Taking Inventory
Meditation for the week of September 2, 2012
What I am supposed to be doing all the time:
1. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5)
2. I will extol You, my God, O King; And I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, And I will praise Your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; And His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of Your awesome acts, And I will declare Your greatness. (Psalms 145:1-6)
3. Sing to the LORD, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. (Psalms 96:2)
4. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
5. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)
6. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8)
What I will be doing one day:
1. And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever. (Revelation 5:13-14)
2. After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! (Revelation 19:1)
What I should be doing right now:
1. And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."(Revelation 19:10)
2. He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20)
Trusting, praising, singing, extolling, praising, worshiping, thinking or meditating on right things, praising, thanking, blessing, rejoicing, speaking right and treating others right and praising are the things that should occupy us if we are truly pleased with the Lord and with His salvation. Did I mention praising?
But what does consume us? It is easy to let Satan defeat us by causing us to let worry, complaining and bitterness control us.
What will occupy us in heaven? Singing and praising! It is for sure that we will be giving the Lord the worship and praise that He deserves there. I think then for the first time we will really understand what we have been saved from and what we have been saved for. We will finally fully comprehend the cost of our salvation.
I have to ask myself, “Am I really happy to be a Biblical Christian? Am I satisfied with the Lord and my lot in life? Do I really live for eternity and not for time? Am I trusting in the Lord or have I put my trust in man, or wealth or myself? Knowing what I know now about a Biblical Christian being a square peg in a round hole when it comes to fitting into this world, would I still want to be saved the Bible way if I had to do it all over again? ”
Yes, I would still want to be saved the Bible way! But I have to admit I would try to do a little less complaining and a little more praising if I were to do it all over again.
Bruce Collins