(Psalm 103:1-22) Bless the Lord, my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.2 Bless the Lord, my soul,
And do not forget any of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your guilt,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with favor and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
6 The Lord performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the sons of Israel.
8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always contend with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him.
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
14 For He Himself knows our form;
He is mindful that we are nothing but dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16 When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place no longer knows about it.
17 But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting for those who fear Him,
And His justice to the children’s children,
18 To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts, so as to do them.
19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
20 Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word,
Obeying the voice of His word!
21 Bless the Lord, all you His angels,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
22 Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, my soul!
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
For all those who fear, obey, bless and serve the Lord, there are so many benefits! Right at the top is that all our sins are forgiven, and He chooses to remember them no more. Regarding eternity in heaven, we will escape all punishment, and we will be given new and perfect bodies without any sickness or pain! For now, God will allow consequences into our lives to discipline us for our wrongdoings, but it is only because He cares for us so much that He wants our lives to be "successful", "fulfilling" and "rich" in His blessings!
When we suffer for other reasons, it is because God is allowing trials and tribulations into our lives to test us. The correct answer to every test and every consequence that we face, is to first search our hearts and confess and apologize for any sins we may have committed - to God - and others when and where applicable. The other correct answer - ALWAYS - is to continue growing closer to the Lord and relying on Him in all things with humble and grateful hearts!
Believers benefit from God's mercy, patience, compassion and power to comfort, heal and help us. When we ask and rely on Him, He blesses us with good things and makes sure we have what we need. But always, as we trust in Him and put Him first in our lives, God's peace, joy and contentment will satisfy our lives to the degree that we will realize a lot of those physical things are not necessary.
We should never forget that we have access to God's wisdom, guidance and strength! Not only do we have access, but the Lord wants to generously bless us with those things, every day, in everything. As well, because God is our heavenly Father, He equips and gives us spiritual gifts and purpose to all of us! And always, as a child of God, we have eternal security as well as His unconditional love.
God loves, and desires to give all these benefits and blessings to everyone! This is why He came in flesh to take on the punishment that we deserve by dying on the cross and paying the price for everyone's sins (past, present and future). And in His resurrection, He had victory over death, so that all may choose to believe in Him and be saved.
Our obedience to God's will doesn't save us, or protect our salvation. Our obedience is evidence of our faith, and demonstrates our trust in the Lord, and He will reward us for this! The Lord's gift of salvation is free. This is how generous and loving He is! All we have to do is see our need for Him to forgive our sins and accept Him as our Lord and Savior!!! And it is up to us, after that, each and every day, to remember and embrace our close, personal relationship with such an awesome, generous and righteous God!
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