HE IS WORTHY

“Praise the Lord.”  Psalm 150:1

         The word Hallelujah is used as a way to praise the Lord, but did you know that the word is literally a transliteration of two Hebrew words; hallal, which means “praise” and yah which means “the Lord”.  So when you say, “Praise the Lord”, you are speaking the English equivalent to the Hebrew words Hallal Yah.  At times we see it written as “Alleluia”, which is the Greek-influenced version of the word and tends to be an expression of praise rather than an urging to praise.

         There is no indication in scripture as to who authored this Psalm.  It is considered a general hymn of praise for the people of Israel.  The Psalm goes on to extol some of the virtues of the Lord.

There are many ways to praise God.  You can praise Him verbally or with your life.  How you treat others, whether close to you or complete strangers, can lift up the name of the Lord.  Praising God with your life can say so much more to unbelievers than any words you could ever say.  Not following your words with loving actions sprinkled with God’s grace can potentially do more harm than good.  It is far better to remain silent and be Christ to others than to blather on about our beliefs.  Let them see God in everything we say and do.  That’s what will speak loudly to a sin sick and dying world.

We should also make it a practice to praise the name of the Lord in all situations.  Whether times are good or bad, God remains the same.  He is the one true constant in a sea of inconsistency.  We should praise Him because He is worthy of our praise.  Even if He did nothing for us, He would be worthy of praise by His very nature.  But He has done everything we could ever need.  So don’t reserve your praise for just when you are in church.   Praise Him at all times.   Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

LAWGIVER & JUDGE

“For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.”  Isaiah 33:22

         Historically speaking, Israel had been under attack by Assyria with Judah being devastated.  The people and their king Hezekiah sought out the prophet Isaiah to pray to God on their behalf.  The prophet assured them God would grant them the victory.

        Chapter 33 speaks of the future when God will once again be Israel’s sole judge, lawgiver and king.  It’s the same for all believers today.  While this world has its judges and lawgivers, in the end the only judge and lawgiver who will matter will be Almighty God.  He alone will pass judgment on the actions of men.  His laws and decrees, having stood as a bastion for our ultimate protection through the ages, still stand intact.  God desires His children to abide by His standard for living.  He knows that which we need and declares from the heavens that His standards are fair and just.  It’s through God and God alone that we can be saved.  Saved from what you may ask?  From ourselves.  Our sin is such an incredible stench in the nostrils of God that we must rid ourselves of it through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross.  The blood He shed cleanses us.  It’s as if we’d never, ever sinned in the first place.  We must choose to ask for forgiveness and then receive it as we would receive any gift.

          Our finite minds cannot comprehend all that God has in store for those who love Him and live out their lives for Him.  Our Lord loves us unconditionally and will never do anything that will harm us.  All events happen for a specific purpose, many times known only to God.  We must trust Him that He will bring all things together for us in the end. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

OUR CHOICE TO BELIEVE

“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.”  Psalm 119:160

       In life we have many choices to make.  The most important choice lies in whether we believe in the existence of an unseen spirit entity known as Jehovah.  Once we’ve made that decision we must decide if we’re willing to believe what a book says He has done and said to man.  The book is called the Holy Bible.  Once we’ve grappled with that we must decide whether to trust this unseen spirit and His “word”.  His word says we are all sinners in need of someone to save us, which is another decision we must make.  Do we choose to believe we have a problem that we cannot solve ourselves?  Do we choose to believe that, more specifically, we need this unseen spirit’s help to solve this problem? 

          David had very early in life made this choices and stood firmly on that belief all his life.  He believed that all of the words from scripture, in his case just the Old Testament verses, were directly from the mouth of Jehovah and therefore were absolutely true and could be trusted implicitly.  David also believed that the laws Jehovah set down were for all men for all time.  They were the standard of living all men should follow.

          Believers today tend to pick and choose what they would like to believe and place their trust in when it comes to God.  While we have that right due to the free will we have been given, it is counterproductive.  It’s in our best interest to fully trust God for down through the history of man He has proven to be trustworthy.  It’s also in our best interest to place our full trust in His word.  What purpose does it serve us to dissect scripture with a fine tooth comb when our finite minds cannot possible know the full intention of what God is saying.  We can only know by seeking wisdom and discernment through the Holy Spirit that lies within us to know even in part how God intends us to live. Make a spirit-influenced choice.  Trust God and His word fully.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing

PERFECTION NOT REQUIRED

“Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.”  Psalm 119:133

         One commentary on the Psalms describes vv. 133-140 as David “beseeching” God for instruction in His law.  The word beseech means to ‘urgently request’.  Although David was far from perfect his love for God drove him to serve the Lord with his whole heart.  Throughout his writings we see David constantly extolling the virtues of God and continuously ask Him to light and direct his path. 

         We too are far from perfect, yet perfection is not what God seeks from us.  He seeks a willing heart that desires to be like Him in every way by seeking His counsel and direction daily, just as David did.  God desires our allegiance; however, it is completely voluntary.  It’s a choice that all men must make.  First, do I believe in the existence of God; second, do I believe the Bible is His perfect word; and lastly, do I choose to follow the standard for living He has set forth in His word. In the middle of all that comes our acknowledgement that we are a sinner in need of saving.  Just like a drug addict, alcoholic or smoker, we must admit we are in need of help before we can begin to find salvation.  Until we do that we shall remain in our sin.  But until God says it is too late there is always hope for fallen man. 

         Believer, seek the Lord’s guidance and direction that you may avoid the many pitfalls and snares that lie all about.  Recognize temptation for what it is and ask the Lord to help you steer clear of it.  He will do this because God loves you unconditionally and eternally.  He wants you to succeed and will never fail to answer when you seek His face.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!  

SPIRITUAL REFORMATION

“This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’”  Jeremiah 33:2-3

         The prophet Jeremiah began his ministry in the 13^th year of Josiah’s reign as king over Israel.  Josiah brought spiritual reform in an effort to free Judah from the corrupt influences of paganism and their political bondage to Assyria. 

         Most scholars say that Chapters 30-33 are meant as God’s promise thru the prophet to Israel regarding a restoration to the way things should be under the Lord’s leadership through their reforming king. 

         This speaks to believers today in that some slip away from their true calling, becoming complacent in their walk with God.  These two verses in and of themselves tell me that if the Lord can form the earth that we walk on and establish it in amidst of the solar system, then He can reestablish me to a right standing and answer any of the questions I may have regarding the things I don’t know.  Some things may never be explained because we simply don’t need to know; the information is irrelevant to our calling as a child of God.  However, God will reveal all that we need to know to effectively live for Him.

         Our goal as a child of God is to serve Him with a glad heart and show by example what a life free from sin can look like.  Being like Christ in every aspect of our lives, while virtually impossible this side of heaven, it’s a noble quest to strive for.  As we dedicate our lives to living for the Lord we should begin to resemble Him more and more each day.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

LEARNING FROM GOD

“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”  James 1:22

         In this world there are listeners and hearers. A person can listen to someone speak all day long but not hear a think. What is being said becomes nothing more than a clanging cymbal as the message goes unheard.  Many a glowing sermon has been preached that has never been heard because of a sense of indifference.  To some being in church seems to matters more than actually receiving any spiritual food.  We should be sponges, soaking up any spiritual knowledge we can, for to know Him is to trust Him and to trust Him will bring us to a place where worry lessens and blessings can flow more freely.
         We deceive ourselves into thinking we are okay with God just because we attend services, but all the services in the world will not change our heart or our mindset.  God is extremely patient with us, but don’t mistake His patience as a sign of weakness.  His patience is borne out of love for us, plus an understanding that we are frail and even on our best day will not measure up to His standards.  That is where His mercy and grace kicks in.  We cannot live a life that is pleasing to God unless we follow the standard He’s set forth in scripture. In our imperfection we come to realize that our Lord’s patience allows for many mistakes as long as we are sincerely trying to please Him with our lives. Those things said to us will actually begin to be heard and if we let them they will revolutionize our walk with God.  Listen, but also hear all that we are told from scripture that we may be a blessing to God and others.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

A MATTER OF TRUST

“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.”  Psalm 119:114

            David confidently declares that God is his source of help, relief and comfort in times of trouble. He also says that God is his protector.  Knowing what we know about the Lord, we can stand with David and confidently boast the same.  Furthermore, our hope is in God as well and by extension, His word.  When a person doesn’t have hope it can be a devastating feeling.  Just knowing that God is ever present and has your best interests at heart should bring hope even in the direst of circumstances.  He knows what He’s doing.  What you are going through is by design to teach you something of spiritual significance.  Moping and being depressed, while a natural response for most of us, is counterproductive.  We know that in our heart, but getting our head to cooperate with our heart sometimes can be difficult.  Our Lord is patient with us.  He understands our hesitancy and works in us, if we allow Him to, to bring about spiritual growth.  It’s all a matter of trust.

          Scripture tells us faith without works is dead (James 2:17).  I say to you faith without trust is equally dead.  We must develop an unwavering trust in God to fully realize all He has for us.  He knows who we were meant to be and He wants us to reach our fullest potential.  I’m not speaking of worldly potential, but rather spiritual potential.  The Lord knows what we’re capable of.  God’s word can instruct us and His spirit can take us to the lofty heights He has ordained for us.  Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!