“Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore.” (Psalm 121:4-8 NIV)

God is present always

“Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,’ Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day Darkness and light are alike to You.” ( Psalm 139:7-12)

“‘Am I a God who is near,’ declares the LORD, ‘And not a God far off? Can a man hide himself in hiding places So I do not see him?’ declares the LORD ‘Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?’ declares the LORD.” ( Jer. 23:23-24)

‘The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Watching the evil and the good.” (Prov. 15:3)

“For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars.” (2 Chr. 16:9)

“The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.” (Psalm 145:18)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28 NIV)

In this promise, Jesus was responding to a woman who said, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” He corrected her statement by saying clearly how to be blessed. Two things you must do: 1) Hear the Word of God, and 2) obey it.

Why you must “Hear the Word of God”

It is because that is how you obtain faith! “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom. 19:17)

Why you must “Obey the Word of God”

It is because God loves you when you do and God will “come to you” and “make His home with you.” “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.’” (John 14:23)

Obeying will also keep you from being deceived. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22)

“God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.” (Psalm 66:19 NIV)

You can have complete confidence that God listens to you and hears your prayers! In fact, He even understands your needs even before you ask and often answers even while you’re speaking!

“It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” (Isaiah 65: 24)

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:13 NIV)

We don’t have to be in the dark about whether we are saved or not!

God wants us to have complete assurance! We have the Word of God to give us assurance of eternal life through Jesus.

“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1 John 5:11-13)

“Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

“For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” (2 Tim. 1:12)

“How blessed are those who observe his decrees, who seek him with all of their heart.” (Psalm 119:2 NIV)

Many promises in the Bible are very simple and clear with what they say, and this is one of them!

Want to be blessed, do these two things:

1) Observe God’s decrees (His commands)

2) Seek Him with all your heart!

It’s pretty easy to understand!

Just do it!

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.” (Rev. 5:11 NIV)

·  Angels, Angels, Angels, they’re everywhere!

“But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.” (Heb. 12:22)

·  You can’t always see them, but they are still there!

So was the case of Elisha’s servant when he saw the king’s vast army coming to attack. Elisha wasn’t concerned because he could see what his servant couldn’t see! God’s angels in chariots of fire! So he prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)

·  You can see them sometimes, but you may not be aware of it!

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” (Heb. 13:2)

·  They are God’s messengers

Many times, throughout the Bible, God’s messages were delivered through His angels. Here is just one example:

“And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John.” (Luke 1:11-13)

·  Angels are used of God to help you

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” (Psalms 34:7).

“Therefore, angels are only servants – spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.” (Heb. 1:14)

Notice that this verse says that angels are “sent to help people who will inherit salvation.” When I was in Vietnam, before I became born again, I thought it curious that I always arrived at places on the DMZ just after they were attacked and I left places just before they were attacked. And, I was shot at, and could even hear the bullets whiz right past my ears, but I was never hit! After arriving back home, I discovered that a pastor had prayed for me every day during his family’s evening mealtimes. He prayed, “Lord, please watch over Mike and keep him safe from any harm.” I do believe God heard his prayers and sent angels to help me. It wasn’t long after I arrived back home that I became a follower of Jesus. I “inherited salvation,” so to speak.

·  Angels perform God’s Word

“Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.” (Psalms 103:20)

“Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience.” (Heb. 10:22a NIV)

When I was about ten years old, I went to the five & dime store with my dad where there were shelves and shelves of toys. When nobody was looking, I slipped a little toy into my pocket and left the store with my dad and did not pay for it. My conscience immediately started to bother me. That night I couldn’t sleep and imagined the worst-case scenarios. I was a thief! I had stolen something. I imagined being arrested and taken to jail! The next day, my dad had to go back to the same store to get something and I went with him. I secretly slipped the toy out of my pocket and back onto the store shelf. I immediately felt a great sense of relief and happiness.

The conscience

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the conscience as: “a knowledge or sense of right and wrong, with a compulsion to do right; moral judgement that opposes the violation of a previously recognized ethical principle and that leads to feelings of guilt.”

Someone asked an old Indian for his definition of the conscience. He said, “A conscience is a wheel within your heart with sharp arrows pointing outward. When you do something wrong, the wheel turns and the arrows hurt you. But, if you continue doing it, the points break off.”

The Bible says you can sear your conscience

“Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.” (1 Tim. 4:1-2)

Guard your conscience and keep it in good shape

“Having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (1 Pet. 3:16)

“Keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” (1 Tim. 1:19)

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon you: for you will answer me.” (Psalm 86:7 NIV)

Everyone is visited by trouble from time to time, it’s just a part of life. A lot of promises in the Word of God give us great assurance about turning to God during times of trouble.

Help in the time of trouble

“For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.” (Psalm 27:5)

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)

“The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9)

“Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” (Phil. 2:4 NIV)

This is a simple formula for happiness

Helping others does a number of positive things for you. There are two immediate benefits from helpingothers. First, you feel good because you are helping others, and secondly, others feel good because they are getting help from you. It’s a win-win situation.

Many other benefits

Studies show that when people get involved in helping others, the mesolimbic system, which is the portion of the brain responsible for feelings of reward, is triggered. The brain releases feel-good chemicals and spurs you to perform more kind acts — something psychologists call “helper’s high.”

In a study by United Health Group, 78 percent of people who volunteered to help others over a 12-month period said they felt that their helping activities lowered their stress levels. They were more calm and peaceful than people who didn’t help others.

Kindness is contagious, according to a study by researchers at University of California, Los Angeles, and University of Cambridge and University of Plymouth in the United Kingdom. “When we see someone else help another person it gives us a good feeling,” the study states, “which in turn causes us to go out and do something altruistic ourselves.”

But the main reason we should help others is because God told us to

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:2)

“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil. 2:4)

When you help others you are helping Jesus!

“’For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” (Matt. 25:35-40)