Good morning, all!

Father, we know our happiness is not dependent on finances, on circumstances, outcomes but can only be found in You. Lord thank you for being a faithful friend, one that sticks closer than a brother no matter what we face. We pray Lord that we would be a friend to You also, a friend that You can count on and together may the world count on us to be that friend that will never leave them, Amen.

Psalm 1

1 Blessed [is] the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
The joy that you will experience when you follow NOT the advice of those that abandon God, or stand and refuse to change, or join with them that are cruel.

2 But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
For we know our joy is found in obeying the word of the Lord, and this is why we hold onto it and think on it day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
And through obedience our life is represented just like a mighty tree that will not move, we bring for His fruit, and our leaves NEVER fade and no matter what we do it will glorify God.

4 The ungodly [are] not so: but [are] like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The ungodly don’t have that benefit in life, they are as weak as chaffs get blown wherever the wind chooses to blow them.

Bottom line

Our happiness can only be found in God, nothing else can replace Him. The law of firsts applies here which this being the first psalm means this is the FIRST and only way to live a blessed life…be happy, we should align with eternity FIRST. Makes sense, right? God is laying out the road map for our life, He tells us FIRST what is right and what will lead to a joyful and prosperous life. So why is the first thing God tells us is what NOT to do? Hmm…because it’s the FIRST thing we do. God says don’t take the advice (to make plans) from those that don’t listen to God. Who does that? ME…I don’t listen to the way God has called me to live my life, I do what I want verses what God wants. As though we’re going to find peace and happiness by NOT listening to God, just foolish thinking, right? [Psa 14:1 NIV] The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. It’s not that the fool said God doesn’t exist but rather the fool says NO to God (the original Hebrew text the words “there is” was not written), we say NO with our lifestyle. When did we say NO to God? Well, we should take delight in God’s word so much so that we will NOT live any other way. We say NO when we choose to listen to the ungodly thoughts in our head, you know what they say?

[Pro 16:27 KJV] An ungodly man diggeth up evil: and in his lips [there is] as a burning fire. The ungodly dig up dirt about others and then put them on blast…hmm, that doesn’t seem to reflect the nature and character of our God, He said kindness is what changes a heart maybe we should listen to the WAY God lives…He is a LIVING God you know? Next God says we shouldn’t stand the way a sinner stands, how do they STAND? Well, if we’re standing then safe to say we’re NOT walking, we’re NOT progressing in our faith. Who stands still?

[Isa 48:4 NIV] For I knew how stubborn you were; your neck muscles were iron, your forehead was bronze. The stubborn don’t move, make progress to look and sound more like Christ. What makes them stubborn their MUSCLES are iron…PRIDE and the thoughts in their head are bronze…too busy judging others to be kind to them. Kind of hard to walk by faith when we’re dug in and refuse to change how we see the people in our life. I believe PRIDE is the ultimate killer to a life of faith, it will tell us we’re right and we don’t need God. Do you think you’ll happy without God as your friend?

[Psa 51:8 KJV] Make me to hear joy and gladness; [that] the bones [which] thou hast broken may rejoice. The only way to HEAR joy is to LISTEN to God and at the same time our BROEKN bones rejoice…the stubborn nature that God has broken in us. Last, we shouldn’t sit around talking about others that are NOT represented in the conversation, you know what that’s called?

[1Pe 4:15 KJV] But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or [as] a thief, or [as] an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. That’s right God doesn’t expect us to suffer sitting around speaking poorly of others, once again that’s NOT making progress in a life of faith. According to scripture God tells us it is a DELIGHT to follow His way but for some reason we have to learn the hard way before we start to listen. The hard way is represented as chaff in this passage, it’s nothing more than then the shell around the kernel of wheat…it holds NO value. The wheat if used to make bread…the bread of Life, the chaff…the ungodly…those that don’t listen, they are worthless and blown away in the wind. Your choice, a tree by a river or chaff in the wind…choose wisely your happiness depends on it.

Point to Ponder

Does your tree bring forth fruit? [Pro 11:30 NLT] The fruit of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends. If your fruit isn’t winning friends you got the wrong tree, whatever you do don’t listen to the snake…he ain’t your friend.

Let’s all be wise and win friends, In Him Phil

Faith – Family – Friends