Thanks Living: Blithesomeness

For the Lord will comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places; He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; Joy and gladness will be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Isaiah 51:3

Joy: exultation, cheerfulness; specifically, welcome - gladness, joy, mirth, rejoicing

Gladness: lighthearted; merry; cheerful, blithesomeness

Thanksgiving: in songs of liturgical worship (of or relating to formal public worship)

Voice: meaning to call aloud, thunderous

Melody: as subject of song, to celebrate in song and music -- give praise

The prophet exhorts the children of Abraham to trust in the Lord; and briefly, but beautifully, describes the great blessedness which should be the consequence, Isaiah 51:1-3. 

Adam Clarke Commentary

Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek the Lord. Isaiah 51:1a

Obeying God fills one with a sense of awe, wonderment and cheerfulness. Blithesomeness (a new word for me), meaning:

Blithe: without thought or regard; carefree; joyous or merry in disposition

Some: characterized by

So, the result of trusting and obeying God is being characterized with a disposition of joyfulness! 

Disposition: the predominant or prevailing tendency of one's spirits; naturalmental and emotional outlook or mood; characteristic attitude.

Blithesomeness the PREDOMINANT tendency of one's spirit, characteristic attitude—that's what Thanks Living is all about! Having a predominate tendency to give thanks and praise to God! And notice is all STARTS with trusting God. 

Thanks Living—Blithesomeness! 

Proverbs 10:2, 3: Fully Satisfied—"Full of God"!

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death. The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish, but He casts away the desire of the wicked. Proverbs 10:2, 3

Treasures: storehouse, food, drink

Wickedness: as violence and crime against civil law

Profit: to be valuable, beneficial

Nothing: no, none

Righteousness: as ethically right

Delivers: escape

Death: place or state, ruin

Famish: be hungry

Casts away: reject, expel

Desire: eagerly coveting (by implication) calamity, iniquity, mischief

Wicked: guilty of sin, against either God or man

The Lord will not allow! And that is a promise from the One who is actually in charge and has the power to put into action anything necessary to accomplish His promise. 

The Lord will not allow! What won't He allow? The righteous soul to famish. What does that mean? 

The righteous, ethically right, those listening to and obeying wisdom. Soul: a breathing creature, being, passion. Famish, be hungry wanting. The person will be fully satisfied—"full of God"—listening to and obeying wisdom! 

Those who are listening to and obeying wisdom will not be left wanting. Does that mean I'll have a million dollars to do with as I please? Only if God knows that you need a million dollars to carry out His will. The thing about listening to and obeying wisdom, is that one's wants and desires change to those of God's. For it's not about just getting stuff, rather it's about living a life that is in accordance or harmony with God and His plan. And it's knowing that God will supply everything necessary to accomplish His will. 

Oh, having a million dollars would be nice! But a million dollars can't buy the peace and contentment that comes from having a heart that is fully satisfied—"full of God". And that fullness begins when a heart is permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God (Acts 9:31 MSG). 

The Lord will not allow! Choosing wisdom will keep you fully satisfied—"full of God"!

Take Delight

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 1. Here is what I learned.

But they delight in doing everything God wants them to, and day and night are always meditating on his laws and thinking about ways to follow him more closely. Psalm 1:2 (TLB)

They ·love [delight in] the Lord’s ·teachings [laws; instructions], and they ·think about [meditate on] those ·teachings [laws; instructions] day and night. Psalm 1:2 (EXB)

Doing everything God wants them to......... that word EVERYTHING encompasses so much! There are some things that are fun to do... those are easy to accomplish. BUT...... everything God wants me to do.... that’s a bit harder. 

Such as:

But I say: Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Matthew 5:44 (TLB)

How can I do that? The only way is to love God, and take delight in obeying Him. When I focus on Who God is, and what He wants me to do... then obeying Him is easier. When we love someone, we don’t mind doing what they ask... even if we think the task is unpleasant. 

If I’m finding it hard to do everything God wants... and taking delight in obeying God, then I need to spend time in deepening my relationship with Him. For out of love comes obedience. 

To create a positive day, I need to take delight and enjoy obeying God..... and if I’m not, than I need to spend time with Him deepening my relationship. 

Teachable with Follow Through

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 27. Here is what I learned.

Teach me your way, O Lord. Lead me on a level path because I have enemies who spy on me. Psalm 27:11 (GW)

Point me down your highway, God; direct me along a well-lighted street; show my enemies whose side you’re on. Psalm 27:11 (MSG)

Lord, teach me your ways, and guide me ·to do what is right [on a straight/right path] because ·I have [of my] enemies. Psalm 27:11 (EXB)

"Teach me thy way, O Lord." He does not pray to be indulged with his own way, but to be informed as to the path in which the righteous Jehovah would have him walk. This prayer evinces an humble sense of personal ignorance, great teachableness of spirit, and cheerful obedience of heart.

"Lead me in a plain path." Help is here sought as well as direction; we not only need a map of the way, but a guide to assist us in the journey. The Treasury of David

Teachable. If I ask God to teach me, I need to be teachable. That means that I need to be open to what God wants to teach me, and I need to be wiling to learn. No preconceived ideas. No “I know it all” attitude. No ignoring the lessons. And most of all, no “I’ve learned that before”! Because if God is teaching me... again, I must not have really learned it the first time. 

Then once I learn what God is teaching, I need to follow through. I need to learn the path God wants me to walk, and once I learn it, I must be willing to walk it. Knowing the way and not following through, won’t get me very far. 

How often have I known what God wants me to do... and I remain standing still. If I’m not walking the path God has prepared, I’m not only guilty of disobedience, but I’ll miss out on the blessings God has along the path.

Teachable with follow through—only both those actions will create a positive day!

What is my norm for today?

Throughout this year, each day of the month, I'm "Treasure Hunting" in a Psalm. I've created a "Ponder Every Morsel of Truth" Book to record the truths as I learn them. The nineteenth of each month, I'm studying Psalm 15. Here's what Treasure I found today.

Only those who ·are innocent [walk innocently] and who do ·what is right [righteousness]. Such people speak the truth from their hearts. Psalm 15:2 (EXB)

Those who obey God in everything and always do what is right, whose words are true and sincere. Psalm 15:2 (GNT)

The word "walk" in the Scriptures is often used to denote the manner of life; life being represented as a journey. 

The word here rendered "uprightly," or, in the Hebrew, "perfectly," means that which is complete in all its parts; where no part is missing or is defective.

And worketh righteousness - Does right. That is, he does what is proper to be done in relation to God and to man.

And speaketh the truth in his heart - He uses language that is sincere, and that is in accordance with his real belief. Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is a progression here. First, walk. One’s manner of life, habits be that of obeying God. Secondly, because one has the habit of obeying God, his/her actions are right. And lastly, because of the habit of obeying God, and doing what is right, his/her speech is true as well. 

Habits. Routine. The norm.  I’m a very habitual person. I guess I never realized how I stick to habits, until I noticed Max, my parakeet following my routines. Max has been with me 10 years. And he is knows the daily routine. For example, at night I first shut off the computer, the TV or radio, followed by the printer, then the lights. Max moves to a particular perch as soon as I turn off the TV/radio. Then when I shut off the printer,he expects me to ‘pick him up’. If I go back to the bedroom without him—I hear about it! If after a few minutes I don’t return to the living room to get him, Max flies to the bedroom. And if I’m late at starting the bedtime routine, Max will often put himself to bed! Max knows the norm and acts accordingly. 

Psalm 15:2 is about living a life that is habitual in obeying God. Not habitual in the time or way I obey God, rather that obeying God is a constant and affects my actions, speech, and how I think about things. Obeying God is the norm.  

Lately I’ve noticed on Twitter how someone will post a PG-13 or R rated cartoon, or a rant full of swear words, then the next post will be a Bible verse, or a statement of their belief in God. Those are contradictory. 

Praises and curses come from the same mouth! My ·brothers and sisters [fellow believers], this should not happen. James 3:10 (EXB)

Whether is be my twitter posts, blog posts, Facebook posts, my daily actions, speech... everything I do and say reflects my heart. If my heart is ‘in tune’ with God, then I’ll act and speak accordingly. However, if I ignore God and His Word, and make the choice to disobey Him, my actions and speech will reflect that as well. 

The more I learn about God, the more impact I allow God to have in my life, the more I make obeying God the norm, my actions, attitude, and speech will honor God. 

Each day I, several times a day, I need to ask myself this question: “What is my norm for today?” To create a positive day, I must continue to create the habit of loving and obeying God, so that my life will honor God.

He’s watching. He’s listening.

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 is in his holy Temple; the Lord sits on his throne in heaven. He sees what people do [His eyes watch]; ·he keeps his eye on them [his gaze examines/tests people]. Psalm 11:4 (EXB)

The Lord is sitting in his sacred temple on his throne in heaven. He knows everything we do because he sees us all. Psalm 11:4 (CEV)

His eyes watch. He keeps His eye on them. He sees us all. 

Understanding the knowledge that God sees me at all times, can be both comforting and well, scary—depending on my relationship with Him, and the activity I’m involved in at any given moment. 

It’s like when we were kids. If we knew our parents were watching us, we’d behave and do as we were told. But as soon as we thought they weren’t looking..... well look out! We’d try to get away with everything from stealing the cookies out of the cookie jar to fighting with our brothers/sisters.

The knowledge that someone was watching had a direct effect on our behavior. Knowing that God is watching should be comforting in that He knows exactly what is happening in my life. However, if I’m involved in something that is sinful, than I should be fearful just in knowing that the Holy God is watching me. But this verse goes beyond just my actions. God knows my thoughts, and my motives. What am I thinking? Why am I doing what I’m doing? 

"His eyes behold," etc. Consider that God not only sees into all you do, but he sees it to that very end that he may examine and search into it. He doth not only behold you with a common and indifferent look, but with a searching, watchful, and inquisitive eye: he pries into the reasons, the motives, the ends of all your actions. Ezekiel Hopkins, D.D.

God sees all. God knows all. God in His infinite greatness sees each of us. He’s watching... what is He seeing? He’s listening to our thoughts... what is He hearing? 

God loves me with a love beyond comprehension. He gave His son to die on the cross to take the punishment for my sin. Yet, I fall short in loving God and obeying Him. Knowing that God is watching me, should have a great impact on my thoughts and actions. My desire should be to please Him and honor Him. And when I do fall short and sin, I need to confess it before God and make the necessary changes in my life so that when faced with a temptation to sin, I can resist it. 

God is watching. What am I doing? Am I living a life so that my thoughts, actions, and motives make Him smile? Or am I causing God disappointment and sadness because I’ve chosen sin?

To create a positive day is not about doing what “feels good” or doing what I want. Rather, the only way to truly create a positive day is by obeying the almighty God and making Him smile.

He’s watching. He’s listening.