Psalm 116:1-2 – “I love the Lord because He heard my plea for mercy, ² and listened to me.   As long as I live, I will call to him when I need help.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I encountered a challenging thought in the form of a question. “Why do we love the LORD?”

Before we simplify and give the pat religious response, pause and think. In Psalm 116, the Psalmist said, “I love the LORD because…”   Because what?   Because why?   What motivates our Love?   To me, that was a challenging question.  I sensed it was not to be answered quickly or without deep introspection. WHY?

In (v 1), he says, “Because God heard my prayer for mercy and listened to me.”   That indicates more than awareness; it indicates action.   So, we could say that we love God because of what He does for us.   That sounds both reasonable and selfish.  The focus shifts more to us than to Him.

In (v 6), he says, “The LORD protects the untrained (the morally naive or immature).”    Again, it is rooted in what God does for us. Is that the biblical reason and transformational reason to LOVE God?

Psalm 118:1 – “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good, and His loyal love endures (lasts, never fades or fails).”   Why do we love the LORD?  The honesty of our answer holds the key to our victory and spiritual advancement.

1 John 4:19 gives the best possible answer, but is it the true answer of our hearts?   “We love Him BECAUSE He loved us first.”    Love begets love.   Love is the seed that reproduces itself.   Love is the sacrifice that transcends all self-centeredness and selfishness.    John 3:16 is the key!   1 Corinthians 13 is the explanation.  Life is the classroom.

Why do we love God?   Is it because He saves us and we avoid hell?   Is it because He answers our prayers?   Is it because we are protected and provided for (Psalms 91 & 23)?   Why do we love other human beings?  We love our children because they are our children, not what they do or provide. They are part of us. We love our spouses because we have chosen to, because they complete us, not just what they do. We love friends because we have decided that their companionship brings us joy and a sense of satisfaction.

But why do we love God?   We should love Him because His love transforms us and enables us to be complete! His love empowers us to dispense that love to others and help them escape their prison of darkness.  His love introduces us to Life!   We should love Him because only in Him can we truly live!

What was life like before He came into your heart? What is it like now?  So, I ask again, “Why do we love God?”

Psalm 108:1-3 – “I am determined, O God.  I will sing and praise you with my whole heart.  ² Awake, O stringed instrument and harp.  I will wake up at dawn.  ³ I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord. I will sing praises to you before foreigners.”

Today, I heard, “Begin right, stay right, and end right.” I contemplated that as I read.   How we begin is important, but that alone is not sufficient to carry us through to completion.   However, if we do not begin right, we are severely disadvantaged in our hope of completion.   In fact, without a right beginning, there can be no right ending.

The Psalmist in Psalm 108:1-3 committed to begin his day worshipping God.   That gave him a pathway to walk in the presence of the LORD.   Is that a guarantee of ease?   Hardly, but it is an access designed to help what would otherwise not be realized.    

Seeking God FIRST infuses God’s strength into our day! If God is for us, what difference does it make who is against us?   It brings Psalm 91 into our hearts and enlightens us, helping us see God’s reality clearly.   In that mindset, we can be like Paul and Silas in Jail.  Acts 16:25 – They rocked the jail at midnight with praise and worship.   You could say this was the original “Jailhouse Rock”, long before Elvis!

The key to finishing the race with God’s favor is developing a mindset that seeks God in all things and at all times.  It is developing a mindset of gratitude, commitment, and confidence in God.

If God fills our hearts, sin troubles our spirits! Acts 17:16: When Paul was alone in Athens and toured the city, he saw all the idols, and it “greatly upset” his spirit.   We live in a world that overflows with idolatry and do not give it a second thought. Have we become that calloused in our hearts?   When God fills us to overflowing, sin bothers us!   When sin doesn’t bother us, it just might indicate that God does not occupy the throne of our lives.

Those outside the Grace of God (Lost) are racing toward destruction (hell). Does that bother us?   How much does it bother us?  How often does it bother us?  What are we doing about it?  All that is revealing, far more than we like to acknowledge.   We like to live religious, unaffected lives, getting our weekly religious fixes on Sunday and living unbothered, busy lives pursuing our objectives.

What is the prime objective of the Holy Spirit if it is not pursuing the Will and Kingdom of God?   What did Jesus say the Holy Spirit would focus on?   What do we focus on?   Is there a contrast?

Believe me, I’m not being condemnatory or suggesting I am not guilty, only asking, “Does Sin Bother Us?” How much?  My prayer is, “LORD, forgive me for living an unaffected life. Transform me and fill me to overflowing with the Holy Spirit. Help me to seek You above all and trust You to provide all I need rather than justifying my negligence by saying, I have to do this or that to provide for myself and my family. Help me to roll my entire life on You. I Surrender All. Amen.”

LORD, help us to begin right so we can end right and never give up the fight!

Psalm 100

“Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth!  ² Worship the Lord with joy.  Enter his presence with joyful singing.  ³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God.  He made us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  ⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.  Give him thanks.  Praise his name.  ⁵ For the Lord is good.  His loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all generations.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I was challenged, encouraged, and inspired.   I began to think about the emphasis on, or lack of, gratitude and praise to God, as well as the lack of understanding of what genuine praise truly is.

Psalm 95:2, Psalm 100, and Psalm 103 all express a central element. “Come into God’s presence with gratitude, thankfulness, and adoration.”  The benefits are amazing.  But why is this important?   Is God a narcissist or ego maniac who needs to be affirmed constantly?   If He is, He is not the God of the Bible.  So, why?

The reason is first our own minds and hearts.   

• Without gratitude, we develop an entitlement mentality, and selfishness grows. 
• Without adoration (expressed love), we turn inward and make ourselves the pinnacle (throne) of our lives.

As we focus on the person, power, and provision of God, we realize our frailty and His magnitude.  We learn obedience and contentment and are able to live Spirit-directed lives! 

In Acts, we have several examples of ‘Spirit-Directed Lives.’  Acts 8:26: Philip’s encounter with the Ethiopian Eunuch.   Philip obeyed, the eunuch was saved, and the gospel went to Ethiopia.  Who knows the full impact of that obedience?

In Acts 9, we have both Ananias the centurion and Peter the apostle living in Spirit-directed obedience.   Ananias sent for Peter, and Peter obeyed.  He violated the Jewish traditional law.  He broke the barriers of sectarianism and prejudice! As a result, the Gentiles received the gospel. (That opened the door for us.)   Acts 10:34-48 reaffirms that truth.

Is there a common theme in living the Spirit-Directed Life?   I believe, yes! The importance, the presence, and the operation of the Holy Spirit.   How do you live a truly Spirit-Directed Life without the fullness of the Holy Spirit? One of the key elements in the expansion of the early church, as revealed in Acts 9:31, was the fear (reverential awe) of God AND the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.

Had Ananias not been obedient, Paul the apostle might have slipped through the cracks.  Although I believe God would have used someone else or sovereignly worked His work, Ananias’ obedience resulted in the launching of an unequaled ministry in the New Testament.

We don’t know the full result of our one act of obedience!   Living a Spirit-directed life could result in the release of another Paul, Billy Graham, Dwight L. Moody, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, or W.J. Seymour (Azusa Street).   Maybe a Corrie ten Boom.   

Heaven will reveal the extent.   However, even if our obedience resulted only in the salvation of a Nameless person with no major impact, they are who Jesus died for!  Their salvation causes jubilation in heaven.

But our Spirit-directed lives also bring a smile to God’s face. The Aaronic Blessing becomes a reality in our lives (Numbers 6:22-27).  Our goal is to be filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit!

LORD, help us to realize that we Worship You, not Your Ego!

Psalm 84:4-5 – “How blessed are those who live in your temple and praise you continually. (Selah)  ⁵ How blessed are those who find their strength in you, and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, I had a sense of the All-Knowing God and His desire for all people.   Of course, God desires that everyone be saved.   However, He desires that those who believe receive the power of the miraculous.

He expects us to do what Jesus did, live as Jesus lived, and give our whole being to Him.   Total Surrender of the Total Person, so that the Living Christ can be manifested in, by, and through us.  Psalm 84 reveals that God’s presence provides strength to those who abide in it!

Psalm 90:8 reminds us that God knows all, even the things we hide from others, and perhaps even from ourselves.  Then, Psalm 91, the Covenant Promise Psalm, filled my consciousness.

It begins by describing the condition of the person fully surrendered to God.   It describes the protection provided. In (vv 2-4), we see the provision of protection for those who abide in God!   The consumed are preserved and provided for.   This only applies to those who abide.  Those who come and go are targets for the enemy.

Psalm 91:5 makes an interesting statement that we miss.   Not that we miss the thought of deliverance from evil, but it says, “You need not fear…”   Need does not mean it is a choice!   It’s up to us!   We choose to fear or have faith.

If we have faith rather than fear, we will see the chaos, calamity, and confusion, but it won’t bring us down or suck us into its black hole of despair.   We are abiding in the Presence and embracing the Provision.  We are learning to live with divine expectations.

Why?  Because we know something the world does not. (vv 9-13) Describe the benefits that flow from that condition and position.   No Harm, no illness (divine health).   Angelic protection keeping us from harm.  Divine enablement: able to defeat the lion and snake.

God’s promise is revealed in (vv 14-16).  Deliverance from danger, answers to prayers, rescue from danger, and a life of contentment and wholeness.   That’s what the early church exhibited.   It wasn’t just the apostles; it was everyone.  

Stephen is a prime example.  He was not an apostle.  He was a deacon, but even more relevant, a believer, a member of the church and the family of God. His secret was that he was full (saturated and overflowing) with the Holy Spirit and faith (trust and confidence). He was us! He was everyman. He was the Church.

If we seek and abide in the All-Knowing Creator of All Things, that is where we are to be.   Why don’t we have it or see it?  We don’t expect it often because we think, “I’m not worthy.”   You are not, in yourself, but you are if Christ is in you and you are saturated and overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

Why Not Now? Why Not Us?

Psalm 73:1-5 – “Certainly God is good to Israel, and to those whose motives are pure.  ² But as for me, my feet almost slipped; my feet almost slid out from under me.  ³ For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.  ⁴ For they suffer no pain; their bodies are strong and well fed.  ⁵ They are immune to the trouble common to men; they do not suffer as other men do.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, my spirit was challenged.   Comparisons are seldom good, but the Holy Spirit seemed to direct me to compare myself and today’s Christian community to those of the Bible.   As I reflected on that comparison, I felt remorse and shame.   I felt woefully deficient.

Psalm 73 is worthy of careful examination and is a catalyst to propel us into a deeper pursuit of God.   The Psalmist was disheartened.   He was looking at what he thought was inequity regarding the godly and the ungodly.

He begins with a truth, then plunges into darkness before coming back to the light. (v 1) – God is good to Israel & all who have pure motives.   Even with that knowledge foundation, he let his interpretation of God’s dealings with people bring him into despair.  Envy crept in as his eyes and mind ruled him. (v 3).

He even began to question God’s integrity (v 11) – “Is the Most High aware of what goes on?”   The devil was at work powerfully in his mind. As a result, he concluded that godliness was a waste of time; after all, look at the way the ungodly live and get away with it. Why try?

Then (v 17) – “I entered the precincts of God’s temple and understood (the light came on) the destiny of the wicked.” (Pay Day Someday).  His enlightenment filled his heart with hope and contentment. He declared in (v 26): “My flesh and my heart may grow weak, but God ALWAYS protects my heart and gives me STABILITY.”    Hallelujah!

There is a danger in becoming ritualistically religious, and through that, self-righteousness reveals itself.   One statement by the Jewish leaders, contending for Jesus to be crucified, screams of the power of religion.   John 19:15 – “We have no king but Caesar.”   They made the government higher than God.   They did this to preserve their religious system.

The Early Church had some characteristics not always seen today.  Who they were defined, what they did, and the results they enjoyed.

• They were filled with the Holy Spirit (The Promise of the Father).

That was the expected norm and the identifier of Salvation.

• They were Covenant-minded. (Acts 1:14).

Many make this a system of Socialism because they think with human reason and fail to grasp the concept of Covenant. This was Covenant in action – what is mine is yours, and yours is mine. I defend you with my life.

• They practiced Discipleship. Acts 2:42 – “They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching (Discipleship and Equipping for the work of ministry), and to fellowship (bonding and being formed), to the breaking of bread (shared meals & communion), and to prayer (corporate and individual).

How does that compare to today?   They did this Daily (Acts 2:46-47), and we find it hard to make 1 or 2 gatherings per week.

• They were all witnesses, but today we have many who insist Faith is a private matter and are silent.

How much value do we place on souls?  How real is hell to us?  How real is Jesus to us?   I suggest we reconsider what Jesus asked Peter just before He went to heaven in John 21. “Do you love Me?”    The question is “How Much?”

How much is revealed by how we live, what we do, and what is chief in our lives.  We insist that there is not enough time, but don’t we find time for what we desire?

If God is my consuming passion and His Kingdom my driving purpose, nothing can stop me from pursuing His purposes.