Psalm - Psalm 11

Psalm 11:7For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

The Lord ·does what is right [is righteous], and he loves ·justice [righteousness], so ·honest people [the upright/virtuous] will see his face. Psalm 11:7 (EXB) 

The Eternal is right in all His ways; He cherishes all that is upright. Those who do what is right in His eyes will see His face. Psalm 11:7 (VOICE) 

For righteous [is] Jehovah, Righteousness He hath loved, The upright doth His countenance see!' Psalm 11:7 (YLT)

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness - This would be more correctly rendered, "For Jehovah is righteous; he loves righteousness." The idea is, that God is himself righteous, and, consequently, he loves those who are righteous. He may be confided in, therefore, by the righteous as their friend, and being under his protection they have nothing to fear. Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If you look at my social media accounts, you can see some of my interests. I have followers and follow racing fans; Military and First Responders and Organizations and companies helping our Heroes; and Christian organizations, bloggers, among others. Those are people/organizations that are “like-minded”. 

As I read Psalm 11:7 this morning, I had to stop and consider the concept that God is Himself righteous and He loves those who are righteous. Now, on my own, I cannot nor could I ever reach God’s righteousness. But because of His grace and mercy, I am made righteous.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. Philippians 3:8-10 (NLT)

I can’t reach righteousness on my own, but I can choose righteousness. If I love God, I want to be like-minded and love what He loves, I need to make sure that each and every day, I’m making the choice to obey God. If God had a social media account, would He want to “follow” me? Because He is righteous, He loves those who are righteous. 

Psalm 11 - A Righteous God loves Righteousness

Thanks Living: If I am mindful...

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.  Colossians 3:17

Whatever: everything (anything) whatsoever

Word: the act of speaking

Deed: the idea of working; doing

Do all: whatsoever

Name: relying or resting on the name of Christ, rooted (so to speak) in his name, i. e. mindful of Christ

Give thanks: to be grateful, i.e. (actively) to express gratitude 

Father: one who imparts life and is committed to it; a progenitor, bringing into being to pass on the potential for likeness

Through: of one who is the author of the action as well as its instrument, or of the efficient cause (because the possibility both of glorifying God and of giving thanks to him is due to the kindness of Christ)

If I am mindful of Christ, then my attitude and action will be done in accordance with His will. And my heart-set and mind-set will be filled and overflowing with gratitude to God, the Father. 

If I am mindful...... 

There are times, when being mindful of Christ is easy, and then other times, not so much. During those "other times", my focus changes from Christ, to ME—and that is a dangerous occurrence. For when "Me, myself, and I" take the lead, I not only am telling God He doesn't know what He's doing, I am setting myself up for disappointment, discouragement and heartbreak. 

If I am mindful......

Creating a habit of relying and being mindful of Christ—how exactly is that done? First and foremost, I must acknowledge that God is real, and that He sets the standard. I must accept God as Lord and Savior. Then as I begin to know God, learn who God is, learn His ways, learn His characteristics, then that solid unwavering trust is developed and then the desire to obey Him impacts my actions and attitudes. 

If I am mindful—

That means, when I get frustrated with someone, I stop and pray—that creates a change in attitude. Then I must act on that change in attitude! 

That means, when I don't want to do something, I stop and pray —that creates a change in my attitude with then will translate into action. 

That means, when "Me, myself, and I" want to make the decisions, I stop and pray—that creates a spirit of humility allowing God to once again become "number 1" and my attitude and actions will change in accordance with His will. 

If I am mindful—

That means, each and every actions and attitude must first be "approved" by Christ. If Christ disapproves—there must be a change on my part. 

If I am mindful—

I will not only have the desire, but the determination to act and respond Christ-like in each and every situation. 

If I am mindful—then I'll want to express my gratitude to God by having the right actions and attitude. That means that Thanks Living is to be evident in each chore, in each interaction, in each and every thought. 

If  I am mindful........ 

Another post on Colossians 3:17: http://createapositiveday.blogspot.com/2015/06/do-all.html

Rock-solid Friendships

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 16. Here is what I learned.

The beauty of faith-filled people encompasses me. They are true, and my heart is thrilled beyond measure. Psalm 16:3 (VOICE)

As for the godly (the saints) who are in the land, they are the excellent, the noble, and the glorious, in whom is all my delight. Psalm 16:3 (AMP)

And these God-chosen lives all around— what splendid friends they make! Psalm 16:3 (MSG)

This verse is probably to be regarded as a further statement of the evidence of the attachment of the psalmist to God. In the previous verse, according to the interpretation proposed, he states that his happiness - his all was centered in God. He had no hope of anything except in him; none beyond him; none besides him.

In this verse he states, as a further proof of his attachment to him, that he regarded with deep affection the saints of God; that he found his happiness, not in the society of the wicked, but in the friendship of the excellent of the earth. The verse may be thus rendered: "As to the saints in the earth (or in respect to the saints in the earth), and to the excellent, all my delight is in them." In the former verse he had stated that, as to God, or in respect to God, he had no source of blessing, no hope, no joy, beyond him, or independent of him; in this verse he says that in respect to the saints - the excellent of the earth - all his delight was in them. Thus he was conscious of true attachment to God and to his people. Thus he had what must ever be essentially the evidence of true piety - a feeling that God is all in all, and real love for those who are his; a feeling that there is nothing beyond God, or without God, that can meet the wants of the soul, and a sincere affection for all who are his friends on earth. Barnes' Notes on the Bible

It would seem logical, that if I enjoy God’s company, that I’d enjoy the company of those who love God. I think of my friends, we may not have a lot of common interests, but the one thing we do have in common is our love for God. That single bond is greater and stronger than liking the same sports team, or liking the same hobby. For loving God is the foundation for life and sets the standards for living. 

True friendship is grounded in each individuals love for God. The more each person loves God and aims to accomplish God’s will, the friendship is stronger and more enjoyable. 

To create a positive day, I first must make sure my relationship with God is right and strong, then I can enjoy rock-solid friendships that have God as the foundation. 

Like-Minded

This year, I'm sharing my "Treasures" of my study of my "Ponder the Morsels" book. I've picked 31 Psalms to study throughout 2013. Today I studied Psalm 11. Here is what I learned.

The Lord ·does what is right [is righteous], and he loves ·justice [righteousness], so ·honest people [the upright/virtuous] will see his face. Psalm 11:7 (EXB)

The Eternal is right in all His ways; He cherishes all that is upright. Those who do what is right in His eyes will see His face. Psalm 11:7 (VOICE)

For righteous [is] Jehovah, Righteousness He hath loved, The upright doth His countenance see!' Psalm 11:7 (YLT)

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness - This would be more correctly rendered, "For Jehovah is righteous; he loves righteousness." The idea is, that God is himself righteous, and, consequently, he loves those who are righteous. He may be confided in, therefore, by the righteous as their friend, and being under his protection they have nothing to fear. Barnes' Notes on the Bible

If you look at my twitter account, you can see some of my interests. I have followers and follow racing fans; Military and First Responders and Organizations and companies helping our Heroes;  football teams and players, and fans of football; and Christian organizations, bloggers. Those are people/organizations that are “like-minded”. 

As I read Psalm 11:7 this morning, I had to stop and consider the concept that God is Himself righteous and He loves those who are righteous. Now, on my own, I can nor could I ever reach God’s righteousness. But because of His grace and mercy, I am made righteous.

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[a] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death. Philippians 3:8-10 (NLT)

I can’t reach righteousness on my own, but I can choose righteousness. If I love God, I want to be like-minded and love what He loves, I need to make sure that each and every day, I’m making the choice to obey God. If God had a twitter account, would He want to “follow” me? Because He is righteous, He loves those who are righteous. 

To create a positive day, I need to be “like-minded” with God, and choose righteousness.