Wednesday, March 13, 2024

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?