Stand up and bless the LORD

Psalmsd 96:4  For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

Psalms 18:3    I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

Nehemiah 9:5     Then the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, “Stand up and bless the LORD your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

Psalms 145:3    Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Psalms 66:3     Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.

Jeremiah 10:6-7   There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.  Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.

Revelation 15:4     Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Psalms 76:7     But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?

Luke 12:5     But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Psalms 9:17     The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

Revelation 14:7    And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

2 Peter 2:4    For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;

Daily we are either living in God fearing reverence giving God praise or complacent neglect or absolute denial.  When thinking about an average day in your life in line with this, is a mirror to our heart, mind, and soul.  Living in a state of mind that does not have humble reverence and praise for God leaves us open for days upon end without purpose other than self.  Self walks down a path of “here and now”, giving no thought to God or His love, judgement, or eternity.  This is a fight within our very being.  Our sinful nature, left on its own, will walk paths separated from God.  Living for God, staying in His word and learning from it yields a continual transformation in our lives.  This transformation starts with a new birth, a new beginning, a life with purpose found in forgiveness of sin, by faith, through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

” Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Being Ready

“And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

Psalms 90:12  So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 39:4     “O LORD, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!

Deuteronomy 32:29     If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

Ecclesiastes 9:10    Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Luke 12:35     “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,  and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.  If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

John 9:4     We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Ephesians 5:16     making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Proverbs 2:2     making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding;  yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding,  if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures,  then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.  For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 4:5     Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

Proverbs 7:1     My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you;  keep my commandments and live; keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;  bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.  Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call insight your intimate friend,

Proverbs 8:32     “And now, O sons, listen to me: blessed are those who keep my ways.  Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it.  Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.  For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,  but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 16:16     How much better to get wisdom than gold! To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

Proverbs 22:17     Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

Proverbs 23:12     Apply your heart to instruction and your ear to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 18:1     Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.  A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.

Jude 1:19     It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.

Being ready at all times is much different than thinking about being ready.  Being ready and living ready is putting the Word of God into action in our lives.  Thinking about being ready is just that, stuff moving through our head and no action to follow it up.  God’s will must be a desired and sought after presence in our lives. This desire and seeking keep us actionable for His purpose and plans.  Reread these verses and as is says in Proverbs 22:17     Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

Forfeit his soul

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

Psalms 49:1   Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding. I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life, for the ransom of their life is costly and can never suffice, that he should live on forever and never see the pit. For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others. Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations, though they called lands by their own names. Man in his pomp will not remain; he is like the beasts that perish. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence; yet after them people approve of their boasts.  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

1 Timothy 6:6  But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

We often have thoughts about people and their success on the wealth they have don’t we?  We even have some thoughts about wanting the same or at least part of the same things they have.  We get envious and soon are not content.  This Psalm does make clear the impotence of wealth, the trust in it and the final reward for this trust – eternity in Hell.  We leave all behind in this life – nothing is ours – we only have use of it for this side of eternity.  If only we have clear understanding of this.  Would our giving be greater?  Would we be more content with what we have and stop seeking more and more of what this world has to offer? Seeking after more and more replaces thoughts of humbly serving, honoring, and obeying God.  Our heart and mind get consumed with everything that is temporal at the cost of that which is eternal.  This should not be so.  Check your giving, generosity, contentment, and how much time is used getting verses giving.  We all can do so much better in our focus for honor and glory to God.