Be Blessed by: Bishop Paul S. Morton

Love is ACTION- Part 2

Our last post was centered around a specific incident that allegedly happened with a man of God. We focused on the love chapter which can be found in 1 Corinthians 13. Today we're going to pick back up on verses 4-8 in the Amplified Bible:

⁴Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

⁵It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

⁶It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

⁷Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

⁸Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].

These scriptures basically give us the true definition of love. This is what God expects of his people on a daily basis. The truth of the matter is, how hard could it possibly be to love someone who always does what you want them to do, always acts the way you want them to act, etc. Love means sacrificing. It means that I have to love people regardless of how they treat me.

We all have heard various portrayals of the Bishop Eddie Long situation. My heart goes out to both him and his church family. Whether the accusations are true or not, the prayer warrior in each of us should have been activated immediately. Whenever accusations start swirling, Christians should reserve comment until the truth comes out. Verse 7 says: Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Instead of sitting around talking about how dirty and nasty this man is and what a liar he is, just simply pray the mercy of God upon him and his family. Treat them as you would want to be treated if you were accused of something. Even if the accusations were found to be true remember what the scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:12 (Amplified Bible) Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin].

The final thing we should know about love comes from verse 8 which says: Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. My love for you and your love for me should never end regardless of what I do to you or what you do to me. Love does not end! Before judging or begrudging someone it's always important to remember that we're not perfect. As a matter of fact, For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6 KJV). What would we have done if Jesus hadn't loved us in spite of ourselves? What would we have done if God had a respect of persons? None of us would be alive if Jesus hadn't looked beyond our faults and saw our needs. So whenever something comes out about any of our brothers and sisters, whether true or not, let's love them the way that Jesus loves us. (Galatians 6:1 AMP) BRETHREN, IF any person is overtaken in misconduct or sin of any sort, you who are spiritual [who are responsive to and controlled by the Spirit] should set him right and restore and reinstate him, without any sense of superiority and with all gentleness, keeping an attentive eye on yourself, lest you should be tempted also.

Remain blessed

Love is ACTION- Part 1

This next series of blogs that I write will be pertaining to 1 Corinthians 13 aka the love chapter. As Christians many times I feel that we say this word way too loosely and when the time comes to step up to the plate we step back. It's time to realize more now than ever that love is not just a word that you say....IT IS WHAT YOU DO!! I believe that when Jesus returns for us and we stand before him, he is going to look at the definition of love and way our lives against it. So without further ado lets get started with this first section.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (Amplified Bible)

¹ IF I [can] speak in the tongues of men and [even] of angels, but have not love (that reasoning, intentional, spiritual devotion such as is inspired by God's love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

² And if I have prophetic powers (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), and understand all the secret truths and mysteries and possess all knowledge, and if I have [sufficient] faith so that I can remove mountains, but have not love (God's love in me) I am nothing (a useless nobody).

³ Even if I dole out all that I have [to the poor in providing] food, and if I surrender my body to be burned or in order that I may glory, but have not love (God's love in me), I gain nothing.

In a nutshell the above scriptures are telling us that we are worthless without the love of God in our hearts. No matter what type of outer appearance we try to put up, if there's no love behind it...its worthless. Many people are impressed when they see the saints of God shouting and preaching and going through the religious motions but they are soon taken back when they find out that you can't judge a book by its cover. LOVE IS ACTION!!!

Many of you have heard about the Bishop Eddie Long situation and you have already formed your own opinion on the matter. You talk about it and then you basically throw him under the bus. But yet, you say that you're saved. Check the scriptures above again...LOVE IS ACTION!!! The love of God in us should have kept our mouths shut no matter how bad we wanna talk about it. Let me be the first to say that I don't watch Bishop Long's shows but I respect him as a man of God. I admit that when I first heard about his case, I immediately wanted to pass judgement and say...SHAME ON HIM. He calls himself a BISHOP and look at what he has gotten himself into. But then a friend of mine, Leah LaRue, reminded me of the fact that no one really knows what happened and who are we to judge anyone knowing that we have our own faults. The next thing was that, we need to allow the legal process to take its course and let all of the facts come out and even then its not for us to pass judgement on anyone. I had to repent and start praying for own heart and then I begin to pray for him and his family.

1 Corinthians 10:12 (Amplified Bible) Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands [who feels sure that he has a steadfast mind and is standing firm], take heed lest he fall [into sin].

2 Timothy 3:1-5 (King James Version)

1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,

4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;

5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

People of God if we ever forget what God had to drag us out of, we are in major trouble. Mechanical holiness ain't worth a hill of beans. To me mechanical holiness is: standing up and clapping when everyone else claps, shouting when everyone else does or when the music is fast, memorizing scripture in order to look like you really know the Lord, doing things for the man or woman of God in order to get on their good side, fasting and telling everyone how holy you are, etc. It reminds me of a robot. When we were kids we used to go to the toy section of Wal-mart and find toys that would say "Press here". Instead of pressing just one, I decided to press them all. All of the robots or whatever would be moving at the same time and saying the same thing. If we're not careful we could become the same way. We can say whatever and do whatever but if it is not done in love without MOTIVES, it is a HUGE waste of time.

**To be continued...............

I AM STRONG.m4v

Beginners Guide To Stock Market Investment

What is the best advice to help start off a Beginner Guide To Stock Market Investment? Don’t try to learn everything at once. Instead, start by creating an investing plan. Then research the opportunities that match up with your goals. You can always expand your research as your investment knowledge and confidence grows. The creation of an investment plan starts by first identifying what you want to achieve, and how you will be done. On a sheet of paper, write down the amount of money that you can afford to invest on a monthly basis. Next write down the reasons that you want to begin stock market investing, and assign an amount of money to each investment goal. Then, separate them into categories:

Short-term investments - Less than a year – i.e., a vacation or money for the holidays. Short-term goals can often be met through the use of a CD or by opening a money market account.

Certificates of Deposits (CDs) are a good safe way of investing for beginners, and are offered with various maturity dates and interest rates by banks and brokers.

Money Market Accounts are also a safe bet. They are offered by banks, and are therefore FDIC insured. They are also very liquid. They usually come in two flavors: tax-free and traditional accounts. Look around for the interest rate that will come closest to meeting your investment goal.

Mid-term and long-term goals usually involve working with a broker to invest in the stock market and/or taking advantage of various opportunities offered by your State or employer.



College funds:

Every state now offers a 529 Prepaid Tuition Program

The Coverdell IRA (formerly known as an Educational IRA) can be opened through a brokerage firm.

Retirement Planning:

401K's are offered through employers.

Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAsare both available through brokers.


Stocks on the stock market involve more risk than other methods of investment for beginners. It is therefore recommended to start with mutual funds or work with a broker under a managed account.

Mutual Funds are lower risk because they are diversified. They are made up of many different stocks. If one stock goes way down in price, the overall mutual fund only goes down a fraction of the amount. Mutual funds are divided into numerous risk categories such as: Capital, Income, Growth, and Aggressive. You would choose one based upon your goals. Research and compare the various funds in that category through either your broker, or online. You’ll also want to read the fund’s prospectus for an overview of the mutual fund’s risks and performance history.

Bond Funds are like mutual funds, and are separated into various categories organized by their term length. A beginning investor should select the term-length that best meets their investment goals then research and compare the various bonds offered. Each bond has a prospectus that you will also want to read to fully understand the bond’s risks and performance.

Art and Collectibles Investing For beginners, art or collectibles is very risky, therefore invest in something that you are either passionate about or that you truly like. Maintain a narrow investment focus, get involved in your investment’s community and follow a trend. You will be in it for the long-term with no guarantee of certain returns.

Hopefully this short stock market for beginners guide has made a few things more clear for you. Whether you are investing in bond funds, art, or stocks, it will always be important to do your research and know what you are buying. Learn as much as you can from books or articles, and then do specific research on each individual investment. It may seem like a lot of work. As you probably know though, success with anything involves lots of small amounts of practice or learning that adds up to a champion athlete, or in this case, a successful investor. I have been looking to invest in the stock market pretty soon and I just wanted to share what I've learned through research.

Remain blessed

The Gift of Prayer

Do you pray? Do you pray often, or only occasionally? Is prayer important to you?

I ask you these questions because prayer and praying are essential for your life of faith. Like breath to the human body, prayer makes the spirit live. Without it, faith dies. On the other hand, a person who prays grows in spirit and life.

Let me tell you some things that may encourage you to pray.

Prayer is a Gift of God

To begin with, prayer is a gift of God. "Gift" is a good word to describe prayer, because praying is not something we can do of ourselves. " We do not know how to pray as we ought," scripture says. Prayer is a gift God must give.

And God gives that gift generously, without consideration of our worthiness or our unworthiness. Sinners as well as saints can pray. People of every religious tradition receive the gift. In fact, every human being is able to pray.

Yes, all are called to pray. All receive the gift. And, surprisingly, sometimes those thought to be "ungifted" pray best and are graciously heard. That's the lesson Jesus taught in his parable about the Pharisee and the Publican who together went up to the temple to pray. The Publican, an outsider who thought himself unworthy of approaching God in prayer, was found more pleasing by God than the Pharisee, a professionally religious person, who prayed so effortlessly.

Prayer, then, is God's gift to the strong and the weak, to the smallest child and frailest of the old. It's given to those who say, " I'm not really religious; prayer is beyond me." It's given to everyone, no matter who you are.

That's not to say we can't refuse to pray or we can't neglect it. Like any gift, prayer must be received. If someone gives you a beautiful piece of clothing, you may use it or not. You may take it and wear it. Or, you can throw it in the back of your closet and never look at it again. The piece of clothing becomes a gift unused. "If you knew the gift of God," Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well. A Gift was there before her eyes, but she was blind to it.

How tragic to go through life leaving the gift of prayer unused!

Prayer: God's Search for Intimacy with Us

Why does God give the gift of prayer? The main reason is because of love for us. God looks for intimacy with us. How strange that sounds! God all-sufficient, all-powerful, all-knowing, wishes to draw close, to communicate, to speak to us, to seek our response, to hear our prayer. It may seem unbelievable, but it is true.

At the same time, by praying we fulfill the desire we have as human beings to know God. After all, we are made in God's image. Something in in our being thirsts for intimacy with God. That thirst is described in the psalms, O God, you are my God, for you I long. For you my soul is thirsting. Like a dry weary land without water... so my soul longs for you, my God. Something in us cannot be satisfied unless we are draw near to God. "Our hearts are restless," St. Augustine says, "until they rest in you." By praying, we rest in God.

The church in her formal prayers often humbly acknowledges that prayer is God's gift and asks God to give and strengthen that gift in us. At the beginning of her daily prayers, the liturgy of the hours, the church prays two verses of the psalms.

O Lord, open my lips
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

O God, come to my assistance.
O Lord, make haste to help me.

Simple, truthful words. I cannot open my lips in prayer unless God give me the gift. O God, come and assist me; help me that I may approach you.

And God does give this beautiful gift. In prayer God comes and helps; God invites us into the divine presence where we can open our lips and our hearts. There God welcomes our slightest word or cry, our smallest effort.

Delighting to give us the gift of prayer, God wishes that we come near to share our hearts and minds, our very life with One who loves us. Prayer is God's precious gift; cherish it always.

Remain blessed

The Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will direct your paths.

Proverbs 3, 5-6

Fred Hammond & RFC - All Things Are Working - 1998

This is one of my favorite songs to listen to when I'm going through a hard time. I don't know if any of you heard about it or not but I have been very, very sick for the last two months. I was in the hospital for about a month and I didn't think that I was going to make it for a while. But I'm so glad to know that no matter what we're going through... All things are going to work out for our good. God allows us to go through struggles for our benefit not for our detriment. I hope this clip blesses someone the way it blessed me.

Ezra Bufford -I'm Avail to you, organ

Time with God

Proverbs 3:1-8 says:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (vv. 5-6)

If you want God to lead you in life, put Him first in everything!

"He will make your paths straight"—that is, the way forward will be obvious to you, and God will remove the obstacles that would keep you from following His will for you. It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But why are we not experiencing it every day? Notice that there are three conditions to this promise.

Trust in the Lord. When you sense Him leading you and you don't know where you will end up or how you will get through, obey Him anyway. Act on the reality that God is there. If He leads you, you can trust Him. This is not just verbal trust, but the kind that iswith all your heart!

Don't lean on your own understanding. Don't try to be the master of your own fate. Don't get the idea that you can plan your way through life. Recognise that you desperately need God's hand in your life, both guiding you and enabling you.

In all your ways acknowledge Him. Make sure that your life shows that God is the one you honour, love and obey.

Meet these three conditions and you can rest in the reality of God's guiding hand.

Remain blessed

Our God Breathed Bible

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be adequate , fully equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

The content of the Bible is revelation. The process by which that content was written down is called inspiration. And it wasn't a high level of human activity, it wasn't even a high level of religious human activity. Men were in the process but it didn't originate with them and it didn't come from their desire and their will, they were used as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit and enabled to speak from God. They spoke divine words. God used them. It was their personality. It was their background, some of their insights, their experiences, their perceptions, but ever word was the word of God. That's the miracle of inspiration. Men...they were used...carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. That's what the Scripture says.

So, when you pick up your Bible, you're not reading the word of men, you're reading the Word of God that was written down by men who were moved along in the process by the power of the Holy Spirit. Not apart from their personalities and not apart from their experiences and not apart from their vocabulary and not apart from their heart passion and compulsion, but integrating all of that into the power of the Spirit of God and never compromising the truth that every word came from God...a great and glorious miracle, so vital.

So, God spoke in the Old Testament to the fathers by the prophets in many ways and in many portions. And God has spoken in the New Testament by His Son in the gospels and then about His Son in the rest of the New Testament. The process by which God gave us that revelation is inspiration and inspiration was God putting His revelation in, as it were, the hands of men to be written down first to be spoken and proclaimed and then written down as they were energized, carried along by the Holy Spirit. Men were used and yet no word of God was ever violated. The totality of Scripture, pasa graphe, all Scripture, every Scripture, is theopneustos, God breathed. It is the breath of God, the writing of Scripture. The totality of it, according to Romans 3:2 is called the oracles of God. When Paul is talking about the benefit of Israel, what is it that they had that set them apart from other nations, he has reference to the Old Testament which he calls the oracles of God...the speeches of God...the words of God.

Remain blessed

No weapon!!

This song always makes me feel better when I'm going through tough times like I am right now. The main thing that we have to understand, as Christians, is that God has all power in his hands. If you were depending on me for help, then you have something to worry about but we serve the ALL MIGHTY, ALL KNOWING, ALL SEEING GOD!! We serve the same God who parted the red sea and allowed the Israelites to walk across on dry land, we serve the same God who raised Jesus from the dead!! We have some pretty smart people in this world but none of them has figured out a way to raise someone from the dead. So praise the Lord in the midst of what you're going through because HE IS IN CONTROL!!


Isaiah 54:14-17
14 In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.

15 Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake.

16 Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.

17 No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.





Remain blessed

Living a good and righteous life before the Lord- pt10

When you read each one of these verses one right after the other, it is a real mouthful. God is simply trying to pound home the fact that we seek to obey all of His ways and all of His commandments. If we do, then note some of the incredible blessings that we can receive from the Lord:

• We will receive life
• We will keep and preserve our soul
• We can have a long life here on this earth
• Great peace will be given to us and it will be like a river
• It will go well with our children
• It will keep us from perishing
• God will subdue our enemies
• Our way will be made prosperous and we will have good success
• Our heart will be rejoiced
• Our eyes will be enlightened
• The law will warn us and keep us out of harm's way

Again, all of God's ways and commandments are all being given to us for our own good and for our own protection. These commandments are not meant to stunt our spiritual growth or steal our joy in the Lord. They are all meant to increase our spiritual growth and increase our peace and joy in the Lord.

As earthly parents, one of the first things we will do with all of our children as they are starting to grow is to tell them what they can and cannot do in this life. We know that if we do not give them fair warning ahead of time as to what they should be staying away from in this life, that we risk them getting seriously hurt, if not possibly killed. We thus give them the basic commandments that they are to abide by in this life so we can keep them safe and out of harm's way.

It is the exact same way with God the Father. Except with God the Father, He has full knowledge on exactly what we should all be staying away from in this life since He has absolute perfect knowledge on all things. As such, we should all listen very carefully to what He is trying to tell us in these basic commandments, as they are all being given to us for our own good and protection. God is not trying to hurt us or harm us with all of these basic commandments, He is trying to help us and protect us.

If you really want to see how important it is that we seek to obey all of God's laws and commandments, just take your time and meditate on some of the above verses. King David especially was able to see how important it was that he try and learn the ways of God so that He could continue to spiritually grow in Him. That is why some of the above verses are telling us that we will find true life in this life if we can learn how to live righteous lives before the Lord.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning of this blog post, it is just heart-breaking and gut-wrenching to see so many people in this life choose with their own free wills to walk on the dark side of this life instead of the good and righteous side of this life.

Since God has given each man and each woman full free will to make their own choices in this life, He really has no other alternative but to sit back and watch this horror show unfold with the people who will end up rejecting Him, His ways, and His message of eternal salvation through His Son Jesus.

To think that a good percentage of the human race is going to end up in the most horrible place imaginable when they die and cross over, when they could have easily chosen the Lord and His message of eternal salvation for them, is enough to break your heart into a million pieces. I do not believe there is a day or an hour that goes go by where God and Jesus are not crying and weeping for the souls who are descending down into hell with no chance of ever being able to make it back out again.

God created all of these lost souls for Himself and He now has to watch all of them choose with their own free wills to reject Him and His Son Jesus during the course of their earthly lives. And then when they do die and cross over, He has no other alternative but to let them descend down into the pit of hell itself, as they now have to be held fully accountable for the horrible choices they have made in this life.

As Christians, we do not have to worry about this kind of horrible and final fate. We will all be given full entrance into heaven the minute we die and cross over. But until that final and glorious event actually occurs with each one of us, we should all be doing our best to try and live a good and righteous life before the Lord so that He will be well pleased with us when we do meet Him for our own personal judgments at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Remain blessed

Living a good and righteous life before the Lord- pt9

4. Keeping the Commandments of the Lord

Part of having a true righteous walk with the Lord is to make sure that we simply obey all of His basic laws and commandments as best we can. These next set of verses will really drive this point home.

Many in the world today want to scoff and make fun of the ways, laws and commandments of our Lord. They want to be able to live in their flesh, doing anything they can that will feed their flesh. They do not want to be told that adultery, fornication, homosexuality, abortion, and other alternative forms of spirituality are not acceptable to the one and only living God.

As a result, they will either try and make up their own little gods to worship, or they will try and say that they are a god and an island all unto themselves and that they do not need to answer to any type of Higher Power. This is all done so they can rationalize and explain away all of their sinful behavior before the Lord.

Again, our Lord could not make things any more simpler and any more easier than with the way that He has everything set up. All we have to do is accept the fact and reality that we are all fallen sinners and that we all need the shed blood of Jesus Christ to be able to receive eternal salvation from God the Father. From there we are to walk out the rest of our life serving God in the divine destiny that He already has set up for our lives, along with trying to live a good and righteous before Him.

But so many people still to this day cannot see this simple and obvious truth, or if they can, they are still refusing to be told that they have to serve anyone, even if it is God Almighty Himself. Just as pride and major stupidity took out one third of the angelic race, I am afraid that same kind of pride and stupidity is going to be taking out a much larger percentage of the human race when it is all said and done.

Again, these next set of verses are really going to drive home the point that we fully appreciate the laws and commandments that God has set out for all of us.

These laws and commandments from the Lord will be telling us what is right and what is wrong in this life. They will act as a compass and a guide for us so that we will know how to live and act in this life for the Lord. These laws and commandments are again, all being given to us for our own good and for our own protection, for without them, we would just keep falling into one pit after another.

1. Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" So He said to him ... "But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:16-17)
   
2. "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." (John 15:10)
   
3. "This is love, that we walk according to His commandments." (2 John 1:6)
   
4. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." (1 John 5:2-3)
   
5. "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." (1 John 2:3)
   
6. "For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life." (Proverbs 6:23)
   
7. "He who keeps the commandment keeps his soul, but he who is careless of his ways will die." (Proverbs 19:16)
   
8. "The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; he who keeps his way preserves his soul." (Proverbs 16:17)
   
9. "My son, do not forget My law, but let your heart keep My commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you." (Proverbs 3:1)
   
10. "Observe and obey all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 12:28)
    
11. "My son, keep My words, and treasure My commands within you. Keep My commands and live, and My law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart." (Proverbs 7:1-3)
    
12. "Oh, that you had heeded My commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:18)
    
13. "Unless Your law had been my delight, I would then have perished in my affliction. I will never forget Your precepts, for by them You have given me life." (Psalm 119:92)
    
14. "Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries." (Psalm 81:13-14)
    
15. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)
    
16. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes. The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of skekels of gold and silver." (Psalm 119:71-72)
    
17. "Open my eyes, that I may see the wondrous things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul breaks with longing for Your judgments at all times." (Psalm 119:18-20)
    
18. "Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble." (Psalm 119:165)
    
19. "Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes ... I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statues; I will not forget Your word." (Psalm 119:10-16)
    
20. "I will run in the way of Your commandments, for You shall enlarge my heart. Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law; indeed I shall observe it with my whole heart. Make me walk in the path of Your commandments, for I delight in it." (Psalm 119:32-35)
    
21. "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true ad righteous altogether, more to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward." (Psalm 19:7-11)
    
22. "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. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper." (Psalm 1:1-3)

***TO BE CONTINUED***

Living a good and righteous life before the Lord- pt8

3. God Still Wants All of Us to Practice Righteousness

As you will see in the first verse I will list below, God still wants all of us to continue to practice righteousness in this life, even though we now have the righteousness of His Son Jesus already imputed on us. And again, this verse is coming from the NT, showing once again that we still have to do the best we can in obeying all of God's laws and commandments, which will include some of the basic laws and commandments that were back in the OT.

The rest of the verses will really drive home the point on how important it is that we all seek to walk in the ways of our Lord, and that trying to live a good, holy and righteous life before the Lord will help bring us true "life" in this life.

Here are some very good verses on how powerful of a thing it can be for all of us if we try to live a good and righteous life before the Lord. Being good, holy and righteous for the Lord may not be cool with the rest of the world, but it is definitely cool with the Lord, and that is what we will eventually be rewarded on once we enter into heaven and God then hands out His rewards based upon the good works we have done for Him down here, along with how we have lived our lives for Him.

1. "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10)
   
2. "In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death." (Proverbs 12:28)
   
3. "But to him who sows righteousness will be a sure reward. As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death." (Proverbs 11:18-19)
   
4. Thus says the Lord: "Keep justice, and do righteousness ... blessed is the man who does this ... and keeps his hand from doing any evil." (Isaiah 56:1-2)
   
5. "The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but He loves him who follows righteousness." (Proverbs 15:9)
   
6. "The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses reproof goes astray." (Proverbs 10:16-17)
   
7. "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3)
   
8. "The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him." (Proverbs 20:7)
   
9. "When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice." (Proverbs 16:7-8)
   
10. "Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits." Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God." (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)
    
11. "All unrighteousness is sin ..." (1 John 5:17)
    
12. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17)
    
13. "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on ... But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." (Proverbs 4:14-19)
    
14. "It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness." (Proverbs 16:12)
    
15. "Mercy and truth preserve the king, and by lovingkindness he upholds his throne." (Proverbs 20:28)

Notice how many times the Bible says that righteousness will lead to "life"and that any kind of unrighteousness is actually considered sin in the eyes of God. This means that real righteousness is pretty well all black and white. There is only God and the devil, heaven or hell, and good and evil when you really sum everything up.

It now becomes up to each person as to which side of the fence they are going to walk on in this life. Again, Joshua could not have said it any better when he said that you must choose this day who you will serve. You will either decide to serve God and follow His ways and live, or you will choose to follow yourself, other people or the devil and eventually die.

There are no middle or neutral grounds as far as God is concerned. God has made it as easy as He possibly could. But we only have one lifetime, and a very short lifetime at best, to make that one final and fateful decision which will then determine what the rest of our eternal life will be like once we die and cross over to the other side, which will either be heaven for the saved or hell for the unsaved.

All of these verses are short, quick to the point, and very easy to understand. God simply wants all of us to walk in His righteous ways and again, when we start to run into trouble with certain types of sins, we have both Him and His Holy Spirit to help pull us out of any sins that He will not want us to be getting caught up in.

***TO BE CONTINUED***

Living a good and righteous life before the Lord- pt7

3. God Still Wants All of Us to Practice Righteousness

As you will see in the first verse I will list below, God still wants all of us to continue to practice righteousness in this life, even though we now have the righteousness of His Son Jesus already imputed on us. And again, this verse is coming from the NT, showing once again that we still have to do the best we can in obeying all of God's laws and commandments, which will include some of the basic laws and commandments that were back in the OT.

The rest of the verses will really drive home the point on how important it is that we all seek to walk in the ways of our Lord, and that trying to live a good, holy and righteous life before the Lord will help bring us true "life" in this life.

Here are some very good verses on how powerful of a thing it can be for all of us if we try to live a good and righteous life before the Lord. Being good, holy and righteous for the Lord may not be cool with the rest of the world, but it is definitely cool with the Lord, and that is what we will eventually be rewarded on once we enter into heaven and God then hands out His rewards based upon the good works we have done for Him down here, along with how we have lived our lives for Him.

1. "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." (1 John 3:10)
   
2. "In the way of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death." (Proverbs 12:28)
   
3. "But to him who sows righteousness will be a sure reward. As righteousness leads to life, so he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death." (Proverbs 11:18-19)
   
4. Thus says the Lord: "Keep justice, and do righteousness ... blessed is the man who does this ... and keeps his hand from doing any evil." (Isaiah 56:1-2)
   
5. "The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but He loves him who follows righteousness." (Proverbs 15:9)
   
6. "The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin. He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses reproof goes astray." (Proverbs 10:16-17)
   
7. "To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." (Proverbs 21:3)
   
8. "The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him." (Proverbs 20:7)
   
9. "When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice." (Proverbs 16:7-8)
   
10. "Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits." Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God." (1 Corinthians 15:33-34)
    
11. "All unrighteousness is sin ..." (1 John 5:17)
    
12. "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow." (Isaiah 1:16-17)
    
13. "Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on ... But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." (Proverbs 4:14-19)
    
14. "It is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established by righteousness." (Proverbs 16:12)
    
15. "Mercy and truth preserve the king, and by lovingkindness he upholds his throne." (Proverbs 20:28)

Notice how many times the Bible says that righteousness will lead to "life"and that any kind of unrighteousness is actually considered sin in the eyes of God. This means that real righteousness is pretty well all black and white. There is only God and the devil, heaven or hell, and good and evil when you really sum everything up.

It now becomes up to each person as to which side of the fence they are going to walk on in this life. Again, Joshua could not have said it any better when he said that you must choose this day who you will serve. You will either decide to serve God and follow His ways and live, or you will choose to follow yourself, other people or the devil and eventually die.

There are no middle or neutral grounds as far as God is concerned. God has made it as easy as He possibly could. But we only have one lifetime, and a very short lifetime at best, to make that one final and fateful decision which will then determine what the rest of our eternal life will be like once we die and cross over to the other side, which will either be heaven for the saved or hell for the unsaved.

All of these verses are short, quick to the point, and very easy to understand. God simply wants all of us to walk in His righteous ways and again, when we start to run into trouble with certain types of sins, we have both Him and His Holy Spirit to help pull us out of any sins that He will not want us to be getting caught up in.

***TO BE CONTINUED***