7 At All Times

 ~ A Christian’s Checklist of Continuous Responsibilities ~

Praise At All Times  ~  “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:1-3).  

Trust At All Times  ~  “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:5-8). 

Righteousness At All Times  ~  “Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can declare all His praise? Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times!” (Psalm106:2-3).   

Longing At All Times  ~  “Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul breaks with longing for Your judgments at all times. You rebuke the proud—the cursed, who stray from Your commandments. Remove from me reproach and contempt, for I have kept Your testimonies. Princes also sit and speak against me, but Your servant meditates on Your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight and my counselors” (Psalm 119:17-24).  

Friendship At All Times  ~  “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs 17:17).   

Zeal At All Times  ~  “It is good to be zealous in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you” (Galatians 4:18).   

Peace At All Times  ~  “May the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).    

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Fear God, 217

 ~ The Conclusion of “Fear God” ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).  However, God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear God.”  

This Week’s Passage  ~  “Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!  There is no want to those who fear Him” (Psalm 34:9).

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name” (Malachi 3:16).

The Wisest of Advice  ~  The Book of Ecclesiastes is one of my favorite books in the Bible.  Most scholars believe it was written by King Solomon, considered by many to the wisest man to have ever lived.  Ecclesiastes recaps all the ways this wealthy king tried to find happiness and satisfaction in life – all of which were of no avail.  Then he did find the answer and this is his summary statement near the end of the book: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).  

King Solomon who lived a “full life” and experienced all that this world has to offer concluded that to fear God and keep His commandments was the only way to be truly successful and happy.

Comment  ~  You cannot fear God in the reverential sense without loving God.  The Scripture says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a).

Fearing God Results in Salvation  ~  “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).  “A wise person fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident” (Proverbs 14:16).  This does not mean the Christian is to live a fearful life—but a life which reverences God and seeks to do His will.  

Fearing God Results in Fearlessness  ~  “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).  The answer is: only God.  With the gift of salvation comes responsibility.

Fearing God Results in Witnessing  ~  “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Psalm 66:16). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Fear God, 216

 ~ Results of Fearing God ~

God does not want His children living in fear.  “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:2-3).  However, God does want His children to have a proper respect and reverence for Him.  We are told in many places in Scripture to “fear God.”  

Scripture Passage  ~  Proverbs gives us the essence of the “fear of the Lord.”  “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.” (Proverbs 8:13)

Some Results of Fearing God  ~  While there is a long list of benefits that arrive from the fear of God I particularly like this verse:  “This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; He saved him out of all his troubles.  The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and He delivers them.  Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.  Fear the Lord, you His holy people, for those who fear Him lack nothing” (Psalm 34:6-9).

“Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name” (Malachi 3:16).

Application To Life  ~  When a person acknowledges the reality of who God is there are many natural results.  Here are a few: 

1.      Repentance (confessing asking forgiveness and turning away from continued sin).  See for example Matthew 9:13.  

2.      Seek to please God and He will give you the proper attitudes and desires.  See for example Psalm 37:4.

3.      New patience will be evident, what is sometimes referred to as “waiting on God.”  See for example see James 1:3-4.

4.      An alertness to temptation and pressures (both external and internal) to conform to this world.  See for example 1 Peter 5:8.

5.      There will be a willingness to persist in prayer.  See for example Luke 21:36.

6.      There will be His peace permeating your life.  See for example Isaiah 26:3 and Colossians 3:15.

7.      As all of the above becomes an increasing reality in your life you will be doing God’s will for your life.  See for example Ephesians 5:17. 

The Bottom Line  ~  “Praise the Lord!  Blessed [happy] is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments” (Psalm 112:1).

Closing Comment  ~  The Bible tells us that people in the past feared God and people in the future will fear God.

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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