God Has Given Us His Word

When you hear someone say, ‘I give you my word”, we understand this statement to be an assurance, a serious promise or vow that what they have said they will do and what they’ve told you is the truth.

God has given us His word.

God promised that a flood would never again destroy the earth (Genesis 8:21-22; 9:11-17) – He gave us a sign - His rainbow in the cloud - to remind us of this promise.

God promised that through all nations the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3) and He fulfilled that promise (Galatians 3:26-29).

God’s promises can be trusted. As Joshua wrote in Joshua 21:45 “Not a word failed of any good thing which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” The same can be said still today!

When God promises to give us His peace that surpasses all understanding when we give Him our anxieties (Philippians 4:6-7), His word can be trusted!

When God promises to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness when we confess our sins to Him (1 John 1:9), His word can be trusted!

When God promises that His armor will allow us to stand against the wiles of the devil when we put it on every part of it, that the shield of faith will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:10-18), His word can be trusted!

God has given us His Word.

God so loved the world that He gave His Son, Jesus (John 3:16). Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1-5; 14) – God has given us His Word!  

Through Jesus fulfilling the promise given to Abram, all nations have been blessed! Because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice we have opportunity to have our sins forgiven, by being buried with Him (in baptism, Romans 6:3-5) and being raised, just like He was, to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4-14). Jesus was declared to be the Son of God when God raised Him from the dead (Romans 1:3-4) and when we are raised out of the burial that is baptism we, too, are declared to be children of God (Romans 8:13-17, 1 John 3:1-3). In Christ we are blessed with life (John 14:6; 20:30-31, 1 John 5:11-13), hope (Hebrews 6:13-20, Colossians 1:27), and every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3-14)!    

God has given us His Word.

God loves us SO much that He has given His Word, Jesus, to give us life in His name, and His love has also provided us with His Word, written and preserved for us to read, understand, and obey!

It is by hearing God’s word that we establish our faith (Romans 10:17). In God’s word we find everything we need to know to become His child and to walk properly in His sight! To walk as children of light we are instructed to “find out what is acceptable to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:8-10), to walk in wisdom we are told to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesiasn5:17), we do this by reading and studying His Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17)!  God has given us His Word! It is our responsibility to read, understand, and obey it!  

When we believe what we hear – take God at His word – we will obey Him; in obeying His commands we will come to understand that every instruction He gives us is only ever for our good, that His way is the BEST way!

God has given us His word. Do you wholly trust Him? You can! Not one word of God’s has failed - Jesus has not failed (John 17:4, 19:28-30) and neither has His written word (Isaiah 55:11, 1 Peter 1:22-25, Hebrews 4:12)! God has given us His word, it is up to us to trust Him enough to listen and obey!

You can do it! So can I!!

Trusting in God

   “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" Psalm 34:8 NKJV

    From the beginning of time God has asked His people to trust Him; trust in His boundaries, trust in His provisions.

• Noah and his family trusted God enough to prepare the ark and trusted Him when He divinely sealed them into the ark as the flood waters rose around it (Genesis 6:13-8:22, Hebrews 11:7).
•  Abram & Sarai and their nephew Lot trusted God when they left all to go to Canaan (Genesis 12:1-5, Hebrews 11:8). Abram trusted God when He was told to sacrifice his son, Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19, Hebrews 11:17-19)
• Joseph trusted in God when his brothers sold him into slavery (Genesis 37 and 39)
  
• Jochebed trusted God when she placed her 3 month old son in the prepared basket and set him afloat in the river near Pharaoh’s palace (Exodus 1)    
• Moses trusted God when he left Pharaoh’s palace to live with his own people and when God chose him to led His people out of Egyptian bondage and toward the Promised Land (Hebrews 11:24-29, Exodus 14-15)
• Rahab trusted God when she gathered her family into her house and tied the red cord in the window while her city was conquered (Joshua 2 and 6)
• David trusted God when, having to choose between three punishments, he chose the one that would put them into God’s hand because David was confident of God’s mercy (2 Samuel 24:10-16)
• Hezekiah trusted in God when Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, threatened (2 Kings 19)
• Job trusted in God even when his health, livelihood, and children were taken from him in one day (Job 1:1-2:10)
• Ezekiel trusted even his wife died and he could not openly mourn his loss (Ezekiel 24:15-27)
• Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego trusted God when they were put into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:8-30) and Daniel trusted God when he was lowered into the lion’s den (Daniel 6:1-28)
• Jonah trusted God when he told the sailors to throw him overboard into the raging sea (Jonah 1-2)
• Habakkuk trusted in God, come what may (Habakkuk 3:17-18)
• Simeon trusted God that he would see Jesus, the Consolation of Israel, in his lifetime (Luke 2:25-35)
• Peter trusted God when he stepped out of the fishing boat into the wave-tossed sea (Matthew 14:22-30)
• Jesus trusted God to be the Righteous Judge, knowing all that Jesus endured (1 Peter 2:22-23)
• Saul/Paul trusted God when his sins were forgiven him, but he let the remembrance of them spur him on to obedience (Acts 9:1-22, 1 Timothy 1:12-17)

    This is a small list, but gives us a good cross-section of people who have trusted God (read Hebrews 11 for another listing, read the whole Bible for the best list of all!) We are thankful that these are recorded for us, to encourage us to keep pressing forward, to help us exchange our fears for faith, so that our faith can flourish!

    If the highlights of your life were recorded what would be said about you? How would this statement be finished?

“I trusted God when _________________________________________________________”

     

The Tent of the Upright Will Flourish

"The house of the wicked will be overthrown,

but the tent of the upright will flourish."

(Proverbs 14:11 NKJV)

    If we, for a moment, block from our view the two resulting ends: 'will be overthrown' and 'will flourish,' it would appear as though the wicked are prospering! They are in a house, whereas the upright are only in a tent, so the wicked must be thriving, right? And if anyone is going to be overthrown, surely it would be the one who dwells in the feeble structure - consider the plight of the three little pigs - the weaker domicile surely indicates lack of strength and power to withstand, doesn't it?

    But God, through this proverb, has given us the big picture, we can see the end result!

    The house of the wicked did not/does not save them. Their house, like they themselves, will be overthrown and destroyed. Why? Because their imagined power, contrived by earthly wisdom (James 3:14-16), rests only in their own bodily strength and their accumulated earthly possessions, both of which will eventually fail and come to nothing (Ecclesiastes 12:7, Matthew 6:19-21). But more than that, their eternal destination will be death and destruction (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, Philippians 3:18-19) because they refuse to know God nor submit to His way.

    We know that this earth is not our home (consider Hebrews 11:13-16); we journey through this realm preparing ourselves to one day enter our heavenly home (Colossians 3:1-10). We do not build up palaces here (Matthew 6:19-21), we content ourselves with what we have (Psalm 37:16-17, 1 Timothy 6:6-8), and even that is shared with others so that none go without (2 Corinthians 9:7-12, 1 Timothy 6:17-19). We know that all good things come from God (Acts 17:25, James 1:17; 3:17)! Our strength and hope rests wholly in God, in the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10-11, Hebrews 6:17-19)! We know that our 'tent' (our earthly body) will one day be laid aside and left behind when we go on to our reward (2 Corinthians 5:1-8), our eternal home with God (Revelation 14:13, 1 John 3:1-3)! 

    So, do not envy the wicked and their perceived riches, wealth, and power - all those earthly things will be destroyed (Proverbs 23:17, and please take time this week to read and think on Psalm 37 and Psalm 73). Joy in the tent of the upright! God provides all we need to flourish (Psalm 84:11) and we can and will flourish when we continue to faithfully follow His way!!  

"A little that a righteous man has

is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the LORD upholds the righteous."

(Psalm 37:16-17 NKJV)

Trusting in God Will Allow You to Flourish

"He who trusts in his riches will fall.

But the righteous will flourish like foliage."

(Proverbs 11:28 NKJV)

   

    The righteous are those who put their trust in God. They have chosen to follow an unchanging God rather than follow after uncertain riches (1 Timothy 6:17). They see what money can buy yet value God's blessings as greater and far more worthy of obtaining (Psalm 68:19, Ephesians 1:3-14; 3:20).

    "No one can serve two masters;

for either he will hate the one and love the other,

or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and riches."

(Matthew 6:24 NKJV)

    God grants us the ability to work and make money (Deuteronomy 8:18). It is not a sin to have money; it is something necessary, but it is not the be-all and end-all of life (think on Luke 12:15-21). The Israelites were told to remember that it was God who granted them ability to gain wealth - it was a blessing from Him and it was only right that they acknowledge that and thank Him, and use their money for good purposes, just as we are also instructed to do (Consider 1 Timothy 6:18-19 and 2 Corinthians 9:6-12).

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal;

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust destroys

and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

(Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV) 

    Those who trust in God will have lasting contentment, continued growth, and a flourishing faith because they have set their mind on things above (Colossians 3:1-2), where their hope is firmly anchored in eternity! They know that money will not save them, its accumulation here on earth will not grant them any special merit on that final Day; no, the righteous understand that all they have is from God and He is the One to wholly trust and obey!

    Are you ready to flourish? - "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8 NKJV)

    You can do it! So can I!!

   

"...in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing..."

"They shall bear fruit in old age;

they shall be fresh and flourishing,

to declare that the LORD is upright;

He is my rock, and there is

no unrighteousness in Him."

(Psalm 92:14-15 NKJV)

    Isn't that a beautiful image? A man, a woman, in old age still delighted in learning more from God's word, still improving, still growing deeper in faith, still joyful about God and the gift of His Son, filled to overflowing with complete assurance of God's power, promises, and truth because over the years they have relied on them and proven them true, and now more than ever they love to talk about and share their confident hope with others!

       "Therefore do not lose heart.

Even though our outward man is perishing,

yet the inward man is being renewed day by day."

(2 Corinthians 4:16 NKJV)

    We will continue to bear good fruit in old age when we daily renew our mind and spirit through reading and application of God's word! Romans 12:2 instructs us to not settle into the world's ways but develop and grow ("be transformed") in God's way, by the renewing of your mind. This mind renewal is mentioned again in Ephesians 4:22-24, where Paul gave command to the Christians to stop following their old, corrupt ways and instead be renewed in the spirit of their mind by following the new way created by God in true righteousness and holiness.

    Sin is always a downward spiral, but God's way, though difficult (Matthew 7:13-14), is an ever upward spiral! Learning => trusting => obeying => God's promises, His wisdom, His help proven true =>  trust grows stronger => desire to learn more => increased faithful obedience ===> up, up, UP!   As our roots grow deeper into the living water (John 4:10-14), our boughs will stretch upward, flourishing with growth and development in God's marvelous light!

    What can older women do specifically? Well, alongside the encouragement they provide to all by continuing to study God's word, happily obeying His commands, and faithfully attending church services - all things that will keep them fresh, flourishing, and bearing fruit! - I think Titus 2:3-5 gives a good answer! Older women can teach younger women, young wives, how to live properly before God, to love and obey their husbands, to love their children, and how to use their time wisely and well. They do this by example and with encouraging advice and admonishment. In doing so older women will be declaring God and His way as upright! They will make it evident to all that He is their Rock and that they have found no unrighteousness in Him!

    "O God, You have taught me from my youth;

and to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

Now also when I am old and grayheaded,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I declare Your strength to this generation,

Your power to everyone who is to come."

(Psalm 71:17-18 NKJV)

    You can do it! So can I!!

  

"Those planted... shall flourish in the courts of our God"

"Those who are planted in the house of the LORD

shall flourish in the courts of our God."

(Psalm 92:13 NKJV)

    What a beautiful thought - so poetic and pretty - but it is so much more than just a pleasing thought, it is a truth that we are living! The psalmist was writing about us!

    The prophet Isaiah even spoke of Christians in this way, "...that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:3b). We are alive and flourishing under God's care so that we may bring glory to Him (Matthew 5:16, Ephesians 1:12, 1 Peter 2:9)!

    God planted us in His house. The word 'planted' is a short form of the term 'transplanted' meaning, moved or transferred to another place or situation. Has God done that with us?  Consider, if you will, these passages:

• "...that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light..." (1 Peter 2:9)
• "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed* us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." (Colossians 3:13)  *conveyed = transferred 
• "...in order to turn then from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me." (Acts 26:18)
• "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47)

    When we obeyed the gospel, God transplanted us into "the house of the LORD" - Jesus' body, the church (Hebrews 3:6, 1 Corinthians 12:12-13, Ephesians 1:22-23)! We are now sheltered "in the courts of our God," where we are nourished (Isaiah 55:1-2, Matthew 5:6) and able to flourish!!

"Blessed are those who dwell in Your house,

they will still be praising You."

(Psalm 84:4 NKJV)

    Courts or courtyards surrounding both the king's palace and the temple were accessible only by permissions granted by the king or the religious rulers. Some courts of the temple were inaccessible to Gentiles/Greeks, but God plants all who come in faith and obedience in His courts (Galatians 3:26-28, Romans 10:10-13), where we find all we need to grow and develop (Psalm 23:6, 27:4, 65:4, , 2 Timothy 3:16-17), where we find every spiritual blessing in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-14)!

    Dig your roots deep into all that God, the Master Gardener, faithfully supplies for your nourishment!! Continue to faithfully flourish under His care and provision, so that He may be glorified in all you do!!

You can do it! So can I!! 

"Praise the LORD!

Praise the name of the LORD;

Praise Him, O you servants of the LORD!

You who stand in the house of the LORD,

In the courts of the house of our God,

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;

Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant."
(Psalm 135:1-3 NKJV)

     

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree..."

"The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree,

He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon."

(Psalm 92:12 NKJV)

    The psalmist describes the righteous as flourishing like a palm tree. Where do palm trees typically grow? In hot, dry, sometimes harsh conditions, right? Yet they flourish! How? By reaching their roots deep down into the ground in search of life-sustaining resources! When they find it they anchor themselves on that stream of nourishment and soon become an oasis for parched souls seeking reprieve from the relentless heat of the desert!

    We, too, had to stretch and reach our roots in search of life-sustaining nourishment. When we dug our roots into God's Word (Ephesians 5:10, 17) we found the living water - the very fountain of life (John 4:14; 7:37-39, Isaiah 55:1-3) and we anchored our roots there, gaining nourishment (Matthew 5:6) and strength (Philippians 4:11-13) to weather any condition (2 Corinthians 12-9-10, Jeremiah 17:7-8)!! We soon become an "oasis" in the world's desert - a place where people find relief as we share with them the living water from God (Matthew 5:13-16), in hopes that they too may dig in and anchor themselves in the pure source of truth, wisdom, and knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3, John 14:6; 17:17)!

    The psalmist goes on to describe the righteous person as growing like a cedar in Lebanon. Cedars from Lebanon were specifically sent for and used in the constructing of both the king's palaces and the temple (2 Samuel 5:11, 1 Kings 5:2-10, 2 Chronicles 2:3-16). They were known for being very strong, having a pleasant fragrance, being easy to work with and shape, having ability to weather storms with minimal shrinkage or distortion, and resisting decay. They were sought after for both their beauty and their strength.

We, as Christians, are known by our fragrance (2 Corinthians 2:14-17), an aroma that is pleasing to God (Ephesians 5:1-2). We have hearts that can be worked with and shaped/transformed (Romans 12:1-2, Isaiah 64:8), through God's blessings we have strength to weather the storms of life and because of His blessings we are not distorted or jaded by the troubles we endure, and we do all we can to resist the decay of sin (James 4:7, Psalm 119:59-60; 67-69, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 15:58; 16:13-14)!

Now, consider for a moment King David's prayer for the people who would be blessed by God, specifically what he said about females: "...that our daughters may be as pillars, sculpted in palace style." (Psalm 144:12) David's envisioned the women serving God as being strong like the cedars from Lebanon that supported his dwelling, and able to bear up with elegance - they would be useful, strong, and beautiful (1 Peter 3:3-4, Proverbs 31)! 

Keep digging your roots into God's holy word, drink from the living water, anchor your roots in God's Truth! Let your faith continue to flourish as you study and obey so you can be an oasis for a parched soul lost in sin! Stand tall, be strong in the Lord (Ephesians 6:10), and bear up under your burdens with elegance!

You can do it! So can I!!     

   

"In His days the righteous shall flourish..."

    Solomon was blessed among other things with knowledge of Jesus - who would come 24 generations (or 1200 years) after him! Psalm 72 declares the glory of Jesus' coming and how His coming would bring good things to the world.

    "He will judge Your people with righteousness, and Your poor with justice." (vv.2, 4; 12-14, see Acts 17:30-31, 2 Timothy 4:8, Revelation 19:11, 1 John 3:17, Matthew 11:5, James 2:5)

    "He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, like showers that water the earth." (v. 6) Jesus' coming to earth would be a time of refreshing (Acts 3:18-21). The Word of God would come in the flesh (John 1:1-5, 14) and give hope and sustenance to all who believe in Him "as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations" (v.5, see Luke 9:56; 19:10, Mark16:15-16, Hebrews 13:8, 1 Peter 1:22-23)

    From the time Jesus came to earth and until the moon is no more "the righteous shall flourish" (v.7) Flourish means to spring up, grow, and spread - and that is exactly what happened! Consider the book of Acts, just as Jesus declared in Acts 1:8, that His gospel message would begin in Jerusalem (a city, fulfilled in Acts 2-7), then go into all of Judea and Samaria (the large regions North and South of Jerusalem, fulfilled in Acts 8 and beyond), then spread to the end of the earth (see Colossians 1:23). We here, on the other side of the world in North America, are proof that the gospel spread to the end of the earth - we have had it sown in our hearts and it has sprung up and grown and we flourish!!

    The "abundance of peace" that was foretold by Solomon (in verse 7) is the peace that we now have with God through the reconciliation provided by Christ (Colossians 1:19-23). Our sin separated us from God, but Jesus' sacrifice paid the price and we now can seek God and be holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight IF we continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard!

    The righteous continue to flourish because the the word of God is living and powerful (Hebrews 4:12)! The truth, the peace, the hope, the strength, the comfort we find in Jesus allows us to flourish and grow as we become rooted and built up in Him (Colossians 2:6-7, 2 Peter 3:18)! And our joy and thanksgiving for what we have in Jesus will motivate us to tell others of our hope (Matthew 5:13-16, 1 Peter 3:15) - the flourishing continues as more people come to Jesus, obey the gospel, and live faithfully before God!!

    What a wonderful thing it is to consider that we are living proof of a bible prophecy!!

    Please make time to read the whole of Psalm 72. Think on Jesus - and just how much God loves us to have sent Him (John 3:16). Think on these things as you continue to faithfully flourish and make every effort to walk in righteousness before God!!

    You can do it! So can I!!