Our Portion

Lamentations 3:24 - “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!”

We talked about the LORD (God) being our portion in Sunday school this morning. We referenced Psalm 119:57 which says: You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words.

There are several instances of this phrase about God being our portion. I have always thought portion was our all in all. We discussed how portion means a part of something. However, in this instance portion means a possession or reward. This is an amazing concept! We are a part of His inheritance, if we are in Christ Jesus.

My thoughts on all this: When we have asked Christ into our lives He is not some God in the universe anymore but is now more personal, a possession. We have become children of God after receiving Christ, which means God, as our Heavenly Father, has given us an inheritance...an inheritance or portion that each of us shared and yet all our own. I know, hard to comprehend sometimes. 

We have an amazing God. As was spoken in church yesterday morning, and is biblical... who is like our God? We cannot in our human minds understand the depths of this God...but when He becomes an integral part of our lives we gain access to this very concept of the very real, yet not fully known, amazing, unfathomable greatness of our God!

[Oh]...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

And there it is, the fullness of God, that portion. That inheritance. A part and yet the whole. Perhaps some day we will know in our spiritual minds just how awesome this God of ours is. Perhaps those who will spend eternity with Him will learn over the time of eternity everything about Him.

I’d heard this one time... In the Book of Revelation 4:8 we see this: The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Now before I go on, while we may not know who these creatures are (I don’t), there will be creatures then! One explanation of this, purely speculation, was these creatures (and perhaps all saints in heaven, those who have received Christ and are born again believers) are in such awe of what they see or hear that each “holy” (which continues night and day) is yet another revelation of God’s infinite self and character. We cannot comprehend how exceedingly great He is. It’s our faith in this Person that keeps us going. If that’s all I do is cry holy, I will be satisfied.

So, if a portion is our inheritance and He has given us this inheritance, He will also maintain it. His promises for us today are sure. He will not leave us or forsake us. He does not lie and His promises are sure. (I need to hear this myself.) He has granted us forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Portion but a whole. I want that portion. I hope you do too.

Psalm 16:5 - O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.

Birthright

Genesis 25:34 - And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

I think we all know what a birthright is, right!? In most cases it is given to the firstborn child. It is a right, privilege, or possession. And it is a privilege.

This one part of our sermon Sunday became a focal point for my thoughts. Salvation is a right. 

Esau's father Isaac gave him the birthright because he was firstborn, by minutes. Esau's twin brother was Jacob. The brothers were as different as night and day, as was suggested in the chapter when God told their mother Rebekah: ...“Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger." (Genesis 25:23)

Esau was, according to scripture, a wild man, an outdoorsman and hunter. Jacob was a mild man and liked being at home...living in tents. Or as I have read, he was most devoted to God and his family. Esau was described as ruddy and hairy where Jacob was fair. Isaac was more drawn to Esau while Rebekah to Jacob. Now don't start trying to come to any conclusions about Jacob! He was, despite this seemingly gentle nature, also a deceiver, which you can read further in Chapter 27.

One day Esau was out hunting and came home, ravenous. Jacob was cooking a pot of stew. Esau wanted some of that food...Jacob said he would give him some if he would sell his birthright (our first glimpse of deception). What an odd request. But Esau did just that...gave up his birthright all for a bowl of stew. He gave up all his rights to his inheritance. At that moment it meant absolutely nothing to him. 

We can live most of our life never considering the fact that we have a Father in heaven who wants each one of us to receive a better birthright. Many people, including myself for a lot of years, thought absolutely nothing about He who gives this birthright.

Salvation is a right. If it weren't I don't think we'd see examples of inheritance in the Bible. But we do. It is important. 

So, have you received the greatest birthright possible? If you have, do you take it for granted? If not, would you like to? We all can receive this inheritance. We will not receive a physical inheritance, nothing we can put our hands on today, but greater is our reward when we get to heaven. It takes no more than seriously receiving Christ. We ask Him to forgive us of our sins and trust and follow Him the rest of our days. It's that simple.

If we have given our lives to Christ, what are we willing to give up our spiritual birthright for? Popularity or prestige, money, addictions, lust? None of those things last after our last breath. But a spiritual birthright is forever.

I've said this a few times...not all people will go to heaven. It is a great myth many denominations have taught. Life doesn't just end and everyone goes to heaven. Our salvation was bought with a price. We need to get beyond taking the afterlife for granted. Without this inheritance, birthright, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

I was at our church's youth retreat last week. It was the driving theme for the kids...we cannot be promised another day. Young people think they have their whole life ahead of them...some adults think the same. They think they can wait to give their lives to Christ if they even think that. But what if today was your last and you'd not given Jesus a second thought? What if I'm right? I can tell you things are different with Christ in a life. You have to experience it to understand. It takes a heart willing to bend and take in the truth. 

God loves all people, but He has standards. If you are in your mind an upstanding person, honest, generous, kind, would you want to make friends with a criminal or murderer? You have your standards too. God is righteous and will only associate with righteous people. We can become righteous through Christ. It's the thing called being saved, born again, becoming a new man. 

                

Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of           God. (John 3:3)

I've been listening to a sermon in my car on eternity. I am considering sharing some of the pastor's thoughts. It might make this thing called birthright, inheritance and salvation more of a desire.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...          ...lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. (John 1:12, Hebrews 12:16-17)

The Inheritance

1Peter‬ ‭1:3-5‬ ‭- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Through Jesus Christ. The Beginning and the End! Through the entire Word of God we see Him. In and through Him we are. 

There is but one way to the Father and that is through Jesus Christ. No other god. Not Buddha. Not Allah. No other man. Nothing, no one. 

God sent His own Son. He became flesh and came down from heaven for us. He offers mercy to anyone who will receive it, that in the end we may have eternal life. Don't be fooled into thinking there is some other way. This may sound like a narrow view. It is! Walking with Jesus is a narrow road. Most people enjoy the wide road of living in the here and now without concern for the hereafter...but it leads to destruction. Do not also be deceived that all people go to heaven. Jesus would not have had to die if that were true. He came for all sinners, of which both you and I fit the category. 

Jesus offers an undefiled and incorruptible inheritance. The devil offers just the opposite. Faith in a living God is what we need. What He offers is so much greater. He doesn't offer material blessings alone here on earth, although He can do that also, but it's His eternal blessings of which we can have assurance when we know Christ, for those kept by the power of God.

Receive Christ, receive His power. His power, His Holy Spirit, gives us wisdom, discernment, greater understanding of His Word. He helps to know truth from lie, good from evil, life from death.

There will be troubles in our lives. We cannot escape them. But we can escape the fear if we know Jesus. We can know He will strengthen us when we look to Him in the midst of hardship. Trials gone through with Jesus by our side only build our confidence in Him. Our faith grows stronger when we see how we have endured! We are told to endure to the end (of our life or His return) to receive the greatest prize in life: eternal life in Christ.

I urge you to take this to heart. God is gracious and merciful. He will forgive the greatest of sin if one allows it. He is amazing. He is alive and will show Himself to anyone who wants to know Him. If you do, you have this promise:

1Peter‬ ‭1:6-9‬ ‭- In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.

Nothing New

Ephesians 1:3-14 - Blessed be the GOD AND FATHER of our Lord Jesus Christ, WHO HAS BLESSED US with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as HE CHOSE US in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having PREDESTINED US to adoption as sons BY Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of HIS will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which HE MADE US accepted in the Beloved. IN HIM WE HAVE REDEMPTION through HIS blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of HIS GRACE which HE MADE TO ABOUND toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to HIS GOOD PLEASURE which HE PURPOSED in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times HE MIGHT GATHER TOGETHER in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. IN HIM also WE HAVE OBTAINED an inheritance, being predestined according to the PURPOSE OF HIM who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the HOLY SPIRIT of promise, WHO IS THE GUARANTEE OF OUR INHERITANCE until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of HIS GLORY. 

Nothing new: Not about us; nothing we can do. It starts with His work in us. We just submit to His Son, receive, live out His will for us. We are a purchased possession! We are promised the things of heaven: redemption, adoption, spiritual blessings, an inheritance...all through Jesus Christ. Hallelujah! A free gift; nothing we can do but receive Him...

The Apostle Paul understood. It was God who changed him from Saul who persecuted Christians to Paul who couldn't stop preaching, at any cost, about Jesus. He understood where he had come from and who he now was. He understood his purpose in Christ. He called himself at times an Apostle (follower), a bondservant or prisoner of Christ. He did God's will. 

2Timothy 1:8-9 - Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began...

Inheritance

Ephesians 1:17-21 - ...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at his right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

What a wealth of promise in these verses. That we may know Him, the Father of glory. That our wisdom is enlarged...in the most meaningful and important things. That His power transforms. Death to life in no more than believing (committing one's self to trust in, be persuaded of, placing confidence in) on Him and then continuing in this fashion. To know the God of this universe, the name above all names...can you even imagine that He wants us to have and know these things?

There are many people who have heard the Word spoken and understand the meaning of salvation. They know how it is attained. They may have even, strictly out of obligation or intimidation, went through the motions of receiving Christ. And yet they do not understand. The eyes of their understanding are still veiled.

Ephesians speak of the riches of knowing Him. The inheritance we have in Christ, the power He bestows upon us when we receive Him. Some may think these are just words. Jesus died and was raised from the dead. It was an example for us...what happened in the natural for Him was that spiritually we might also be raised from the dead at the end of our life when we receive Christ.

God and His Son are higher than any other power. We hear of people who believe in a higher power. And that higher power  can be different depending on who you talk to. There is only One who is higher and more/most powerful. All others do not come close. All other things we idolize cannot compare.

Most people receive an inheritance after someone in the family dies. Money and material goods are passed down. There might be some enthusiasm about this...looking forward to receiving these gifts. God offers an even greater inheritance. I wonder where the idea of an inheritance began?! It is not a physical, hold in your hands, live in, sit on or spend/invest type inheritance. The inheritance God has is eternal. A home, a chair of great worth can still fall apart; money might diminish or be lost; there is no absolute assurance of growth. But there is an absolute assurance in God and His inheritance.

It boils down to this: without God, by the saving grace that is through Jesus Christ alone, we have no hope. We have no glorious future. Sadly some will not realize this until it is too late.

I pray, Lord, that You would open the eyes of understanding that this inheritance of greater value would become real to the lives of those who have not yet received it, to those who have heard but have not understood.

Acts 26:18 - ...to open their eyes, in order to turn them 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.

Trials, Grace AND Wisdom

Hebrews 10:32 - But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings.

Certain things change when one becomes a Christ follower. I don't mean a Christian, but a Christ follower. One who hungers and thirsts for Him. One who craves His Word and is changed by His words. Many will say they are a Christian but don't go to church, don't believe all the Bible is true, support the very things God calls abhorrent, even believe God is not all He claims to be. They believe God is good but fail to understand His judgment. They are able to justify their actions believing God is love and He'd understand...after all, there are others who are worse.

Like I've said, certain things change. When we come to Christ we see things differently; we have an understanding unlike what we had before. We change as we grow in Christ. We are, hopefully, more aware of our sin and while some churches call for a specific time of confession, we are called to repent of our sin immediately...and we are able to go directly to God. Hebrews 4:16 alludes to this: Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Last Sunday our pastor's son Aaron preached a good word. The title of the sermon was Remember.

There were two points that stood out to me. One was, paraphrasing: We are to grow and mature in Christ. You have everything if you have Christ. You can't be valuable to Him unless you're going through something. It's the trials that build us up. Through the trials we see God work, we become strengthened, we grow. There's something greater on the other side. There's a blessing. In this trial we find truth and see what He wants us to see, but these trails must be faced. They must be walked out.

It's true sin has caused us to have to have trials in our life. God allows them...the purpose of which is to look to Him for strength and wisdom...and to glorify Him when we do. If we are in God's will He will get us through it.

Aaron continued by saying when we are in Christ and following Him we can at times seem as though we have gotten lost somewhere. We question whether we've done something wrong because our trials are not there. We wonder if this is a time of rest or if we have missed something somewhere and have fallen away from Him.

His response was to remember...what Christ has done for us. If we haven't had a trial lately does it mean I am not the same as before? Have I grown spiritually weak, fallen away and far from God? Do I feel condemned? Remember! Remember when your eyes were first opened to the things of Christ. You don't go from darkness to light without remembering that moment. Then we are to stand fast on that.

I certainly remember that day! I was in a trial at the time and that is exactly when we are most vulnerable to receiving Christ, when there's nowhere else to go for help. I remembered just about every second of the day my eyes were opened to the glory and grace of God.

If we feel, now that we are in Christ, that things are different, he pointed out it may seem like we are lame. That lameness can be healed. He shared an account of a man with a withered hand whom Jesus healed. If we feel we've become withered or maimed, it doesn't mean we've been cut off. The withered or maimed areas can be healed. Just stand in your faith in Christ. Come to grips with areas of your life that may be a problem; i.e. anger, bitterness, judgment, those things that grow and fester.

And more that spoke volumes to me: Esau was willing to give up his inheritance for a bowl of stew. (Genesis 25) He placed little value on this birthright. If we are in Christ we should not forget the true birthright He has given us. Don't let anything take it away; don't be tempted to give it up for some worldly possession. Nothing is more important than that birthright. If we are experiencing anything, take it to God. Ask for support from your church family. But remember His grace toward you that one particular day you saw the truth of who He is.

I believe we don't always realize we are in a struggle. Maybe it has been there a long time and we live with it somehow. It surfaces occasionally as a reminder. And some struggles are more difficult than others. Some people are stronger than others...hopefully, in Christ, not in their own strength.

God has granted His grace when we received Him as our Savior.  We need to be ever thankful and mindful of that. We have not been cut off from Him if we are faithful to Him in even the small things. Let me end with this and isn't it amazing, a little break from my wisdom from the Proverbs and it shows up again. Go figure!

James 1:2-6 - My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

No Earthly Inheritance

Deuteronomy 18:1-2 - “The priests, the Levites—all the tribe of Levi—shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His portion. Therefore they shall have no inheritance among their brethren; the Lord is their inheritance, as He said to them."

I've been camped in Deuteronomy, as I've mentioned before. Moses reminding Israel of what they have when the cross the Jordan River into the land God promised them. They can see it. Moses has been reminding them of what God has done for them and what He will continue to do when the cross over, if they cross over. It's their decision.

Coming to Christ promises us a new life. We must cross over from the old to the new, death to life. It's our decision. To receive the inheritance of the new land Israel was to possess, they had to be reminded to love the LORD their God and obey His commands.

People, this so is an example for us. It's all about whom we shall serve. Israel was asked to serve God. Our country became the promised land when the pilgrims sailed over to escape the religious captivity in England. We started out serving God. Today we are now serving other gods and aren't we reaping from it? We as individuals are asked to follow Christ and possess a new land and serve God. Without that possession we reap the consequences of our choices.

What does this have to do with the scripture above?? The Levites were the group chosen by God to be the priests for the people of Israel. They were given no earthly possessions, like the others. They lived lives dedicated to serving God. Everything they needed was provided.  

When we come to Christ, we have gone from death (in the world) to life (in Christ). Our inheritance is no longer here on earth, as inheritance goes. Our ultimate inheritance is now based on spiritual things, not earthly. Our life is hid in Christ. He is our portion, our inheritance, our all in all. What this world has to offer should fade in comparison. Our spiritual life should be viewed as greater than our earthly. We are also called priests when we come to Christ. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1Peter 2:9). But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth (Exodus 9:16).

So if we are considered this royal priesthood in Christ, Deuteronomy 18:6-7 should be a picture of how our lives are to be: So if a Levite comes from any of your gates, from where he dwells among all Israel, and comes with all the desire of his mind to the place which the LORD chooses, then he may serve in the name of the LORD his God as all his brethren the Levites do, who stand there before the LORD. If we come with all desire to God, we are worthy of serving Him, through the righteousness Christ has given us. We are counted as among the others who have dedicated their lives to Christ. The Levites only served God. We are to only serve God. It's not about what we have on earth, but what He has given us. 

I think of the words spoken by Jesus when He was being tempted in the wilderness. When Jesus was hungry satan said to Him to make stones into bread since He was the Son of God: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." No earthly food will bring us an eternal inheritance. 

At the same time in the wilderness Jesus was tempted again by the king of this world into worshiping him and if He did he would grant Him all authority on earth. Jesus again said all authority belongs to God alone and it is He we are to worship only. It is His authority which should viewed as ultimate authority, not our own or anyone else's. Nothing on earth is as great as what we may lay hold of in heaven, through Jesus Christ. 

Our enemy the devil knows his reign on earth will be coming to and end. He knows the end of the story. He longs to drag as many along down with him in through the gates of hell. So his job is to have us believe that what we experience and have in our earthly lives is what matters most. If people could fully grasp the concept of "you can't take it with you," perhaps more would be assured of eternal life in Christ. 

It's not just saying we know who He is and living as we desire thinking we are saved and going to heaven. It's knowing Him personally, living for Him, putting Him on the throne of our everyday lives, not just when we choose to go to church or at Christmas or Easter. It's knowing that the things of the world are nothing in comparison to what we will receive in heaven.

I cried out to You, O Lord : I said, “You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. (Psalm 142:5, Psalm 16:5)

Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-14 - In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

Don't skip over the verses above. Read them again, slowly. Take them in. Eat these words. Taste and see that the Lord is good and that what He tells us is good, what all He does is for good. We all are offered an inheritance. (Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts. How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!) (Jeremiah 15:16, Psalm 119:103)

We pretty much all have inherited something or will someday. Families pass on down prized possessions or what money they have earned, grown and saved. We can inherit good genes...or not. Whatever. You get the point.

Here The apostle Paul is telling the followers in Ephesus what they have inherited. In Christ we have the greatest inheritance, although we won't see it until our days are done. But we can know it is there during our days on earth and look forward to it. There are offshoots that we can enjoy here on earth: peace that passes all understanding, wisdom of the mysteries of God, God's presence in our lives...and more. But the greatest inheritance is eternal life.

Somehow, in ways only God knows, those who choose to follow Christ were predestined for being a follower. I'm not going to try to pretend I understand how it works! I'm thankful that God hounded me for years before one day...one hour...I could not hold back any longer. I submitted, giving Him the go-ahead to begin a work in me. He still has a long way to go...

But...off came the blinders, down came the veil, the wax was removed from my ears and my heart changed! In no time I was realizing truth and seeing where He had been prodding me, steering me from one disaster or another to clear the way for His grand entrance into my life.

What are you experiencing that might just be His prodding? What dead ends...what disasters...what illness...what turmoil...what unhappiness? He could very well be working them into His plan for your life. He will turn that thing that seems like a thorn in your side, that thing that is constantly on your mind to unsettle you, to work in His favor to open your heart to Him.

He wants as many as possible to receive the inheritance He has to offer. No matter what sort of earthly family you have or have had, His is far superior and definitely the most important. What makes you predestined for this inheritance is your acceptance of it! That's it! He will give you His seal of promise, His Holy Spirit. Imagine, the same Spirit that rose Jesus from the grave can do the same for you! Life to death. He will live inside You to perform wonderful things.

This same Spirit is the only guarantee for eternal life. We need to question what happens after life on earth. We need to know there are two eternal lives. We don't just die and that's it. One is this eternal life with Jesus. The other is eternal death, a torturous time of agony that is never consumed, never ends. Which would you prefer? God and satan are both jealous after us. Only they are different types of jealousy. God is jealous after us in that, according to the definition, He has a passionate intensity to protect or defend those who are jeopardized. He wants to save us.

Satan's jealousy originated long ago when he was kicked out of heaven for thinking he could be God and trying to replace Him! His pride and arrogance got him the boot. He will not have eternal life and it's his goal to take as many with him as he can. He's doing a good job... satan's jealousy is the jealousy we're more familiar with: covetousness, enviousness, resentment. For what? Whatever our pride and arrogance determine we should be or have, what WE think we rightly should possess. Satan wanted to be God. What is it we want to be? Remember, God lifts up the lowly and brings down the proud.

Jesus purchased our redemption. He died on the cross for our sins. Now He offers it as a free gift to all who receive. He did it so that anyone who chose to receive WOULD receive through Him the perfect eternal life, not the opposite that our enemy has to offer...the temptations of the world, wrapped in glittery paper and tempting little bows. satan promises the best the WORLD has to offer but can offer no more. When death comes, all the "good" stuff is gone and we are destitute in our eternal death because we did not choose the free gift that Jesus has to offer.

Which do you want? Will you be among those predestined to receive the inheritance? 

The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him [prophesying about Jesus], the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. [And] if the [same] Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Isaiah 11:2, Romans 8:11)

Psalm 2

Psalm 2:3-4 - The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, “Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.”

I'm going through the Psalms. I want to try to convey the messages God speaks to us through some of them. Although written thousands of years ago, they are just as relevant today. You might be pleased to note, these will sometimes be shorter blogs!

When you read the first part of this psalm you see it is rulers and kings of the earth who are going against the LORD and His anointed. The word Their which is capitalized is showing this is written about God and Jesus, although Jesus wasn't on the scene yet.  These kings were attempting to turn people away from God, destroy Him, remove what might remind the people of Him. It's a bit like our removing prayer and the mention of Jesus' name from public places...so we do not offend others' religious beliefs.

However, God is still in control, even after all these years. He laughs at those who try to go against Him. He will always be, no matter how hard people try to expunge His existence. There will be a future punishment for those who chide Him, as the rest of the psalm continues.

David uttered a prophetic word about Jesus when he wrote that the LORD has said to Him, "You are my Son."  And it will be through Him that one day all possessions and nations will be His, despite what others attempt to do or claim. Jesus will reign over all the earth one day.

The psalmist, David, instructs the kings of the world to be wise and fear Him, with a reverent fear, and rejoice in Him instead of rejecting Him lest they fall into His hands of judgment. He tells us we will be blessed if we put our trust in the Lord (rather than man).

It would be as wise for us to do the same. Not only for nations but for individuals. Do not reject the Lord. Do not say you know of Jesus and that's enough. Know Him and follow in His ways. Listen as He writes. Listen as He speaks to hearts of His love...and His judgment. Listen as He brings personal promises to your spirit. KNOW Him ever so personally. You will be blessed. He wishes to bless you with the inheritance He has for you.

Psalm 2:7-8 - “I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession."

Blessed

Blessed

Psalm 1:1-2: - Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.

What does the word bless conjure up in your mind? Hopefully a positive thing. The Bible shows 287 references to the word in the Old and New Testaments. There may be other references in different forms.

I read Psalm 1 this morning. A song, surprisingly enough (NOT) has been going through my head for days now. I was humming and whistling it all morning...everywhere I went. I'm still humming it. I believe I've been blessed! And there was this word in the Psalm.

The words to the song, in part, go like this: We're blessed in the city, we're blessed in the field, we're blessed when we come and when we go... We sing it occasionally in church. It comes from Deuteronomy 28, specifically verses 3 and 6. What Deuteronomy 28 tells us is that if we keep ourselves focused on God, obey Him, follow Him, He will bless us in many ways and the chapter lists them. I'd love to share them all with you but you can read for yourself! You will also see a list of the curses incurred....

I'm sure we all know the general meaning of the word blessed. It's a good thing. Some like to say they're lucky or a marvelous thing happened to them. Maybe some even cringe when they hear others say they've been blessed by something. The biblical meaning: invoke divine care; preserve, protect, endow; cause to prosper, make happy, favored of God.

We can be grateful for a good job, nice home, loving family, abundance of things, but God has actually allowed us to have them. 1Corinthians 10:26 reminds us that the earth is the Lord's; and everything in it. He has given us these things for our pleasure because He loves us. Let us not forget that. Let us not pat ourselves on our backs for something we should be giving the Lord credit for.

In the Old Testament fathers blessed their sons. They received birthrights and inheritances. In the same way, only in greater measure because it comes from above, our Father blesses us if we adhere to His commands and treat Him with the respect and reverence He deserves, if we don't push Him aside for what might seem more important things. If our hearts and minds are stayed on Him, He will shower us with blessings.

We might not always recognize blessings. They might come in the form of strength in dire situations...we might not recognize it at first, but looking back...you see God's hand on the situation. They might be small and seemingly insignificant but I believe an abundance of small blessings might be just as good as one great one. They can come in the form of an encouraging word, a good report, inheritance, protection, even a sunrise or sunset, nature at its finest. Our God is not limited in His ability and creativity to bless.

One of the greatest blessings is is our inheritance in Christ...and the ultimate birthright. We can become children of God and receive these things. Before man sinned, there was an assurance of our inheritance and birthright. We are not physically born into this inheritance. Because of man's sin, it is now offered to us as the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. But we need to receive it. We need to realize our need for it and Him.

If you've been seemingly in a period of joylessness, things not going your way, call out to our Father in Heaven. Ask Him to search your heart and see what might be askew. Confess your troubled heart to Him and ask His forgiveness for whatever it might be that is causing the troublesome heart. If you are sincere, He will reveal something to you.

He is most willing to bring joy and blessing if you honestly seek the best of Him.

Psalm 112:1-2 - Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed.