The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

There are plenty more “therefores” that we could embrace along the way. These are the four that I’ve picked out and on which we have camped these several days.

The Lord’s place; therefore, I am glad (Psalm 16:8-9).
The Lord’s provision; therefore, I am thankful (Psalm 18:48-49).
The Lord’s power; therefore, I am confident (Psalm 46:1-2)
The Lord’s promise; therefore, I am serving (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

Today we come to #4. You already know that 1 Corinthians 15 is a great and glorious chapter speaking about the resurrection. This is amazing. Ready for it? “Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:15-58).

Our family (15:58a) “Therefore my beloved brethren.” The family consists of men and women of every age and ethnicity who all come into the family of the Lord only through Christ and the new birth (John 1:12; 3:1-21).

Our firmness (15:58b) “Be stedfast” which means to be fixed, firm, steadfast. “Unmoveable” gives the idea of being persistent, not easily moved from its place. “Abounding” is the beautiful picture of that which overflows, abundance, enthusiasm.

That’s the basic idea of what each of these words are. Now let me share with you what they are not! They do not mean that I am given permission to be stubborn, bull-headed, and arrogant in my attitude of “We’ve never done it that way before and we ain’t going to start now!” I hope you are still smiling at me.

We are persistently anchored to Christ. We persistently are anchored to His Word. But we are also gracious, kind, and consistently abounding in the work of the Lord. We live in 2026 not 1826. Our doctrine stays the same, but our methods of serving Christ surely are different. What a wonderful time for us to be “therefore” people who abound in the work of the Lord.

These are the four “therefore” verses and applications we’ve been looking at.

The Lord’s place; therefore, I am glad (Psalm 16:8-9).
The Lord’s provision; therefore, I am thankful (Psalm 18:48-49).
The Lord’s power; therefore, I am confident (Psalm 46:1-2)
The Lord’s promise; therefore, I am serving (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

Today we come to #3.

Some of you are new to Dr. Mike’s Daily Prescriptions. Maybe you haven’t picked up on this yet. But if you’ve been reading for any significant period of time, you know that the Lord has created me with a personality that is very emotional. Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, I seem to have multiple emotional responses pulling me in various directions at the same time.

Psalm 46:1-2 does this to me. There have been times that I have read these verses either privately or at the bedside of a dear believer and I am moved to tears and yet great joy comes to my heart.

Think of it. The Lord’s power; therefore, we are confident. Psalm 46:1-2 says, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”

Oh, how blessed we are. Take these three thoughts with you throughout your day.

The powerful person (1a): “God is…” His title, “God” is Elohim (el-o-HEEM), is found over 2600 times in the Old Testament. It means “The mighty, majestic One Who puts forth power.”

The powerful protection (1b): “Our refuge and strength.” As our “refuge,” He is our pavilion, our shelter in the midst of a raging storm. As our “strength,” He is our mighty One, our powerful One.

The powerful presence (1c): “A very present help in trouble.” Linger on every word. “Very” speaks of muchness, that which is exceeding. “Present” literally pictures Him being here and now. It speaks of the Lord being totally sufficient. “Help” is the word for assistance especially in hardships and distress.

Let me put this together and think about these words. Are you facing a time of trouble? If you know the Lord, you know that He is the majestic and mighty Elohim Who in absolute muchness is exceedingly present, literally right there present in you and present with you, rendering His precious assistance through the hardship. There you will see that He is sufficient in every way. No wonder the writer of this Psalm comes to this conclusion. “Therefore, we will not fear!”

I don’t know how this will affect you today. I’m praying that it will be an encouragement to you.

Thank you for stopping Dr. Mike’s Daily Prescriptions. I never take you for granted. I always appreciate the privilege of coming to you every day, 365 days a year (and even 366 in leap years!) You and I love the Lord and love His Word. These little devotionals never take the place of our Bible reading time. They are always meant to be a spiritual encouragement along the way.

We are thinking of the word “Therefore” over these several days.

We might not think much about the word “therefore.” But did you know in the KJV Bible, the word “therefore” is used 1,237 times in 1,220 verses? That should catch our attention! The word means “for this reason, on account of, as a consequence.” Think of a couple of the uses of the word “therefore!”

The Lord’s place; therefore, I am glad (Psalm 16:8-9).
The Lord’s provision; therefore, I am thankful (Psalm 18:48-49).
The Lord’s power; therefore, I am confident (Psalm 46:1-2)
The Lord’s promise; therefore, I am serving (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

We come to the second “therefore” found in Psalm 18:48-49. King David writes, “He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, Thou liftest me up about those that rise against me. Thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore will I give thanks unto Thee, O LORD., among the heathen, and sing praises unto Thy name.”

What wonderful provision the LORD made for David who was hunted and chased all over Saul’s kingdom by this madman. Jealousy of all things propelled Saul into violent hatred. But God provided for David and kept him safe. Now, finally, he has been protected from all his enemies.

Dear friends who are followers of Christ, do you remember daily that we have three spiritual enemies? They are the world (1 John 2:15-17), the flesh (Romans 7:5-25) and the devil (Ephesians 6:11-12). It would be horrible to face these spiritual enemies without the very ample protection that the Lord has designed. Please take a few moments to read about our protection, piece by piece described in Ephesians 6:12-18. No soldier forgets his gear as he heads into battle. The enemies are real, dear friends. But rejoice. Be confident. Be optimistic. Be thankful. Our armor of God is from the LORD Almighty. Be sure to put it on today, and we too, will be thankful for His provision.

Over the last few days we have talked about the word “never” and how wonderful are the blessings from its use in the Word. We could have quoted many verses, but we focused on three and were reminded that we believers are never moved (Psalm 15:5); never should be ashamed (Psalm 31:1); and never forsaken or abandoned by the Lord (Hebrews 13:5).

Let’s think of another word for the next few days.

“Therefore”

We might not think much about the word “therefore.” But did you know in the KJV Bible, the word “therefore” is used 1,237 times in 1,220 verses? That should catch our attention! The word means “for this reason, on account of, as a consequence.” Think of a couple of the uses of the word “therefore!”

The Lord’s place; therefore, I am glad (Psalm 16:8-9).
The Lord’s provision; therefore, I am thankful (Psalm 18:48-49).
The Lord’s power; therefore, I am confident (Psalm 46:1-2)
The Lord’s promise; therefore, I am serving (1 Corinthians 15:51-58).

“I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore, my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope” (Psalm 16:8-9). Though written by King David, this is a Messianic Psalm that points ahead to Christ. This is the victorious, obedient, perfect Lord Jesus Christ who came to die for our sins and rise again in great victory.

These same principles can be such a blessing in our own hearts and lives. David’s outline is precious.

(1). My setting “I have set the LORD always before me” (16:8a). Only the Lord Jesus Himself could say this. We on the other hand will be wise if we desire this and intentionally make this our goal each day.

(2). My strength “Because He is at my right hand” (16:8b). The right hand in Scripture is the emblem of power (Isaiah 41:10, 13). It is so important to remember the source of our strength and power.

(3.) My stability “I shall not be moved” (16:8c). This does not mean that we will never be sad or tearful. It does mean that we will not be shaken in our faith, dislodged, or overthrown (Psalm 55:22).

Now that gives me a lot to think about, rejoice in and embrace today. How about you?

We are thinking of just a couple of the wonderful “nevers” in God’s Word. Often the word “never” is hurled as a word to hurt someone. It is an exaggeration of a fault or failure, causing the hurtful word to sting wounds as they land on the object of anger. That word “never” is a trigger word, and it always (the second trigger word) makes things worse.

On the other hand, sometimes the word “never” is gloriously wonderful. Such is the case with these “nevers” taken from God’s Word. We’ve briefly thought of never moved and never ashamed. Here’s today’s “never.”

Today, think of the promise never abandoned. “Let your conversation {manner of life} be without coveteousness; and be content with such things as you have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

I don’t know about you, but I cherish this promise. He literally assures us, calms us, encourages us, upholds us with the promise that I will absolutely, positively, most assuredly never abandon you. The word “leave” speaks of being loosened or let sink. He also uses the word “forsake.” This word speaks of being left helpless, to be abandoned, to leave behind.

He will never leave His people.
He will never lose His people.
He will never let His people sink helplessly or hopelessly.

Never! What a good place to be. But this is only true for those people that have trusted Christ alone to be their Savior. Your good works, your good efforts and your good intentions can never achieve this. Only by grace through faith and trusting Christ alone can secure this blessed “never” in your life.