All God’s Alls

All God's Alls“His greatness no one can fathom” (Psalm 145:3).

God’s kingdom is everlasting and endures through all generations (v. 13). Look at all of God’s “alls”—

  • He is good to all (v. 9)
  • He has compassion on all (v. 9)
  • He is faithful to all His promises (v. 13)
  • He is loving toward all (v. 13)
  • He upholds all who fall (v. 14)
  • He lifts up all who are bowed down (v. 14)
  • All eyes look to Him (v. 15)
  • He satisfies all desires (v. 16)
  • He is All-righteous (v. 17)
  • He is All-loving (v. 17)
  • He is near to all who call on Him (v. 18)
  • He watches over all who love Him (v. 20)

My only appropriate response to all God’s “alls”—I will praise Your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise You and extol Your name for ever and ever. … My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord. Let every creature praise His holy name for ever and ever (vv. 1, 2, 21).

ALL praise to God FOREVER!

Links & Quotes

link quote

Some good reading and watching from today…

“The worst form of ill association is ungodly marriage. I do not know anything that gives me more satisfaction than to see our brethren and sisters, who have walked in the faith of God, united in marriage—the husband and wife, both fearing and loving God. It is a delightful spectacle, and bids fair to be the means of building up the church with a generation which shall fear the Lord. But a very fruitful source of ruin to church members is that of a young man or a young woman choosing an ungodly partner in life. They never can expect God’s blessing upon it. They tell you sometimes they hope to be the means of their friend’s conversion. They have no right to hope such a thing; it so seldom occurs. The much more likely thing is that the ungodly one will drag the other down to his level, than that the godly one shall pull the other up.” —Charles Spurgeon

“If homosexuals are bullied, we need to protect them. If they’re unjustly discriminated against, we need to help them. If they’re treated with contempt, the person hurting them should be stopped. If a family member comes out as gay and then is belittled, harmed, or vilified, then the offending family needs to be corrected. If Christians ridicule people who identify as gay or lesbian, they need to admonished. If a church doesn’t welcome seekers of all stripes (including people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual), then it needs to change. But none of these circumstances are reasons to reinterpret Scripture to affirm homosexuality.” This is from a fascinating article: Bad Reasons To Adopt Pro-Gay Theology.

 

“Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it.” —C.S. Lewis

“Resentment simply cannot dwell in a loving heart. Before resentfulness can enter, love must take its flight and bitterness take over.” —A.W. Tozer

“No nation ancient or modern has ever lost the liberty of freely speaking, writing or publishing their sentiments, but forthwith lost their liberty in general and became slaves.” —John Peter Zenger (in 1735 after winning his case that established the precedent for our freedom of the press)

“Never leave growing till the life to come!” —Robert Browning

“Why should you turn from God when you turn to your books, or feel that you must turn from your books in order to turn to God? If learning and devotion are as antagonistic as that, then the intellectual life is in itself accursed and there can be no question of a religious life for a student, even of theology.” —B.B. Warfield

[VIDEO] John Maxwell has some great advice on conflict.

Did you know there is a right way to procrastinate? Yep! Check this out.

Your Personal Spiritual Trainer

If you are a Christian, you have a personal trainer for your spiritual workouts. He is the Holy Spirit.

We should never think of the Holy Spirit as showing up just in the New Testament. He is living and active all throughout Scripture. Yesterday we saw Him in the gimel section of our P119 Spiritual Workout (that’s verses 17-24 of Psalm 119).

A personal trainer who has our best interests in mind will always set a healthy pace for us: neither letting us loaf nor working us too hard that it does permanent damage. But that pace is almost always painful because it is stretching us into a new dimension of fitness. This is just as true—if not truer—in the spiritual realm.

Take a look at the Hebrew letter gimel. Do you see a silhouette of runner? The Jews did, and they gave this definition to gimel: a richer man running after a poorer man in order to bless him. Isn’t that a great picture of what God does for us?! The Holy Spirit wants to help us “keep pace” with what God is blessing. That’s why He makes the laws and statutes and decrees of Scripture come alive so that we can keep pace with all that God has for us.

Now remember that blessing has two components. One part is the rich rewards we receive, and the other part is the loving correction. Both rewards and loving correction are blessings because they both keep us on pace with God’s plan for our lives.

The Holy Spirit sets a pace for us to follow as He reveals God’s Word to us. It’s a bit painful to stretch and grow, but God will reward us as we obediently follow the Spirit’s leading. If we choose not to keep pace, we may be alright for a while. But eventually, we’ll start to fall short, or even get on a wrong path. Here the blessing of God is to lovingly rebuke and correct us, in the attempt to get us back on pace with Him.

And when we get back on pace with God’s plan for us, His richest rewards can continue to flow into our lives!

If you’re not allowing the Holy Spirit to be your Personal Spiritual Trainer, I suggest you invite Him to take that role in your life today. No one is more concerned about your spiritual growth and spiritual vitality than He is, and He alone can help you get to the place of optimal spiritual health. 

If you have missed any of the messages in our P119 series, you can access them all by clicking here.

Benefit Package

See if you can spot the common theme in Proverbs 10:

The Lord will not let the godly go hungry (v. 3)

The godly are showered with blessings (v. 6)

We have happy memories of the godly (v. 7)

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain (v. 11)

The earnings of the godly enhance their lives (v. 16)

The words of the godly are like sterling silver (v. 20)

The words of the godly encourage many (v. 21)

The hopes of the godly will be granted (v. 24)

The godly have a lasting foundation (v. 25)

The hopes of the godly result in happiness (v. 28)

The godly will never be disturbed (v. 30)

The mouth of the godly person gives wise advice (v. 31)

The lips of the godly speak helpful words (v. 32)

I may not be a genius, but it seems like living a God-pleasing life has quite a few desirable benefits. What do you say we give it a try?

(For another look at Proverbs 10, check out this post.)

Bommerang

A kind man benefits himself, but a cruel man brings trouble on himself. (Proverbs 11:17)

There are those who [generously] scatter abroad, and yet increase more; there are those who withhold more than is fitting or what is justly due, but it results only in want. (Proverbs 11:24)

The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it], but a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it. (Proverbs 11:26)

Pretty straightforward…

If you want others to help you later, help others now.

If you want God to bless you later, bless others now.

If you want people to honor you later, be honorable now.

Boomerang!

It will only come back to you IF you throw it first!

Blessed Man

My church family surprised me yesterday for pastor appreciation Sunday. I got a yummy cake, and a new iPod to replace the one that was stolen.

I absolutely my church family! Even if I wasn’t the pastor, this is still the church I would attend. Hey, if you live in the Cedar Springs area, stop by and see what makes this such a great group.

I’m a blessed man!

Everything I Need Is Right Here

God wants to bless people. He wants it so much, that He puts everything we need to receive His blessing right in front of us.

It’s not elusive. It’s not obscure.

I don’t need a Master’s in Divinity to figure this out:

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. … No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

The New Testament amplifies this:

  • God’s laws are written on my heart, and my conscience tells me if I’m obeying them or not (Romans 2:15).
  • The Holy Spirit teaches and reminds me of everything I need (John 14:26; 16:8; 13).

You don’t need a spiritual pilgrimage to find God. He’s already written on your heart what you need to call out to Him. Don’t delay another day!

‘Nuff Said

“What does the Lord your God ask of you but to…

  • revere Him,
  • walk in obedience in all His ways,
  • love Him,
  • serve Him with all your heart and soul, and
  • observe His commands…

for your own good!” (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

‘Nuff said!

No Crutches

In preparing for the continuation of our Ignite series, I’ve been reviewing some of my notes about the Holy Spirit. This quote from R. Hollis Gause has really been working on me:

“[Jesus] was not a crutch for [the disciples’] immaturity. … Jesus did not encourage a mindless dependency on His physical presence; instead, He expected them to be interpretive of His instructions about their mission.”

Jesus said He wasn’t leaving us orphans, but He would send us the Holy Spirit to be a constant Counselor. When I submit to the Holy Spirit’s counsel, it’s not a mindless giving in, but a mind-full acknowledgment of His role. The Holy Spirit didn’t come to be my crutch, but to be my Liberator.

The Holy Spirit prepares me to be a conduit for God’s blessings.

I cannot touch in love…

I cannot speak with power…

I cannot truly represent Christ…

if I’m operating in my own strength.

The Holy Spirit comes alongside me to

Develop agape love in my heart…

stimulate my mind with the right words…

help me behave more like Jesus…

and live mind-full of His empowerment.

To do things on my own is to live with a crutch—to live a limited life.

To live in the flow of the Holy Spirit is to live a life that is fully engaged.

That’s how I want to live every day.

The Blessing

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on AppleSpotify, or Audible.

Just some personal musings on a well-known blessing.

The Lord bless you…

  • May you find nothing missing, nothing lacking.
  • May you be full and complete.
  • Then you will be better able to bless others.

…and keep you;

  • Safe and secure.
  • As a priceless heirloom.
  • As the apple of His eye.

…the Lord make His face to shine upon you,

  • So you are basking in His presence.
  • Reflecting His glory.
  • Distinguished from all others.

…and be gracious to you;

  • As He renews His mercies to you every morning.
  • Lavishing you with His blessings.
  • Not treating you as your sins deserve.

…the Lord turn His face toward you,

  • Knowing that you have His full notice.
  • Enjoying His full approval.
  • Living in His abundant favor.

…and give you peace 

  • All your anxieties banished.
  • Your confidence renewed.
  • Your direction assured.

When you say, “May God bless you” to someone, you are saying one of the most powerful, loving things that you could ever utter. There is nothing like God’s blessing: nothing compares to it, and nothing can detract from it.

May I encourage you to more regularly ask for God’s blessing to be on your life, and may you be lavish with your request for God’s blessings on others’ lives too.

GOD BLESS YOU!

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