Pathways

Psalm 16:6 (The Passion Translation)

Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.
I’m overwhelmed by the privileges that come with following you,
for you have given me the best!

Hosea 14:9 (NLT)

Let those who are wise understand these things.

Let those who are discerning listen carefully.

The paths of the LORD are true and right,

and righteous people live by walking in them.

But sinners stumble and fall along the way.

The Lord obviously wants us to pay careful attention to the paths

He has laid out for us to walk in. 

Paths are supposed to be traveled on a regular basis or else they become overgrown and useless. We may stop a while and enjoy God’s bountiful creation, but as a general rule we need to keep moving. Each of God’s pathways include multitudes of lessons that are uncovered like beautiful vistas around every twist and turn of our walk. Don’t allow the paths of God to become overgrown and impassable due to neglect of spiritual exercise. 

Ps. 16:11

You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

It is impossible to travel our life-paths too quickly. They may be uneven and narrow. One should travel carefully and deliberately – making way for others who may pass in the other direction. As we pass strangers, a measure of communication, eye contact and polite greeting is definitely in order. As you walk on your spiritual pathways, enjoy each of the God-lovers who pass by. You never know what treasures God may bring your way. Don’t rush through the lessons of life. Pay attention to the details and rhythms of gracearound every corner. I love this passage from The Message Bible – 

Matthew 11:28-30

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Psalm 32:8

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

I will advise you and watch over you

The Lord as our lives under control. I am determined to keep my eyes on Him. As we move forward...there is abundance:

Psalm 65:11 (NLT)

You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;

even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.

God's 10 pathways in the Bible that have a name...
The Path Of...

1.  Psalm 16:11 The path of life. You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

2.  Psalm 23:3 The paths of righteousness. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (NKJV)

3.  Psalm 119:35 The path of Your commands. Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness (delight – NKJV) is found. (NLT)

4.   Psalm 139:24 The path of everlasting life. Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (NLT

5.   Proverbs 15:19 The path of the upright. A lazy person’s way is blocked with briers, but the path of the upright (faithful) is an open highway. (NLT)

  

6.   Proverbs 15:24 The life-path of the wise.The way of life winds upward for the wise, that he may turn away from hell below. (NKJV)

The path of life leads upward for the wise; they leave the grave behind. (NLT)

7.   Isaiah 40:14 The path of justice.With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?

Proverbs 4:18 The (path) way of the righteous (just) is like the first gleam of dawn,
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

8.  Luke 1:79 The path of peace.To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (NKJV)

And he will illuminate the path that leads to the way of peace.” (TPT)

9.   John 13:17 The path of blessing. You know these things -- now do them! That is the path of blessing. (NLT)

10. 2Timothy 2:18 The path of Truth. They have left the path of truth, preaching the lie that the resurrection of the dead has already occurred; and they have undermined the faith of some. (NLT) 

Spiritual Sacrifices 1

Tomorrow, we all gather in our various churches around the globe to minister our sacrifices before the Lord. Sometimes we come to worship as the Bride of Christ, sometimes as sons, at other times we are His friends. We also need to remember that we come before Him as holy, royal priests who are to bring spiritual sacrifices:

1 Peter 2:5

you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house,

a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices

acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Old Testament priests offered animal and grain sacrifices on behalf of the people. We offer spiritual sacrifices.

The Hebrew word for "sacrifice" is korban, which comes from the root karov - meaning to "draw close" or to "come near."

As God’s priests we have 7 spiritual sacrifices to bring to the Lord. Each of these sacrifices are supposed to do a work in our hearts that bring us nearer to the Lord. Also, each of these sacrifices require some work - every Believer must remember that we don't go to church to get blessed - we primarily go to Church to minister these 7 sacrifices before the King. Here is the first one:

The Sacrifice of Joy—Ps. 27:6. This Hebrew word for “joy,” (teruw‘ah) means to make a loud noise like a trumpet sounding a battle cry. For some reason it pleases the Lord to have joyous priests worshiping before His throne. Some people think that they cannot be joyful because they do not feel joyful. If they rejoice, then they will be hypocritical. This is not so. Joy is different than happiness. Happiness is dependant on our circumstances, but joy is rooted in the truth of God’s presence and work in our lives (Pss. 16:11; 21:6; Acts 2:28; Jude. 1:24.) All of the congregation—God’s priests—need to enter His presence bringing this sacrifice of joy before Him. 

        Ps. 16:11

You will show me the path of life;  In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

        1Pet. 1:8

whom having not seen you love.

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing,

you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory

7 Spiritual Sacrifices Part 2: HERE

The Paths of the Lord - Part 1

I love this Scripture from Hosea:

Hosea 14:9 (NLT)

Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those who are discerning listen carefully.
The paths of the LORD are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.

But sinners stumble and fall along the way.

I am going to take a few days to look over some scriptures on pathways. I am drawn to this concept as we begin the journey of 2012, and I am determined to find even more ways to take my heart on the sweet journey towards God's presence.

These are just a few meditations on taking this journey into God...

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

There is a progression of three things here:

He shows us the path we need to be on. He doesn't hide it, or taunt us with the possibility of guidance or direction - He has promised to show us the path we are supposed to be on. He doesn't keep this from us because we are too poor, too sinful, too faithless...no, He has the path of life for each one, and it is readily available. We need to open our hearts today for the Lord to show the way.

Secondly, once we are on HIs path, we will find the greatest joy in all the earth: the presence of God. This is the fullness of joy - the joy of joys! Nothing can compare to His presence.

Thirdly, He opens His hand to those who are on His pathways. This is His hand of promise, protection and provision. God seems to have a secret plan to bless and delight His people...only it is not such a secret plan, it is just that we fail to see it.  Some live as though God is out to punish them at every turn, but God's true desire is to open His hand of blessing. Even his difficult pathways will lead to treasures. So we could say...

Proverbs 4:18 

But the path of the just is like the shining sun,

That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

Paths of the Lord - Part 2 HERE