Thanks Be To God - - Sing His Praise For His Salvation & Deliverance

 

Psalm 106:47

Save us, O LORD our God, and gather us from among the heathen, to give thanks unto Your holy name, and to triumph in Your praise.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3467

Save: yasha (pronounced yaw-shah') means (in this context): deliver (this word occurs 206 times in the Old Testament Scriptures); is sometimes rendered: help, defend, liberate

*Strong's Ex. Conc. 3034

Thanks: yadah (pronounced yaw-daw') means:  to confess, to glorify, to give praise while throwing one's hands or arms up. (occurs 114 times in Scripture)

*Strong's Ex. Conc. 7623

Triumph:  shabach (pronounced shaw-bakh') means: laud, praise God (occurs 11 times in, 8 of which refer to God or God's power Scripture)

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 8416

Praise: tehillah (pronounced teh-hil-law') means: 'song of praise', adoration, thanksgiving, laud, hymn (occurs 57 times in Scripture)

Only The LORD God can save/liberate/help a person stuck in sin. 

We can be relatively good people our whole lives and not be saved. We can go to church/temple and not be saved. Whether we sing contemporary worship songs or traditional hymns, just singing these songs of praise will not save us. We can grow up in loving homes surrounded by the Word of God being shared in our homes and our churches, yet, still not be saved from the consequences and punishment of our sins. 

We will never be 'good enough' to get to heaven on our own merits. God says our self-righteousness is comparable to filthy rags:

Isaiah 64:5, 6 "You welcome those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. Surely You were angry, for we sinned. How can we be saved if we remain in our sins? Each of us has become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind."

When we do our own thing and not the LORD's thing, that's sin. 

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Not just some of us, either, but ALL of US.

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

How can we Triumph in His praise when we have nothing to be triumphant about when we continue to live a life that is displeasing to God? We can't. All those praise and worship songs coming out of our mouths are just noise. God can't hear your worship because you're not His people. 

God's people are saved by God's grace. Did you hear me? GOD's People are SAVED by GOD's GRACE. This salvation is our Inner Garment, a Righteous Robe that covers our soul (Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh); a Crown of Life (James 1:12); a Crown of Righteousness  (2 Timothy 4:8); a Crown of Glory (1 Peter 5:4);   a Crown of Glory & Honor (Psalm 8:5 and  Hebrews 2:7). We are, according to 1 Peter 2:9 "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 His marvellous light."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 703

Praises: arete (pronounced ar-et'-ay), which means: moral excellences, goodness, uprightness, virtue which is displayed to enrich life

Dear God,

You are God and there is no other god before You. You are holy. You are faithful. You keep Your promises. You are the God who saves and delivers. You have saved me out of all my transgressions, my iniquities and my sins. Sin still tries to drag me down, but, You, O God, have saved me from the miryness of sin's clutches. 

Your grace is my covering. Your love is my adornment. Your salvation is my armor. Your wisdom resides in my heart. Your Word is my Light, my Song, my Hope, my Everything. 

Thank You, Father, for saving a wretch like me. For sending Your Son to die in my place and for raising Him from the grave, the First of us to do that. Thank You, Father, for all Your many mercies and blessings on me, Your child, Your servant, Your friend. You call me friend. And I am content. 

And, now, I thank You, God, for what You are doing in the hearts and lives of my families and friends. For though we are born into one family, we gain many more along the way on this journey. Thank You for saving and delivering my many families, my friends, the strangers whom I encounter, they who declare themselves my enemies. 

Thank You for pouring out Your Holy Spirit into our hearts and lives that we may live empowered lives which draw people to You and cause us to be bold, loving witnesses of Your grace.

To You be all glory, honor and praise.

In Jesus' Priceless Name, I pray,
Amen

 

 

Amazing Grace-Hymn

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me! 

I once was lost but now am found,

Was blind but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,

And grace my fears relieved;

How precious did that grace appear

The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares

I have already come;

'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

When we've been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we first begun.

The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures;

He will my shield and portion be 

As long as life endures.

Yes, when this heart and flesh shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease,

I shall possess within the veil, 

A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,

The sun forbear to shine;

But God, who called me here below,

Will be forever mine.

 by John Newton, 1725-1807

There's Honey In The Rock For You

There's Honey In The Rock for You

Deuteronomy 32:13 "He (The LORD) made him (Jacob/Israel) ride on the high places of the earth, that he might eat the increase of the fields; and He made him to suck honey out of the rock, and oil out of the flinty rock." 

This chapter tells us not only Who the Rock is, but that God's chosen people wanted it not. See verse 15? It says "But". All the goodness which God wanted to give His people, He could not, because they turned their backs on Him and went after other gods. 

We learn they were a faithless generation (verse 20) and would be judged for the wickedness of their heart and the things they had done, before He could bless them again. 

Are we now seeing again a faithless generation, who chase after gods and are self-righteous in their own worth? It is not only vanity that repeats itself, but arrogance and forgetting. Forgetting the holiness of God, forgetting that God wreaks vengeance  and judgment on they (we) who have little regard and much disdain for the things of God. 

And what can we say on an individual basis? Only God sees our hearts, but we see each other's lifestyles. 

Yes, there's Honey (the blessings of God) in The Rock (The Word of God) for us (through our obedience to His Word and His Will plus our faith in His Promises). I have eaten that Honey in The Rock. And it is sweet to the taste.

Higher Ground

photo courtesy of http://mmbenya.com/goats-mountain-climbers/mountain-goat/

You gotta go to this site and check out the other photographs and stories. It's awesome.

While I was contemplating being in extreme pain tonight, the old hymn classic "Higher Ground" came to mind and I had to look it up. (And of course, this site being what it is, I needed the appropriate picture to go with it. Isn't that one amazing?) I was thinking that a significant part of my body being under attack daily is also a spiritual attack on me daily. The more I testify of God's redeeming grace through Jesus Christ, the more my body suffers. That may seem silly to some, but to me it is real.

The pain and anguish Job endured was both physical and spiritual. God did not bring any of the horrific tragedies into His servant's life. Job's grief and illness and mental torture were brought on because God knew Job would remain faithful to God throughout the entire ordeal. Job's righteousness was Satan's target. If the devil could bring down God's faithful worshiper and friend, then God would be wrong. And we all know GOD IS NEVER WRONG. Job showed us that HOW we go THROUGH our trials is just as important as WHY we go THROUGH our trials.

Satan hurls darts at God's faithful servants, desiring to take us out of commission. The devil is prideful and self-righteous. He wants what belongs to God. He could not take out God and gain control of God's throne in heaven, so he is coming after what belongs to God here on Earth. And darts they are. Darts of grief: parents bury a child. Darts of sorrow: children bury their parents. Darts of misfortune: stocks fall and banks close. Darts of anxiety: worry and fret. Darts of disease: pandemic illnesses flood the globe. And those are just the obvious darts.

In the devil's arsenal are also darts of misconception. Disguised darts, if you will. What appears to be right isn't always the right thing to do. It is the "appearance" of goodness that will land a man or a woman in trouble with both mankind and God. But it is the knowledge AND understanding of what is righteous and holy that will lead both men and women in the direction of salvation and redemption.

You can know about God. Sunday School and catechism teach us about God. You can know of God. Every religion has a god. But to truly KNOW GOD, you and I need to seek GOD, listen to GOD's WORD, hear what GOD has to SAY and do what GOD wants us to do. How well do you know your best friend? Your spouse? Your sweetheart? Are you enjoying an intimate relationship with GOD, too? Or is He just a long-distance relative?

Verses 3 and 4 of "Higher Ground"

I want to live above the world

Tho' Satan's darts at me are hurled;

For faith has caught the joyful sound

The song of saints on higher ground.

I want to scale the utmost height

And catch a gleam of glory bright

But still I'll pray till Heav'n I've found

"Lord, lead me on to higher ground"

chorus

Lord, lift me up

and let me stand

by faith

on heaven's tableland,

A higher plane

than I have found;

Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.

{words by Johnson Oatman, Jr.)