June 19, 2011

“but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.”  Psalm 1:2-3

TO BE BLESSED MAKE SURE YOU SPEND TIME IN GOD’S WORD


(1) Love the Word, V. 2

The word “delight” means to take great pleasure in. It has the idea of a consuming passion that controls your life. Everyone “delights” in something. Some people delight in food. Others delight in a job or a hobby or a career. Some delight in a particular friendship. Many people delight in money or the things money can buy. And many delight in evil pleasures and wrong desires. Mark this well. Your “delight” determines your direction. What do you delight in? What gets your motor running? What gets you excited in the morning and keeps you awake at night? What do you daydream about?

Tell me the answers to those questions and I’ll tell you something crucial about who you are. To delight is to be so excited about something that you just can’t wait. Watch a young couple in love and you’ll know what “delight” means. Or take a young man Who has fallen in love for the first time. Ask his friends and they’ll say, “He’s not the same guy he used to be. They mean he has radically changed. He doesn’t want to hang around with them anymore. All he does is talk about “that girl.” Just look at him. He’s got this goofy grin on his face. He’s in love. Now apply that principle to the Word of God. We are to delight in God’s Word as a lover delights in a letter from his beloved.

I guess the question to ask is – “Do you love God’s Word like that?”

And, it not, “Why not?” “What needs to happen? What needs to change?”
“How would your life be different if you did?”

(2) Live the Word

Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, describes meditation this way: "Meditation is focused thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind...if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate". Warren goes on to say, "No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture…If you look up all the times God speaks about meditation in the Bible, you will amazed at the benefits He has promised to those who take the time to reflect on His Word throughout the day"

The Hebrew word used for "meditate" can be literally interpreted “Chew your cud”  Meditate  means “a strong desire to understand God’s will in order to do it!

WHAT MADE JESUS SO UNIQUE AND POWERFUL WAS THAT HE LIVE OUT THE LAW OF GOD – AND HE WAS THE WORD!

God sets a high standard for us but that is because the stakes are high! Also, the satisfaction level is high for those who do – THEY GET THE BLESSINGS:

“That person is like a tree planted by streams of water” - STABILITY

“which yields its fruit in its season” – PRODUCTIVITY

“and whose leaf does not wither” – LONGEVITY

“whatever they do prospers.” - PROSPERITY

Being blessed doesn't happen by accident. There are reasons why some people see God's blessing rain upon their lives and why others don't. I have touched on several of those reasons today and in some previous posts. Why would you want to miss out on the blessings of God when you can enjoy His goodness and His favor AND be a blessing to others?

Delight in His Word!

Meditate on His Word!

June 18, 2011

'Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers"  Psalm 1:1

If you want to be blessed by God you must find a place in God's will. This verse gives some insights on how to do that.

First, be careful who you believe - "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked ...."

It is hard to get good advice from bad people. You are not likely to get godly advice from and ungodly person. How can you get trustworthy counsel from a person you can't trust?

Before you believe something ask yourself, "What does the Bible say?"

Be careful who you listen to. Ask yourself, "What is their life like?"

What are you filling your mind with? Always ask, "Can God honor this?"

Second, be careful how you behave - "....or stand in the way that sinners take...."

The old saying is, "Birds of a feather flock together." You will be judged by the company you keep.

If you are committed to doing the right thing you will not want to spend time with the wrong people.

Are the people you spend the most time with lifting you up or are they pulling you down? Do they draw you closer to God or do they pull you away?

Sow a thought and you reap and act;

Sow an act, and you reap a habit;

Sow a habit, and you reap a character;

Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.

If the friends you spend the most time with can impact your destiny, what sort of friends should you choose? Are they exhibiting the sort of behavior God can bless? Are they helping or hindering your behavior?

Third, be careful who you have for buddys - "or sit in the company of mockers"

If you want God's blessing, why would you develop close friendships with people who God is not able to bless? Wouldn't you be better off finding friends who share your faith and your values?

The easiest thing in the world is to be negative, and cynical, and sarcastic. It doesn't take a spiritual giant to recognize problems, but it does take a person of faith and conviction to come with ideas to solve it. If you want to have a positive attitude and a positive perspective on life, why would you spend your time around cynical and negative people?

If you want to be blessed and delivered from the struggles with sin in your life, some things need to be done to help you live in God's will, and learn in God's Word, and love in God's way.

Get wise godly counsel so you will believe right. Get grounded in God's Word so you will behave right. Get godly friends who can encourage and edify you in your faith.

Who are you listening to?

What are you learning from?

Who are you hanging around with?

 

June 17, 2011

"Blessed is the one......."    Psalm 1:1a

Some men want success. Some want to impress. Some desire to possess. God wants to bless and He would love to bless you. When He blesses you it satifies all those other desires. Having God's blessing IS success for a believer. It is evidence that you HAVE impressed Him. And it allows you to possess all that comes with His favor.

Men who want success or who need to impress or who desire to impress are really looking for the same thing - happiness. Each is in pursuit of what he thinks will make him happy.

But the Psalmist assures that the blessing of God is the source of true happiness. The word used here for happiness has several implications and all of them are good - (happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) - are accurate renderings of the word for "blessed".

Are you blessed?

A person who is blessed not only enjoys favor with God and all His benefits, but they also become a blessing to others. Those who live with or work with or worship with or hang out with a blessed person find that they are blessed by being with him.

Do you know someone like that? Is there someone like that in your life?

If so, thank God for them. If so, tell them how much you appreciate them. Learn from them.

Perhaps the bigger question is, "Are you that sort of person?" Do you know God's blessing on your life. Are others blessed because you are around them? Does God's blessing reside in you? Does His peace follow you? Does His presence follow you? Does His power flow through you?

Here's how:

"Blessed is one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,  but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers."  Psalm 1:1-3

Finding success may bless you but not many others. Impressing others will not bless them. Nothing you can possess will do much to bless.

Live for God's blessing. Live in God's blessing. Live to be a blessing.

June 16, 2011

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him."  I John 1:3


 

As you prepare to honor your father this Sunday, I want you to remember how powerful the love of a father can be. I want you to be reminded howmuch your Heavenly Father loves you. And I want to challenge fathers to love more like this - more like God.

http://youtu.be/rF7Bv9Rjl0E

Sunday I will be sharing some ideas to help our dads love better.

But for now, who do you need to love better?

How do you need to love better?

Is something keeping you from receiving the love of your Heavenly Father?


Will you receive the love of the Father?



June 15, 2011

"Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night.  Psalm 1:1-2

I found this article that describes well the spiritual progression expressed in verse one: walk, stand, and sit.

"From birth there are distinct phases that mark the normal development of a human being in terms of their ability to move. At first we are completely helpless and need to be carried and supported as our bones, spine and muscles strengthen. Soon we learn to hold up our heads and push ourselves up, eventually to a sitting position. After this we build up the courage to pull ourselves up to stand and in short succession we, with faltering steps, learn to walk and then run.

Perhaps it is a coincidence that the order in Psalm 1 is opposite to that of positive, healthy development of a human in the physical world. Perhaps it isn't.

In the physical, so in the spiritual.

In Luke 10:39 we read that Martha ‘…had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said….’.

Sitting is not a bad thing, if we are sitting at the feet of Jesus.

In Ephesians 6 the church in Ephesus is encouraged by Paul to, ‘… put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes...’ (Eph 6:11)

Standing is good, if we are standing girded with the full armor of God.

Earlier in Galatians Paul wrote “…This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh….” (Gal 5:16)

and in Ephesians:

“… As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received…” (Eph 4:1).

(It is a commonly known fact that here, and elsewhere in Ephesians, the verb ‘live’ is actually the Greek verb normally translated ‘walk’ as reflected in the King James Version).

“…I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…” (Eph 4:1)

“…And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour...” (Eph 5:2)

“…For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light…”(Eph 5:8)

So let me ask you what is your spiritual posture or condition today?

Are you sitting at the feet of Jesus or in the seat of scoffers?

Are you standing in the full armor of God or in the way of sinners?

Are you walking in the Spirit or are you walking in the council of the wicked?"


My prayer is that your delight “…is in the law of the LORD…”, that you will be “… like a tree planted by the streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither….”


That whatever you do prospers. (Psa 1:2-3)

June 14, 2011

"Blessed is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly , nor stands in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down where the scornful gather."   Psalm 1:1

Here's a pop quiz: "Would you rather be blessed or cursed?"

I think I know your answer.

Though the answer is obvious, the significance of that answer is not. You are either one or the other. If you are not blessed you are cursed. I say that because I fear there is a tendency to think that there are shades of blessedness. But the fact is if you are not living under God's blessing you are cursed. There are not "kind of blessed" or "sort of blessed" people. His blessing begins with the removal of the curse. Unless you understand that you will not appreciate the importance of being blessed.

The writer of the Psalms spells out clearly what it means to be blessed.

I like the Amplified Version of the Bible to give clarity to the undesrstanding of Biblical texts. Here is how it explains what it means to be blessed: BLESSED =  (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable).

You can plug in those synonyms without it altering the meaning of the verse. HAPPY is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly......."

To be blessed means to be happy! Happy about what? He is happy because of Who he loves - God! He is happy because of how he lives - godly! And He is happy because of what he learns - the Word of God!

Also, you can substitute the word "fortunate" as well! A blessed man is a fortunate man because of what Jesus did for him on the cross! Notice it didn't say "lucky" it said fortunate. Blessing comes as the result of right choices and decisions not from a random confluence of events.

Thirdly, you could replace "blessed" with "prosperous". Usually, a blessed man becomes preosperous because he makes good choices and wise decisions that result in profitable outcomes for a "blessed" man.

You have it within your power to live a  "blessed" Life! The question is, "Will you?" Will you choose to live a bless life? Now that you know three things God blesses and you refuse to do any of those things - you will live under the curse of sin and pride.

Do you love God with ALL your heart?

Do you live according to His Word?

Do you have a desire and a discipline to learn His Word?

Loving, living and learning lead to blessedness! Reject the curse - receive the blessing!

June 13, 2011

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish."   Psalm 1

In real estate the rule that determines the value of a property is, "Location, location, location!"

Before posting this I did a quick check of Gatlinburg real estate and it verified that it is indeed true. The further you go up the mountain and the better the view, the higher the price. If the home is located in a neighborhood with other higher priced homes that raises the price of the property as well.

Similarly, a man's "blessedness" is determined by His location in relation to God and His Word. Consider these phrases:

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers"

A blessed man locates himself in the neighborhood with godly and righteous people. He doesn't hang out with evil wicked people. Wicked people are spiritually condemned. Who wants to build next to a condemned property?

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night."

Secondly, a blessed man camps out in the Word of God! He doesn't spend time reading sexy magazines or going to questionable websites. You are what you read. "As a man thinks in his heart so is he." Contrary to modern thinking, a man cannot separate his private life from his public life.

Third, a man will be blessed if he puts down roots in the living water. Jesus is the Living Water! "He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." The evidence that a man has established his life in a good location is the fruitfulness of his life and the healthiness of his life!

A man who wants to be blessed will locate himself in a place where God's blessings flow. How presumptious is it to expect or demand that God bless what he is doing rather than doing what God blesses?

There is a reason that some men lead blessed lives and others don't. It can be summed up in three words, "Location, location, location!"

Will you choose to be blessed? Will you go where God blesses? Will you do what He blesses?