Shalom,

Psalm 112:1:


1 PRAISE THE LORD! (Hallelujah!) Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who fears (reveres and worships) the LORD, who delights greatly in His commandments.

The promise here is that the person who reveres and worships the LORD, and loves being a doer of His Word, will be blessed to the point that others will envy them! What types of blessing are we speaking of? Verses 2-3:


2 His offspring shall be mighty upon the earth; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. 3 Prosperity and welfare are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.


So I see that our children and grandchildren will succeed and do well, our families will walk in blessing, we will be prosperous and healthy and have great fellowship with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! I read a commentary that said this promise is not for us because that was an Old Testament promise! WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!!! We have a NEW Covenant, based on BETTER promises! If something hasn't been specifically changed from the Old Covenant to the New, then the same blessings are still available. If something HAS changed, it will be for the better because we have a BETTER Covenant, based on BETTER promises! Don't ever let another person's opinion distract you from what the Word of God says for YOUR life! If God said it, He meant it, and He WILL bring it to pass! AMEN! I also like verse 7 as the promise for keeping ourselves in fellowship with HIM!


7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly fixed, trusting (leaning on and being confident) in the LORD.


That means"NO FEAR HERE"! We have continual confidence that we have God's protection, provision and safety, when we refuse to be distracted by the enemy!


An admonition for us from 1 Peter 4:7-8:


7 But the end and culmination of all things has now come near; keep sound minded and self-restrained and alert therefore for [the practice] of prayer. 8 Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].


If the end of all things was near when Peter wrote this, just imagine how much nearer it is now! Don't be distracted by anything the world or the enemy may use to try and get your focus OFF of the things that God has called you to do! The world around us is running OUT of time to receive Jesus as Lord and personal Saviour!  Walking in love with each other is one of the quickest ways to stay on course! Also, notice that verse 8 says that love will "cover" a multitude of sins. This is the Hebrew word, "kalupto", which means: to cover, to hide. I believe that one of the most important aspects of this involves hiding, guarding and protecting a believer who has missed it in some way from the prying eyes of the world, both believers and unbelievers! We protect them from exposure and then help them get back into fellowship Scripturally! AMEN! Remember that this is an act of love and love NEVER fails!


In Daniel 3 we see the story of the three Hebrew children who refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar's image and were thrown into the "burning fiery furnace". They were delivered without even the smell of smoke on their clothes! I especially like verses 17-18 (KJV):


17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.


Nebuchadnezzar had just issued an order and a warning to them that IF they did not bow, they WOULD burn! How did they reply? "If it be so" was NOT referring to God's protection for them. That was a settled thing in their hearts! THEIR "if" was - "IF you are even able to throw us in there, our GOD will deliver us" - and He did! AMEN! They also said that even if he decided NOT to throw them in there, they would STILL not bow down! They were SO bold and brave! That was because they KNEW their God! We all need to have that level of faith in the protection, provision and safety found in the Lord our God! Once we do - NOTHING will be able to hold us back!

Shalom in Him!