God Is My… (Psalms), 58

 ~ God Is My Rock, 6 ~

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  ~  “Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:3).     

Prior Passages  ~  “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).   

“I will say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me?  Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?’  As with a breaking of my bones, my enemies reproach me, while they say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’” (Psalm 42:9-10).   

“I will love You, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.  I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies” (Psalm 18:1-3).    

“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness.  Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me.” (Psalm 31:1-2).    

“For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me.  Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength.  Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth” (Psalm 31:3-5).  

Significance  ~  A rock implies permanence and stability.  In the Gospels we hear Christ teaching about the significance of a solid foundation.  “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:24-27). 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.

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Myth, 95

 ~ My Value Comes From Being A Spouse And Parent ~

Myth  ~  Like many myths this has a significant grain of truth.  There is huge significance in being a loving spouse and a good parent. 

Reality  ~  True significance comes from having been created in the image of God.  Have you considered that the same God, who created flowers, birds, animals, mountains, streams, rivers, oceans, and galaxies, looked at you and thought the world needed one of you too?   

Scripture  ~  “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-28).

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man” (Genesis 9:6).  

“For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.  I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well” (Psalm 139:13-14). 

Comment  ~  Our value comes directly from God and His specific purposes for you.  This includes all aspects of your life including the good times and the difficult situations. 

If you are interested in understanding God’s specific plan for your life you will enjoy the eBook “GOD’S DESIRE: How To Please God” (https://books2read.com/GodsDesire) which provides a step by step sequence to understanding this important topic.

~ 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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