PRAISE PRECEDES PETITION

Neh. 1:10-11  “We are your servants, the people you rescued by your great power and might.  O Lord, please hear my prayer!  Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you.  Please grant me success now as I go to ask the king for a great favor.  Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” 

     This is a confession of faith.  Nehemiah is affirming the faith of the people of God.  He recognizes what God has done for His people.  He is not taking for granted why they were still around.  It was because God had rescued them by His great power and might and had preserved them as a people.

      Nehemiah then, by faith, asked the Lord to grant him success as he went back to the king to ask him a favor.  He was, by faith, taking a big risk.  He didn’t know if the king would give him an audience, listen to him, or treat him with kindness.  By faith, he was asking God to give him success as he went to the king.

        It is good for us to acknowledge God’s hand on our lives.  We need to profess God’s faithfulness to us.  We need to proclaim His grace and mercies.  We are who we are because God is watching over us and working in our lives to make us holy.

        It is good for us to not be afraid to ask God to help us.  Praise precedes petition.  When we humbly affirm God’s role in our lives, then we can boldly ask the Lord to help us.  When we take the Lord for granted and what He has done for us, it is ingratitude.  God hears the prayers of those who take delight in honoring Him. 

       May the delight of your heart always be to honor the Lord. 

STAND ON THE PROMISES OF GOD

Neh. 1:8-9  “Please remember what you told your servant Moses.  ‘If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations.  But if you return to me and obey my commands, even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’”

       Dear friend, claim the promise.  Nehemiah is recalling God’s promise to Moses.  He is asking the Lord to honor His Word.  God is trustworthy and always stands behind His Word.  This truth is essential for victorious living.  It is good to pray over the Scriptures to God. 

        In order to remind the Lord of His promises, we must know them.  We must hide His Word in our hearts so that we can readily refer to it in our times of need.  The more saturated we become by the Word, the more apt we are to stand on the promises and not fall.  The more saturated we are by the Word, the more likely we are to handle it correctly and not try to use it for our advantage or comfort.

       Think for a moment about what God has promised to do for us.  How many of His promises can you recall today?  Each and every one of them is backed up by His character.  How many of them are you standing on today?  Are you absolutely sure that you can stand on them and not fall?  Do you know for certain that God will do what He has said He will do for you?

       If there is any shred of doubt whatsoever in your heart, ask the Lord to help you believe.  Ask Him to remove your doubts and fears.  Ask Him to cement His truths deep within your soul so you can stand on them with boldness and confidence.  Don’t be afraid to tell Him the truth; He can handle it.  Tell Him about your apprehensions.  Tell Him you want to believe, but that you are struggling.  Tell Him what you are feeling, regardless of how troubling it may seem to you.  He can handle whatever you throw at Him and He has a promise to address your every need.                                                                                                                               

God’s promises are not empty words, nor are they outdated.  They are given for you to believe today.  You can trust God to keep His Word.  What God has spoken WILL come to pass.

I HAVE SINNED

Neh. 1:6-7  “…..listen to my prayer!  Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel.  I confess that we have sinned against you.  Yes, even my own family and I have sinned!”  We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, laws, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.”

       This is a confession of sin.  Nehemiah was praying long and hard for the people of Israel.  He knew that they were not right with God.  Even though God had chosen them to be His own, they had chosen not to embrace Him.  They were content with living in their sins.  They did not regard God as worth their time or energy.  They kept going deeper and deeper into the evils that surrounded them.

      Notice that before Nehemiah prayed for the Israelites, he prayed for himself and his family.  He did not think for a moment that he was not guilty before God.  He knew that he had to be right with God before he could pray for others.  It is essential for us to confess our own sins before we concern ourselves with the sins of others.  No one is without sin problems.  We all fall short of the glory of God.  We all have the need to admit our sins, confess them, and seek Christ’s forgiveness. 

      Once we deal with our own sins, then we can plead with God on the behalf of others.  And yes, we should, no, we must, be in prayer for the sins of others.  We live in very perilous times.  Sin raises its ugly head blatantly wherever you go.  The times are desperate.  The coming of the Lord to purify all things is very soon.  Time is running out on the lost.  We must pray like we have never prayed before.  We must be praying for our families, friends, neighbors, and whoever is lost that they may be saved before the Lord comes.  There is still time for souls to be saved.  Prayer is the key to unlocking heaven’s door. 

       Pray and then go and tell whoever you can that today is the day of salvation.  Tell them that once the Lord closes the door of opportunity, it will be too late.  Tell them that there still is victory available to them in Christ Jesus.  Tell them.  How can you say you love them if you never tell them? 

WHO GOD IS

 

Neh. 1:5  Then I said, “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands,……”

      This is a confession of who God is.  He is the Lord God of heaven.  He has no equal.  He rules over all He has created.  He alone knows the mysteries of creation, the things we can see, and the things we can’t see.  He sees beyond the most powerful telescopes in the entire world and He sees what is in the very deepest parts of the ocean depths. 

      The Lord is great and awesome.  There is no power that can compare to Him.  There is nothing beyond His ability to do.  Words are not sufficient to describe His power.  Awesome is far too meek of a word.  Behold the manifestation of His power in that which He has created, behold His power in redeeming grace, behold His power in sustaining grace, and stand in awe of Him.

       The Lord keeps His covenant of unfailing love.  He never fails to love, for He is love.  His love goes far beyond our ability to comprehend.  He loves those who love Him and obey His commands, but He also loves those who do not love Him back.  He loves everyone even though He has to reject those who fail to love and obey Him.  He knows those who reject Him and yet loves them and will love them for as long as they live.

       Dear friend, don’t mess with God.  Don’t shrug your shoulders and spurn His love for you.  He loves you, but will not embrace you if you don’t embrace Him.  He will love you to your very last breath, but if you reject Him you will find yourself spending eternity in hell.  God wants to make a covenant of love with you.  He wants to call you His own.  If you have not returned His love, I pray that you will do that right now.  Open up your heart to Him and let Him pour His love in.  Don’t delay; if you wait, it may very well become too late for you.                    

GUILTY BEFORE GOD

Ezra 9:15 O LORD, God of Israel, you are just. We stand before you in our guilt as nothing but an escaped remnant, though in such a condition none of us can stand in your presence.

      Like Ezra, we too need to see ourselves as standing before God in our guilt. It is easy to convince and condition ourselves into believing that we have nothing to be guilty for. But, guilty we are. No one is free from guilt before our holy God. The sooner we admit it, the better we are.

     We are guilty of sinning against God and there is nothing we can do to stop it. But, Jesus can. Only Jesus can cleanse and purify our souls. Only Jesus can present us before God as righteous and pure. And, only we can let Him do it for us. It is why we must never stray from Him. Apart from Him we stand alone before God, and we will be found guilty of sin.

ASHAMED OVER SIN

Ezra 9:6  I prayed, “O my God, I am utterly ashamed.  I blush to lift up my face to you.  For our sins are piled higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached to the heavens.”

      The children of Israel had not kept themselves separate from the people around them.  They had intermarried with the people around them and embraced their gods.  They had defiled themselves and defied God who had clearly told them to do neither.  When Ezra discovered what they had done, he was driven to his knees before God.

       Ezra blushed in God’s presence.  He was ashamed of how God’s people had conducted themselves.  He was embarrassed by their behavior.  I wonder when the last time was that we blushed in the presence of God.  Have you ever been embarrassed and ashamed of the behavior of others?  What about your own behavior?

       A careful reading of God’s Word reveals sin in us.  I suspect many of us don’t like spending very much time reading and studying the Word because we are afraid of what we may find there.  We don’t scrutinize our behavior and thought lives because we know that we will come up short.  We take the low road instead of the high road because it requires so much less of us.

      The problem is the way to heaven is always the high road.  The high road is the road to holiness.  God commands that we travel on it.  There is no condemnation for those who do it.  There is guilt, shame, and embarrassment for those who don’t.  Which road are you traveling on today?

       Blushing is a good thing if it moves us to pray for others and ourselves.  It is good for us to recognize and acknowledge the sin that plagues us.  It is good for us to approach God and seek forgiveness whenever sin is found.  It is good for us to pray for those who can’t, or won’t, pray for their own sin.  Sin is an abomination to God and He will judge it wherever it is found.  We will reap what we sow.  Pray while there is still time to pray.                      

SHOCKED OVER SIN

Ezra 9:3-4  When I heard this, I tore my clothing, pulled hair from my head and beard, and sat down utterly shocked.  Then all who trembled at the words of the God of Israel came and sat with me because of this unfaithfulness of his people.  And I sat there utterly appalled until the time of the evening sacrifice.

      Ezra had just been informed that many of the Israelites had intermarried with the people around them.  God had made it very clear that they were not to do it.  This was a grave sin for them.  By intermarrying with the pagan nations around them, they had defiled themselves.  They had weakened themselves by embracing the pagan gods of their spouses.

      Ezra simply couldn’t believe it.  He was in a state of spiritual shock.  He didn’t know what to say or do.  He sat down and contemplated what he should do.  He couldn’t just ignore this sin. 

        I wonder how we respond to the sin around us.  Have we grown so accustomed to it that we are no longer in shock over it?  Are we guilty of embracing it instead of resisting it?  Have we forgotten God’s commands and no longer live by them?  Have we let the thinking of the world around us take the edge off of what God says we must be like?  When was the last time any of us sat down in shock over how far we have wandered away from holy living?

       We consider ourselves faithful followers of God, yet are we?  Are we really following the Lord into holiness of life?  I don’t think very many of us really grasp what it means to be holy.  We are not as separated from sin as we say we are.  We tend to call that which is unholy holy.  We justify ourselves instead of letting the Lord change us.  We select those things we want to be holy in and those things we don’t.  We fail to grasp that holiness is a way of life that affects every part of our being and living.  We don’t determine what holiness is, God does.  Living submissively to the Word of God makes us holy.  What God says is sin is sin.  Period.

STUDY AND OBEY GOD'S WORD

Ezra 7:10  This was because Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of the LORD and to teach those laws and regulations to the people of the Israel.

      Ezra had just arrived safely in Jerusalem.  His journey had not taken too long and he was kept safe from harm on the way.  The reason why the Lord had watched over him is found in today’s verse.

      Two things really jump out at us from this verse.  First of all, Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of God.  It is good for us to determine in our hearts and minds to study the Word of God.  We will never have an adequate and correct understanding of it if we don’t study it.  We must be careful how much we rely on others for our understanding because no one has perfect knowledge and their understanding may not be right.  We must examine the Word for ourselves.  It is not enough to just study the Word; we must obey it as well.  All the knowledge and understanding in the world will not help us if we don’t live it.

      The other thing we notice in today’s verse is that Ezra did not hoard what he learned from God’s Word.  He determined in his heart that he was going to teach others what he knew.  It was the main reason why Ezra made the journey to Jerusalem.  We too must determine in our hearts to pass on to others what we learn and live.  The desire to teach others comes from a genuine love for them.  If we love one another, we will want to help one another.  Teaching and preaching that flows from love accomplishes much.

       If you are a teacher of the Word and you are not motivated by a love for those you teach, I ask that you examine your heart today.  I ask that you take your heart to the Lord and ask Him to give you a love bath.  If you are more duty bound than you are love bound, you are doing more harm than good. 

       The Lord holds those who teach to a higher standard.  Teach from a heart of love.  Teach the whole truth of God’s Word regardless of whom you may be teaching.  And, live what you teach.  If you do these things, God will use you to accomplish great things for Him.

FEAR GOD, NOT MAN

 

Ezra 3:3  Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar at its old site.  Then they immediately began to sacrifice burnt offerings on the altar to the LORD.  They did this each morning and evening.

      It is better to fear God and not man.  There was a group of Jews who had returned to their homeland from being exiled.  The reason for their return was to rebuild the Temple that had fallen into enemy hands and been rendered unusable.  The people left in the land had not stayed true to God.  They were living as if God no longer existed.  They were okay with their lives and resisted those who wanted to reestablish God’s presence in the land.  Because of their stubborn resistance to the things of God, the returning remnant feared the residing remnant.

      Yet, they were on a mission from God.  They were to rebuild the altar of God so that the burnt offerings to the Lord could be reinstated.  They were to begin to bring God back into the forefront of people’s lives.  In spite of their fears, they went ahead and rebuilt the altar and began to offer burnt offerings on it each morning and evening.

      So often we let our fear of what others may think, say, or do hinder us from obeying the Lord.  We often are more people conscious than we are of fear.  We leave undone the things that should be done because of fear.  We hinder the work God wants to do because of our fear.  Whether we want to admit it or not, others become more important to us than God does.

      Who do you fear, God or others?  Are you more concerned about the reactions of others than you are God’s?  Think about it.   Has God given you a task to do that you are not doing because of your fears?

      The root cause of our lack of proper fear of God is our understanding of God.  If you are more influenced by people than you are God, then you need to get to know God better.  If you know God as you should, the opinions of others won’t matter.  You will do what God gives you to do and you will lead others back to God.

JUDGMENT COMES

II Chron. 36:15-16  The LORD, the God of their ancestors, repeatedly sent his prophets to warn them, for he had compassion on his people and his Temple.  But the people mocked these messengers of God and despised their words.  They scoffed at the prophets until the LORD’s anger could no longer be restrained and there was no remedy.

Over and over again God sends people out into the world to warn them about the things of God and the consequences of ignoring Him and His Word.  God is relentless in His pursuit of lost souls.  He is not willing that anyone would miss out on saving grace and go to hell.  He makes sure that no one has an excuse.  He reveals Himself to all.  The more a person hears about God, the more responsible he is for what he does with what he knows. 

Yet, people over and over again mock God and His messengers.  They reject God’s message and try to silence those who proclaim it.  They refuse to believe it’s true.  They hate those who proclaim it.  They continue to go deeper and deeper into the life of sin.

God is very patient, but there comes a point in which His patience runs out.  He lets man display his wickedness and defy Him to the point where He no longer can put up with it and comes down on judgment of man.  The final and full day of His wrath has not come yet; yet, I believe it will be here very soon.  In the meantime, God displays His anger on people and nations that He simply cannot continue to deal with any other way.

When God runs out of patience, there is no remedy but judgment.  No amount of praying will stay the hand of God when it’s time for judgment.  There is no last second changing of God’s mind.  God can put up with the sin of man for just so long.

It behooves us to be a people of prayer.  It is not too late to plead with God for repentance.  It is not too late for us to turn back to God.  I don’t know how much time we have left before the patience of God runs out, but do we dare take our chances?  God is gracious and merciful, but He is also holy and all sin will be judged.  We need to pray for ourselves, our families, friends, neighbors, and country.  Are you praying?  Are you listening to the message of God today?  Judgment Day is coming.  Are you ready?

PAY ATTENTION

II Chron. 33:10  The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings.

Some things don’t seem to ever change.  Over and over again God speaks, but people keep ignoring His warnings.  I wonder sometimes why God even bothers.  People are stubborn and do what they want.  They consider God’s warnings to be just words and frivolous.  They scoff at the idea that God really means what He says.  They rebel at the thought that there are consequences for sin, that a loving God would hold them accountable for sinful behavior.

Yet, in order for there to be God, there has to be absolute perfection in all things.  God has to be absolutely trustworthy in everything He says or He cannot be trusted in anything He says.  God cannot be all loving if He is not equally holy.  He cannot be God of grace without being God of justice.  We cannot understand God only through the eyes of His goodness and love.  We also must understand Him to be holy and intolerant of sin.

When we have a high regard for God we will have a high regard for His warnings.  We cannot treat His warnings lightly.  God deals with sin harshly.  He commands our submission to His life.  We must be striving to be holy, even as He is holy.  We will never be as God is, but we can never excuse ourselves and not pursue holiness.  Holiness is a life of separation from sin.  It is a mindset that strives to resist and reject sin.  It forces us to deal with our sin before God when we do sin.  It is feeling guilt and shame for our sins and confessing them to Him so that we might be forgiven.

God does not leave us in the dark.  He warns us over and over again about sin and its consequences.   No one has any excuse.  All will be held accountable before God for sin.  No one will have anyone but themselves to blame when God metes out judgment for sin.  Pay attention to God’s warnings.  He says what He means and means what He says.

BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS!

II Chron. 32:7-8  “Be strong and courageous!  Don’t be afraid of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side!  He may have a great army, but they are just men.  We have the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!”  These words greatly encouraged the people.

Jerusalem was under attack.  King Hezekiah gathered together the officers of his army and gave them a pep talk.  He reminded them of just how powerful they were with the Lord on their side.  He reminded them that it wasn’t the size of their enemy that mattered; it was the size of their God.  With God on their side, there was no army on earth that could defeat them.

Do you know the Lord today as your personal Savior?  Be strong and courageous!  No matter who or what you may be facing in life, with God’s help you can overcome it.  Your circumstances may seem to be way too much for you to handle, and they may very well be.  But, with God’s help, nothing is too much for you.  Believe it!  Let the Lord lead the way.  Let Him have all of you and see what He can do.

Get what you know to be true out of your head and into your heart.  Trust the Lord.  You can do all things through Him who gives you the strength and means to do it.  He will show you the way.  He will provide whatever you need as you deal with life.  He will work everything going on in your life out for your good and His glory.  He loves you and wants to take your burdens off your shoulders and carry them for you.

Dear friend, take heart.  It is the Lord of life who has promised to fight your battles for you.  It is He who has promised to help you.  Give Him whatever you are up against in life.  He will take care of you.  Look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our salvation.   Let Him take care of you; you will be glad you did.

RETURN TO THE LORD

II Chron. 30:9  For if you return to the LORD, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land.  For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful.  If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.

“The Lord is gracious and merciful; it you return to Him, He will not continue to turn His face from you.”  Dear friend, I don’t know your heart today.  I don’t know if you have wandered away from the Lord or not.  I do suspect that some who read this have.  If you have, I know that you are not very happy today.  You may think you are and yet, deep down inside of you, you know you aren’t.  No matter how hard you may try to convince yourself that things are alright with you, you know better.  You cannot be away from God and have peace in your soul.  You cannot sin against God without it bothering you.  The guilt and shame of sinning plagues you because you know better; you know that it does not please God and keeps Him away from you.

Listen carefully to this word from the Lord; He is gracious and merciful.  If you turn back to Him and repent of your sins, He will not turn His face from you.  The Lord will welcome you back with open arms.  He longs to once again embrace you and help you.  He will forgive you if you confess your sins to Him and accept responsibility for them.  He will wash your soul with the cleansing blood of Christ shed for you at Calvary.  He will purify your stained soul and make it whiter than snow. 

Dear friend, won’t you do it right now?  Won’t you turn back to the Lord and let Him make you whole once again?  Why put it off?  Today is the day of salvation.  Tomorrow may never be for you.  Aren’t you tired of listening to Satan’s lies?  Perhaps you are putting on a good front.  Perhaps you have others buffaloed and they think all is well with your soul.  It is time for you to repent.  It is time for you to return to the Lord.  Do it now, while the Lord is speaking to your heart.  He is waiting for you.

SUCCESS AND PRIDE

II Chron. 26:16  But when he had become powerful, he also became proud, which led to his downfall.  He sinned against the LORD his God be entering the sanctuary of the LORD’s temple and personally burning incense on it.

Uzziah became king over Judah when he was 16 and he was a good king.  He led the people of Judah into a spiritual reformation.  He got rid of the many ungodly things that had become a part of the people’s lives.  What he did pleased the Lord.  He became a popular and successful king.

Being in the limelight or being successful in the eyes of man is not all that it’s cracked up to be.  We being who we are, have a hard time handling the glory.  We are prone to think we are the ones who are responsible for our successes and deserve the attention and acclaim.  We tend to take credit for that which we don’t deserve.  We forget that God is the source of all our blessings, whether great or small. 

Success breeds pride unless the heart is well-grounded in Christ.  Pride is the fertile soil in which sin and presumptuous behavior flourishes.  We begin to think we are special and don’t have to follow the rules God has given us.  No one is above God’s laws.  Everyone is responsible to God for his behavior and the attitude of his heart.  Everyone will give an account to God for how he has handled himself in whatever role he has played in life. 

Do we honor the Lord in what we do and how we do it?  Do we honor Him with how we think about ourselves?  Protect your mind and soul.  Never underestimate your need to honor the Lord in all you do and don’t overestimate who you are in the scheme of life.  Honor the Lord by always living humbly before Him.

YOU IMPACT OTHERS

II Chron. 21:20  Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.  No one was sorry when he died.  He was buried in the City of David, but not in the royal cemetery.

Jehoram was an evil king.  He had married one of Ahab’s daughters and had become just as bad as King Ahab had been.  Even though he was the son of King Jehoshaphat, a good king in Judah, he rejected his father’s example and chose to live an ungodly life.

All of us affect others in some way or another.  We either leave a good taste in their mouths or a bad taste.  We are either fondly remembered for the good life we live or we are remembered as one who we are glad is no longer a part of the life we live.  How we live matters, whether we think so or not. 

We create the memories people have of us.  What a sad commentary on a life.  No one was sorry when Jehoram died.  His death was a welcome relief to the people he ruled and influenced. Think about it.  Here was a man who chose to live in sin.  He chose to reject God and do what he wanted to do.  He chose to be a bad influence on others.  He chose evil over good.  He chose earthly pleasures over the treasures of heaven.

What kind of choices are you making in life?  Are you leaving a good or bad taste in people’s mouths?  Do people speak well of you or evil?  Would you like others to remember you in a good or negative way?  Do you want others to grieve your passing or be glad when you die?  Do you even care what others may think of you?

No one can make your choices for you.  If you choose to live a life surrendered to the Lord, you will bring joy to the hearts of others.  You will inspire others to follow in your footsteps.  You will be remembered fondly as one who lived life well.  Choose today whom you serve.  As for me, I will serve the Lord.

BELIEVE IN THE LORD

II Chron. 20:20  Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa.  On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem!  Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm.  Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”

The key to all spiritual success is to do simply what Jehoshaphat told his people to do, “Believe in the Lord your God.”  Believing enables us to stand.  God sends us people with His message for our hearts; believe them.  Success is given to those who will but believe.

The issue before us today is belief.  Do we really believe in the Lord our God?  There is a difference between believing about God and believing God.  Believing God means that we accept what God says about himself, all of it.  It means we take seriously what God says.  It means we acknowledge that God is worthy of not only our worship, but our allegiance.  It means that our highest calling in life is to yield to Him.  It means that we don’t pick and choose what we want to live and do from what He says.  Every word that comes from God is true and commands our attention and doing.

Can you honestly say today that you believe God?  Do you really believe that God is to be believed and obeyed?  Are you striving to not sin, to live a holy life?  Are you concerned about sin as you should be?  Are you taking what you believe into the world and striving to be the salt and light He commands us to be? 

Believing enables us to stand.  When we don’t believe as we should, we stumble around and fall.  There is no stability in the lives of those who don’t believe in their heart what the Lord reveals in the head.  Success comes to those who believe without wavering. 

LORD, HELP!

II Chron. 20:12 (17)  “O our God, won’t you stop them?  We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us.  We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”  “But you will not even need to fight.  Take your positions, then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory.  He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem.  Do not be afraid of discouraged.  Go out there tomorrow, for the LORD is with you.”

A huge army had come to engage the nation of Judah in war.  The people were afraid for their lives.  They had gathered together and were crying out to the Lord.  God sent the prophet, Jahaziel to them with today’s message.  They were desperate, but God wasn’t.  They didn’t know what to do, but God did.

Sometimes we run up against situations that are too much for us.  We are overpowered by them and wonder what to do.  We are fearful of what is going to happen next.  How we handle ourselves when we find ourselves in those situations depends on our faith in God.

If we really believe in God and His abilities, we will cry out to Him for help.  We may not have a clue as to what to do, but God does.  When God is in control, all we need to do is get out of the way and let Him work things out.  We may be His hands and feet or someone else may be; it doesn’t matter.  God will work all things out for our good and for His glory.  He will show us what to do and give us the means to do it.

Don’t wilt away from whatever you may face in life.  Trust in God and don’t let fear or discouragement overcome your soul.  Boldly face your difficulties, for the Lord is with you.  He will help you overcome whatever you are facing.  He will never let you deal with life without Him if you put your trust in Him.  There are times in which we need to quit our fighting, take our positions, and watch what the Lord will do for us.  Great is the victory for those who trust in the Lord.

SEEKING THE LORD

II Chron. 20:4  So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the LORD.

Judah was being threatened and would soon be under attack.  Jehosophat, when he heard about it, went into his prayer closet, fasted and prayed.  He issued a decree all across the land that everyone in Judah should fast and pray as well.  The people responded by going to Jerusalem to seek the Lord together.

I love it when people come together to seek the Lord.  I long for the time in which we can set aside our quirks and differences and just seek the Lord together.  What a day it will be when it won’t matter what church we belong to, what social status we may have, what our earthly successes may be, who we may know, or what we may do.  I long for the day in which we don’t get hung up with that which separates us and just turn to the Lord and seek Him together. I long for the day in which we can just worship the Lord together from the heart without critical spirits because we may worship differently.  Wouldn’t it be nice to just be able to focus all of our attention on the Lord and not ourselves?   I wonder what kind of a difference it would make in our communities and country if we were to do this.

I long for the day in which we can just worship the Lord together from the heart without critical spirits because we may worship differently.  Wouldn’t it be nice to just be able to focus all of our attention on the Lord and not ourselves?

I love it when people come together and serve the Lord.  We could get a whole lot more done for the Lord if we could just set aside our differences and work together for the Lord.  Instead of competing with each other for people, we would just go out into the lost world and harvest souls for the Lord.  Instead of being concerned about what church fellowship people may go to, we just rejoice that they go to church.  We really hinder the work of the Lord to reach the lost when we fail to come together and do what we can to make a difference for Christ in the world.

We are all a part of the family of God.  I believe it’s time we really acted like it.  Sure we have our differences, but as long as Christ is not compromised as Savior and Lord, we should be able to unite for the glory of Christ instead of our own.

TRUTH AT ALL TIMES

II Chron. 18:13  But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what my God tells me to say.”

Micaiah was told to agree with what the other prophets were saying to King Ahab.  Ahab and Jehosophat were about to go to war and Ahab’s prophets were predicting a great victory.  They summoned Micaiah because he was known as a true prophet of God. 

Micaiah would not bend; he would not compromise the truth for anyone, even if it was for someone as powerful and important as the king.  I wonder how many of us have the same mindset as Micaiah.  Are we committed to telling the truth regardless of who we are with, or do we compromise it when it’s in our best interest to do so?

In order to speak the truth at all times, we need to actually believe at all times what we profess to believe.  God’s Word is not situational.  It is true all the time, not just when it’s convenient for us.  The truth sometimes is confrontational.  Sometimes it is divisive.  Sometimes it puts us in uncomfortable positions.  Sometimes it is not received well at all.  However, if we really believe the truth, we have no choice but to stand on it and speak it whenever we need to.

God’s Word stands on its own merit.  We don’t have to add to it or take anything away from it.  We dare not.  When God gives us something to say, we must say it.  We don’t accommodate our message for our audience.  We let God handle how the Word is received.  It is not our responsibility.   Don’t let fear of what others may think or do hinder you.  God will take care of you.  He will not leave you hanging.  He will not leave or forsake you.  He will help you deal with whatever you have to deal with.   Tell others what you know God is telling you and you will be blest.

WHAT DOES GOD SAY?

II Chron. 18:4  Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the LORD says.”

Ahab and Jehoshaphat were joining forces to go to war.  Ahab had sought the counsel of those who wanted to please him.  They had a track record of always saying what Ahab wanted to hear instead of what he needed to hear.  Since Ahab was not living in faith, it worked well for him. On the other hand, Jehoshaphat was a man who lived in faith.  He sought to know God’s ways and do them.  So, before he joined forces with Ahab in war, he wanted to first seek the mind of God.

Are we like Ahab or Jehoshaphat?  Do we first seek the Lord’s guidance before we act, or do we do what it pleases us to do?  It is not okay to act and then ask the Lord to bless our actions.  If the Lord does not bless our actions before we do them, He cannot be expected to bless them when we do them.  Things may very well work out okay for us, but it will be not because the Lord was in it.  It is arrogance to think that we know the will of God without first waiting before Him and letting Him reveal it to us.

We do it a lot, don’t we?  We plow ahead in our lives and assume that the Lord is pleased with us.  We assume that because we are His children that we have His blessings on all we do.  We often try to justify ourselves by imposing our will on God’s will.  We expect the Lord to honor us with little real regard for whether or not it is okay with Him.  We spend little time in prayer and meditation before God to get His direction for our lives.

We need to be careful in this.  Let us first strive to find out what the Lord has to say about our plans.  Let us wait before Him and not jump into things unless we have peace that it is permissible for us to act.  If the Lord gives us the okay, then fine.  But if He says no, let us change our plans.  The Lord knows what is best for us.  Following His lead will spare us from a lot of unnecessary foolishness, grief and pain.

THE LORD ON THE LOOKOUT

II Chron. 16:9  The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

Don’t you just love this truth?  The Lord is not idle; He is searching the whole earth so that He may help those who are fully committed to Him.  The Lord does not want us to struggle.  He does not want us to fall prey to sin because we are weak.  He wants us to be strong enough to stand up to Satan and just say no to sin.  He wants us to be able to stand up and overcome all the fiery darts Satan hurls our way.

Are you going through a rough time in your life right now?  Is your faith strained from all that is going on?  Do you wonder where the Lord’s help is at?  Or, is Satan messing with your mind and you are questioning whether or not what God says is really true?  If you are going through tough times and your faith is weak, let today’s verse sink deep into your heart.

The Lord is on your side.  He knows your weaknesses and wants to give you renewed strength.  He wants to help you through your tough times.  Will you let Him?  Don’t let your feelings keep you away from asking Him for help.  By faith, turn away from your troubles for a moment and ask the Lord for strength to keep on trusting and believing.  He wants to do it for you, but He won’t do it without your permission.  So, just ask Him to draw near.  He will do it, I promise.  Do not let up.  Keep on asking until you know that the Lord is near and has done what He has promised to do for you.

The Lord works best in us when we are fully committed to Him.  He demands the total allegiance of our hearts.  He demands that we love Him with the very best of our hearts, minds, and souls.  Stay fully committed to the Lord and He will always be near to help you in your times of need.

LIFE WITHOUT GOD

II Chron. 15:3-4  “For a long time, Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach them, and without God’s laws.  But whenever you were in distress and turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him out, you found him.”

The prophet Azariah continued his discourse with King Asa and here he simply told it like it is.  Israel had gone a long time without God in her life.  The people had gotten cozy with the gods of the pagan people around them.  They had bought into the lies that these gods could do anything for them and were worthy of being worshiped.  They had forsaken the Lord.  It got to the point where the very voices of the priests were silent.  No one had risen to the task of being spokesmen for God. 

Yet, in spite of their rebellious and stubborn hearts, whenever tough times came upon them and they cried out to the Lord for help, they found Him.  It is so sad that so many wait until they are in desperate need and have nowhere else to turn to before they turn to the Lord.  Why would God even listen to such cries?  Why would He care about a people who give Him only lip service until they are in trouble?

God is a god of great compassion.  He longs to help those who turn to Him.  He tolerates our rebellion and stubbornness in the hope that we will turn to Him.  Even though we forsake Him, He does not forsake us.  He knows the heart of man and understands the affect sin has on us.  He knows that the darkness of the soul keeps us away from Him.  Yet, He forever shines His light on the earth.  He always hears the heart cry of those who call out for Him.  He forgives us of our sins and softens our hardened hearts.  He does not hide himself from those who seek Him.

Give thanks and praise today for God’s love, mercy and grace.  Thank Him that He is full of compassion and forgives all who seek Him out for the forgiveness of their sins.  Thank Him for this great salvation we are privileged to live in, though we don’t deserve one ounce of it.  Thank Him for He never lets us get away with sin but keeps calling us back to Him.  Thank Him for He never leaves or forsakes those who love Him. 

ABANDONMENT

II Chron. 15:1-2  Then the Spirit of God came upon Azariah son of Obed, and he went out to meet King Asa as he was returning from the battle.  “Listen to me, Asa!” he shouted.  “Listen, all you people of Judah and Benjamin!  The LORD will stay with you as long as you stay with him!  Whenever you seek him, you will find him.  But if you abandon him, he will abandon you.”

King Asa and his army had just come back from a great victory over the Ethiopians. God had intervened on their behalf and delivered them, even though the Ethiopian army was a million strong.  Asa was a godly king and had prayed and asked the Lord for help.

God sent Azariah to Asa and his army to forewarn them.  They had just seen the miraculous power of God at work right before their eyes and now they dared not forget that it was the Lord who did it.  God insisted that they know that in order for Him to continue to shine His favor upon them, they had to stay in fellowship with Him.  There was no mistaking the message.  God would always be with those who stayed with Him.  He would always be found by those who would seek Him.  But, if anyone would walk away from God and abandon Him, He would no longer be with them to watch over and bless them.

We need to not forget this message.  There are those who proclaim because we are under God’s grace we cannot lose God’s favor once we put our trust in Him.  Yet, God has not changed.  He is holy and holiness cannot co-exist with sin.  Sin drives God away from us.  If we choose to abandon God, how can we expect God to hang around with us?  If God can overlook sin because He loves us, then He would cease to be holy.  His holiness is not negated by His love.  If there were no repercussions for forsaking God, then how can we declare Him just?  How is it possible for us to live in sin and still think that we can be acceptable to God?  We need to carefully consider these thoughts.

I do believe that those who are in Christ are eternally secure in Him.  The issue is what it mean to be in Christ.  Is it not living a holy life?  Is it not letting the Spirit of Christ change us and teach us the way of holiness?  Is it not striving to please the Lord and not ourselves?  Is it not choosing to resist sin and when we do sin, dealing with it before Christ? 

We must be careful about our relationship with God.  As His children, we must live like it.  We mock God and the work of Christ at Calvary when we minimize the seriousness of sin in our lives.