"How blessed are those…"

"How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.
How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart."
Psalm 119:1-2

We have become such a shallow society in and out of the church we seldomly seek depth in anything but self gratification. I am afraid most of us think that to be blessed is health, prosperity, and notoriety. We never get beyond our own fleshly desires, but when we look to God’s Word it has little to do with the temporal things of life, but everything to do with the eternal. That means we must look deep within our spirit and seek His Spirit to understand the meaning of blessing. We throw this word around alot as believers never fully realizing what it means according to scripture. As with most of our religious ways we have created our own definition to fit our wants and desires desiring our will over the will of God for our lives. Again, doing our will in His name.

Before the Bride of Christ can ready herself for the Bridegroom we must know what He says, and not what we think. That is a simple statement with deep meaning we must come to understand. We cannot simply read the Word of God. We have to study and meditate on it in the Presence of the Holy Spirit, allowing the Teacher to give us revelation of the Truth. Our greatest goal in life should be to know truth; truth that actually matters eternally.

That should be our greatest goal for our children. The greatest motive I presented to my children when learning to read was to be able to read the Bible for themselves. If a child can read they have access to having all of God they want. But you must teach them the value and authority of God’s Word in their lives while they are young and receptive.

When I made Jesus the Lord of my life just before turning 21, I had little personal knowledge of the Bible. I only knew what I had heard in church from my Sunday school teachers and pastors. I thank God my mother and father took me to church. They taught me the true meaning of Easter and Christmas mixed in with Santa, and Easter baskets including the egg hunts. But when I truly wanted God to be my Lord, and not just my Savior, I longed for understanding of the Bible. I stumbled onto Psalm 119 and I was so astonished at the love the Psalmist expressed for the Words of God! I read it with deep sorrow as I confessed to my Father I didn’t love His Word as the Psalmist, but I wanted to!

I read this Psalm over and over. I suggest you do the same. I turned it into a prayer. I prayed for all those verses to become a reality in my life. God has answered that prayer and is still doing so as my love continues to grow for His Word. It is because I know it is the only way I can find and know Him personally. And that my dear friend is when you are truly blessed.

While material blessings are included in God’s blessings, the Bible ascribes a much fuller, deeper meaning to the word blessed. Jesus used the word blessed in the framework of the Beatitudes to describe the inner quality of a faithful servant of God. This blessedness is a spiritual state of contentment that cannot be shaken by poverty, grief, persecution, war, or any other trial or tragedy, (including hurricane Helene), that we may face in this life.

In human terms, the situations that are depicted in the Beatitudes are far from blessings, but because God is present with us through these difficult times, we are actually blessed by Him in them. Or as Paul told us, I count all things as loss for the purpose of gaining Chirst Jesus. The true servant of Christ regardless of circumstances, is blessed because God has favored him or her with a fully satisfied soul as Paul describes in Philippians 3:8-10. Please take the time to look these verses up and prayerfully read them for this important revelation. It will change your life.

So what did the Psalmist open with in Psalm 119 that would qualify us to be blessed by God according to the true meaning?
Those whose way is blameless, who walk in the Law of the Lord. Our way will never be blameless before God if we do not allow Him to show us in His Word what His way is. This is what we are not doing. We are performing our ways we think are right in His name. We cannot do the will of God, which is how Jesus defined a true disciple with His life and His teaching, unless we know what He says are His ways.

The Palmist says we must walk in the law of the Lord; not man. Let me clarify we are to obey man’s laws until they go against God’s laws. Then we must choose to obey the God we love and serve knowing we are right when walking in His truths.
Our last qualifications are to observe His testimonies, and seek Him with all our hearts.

God is an all the way God, or nothing. I love that about my Father. He loves me with all His heart and you as well. He proved that not with empty words, but with sacrifice. He sacrificed the greatest He had, Jesus Christ, His only Son, so He could reconcile us back to Him after the Garden of Eden. He requires all our love to be for Him above all else. I love that about Him, because He did that, so He could reveal to the seeking heart of man how much He loves us.

Until we experience His love we cannot obey the second most important commandment which is to love each other as He has loved us. He deserves all our love above all else. No one will ever be able to love you as only He can. There will always be a void in your life till you allow the One who formed you in your mother’s womb to love you. He loves us with His all, and we can do no less if we choose to be His true follower. Let’s look at the words of Jesus to the church in Laodicea in Revelation 3:15-17:

"I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold; I wish you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

May I encourage you along with myself to delve into Psalm 119 and tackle maybe eight verses at a time to meditate on, and pray for it to become a reality in our lives. May we allow Him to answer that prayer by our commitment and discipline to seek Him with all our hearts, so we may know Him, so that we might come to love Him and His truth above all. He alone is worthy of our all!
In HIs love.

Teresa Roberts

Masterpiece Fitness

www.masterpiecefitness.com

276-237-6680

Black Mountain Traverse Ultra obviously was canceled. There is no longer an Albert’s Lodge. Appalachia will rebuild with God’s help. Most mountain people still know who they belong to, and where their strength comes from. Our country is strong and united in helping these devastated areas. People are giving and going, and most are praying, and we must continue to. Mountain people are resilient, and know how to press on and upward, and I thank God I am one of them!

Our New River Trail, the Parkway, and most state parks are closed. All races were canceled, so I opted for a bike ride on the Greenway in Mount Airy, NC yesterday, and joined the children in the playground afterwards. It was a great reprieve from the days of devastation left by Helene. Play time therapy!