and purity. This requires us exposing ourselves to His refining fire, allowing Him to search out our hearts and draw out of us the remaining sin in our lives. It won’t be pleasant, but it’s necessary if we are to be sanctified and useful unto the Lord in His kingdom.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION:

Can I really be ready? Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee ….

Search my heart, O God! Take my life and let it be, consecrated unto thee ….

Ask any question, O God! Take my life and let it be, consecrated unto thee ….

Ask all questions, O God! Take my life and let it be, consecrated unto thee ….

I am fearful an anxious but, go right on ahead and ask your questions anyway!

Take my life and let it be, consecrated Lord to thee ….

Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for thee.

2. Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from thee.
Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as thou shalt choose.

3. Take my will, and make it thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is thine own;
it shall be thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for thee.

Take your place upon God’s witness stand …. contemplate His questions ….

Have there been times in your life when God has revealed things to you that were hard, but essential, for you to hear? What helps you to attend to the all- convicting voice of God’s Spirit? Are you ready for God to point out anything in your life that offends him? What might help you to get ready, if you’re not?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us pray,

O Lord my God, my eternal Father, thank you that you are my ever-present help in times of trouble. Help me to trust in what is unseen. Remind me of the truth of your power, that you surround me, and you are fighting for me. Never give up on me! Give me favor and breakthrough in my life. You are the Sovereign King of all ages, immortal, invisible, the only wise God. To you be honor and glory forever and ever. Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.

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1 Corinthians 13:13 AKJV

The Purpose of Faith

The Purpose of Hope

The Purpose of Love

Faith, Hope, and Love: The Perpetual Cycle of Life

Imitating Christ’s love

A Prayer for Faith, Hope, and Love

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Habakkuk 3:17-19 New Revised Standard Version

Trust and Joy in the Midst of Trouble

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Proverbs 28:18-22Amplified Bible

1. Being Faithful to God and His Word

2. Being Faithful to the Local Church

3. Being Faithful to Your Family

4. Be Faithful to Your Finances

5. Being Faithful to One’s Country

6. Being Faithful at the Work Place

Conclusion

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Proverbs 28:18-22 NASB

The Story Behind Count Your Blessings

The Meaning Behind Count Your Blessings

Meditate on Count Your Blessings

Count Your Blessings

Quiet Prayer and Reflection

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Zechariah 14:1-9 New King James Version

The Day of the Lord

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Jeremiah 29:13-14 New American Standard Bible

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Galatians 6:9-10 The Message

What Does it Mean to Do Good?

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James 1:12-18 New American Standard Bible

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Psalm 91:1-2 New American Standard Bible

Security of One Who Trusts in the Lord.

Thanksgiving for Deliverance from Many Troubles

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Psalm 139:23-24 New Revised Standard Version

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