On Blessing and Praising the Lord Your God…

 

But Jesus replied, "It is written and forever remains written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"—Matthew 5:

"Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the LORD swore to your fathers. And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.—Deuteronomy 8:1-2

God didn’t have to test the Israelites to know what was in their hearts.  He knew who would obey and who wouldn’t obey. The testing was for them…to show them what was in their hearts. It was also for us who read these accounts that their obedience or disobedience would be proven in history and one way or another would be an example for us. 

So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the LORD your God chastens you. “Therefore you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 

God put them in the desert where they had no other choice but to trust Him. Everything they had came from His command…from His very word.  The Lord chastened His people by making them depend on Him for everything. If they wanted to live, they had no other choice but to obey His commands, walk in His ways, and to fear (revere) Him…they literally “feared” to disobey Him who held their very breath in His hands.  

For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, that flow out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing; a land whose stones are iron and out of whose hills you can dig copper. When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

This is the part that really gave me pause when I read it last night. It helped me to understand why the giving of thanks and praise to God for His infinite goodness to us is so important.

The land in which their God was bringing them stood in stark contrast to the wilderness in which they were now wandering. It was a land of abundance where Israel would lack nothing.  Moses goes on here to tell them the dangers that would be inherent in said abundance. Prosperity, in effect, would hide their need to depend on God. The reality, however, was that both in scarcity and in abundance their need to depend on God would remain the same. 

The antidote for this danger was to give God praise. 

When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

This made so much sense to me. Praising God for all His good gifts would be a constant and (judging from my own life) a much needed reminder to God’s people that all of what they had ultimately came from Him and that without Him nothing was possible. 

 

"Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver aand your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, in which were fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty land where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end— then you say in your heart, 'My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.'—Deuteronomy 8:11-17

Praising would keep them from forgetting God and saying that it was their might and power that had gained them their abundance instead of God’s. 

"And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish. As the nations which the LORD destroys before you, so you shall perish, because you would not be obedient to the voice of the LORD your God. 

Dependence is humbling and praise is beautiful in that it gives glory to the One who deserves all glory, honor and praise. Beloved…Let the praises of God be continually on Your lips.  Failure to praise Him leads to forgetting Him. When we begin to forget Him, our hearts become lifted up in pride, and we begin to walk according to the dictates of our own sinful lusts. We begin to worship the gifts rather than the Giver of all of them.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Praise the Father
Praise the Son
Praise the Spirit three in one
God of glory
Majesty
Praise forever to the King of kings

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

2 In every rough and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the vale.
When all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay. 

[Refrain]

3 Not earth, nor hell, my soul can move;
I rest upon unchanging love.
I trust his righteous character,
his counsel, promise, and his power. 

[Refrain]

4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,
oh, may I then in Him be found,
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne. 

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.

The Sermon on the Mount…

 

Leaving these verses from Matthew 5 here this morning and praying that they bless whoever might read as much as they blessed me this morning.  

"Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are the poor in spirit [those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].

"Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God's grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].

"Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.

"Blessed [joyful, nourished by God's goodness] are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness [those who actively seek right standing with God], for they will be [completely] satisfied.

"Blessed [content, sheltered by God's promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

"Blessed [anticipating God's presence, spiritually mature] are the pure in heart [those with integrity, moral courage, and godly character], for they will see God.

"Blessed [spiritually calm with life-joy in God's favor] are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they will [express His character and] be called the sons of God.

"Blessed [comforted by inner peace and God's love] are those who are persecuted for doing that which is morally right, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven [both now and forever].

"Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God's goodness] are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil things against you because of [your association with] Me. Be glad and exceedingly joyful, for your reward in heaven is great [absolutely inexhaustible]; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.—Matthew 5:1-12 AMPLIFIED

Become Complete…

 

Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.  Greet one another with a holy kiss.

All the saints greet you.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.—2 Corinthians 13:11-14

You could say that the Second letter to the Corinthian church must have been pretty unpleasant at times for the Corinthians to read.  Paul spoke directly and honestly about the things in the church that needed correction from exposing false teachers to defending his own apostolic authority.  His ending, however, is a heartwarming call for unity.  I can almost hear Paul reminding himself and his readers here to wrap themselves in love which was the glue that would hold them together as they sought each other’s highest good. In his words I hear the melody of one of my favorite passages from Colossians, Chapter 3.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Below are some verses that also came to mind as I read Paul’s string of exhortations in verse 11.

Become Complete…the amplified says “to be what you should be”

For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him,—Colossians 2:10

I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.—John 17:23

Be Comforted…

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.—2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Be of one mind…

Have the mind of Christ…

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.—Philippians 2:1-4

Live in Peace…

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.—Romans 12:17

Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:—Hebrews 12:14

Beloved…Aim for perfection, be comforted, be likeminded with Christ, live peaceably with one another seeking each other’s highest good.  And as you do, the God of love and peace [the source of lovingkindness] will be with you

May each of us in our own lives take heed to Paul’s warnings and exhortations throughout this Epistle. Through the power of His Spirit may we obey them by depending on the grace that our God supplies according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

Paul ends by invoking the blessing of the triune God. 

Father may this blessing be ours as well!  May the grace of Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be experienced in our hearts and in our lives and may we share it with those You have sovereignly placed around us.

Even Though Our Outward Man is Perishing…

 

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.—2 Corinthians 4:16-18

The older I get the harder it becomes to ignore all my sufferings, because they are my constant companions and become more diversified and numerous as time marches on.  Age also increases the likelihood that we have become intimately acquainted with not only physical trials, but also with difficult emotional ones as well.  It is HARD in our flesh NOT to lose heart!  

Day in and day out, here in our bodies, we ARE growing old.  But as our outward man perishes, our spirit - our inward man - is being renewed and transformed daily into His likeness.  Paul calls our time here in our bodies short, light and temporary affliction which cannot be compared with the weight of what is to come.  Beloved, our earthly eyes oftentimes see life here on earth as tedious, long, grievous and heavy.  It is only by faith that we can see and judge them as Paul does...as lightness itself and but for a moment because the glory that is to be revealed is weighty and lasting.  

Paul did not fear this heavy, long and often grievous life, nor did he fear death. His faith gave him the victory over fear...He focused on the eternal rather than the temporal.  Like Paul, we know that Jesus’ resurrection is an assurance of our own. Death for believers means that we are now absent from our body and present with the Lord.  Knowing this brings us comfort in our time of trial and keeps us from fear.  We can say with David:

I will bless the LORD who has given me counsel;

My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the LORD always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will rest in hope.

10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

11 You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.—Psalm 16:7-11

Beloved, we walk by faith and not by sight.  Choose to look at the heavenly, and not the earthly.  Abide and allow God’s eternal truth to wash over you every morning.  Look to Jesus in whom consolations abound.  

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?—1 John 5:4

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.—Hebrews 12: 1-2

On Not Losing Heart - 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

 

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.—2 Corinthians 4:1

As I read 2 Corinthians 4:1-12, I found much encouragement from Paul to tuck away in my heart.  Verse 1 reminded me that the One who saved me and entrusted me with those works that He prepared beforehand (Ephes 2:10) would not allow me to fail. I am not to lose heart or quit.   It is God who works in me both to do and to will for His good pleasure.  He who called me is faithful.  I can trust Him to see me through.  

But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.—2 Corinthians 4:2-4

As a Christian I am to put off deceit and walk as it says in Psalm 119, undefiled in the way.  I am to live transparently and walk in the truth of God’s word as it is revealed in the Scriptures. My word and deed are to match. As Paul said in Chapter 3 our lives should read like an epistle of Christ written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God on the tablets of our hearts.  

For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.—2 Corinthians 4:5-6

I really liked this one...probably the most difficult one.  I don’t know about you, but sadly my heart’s first reaction to life in this fallen world is to make me the center. I want to make everything about me. In truth, nothing is ever about me...even the stuff that really seems to be about me.  It is about Him.  I died and my life is now hidden with Christ in God. I am His bondservant.  The Judaizers in Paul’s time were all about glorying in themselves and in their achievements.  Christ for them was only the means to an end.  For Paul to live was Christ and to die was gain.  

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. 8 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So then death is working in us, but life in you.—2 Corinthians 4:7-12

In effect, I am a clay pot...an earthen vessel...without value in and of myself.  The treasure that is within me...the very Spirit that is from God...is what gives me value.  A clay vessel is weak...it cracks easily.  Not a problem for God.  When our pot is cracked and weakened, His light shines from within our vessels brighter.  His strength in fact, is made perfect in our weakness. 

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.—2 Corinthians 12:9-10

It is very difficult for me to take pleasure in my weakness.  Being weak makes me feel scared, out of control and very vulnerable.  Trusting God then in my weakness is hard. Here is the wonderful thing about God, though.  He makes it pretty hard not to trust Him because really what choice do we have?  We ARE weak!  The older I get the clearer this becomes.  Beloved, don’t fight against God. As the clay is in the hand of the potter, so are we in the hand of our God. Trust Him.  He is good and does good.

Blessed is the man, who puts his trust in Him!   

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

And whose hope is the LORD.

8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And 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

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus…

 

Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.—Exodus 34:29

As I read this verse last night my heart filled with a desire to spend more time with God.  Oh, to have the light of the glory of God reflected in my countenance!  Moses had just returned from spending 40 days and nights in fasting and communion with God. Because of this we read that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Beholding and spending time with God produces a radiant countenance that is a reflection of the Lord’s glory. Moses’ face shone with a radiant glory that was diminishing.  A Christian’s countenance, however, is one of an ever-increasing radiant glory because of God’s abiding presence in our hearts. A believer’s glory is eternal. 

Beloved…Immerse yourself in the word of God. We are changed by looking at Jesus…by spending time with Him in prayer, in worship and in study. Look full into His wonderful face and as you do be transformed into the same image from glory to glory.  It is in the looking at Him that you will become like Him.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.—2 Corinthians 3:18

They looked to Him and were radiant,

And their faces were not ashamed.—Psalm 34:5

Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.—Psalm 1:1-3

Who is like a wise man?

And who knows the interpretation of a thing?

A man's wisdom makes his face shine,

And the sternness of his face is changed.—Ecclesiastes 8:1

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.—Ephesians 3:14-21

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.—2 Corinthians 4:6

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.—John 1:4-5

Arise, shine;

For your light has come!

And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,

And deep darkness the people;

But the LORD will arise over you,

And His glory will be seen upon you.

The Gentiles shall come to your light,

And kings to the brightness of your rising.—Psalm 60:1-3

God Almighty—El Shaddai

 

And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel. Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land."

When God calls Himself  God Almighty or in Hebrew El Shaddai, He is literally saying I am the breasted one.   The breast nourishes and sustains life.  God is telling Jacob that He is not only the source of life but the nourisher and sustainer of it also.  In Him, we, like Jacob, have everything we need.  How comforting is that for us!  Our God is the El Shaddai!

I have nursed children.  Nursing is something that requires you to sit down and focus completely on your child. You really can't do much else.  God designed it this way.  It is where the infant meets you face to face for the first time and falls in love.   It is where your personal relationship with your little one is established...as you hold him close and nourish and sustain his life.  This is how my God wants me to think of Him...encompassed in His everlasting arms where every thought and intention of my heart is known by Him and every cry answered.  When God is with us it is as if there is no one else and nothing else in the universe.  He is intensely there...as a mom is with her nursing infant, to be in the presence of God is better than anything  the world has to offer.  He is our great High Priest who can sympathize with all our weaknesses.  He bears our sorrows and trouble. He intercedes for us with the Father. He clothes us in His righteousness.   He is our helper, our deliverer and our sustainer.  His love and grace for each of us is without end.  The height, breadth, width and depth of his love cannot be measured.

As a child is weaned and grows older, by necessity, he grows more independent of his parents.  We tell our kids to grow up and behave like an adult.  The Great El Shaddai  tells us the opposite!  He wants us to behave like a child...to depend on Him in everything and for everything! Jesus modeled this by living His life here on earth in total and utter dependence on His Father in Heaven.  He said nothing and did nothing outside of His Father's will.   If you are a parent, remember this desire of God's in your moment by moment relationship with your little one.  Point Him to Jesus always. Having done that...you have done your job.  Remember it in your own relationship with your Lord.  Think back on the sweetness of the nursing period...think back to when your child was a toddler and was tired, or scared or hurt and how wonderful it felt when they ran to you and climbed into your lap for whatever it was they might have needed.  Remember how wonderful it was to be able to fill that need for them.  REMEMBER THIS AND GO TO HIM IN YOUR TIME OF NEED.  Climb on His lap and allow His comfort to fill you!  It is His joy to do this!!  Your God will rejoice over you with singing and He will comfort and quiet you with His love.  

Life is hard....full of difficulties and curve balls.  It is too much for any of us.  Jesus tells us He is the El Shaddai..."the breasted one".  He does not want us to handle this life on our own.  In fact...He does not want US to handle it at all.  He says to come to Him...cry out to Him...run to Him.  He is the God that performs all things for us.  He is the God that perfects all things that concern us.  We can trust Him.  This is the attitude we need when we first enter God's kingdom....one of total dependence on the mercy of God.  One that understands with heart knowledge, as a child does, that he is helpless and unable to save himself. This also needs to be the heart of a child of God throughout his journey here on earth.  He walks with His God by faith, without fear, knowing that he is loved by his Father and that He will care for his every need.  Revel in the moment.  Walk by faith...cast your burdens upon the Lord...He cares for you.  Know your God, the Great El Shaddai,  is with you and will see you through!