“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ESV
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28
“Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 ESV
thedailylily.com 
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly] with your God. …..and to remember poor and the widows. MICAH 6:8
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 (ESV)
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volumes 1-35: Genesis – Revelation
“In the condition of rest, the faithful believer experiences the exhilaration of creativity and productivity; stress and anxiety are minimized; joy lifts the spirit above the waves of normal frustrations and a holy purpose stimulates a vitality that is not overwhelmed by difficulties. Serenity and laughter are the marks of being in the place of rest. The rest of God is not cessation from activity, but a peace within the toil.”
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volumes 1-35: Genesis – Revelation
“There is no way we can fake it, hide the truth about ourselves. It all comes out, sooner or later, and the later does not necessarily have to wait for the last judgment. God holds us accountable to our design and destiny in the plan of Christ.”
Yes! And sometimes our “sooner or later” comes out a lot SOONER rather than LATER and we are faced with our addictions, pet sins, laziness and unbelief. Yow!
“Fear God and keep his commandments,” Exodus 20: 3-17 says: “You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the seas. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected–even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it aper as holy. Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”
Or, as Jesus put it…”Love the Lord your God with your whole heart and soul and mind and strength…1st. And….love your neighbor as yourself.” As Gary taught…from the masters…Know God , know yourself. Know yourself, know God. [If that is the correct order of the quote.]
I just have to share the following scripture and footnotes, the beautiful picture posted with this blog brought this scripture to mind. Psalm 46: 10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” Footnotes: “War and destruction are inevitable, but so is God’s final victory. At that time, all will stand quietly before the all-powerful Lord. How proper, then, for us to be still now, reverently honoring him and his power and majesty. take time each day to be still and to honor God.
“How proper, then, for us to be still now, reverently honoring him and his power and majesty. take time each day to be still and to honor God.”
What a beautiful spot to remind ourselves, “be still…..” Such a beautiful location for retreats and reflecting our spiritual thoughts into this pond and ponder the wonder of it all…just to think that God loves Each of us. As Tammy says; take daily time to be still and honor Him.
One perspective on ‘the duty of man and perhaps what our attitude should be about our duty’: “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.” Luke 17: 7-10
Part B seems to create in me an act of art with style. Timelines with exactness on a new scale and day. When I am still and meditate and think on the vastness of God I wonder how He will judge my robot box? “God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
Notes from Matthew Henry…vs 5. “Even secret things, both good and evil, will be brought to light, and brought to account, in the judgment of the great day (Romans 2:16) there is no good work, no bad work, hid, but shall then be made manifest. 6. In consideration of the judgment to come, and the strictness of that judgment, it highly concerns us now to be very strict in our walking with God, that we may give up our account with joy.”
A portion of the footnotes from my Bible says: (from Ecclesiastes 12: 13,14) “All people will have to stand before God and be judged for what they have done in this life. We will not be able to use the inequities of life as an excuse for failing to live properly. We need to (1) recognize that human effort apart from God is futile, (2) put God first–now; (3) receive everything good as a gift from God; and (4) realize that God will judge every person’s life, whether good or evil. How strange that people spend their lives striving for the joy that God gives freely.”
Those footnotes lock my mind on this one thought; “…no excuse for not living properly.”
One definition of the word ‘living’ is: “Relating to the routine conduct or maintenance of life”. Seems to go with this scriptural advice….”In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” I guess we can talk rather easily about ‘living properly’ but actually living it is what matters.
“I guess we can talk rather easily about ‘living properly’ but actually living it is what matters.” Good point, Debi.
A minister who has seen the heavenly vision of Psalm 23…by the still waters reiterates this scene as he and Jesus sat on the stone bench by the still waters. Lovely, peaceful, anointed.
How encouraging! When I read this scripture by a man of great wisdom I thought of a stone bench by the still waters. Thanks MG for sharing.
“Cast all your anxiety on [God] because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7) As I awoke to a new day and thought of the stone bench and the minister who had the vision of Psalm 23, as he and Jesus sat on the stone bench by the still waters, I had to pause and think; Dear Lord, I let friends fill my head with silly talk, useless words, idle words when I could of been on the stone bench/The Rock and Joy flowing as the still waters from the brooke.
What a contrast to sit upon The Rock of Joy or sit upon the world’s laughter. Sit upon the Rock of Wisdom or the rock of foolishness.
Mg, tell us more of what the minister saw. Sitting with Jesus (The Rock) on stone bench….by the still waters….(that is our Peace).
Sara, this is a quote from “Angels in the Realms of Heaven”. “The still waters are the waters of life.”
Now, I am paraphrasing. The still waters are the waters of Ps. 23 which flow from the Throne. They are the healing waters of Rev. 22:1 and Ez. 47, Numbers 20:11. I, myself, could add those of the N. T. for example….where Jesus talked to and healed the lame man beside the waters that the angels stirred up, periodically. The trees for the healing of the nations line those banks where the still waters flow.
The author said Jesus allowed him to dive into the still waters and Jesus dove with him and he [author] discovered a treasure chest of priceless gems at the bottom of still waters. These gemstones each represent a new revelation of the Kingdom to His church.
“St. John in the book of Revelation, chapter 20 11-12 writes, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him Who sat on it. The face of the earth and the heaven fled away from His face. And there was found no place for them [the heavens and the earth] “And I saw the dead,the small and insignificant people and the famous and celebrated ones, standing before God and the books were opened concerning their lives on earth. And another book was opened which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things that were written in the books…the books of how they lived [their lifestyles] upon the earth.”
And the understanding is that those whose names are not written in the Book of Life..i.e. the Lamb’s Book of Life, can- not attain Heaven but be cast out into outer darkness where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth”
The things written in each person’s book tell of their works, good and bad, motives and conduct. It is being written right now if a person is still in existence on this earth.
So the goal of each human being on earth should be to live one’s life so that he/she may be accepted into the Kingdom when they stand before the Judge of all mankind. This should be the goal of every one for whom Jesus died on the cross. That is how we can be sure to live with Jesus for eternity; Jesus, Who loves us unconditionally.
The Bible tells us how to do that. All the Scriptures on this blog attest to and testify that He has told us and warned us and encouraged us and taught us….in the Scriptures how to gain Heaven. We must read it in the Bible and then put it into practice with all our hearts, souls and minds.
I am loving this study as it is helping me to feel energized. As my daily devotions started early Monday morning out jumped more energy words; “LOVE and liberation remembers who we are and who we can be. This Divine Artist sees beneath the surface of our worst behavior the depths and heights of our actions, the light and shadow of our motivations, and the length and breadth of our capacity for compassion and love . . . .
On this day, if you and I will only listen to this amazing God, we will discover God’s great care for us. We are the flock of God’s own keeping. We are the creation of God’s own hand.
Come quietly into God’s presence. Envision the natural world through which we journey. Offer to God your own unique echo of the music of the seas and the weather; join in the celebration of the birds and the fields.
Raise your sights to the stars and the galaxies.
Just beneath the surface of our daily routine runs the living water of an everlasting spring. Strike it in faith. Drink deeply. Draw strength for today.”
– Diane Luton Blum
The Upper Room Disciplines
“Come quietly into God’s presence. Envision the natural world through which we journey”. As I think on the photograph above I notice that the reflection of the trees seems to show some with no leaves or leaves just beginning. This to me is a reminder of change and renewal as trees and our lives cycle through seasons. God made the trees to shed their old leaves each year to make way for new ones and new growth.
“Lots to think on from the above quote, Sara. The part “Just beneath the surface of our daily routine runs the living water of an everlasting spring. Strike it in faith. Drink deeply. Draw strength for today.” says to me that we may have to break the crusty ground of the daily routine and dig to get beneath the surface if we want to tap into this spring or we may never know it is there.
Good point, Debi, coming from an horticulturist who continuously works the “soil” to bring forth beauty and grace in flowers, plants and grasses.
Jesus has said that out of our bellies (innermost beings) will flow forth rivers of living waters. These waters are for the thirsty, the hungry, the lonely, the sick, the destitute and not just for our own “consumption”.
When the disciples asked Jesus about sending the masses away so they could find food, Jesus said…”YOU! YOU! give them something to eat.” They were flabbergasted. But Jesus showed them the provision the FATHER GOD provided HIM for the people and also provides for us, too, to feed temporally but even more…spiritually. To Give them drink….temporally, but even more, spiritually.
Jesus told the woman at the well that if she would drink of the living water that He had to give she would never thirst again.
That same water of life…that life-stream, that Ps. 23 still water of life is made available to us by the Holy Spirit of God and The Living Word….Jesus Christ. SPRING UP O WELL!