Fri, Jun 30th - 7:11AM
According to All Your Ways II Chronicles 6:30 June 30
Then God, hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive and render unto every man according to all His ways, whose heart You know (for only You know the hearts of the children of men.)
Israel has been in a period of rebellion and sin against God. Solomon prays that God will hear the cries of His people “that they may fear Him and walk in His ways so long as they live in the land which He has given to them.” (verse 31)
Solomon asks God to hear from heaven, which is where God dwells. I am reminded of Jesus’ words, that there are many mansions in heaven where He is going and if He goes, He tells us that He will come again and receive us unto himself that where He is there we shall be also. (John 14:3) Heaven is the dwelling place of God. However, it is also to be the dwelling place of those who are His. It is interesting that Solomon talks about the land that God had given to the children of Israel. Solomon was referring to the Promised Land. However, heaven is the final Promised Land to all who are God’s children.
Solomon asks God to forgive and render unto every man according to all His ways. When I first read this passage, I read “according to all his ways” as being all of my ways. I thought, I do not want God to render to me according to all my ways and then after reading this passage in its context, I realized that Solomon was asking God to render unto us according to all His ways. God loves us all very, very much and the desire of His heart is to forgive us and to do for us all that He has planned to do for us in His heart!
God knows our heart. This is why my obedience to Him is so vitally important. God knows my heart better than I know it. He knows what direction my life needs to take. God knows how the decisions that I make will affect my life. He knows that when I make decisions that He would have me make, my heart will respond in decisions that I will make tomorrow and the day after that. He knows the importance of those decisions and the direction that my life will take. Solomon’s prayer that God render unto me according to all of His ways is indeed a wonderful prayer that we ought to ask God to do every waking hour that we live.
When we come to understand that God’s protection and His provisions are ours when we are willing to take God by the hand and walk with Him on a moment by moment basis, then and only then does our life begin to take the direction that we all really want our lives to take that we too may walk in the land that God has promised to our fathers of faith who went before us a long, long time ago! That land is available to us today as well as forever!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (2)
|
Thu, Jun 29th - 7:01AM
All That I Say Exodus 6:29 June 29
Then the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, “I am the Lord; speak unto Pharaoh the king of Egypt all that I say to you.
Moses has heard God speaking to him through the burning bush. He has seen his rod turn into a serpent and then as he reluctantly reached down to pick it up, it became a rod again. God has told Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go. Moses and Aaron have gone to the children of Israel and told them what God has told them to do. They went before Pharaoh and he made the work on the children of Israel even harder and they revolted and threatened to kill Moses and Aaron.
Moses could have said, “I am outta here. Pharaoh is not going to listen to me. The people do not want me here. I have made their work harder. Nothing is going right. Aaron… lets go.”
The words, “I am the Lord” was a powerful message to Moses. When God reaches down and makes His Divine presence known, there is no turning away from it. God goes on to tell Moses that Pharaoh will rebel and that he will not let the children of Israel go easily but he would finally let them go and at Moses hand and Aaron’s voice He would deliver the children of Israel.
Here is the point for today. We know in our heart that God will do what He says He will do. However, it is not easy to go with Him in our head. We know what we ought to do in most cases in our lives but we are not as willing to go with God as we should be. Moses had a choice to make. Would he stay in Egypt and do what God told him to do in spite of the fact that nothing to this point had gone the way that he would have liked for it to go.
God speaks to you and me just as sure as He did to Moses. The decisions that you and I are asked to make are not anywhere near as difficult as those that Moses was facing. Our decisions involve daily submission to the Lord and His perfect will for our lives. God wants us to be obedient to Him in everything we do. We want to be obedient in the major things but when it comes to the simple things in our every day lives, we want to do what we want to do the way we want to do it.
We have this idea that obedience to God and walking with God is centered around certain things that we do. God wants us to understand that He is God, that He is the great “I Am” of the Bible and of our lives. He wants us to understand that every decision that we make is essential to who we are and what HE is able to do for us.
God wants us to do just as He instructed Moses, “Speak to Pharaoh all the words that I say unto you.” We need to allow all of His words to influence our lives as well. Things may not be going the way that we think they ought to go. However, we have to understand that God not only knows what He has planned for us, He knows what we need to do to get to the place where He wants us to be so that we will be able to see all that He has in store for us! Moses’ life was infinitely blessed because he stayed the coarse and he remained faithful to all that God told him to do. The same thing will be true for you and me if we will just let go and let God have His will and way in everything that we do!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (1)
|
Wed, Jun 28th - 7:34AM
Love Your Enemies Luke 6:28 June 28
Bless them that curse you and pray for them that despitefully use you.
Jesus to His disciples to “Love your enemies and to do good to them that hate you. Bless them that curse you and pray for them that despitefully use you.”
What kind of witness do we give when we show love to those that love us or when we love those who are like us and then we fail to show love to those who are not like us? Jesus said, “Sinners love those that love them.” He goes on to say, “what if you do good to them that do good to you? Sinners do good to them that do good to them also.”
These illustrations underscore the importance of blessing them that curse us and pray for them that despitefully use us. There are two aspects to this mandate. First of all, if we give to those that give to those that give to us and we love those who love us, we are no different from the rest of the world. Sinners live their lives that way. We are to be different and we are to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth. We need to set the standard for the world to follow. The world needs to see and experience a difference in the way that you and I treat them.
The second aspect to Jesus’ illustration is found in the statement, “Sinners love those that love them and give to those that give to them.” When you and I love those that are unloving and different from us and we give to those that have not given to us, they will respond to us. God wants us to understand that when we give we are blessed. When we love we are blessed. It does not matter who we give to; it does not matter who we love. He wants us to give and He wants us to love everybody, even our enemies and those that despitefully use us.
Why would God make that kind of request of us? His answer could easily be, “Look at the cross. Look at what I did for you while you were still a sinner and an enemy to Me. Look at how much I loved you even while you had nothing to do with Me or My Word for your life. Because I first loved you, you can love others.”
We love because He first loved us. When you and I reach out to love the unlovable, we have the opportunity to help them love in return. They may become more loving because we first loved them. I have met people who wanted to love and wanted to contribute but because no one took the time to encourage them and love them and give them a hand up, they stayed down and people mistook them and failed to see the potential in them.
God knows our potential and He has the ability to make silk purse out of a sow’s ear! I know because He has done that in my life because someone decided to “Bless them that curse you and pray for them that despitefully use you.” Who can God touch through you as you reach out to love someone and bless them today?
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (2)
|
Tue, Jun 27th - 7:13AM
I Will Bless Them Numbers 6:27 June 27
And they shall put My name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them.
God told Moses to speak to Aaron and to his sons with reference to blessing the children of Israel. He was to say to the children of Israel, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance unto you and give you peace and they shall put My name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them.”
The desire of God’s heart is to bless His children exceedingly abundantly more than they could ask or hope for. Everything that God does He has done so that He might prove His love for us and His desire to protect us and provide for us. God wants our lives to be filled with all the goodness that He has at His disposal. He wants to bless and keep us. He wants to be gracious to us. He wants to give us peace and joy. So, why is there so much trouble in our world and in our lives today?
The Bible tells us that God causes to rain to fall on the just and the unjust. He allows trials and tribulation to come on us all. His plan is that his children will find comfort and strength in Him in spite of those trials. I heard a parent of a child with cancer at St Jude hospital in Memphis, say something that stuck with me. He said of all that he and his family had been through, “We do not know what God’s purpose has been in all of this but we have seen His blessings.”
And they shall put My name upon My children and I will bless them. When you and I take on Christ’s name we are His and He is ours. He promises that He will be with us and that He will bless us. God wants us to live for Him so that He can do for us all the things that we cannot do for ourselves. He will do His part. In fact, I can tell you that He has done more than His part in my life. God has protected me even when I was headed wide open in the wrong direction. God has blessed me even though I refused to follow His instruction and direction for my life.
God was patient and let me run and run and run doing things my way until I came to the place where I finally realized that it was what God did for me that made my life worth living. My obedience to Him simply says to God, “I trust You and Your provisions for my life.” I have taken His name and He has blessed me and continues to bless me because I am His and He is mine.
My prayer for you today is that “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine on you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance unto you and give you peace and they shall put My name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them.”
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (2)
|
Mon, Jun 26th - 5:14AM
Live for God Daniel 6:26 June 26
And I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.
The first 6 chapters of the Book of Daniel are filled with some remarkable examples of faith and God’s intervention in the lives of those whose faith directed their lives. Daniel influenced the lives of three other Hebrew men who refused to bow down in the crowded courtyard, knowing that they might lose their lives. Daniel had warned these men of the consequences of their actions but he also told them that the sole purpose of his life was to walk with God no matter what. These men understood Daniel’s resolve to live for God and they followed his example. God walked with them in the midst of the fiery furnace.
Daniel then is called from prison to interpret king Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the king again honored the God of Daniel because of the wisdom that God gave to Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar’s son Belshazzar became king. He threw a big party and saw a finger writing on the wall and Daniel was called into interpret this vision that he saw. Daniel did interpret the vision and that night, the king died because of his arrogance against God. Darius became king.
Darius made Daniel was given charge over a part of the kingdom. Another decree was issued because it was public knowledge that Daniel prayed three times a day. This decree made it a crime to pray to anyone but Darius. This decree did not stop Daniel’s devotion to His God and he was arrested and sentenced to be put in the lion’s den. God shut the mouths of the lions and Daniel walked out of the den through the same door he walked into it.
The king then made a decree, “that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for He is the living God and stedfast for ever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end.”
My point for today is simple. It does not matter how grim or how difficult it may be to stand or walk with God, that should be our resolve. Because of Daniel’s faith in the Lord, the three Hebrew men were willing to give their lives for their God. Daniel proved his willingness to die for the Lord. God proved His power and intervened in the lives of these men as well. These men were willing to live for the God who loved them even if it cost them their life. You and I ought to be willing to live for this same God as well.
Our witness is watched by those around us. They will do one of two things. They will be like Agrippa who heard Paul’s testimony and said, “you have almost persuaded me to become a Christian.” (Acts 26:28) Darius on the other hand, saw the power of God demonstrated and lived out in the life of Daniel and he chose to respond to God in his own life. The decisions that these people make is not our responsibility but it is our responsibility to live our lives for God so that they can see the benefits of their living for God as well. We can all do this and God will get the glory. God does not want us to die for Him; He sent His Son Jesus to do that. He does want us to live for Him because His kingdom shall not be destroyed and His dominion shall be forever.
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (6)
|
Sun, Jun 25th - 7:17AM
Tear Them Down Judges 6:25 June 25
25Now it came to pass the same night that the LORD said to him, “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it.
The Lord spoke to Gideon and told him… “Take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is beside it; 26“and build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down.”
“Tear down the altar of Baal”. Before we can be of any use to God, we have to tear down the altars to the other god’s that we have in our lives. It is impossible to walk with God and enjoy the blessings that are ours in Him when we have these other gods in our lives. God is a jealous God indeed, but the impossibility does not rest in His unwillingness to do for us because of the other gods, it is the impossibility of His being able to do for us what He wants to do while our attention and our focus is in places other than Him! He is the source of life. He is the answer to the problems that plague our lives. He and He alone can deliver us.
There is a very interesting side note to this event. This was not just any altar to Baal; it was an altar that Gideon’s father had built. God did not want Gideon to sacrifice just any bull; he was to take his father’s prize bull and offer it as a sacrifice on the new altar that God told Gideon to build.
Gideon was an ordinary guy. When God spoke to him in the first place, he told God that he was of the smallest tribe in Israel, and that his family was the poorest of the families in the smallest tribe and that he was the least in his family! He basically told God that he was at the bottom of the barrel. God told Gideon to tear down the altar that his father had built! God told him to sacrifice his father’s prized bull that he no doubt had plans of sacrificing himself. Gideon did what God told him to do.
If you and I are going to be used by God then we need to tear down some altars as well. Some of those altars will be built on things that we have learned in the past. Some of those altars may be built on things that our parents have taught us. Some of those altars may have been built on things that we may have been taught to us by churches that we grew up in. God may well want us to tear some of these old habits and attitudes that we have developed that are keeping us from experiencing all that God has planned for us.
There are churches today that need to tear down some of the altars of tradition and habit as well in order to begin to reach out to a new generation of people who need to hear about Jesus. We need to be constantly evaluating our methods as churches to make sure that we are doing everything we can to reach as many people as we can. We do not however, need to ever change the message.
Are there altars that you need to tear down in your life so that God can do what only He can do in and through your life? Tear them down and do it today!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (5)
|
Sat, Jun 24th - 8:09AM
Teach Me Lord Job 6:24 June 24
Teach me and I will hold my tongue; cause me to understand where I have erred.
Job has listened to his friends who came to comfort him and give him advice as to why he had experienced all the things that happened to him and what he needed to do to get back into good graces with God. I like what job said to his friends in the verses that come just before this one, “did I ask you to come over here? Did I ask you to help me? Even though I have lost everything I had, did I ask you for one penny?”
He then said, “Teach me and I will hold my tongue; cause me to understand where I have erred.” What was Job saying?
This could well have been Job’s testimony, “I have not sinned against God. I have served Him and walked with Him just as I have in my whole life. Nothing has changed; if anything is true, I am closer to the Lord today than I have ever been in my whole life.”
Even though Job knew that his relationship with the Lord was good, he said in effect, “Ok I will listen to you. I will keep quiet and see if what you say will help me understand where I may have erred.” Job was a righteous man. One of the greatest testimonies of his wisdom is found right here. We do not like criticism of any form. We don’t like for anyone to tell us what we have or have not done correctly.
Job was willing to listen even though he knew that these men had nothing that they could say that would shed any light on his situation and circumstances. He did listen.
You and I need to be willing to listen and we need to learn to accept criticism because God can speak to us all in various and strange ways. Sometimes God can speak to us through our worst enemy! He can speak to us through our spouse or a parent or even a child. God can speak to us through an event that happens in our lives. Job understood this and if God was speaking to him, he certainly did not want to miss the message.
Our attitude and prayer to the Lord ought to be, “Teach me and I will hold my tongue; cause me to understand where I have erred.” God will answer that prayer and He will bless us through our circumstances and situations no matter who difficult they may be.
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
|
Comment (2)
|
Fri, Jun 23rd - 6:57AM
Here For A Purpose Deuteronomy 6:23 June 23
And He brought us out from there that He might bring us here to give us the land that He promised to our fathers.
The children of Israel are in the wilderness. God has delivered them from the evil hand of Pharaoh and He has brought them into the wilderness. They are on their way to the Promised Land. In verse 3 we read, Hear O Israel and observe to do it (keep God’s commandments) that it may be well with you and that you may increase mightily in the land that was promised to your fathers
God brought us out that He might bring us here so that He might give us the land that He promised to our fathers. God does things as part of a process. He led the children of Israel out of Egypt. He protected them while they were in the wilderness for one purpose; so that He could bring them into the land that He promised their forefathers generations before. Ultimately, God had even more in mind because out of the lineage of the inhabitants of Israel, would come His Son who would become the supreme sacrifice for the sins of mankind.
God brought the children of Israel into the wilderness but their reluctance to go with God into the Promised Land early in their journey, caused them to still be in the wilderness at this point; however, God still has a purpose for them and He is still in the business of taking care of them. You and I will face hardships and difficulties. Some of those hardships will be by God’s design and some of those will be because of our own poor decisions. In either case, God still has a plan for our lives and He can still give us victory as He brings us into the land that He has in store for us that is also flowing with milk and honey.
Moses goes on to tell the children of Israel in verse 24, “The Lord commanded us to do all these statutes for our good always, that He might preserve us alive as we are today.” God wants us to look to Him in every decision that we make so that it might be well with us. God’s statutes are for our own benefit and for our own good so that He might preserve us alive as well.
As you and I face circumstances and situations, we need to remember that God has a plan for us and He will bring that plan to its completion; the only question is how long will it take Him to do so. The children of Israel were going to inherit the Promised Land. The only question was, “When.” Our determination to stand with God will allow Him to stand with us and bring us His protection and His provisions sooner than later! Either way, God will keep His promises to us. We need to give God our obedience so that He can give us the desires of His heart!
We are all where we are for a purpose and God is in control of that purpose.
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (3)
|
Thu, Jun 22nd - 7:09AM
Joy in My Heart Ezra 6:22 June 22
And they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy for the Lord had made them joyful and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the House of God, the God of Israel.
Israel has been in held in captivity in Babylon for several years. They have been allowed to return to Jerusalem and under the leadership of Zerubbabel, they were allowed to begin building a Temple in Jerusalem as a permanent place to worship God. All through this book, we will see a common theme, which is the power of God at work in human life. For only did the king allow the children of Israel to return to Jerusalem and build their Temple, the king ordered gifts to be given from the treasury to build and decorate the Temple.
Darius who ruled the province also ordered taxes to be collected to help build the Temple. In fact, there were three foreign leaders who ordered assistance to build the Temple. When the Temple was finished, the people rejoiced and they dedicated the Temple to God and joy filled their hearts. The Lord, the Bible tells us, made them joyful.
Joy comes from the Lord. The world can make us happy but joy comes from the Lord. The people celebrated their freedom and they came together to worship God because of all that He had done for them. The watched as God “turned the heart of Assyria” and he let the people go free and then God touched the hearts of not one but three other kings and they financed the building of the Temple!
God can accomplish what He wants to accomplish and He does not need our help in doing it! What God does want is for us to look to Him and allow him to be God in our lives. The people had lived in captivity and they began to cry out to God for forgiveness and for His deliverance and God said, “Ok; I will deliver you” and that is what He did. He gave Zerubbabel the vision to build a temple and He gave him the manpower and the finances to do what He wanted done.
God will do the same thing in our day today if we will just look to Him and then do what He tells us He wants us to do. God will deliver us from our oppressors and He will build our lives and He will also build His church! God has the recourses to do anything that He wants to do and we need to open our hearts to Him and allow Him to do what He wants to do in our lives. These people let God prove that He is able to do more than they could imagine and they celebrated all that He had done for them and God gave them joy in their hearts.
If you and I will let Him be God in our lives today, He will turn the hearts of those that oppose us and we may well be surprised and the provisions that God has in store for us as well! One thin is sure, if you and I will just walk with God, He will put His joy in our hearts and that will be worth celebrating!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (1)
|
Wed, Jun 21st - 8:00AM
Your Heart Will Follow Matthew 6:21 June 21
21“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Here is a very familiar passage of scripture for most of us. This comes from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Here Jesus tells His disciples that they are not to be as concerned about earthly treasures because they can be destroyed from the inside (the moth damage) and they can also be destroyed from the outside (the rust). What does not get eaten up or rusted away can be stolen! As I have lived and labored I have learned a lot about this lesson already!
“lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Well, that we all know is good advice.
What I want to look at today is verse 21, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.“ If you watch the money flow, you will be able to see where his priorities are. Take a look at a persons’ pocketbook or check book or credit card statement and you will find out what that person thinks is important.
Jesus wants us to understand the importance of placing our priorities in things that are eternal as opposed to things that are physical. If my focus is on earthly treasures, my heart will follow and the day will come when the earth and the things of the earth shall pass away. If my focus is on things that are eternal, my heart will follow and the treasures that are stored up in heaven will be there for me forever.
The purpose of this life is to get our soul to heaven. What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? When we as Christians invest our time, talents and tithes in God, we place our heart in His Hands! When we invest our lives in the things of Heaven, we place our heart in a fund that will pay tremendous dividends that will last forever!
In heaven you wont have to worry about moths or inflation… you wont have to worry about rust or devaluation… and you wont have to worry about robbers or taxation!
Ain’t God Good!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (2)
|
Tue, Jun 20th - 7:56AM
Fear and Faith John 6:20 June 20
It is I; be not afraid.
Jesus has just fed the 5000. The disciples are elated at what they had experienced. It is relatively early in their ministry as disciples of Jesus. They are learning that Jesus is different from anyone that they had ever met. They know in their heads that Jesus is the Messiah and they are learning in the hearts that He is the Son of God. They are on a spiritual high like nothing they had ever experienced in their lives.
Jesus tells the disciples to go down to the Sea of Galilee so that they can go to the other side of the sea. The Bible tells us that the disciples went and it began to get dark and Jesus had not yet joined them. They expected Jesus to come but He had not gotten there yet. The Bible tells us that a storm came up suddenly and as they tried rowing Jesus came up in the night walking on the water and the disciples were afraid and Jesus spoke out, “It is I; be not afraid.” John tells us, “then they willingly received Him and immediately the ship was on land on the other side of the sea.”
The lesson that the Lord was trying to teach His disciples was simple. “Fear and Faith” do not mix. The proof of the presence of faith is the absence of fear. The disciples were justified in fearing for their safety. Fear is a God-given reaction to what is taking place around us. However, when we begin to fear, we need to turn to the Lord instead of trying to fight our way out of the storm on our own.
Jesus wanted the disciples to know that He is in complete charge of everything that is going on in our lives. He is in complete control of the elements. He wants us to know that no matter how strong the winds may blow and no matter how difficult our situation may be, God is still on His throne and He is still incomplete charge and control of everything that takes place.
The disciples “willingly received Jesus into the boat.” When you and I willingly receive Jesus into our hearts and let Him have complete control of our lives, we will be amazed at how quickly He can calm the storm and get us out of our difficulty. Now, it may not be instant as was the case for the disciples in this event but when we look back at the event it will seem like it was! God’s peace can calm the storm on our inside even if He does not calm the storm on the outside and when we look back on the experience, it will seem as if God stepped in and “immediately” we were on the other side and the lessons that we learn will be invaluable to us!
You and I need to be more like David; “what time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.” (Psalm 56:3) Listen to Jesus as He says to you, “It is I; be not afraid.” Fear and faith do not mix!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (4)
|
Mon, Jun 19th - 8:05AM
Foundation of Faith I Timothy 6:19 June 19
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may hold on eternal life.
Life is the sum total of the decisions that we make on a daily basis. When we choose to let the Holy Spirit guide our decisions then we will find that our lives are built on a good foundation. Paul is speaking in the context of wealthy people and the decisions that these people are tempted to base their lives on. Paul writes, “charge them that are rich in this world, that they not be highminded nor trust in uncertain riches but rather they should place their trust in the Living God, who gives us richly to enjoy.”
It is so easy to let our personal pride get in front of our relationship with the Lord. I have run the gamut when it comes to the attitudes and excuses that I have used when it comes to walking with the Lord. I have thought, “I do not need God’s help in this decision” or “God will not help me with that” or “I don’t want God’s input in this decision; I want to do what I want to do!” When you and I decide to do what seems right in our own eyes, we are making a terrible mistake. God knows what He has planned for you and me and He knows what He wants to do for us and with us and through us. The foundation that we lay for our lives is as important as anything that we will do in this life or in the life that is to come.
You and I build a foundation of faith in God that will preserve us against the time to come so that we can hold onto the promise of eternal life. One of the reasons that a lot of people have a real problem knowing that they are saved is found right here. If our foundation is not firm enough, we will not much to hold onto when it comes to our hope in glory for eternity. God wants us to know that we have eternal life. He does not want us wondering about our position in Christ. This assurance comes as we build our lives on this foundation of faith in the Lord Jesus.
As you and I make decisions, God wants us to look to Him each and every time. He wants us to make decisions as if He were right there with us; because in reality He is! Whether or not we are saved and belong to Him or not, God is right there with us. He is either working in our lives to draw us closer to a decision to trust Him and Lord and Saviour in our lives, or He has His Holy Spirit living in our hearts as His child, and either way He is right there with us!
As we choose to make decisions that honor Him, He is able to lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil! He is able to fight our battles for us and give us the desires of His heart. There is no life that can begin to compare with the life that God has planned for those that will build their lives on this foundation of faith that He has in store for us.
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
|
Comment (2)
|
Sun, Jun 18th - 7:31AM
Prayer is Powerful Ephesians 6:18 June 18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.
I am personally convinced that the most valuable and the most misused and underused privilege that you and I have as God’s children is the practice of prayer. Paul knew that value of prayer in his life as well as the lives of those around him. He prayed for the churches that he had the privilege of visiting. He knew that God would bless the churches if the people would take hold of the practice of prayer in their lives and Paul prayed for them to that end.
Prayer works. Prayer works. God wants to reach done into our lives and He wants to make a difference in the quality of our lives. I don’t know if you have ever thought about it but did you know it is impossible to sin when you are in an attitude of prayer? That is right! Temptation has no power over you when you are praying in the Spirit. There is one exception to this rule.
Prayer is the most misused privilege that we as Christians have. When we allow our selfishness come before our relationship to God, our prayers are not going to be effective. Sometimes, we let our relationship with God cool and we begin to ask God for specific blessings. I have seen people remind God of the things that they have done for Him as if they are saying, “I deserve what I am asking for.” I have heard ministers preach this “name it and claim it” gospel encouraging people to look at God as if He were some great warehouse shipping out cash and cars and houses for all those who asked Him to do so. God is not some cosmic Santa Claus who waits to grant our every wish. Our prayer needs to be given up to God on His terms and according to His purpose for our lives.
Not only do I have a problem with misused prayer, I have a problem with underused prayer. Paul “prayed always”. He knew that prayer worked and that it was the most valuable asset that he had. He loved preaching to the people but he knew that his power came from God and it was not the words that he spoke but the power of God that was released in the lives of the people that he ministered to and that prayer was the key to unleashing that power.
When I am walking the closest with my Lord, I am in an attitude of prayer more and more. The more I lean on the Lord in prayer, the closer I am drawn to His presence and His protection and His provisions. As I look to God in an attitude of prayer, and as I begin to make decisions those decisions will be influenced by the Holy Spirit and God will be able to move me from where I am to the place that He wants me to be. Prayer is the key to living a victorious Christian life.
My prayer today is that God will give each of us the wisdom to know what to do and then He will give us the power to do it! Pray without ceasing and as Paul said, “watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.” He expected to see a change in the live of those that he was praying for and he was looking for that change! Prayer is powerful!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (5)
|
Sat, Jun 17th - 7:56AM
Open Our Eyes Lord II Kings 6:16 June 16
“Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.”
The king of Syria had come down to do battle with the King of Israel. God spoke to the King of Israel and warned him not to go in a certain direction because the King of Syria lie in ambush for him. The King of Syria was furious because his plans had been foiled. So, he called for his men of wisdom and they told him that Elisha had warned the king of Israel and so the King of Syria sent his armies to the place where Elijah was.
Early in the morning, one of Elisha’s men got up and went to the gate and saw the armies and the chariots outside the city walls and was afraid and he came to tell Elisha what he saw. Elisha’s rely was, “Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.”
Elisha then prayed, “Lord I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Bible says that God opened his eyes and he looked out and saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Elisha then prayed that the enemies would be struck blind and God heard his prayer and He struck the men blind.
We face all kinds of obstacles in our lives. Many of the obstacles are because of our own disobedience and others come because difficulty comes on the just and the unjust. Life brings its own difficulties. However, there is nothing that God is not are of nor is there anything that we will ever face that He does not have the answer for. Every obstacle that we will ever face is surrounded by God’s delivering solution.
God wants us to always remember that He is greater than any problem that we will ever face. His provisions are greater than any need we will ever have. His love for us is greater than any obstacle that we will ever encounter and all He wants us to do is to open our eyes and see Him in all of His glory and allow Him to win the victory for us. We can be sure that He will take care of any situation that we look to Him to handle. His timing may not be according to our schedule and He may come at what we see as the 11th hour but He will come if we will just trust in Him and in obedience cling to Him and His instruction and direction for our lives.
Mary and Martha sent for Jesus when their brother Lazarus was sick unto death. Jesus came but Lazarus had already died. Mary and Martha knew that had Jesus been there, He could have healed their brother. The had no idea that Jesus would bring Lazarus back to life! We have to trust Jesus no matter what and know that He has everything under His control and our best interest at the center of His heart and He will open our eyes and help us to see His power and His provisions and His protection in our lives!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (0)
|
Fri, Jun 16th - 7:04AM
Open Our Eyes Lord II Kings 6:16 June 16
“Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.”
The king of Syria had come down to do battle with the King of Israel. God spoke to the King of Israel and warned him not to go in a certain direction because the King of Syria lie in ambush for him. The King of Syria was furious because his plans had been foiled. So, he called for his men of wisdom and they told him that Elisha had warned the king of Israel and so the King of Syria sent his armies to the place where Elijah was.
Early in the morning, one of Elisha’s men got up and went to the gate and saw the armies and the chariots outside the city walls and was afraid and he came to tell Elisha what he saw. Elisha’s rely was, “Fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.”
Elisha then prayed, “Lord I pray Thee, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Bible says that God opened his eyes and he looked out and saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Elisha then prayed that the enemies would be struck blind and God heard his prayer and He struck the men blind.
We face all kinds of obstacles in our lives. Many of the obstacles are because of our own disobedience and others come because difficulty comes on the just and the unjust. Life brings its own difficulties. However, there is nothing that God is not are of nor is there anything that we will ever face that He does not have the answer for. Every obstacle that we will ever face is surrounded by God’s delivering solution.
God wants us to always remember that He is greater than any problem that we will ever face. His provisions are greater than any need we will ever have. His love for us is greater than any obstacle that we will ever encounter and all He wants us to do is to open our eyes and see Him in all of His glory and allow Him to win the victory for us. We can be sure that He will take care of any situation that we look to Him to handle. His timing may not be according to our schedule and He may come at what we see as the 11th hour but He will come if we will just trust in Him and in obedience cling to Him and His instruction and direction for our lives.
Mary and Martha sent for Jesus when their brother Lazarus was sick unto death. Jesus came but Lazarus had already died. Mary and Martha knew that had Jesus been there, He could have healed their brother. The had no idea that Jesus would bring Lazarus back to life! We have to trust Jesus no matter what and know that He has everything under His control and our best interest at the center of His heart and He will open our eyes and help us to see His power and His provisions and His protection in our lives!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (1)
|
Thu, Jun 15th - 7:33AM
God Uses Common Folks Judges 6:15 June 15
15And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
God has appeared to Gideon and spoke to him through the voice of an angel. The angel told Gideon that He was going to deliver the children of Israel from the Midianites through Gideon’s hand. Gideon sort of says that the reason the children of Israel was in the position that they were in, in the first place, was because God hadn’t done anything sooner! It is amazing that God didn’t decide to wait another generation after Gideon’s remarks!
Gideon not only looked at the situation and gave his commentary on it, but he then thought about what the angel of the Lord said to him and he started making excuses as to why he was the wrong man for he job! I am of the tribe of Manasseh, which is the least of the 12 tribes. My father’s family is the poorest of the families in this tribe and I am the least in my father’s house! Of all the people that you could have picked, I am the least!
Gideon sounds a lot like Moses did when the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses at the burning bush. You have the wrong man seems to be a theme that runs all through the Bible when it comes to the man that God uses. There could be a real good reason for that. God wants to do things first of all that men are not capable of doing so that He can get all the glory! Time after time the statement is made in the Bible that “this was done so that all of Israel and the rest of the world would know that there is a God in Israel.”
When God looks for people through whom He wants to dome something special, He looks for special people. He does not look at the Who’s Who of Society… in fact, He most often looks at the Who’s Not of Society! God’s choice is not always man’s choice. God chose Gideon because he knew that He could do what He wanted to do through him… if God can use a donkey to deliver a message, then He knew that He could use Gideon! The fact that Gideon failed to see his own personal significance made him a choice pick for God in the first place. God did not have to worry about Gideon getting in the way because he was so important he didn’t need God to do what needed to be done!
God takes ordinary people and does extraordinary things in them and with them and through them. He takes common ordinary men and women and uses them in a mighty and dynamic way. Abraham was 75 years old when God told him to pack up and move. He and Sarah, his wife, were a hundred years old when God gave them their son of promise! Moses was 80 when God told him to go to Israel and lead the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt.
God can use anyone except those who are overqualified! The field of Christian service is the only field in all the world where the more unqualified an individual is the more valuable he or she is to God! Listen to I Corinthians 1… “26For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; 28And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: 29That no flesh should glory in his presence. 30But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: 31That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”
Are you overqualified to be used by God?
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (1)
|
Wed, Jun 14th - 7:35AM
Free From Sin’s Dominion Romans 6:14 June 14
Sin shall not have dominion over you. You are not under the law but under grace.
Paul wrote, “Do not let sin rule in your bodies that you should obey it in the lusts thereof.” Sin is the result of the decisions that we make. When it comes to living our lives, we have two choices. We can do things God’s way of we can do them our way. The latter is our natural inclination because this is the way of the world. However, we were created so that God could provide for us. The challenge that we face on a daily basis has to do with whether or not we area going to let God be God in our lives or are we going to be god in our lives. This is the dilemma that we face every time that we come to make a decision.
Flip Wilson made a fortune with the slogan, “The devil made me do it.” The devil does not make us do anything. All the devil does is lie to us and try to persuade us to do things any way but God’s way. When we do that, sin has dominion over us. Paul’s admonition to us is that we not let sin have dominion over us. How do we do that? We overcome temptation through our determination and commitment to walk with God. We sin anytime we fail to walk with God in the first place. So, walking with God keeps sin from having Dominion over us
We are not under the law but under grace. In the Old Testament, the purpose of the law was to show men that they were sinful and needed to repent. However, they took the law and tried to make the Law fit their lives so that they could gauge their own righteousness. instead of letting the Law show their need, they tried to take the Law and let it show their righteousness. They tried to let the Law do something that it could not do. However, God’s grace is different. God’s grace is given to us so that we can do two things. Fist of all, God’s grace allows us to receive His provisions and His power to live our lives according to His direction. When we do that, God is able to bless us by His grace at work in our lives in our decisions.
When we sin, we refuse God’s grace and His presence and power for our lives by choosing what seems right in our own eyes. When we do that, sin takes over in our lives and we become enslaved to the lusts of the flesh and the lusts of the eyes. The world cannot begin to compare with what God has in store for us.
Do not let sin have dominion over you. With God’s grace, you can live in His blessing free from the burden and the bondage of sin!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (0)
|
Tue, Jun 13th - 7:29AM
Practice Patience Hebrews 6:13 June 13
When God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surly blessing I will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
God keeps His promises but His time table is very different from ours. We live in a fast paced society where we expect things to be done immediately. A funny line in “Runaway Bride” takes place as the bride steps on a Fed-Ex truck and someone asks, “Where is she going?” and the reply is, “Wherever it is, she will be there by 10:30 in the morning.” God is not on our schedule and He is not concerned about impulses. He is concerned about strengthening our faith and our resolve to walk with Him no matter what.
God is not interesting in giving to us; He is interesting in growing us up. God made a promise to Abraham and because of that promise Abraham left his homeland and took off with God not knowing where it was that he was going or how long that journey would take. Abraham followed after God for 5 years and there was no son. He followed another 5 years and still there was no son. Another 10 years went by and Abraham had not been given a son. 25 years after he left his homeland as a 75 year old man, God appeared to him again and said, “It is time for you to get your son.”
Abraham did not know what to think and Poor old Sarah was even more confused! They were a 100 years old! I am not yet half that age and the thought of a little baby would shock me! My English Bulldog is all I need on a permanent basis!
My question is, was God faithful to his promise at 15 years? 20 years? It is easy to see that Abraham did not have his son and Abraham had done what God had asked him to do, plus some. He did sleep with Sarah’s maid and she bore him a son as they tried to help God out. Was God faithful in His promises to Abraham? Sure He was!
When you and I face trying times in our lives, we have to hold onto God’s promises for our lives and walk with Him knowing that those promises will be fulfilled. God has promised that He will never leave nor forsake us and He has promised that He will not let more come on us than we can handle. The storm may become pretty intense and it may seem as if you are going to be swept away and there are even times when that may be exactly what happens. However, our response has to be, “God is here with me and He will see me through this.” For it is the practice of our patience that brings God’s promises to us.
I am personally convinced that when we are tempted the most, the devil is trying to interrupt God’s blessings in our lives. When temptation comes, we need to practice patience if we want to see God’s salvation and His abundant blessings. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer for perfection to take shape. God knows exactly what we need and He knows exactly when we need it and He is never a day late or a dollar short! He is always right on time with His timetable!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (0)
|
Mon, Jun 12th - 7:20AM
Walk in My Statutes I Kings 6:12 June 12
Concerning this House which thou art building, if you will walk in my statues and execute my judgments and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then I will perform my word with you which I spake unto David thy father and I will dwell among the children of Israel and I will not forsake my people Israel.
Solomon is preparing to built the Temple to house the Arc of the Covenant and to make a permanent dwelling place for the Lord in Israel. This would be a place where the presence of God would rest as well as a place where the people of God would be able to come to worship and have sacrifices made to God. in addition, it would be a place of prayer for the people. People from all over the world would be able to come here to pray and people who were not in Jerusalem would look toward Jerusalem and pray in the direction of the Temple because the presence of the Lord dwelt there.
As Solomon was in the process of building this magnificent Temple, the Word of the Lord came to Solomon concerning this house that he was building. God tells Solomon if he will walk in His statutes and execute His judgments and keep all of His commandments, and walk in them, God promises that He will keep all of the promises that He has made to Solomon’s father. David and He will dwell with His people, Israel and not forsake them.
God’s plan has always been that His people walk in His statutes and keep His commandments. The same thing is true in the New Testament as well. Faith is founded on this same principle! The only difference is our faith today is based on what Jesus did for us at Calvary as opposed to just trusting in the promises and God’s active involvement in the lives of our forefathers.
Just as Solomon began to build the Temple, so are we to build our lives on a solid foundation. God is reminding Solomon of the desire of His heart to walk with him and to provide for him and to continue to bless him and the nation he was given charge over. Notice there is no real mention of the children of Israel’s walking with the Lord. If Solomon walked before the Lord, then God promised to dwell with Israel and not forsake them.
If you and I will walk with God and keep His commandments, God will be with us and He will not forsake us and He will bless us and give us life and give it to us more abundantly. He will also be with our families and He will have an impact on them as well. Our relationship with the Lord reaches much farther than just our own lives. God will reach out to us and He will also reach out through us to touch our families and our friends as well. His goal is to reach as many people as He possibly can and He will do it through his children as they walk in His statutes and keep His commandments, which allows Him to be active in their lives and that is what the world needs to see today!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
|
Comment (2)
|
Sun, Jun 11th - 7:09AM
Sanctified and Justified I Corinthians 6:11 June 11
And such were some of you. But you are washed; you are sanctified and you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
Paul writes, “do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived for fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, or abusers of themselves with mankind, not thieves, or covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Paul then writes, “And such were some of you. But you are washed; you are sanctified and you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” We are all sinners and none of deserve to go to heaven. Everyone who is saved was once listed among the group of individuals that Paul says will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. However, because of God’s grace and Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross, we can pass from death to life in this life.
Paul says, “such were some of you.” “Were” is past tense. When God forgives our sin and the blood of Christ cleanses us from our unrighteousness, he tells us that we are justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus. When an individual accepts Christ’s free pardon for his or her sin, their sins are forgiven and Christ’s substitutional death on the cross becomes the penalty paid in full for their sin. At that point, the individual was among the group that Paul says will not inherit the kingdom of God. This individual “is sanctified and justified in the Name of the Lord” and they will inherit eternal life.
Folks, this is the assurance that we need to know that we can have eternal life. God does not want us to wonder if we are saved; He does not want us hoping that we are saved. God wants us to know that we have been saved. God wants us to know that what we were is past and what we are now sanctified and justified in what Jesus did for us on the cross and because He is alive today so will we will live with Him in eternity forever!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (0)
|
Sat, Jun 10th - 8:09AM
Nothing or Everything II Corinthians 6:10 June 10
As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor yet making many rich; as having nothing and yet possessing everything.
There is no life that is any more fulfilling than a life that is surrendered to the Lord. His benefits transcend this world. His benefits are beyond our ability to comprehend. It is difficult to believe that the more we give the more we have. It is difficult for us to understand how we can have peace in the midst of tragedy, joy in the midst of sorrow but that is the testimony of so many who have learned to trust in the Lord with all their hearts.
Paul makes a statement here that we all need to understand. He writes, that some are “poor yet make many rich.” I have been blessed to know so many people who were poor by the standards of the world but they added to much to my life and it was a joy to be in their presence. Perhaps these individuals knew that people were more important than possessions and they made others a priority in their lives as opposed to possessions. When we begin to think that what we have is more important than who we are we are in trouble. When we begin to think that what we don’t have is more important than what we do have, we are even in more trouble. When we make the mistake of thinking that what we have is more important than the people around us, we have lost the meaning and purpose of life.
When we are aware of the needs of others and we care more about others than we do our own selves, then we transcend the lure of the world and we find out that life really is worth living. I like what Zig Ziglar says, “When we help others get what they want out of life, then we will have all that we want as well.”
When you and I are able to commit ourselves to the Lord and allow Him to be all and all in our lives, then we will find that His grace will save us; His power will keep us; His providence will feed us; His Word will direct us; His care will preserve us; and His arms will protect us. We may be poor by the world’s standards but we will possess more than we can imagine and the Lord will bless us exceedingly abundantly more than we can ask or hope for!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (4)
|
Fri, Jun 9th - 7:25AM
Build My House II Chronicles 6:9 June 9
Notwithstanding, you shall not build the house; your son who shall come out of your loins shall build the house for My name.
Solomon has built the temple of the Lord. Solomon was King of Israel. He became king when David died. Solomon was King David’s son. David was blessed by God in a great and mighty way. He was anointed to be king at a very early age. David fled for his life for a number of years because Saul was jealous of him. David knew that God had protected him. He knew that God had given him the palace. He knew that there was no place that God’s presence could reside. The Arc of the Covenant was still kept in the Tabernacle and David wanted to build a permanent place for the Arc to rest.
God told David that he would not build the Temple but his son, who had not been born yet, would build Him a Temple. Solomon grew up knowing that he would be king and that he would build a Temple to honor the God of his father. Solomon told the people, I am risen up in the room of David, my father and I am set on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised and I have built the house for the name of the Lord God if Israel.
David was a man who made mistakes. He was not perfect. He sinned greatly against God. This did not keep God from using him and it did not keep God from loving David. In fact, God loved David so much, he promised David that his son would become king after him and this son would build Him a permanent dwelling place. God’s promises are promises that He keeps!
God has a plan and purpose for your life and for mine. He wants us to walk with Him so that He can fulfill those promises in us as well as in our children and even our children’s children. What is it that God may have planned for you and for your children to do for Him? What blessings does God have reserved for you and for your family or your church because in your heart you wanted to live for Him because of all that He has done for you?
Gratitude is the beginning of God’s blessings to you and to your family. David was grateful in his heart for all that God had done for him and he wanted to show his gratitude to God by building Him a Temple. God wanted David to instill that gratefulness in his son Solomon, so that Solomon would build Him a permanent dwelling place. What will you instill in your children? What kind of attitudes do your children see in you as you walk with God? David wanted to build God a house. Solomon did build it. What kind of house are you building for today and for tomorrow?
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (0)
|
Thu, Jun 8th - 7:28AM
Changing Places Ester 6:8 June 8
Let the royal apparel be brought which the king wears, and the horse that the king rides on and the royal crown that sits on his head.
Let me set the stage for this verse. The king Ahasuerus ruled over a large part of the land and the Jews were ruled by this king. Ester was chosen to replace Vashti, who refused to come out to him when he called for her to present her at a great feast that he had prepared before all the people. Ester was a Jew. She was the daughter of Mordecai. The Bible says that the king loved Ester more than any of the other ladies in all of his kingdom.
Mordecai overheard a couple of men talking about overthrowing the king and taking his life. He told Ester who told the king and the men were taken into custody and it was learned that what Mordecai had heard was true and the men were hanged. The king appointed a man named Haman to be chief prince in his cabinet and everyone was to bow down to him as they would the king. Mordecai did not bow before Haman and Haman despised Mordecai as well as the Jews in general and he determined in his heart to make the lives of the Jews as difficult as possible.
The king remembers that Mordecai had saved his life and one day he asks if Mordecai had been rewarded for the service that he had given to the king. The kings servants said that nothing had been done for him. Haman was coming to see the king so the king asked Haman the following question, “What shall be done to the man that the king seeks to honor?” Haman in his arrogance thought that the king was speaking of him and so he gave the king a royal request.
He told the king, “Let the royal apparel be brought which the king wears, and the horse that the king rides on and the royal crown that sits on his head. Let there be a parade in front of all the people so that everyone will know that the king delights in this man.” The king said, “That is a great idea! Do as you have said. Take my robe and my horse and find Mordecai the Jew and give him a parade like no one has ever seen before!”
Haman had built a set of gallows to hang Mordecai on along with a number of the Jews in the land. However, Ester told the king of Haman’s hatred for her people and her father and so Haman was hanged on the gallows that he built to hang Mordecai.
The thought for today is this; we need to be careful with our assumptions. Our pride can cause us a lot of problems. The answer that Haman gave to the king was a great way to honor Mordecai; Haman thought he was ordering his own parade. How you and I treat one another has a lot to do with the quality of the lives that we will have for ourselves. Haman’s pride and his thirst for power cost him his life. Our pride costs us as well. We need to learn to love one another and accept one another even though we have differences lest we find ourselves changing places with them as Haman did!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (2)
|
Wed, Jun 7th - 7:42AM
Satisfy My Appetites Ecclesiastes 6:7 June 7
All the labor of a man is for his mouth and yet his appetite is not filled.
Solomon was a man that God blessed in a very special way. When Solomon became king of Israel, God asked him what Solomon wanted god to give him. Solomon asked for wisdom. God was pleased with Solomon’s request and He increased Solomon’s wisdom abundantly and with that wisdom, Solomon became wealthy beyond his own expectations. As Solomon grew, he lived his life to the gusto as some would say today.
He looked back at some of the things that he did that he thought would make him happy. He went through a number of episodes in his quest to solve the question, “What is the key to enjoying real life?” One of the things that Solomon discovered is related in our text for today. Solomon tried to find the answer to the key to life in the old Epicurean Philosophy of eating and drinking for tomorrow you shall surely die.
Solomon realized that he sought to fill his mouth but his appetite was not satisfied. Solomon had the finest of chefs. He had the finest tables and his kitchens were filled to capacity. Solomon had access to anything he wanted but that did not satisfy his appetites.
Solomon used this example to demonstrate the futility of trying to satisfy our appetites period. When we make decisions based on doing what seems right in our own eyes or trying to satisfy the desires of the flesh, what we do will not matter because the things of the world will not satisfy our appetites and it does not matter how well we do in providing for those appetites, we cannot fill those appetites of the flesh. Solomon would say, I had the best of the best and I ate anything that I wanted but my appetite was never satisfied.
In our lives, we too may try to satisfy our appetites to be happy or to find joy and peace in life but we will not be able to do so. It does not matter how good of a job we do either. Solomon was wealthy enough to do whatever he wanted to do and the conclusion of the matter in his own words was, vanity of vanity… it is all nothing but vanity… or emptiness. The world cannot fill the void that only God can fill because He created us with this void so that He and He alone could fill it!
You and I can try to do things our own way or we can choose to live our lives one decision at a time as God directs us in His Word. One seems to be the way to experience life in all of its glory, while the other seems to be restrictive and could not make my life happy. All we have to do is do what Solomon did and look back at our lives and see that the times that we were the happiest were the times when we walked with the Lord and the times that we experienced the most difficulty and heartache followed the times when we tried on our own to satisfy our own appetites on our own and we found out that our appetites were not satisfied at all. It is only what we allow God to do in our lives that really and truly will ever satisfy the appetites that we have!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (3)
|
Tue, Jun 6th - 7:52AM
Godly Contentment I Timothy 6:6 June 6
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Contentment is a great blessing. Real contentment can only come from the Lord. Contentment is a gift from Him. The world wants to make us think that we can have contentment on our own. The world wants us to think that hard work and knowledge and the things that we can gain from them will give us contentment. Since contentment is relative, we may find out that there is some degree of contentment in these things that the world promotes.
However, a good thing can be a bad thing if it keeps us from experiencing our best. This is where most people miss the mark in their lives. We think we have all the answers and we work so hard to try to find real contentment and peace in our lives. Possessions and things are not bad in and of themselves. Education and hard work are not bad in and of themselves either. However, if these things or anything keeps us from experiencing what is best for us, they can be bad for us.
Paul wants us to think about our priorities and the things that we hold onto so tightly because contentment in and of itself is not what is best for us. Real contentment is born from godliness and and godliness with contentment is great gain. There is a very big difference in the contentment that comes from God and walking with Him and allowing Him to bless us and provide for us as opposed to the blessings that come to us from our own hard work and effort.
Contentment is the result of godliness. Godliness comes when we commit ourselves to walking with the Lord on a daily basis. Godliness is not being perfect; however, godliness is putting the Lord and His Word and His way first in our lives. Godliness does not necessarily take charge over night either. Godliness is a lifestyle. Contentment is the product of a lifestyle that has been based on godliness.
Some people might say, “I have contentment in my life” and they do not have Christ in their lives. Their contentment cannot begin to compare with the contentment that God has for us. To try to compare the two would be like asking a 5 year old what he wanted to do when he grew up. This youngster can be as honest and sincere as he possibly can with his level of experience but there is no way he can give an answer to that question. When I was 4 or 5, I shocked my parents by exclaiming one morning that I wanted to be a garbage man when I grew up.
My parents asked me why I had come to this conclusion and my response was, “They use their head.” My dad had told me that I wanted to grow up and use my head and I saw one of the garbage men carrying a bog garbage can on his head and I figured he was doing what my dad had told me I needed to do. Until we turn loose and let go and let God have His way in our hearts and in our lives, we cannot begin to know the contentment that He has for us. We can listen to what others say and we can think that the contentment that we have is all there is to life but there is nothing that can begin to compare with godliness and the contentment that God can give to us.
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (3)
|
Mon, Jun 5th - 10:21AM
Evil Thoughts of the Heart Genesis 6:5 June 5
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Verse 6 goes on to say, “It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth and it grieved Him at his heart.
God hates sin. The Bible tells us that God saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. This statement was a terrible description of the state of man back before God destroyed the earth by a flood. It is tragically a description of the state of affairs in our world today. There are two statements that stand out in this passage of scripture. The first statement that stands out to me is the statement, “It repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth and it grieved Him at His heart.” The second statement that stands out is the latter part of verse 5 where we read, “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
The heart of man is compared in contrast to the heart of God. Man’s heart was filled with evil while God’s heart was filled with grief. The writer of the Book of Genesis says, “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” It is one thing for the wickedness of man to be great; it is another for the imaginations of his heart to be continually evil. It is interesting that we find “the thoughts of his heart” as opposed to “the thoughts of his head.” When it comes to our sin, we really do know better. However, the thoughts of our heart dictate the thoughts of our head and have more to do with what we do and how we do it than what we think.
The reason that God’s heart is grieved so much is because the desire of God’s heart is to touch our hearts so that the thoughts of our heart will reflect His goodness and His grace and not the evil that is all around us in the world. God created man to be an outlet for His love. The desire of God’s heart is that we allow His thoughts to become our thoughts so that we will be able to experience the life that He has planned for us. When we allow the imaginations of our thoughts to be evil, we are saying in effect, “God I do not need You in my life and I know more about what I want than You do and I am going to do what I want to do the way I want to do it, no matter what your Word says.”
Our sin grieves God’s heart because it keeps Him from doing what He so much wants to do in us and for us and with us. When you and I choose sin over God’s will for our lives, wickedness takes over our lives and God’s heart is grieved because of what He knows sin is going to do to us as well as what sin keeps Him from doing for us. God hates sin not because of what it does to Him, but because of what it does to us! When the thoughts of our heart is given over to evil, our lives are going to suffer and the lives of those around us are going to suffer and all we have to do is to look to God and to His instruction and direction and allow Him to direct our thoughts so that He can lead us from where we are in our lives to the place that He has planned for us.
God’s heart is grieved because He knows what He has planned to do for us; He knows what He has planned to give to us and because He created us, He knows what we need to have life and have it more abundantly. Our disobedience grieves His heart greatly because our sin separates us from His grace and His goodness. The desire of our heart ought to be to allow the desires of God’s heart to take root in our heart so that our lives might be all that He would have it be! We can do that one decision at a time if we will just take God’s Word to heart and allow that Word to make a difference in our hearts so that the decisions we make will make a difference in the lives that we live!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (2)
|
Sun, Jun 4th - 2:16PM
Walk in the Newness of Life Romans 6:4 June 4
4Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Paul begins chapter 6 with this question, “1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” Paul uses the illustration of baptism to answer the question that he raised about continuing to live our lives in sin after being saved. In baptism we are buried with Christ into death and just as Jesus was raised us, so are we raised up from that death by the glory of the Father to do what, to walk in the newness of life that begins in this life and carries us into the life that is to come.
It is God’s grace that brings this new life into our lives. God give us this gift of new life when we confess our sin to Him and receive His forgiveness for our sin and we repent of that sin and turn from our sin and turn to His will and way for our lives as given to us in His Word. Baptism symbolizes the death to sin that has a hold on us as well as the penalty for that sin having been paid on our behalf on the cross. When we are lowered into the waters of baptism, the old man has died to sin and as we are raised up out of the waters, we come up as a new creation is Christ Jesus to walk in the newness of life.
This faith walk has to begin somewhere. This beginning takes place in salvation when we turn from our own self-sufficient ways and turn to God’s ways for our lives. This new walk is a daily walk that is made up of one decision after another. This new life is a life that is brought about by decisions that are given to the Lord one after another. This new life is a life that comes when we realize that life comes from God and He really does know what is best for our lives and the commandments and statutes that He has given to us are for our benefit and His glory as He is able to give us this new life that only He can give to us. As we begin to walk in the newness of this life, we come to know Christ and His love for us and we will begin to long for this life that He has come to give to us that is exceedingly abundantly better than we could ask or hope for.
Shall we who have died to sin continue to live in that sin? No! Why would we turn from the life that God has planned for us to live again in captivity and oppression? Why would we want to go back to Egypt when we have the Promised Land before us? We really do have a wonderful choice before us. God wants to bless us and He wants to give us life and this life that He wants us to have is indeed flowing with milk and honey. God wants to protect us and provide for us. The key to His protection and provisions can only be found in His presence in our lives, which begins in our lives when we accept His grace and we die to sin and look to Him for His resurrection power for our lives. This power that raised Jesus up from the grave is the same power that can and will give you and me the power that we need to live victorious over sin in our every day walk as well so that God can give is a life that is new and fresh with His blessings each and every day!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (1)
|
Sat, Jun 3rd - 9:33AM
A Life Worth Living Deuteronomy 6:3 June 3
3“Therefore hear, O Israel, and be careful to observe it, that it may be well with you, and that you may multiply greatly as the LORD God of your fathers has promised you—‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’
Chapter 6 begins with these words, “1“Now this is the commandment, and these are the statutes and judgments which the LORD your God has commanded to teach you, that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess, 2“that you may fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, you and your son and your grandson, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.” Moses is recounting the events that led up to the giving of the law to the children of Israel. Moses wanted the people to understand why God had given them these commandments. You and I need to understand this principle as well. I am afraid most people have the wrong ideas when it comes to obeying God and what God really wants from us as His children.
Notice something. Moses tells the people to be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments that God has given to them. Why are they to do this? Because God told them too? No.Because God is Holy and He will not tolerate disobedience? No. God wants the children of Israel to obey His teaching so that it may be well with Him? No! He tells them to obey His commandments so that it may be well with them and so that they may multiply greatly and so that they may enjoy the land that God was about to give to them that would be flowing with milk and honey. God promised the children of Israel that following His commandments would prolong their days. Everything that we find listed here with reference to our obedience to God’s commandments points to us and nothing points to God.
There is a reason that this is true. God did not give these commandments for His benefit. He gave them to us for our benefit. The devil has turned things around. We have developed this mentality that we ought to obey God’s commandments because of all that He has done for us. We know that God created us and that He is Lord and because He is the giver and sustainer of life, we ought to be obedient to Him and while that is certainly true, that is not the reason that God wants us to be obedient to His Word. God wants us to be obedient to His Word not because of what it does for Him, but because of what it will do for us! Obedience to His Word makes it well with us! How does this happen?
When you and I are obedient to God’s Word for our lives, we place ourselves in the best possible place that we can be in that moment in our lives. When you and I choose to make decisions that honor God’s Word in our lives, we make the best possible decision that we could make and God is then able to take over in our lives at that moment and He is then able to begin to move us from where we are to the place that He would have us be. When I give my decisions to God, He is able to order my steps and He is able to lead me away from the pitfalls and paths of unrighteousness that are everywhere and He is able to lead me down the paths where His blessings and His provisions can be found. In short, when I am obedient to God in my decisions, He is able to be God in my life and that is the sole reason for my being here in the first place.
You and I were created by God for God but not in the way that most people think. We were created by Him to be an outlet for His love. God’s glory is made full as He is able to do for us as He so much wants to do in us and for us and through us. God’s joy is made full when He is able to do things for us all of the thins that we cannot do for ourselves. Look back for a moment at out text for today. God told the children of Israel to be obedient to His Word so that it might be well with their lives. They would multiply greatly and they would enjoy living in a land flowing with milk and honey. All these people knew was a life filled with oppression and difficulty. Obedience to God would bring HIS provisions and His protection into their lives! Obedience to His commandments would add more days to their lives.
God is the same God today and His plan and purpose for your life and mine is the same for us that it was for the children of Israel. When you and I are obedient to God’s Word in our lives with each and every decision that we make, we say to God, I want what You want for my life. I trust You God and want Your presence to be in my life because I know that Your presence brings Your power and Your provisions into my life and that is what makes my life really worth the living. When anyone looks to God in this manner, all of heaven comes alive and the God of creation will reach out and bless that persons life no matter what he or she has done in the past. God’s love is indeed a love worth finding and the life He gives is indeed a life worth having!
.
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you."
><> Bob <><
Comment (3)
|
Back to Blog Main Page
|
|
| About Me |
|
|
Archives
|
| |
Name: Bob Hadley of Saved By Grace Ministries
