His fullness = my portion

Just a very small, scratching-the-surface tid-bit of what the Lord has been showing me recently..... :)

(from my journal today)

Thinking more about Hebrews 11, and Abraham, and You being the reward and my inheritance. "O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance..." (Psalm 16:5) "...Yes, I have a good inheritance." (v. 6) You Yourself are my inheritance. I noticed the word "portion" in there. It reminds me of the story of the prodigal son, and how he asked for his portion of the inheritance. I looked up the definition of the word....

por·tion 

n.

1. A section or quantity within a larger thing; a part of a whole.

2. A part separated from a whole.

3. A part that is allotted to a person or group, as:

a. A helping of food.

b. The part of an estate received by an heir.

c. A woman's dowry.

4. A person's lot or fate.

tr.v. por·tioned, por·tion·ing, por·tions

1. To divide into parts or shares for distribution; parcel.

2. To provide with a share, inheritance, or dowry.

As sons and daughters of God, HE is the portion of our inheritance! Not a portion of Him, but ALL that He is! The fullness of Himself. Wow. For a while now, my life verse has been Psalm 73:26, which says: "My flesh ad my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." For me, that has always meant that He is all I need. He is my portion. But He is also the portion of my inheritance! My portion forever. From the moment He redeemed me and made me His child, He became my portion. My portion is not even a "portion" but it is ALL! All of God. His fullness. God told Abraham in Genesis 15:1, "...I am...your reward." Paul said in Philippians 3:8, "that I may gain Christ"

....We know what the goal is...the prize, the reward, the inheritance. We know that we are strangers, aliens, and foreigners in this world.

"These...received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers, and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland...they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16)

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20)

This is the reason. HE is my reason, my motivation, my goal. This is why we can, and must "stand fast in the Lord..." (Phil. 4:1)

"I have set the LORD always before me..." (Psalm 16:8)

"...He looked to the reward...seeing Him who is invisible." (Heb. 11:26b, 27b)

"looking unto Jesus..." (Hebrews 12:2)

Dare to be a Daniel?

"But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself..." (Daniel 1:8)

This verse caught my attention as I was reading Daniel chapter 1 this morning. As I read, I was thinking about what kind of man Daniel was. He was a man of purpose and discipline. He was steadfast. Set-apart. His desire was the please the Lord and Him alone.. When Daniel "purposed in his heart," it was not a spur of the moment thing. Driven by his passion for the Lord, Daniel made the decision in his heart . Why? He knew he belonged to the Lord and was not his own. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in You...and you are not your own?" (1 Cor. 6:19) Daniel refused to defile himself by eating the king's delicasies. Now, he could have just gone along with it since he *was* working for the king. He could have made excuses in his mind to validate eating what was put before him. But NO! He didn't. What would we have done in that same situation? This lesson reaches far beyond food and what we eat. It's about every part of us! Our heart, our mind. "For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:20) The nugget I gained from Daniel today was not so much about food (although that's part of it), but the fact that Daniel refused to fill himself with junk. I desire to be like Daniel in this!! I want to purpose in my heart not to take junk into my heart and mind. It's hard to even make it through one day without being offered some kind of junk. It's everywhere! That's why we have to purpose in our hearts, just as Daniel did, that we are not going to take part in it. The world disguises the junk as "delicasies," but it's a lie. What movies do we watch? What music do we listen to? What are we filling His temple with??? Remember that what we take in is going to be what comes out. Ohh that we would fill our hearts and minds with the precious Word of God! He promises to fill us, but He can't do it if we're filling ourselves with junk. "I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it." (Psalm 81:10) Set yourself apart for Him. Purpose in your heart! Dare to be a Daniel, and say "NO!" to the junk!
"Who may ascend the hill of the LORD, or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart..." (Psalm 24:3-4)

Oh, and here's a little song by Mrs. Judy Stiles... it's a good reminder to consider what we're taking in:

"Who are you listening to? Who has your ear?
Whoever's tune that you're dancin' to is gonna stamp his image on you,
ohh Who do you daydream about? Who do you think is cool?
You'll see it in the mirror in the morning, whoever you're listenin' to."