Practical Advice from Scripture
How blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, everyone who is walking in his ways. (Psalm 128:1)
When we live our lives according to the way God wants us to live, we often find that things go well. The Bible not only contains spiritual guidance for us but in many places, it also contains practical advice.
God created the world to be good and perfect. When sin came into the picture, God did not abandon everything that was good and perfect. Yes, there were consequences for sin. Work would be more difficult, death would be a reality for all people, people would have differing opinions and emotions. But God allowed many things to continue to work for good.
The psalmist writes that when we walk according to God’s ways, when we do what God commands us, when we fear, or love, the Lord, we will be blessed. When we love our neighbors, rather than hating them, we gain friends who help us in need and we are blessed. When our marriages reflect Christ and his church, we are blessed and we enjoy the blessings of marriage. When we train our children in the way of the Lord our children grow up to love the Lord and serve him, and we are blessed with loving children. When we are faithful with what the Lord has given us, we are blessed with joy in serving the Lord (and maybe in prosperity as well.)
While God cares most about our spiritual and eternal being, he does not forget about our physical being. He does promise to provide for our needs and bless us. For this we love and obey him. Amen.
Our song for today is “Trust and Obey” by Don Moen