BLESSED

Psalm 1:1-3, KJV and Amplified Bible

Blessed is the man that walks and lives not in the counsel, plans, advice, and purposes of the wicked or ungodly .  He does not follow their advice, their plans and purposes, their counsel.  He does not stand in the way in submission where sinners walk.  He does not sit down to relax and rest where the scornful and mockers gather.

BUT, this blessed man’s delight and desire is in the Word of God, the teachings and instructions of the LORD.  This blessed man meditates on the LORD’s teachings day and night.  He ponders and studies God’s Word consistently and habitually.  He utters, mutters, speaks and talks the Word of God all the time.  He even imagines it as He sits by day and sleeps by night.  God’s Word is forever painting images on his mind and his spirit.

THEN, this blessed man is like a tree that is planted so firmly and tended so carefully by the rivers of water.  He is ready to bring forth fruit in its season.  Like the leaves on this tree, this blessed man does not wither, grow weary, faint, give up or become tired or fade out of the picture to become as nothing.  Everything he does is blessed and prospers, comes to maturity.  He is successful and accomplishes all that he intended to do.  He increases and thrives and advances in growth, wealth or any good that he attempts.

Do you want to be blessed and prosper and be mature as this person in Psalm 1?  We see his secret as clear as day.  Immerse yourself in God and His Word all the time.  Let Him be your guide, your counsel, your advisor in all that you do.  It is He Who will prosper you.  It is His Word which will train you and guide you into maturity.

I speak to you today:  Be blessed!  Now you know how to achieve success!

GOD’S GIFT, ENJOY THE GOOD OF ALL YOUR LABOR

Ecclesiastes 3:13, Amplified Bible

And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor —- it is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 3:12,13, The Bible, James Moffatt Translation

For men, I find, there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they are alive; it is indeed God’s very gift to man, that he should eat and drink and be happy as he toils.

Do you see in the above verse what I see?  I am seeing this with different eyes today, like I have never read it before.  Every person is to eat and drink (in other words, enjoy God’s provision for our hunger and thirst) and enjoy good—-it is God’s GIFT!  It is God’s PRESENT to us, His Beloved Ones!  What we receive from our labor, our work here on this earth is the gift of God for us to enjoy life while we are here.  GIFT!  Look at that word.  GIFT!  Do you see it?  We don’t need to complain and gripe about how hard our job is or how hard our assignment is.  We will enjoy good from it because it is God’s GIFT!  The One Whom you are actually serving is the Lord and not man.   Rejoice in the Lord.  It is He Who has put you there.  Enjoy where you are on the way to where He has destined you.  Enjoy God’s GIFT!

We are to enjoy the good of our labor.  I looked up that word “good” and here is the meaning from the original Hebrew word:  As a noun it means good, a good or good thing, man or woman.  As an adverb it means beautiful, favor, bountiful, cheerful, graciously, joyful, kindly, merry, loving, pleasant, precious, prosperity, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well (favored).  That gives me cause for rejoicing.  What a coincidence that the Lord should give us this teaching in the month of December, the month of gift-giving.  God is the original gift-giver.  We cannot out give Him!  What a delight to serve Him!

Colossians 3:23, 24, Amplified Bible

Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward.  [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).

Everything that we do in this life while we are here on this earth is to be done as unto the Lord.  It is not to be done for boasting or recognition or acceptance.  We do what we do with excellence for the Lord and not for men.  It is not to please men but to please God.  Oh, yes, when we please God, our work will please men because it will be done without gripping or complaining and with the excellence that only God can give us.

We are to have singleness of motive to do our work as a service unto the Lord.  It is not to be done with eye service only when man is watching us but consistently excellent all the time, rendering our service to God and not to man.  Whatever good we do, God will reward us (Ephesians 6:5-8).

We are to enjoy the fruit of our labor.  That reward is a gift of God.  He is the One Who rewards us.  Those rewards of God will translate into human reward and promotion by man.

Serving God, whether it is in our workplace, at home, at church or anywhere else, gives us not only earthly rewards but eternal benefits.

I AM GROWING IN GRACE

Psalm 92:14,15

[Growing in grace], they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].

[They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises; He is my Rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Every day we are to grow in grace.  We will ever be learning of the many facets of God’s grace: His loving-kindness extended to us as His children, kindness given willingly without any conditions placed on our deserving it.  His loving-kindness is His whole nature, with all His ability, given to us without measure and without prerequisites.  God’s grace is ours.  When we accept Him into our life, all He is becomes ours, is made available to us.  What a God we serve!

As we grow in God’s grace or love and ability, we bring forth His fruit, which is delicious to eat.  People enjoy partaking of love and joy and peace and gentleness and goodness.  They like that.  We have that to offer to others.  It’s not the product of our own human natures, but the product of God’s nature in us as His children.  We bring forth this fruit, even in old age.

We are FULL of the vitality of God, which is like sap to a tree.  His life in us is like sap is to a tree.  His life causes us to live in great vitality, full of life and energy.  At the same time, we are wealthy in the verdure or vigorous, flourishing growing condition of trust, love and contentment in God.  We are full of verdure.

We are living examples, memorializing the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness to His Word.  He is our Rock, steadfast, immovable, stable, durable, dependable, always there, strong for us.  What a memorial we are to the goodness of God.  He carries us all the days of our lives, and when we come to the place of the completion of our assignment here on earth, He carries us from this earthly residence to our heavenly residence, which is being built for us right now.

We are living the good life which God has planned for us to live.  His plan for our lives is perfect in every way.  The Master Designer has designed the perfect plan for us.  All we have to do is know what it is and walk in it.  The more time we spend with Him, the clearer that plan becomes, and the more contented we are living out the fullness of that plan.

Galatians 2:20b,21,22b, Amplified Bible

The life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

[Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God.

God’s grace is His gracious gift of love in action for you and me.  It is the greatest gift you can ever receive.  Let go of your own human efforts and sink down into the fluffy pillow of God’s grace (His ability to do what you can’t do).

As someone has so aptly put it:  Enjoy where you are on the way to where you are going!