Are we doing our part?

A man prayed and asked God for help. The request was for a remote control for the television. A moment later there was a knock at the door. The neighbor had just bought a new remote and wanted to know if he wanted his old one. He took the remote, thanked the neighbor and went inside and thanked God. The man then asked God for one more favor, "Would you also be willing to push the buttons for me?" 

This story is silly, but when it comes to changing our sinful habits sometimes we ask God to do it all. We need to have a balanced approach. We need to ask God to help us change and then we also need to diligently resist sin.

Psalm 34 part 2 - The fear of the Lord

Christians have various ideas on what they think the "Fear of the Lord" means. One place from which we can gain understanding on this topic is from Psalm 34. And verse 11 clearly states that we are about to be taught the fear of the Lord. My devotion is not a comprehensive teaching on the subject. It is just meant to share some additional thoughts so you can reach a better understanding of this topic.

I want to share just one facet of the "Fear of the Lord" with you today. It is the principal that God is actively involved in a "Deed / Consequence Connection" concerning the way we live before Him. And in referring to this deed/consequence connection I mean for good or for bad. If love is practiced then God will cause blessing to come to us. If evil is practiced then there will be a reaping of negative consequences.  Lets look at the verses to support that thought.

First lets look at the positive side of the deed/consequence principal. In verses 9 and 10 we see that those that fear and seek the Lord won't lack any good thing. Verses 12-15 directly connects length of days, seeing good and God answering prayer with proper speech, doing good, and seeking peace. Verse 22 also makes it clear that those who serve the Lord will not be condemned.

Second lets look at the negative side of the deed/consequence principal. Verse 16 shows God is against evildoers and will cut off the memory of them from the earth. Verse 21 shows severe and permanent consequences for those who practice evil. It will slay them and they will be condemned.

Verse 11 told us that we are about to learn about the "Fear of the Lord". And then in the verses that followed we see various references to God repaying us for our deeds whether they be good or evil. So we can be sure that one facet of the fearing God is knowing that He is actively involved is causing us to reap whatever we have sown. Since we will reap either good or evil base on our actions let us therefore "Fear the Lord",  and turn from evil. Let us do good and look expectantly for God to bless us in return.

⁹ O fear the LORD, you His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is no want.
¹⁰ The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.
¹¹ Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
¹² Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
¹³ Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
¹⁴ Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.

 ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
¹⁶ The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷ The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

 ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all.
²⁰ He keeps all his bones,
Not one of them is broken.
²¹ Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
²² The LORD redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

Psalm 34 - God's ability to help us in all problems

I have more than one devotion that I'd like to share from Psalm 34. This devotion concerns God's ability to help us in any and every circumstance. ( It is always good to read verses in context so please read the whole Psalm along with this devotion.)

When anyone accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour it does not guarantee that their life will be problem free. But the person that truly puts God first can be confident of one thing. That person will no longer have to go through their troubles alone. The God who created the universe will be with them to help them in all situations. And this word "All" is one word that we should pay attention to in this Psalm.

In addition to paying attention to the word "All" we also need to notice that problems in Psalm 34 are stated in the plural. It is not just one problem that is being referred to, but rather several problems. The following words are plural: fears, troubles, afflictions.

But God is able to help us in "All" of these problems.  In verse 4 how many fears did God deliver him from? He was delivered from all. In verse 6 how many of the poor mans troubles was he saved from? He was saved from all. In verse 17 the righteous were delivered from how many of their troubles? They were delivered from all. In verse 19 how many afflictions of the righteous did the Lord deliver them from? They were delivered from all. I hope this encourages someone who is having troubles today. God bless

Psalm 34

 ⁴ I sought the LORD, and He answered me, 
And delivered me from all my fears. 

⁶ This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.

¹⁷ The righteous cry, and the LORD hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles

¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the LORD delivers him out of them all. 

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

I'm your friend - as long as you bless me

Sadly there are people that will seek friendships or abandon friendships based selfish motives.  They want to draw closer to us in order to receive something from us (v. 4a, 6). But the poor, who may not be able to bless them, or may even need to receive from them, can be hated by their brothers and be abandoned by their friends (v. 4b, 7).

Proverbs 19:4-9

⁴ Wealth adds many friends, 

But a poor man is separated from his friend. 
⁵ A false witness will not go unpunished, 
And he who tells lies will not escape. 
⁶ Many will seek the favor of a generous man, 
And every man is a friend to him who gives gifts. 
⁷ All the brothers of a poor man hate him; 
How much more do his friends abandon him! 
He pursues them with words, but they are gone. 
⁸ He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; 
He who keeps understanding will find good. 
⁹ A false witness will not go unpunished, 

And he who tells lies will perish. 

This lack of genuine love can be disheartening. One thing that can help us with this disappointment is to keep our focus on God’s love for us. God doesn’t love with and expectation of getting something in return. His love is so pure that He even gives blessing to ungrateful and evil people. 

Luke 6:35

³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

Seeking a spouse?

Don't be blinded by one sided thinking that says, "I just need to find the right person." Instead we also need to focus on our own godly character too. A successful marriage requires both partners, not just the other person, to be walking in God's ways. Grow in love so you will be a good partner for that future right person. Don't just look for the right person, be the right person too. 

When guilt hinders me from returning to God

Some things I remind myself of when guilt hinders me from returning to God.

If I drift away from God I can feel like I can't return after sinning against Him. Here are some things I think about that encourages me to return.

1. God is slow to anger - Psalm 103:8

2. God stands ready to forgive - Psalm 86:5, 1 John 1:9

3. At the same time that God is speaking against me, His heart can be remembering me, and even yearning for me - Jeremiah 31:18-20

4. When I return to God, confessing my sins, He will meet me with forgiveness, a happy and loving embrace, and I will be treated as His son - Luke 15:11-32 (the Prodigal Son).

5. God may have planned to bring trouble into my life due to my sin. But if I repent, God may change His mind and not send the trouble - Jonah 3:10

6. Not only will repenting of my sins and confessing them to God result in forgiveness, but He may actually give me a blessing too - Joel 2:13-15

7. In Jeremiah chapters 2-3 God spoke to His faithless people. And one thing He spoke was an offer to return to Him and that He would not look upon them with anger.

(Please pray that God will give me more to share with you - Ephesians 6:19)

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

Joyful provision

The Bible tells us in Matthew 6:25-34 that if our first priority is seeking His righteousness and His Kingdom that God will provide for our needs. His faithfulness is truly wonderful. But I would like you to think about another wonderful thing. Providing for His children is not burdensome to Him.  He actually delights in supplying our needs. Take a moment and praise the Lord for He is good.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org)

Do you struggle with seeking praise from people?

Here is one suggestion that can help you change in that area. Do
something nice for someone, or a group, but do it in secret. And then
make up you mind ahead of time that you won't tell anyone about your
actions. Then in private rejoice over the fact that they received a
blessing.

Praise God for He is great!

He created the earth and stretched out the heavens over an
unfathomable distance. Yet each star He calls by name. And they are
kept in their courses by His great power. Praise the Lord with
reverence. For He is the mighty God and there is no hiding from His
power.

Free Bible resource.

Listen to the entire Bible in just one years time. Best of all it is
absolutely free.
http://nasb-audio-bible-in-a-year.blogspot.com/

Ever serve God or people mindlessly?

Ever start doing something good and before you know it your mind
wanders and you are just going through the motions? It happens to me.
Sometimes I need to reset my wandering thoughts through self-talk. I
pause for a moment and attach a motive to the action I am about to
perform. I say to myself that I will do this to make God glad (Hebrews
13:16), and I will also do this to bring good to this person(s).
Additionally when I have this mindset in place it helps me to rejoice
over the good that I bring to both God and people.

Disappointed with the love that you've experienced in this world?

God offers a love that will not let you down. You can become His child
right now by receiving Jesus into your heart as Lord and Savior. Click
the link to find out more.

http://bible-verses-devotional​-bible-study.blogspot.com/p/wh
at-must-i-do-to-go-to-heaven.h​tml

God loves justice but He hates the miscarriage of Justice.

Psalm 33:5
He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the
lovingkindness of the LORD.

Proverbs 17:15
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

Scripture quotations taken from the "NASB" (www.lockman.org )

Do you have a balance between work, rest and enjoyment?

But we should ask God to show us if we are out of balance in any of these areas. Are we a workaholic that doesn't rest? Are we a sluggard who is unwilling to release the covers? Instead of having balanced between meeting our responsibilities and times of enjoyment are we instead focused on finishing one pleasure and then moving on to the next?