PRINCIPLES OF LONG LIFE
1. Seek first the Wisdom of God above all things
So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for--both riches and honor--so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. (1Ki 3:11-13)
The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of wisdom. (Pro 10:21)
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. (Hos 4:6)
2. Make the Lord God your dwelling place
Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. (Psa 91:9-12)
"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Mat 6:25-26)
"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luk 12:6-7)
3. Love God and seek Him in prayer always
"Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation." (Psa 91:14-16)
In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.'" Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. (Isa 38:1-5)
…who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear, (Heb 5:7)
Now, some may say, “Well, Jesus did die, at last”. But, the Scriptures say, He rose from the dead and death could not hold Him against the power of God.
He asked life from You, and You gave it to him; Length of days forever and ever. (Psa 21:4)
4. Obey God’s commandments
"So if you walk in My ways, to keep My statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." (1Ki 3:14)
My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. (Pro 3:1-2)
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. (Pro 4:20-22)
"You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time."
(Deu 4:40)
"You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.
(Deu 5:33)
5. Fear God and depart from evil
Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. (Pro 3:7-8)
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death. (Pro 14:27)
Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. (1Pe 3:8-11)
The fear of the LORD prolongs days, But the years of the wicked will be shortened. (Pro 10:27)
For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.
(1Ti 4:8)
6. Protect your heart
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil. (Pro 4:23-27)
A sound heart is life to the body, But envy is rottenness to the bones. (Pro 14:30)
A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. (Pro 15:13)
A merry heart does good, like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. (Pro 17:22)
The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit? (Pro 18:14)
7. Honor your father and your mother
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."
(Eph 6:1-3)
Whoever curses his father or his mother, His lamp will be put out in deep darkness. (Pro 20:20)
We live in a wicked age:
There is a generation that curses its father, And does not bless its mother. (Pro 30:11)
backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
(Rom 1:30)
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
(2Ti 3:2)
The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it. (Pro 30:17)
"For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"; 'then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. (Mat 15:4-6)
But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. And these things command, that they may be blameless. But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
(1Ti 5:4-8)
8. Be humble before God
By humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches and honor and life. (Pro 22:4)
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble."
(Jas 4:6)
9. Be merciful towards others
He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness and honor.
(Pro 21:21)
10. Be compassionate towards all life
"If a bird's nest happens to be before you along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother with the young; "you shall surely let the mother go, and take the young for yourself, that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
(Deu 22:6-7)
A righteous man regards the life of his animal, But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
(Pro 12:10)
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