Psalm 106:1-3
September 5, 2022
Praise the Lord!
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!
As I reflect on giving thanks to the Lord, it brings questions, should the morning area where many awake from a deep sleep, what should be the first thoughts that come to our mind, mine often is thank you that I was able to sleep? For so long I spent the nights sitting in a chair, or lying in bed with very little sleep. At meals many of us will have time to thank God for this grub, but do we take time to reflect on how blessed we are for many who do not have enough food to eat? That is normal for a non-believer, but for a child of God, we should have a heart that understands it was not luck that you were born in this amazing Country, but God’s blessing. Unlike many countries, you have been blessed to have God’s love letter, which tells you to “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever! “
Now can anyone with any understanding of the Scriptures believe they have a full understanding of God? Let us begin with Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Our Father in Heaven is in a loving way making sure that His Children understand this truth, it is not a feeling, feeling, or deception, His written Word is facts and they are based on Truth. So as you read, understand the following: when you get to heaven you will be learning from the Father but you will never have the full knowledge of God, for if that was possible you would be a God, and nowhere in Scripture is that implied. “Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?”
A verse that has been my guide, ties into Jesus's answer; in Matthew 22:37-39, “Jesus replied“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” The verse that has been my life verse is centered on Jesus' words and it is found in Micah 6:8, “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” It would be wonderful if I could report to you my reader, that I’ve been true to that in all my dealings with family, friends, neighbors, and everyone I’ve encountered, but that would be like the media, “Fake News.” My goal is to live it out, but it is in that battle of the flesh and the Spirit. I forget my identity, who I am in Christ. Does anyone else have that problem? Romans 7:14-20 should be titled “The defeated Christian life.” “We know that the law is spiritual, but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
It has been my observation that many in the Church are living in defeat, and my Pastor in a sermon made clear the reason, it is a failure to study and apply the Word of God, to your life. Never has there been a more truthful statement, than these words, from the Lord, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Free from what you may be asking, from living in defeat.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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