Knowledge – Page 12 – Praying Pint

Earnest Counsel

“Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”

Psalms 37:30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.

Deuteronomy 6:7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Proverbs 10:31 The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

Proverbs 15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.

Proverbs 25:11 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters.

Proverbs 27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Matthew 12:35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.

Proverbs 4:3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother, he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.

Deuteronomy 11:18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Isaiah 51:7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their rivilings.

God has written His laws/commands into our minds and on our hearts. There are four reasons for this. 1. So that we will know Him. 2. So that we can teach them to our children. 3. So they can be used as encouragement / counsel to others. 4. So that we will know how to serve, honor and obey Him. He has also given us His Holy word filled with many promises and warnings. We would do well to spend time in His word being able to use it for building our faith and encouraging /counseling others.

Precious Promises

” by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

“I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.“

Psalms 36:5 Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep; man and beast you save, O LORD. How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light. Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Job 37:23 The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

Matthew 10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

1 Peter 2:6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”

Psalms 139:17 ,

2Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Hebrews 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Great and precious promises have been given to us to escape the corruption of the world. What promises are coming to mind? David recorded it this way, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”. David found value in thinking about God, His thoughts and promises. He called them precious. Something very dear to his heart. He found comfort, refuge, strength, hope, peace, faith, love, joy, mercy…… and more staying close to God. His daily purpose was to know and serve God deeper and fuller each day. He had a heart desire to seek God in both times of trials and in times of blessings. We would do well to reflect each day on God, His promises, and how we to would know and serve Him fuller. Spend time in His word. Seek to know Him. Desire to serve Him.

Hope in weakness

“Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge”

“For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Psalms 31:1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

Romans 5:2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Isaiah 49:23 Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.”

Proverbs 22:17 Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply your heart to my knowledge,

2 Samuel 22:3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

Psalms 71:3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.

Jeremiah 14:7 “Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O LORD, for your name’s sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.

2 Corinthians 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

At the time we are asking God to be our refuge, fortress, strength, power, rock, savior, shield, and come speedily to our rescue we also have to know too that His power is made perfect in our weakness. It is in this weakness we find hope. This hope comes to us as we finally get to a place where we have exhausted all of our own efforts to see that what we are facing is much bigger and complex than we can have influence on. I recently heard a person say “I finally turned it over to God, and when I did I had this peace come over me. I am fine with whatever comes”. Why is it we are slow to bringing it to God and quick to try to keep it in our own power? We don’t find peace in our own power do we. It is only when we have surrendered it fully to God do we find hope, peace and rest.

Your Face I Seek 1

” For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

“You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek”

Psalms 27:4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Daniel 9:3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Luke 13:24 “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Psalms 63:2-5 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips

We have God’s promises; “Seek and you will find”, “knock and it be opened”. There are qualifiers to these promises. They require faith. “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” And seeking with all of your heart. “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” In our culture where everything seems to be just a click away from finding what we want I wonder if seeking God day after day is even a thought on our hearts and mind. When I think back at the times I have been earnestly seeking God for resolution to something, there were times it was immediate and other times it was only months afterward that I was able to see how God had been leading. God does not leave His children. He is ever present. He will be our rock and our refuge but that would mean we need to turn it over to Him and trust whatever the outcome is and know that it was His plan for us. Faith is required. Trusting is required. Believing is required. Relying is required. Seeking is required. Knocking is required.

Teach Me

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths”

“that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,”

Psalms 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Proverbs 1:20-23 Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs 2:1-6 My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

Proverbs 9:6 Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Matthew 11:29-30 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

John 6:45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

Psalms 149:4 For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation.

Ezekiel 36:27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

He instructs, He teaches, He leads, He draws us to Him, He makes known, He calls to us, and He gives understanding and wisdom. Do you ever wonder how He does all of this? Or how are these actions made active and real in our everyday lives? Think about how you learned to walk, speak, read, ride a bike, drive a car, eat with manners, learn to cook, home repair, sew, etc…… For sure these just did not happen on their own. Some of the basics came from someone who loved you and took time to teach you. Others came from observing others. And still more came from reading and understanding what was being conveyed through text. When it comes to things of God, salvation, humbleness, kindness, faith, gentleness, love, mercy, grace, honoring and glorifying and obeying….. we learn these through someone telling us, watching others, or reading about it in scripture. Like anything else our understanding and application will continue to grow the more time we apply to it. Spend time in His word, listen for His voice, obey His leading and live to honor and glorify Him.

Make me Know

“Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!“

Psalms 25:4 Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

Exodus 33:13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.

Isaiah 2:3 and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Psalms 86:11 Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you

John 8:31-32 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Psalms 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes; and I will keep it to the end.

Psalms 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.

Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.

James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

Statements like: “Make me to know your ways”, “teach me your paths”, “Lead me in your truth”, “please show me now your ways”, “Teach me good judgment and knowledge”, “unite my heart to fear your name”, “Come, let us go”, and “I believe” are all choices men made because they had respect, reverence for God. They understood their sinful nature, the need for forgiveness, and the only way possible was for God to teach and lead them. Do you ever think about questions like these? Do they come to you early in the morning and when you go to bed? God promises blessing for those who listen but the point here is the person must first have the desire and want for God to teach and lead them. This desire and want is a choice each of us must make if we want to learn and be lead by God. How many days go by without even a second thought of Him yet alone humbly serving Him? With all readily available access to God’s word, how do we think we will not be held accountable for neglecting His word? Every day we make a choice to learn from and be led by Him or to go it alone.

Reverence & Respect – King of Glory

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.”

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

“While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

Psalms 24:10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!

Isaiah 6:3-5 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

John 12:40 “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

Psalms 2:10 Now therefore, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. O kings, Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

2Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

Who is this King of glory – The Lord Of Hosts. Look at what Isaiah said after a vision of the Lord of hosts: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips”. Isaiah had a starting point “Fear of God”. I know “fear” can be misunderstood so I have copied this for a reference to help understand the meaning intended: “The Hebrew verb yare can mean “to fear, to respect, to reverence” and the Hebrew noun yirah “usually refers to the fear of God and is viewed as a positive quality. This fear acknowledges God’s good intentions (Ex. 20:20). … This fear is produced by God’s Word (Ps. 119:38; Prov. 2:5) and makes a person receptive to wisdom and knowledge (Prov. 1:7; 9:10)” (Warren Baker and Eugene Carpenter, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament, 2003, pp. 470-471”. Isaiah began with a reverence and respect of God and who He is. Without this reverence and respect for God, His word will be meaningless, His promises empty, His salvation rejected, and His purpose seems foolish. Without this reverence and respect our heart is hardened and though we may read or hear the word of God it will have no place to root in our heart. Proverbs says the beginning of all wisdom is fear (reverence and respect) of the Lord. The verses today speak of those who have this reverence and respect of God and those who do not. Hold tight to this reverence and respect. With this as a firm anchor in your life His word will have great impact and purpose in your life.

Awesome Mighty Worthy

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.”

Psalms 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

Psalms 89:11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. The north and the south, you have created them;

Deusteronomy 10:13 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.

Exodus 19:4 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

Job 41:10 Who then is he who can stand before me? Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.

Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” “Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.

Isaiah 40:12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?

I have little say as anything that comes to mind is already limiting. Know that God is awesome, mighty, and creator of all there is. Humbly serving, honoring and glorifying Him is the purpose of our existence. We make a choice to either serve and honor Him or not. His word is our guide to begin to understand His holiness, love, mercy, grace, wrath, fury, judgement, plan of salvation, hope, heaven, hell, and eternity. Seek His word and guidance. Listen and obey.

Why is this Happening?

“If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,”

Judges 6:7
Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? ’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites

Job 36:10
He opens their ears to instruction
and commands that they return from iniquity.
If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasantness.
But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword
and die without knowledge

Can you relate to Gideon asking the question “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? ’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” Imagine the thoughts Gideon had running through his mind on multiple times. He has heard about all of the wonderful deeds of God to past generations and wonders why God has forsaken them? We to hear about what God has done for others. We as well know what He has done for personally for ourselves. And we ask why has God forsaken us – Why am I not blessed – Why am I in this time of trial …… There are a host of questions we can ask but the most important question we should ask is: “God will you search my heart and see if there is anything offensive hindering serving you. Lead me in paths of righteousness and doing what brings you honor and glory to you alone?” Asking the right question first opens our heart, mind and soul to hearing God speak purpose into our lives.

Promises

But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune

Joshua 21:44
And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass

Exodus 33:14
And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth

Nehemiah 9:8
And you have kept your promise, for you are righteous

2 Corinthians 7:1
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God

Hebrews 6:11
And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises

2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self- control, and self- control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind

Do you ever read God’s word with the intent of seeing His promises? They are numerous and are showing us how God’s faithfulness in the past, present and future. How we look at these promises will determine how we live our life for Him. If I were to only look at the promises of blessings (grace, mercy, love) and never give thought to those of penalty (discipline, wrath, destruction, curse) how is it possible to understand the fullness of the blessings. If I do not understand, that in my sinful nature, I deserve penalty how will I live a humble, thankful, faithful, servant life for Him. It is good for us to remember who we are and who God is. Our purpose is not for the purpose in this life is not for collecting blessings but rather to live a humble submissive servant life that honors and glorifies Him. When you read of God’s promises there is none greater than John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. In this we see both eternal destruction and eternal life. When we understand the promise with both of it’s outcomes it opens our heart to see just how great God’s love is for those who hear His calling and follow him.