God’s Benefits

“Blessed by the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah” Psalm 68.19

Have you thought about the fact that God daily loads us with benefits? What kind of benefits? Let’s take a look: (1) the privilege to live for Him because we are His child, (2) the privilege to be a witness for Him because we are His child, (3) the benefit of a life that is filled with hope because the life He has given us is eternal – it will never end, (4) the benefit of having a life filled with joy because we are always in His presence and Psalm 16.11 says in His presence is fulness of joy. When was the last time you blessed God for His goodness to you? Have you ever done that?

The verse continues with this simple, but profound phrase: “even the God of our salvation.” Let’s meditate on that for a moment. God is the ONLY one who CAN save us. Salvation was totally His IDEA. The gift of salvation cost God the greatest gift He could ever give – His ONLY BEGOTTEN Son. The plan of salvation was in the HEART of God before the foundation of the world. This is not all, but it is enough to think about.

“Selah” How can one little word say so much to us? What does it mean? Simply this: Stop and think about it! I dare say that most of God’s children seldom, if ever, just stop and think about the daily benefits we get from God, or the myriads of promises made and kept that have met so many of our needs. Could I challenge each one of us who are reading this to be willing to set aside some time to simply stop and think about God’s benefits to us? The issue is not how much time we spend, but do we ever just take time to do it. I hope you are in with me on this. I am. Just my thoughts …

Thanks and Mercy Go Hand in Hand!

“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: and his mercy endureth for ever.” 1 Chronicles 16.34

A phrase that has been impressed upon me recently is this: “God’s goodness is only exceeded by His grace.” When you think about God’s goodness, where does your mind go? In the verse above we are told to “give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good … ” None of us would deny that God is good. But how frequently do we give thanks for his goodness? Giving thanks is a conscious, intentional action. No one gives thanks by accident. We always do so intentionally. It would seem to me that failure to give thanks is a denial that God is good and none of us would consciously say that.

It is interesting that God’s goodness and His mercy are linked together in this verse. One of the aspects of God’s mercy is that He is good. We must never forget the definition of mercy, i. e. not getting what we deserve. Not one of us deserves anything from God, but all throughout scripture we are reminded of His love, His grace, His mercy, and His goodness. Would it be a different kind of day for you if you chose to live your life by acknowledging the traits mentioned above – love, grace, mercy, and goodness?

What is about our lives that causes the world to look at us and think, “There’s something different about them. I wish I had that.”? I WANT my life to reflect my conscious awareness of these traits of God on a daily basis. In order for that to be true, I must intentionally make the purpose of my life each day to be all about God and His kingdom. That means that the focus of life itself is never about me. Is this easy? Absolutely not! Does it glorify God? That is certainly my prayer. Just my thoughts …

 

Thanks and Mercy God Hand in Hand!

“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: and his mercy endureth for ever.” 1 Chronicles 16.34

A phrase that has been impressed upon me recently is this: “God’s goodness is only exceeded by His grace.” When you think about God’s goodness, where does your mind go? In the verse above we are told to “give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good … ” None of us would deny that God is good. But how frequently do we give thanks for his goodness? Giving thanks is a conscious, intentional action. No one gives thanks by accident. We always do so intentionally. It would seem to me that failure to give thanks is a denial that God is good and none of us would consciously say that.

It is interesting that God’s goodness and His mercy are linked together in this verse. One of the aspects of God’s mercy is that He is good. We must never forget the definition of mercy, i. e. not getting what we deserve. Not one of us deserves anything from God, but all throughout scripture we are reminded of His love, His grace, His mercy, and His goodness. Would it be a different kind of day for you if you chose to live your life by acknowledging the traits mentioned above – love, grace, mercy, and goodness?

What is about our lives that causes the world to look at us and think, “There’s something different about them. I wish I had that.”? I WANT my life to reflect my conscious awareness of these traits of God on a daily basis. In order for that to be true, I must intentionally make the purpose of my life each day to be all about God and His kingdom. That means that the focus of life itself is never about me. Is this easy? Absolutely not! Does it glorify God? That is certainly my prayer. Just my thoughts …

 

Transparent Honesty

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51.10

I cannot read this Psalm without remembering why David wrote it. He had sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. David was broken and he penned the words of this powerful Psalm. Let’s consider this Psalm and its transparent honesty.

“Create in me a clean heart … ” In spite of the egregious sins that David had committed, he was not in danger of losing his relationship with God. But he had most certainly broken any fellowship with God. That is the reason for his prayer for a clean heart. He needed to get rid of the trash he had allowed to collect in his heart. I suspect most who are reading this can identify with David and say, “I’ve been there too.” Without the regular application of 1 John 1.9 we find ourselves in the same condition. Remember John’s words: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Note that David’s prayer is directed to God: “Create in me a clean heart, O God … ” Sometimes we just talk to ourselves about our sin and never get to the place where we talk to our Heavenly Father. Our sin may have affected us deeply, but it was committed against God. He is the One who needs to hear our repentant heart.

“and renew a right spirit within me.” What is a right spirit? I believe a right spirit is a spirit that willingly puts God first. I believe a right spirit is a spirit that runs from evil and runs toward righteousness. If you are in need of a renewed right spirit, get alone with God, pour out your heart to Him with transparent honesty, and you will get what David got … a clean heart and a right spirit. Just my thoughts …

God IS For Us!

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8.31

I think most of us have chapters in the Bible that we call our “favorites”. Romans 8 is one of mine. So what are the “these things” of which Paul is speaking here? Let’s look at vs. 29-30: “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brethren. (30) Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, then he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.”

What shall we say? We can say that when we received Christ we got a package deal that included (1) being predestined by God, (2) being called by God, (3) being justified by God, and (4) one day being glorified by God. Some people get a little torqued out about the word predestined, but we need to look at the whole phrase: “he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son … ” God wants me to be as much like Jesus as possible while I am living down here on earth. That will require some work on His part to help me be conformed to the image of Jesus.

Then we come to our verse for today: “If God be for us, who can be against us?” If God is on my side (and He is), then it really doesn’t matter who is against me. God and I will win every time when I allow Him to deal with my foes. Remember this, I must never place my self-worth in the hands of a person who can take it away. When I value the opinions of others more than what God says or does in my life, I put myself in a dangerous position. Just remember, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Just my thoughts …

Time to Start This Now!

“Not the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: (6) That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15.5-6

I love the description of God given here in the opening phrase: “the God of patience and consolation”. I don’t know if that speaks to you very much, but it certainly speaks to me. Here is a God who is patient with me – who knows my weaknesses and infirmities and yet He is patient. Then He is willing to console me when I am hurting for any reason. God knows how to console us in our weakest moments.

This next phrase is instruction for us: “be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:” One translation reads: “grant you to live in such harmony with one another … ” We are asked by God to live with other believers with patience and be willing to grant them consolation. If you and I are honest, we will admit that there are believers who simply drive us crazy with the way they live and/or behave. And we might just choose to NOT be around them more than we have to. But is God calling us to live with patience around them?

Why are we to live this way? Here is the reason: “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The entire for our reason for living down here on earth after we are saved is to glorify God. That includes our behavior with other believers. IF we come to grips our purpose for living, then life becomes a little more meaningful each day. As we move from Thanksgiving toward Christmas, let’s begin these simple instructions from the Lord given above. Just my thoughts …

THIS Is the Day!

“Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” Psalm 100.4

Have you made your list yet? You know, the list of things and people for which you are thankful. I think it is great that we have a day set aside in America that is set aside for thanksgiving. The founders of our great nation recognized that it was God who had made the establishment of this great nation possible. Wikipedia says: “In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving holiday tradition is traced to a sparsely documented 1621 celebration at Plymouth in present-day Massachusetts, and also to a well recorded 1619 event in Virginia.”

When I think about the verse above, I am reminded that I can do no less than enter into His gates with thanksgiving. The impact of God on my life has nothing to do with anything that I have done and everything to do with how much God loves me. The heart of a believer that is NOT filled with thanksgiving is a heart that is presumptuous. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to prompt us daily in this area of thanksgiving.

“Enter … into his courts with praise … ” Praise is the flip side of thanksgiving. IF I am thankful, it is easy to give God praise. Praise is the supernatural response of the heart that is filled with thanks.

The last phrase says: “bless his name.” To bless God’s name is to acknowledge His holiness and His worthiness to be praised. Today is a good day to ask yourself: “Does my life reflect a thankful heart? Do I allow others to see my heart for God? Do I acknowledge God’s holiness in my daily interaction with Him?” This is the perfect day to make any life changes that you need to make to fall in line with the psalmist’s words above. Just my thoughts …

Let the Whole World Know!

“Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. (4) Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.” Psalm 63.3-4

When you think of God, what is the first thing you think about in your relationship and walk with Him? Probably each one of us would have a different answer. But I am drawn by the words of the psalmist here when he says: “Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.” His focus is obviously on God’s lovingkindness. When you think about lovingkindness, what kinds of things come to mind? I think about the things that I receive that I do not deserve. I think about the things that I could never earn. I think about the things that could only be bestowed on me because God loves me.

Whatever you may think about lovingkindness, there is one more major thought in this verse: “my lips shall praise thee.” Can we all agree that praise should be a regular part of our conversations about God? Praise may not be a NATURAL response on our part, but we certainly need to make it a SUPERNATURAL response to God’s lovingkindness. When the world observes something good happening in our lives, they need to know that we are the recipients of God’s lovingkindness. If we want them to love the God we love, we need to let them see how much we love God.

Then the psalmist continues with “Thus will I bless thee while I live … ” For him, praising God was not just a one-time expression. It had become a lifestyle for him. In fact, he went so far as to “lift up (his) hands in (God’s) name.” it is ok to express our love for God and appreciation to God in ways that may seem “different” to someone else. When I lift my hands in a worship service, it is not to impress someone around me who may be watching. It is to give my genuine whole-hearted expression of love for and dedication to God. Just my thoughts …

His Voice – Not Theirs!

“Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah (3) But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; for my glory, and the lifter of mine head. (4) I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.” Psalm 3.2-4

If we listen to the voices of the world, they will tell us that there is no help for in God. When we choose to listen to the voices of the world, we are unable to heard the voice of help when it comes.

But David’s response to the voice of the world was this: “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me … ” It doesn’t matter what others may say about You, You ARE my shield. They don’t have to see it. They don’t have to understand it. They don’t even have to believe it. None of that negates the truth that God is my shield.

Not only is He my shield, but there is another element to this: He is “the lifter of mine head.” So often when difficulties come to us, we are prone to drop our heads and all we can see is what is at our feet. But my God wants to change my perspective. So He lifts my head. That turns my focus from my problem to the One who is there solving my problem.

Now notice the sequence here: “I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me out of his holy hill.” I cried … He heard. The one thing of which I am sure is that when I cry He hears. I am reminded of the verse in Matthew 14 when Peter was walking on the water and he began to sink beneath the water. “But when he (Peter) saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sin, he cried, saying, Lord save me. (31) And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?” (vs. 30-31)

We can rest in the assurance that when we cry, He hears. These are just my thoughts …

UNSPEAKABLE – Thought-provoking Word

“Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.’ 2 Corinthians 9.15

Paul speaks about two things that he cannot describe: (1) heaven) and (2) Jesus, the Son of God. He speaks about his “out of body experience” in 2 Corinthians 12:4 “How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.” In this verse above he says that God’s gift of His Son Jesus is the “unspeakable gift.”

Jesus truly is unspeakable. How do you describe God and man in the flesh? How do you explain one who loves you so much that He was willing to die for you to keep you out of hell? How do you explain one who is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah? There simply are NO words.

But the key to this verse is the opening phrase: “Thanks be unto God … ” I am fearful that far too many of God’s children fail to take time to thank God for the gift of His Son, Jesus. We are reminded over and over in Scripture to be thankful. The words or phrases give thanks, be thankful, or thanks occur 65 times in the KJV. 31 times in the Psalms alone the psalmists remind us to give thanks or have thanksgiving in our hearts.

So, let’s begin today with a commitment to God that we will make giving thanks a part of our daily prayer lives. If you do not have a prayer list, let me suggest that you start one. Then you can put giving thanks at the top of your list. It may be helpful to take time when you are not praying and make a list of the people and things for which you are thankful, including the unique things that God has done for you through the person of His Son, Jesus. This will take time, but it is well worth the time you decide to commit to it. Just my thoughts …