Isaiah 28:24-29

This passage caught my eye and my heart today. God knows how hard He needs to be on us in his discipline, and He knows how much is too much. His will and purpose is not to crush us. We've heard this many times before but I love how this passage talks about it with the visual of crushing different kinds of seeds. Read it for yourselves,( it was too much for me to type) and enjoy knowing that God's heart is to lead you out of disobedience and into His perfect ways, because He wants the best for His children and He doesn't want the Enemy to succeed in his plan...which IS to crush us and destroy us. Better a little discipline from our Heavenly Father than to fall away into sin.

Prayer

Do you even wonder why we pray, when it's clear in many places of the Bible that God can and does do what He wants with people to bring about His will? It seems sometimes like there's a contradiction. We are told that if we line up our desires with God's desires then our prayers will be in His will and will be fruitful. But, I think that it's not that we are changing God's mind through our prayers, but I think He changes our minds,( and hearts) by leading us in prayer that's aligned with His will. If we don't pray, does that mean that's God's will is not going to be accomplished? Nope. So, then, why do we pray? Well, I've already mentioned that through prayer we draw closer in our relationship to God. We are having a relationship with Him and conversing/listening. We get direction and clarity by praying. However, we are also told that if we ask not, then we will have not. Does this mean that if it's God's will that someone gets healed and we don't pray for them that they won't get healed? Again, no. The accomplishment of God's will does not hinge on our obedience in prayer. But, in regards to things that God wants to give us,( i.e. patience, guidance, a certain opportunity, help with temptation, a clear mind for studying, a clear voice for presenting a speech, help breaking bondages and so on) I do believe that sometimes we don't receive because we aren't asking. God wants to bless us and meet our needs, give us testimony and faith. But, sometimes we forget that God definitely cares about both the little and the big things. Now, another thing about prayer is the passages that talk about 2 or more believers being gathered together or agreeing on the same thing getting those prayers answered. Could it be that God uses this to draw together in unity His people? He wants us to support each other, care about each other and love each other. We are to help each other carry burdens and celebrate victories. I think that the more prayers there are going up, the more strongholds that come down and the more unified the Church becomes. So, in the end, God will do His sovereign will, period. Sometimes he allows people to NOT follow in His will, and sometimes he uses people to do his will without their knowledge that He's even doing it. He can accomplish His will, with or without us. But I do believe much of His will involves the people He created. He is always working to woo us to Him and to nurture us in our walk. He wants us to pray for His will to be done, and not just vague prayers. He will put specific things on our hearts so that we can see that He was giving us a chance to take part in His doings. He also wants us to constantly ask, seek and knock, because we don't know if He is just waiting for us to come to Him and ask. And through this asking, we are connecting with Him and allowing Him to build our faith. I love that God is in control but that He gives His people opportunities to obey, and be blessed; to see victories and provisions and give praise. And as we pray, we acknowledge the One who is over all. So, yes, we should pray. No, we shouldn't feel condemned if we don't ask for something that we should have. God will use others if we miss an opportunity, but it is we who miss out the most. God will con't to give us chances to be part of His plans. And through this journey, we will constantly see Him working in and through us, to His glory. Amen.

Kings and Chronicles

As you read through the accounts of the different kings of Judah and Israel, you may notice something, which I noticed just today. I've always seen that there are obvious evil kings, and kings who followed God and were blessed. But, I noticed something today that I think applies to our life. I noticed that some kings started out not ruling God's way then God would bring another country to attack their kingdom and then all of sudden everyone would repent, including the king and God would stop the attack or at least minimize the damage done to the people. Other kings, started out serving God but let the power, riches, victories, and foreign wives sway them into living against God's ways. Then, God would remove His blessings. But, there was one that I read about today,( Jehoshaphat) who did it right...period. It says in 2 Chron. 17:3, " The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the example of his father's early years and did not worship the images of Baal...". And it says, " He was [DEEPLY-emphasis mine] committed to the ways of the Lord."- chap. 17, verse 6. In verses 7-9 he went a step further, and I love this. He sent out the officials, Levites and priests to all the land to read/teach the people God's Word. Now that's a king who's doing it right!!! I found that there is a very practical and important symbolism here. Some of us start out our lives hearing the gospel and simply rejecting it until tragedy befalls us and then we seek God and are saved. Others start out claiming to serve God but then don't do what we should to keep ourselves from falling. For instance, some kings married foreign wives even though God had said not to, and because of this, the foreign wives tempted them into idolatry. If the king had obeyed God, he would have kept that temptation out of his life.

Now, there were kings who did was was right and were blessed, but the blessings were different. Why? There were some kings who loved God and tried to rule according to God's ways BUT they didn't go all out. They left all or some of the idols and alters that had been erected to false gods. And even though because their hearts were right God blessed them, the blessing was not given in it's fullness. There were other kings who were sold out. They sought God, worshiped and served Him. They led their people away from false gods and to the One True God. They destroyed every last alter and idol. I love when I read of these very few kings. They kept the temptations and stumbling blocks out of their way,( and of course they weren't perfect, but their hearts were right). And their blessing was far more than others. How about you? You may serve God but have you taken everything out of your life that gives way to temptation, is a distraction, and causes stumbling blocks? It's a question we must all ask ourselves, and often.

Ecclesiastes

I found some beautiful passages in Ecclesiastes. I hadn't read in that book for awhile. I underlined so many things like Eccles. 3:11 which says, " He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." That's so true and so beautiful. Thank you Jesus for planting eternity in my heart. What about chap. 5 verse 7? " Talk is cheap like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead. " Something to chew on there, at least for me. Chap. 5:12,13, "People who work hard, sleep well..." and "......Hoarding riches harms the saver." Again, truth in simple and practical terms. Chap. 7, verse 29 says, " ...God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path." It's so sad to know that we were meant for such goodness. And here's one that's both encouraging and an admonishment, " Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor in your youth before you grow old and say, 'Life is not pleasant anymore'." Such good and truthful reminders. Let us take each one to heart and read them again and again. I'll end this blog with a beautiful passage from 8:1, " How wonderful to be wise, to analyze and interpret things. Wisdom lights up a person's face, softening it's harshness." It's great to seek God and all the wisdom and knowledge He's made available to us. But as we know....the foundation of both of those things is to know God, and know Him intimately! Apart from God, these things are empty of worth.

John 9:41

" If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. " But you remain guilty because you claim you can see." The Answer is simple....Jesus. And, most people know that and have chosen to go their own way instead of the Only Way. It's sad, but, we want to create our own version of the story. We deny that there's a sun, even when the Light shines brightly in our faces. So, we are held accountable. But, those who have never heard the Gospel, never read the Word, have not yet heard the voice of the Holy Spirit...they are ignorant, but deemed innocent. Does that mean then, that some unbelievers will go to Heaven? Nope. If you noticed, the last thing I listed about those who are considered ignorant, was that they had not YET heard the voice of the Holy Spirit. No matter if a person hasn't heard the Gospel, or read the Word, the Holy Spirit will appeal to every man's heart. The Word says that through creation, no man has an excuse for not seeing that God is there. His handiwork is all around us, not to be denied. And, the Bible also says that if we seek God, we will find Him. And yet, going right back to the verse...the plain truth is being rejected by people who say they've accepted truth. God is....and we are His creation. And His son, Jesus, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Open you eyes.

rebuke

No one seems to like rebuke, but God knows that we need it from time to time and here is a verse that we should be more than happy about. :) " Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don't let me refuse it." Ps. 141:5 Isn't that funny? Do we ever feel this way about being rebuked by a brother or sister in the Lord. Of course not. Our pride rears it's ugly head and says to us, " How dare that person insult you that way and tell you that you are wrong!". Well, God wants us to be thankful for those who are willing to be the object of our prideful wrath. We all want each other to be the best that God would have us be. And, we should never settle for less than the challenge of being better. We should appreciate the concern of our Christian family for the quality of our walk and the security of our salvation. God is so good in giving to us those who are more mature and more godly for the purpose of helping us to grow up in Him.

Mark 9:50

"...You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other." Well, we've prob. all read this and other verses referring to believers as salt. But, have you ever meditated on what exactly that means? O.k., now some of us already know part of the answer..the simple, surface answer. We know that salt, preserves and gives flavor. Buuuut, if I ask you what that means in regards to how you walk you walk,then how would you explain what 'being salt' looks like in the way you live? I am not even sure yet myself, but as I meditate on this, I thought I would share the challenge. If anyone else already has insight on this, I would love to hear your thoughts.