Blessed Be The Name of The Lord

 

JOHN 12:13
They took branches and went out to meet Him, shouting:
"Hosanna!" "Blessed is He Who comes in The Name of The Lord!" "Blessed is The King of Israel!"

Psalm 118:26
Blessed is He Who comes in The Name of The LORD. From the house of The LORD we bless you.

Psalm 72:17-19
His Name shall endure for ever: His Name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed. Blessed be The LORD God, The God of Israel, Who alone does marvelous deeds. And blessed be His glorious Name forever; may all the earth be filled with His glory. Amen and amen.

Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

    Blessed be The Name of The Lord. Not a suggestion, nor a special request, but a command: a command to Bless His Name. More than just lip service, blessing God requires heart service: a heart that has chosen to be God's home by choosing Christ as Savior. When the command is obeyed, it is obeyed with joy and love. Irrepressible Joy: Joy that cannot be contained but must be shouted! Love that compels a person to testify of the wonderful things God has done for them. 

    How can we bless God? Psalm 68:26 tells us to kneel before God when we are in His congregations, whether we are in a church building, a home church, an outdoor gathering. Wherever God's people come together to worship and praise God and share His Word, then that is where we Bless God. 

    We bless God when we obey His Word. The first commandment in the OT is to put God first. If you say you put God first but don't obey Him in any other commandments, then the first commandment has already been broken. In the NT Jesus responds to the question of the greatest commandment with this reply, " ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’"

    We bless God when we love the people around us. They may not even be likeable but neither were we when we lived a life without God. Now that God lives in us, we learn to love like God: unconditionally, putting no requirements on anyone; fully, all encompassing, loving everyone we know and meet, whether or not they want to receive the love we have to offer. 

    We bless God when we are not offended and take no offense. This is a hard thing to do but The Word teaches us that to be like Jesus we must be like Jesus. He was silent when accused (Matthew 26:62, 63; Matthew 27:12; Isaiah 53:7).  He was honest and spoke Truth when confronted regarding His Authority to speak on the Scriptures. He is compassionate when faced with they who need healing, feeding and to be clothed, whether in the physical or the spiritual. 

    We bless God when we read and study and pray over and through and in His written Word. We want to know Him better so we ask Him to reveal Himself to us in His Word. 

    We bless God when we come to Him in prayer, bringing not only our own needs, but the needs of others. We bless God when we choose His companionship in prayer, wanting only to spend time with Him; choosing silent lips and a quiet heart and mind that we may hear Him with clarity when He speaks. 

    These are but a few of the ways we can bless God. What are other ways? 

GIVE ME JESUS - Fernando Ortega

BLESSED BE YOUR NAME

Blessed Are They That Hunger & Thirst After Righteousness

 

    Matthew 5:6

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

THE SEEKERS HEART

    Psalm 63:1

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, Thou are my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh longs for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.

    Psalm 107:9

For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

    Psalm 84:2

My soul longs, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

EAT WHAT I'M GIVEN

    Bread of Heaven for the hungry. Living Water for the thirsty. Wine for the aching and sorrowful. Word tastes like Honey. 

    Jeremiah 15:16

Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became my joy and my heart’s delight. For I bear Your name, O LORD God of Hosts.

    Psalm 119:103

How sweet are Your words to my taste--sweeter than honey in my mouth!

    Ezekiel 2:8

"And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you."

    Job 23:12

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of His lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.

    Proverbs 30:8

Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.

    Psalm 16:5

The LORD is My Chosen Portion and My Cup; You have made my lot secure.

Heart & Soul - - Alive With Christ

 

Ephesians 2:4, 5

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4806

Alive: to make alive together with

From the Greek word 'suzóopoieó' (pronounced ood-zo-op-oy-eh'-o): I make alive together with; new moral life is referred to; reanimate conjointly with, quicken together with.

THE PENITENT'S CRY 

Psalm 51:1-2

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your loving devotion; according to Your great compassion, blot out my transgressions.  Wash me clean of my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 32:5

Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not hide my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD," and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

ALIVE IN CHRIST

Colossians 2:12-14

And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

John 11:25

Jesus said unto her, "I am The Resurrection and The Life, he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."

FORGIVEN

    Our souls are eternal. When these bodies the Lord God has placed our souls in fail and die, the soul leaves for its destination. If the soul has believed that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, then that soul leaves for the eternal presence of God in heaven. If the soul who has chosen to not believe dies in its unbelieving state, then that soul leaves for the eternal damnation (eternal separation from God) in hell. 

     Nothing that we can do, in and of ourselves, can save us from the eternal punishment due us for the sins we have committed against God by disobeying and disbelieving His Holy Word. Having been born with a sinful nature, we are all unclean.

    Isaiah 64:6 "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." We need the righteousness of a Savior, of The Christ, to cover us.

    Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

    We need to seek out the Lord, repent of our unrighteous ways and be forgiven by a Merciful God.

    Isaiah 55:7

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 

    Paul referred to himself as a wretch (Romans 7:24). David revealed himself to be a sinner (2 Samuel 12:13). How do we refer to ourselves when confessing to God that we are sinners? We must approach God with humble hearts, not proud or prideful (pride-filled) hearts. God hears the sinner's prayer when the sinner is truly repentant. 

    To be Alive in Christ is to be forgiven and live a forgiven lifestyle. Now that we have been washed in the blood of the God's Lamb, and the sins we repented of are washed away, we learn how to live holy and righteous lives: lives that don't include deliberately sinning. 

    We are not forgiven so we can keep on sinning. This is a false teaching. The born again believer chooses not to sin, knowing that sin is what kept us separated from God. Now that we have recognized God for Who He Is, and that His Word Is Faithful and True, we do not want to do the things we used to do before we became to Christ.

BLESSED

    1 John 3:9

Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin, because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.

    To be Alive With Christ is to live in Christ as He lives in us. We are the born again: the poor in spirit, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted for His Name's sake, the reviled (Matthew 5:3-11). For as He was treated in this world, His people are also treated. 

SUFFERERS FOR CHRIST

    Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus told His disciples, "If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."

    1 Peter 4:1

Therefore, since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same resolve, because anyone who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

    1 Peter 2:21-23

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth." When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. 

ALIVE WITH CHRIST

    Remember, this Christian life is not an easy life, but it is a worthwhile life. Our goal is to live with God forever. Salvation is the first step to getting there. This holiness lifestyle is all the other steps. For our journeys are of indefinite length, as our days are numbered by God (Psalm 39:4; 90:12). Whether we live a long life or a short life, it is not length of life that is rewarded: it is how we lived the life we were given.

    We did not get saved just so we could "live the good life" here and now. Salvation is a gift from God (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8). Sanctification is the work of The Holy Spirit .

    Now we are Alive With Christ. What a miracle that we have become part of the body of Christ. Look to the cross! See the body of Christ. It is not beautiful. If we are honest with ourselves, no one wants to look on Him, for He is hard to behold. Isaiah 53. 

    Romans 6:22  

Therefore, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. 

    Without the sin-bearing Savior on the cross, there could be no resurrection of the dead to a new life in Christ! Look, now, and see Him there: dying for you, for me. Once and for all Jesus took the sins of the whole world upon Himself. Hebrews 9:12 "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us."

    I am Alive in Christ, I am Alive with Christ. If it were not for my recognition of Christ Jesus as my Savior and the Lord of my life, I would not be alive at all, but I would be dead in my trespasses, in my sins. I have a Savior and His Name is Jesus Christ. Come near to the heart of God. Come, be alive with us. 

REPENTANT, FORGIVEN, CHANGED  

Dead Man (Carry Me) - Jars of Clay

Ocean Floor - Audio Adrenaline

God Be Merciful to Me - Jars of Clay

Lay It All Down - Will Reagan

Come As You Are - Crowder

I'm Not Alright - Sanctus Real

The Hard Way - DC Talk

Nothing But The Blood - Jars of Clay

Forgiven - Crowder 

Redeemed - Big Daddy Weave

Less Like Me - Zach Williams 

Walking Free - Micah Tyler

Simple - Various Artists

Simple Truth - Ryan Ellis

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Meditation

 

Psalm 1:1, 2

Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law does he meditate day and night. 

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Meditate: ponder, muse

From the Hebrew word ' hagah' (pronounced daw-gaw'). A word with many meanings- to moan, growl, utter, speak, muse- but which in verse is defined as 'muse, ponder'. 

    In this crazy world we live in we are being told, even in some churches, to 'empty our minds' to reduce stress and the unhealthy consequences of stress. That's not what the Bible says to do. The Word of God tells us here to meditate on The Word of God. That's not emptying our minds, that's filling our minds and our hearts. 

    It's more than mere words: The Word of God has power. Power to change the heart, change the mind. Power to strengthen the weak. Power to fill the heart with a desire to overflow with the Word of God, the Love of God, the Power of God. Power to change first, the individual, then the multitude of individuals who meditate on God's Word. 

    In Joshua 1:7, 8 Joshua is being commissioned by God to lead God's people into the promised land.

7. Above all, be strong and very courageous. Be careful to observe all the law that My servant Moses commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may prosper wherever you go.

8. This Book of the Law must not depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in all you do.

    In Sunday School we learned a song that is still with me today "O Be Careful Little Eyes". A song warning each part of our bodies how to serve God best. 

Be careful little eyes What You See
Be careful little ears What You Hear

Be careful little mouth What You Speak

Be careful little hands What You Do

Be careful little feet Where You Go

    I would add one more: Be careful little soul How You Meditate. If we let our minds wander away from what is good and righteous to think on, then we are not thinking on The Word of God. We need to rein our thinking in. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:8 to Think On: lovely things, true things, honorable things, pure things, right things, admirable things, excellent things and praiseworthy things. 

    Think On here means to meditate on these things, take into account and consider these things. What is more true, more honorable, more right, more pure, more lovely, more admirable, more excellent or more praiseworthy than the Word of God, the Law of the Lord?  

    It is more than memorizing Scripture. A person can memorize Scripture and neither know, nor apply the Word to themselves and their way of life. Memorizing mere words is not meditating on The Word. Just knowing the words within The Word does not change a person or a person's heart.  

    Praying over the Scriptures before we begin to read or study them or meditate on them opens our hearts to God's instruction, teaching, law. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to passages of Scripture to pray over and into your lives. 

    Proverbs 29:18 tells us that "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he." In other words, where the Word, the law of God, is not kept, people perish. They are alone, empty, vacant; unrestrained, out of control. But he that keeps (heeds, observes) the law, is blessed (happy).

    There's a lot of unhappy people out there today. They do not keep God's law near, to dwell on it, meditate on it. They see God as a last resort and not as a Priority, if they see Him at all. God wants to be first in our lives, especially in our hearts. He even tells us in His commandments to put Him first, to give Him our attention, our worship. 

    When I can't sleep at night, I open my Bible and begin to read and pray over what I am reading. I ask the Author to make plain what He wants me to know and He does. Though there are times when He wakes me to pray for specific people, most of the time when I am awake, I meditate on God's Word. Then sleep finds me and I rest. 

    Let us go now and meditate on The Word of God, on His law. Let us rest in His Word, gain strength in His Word, be blessed by His Word. Let us glorify God with a desire to be in His Word, live in His Word and allow His Word to live in us.  If you're happy and you know it, praise the Lord! If you're not happy, what are you going to do about it?

    

     

MEDITATE THE WORD MEDLEY

The Blessed Event

      There are no Christian holidays. There are two days we as Christians should celebrate: the day we are born-again into the kingdom of God and the day we die. Both are celebrations of Life Eternal, a truly blessed event. 

     That being said, tradition has ingrained in me the desire to celebrate stolen holidays, like Christmas and Easter, though I no longer call it Easter (to me and many like me Easter is now Resurrection Sunday). And while our children are grown and our nest is empty, Christmas is the one holiday I do really get into. I love finding just the right gift for a person. I love the way faces light up, if I get to see them open their presents. I love the, "Wow! Thanks" I get when an unexpected guest or two show up and are handed a gift. I love giving, for that is how I express my love for my family and my friends at Christmastime.

     Christmas is a shortened word meaning "Christ's Mass" the term a Catholic priest gave it when the church was empty during the winter solstice. (see Britannica: Christmas origins for more).

     I made the mistake with my first born son of leading him to believe Santa was a real person, because that's how I grew up. Big Mistake. Because when he was old enough to go school he was informed Santa was not real. And I had to explain the symbolism behind it. I did not make that mistake with the next two. I raised them on practicality and Jesus' birth. 

     But if you look at the setting of the story of the nativity, the Word was not born in the wintertime. It rains in Israel during the winter months, most of the time. Mary being nine months pregnant would not have ridden any animal on the journey. I imagine Joseph being a carpenter would have handy a small cart of some type and size. There Mary would be able to travel better. 

     On the night of Christ's birth, it wasn't raining. We know this because a star like no other shone in the night sky, big and bright and unusual enough to draw people to the stable, a dark cave-like place where the animals were penned in. 

     Angels suddenly appeared in a clear night sky where shepherds were out in the fields guarding their sheep. In the wintertime these same shepherds would have been closer to home and the sheep would have wintered safely in stables or larger buildings. But on this night they were out in the fields. 

     We don't need to know the date of Christ's birth. It is enough that we know He died on the cross, that His blood washes away our sins when we repent, that God forgives us when we seek His forgiveness, that Jesus rose from the dead and walked out of the grave into eternity. It is enough to know that Jesus Christ stands at the right hand of His Father interceding on our behalf. It is enough that the precious gift of God, the Holy Spirit, fills us with power to preach the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. It is enough that this same Holy Spirit leads us and guides us through a life lived according to God's Word. 

     That's my Christmas. That's my Jesus. That's what I celebrate. Every day of my life. 

     Do I wish you a Merry Christmas? Do I say Happy Holidays? How am I to greet people now? What should I say? 

Happy Joy of The Lord to you. And what response might expect? The same back to me with joyful exultation. Happy Joy of the Lord to you!!

Luke 15:10

Ecclesiastes 7:1

Luke 2:1-20

Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-11

John 3:16-17

Acts 2:1-41

Galatians 5

Blessed & Delivered_Psalms

Blessed are the people of whom this is so;

blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.
Psalm 144:15

This chapter deals with the deliverance of God's people. On how God trains our hands for war (v 1).
Acknowledging who God is and seeking His presence (3-6). Needing His hand to deliver us from our enemies (7) and a description of our enemies (8).
Praising God for answering these requests and again acknowledging who God is (9-10) and how He works (11).
The result of God answering these prayers is that our sons grow up strong, our daughters are beautiful; our barns are full, our cattle are many and fertile (vv 12-14). No one breaks into our homes and homelands, no one of us is taken into captivity (ie. no more wars); no one complains or is in distress (v 14).
Happy, blessed, to be envied is that people of whom this is so, Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD.

Blessed Nation_Psalm 33:12

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; And the people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance. 

Now therefore, if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine. -- Exodus 19:5

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into Him marvelous light. --1 Peter 2:9

While there are many nations on this earth, the only nation that matters is the 'holy nation'. It is a collective group of people who choose God as LORD, who call upon His name, as Seth did way back in Genesis 5:26 all the way up to today.

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be saved.

And just whom does God choose for His own inheritance? Those who obey His voice when He speaks and keep or follow His Word. As Jesus said when He began to minister to the people (after overcoming temptation in the wilderness), firstly "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." And secondly, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men."

First, we repent and believe, then we lead others to Jesus Christ that they, too, may repent and believe and follow. That's how a holy nation is built up. That's the generation whom God has chosen for His inheritance.

I am part of this generation. Are you? Do you want to be?

Blessed Are The Forgiven_Psalm 32:1 & 2

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sin is covered. 

Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile. Impute means to hold against, but the person who has been forgiven, their sins will not be held against them. And this can only happen when the person seeking forgiveness is honest and sincere and speaks from their heart; otherwise their words are just noise. 

(The) Blessed Righteous

The verse actually means what I have written. But if you are reading your KJV Bible, the verse will read like this:
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth with the scornful.
Pretty basic stuff here, isn't it? And, remember, Blessed is defined as Happy and To Be Envied.

The righteous person, the believer, the saved who love and obey God's Word are to be envied. They who live in the world should want what the Christian has. But far too many Christians are not being Christ-like, not living holy righteous lives according to the Word by which we should be livng. Many are disguised as sinners so they can blend in and not be seen. How sad an existence that is.
Christians should shine with the light of Jesus flowing through them into the people around us. "This little light of mine" is more than a song: it is a declaration, a proclamation, of Hope and Peace and Love through Jesus Christ.
Ungodly advice will cause a person to ive an ungodly life when they give in to it. I know. I lived an ungodly life style before my heart got right with God. I listened to my 'friends' who convinced me that drugs and alcohol was normal. I not only kept company with such, but kept stumbling back into that life every time I tried to get out on my own power. It took Jesus to lift me up out of that miry clay and set my feet upon the Rock, Himself.
I thank God I am saved and I try to live according to God's Word. Every day is new and every day is another opportunity to be a faithful witness of the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. Today, today is a good day. Today is a good day to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, if you have not done so.

O Lord, have mercy on me a sinner! I see that I have wronged You and deserve death, but I repent of my wicked ways and ask that You forgive me. Please make me and mold me according to Your Word that I may walk in Your Way and obey Your Will. Teach me Your Word that I might be holy and be able to be in Your eternal presence ever more. Lord, O Lord, take me into Your heart as I take You into mine! Be my God and I will be Your child. I believe that Jesus died on the cross to take my punishment and that He rose from the dead and walked out of the grave, saving me and giving me hope of eternal life through Him and by Him. 
Thank You, Lord God, for saving me. You are most precious in my sight and I love You so much. Your name is great and greatly to be praised! Your grace is mine. Thank You, Lord God, for showing me mercy. Help me to lead my family and my friends into Your marvelous light and love. 
Amen. 

Not Offended

And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me. Matthew 11:6

Christ being a stumblingblock to many who had difficulty believing this poor Galilean man was the answer to the Old Testament prophecies. While Christ's teachings offended many, the people who believe and are not offended in Him are the happiest of people, for their faith leapt over the stumblingblock of unbelief into eternal life through Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah 28:16 "the one who believes shall not be shaken"
Romans 8:33 "whosoever believeth on HIm shall not be ashamed."
1 Peter 2:7 "to you who believe this Stone is precious."
1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculliar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out darkness into His marvelous light."

But to them who do not believe that Jesus Christ is God's plan of salvation, He becomes a stumbling block, a 'Rock of Offence'. 

We are not to be offended when people revile us for the sake of the gospel. When we are mocked for the choices we make in our everyday lives. When we become the joke and the punchline amongst our families and friends/former friends, we are not to be offended.
Yes, it can be painful at first. But hurt feelings need to turn to Christ for strength. And when Jesus wraps us into His loving embrace, all offenses just melt away. 
Eventually, our hearts become so filled with His love that we are not offended. We are able to love like Jesus simply because it is Jesus loving they who reject Him in us. 
Blessed/Happy is the person who is not offended by the grace which God has given them. 
Blessed am I because I am not offended by the extension of grace which God sent to the world. 
I am saved becaue the blood of Jesus Christ washed away my sins.
I have eternal life because Jesus Christ overcame death and the grave.
I have everything God promises through Jesus Christ because Jesus Christ lives in me; I live in Him; and He lives in God.