Put it into practice and God will be with you!

“Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” (Phil. 4:9 NIV)

Three frogs were sitting on a branch by a pond. One decided to jump. So, how many frogs are left on the branch?

The answer is three!

The reason? Just because one decided to jump doesn’t mean that it actually did!

The Bible has thousands of promises, commands and good instructions for living life abundantly! Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV)

What does abundant mean?

It means: plentiful, copious, ample, profuse, rich, lavish, abounding, generous, bountiful, large, huge, great, bumper, overflowing, prolific, teeming, in plenty, in abundance.

Just do it! 

That describes the kind of life Jesus intends for you to have. But, in order to have it you must not be complacent! “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.”

Therefore…

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”  (James 1:22 ESV)

Mike Frenchbible promises, put it into practice, god will be with you
Things to think about!

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8 NIV)

You are what you think about

The Bible says that we are what we think about (Prov. 23:7). And, that we talk about what we think about (Luke 6:45). That is probably why we are told to think about good things!

We need to continuously put good things into our minds if we want good things to come out!

8 good things to think about

There are eight things in the above passage you are told to think about. I have included some definitions and/or synonyms to add clarity.

  • True – correct, accurate, faithful.

  • Noble – righteous, virtuous, good, honorable, upright, decent, worthy, moral, ethical, reputable.

  • Right – just, fair, proper, upright, lawful, legal.

  • Pure – unadulterated, uncontaminated, unmixed, undiluted, flawless, perfect, genuine, real.

  • Lovely – beautiful, pretty, attractive, good-looking, appealing, handsome, adorable, exquisite.

  • Admirable – commendable, praiseworthy, laudable, estimable, meritorious, creditable, exemplary, honorable, worthy, deserving, respectable, worthwhile, good, sterling, fine, masterly, great.

  • Excellent – extremely good, outstanding, superb, exceptional, marvelous, wonderful, magnificent, preeminent, perfect, matchless, unbeatable, peerless, supreme, prime, first-rate.

  • Praiseworthy – worthy of praise, admirable, laudable, meritorious, estimable, exemplary.

Guard your heart!

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Prov. 4:23 NIV)

Many today are unfortunately filling their minds with just the opposite through what they watch on television, online, pornographic sites, or video games. The Bible warns about the “blindness of heart” in the following passage.

“Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:” (Eph. 4:18 KJV)

Plant, watch, recognize and weed!

You have to watch what you are thinking about continuously to keep garbage from creeping in! Your brain is like a garden that you have to tend constantly by making sure the right things are planted and growing in there and weeds are recognized and pulled out! It is a constant renewing process! (Phil. 1:6)

Therefore…

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 12:2 NIV)

Mike Frenchbible promises, think about, true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy
God gives you seed and increases your harvest!

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Cor. 9:10 NIV)

Seeds must be planted in order to grow

Some palm tree seeds were found in an ancient Egyptian tomb over 2,000 years old! They were planted, they grew and produced wonderful dates. Life was still inside those seeds after all those years! But, they did nothing until they we’re put into some soil. Only then did they finally grow!

God has provided good seeds for you to plant and grow! But, until you actually plant them, nothing will happen for you! Sadly, many go without because they don’t plant their seeds!

Seeds for bread and seeds for righteousness

Two kinds of seed harvests are mentioned in the top passage:

1) Seeds for a harvest of bread

2) Seeds for a harvest of righteousness

Facts about seeds:

  • You won’t have a crop without seeds. But, the good news is that God has provided them for you. (2 Cor. 9:10)

  • Each seed is filled with life and potential. 30, 60, 100-fold return per seed! You will get more than you plant, a bigger return! (Matt. 13:8).

  • You must plant the seed. They will only work for you if you plant them! “For whatever a man might sow, that also he will reap.” (Gal. 6:7).

  • You must plant in good soil. (Matt. 13:8)

  • You must wait for it. It takes time, but planted seeds will eventually bring a harvest.

What good seeds are you planting?

Plant good seeds of excellent work habits 

God supplies all your needs (Phil. 4:19), but they are often disguised as raw materials and hard work! God will supply work for you to do (Eph. 2:10), but you must do the work necessary to reap a good harvest from it. Show up to your job on time and with a good attitude. Don’t be lazy! Work hard to accomplish the best results possible with excellence. Work for your employer as though you were actually working for the Lord, Himself.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” (Col. 3:23 NIV)

Plant good seeds of righteousness

Sow seeds of love and kindness. Don’t treat others the way they necessarily treat you but instead treat them as God has treated you.

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Eph. 4:32 NASB)

“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’” (Hosea 10:12 NLT)

“I planted…… God gave the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:7)

Mike Frenchbible promises, seeds, seed, harvest, increase
Because we are blessed, we can bless others!

“Freely you have received, freely give.” (Matt. 10:8 NIV)

A simple definition of the word “fellowship” is “more than one fellow in the same ship”. And, in many ways we are all in the same boat! We live in a world that includes others, and we do need one another!

Sometimes we need a helping hand ourselves and sometimes we can offer one to someone else who needs some kind of help or encouragement.

Encourage one another!

We have a distinct advantage as Christians because we have His help to do what is needed. We have His Holy Spirit, we have His written Word, and we have each other! “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,” (1 Thess. NIV). Because we are blessed, we can bless others!

Therefore…

“Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate, and humble.” (1 Peter 3:8 NIV)

Mike Frenchbible promises
God has a secret for you!

“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant.” (Psalms 25:14 NKJV)

Wow, the “secret of the LORD!” A secret is defined as something confidential, undisclosed, unknown, private, hidden, concealed, or invisible!

How would you like to know God’s secret? 

According to this verse you can! And it tells you how! “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear the LORD.”

So, what does it mean to “fear” the LORD?

It’s not what you think, because the kind of “fear” the Bible is talking about in this passage is different than the kind of fear we normally think about such as fright, alarm, panic, anxiety, terror, or trepidation; this kind of fear is “cast out by love” (1 John 4:18). But there is another kind of fear that is good, the “fear of the Lord,” which has a different definition. This kind of fear brings positive results!

What does the Bible mean by the fear of the LORD?

The main Hebrew and Greek words for fear in the Bible can have several shades of meaning, but in the context of the fear of the Lord, they convey a positive reverence.

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).

The Greek noun phobos can mean “reverential fear” of God, “not a mere ‘fear’ of His power and righteous retribution, but a wholesome dread of displeasing Him” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, 1985, “Fear, Fearful, Fearfulness).” This is the type of positive, productive fear Luke describes in the early New Testament Church:

“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.” (Acts 9:31 NKJV, emphasis added).

One resource includes this helpful summary: “The fear of God is an attitude of respect, a response of reverence and wonder. It is the only appropriate response to our Creator and Redeemer” (Nelson’s NKJV Study Bible, 1997, note on Psalm 128:1).

The promise verse at the top says that if you fear the Lord (and you now know what that means) “He will show you His covenant!” And, that is wonderful news! A “covenant” is a contract, agreement, undertaking, commitment, guarantee, warrant, pledge, promise, bond, indenture; pact, deal, settlement, arrangement, understanding!

Look at these “fear of God promises” you get

  • Fountain of life

“The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” (Prov. 14:27 ESV)

  • Blessing

“Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.” (Psalm 112:1 NASB)

  • Wisdom

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” (Prov. 9:10a NASB)

  • Knowledge

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Prov. 1:7a NASB)

  • Confidence

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and his children shall have a place of refuge. (Prov. 14:26 KJV)

  • Mercy

“And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.” (Luke 2:50 KJV)

  • Needs met

“O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.” (Psalms 34:9 KJV)

  • Prolonged life

“The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.” (Prov. 10:27 NASB)

  • Rescues you

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.” (Psalms 34:7 NASB)

  • Fulfills your desires

“He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.” (Psalms 145:19 NASB)

Mike French
Forgive and be forgiven!

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matt. 6:14 NIV)

There are many examples of forgiveness in both the old and new testaments, here are a few.

Old Testament: Esau forgave his brother Jacob, who had taken his birthright. Joseph forgave his ten brothers who had sold him into slavery. (Gen. 50:19)

New Testament: Steven, the first martyr, forgave those who were stoning him (Acts 7:60). The father of the prodigal son forgave him. (Luke 15:11-32)

Our Example

The most extraordinary example of forgiveness is from Jesus, Himself, who from the cross cried out, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do!” (Luke 23:34 KJV)

Not easy but correct 

It can be very difficult sometimes to forgive those who have wronged you, but it is always the right thing to do. Our example is God himself. We are to be merciful to others as He is to us!

Therefore…

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 ESV)

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 ESV)

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25 ESV)

Mike Frenchbible promises, forgive, forgiven
Forgive and be forgiven!

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.” (Matt. 6:14 NIV)

There are many examples of forgiveness in both the old and new testaments, here are a few.

Old Testament: Esau forgave his brother Jacob, who had taken his birthright. Joseph forgave his ten brothers who had sold him into slavery. (Gen. 50:19)

New Testament: Steven, the first martyr, forgave those who were stoning him (Acts 7:60). The father of the prodigal son forgave him. (Luke 15:11-32)

Our Example

The most extraordinary example of forgiveness is from Jesus, Himself, who from the cross cried out, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do!” (Luke 23:34 KJV)

Not easy but correct 

It can be very difficult sometimes to forgive those who have wronged you, but it is always the right thing to do. Our example is God himself. We are to be merciful to others as He is to us!

Therefore…

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36 ESV)

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Eph. 4:32 ESV)

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25 ESV)

Mike French
You're "good news" partners!

“for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.” (Phil. 1:5 NLT)

Notice that this verse says, “from the time you first heard it.” They were immediately able to share about Christ from the beginning of their knowledge of Him!

Tell what happened to you!

You don’t have to be a great theologian to share Christ! All you need to do is tell your story. And, every Christian has their own story to tell. Someone put it this way, “Sharing your faith is like one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread!” It is really as simple as that, or should be!

The blind man could see!

The Bible tells about a blind man who was healed by Jesus and was questioned about it by some negative religious leaders. He didn’t have any religious answers for them and only told what had happened to him. It was a powerful statement that stopped their argument.

He said, “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” (John 9:25 NLT)

It’s difficult for anyone to argue against someones’s real and personal experience. That’s why personal testimonials are so powerful. And, that’s why you should freely share yours. It has the potential to change lives!

Therefore…

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” (1 Peter 3:15 NIV)

Quotes:

“The unbelieving world should see our testimony lived out daily because it just may point them to the Savior.” Billy Graham

“That is what it means to be saved. You declare that you belong to another system of things. People point to you and say, “Oh, yes, that is a Christian family; they belong to the Lord!” That is the salvation which the Lord desires for you, that by your public testimony you declare before God, “My world has gone; I am entering into another.”Watchman Nee

Mike Frenchbible promises, testimonial, sharing christ
God grants an inheritance and fills your treasury

“I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.” (Prov. 8:20-21 ESV)

A mad search for diamonds

Over a hundred years ago, Dr. Russell Herman Conwell traveled the United States telling and retelling the following fantastic story.

“During the years when diamonds were first being discovered in Africa, a farmer was intrigued by the promise of great wealth. Only one thing stood in his way. His farm had to be sold before he could set off in search of the diamonds that would make him a wealthy man. At last the deal was done and he was free. Free to pursue his dream.

The search was long and painful. Trekking mile after weary mile across deserts and plains, through jungles and mountain passes, the farmer searched for the elusive diamonds. But none could be found.

Finally, penniless, sick, and utterly depressed, he took his own life by throwing himself into a raging river.

A strange looking stone

Back home, the man who had bought the farm carefully tilled the land. One day as he was planting a crop, he came across a strange-looking stone. Carrying it to the farmhouse, he placed it on the mantel.

A visitor to the farmer’s home saw the unusual stone over the fireplace, examined it, then turned to the new owner of the farm and said, “You have found one of the largest diamonds ever known to man.” Further investigation revealed that the entire farm was literally covered with similar magnificent stones. The farm sold by the first farmer turned out to be one of the richest, most productive diamond mines in the world.”

It could have been different for him! 

After reading the above story, I thought what a difference his life would have been had he known and applied the following promise by faith.

“The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you…” (Deut. 30:9a ESV)

Therefore…

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9 ESV)

“The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.” (Prov. 10:22 ESV)

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.” (Psalms 1:1-4 ESV)

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Tim. 6:17-19 ESV)

Mike Frenchbible promises, god blesses, god’s inheritance