II Chronicles 1:7
That night God appeared to Solomon and said, "What do you want? Ask, and I will give it to you!"
God offered Solomon a blank check, to fill out however way he wanted. He could have asked for popularity among his people, he could have asked for great riches and fame in the world, he could have asked for anything!
We know that Solomon asked God to give him wisdom, to be able to rule this great people that belonged to God in the right way. God was pleased that he was more concerned for his people than in his own welfare, and whenever we put others before our own pleasure or prosperity or convenience, then God is also pleased with us. God granted Solomon's request, and Solomon became famous throughout that world for his wisdom, bringing the Queen of Sheba to satisfy her own curiosity, and surpassing all the stories she had heard. And God also gave Solomon such great riches that no king since him has been able to equal his wealth, and the prosperity of his Nation Israel under his rule. Also, God granted him peace among all the other Nations of his world, so that no one tried to invade or conquer him to take their riches.
We are also given a blank check, to ask what we want, and have our requests granted (John 15:7). Whenever we order our own lives and views and attitudes according to God's ways as taught us in His Word, then we will be cooperating with how God designed this World to work, and we will benefit in His blessings, and be a blessing to others in our world. Then we will be doing the work God planned for us before the foundations of the World were laid, to assist in God's Plan of the Ages to progress in our time toward that final culmination.
David and Solomon and Saint Paul all did their part in working out God's Plan in their time, and now it's our time to do our part. May each of us continue to seek God's Face and His ways in our thinking processes and desires, and accomplish all He has planned for us to do.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, February 6, 2017
Sunday, February 5, 2017
Answered Prayer
Luke 11: 9-10
And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
This is how God designed the world to work for us, based on a faith principle. Anyone who knows clearly what they want, and asks specifically for it, and implicitly believes that it is possible to have it, and looks for it and expects it; will, without fail, receive it. God made it work this way so that we would put our faith in Him.
The World has gotten hold of this principle, and Rhonda Byrne wrote a book called "The Secret" outlining this process, calling it the "principle of attraction." Other authors have also advanced this "theory of abundance" to teach people to believe in themselves, or "the universe", or whatever, to answer this request and grant the petition, without acknowledging God at all. This is another example of our enemy Satan counterfeiting God's good gifts. Many of the super-rich people of the World have used this process to amass their wealth, but, "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).
Our enemy also uses this idea to convince people that they are "all right" with God, because they prayed for whatever, and got it. But if they've never admitted to God that they deserve death and let Jesus take their place in death on the Cross, then His Blood He shed on that altar has not washed away their sins, and God cannot hear their prayers, still being polluted by sin.
But we who know God through faith in His Son, our Savior, are to rely on our Heavenly Father implicitly, trusting that He will provide for our every need, both in this World and in the next. All we need to do is to ask Him, knowing that His love for us will give to us from His abundance, to take good care of us as our Father. To keep on asking, to keep on looking for the answer, to keep on knocking on that door that is not open to us yet, never giving up on His faithfulness. And we will receive from His majestic abundance, meeting our every need, answering our every request, and fitting us for His eternal glory when He calls us into eternity.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.
This is how God designed the world to work for us, based on a faith principle. Anyone who knows clearly what they want, and asks specifically for it, and implicitly believes that it is possible to have it, and looks for it and expects it; will, without fail, receive it. God made it work this way so that we would put our faith in Him.
The World has gotten hold of this principle, and Rhonda Byrne wrote a book called "The Secret" outlining this process, calling it the "principle of attraction." Other authors have also advanced this "theory of abundance" to teach people to believe in themselves, or "the universe", or whatever, to answer this request and grant the petition, without acknowledging God at all. This is another example of our enemy Satan counterfeiting God's good gifts. Many of the super-rich people of the World have used this process to amass their wealth, but, "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).
Our enemy also uses this idea to convince people that they are "all right" with God, because they prayed for whatever, and got it. But if they've never admitted to God that they deserve death and let Jesus take their place in death on the Cross, then His Blood He shed on that altar has not washed away their sins, and God cannot hear their prayers, still being polluted by sin.
But we who know God through faith in His Son, our Savior, are to rely on our Heavenly Father implicitly, trusting that He will provide for our every need, both in this World and in the next. All we need to do is to ask Him, knowing that His love for us will give to us from His abundance, to take good care of us as our Father. To keep on asking, to keep on looking for the answer, to keep on knocking on that door that is not open to us yet, never giving up on His faithfulness. And we will receive from His majestic abundance, meeting our every need, answering our every request, and fitting us for His eternal glory when He calls us into eternity.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Knowing God Intimately
I Chronicles 28:9-10
And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him you will find Him. ... So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as His Sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.
David is old now, and is ready to retire. He knows that God wants Solomon to be the next king over Israel, to pass down the right to sit on his throne through his line, which it did, all the way down to Joseph, the legal father of Jesus.
David wanted to build God a Temple, to not be in a tent any more, since Israel did not live in tents any more. But God wanted a man of peace, not war, to accomplish this task. Solomon was that man. This was a great work that God chose Solomon to accomplish, and David was encouraging him in it.
And God is also encouraging us as His people to do the work He has chosen us to do. Each of us has our own path to walk, and our own work to accomplish for our part in His Grand Plan of the Ages. To do that, we each need to "learn to know the God of (our) ancestors intimately," by applying ourselves to learning His written Word extensively. The more we immerse ourselves in His Word, believing every "jot and tittle" that our God of Truth has recorded there, the better we will know our Good, Good Father Who made us and loves us beyond anything we will ever be able to fathom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve Him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek Him you will find Him. ... So take this seriously. The Lord has chosen you to build a Temple as His Sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.
David is old now, and is ready to retire. He knows that God wants Solomon to be the next king over Israel, to pass down the right to sit on his throne through his line, which it did, all the way down to Joseph, the legal father of Jesus.
David wanted to build God a Temple, to not be in a tent any more, since Israel did not live in tents any more. But God wanted a man of peace, not war, to accomplish this task. Solomon was that man. This was a great work that God chose Solomon to accomplish, and David was encouraging him in it.
And God is also encouraging us as His people to do the work He has chosen us to do. Each of us has our own path to walk, and our own work to accomplish for our part in His Grand Plan of the Ages. To do that, we each need to "learn to know the God of (our) ancestors intimately," by applying ourselves to learning His written Word extensively. The more we immerse ourselves in His Word, believing every "jot and tittle" that our God of Truth has recorded there, the better we will know our Good, Good Father Who made us and loves us beyond anything we will ever be able to fathom.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, February 3, 2017
Trials, Endurance, Character, Hope
Romans 5:3-4
... Problems and trials help us develop endurance. Endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
We can rejoice in problems and trials when we view them from God's point of view. He is using these dreaded things to mold us into the very image of His Son. So our trials are developing our endurance, to carry on carrying on. This in turn builds our character, and our character is what we will bring with us into Eternity. As our character strengthens, our confidence grows, and our trust in God's certain Promises settles our hearts and chases away all worry and regret, looking toward His future that He has already planned for us to have, both in this life and in the next.
We know that God will settle all debts, right all wrongs, even all odds, and even reward us for accomplishing the things He planned for us to do, in His power to do them. God is so good, the reality of what Good is. He is Love, He is Light, He is Life. God is everything we need.
When we would end up in this world divested of all worldly things, and all we will have is God; then God will show Himself to be everything we need!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
... Problems and trials help us develop endurance. Endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.
We can rejoice in problems and trials when we view them from God's point of view. He is using these dreaded things to mold us into the very image of His Son. So our trials are developing our endurance, to carry on carrying on. This in turn builds our character, and our character is what we will bring with us into Eternity. As our character strengthens, our confidence grows, and our trust in God's certain Promises settles our hearts and chases away all worry and regret, looking toward His future that He has already planned for us to have, both in this life and in the next.
We know that God will settle all debts, right all wrongs, even all odds, and even reward us for accomplishing the things He planned for us to do, in His power to do them. God is so good, the reality of what Good is. He is Love, He is Light, He is Life. God is everything we need.
When we would end up in this world divested of all worldly things, and all we will have is God; then God will show Himself to be everything we need!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, February 2, 2017
Reasonable Or Deadly?
I Chronicles 15:13
Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.
We hear David recounting how they were moving the Ark from Abinidab's house, but they had put it on a cart, instead of having the Levites carry it with the staves on their shoulders. God knew that any other method of moving it would be unstable and dangerous, so when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, Uzza put his hand on the Ark itself so it wouldn't fall, and he died instantly. This Ark was not an ordinary object, and required extraordinary care.
David said that they failed to ask God how to properly move it, and this Uzza, a good man who, in his concern for the safety of the Ark, disregarded his own safety, and paid with his life. Was he electrocuted? Was it radioactive? We don't know, since they knew nothing of these concepts back then to write about them. All they knew was that they hadn't asked God for His instructions, and someone suffered the consequences.
David thought it was perfectly reasonable to use a brand-new cart, but sometimes what we think is reasonable will put us in danger. Maybe not danger of our lives, but danger of our reputations, or, even more important, God's reputation. God wants us to depend on Him, not our own understandings, since His knowledge and understanding is so far beyond ours. He always knows what is best, and we can often misunderstand miserably.
O my Father, please remind me to always ask You for Your ways, to do Your will, not my own, even when I think my way is perfectly reasonable. May I always consult Your Word for my every decision, and always be aware of how Your reputation will fare by my actions. May I seek Your face every moment of every day for my every step in life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.
We hear David recounting how they were moving the Ark from Abinidab's house, but they had put it on a cart, instead of having the Levites carry it with the staves on their shoulders. God knew that any other method of moving it would be unstable and dangerous, so when the oxen pulling the cart stumbled, Uzza put his hand on the Ark itself so it wouldn't fall, and he died instantly. This Ark was not an ordinary object, and required extraordinary care.
David said that they failed to ask God how to properly move it, and this Uzza, a good man who, in his concern for the safety of the Ark, disregarded his own safety, and paid with his life. Was he electrocuted? Was it radioactive? We don't know, since they knew nothing of these concepts back then to write about them. All they knew was that they hadn't asked God for His instructions, and someone suffered the consequences.
David thought it was perfectly reasonable to use a brand-new cart, but sometimes what we think is reasonable will put us in danger. Maybe not danger of our lives, but danger of our reputations, or, even more important, God's reputation. God wants us to depend on Him, not our own understandings, since His knowledge and understanding is so far beyond ours. He always knows what is best, and we can often misunderstand miserably.
O my Father, please remind me to always ask You for Your ways, to do Your will, not my own, even when I think my way is perfectly reasonable. May I always consult Your Word for my every decision, and always be aware of how Your reputation will fare by my actions. May I seek Your face every moment of every day for my every step in life.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Procrastination
James 4:17
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
How many times have I procrastinated, and not done what I know to do, but put it off? How often have I heard God's "voice" quietly in my spirit, and discounted it as just my own idea, or say, "Yes, I'll do that, after I finish this," then forget about it? How prone I am to "miss the mark" and put my own ideas and agenda before God's clear instructions!
God showed us way back in the beginning of human history that just knowing what was right would not make us do what was right, but put our own wants and desires ahead of everyone and everything else, regardless of the cost. Mankind became so evil and violent in every thought every day, that God sent The Flood, saving Noah to start over with him.
Now God has written His Law right in our hearts, and given us His Spirit to live in us to make us spiritually alive and teach us what is right and strengthen us to follow through with doing what is right. So we really don't have any excuse.
O my Father, thank you for Your endless mercies and amazing grace, to give us Your very Spirit to cleanse us, teach us and strengthen us. Please help me to recognize Your voice as You speak into my spirit; to listen to what You are saying, and to obey You instantly. Remind me to not put off doing what You want me to do, and help me by demolishing all my excuses before I give them. Embolden me to say Your words to those who need to hear them, in compassion and concern, in gentleness and meekness. And may I continue to seek Your face every day until that Day!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.
How many times have I procrastinated, and not done what I know to do, but put it off? How often have I heard God's "voice" quietly in my spirit, and discounted it as just my own idea, or say, "Yes, I'll do that, after I finish this," then forget about it? How prone I am to "miss the mark" and put my own ideas and agenda before God's clear instructions!
God showed us way back in the beginning of human history that just knowing what was right would not make us do what was right, but put our own wants and desires ahead of everyone and everything else, regardless of the cost. Mankind became so evil and violent in every thought every day, that God sent The Flood, saving Noah to start over with him.
Now God has written His Law right in our hearts, and given us His Spirit to live in us to make us spiritually alive and teach us what is right and strengthen us to follow through with doing what is right. So we really don't have any excuse.
O my Father, thank you for Your endless mercies and amazing grace, to give us Your very Spirit to cleanse us, teach us and strengthen us. Please help me to recognize Your voice as You speak into my spirit; to listen to what You are saying, and to obey You instantly. Remind me to not put off doing what You want me to do, and help me by demolishing all my excuses before I give them. Embolden me to say Your words to those who need to hear them, in compassion and concern, in gentleness and meekness. And may I continue to seek Your face every day until that Day!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Tempoary Pause
So sorry, my computer is on the fritz, I'll continue to post daily, Lord willing, when it's fixed. Thank you for your patience.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)