God Is My… (Psalms), 51

~ God Is My Glory ~

Introduction  ~  Previously from July 16, 2017 through January 6, 2019 ALN posted a series of 60 posts of “Jesus is…,” and now we look exclusively at who “God is…” from the Book of Psalms.  While not a complete list these posts occur are in the same order they are in the Psalms. 

Passage  ~  “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” (Psalm 62:5-7).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog. 

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Myth, 86

 ~ Physical Body Care Is Not Important For The Christian ~

Myth  ~  Like many myths this misconception can be stated or thought of in many ways. In essence the myth can be summarized this way: Since God cares about my eternal future it is not important for me to take care of my physical body.

A Reversal  ~  In the secular world many are consumed with care of their physical body while totally neglecting their spiritual life. 

The Truth  ~  While certainly from a Christian perspective the spiritual is of higher importance than the physical we are not to neglect our physical well-being.

Scripture definitely tells us that spiritual well-being should be prioritized above physical well-being. 

“But reject profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness.  For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:7-8).

Residence of the Spirit  ~  The fact that every Christian is a place of residence for the very Spirit of God is a practical reason while we should take care of and maintain our physical bodies. 

Scripture  ~  “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him.  For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). 

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

“And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For you are the temple of the living God.  As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them.  I will be their God, and they shall be My people’” (2 Corinthians 6:16).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Fear God, 210

 ~ New Testament Examples ~

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.”  

New Testament Examples  ~  The following is not an exhaustive list of individuals who feared God – but rather a list of some of those individuals which the Scriptures clearly state “feared God.”   

Centurion Guard ~ Matthew 27:54

Christ’s Disciples ~ Mark 4:39-41

Cornelius ~ Acts 10:21-23

Correct thinking Christians ~ Hebrews 12:28-29; 1 Peter 1:13-19       

Criminal on The Cross ~ Luke 23:39-43

 

Early Church ~ Acts 2:40-45 

Hebrews author ~ Hebrews 4:1

James ~ Matthew 17:1-8  

John ~ Matthew 17:1-8

Jude ~ Jude 23

 

Paul ~ Romans 11:20; Ephesians 5:21; Colossians 3:22

Peter ~ Matthew 17:1-8; 1 Peter 1:17   

Pilate ~ John 19:6-12

Unbelievers ~ Acts 5:1-11

Witnesses to Christ’s Teaching ~ Luke 5:21-26

Zacharias ~ Luke 1:5-12

 

Demons ~ “You believe that there is one God.  You do well.  Even the demons believe — and tremble!” (James 2:19).

 

Angels ~ “Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth — to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people —  saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’”  (Revelation 14:6-7).

 

Jesus Christ, Himself ~ Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).

“So also Christ did not glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him: ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’  As He also says in another place: ‘You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek’;  who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His Godly fear, though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered” (Hebrews 5:5-8).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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7 Links to The Lord

 ~ How Are the Links of Your Chain? ~

Confess the Lord  ~  “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).

Know the Lord  ~  “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.  Because finding fault with them, He says: ‘Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah — not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’” (Hebrews 8:7-12). 

Follow the Lord  ~  “Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God” (Joshua 14:8).  “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26). 

Serve the Lord  ~  “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing” (Psalm 100:2).  “And when they had come to him, he said to them: ‘You know, from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house, testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’” (Acts 20:18-21).  “Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Honor the Lord  ~  “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10).  “… these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me …” (Isaiah 29:13). 

Magnify the Lord  ~  “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (Psalm 34:3).

With the Lord  ~  “We are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.  For we walk by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:6-8). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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