HEAVENLY INCLINED...: SUNDAY'S SACRED SCRIPTURES: PRAISE, OH PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Thanksgiving for the LORD's Favor

Psalms 138 (A Psalm of David)
1/ I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
2/ I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
3/ In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
4/ All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, O LORD, when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5/ Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.
6/ Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
7/ Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8/ The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me:
thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands... AMEN!!!

One CANNOT earn GRACE, it is HIS own ESSENCE; a gift, still, IF one claims to be IN HIS GRACE, we ARE to, or, OUGHT to, be reflections of that GRACE! 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1, tells us not to take HIS GRACE in vain! This means, living in LOVE, morality, ethics, virtue, righteousness, and, spiritual improvement, TOWARDS, spiritual maturity, WHILE, visibly BEING as LIGHTS, beaming OF *GOD*, beckoning the world, TO THE LIGHT! Righteousness MEANS, conduct in conformity with *GOD'S* WILL, and, "Be HOLY because I AM HOLY!", therefore, indicating that knowledge, wisdom, and, effort, DO, apply TO the righteous!!! NEVER forget, we were grafted in, and, if we do not bear fruit, as a dead branch, we will be pruned out, just as were, the natural branches!!!

We are not saved by works, instead, works PROVE HIM in us: they identify HIS own...

IF I claim ONENESS with *GOD*, through CHRIST JESUS, I am DEAD TO THE WORLD, THUS, LIVING as HIM, which is, hopefully, witnessed IN, and, THROUGH, my every thought, action, and, reaction; MEANING, I am, THROUGH CONSCIOUS application OF THE WORD, HIS COMMANDS, HIS WILL, REFLECTING righteousness, not, merely, FAITH! I become, the TRULY FRUITFUL branch, of THE VINE, the TRUE member of THE BODY/THE CHURCH, CHRIST JESUS, and, TESTIFY, then, GLORIFY, BOLDLY, BY my thoughts, actions, and, reactions, HIS name, because, HE IS WORTHY, and, IN HIS LOVE, has SHOWN me, how I OUGHT to exist, to which, I eagerly, adapt, and, comply!!!

MATTHEW 5:48...
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect

1 PETER 1:14-16...
14/ Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
15/ but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
16/ for it is written, "Be holy because I (am) holy."

ROMANS 12:2...
Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.

Conduct, in conformity to *GOD'S* WILL, marks the righteous; it is NOT because of guilt, or, ancient Laws, but, because of LOVE; LOVE for *GOD*, self, then, others! CHRIST JESUS gave us Commandments to live by, of which, the first is to LOVE *GOD*, with all of your mind, heart, and, soul; the second is, to LOVE one another!

LOVE COMPELS us to LIVE IN HIM, through conduct which conforms to *GOD*; in other words, morality, ethics, doing good, and, being good, and, ever striving to improve the spirit! It is about REFLECTING THE TRUTH, for ALL to bear witness to, FOR, and, TO HIS GLORY, RADIANTLY SHINING OF HIS POWER, GRACE, and, MERCIES!!!

It IS ALL ABOUT LOVE, baby, all about LOVE!!!

MATTHEW 4: 17...From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

JOHN 14:15..."If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

NOTE: I do not intend to preach, rather to reach; to stir up, awaken, to inspire, and, bring forth, in discussion, that which is, perhaps, dormantly existing in the heart of hearts, thus, little, or, no, sugar coatings, just THE WORD of *GOD*, the TRUTH, along with some of my thoughts. And truth is, I am reminding myself always, as I practice these reminders, in the best of my abilities, and capacities, while RELYING on THE LORD to lead me on that narrow PATH---> MATTHEW 7: 14: "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it... TO *GOD* BE ALL GLORY...

SUNDAY'S SACRED SCRIPTURES: PRAISE, OH PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Praising God is work that is its own wages. It is comely; it becomes us as reasonable creatures, much more as people in covenant with God. He gathers outcast sinners by his grace, and will bring them into his holy habitation---

PRAYER, PRAISE, WORSHIP, REJOICING, and giving THANKS, ARE part of HONOURING THE LORD *GOD*, and of our ONENESS WITH HIM, and THE KINGDOM! The more we enjoin in HIM, and HIS WILL, the more easy, and readily, we are apt to PRAISE HIM, all the hours of every GIVEN day! The same is true with conversing with HIM, or PRAYING to HIM, or WORSHIPING HIM, for HE DOES, and HAS DONE SO much for us, and SHALL continue to transform, restore, and prosper us the more we sincerely, and wholly, do so! It IS COMMON of HIS people to do so, and to devote much time of the day in inward, and outward PRAYER, PRAISE, WORSHIP, REJOICING, THANKFULNESS, and HONOURING HIM; indeed, it becomes even more so the closer we come TO HIM, and HIS WILL! IN HIM, individuals, THE CHURCH, and even nations thrive, and prosper; without HIM, there is nothing but the turmoil of the evil world to contend with!!!

PSALM 147...
1+++Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.
2+++The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3+++He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
4+++He counts the number of the stars;
He gives names to all of them.
5+++Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His understanding is infinite.
6+++The LORD supports the afflicted;
He brings down the wicked to the ground.
7+++Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
8+++Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
9+++He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens which cry.
10+++He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
11+++The LORD favors those who fear Him,
Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
12+++Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13+++For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your sons within you.
14+++He makes peace in your borders;
He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
15+++He sends forth His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.
16+++He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.
17+++He casts forth His ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His cold?
18+++He sends forth His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
19+++He declares His words to Jacob,
His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
20+++He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His ordinances, they have not known them.
Praise the LORD!

To those whom God heals with the consolations of his Spirit, he speaks peace, assures them their sins are pardoned. And for this, let others praise him also. Man's knowledge is soon ended; but God's knowledge is a depth that can never be fathomed. And while he telleth the number of the stars, he condescends to hear the broken-hearted sinner. While he feeds the young ravens, he will not leave his praying people destitute. Clouds look dull and melancholy, yet without them we could have no rain, therefore no fruit. Thus afflictions look black and unpleasant; but from clouds of affliction come showers that make the soul to yield the peaceable fruits of righteousness. The psalmist delights not in things wherein sinners trust and glory; but a serious and suitable regard to God is, in his sight, of very great price. We are not to be in doubt between hope and fear, but to act under the gracious influences of hope and fear united.

The church, like Jerusalem of old, built up and preserved by the wisdom, power, and goodness of God, is exhorted to praise him for all the benefits and blessings vouchsafed to her; and these are represented by his favours in the course of nature. The thawing word may represent the gospel of Christ, and the thawing wind the Spirit of Christ; for the Spirit is compared to the wind, Joh 3:8. Converting grace softens the heart that was hard frozen, and melts it into tears of repentance, and makes good reflections to flow, which before were chilled and stopped up. The change which the thaw makes is very evident, yet how it is done no one can say. Such is the change wrought in the conversion of a soul, when God's word and Spirit are sent to melt it and restore it to itself.

PRAISE, oh PRAISE THE LORD *GOD* ALMIGHTY, for HIS MERCY endures forever, along with HIS LOVE, and GOODNESS!!!

LWINSOR © 2018
BIBLICAL, and/or other references marked BOLDLY IN COLOURS