God Is My… (Psalms), 54

 

~ God Is My Helper, 3 ~

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  ~  “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified!’  But I am poor and needy;

make haste to me, O God!  You are my help and my deliverer; O Lord, do not delay” (Psalm 70:4-5).

Prior Passages  ~  “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling” (Psalm 46:1-3).    

“But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble.  And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in Him” (Psalm 37:39-40).

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Myth, 89

 

~ Since God Owns All He Doesn’t Want My Giving ~

Myth  ~  God doesn’t need my money or giving of my time or talents.

Deception  ~  This idea is sometimes based on the reality that since God owns all He doesn’t need anything from me.  “For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine” (Psalm 50:10-11).

From a materialistic view this would make sense.  From a relationship or spiritual perspective it is clearly in error. 

Reality  ~  In contrast to all religions Christianity is a loving relationship.  Lovers give to each other!  “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Jesus doesn’t ask for you to give of your time, talent, and treasure because of His need but for your need.  In our self-centered world giving is good for your spiritual life and happiness.  Giving also builds your faith.

“I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak.  And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).

Related Myth  ~  It would be easier to give if I had more. 

“Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, ‘Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’  So Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good?  No one is good but One, that is, God.  You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother’.”  

“And he said, ‘All these things I have kept from my youth.’  So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing.  Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’  But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich” (Luke 18:18-23).

“And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, ‘Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had’” (Luke 21:1-4).

Comment  ~  Jesus gave His all for you.  He gave His life.  Jesus lived the life I could not live, and paid the debt I could not pay. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Fear God, 213

 

~ Lessons From Deuteronomy 10 ~

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 Examples ~  “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).

In the Pentateuch we are given the essence of The Law.  Note the opening of that summary.  “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God [1], to walk in all His ways [2] and to love Him [3], to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul [4], and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes [5] which I command you today for your good?” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). 

Important Points  ~  There are a number of important points in this short passage including, but not limited to:

[1]  The foundational issue is “to fear the Lord your God.”

[2]  The result will be “to walk in all His ways.”

[3]  This increases your ability “to love Him.”   

[4]  Love’s response will be “to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”  

[5]  The mature process results in a desire “to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes.” 

The Results Of Fearing God  ~  Proverbs gives us a good example of what the “fearing God” means: “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)

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

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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