Tuesday, March 19, 2024

The Heart of God

 Scripture:

”Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.“ ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭5‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

In this passage one can hear the heart of God and the reason for all His commands and decrees. He was entering a Covenant with Israel and wanted to bless them, but He could only bless them according to their obedience to the Covenant. He cries out here, “Oh, that they would always have hearts like this… and obey my commands… If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever.”

Application:

God wants to bless His children more than His children want to be blessed. His heart cries out in this passage for people to follow His ways so He could bless them. Still today, God looks for those who will completely obey Him. He wants to bless us, but we must walk in obedience to His voice, His word, and His ways. When we do things God’s ways, His blessing follows. His hearts cry is for us to obey, not to ruin our lives, but so He can bless us with His incredible blessings.

Prayer:

Father, align my life so I can walk in Your complete and total blessing. I long to serve You well in my generation. Thank You for all You have blessed me with to this point, but I long to walk in complete obedience. Open doors before me and let Your kingdom come in my life. Let Your will be done above my own. I want to live surrendered to You at all times. Show me the way forward and let me walk in Your blessing.

Yours Forever,

JEff

Monday, March 18, 2024

Seek the Lord

 Scripture:

”But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.“ ‭‭Deuteronomy‬ ‭4‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

As Moses was preparing to die, he reaffirmed God’s covenant with His people. He told them if they obeyed, they would be blessed but if they disobeyed, they would be defeated by their enemies. Here the Lord told them how to come back to Him if they messed up on following the covenant. He said, “search again for the Lord you God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.” This is repeated many times in the OT and it always blesses my heart.

Application:

God has said over and over in His Word that we would find Him when we seek for Him with all our heart and soul. He promised that if we would seek Him, we would find Him. He left the responsibility on us to turn to Him and seek Him out. He wants His people to seek Him and pursue Him. He doesn’t usually come to us until we start moving toward Him. Once we start to seek Him, He allows Himself to be found by us. 

Prayer:

Father, it has always been my desire to live a life of holy pursuit. I want to live a life of seeking You. Thank You for often letting me find You. Your presence is life to me. Your presence in my life is my everything. As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after You. I want to know You more intimately. I want to hear Your voice. I long for more of You. You are my heart’s desire.

Yours Forever,

Jeff 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Polluted Land

 Scripture:

”This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.“ ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭35‬:‭33‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

God was giving His people rules about when they enter the Promised Land and how to live there. He said that murders must be killed. Accidental death at the hands of someone else had other consequences, but murder required execution because only execution would purify the land from murder. God was very strong against murder because it pollutes the land.

Application:

There are so many murders in the United States that go with no punishment. We have polluted the land Biblically. This word tells us that execution of murderers purifies the land. This doesn’t even touch the issue of abortion and the taking of innocent lives. Our land is polluted. Thank God for the blood of Jesus that cleanses from all sin and disobedience. Thank God for Christ paying the price for our sins. 

Prayer:

Father, cleanse our land with the blood of Jesus. Wash our land and cleanse it from all disobedience. Bring revival to this land once again. Pour out Your Spirit and bring a cleansing of sin and its consequences. Let a move of God in the area of repentance come forth. Let this nation be turned around and forgive our many areas of rebellion. 

Yours,

Jeff

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Public Commissioning

 Scripture:

”The Lord replied, “Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.“ ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭27‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

When Moses was going to be taken from the scene of Israel’s history he was told that he couldn’t go into the Promised Land, but God allowed him to go up on a mountain to see it and to die there. As he was preparing for the end of his life, God told him to commission his replacement. This is what spiritual fathers do, they set their spiritual sons and daughters up for success.

Application:

Commissioning a person in ministry gives them confidence and the understanding that the person doing the commissioning believes in them, trusts them, and validates their life and ministry. It also allows the entire congregation to see the transfer of authority publicly, giving that person authority in the people’s eyes as well. I need to be more serious and intentional about public commissioning of people. I don’t want to take it too lightly, but I want it to be significant.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, You are great and glorious. You are from everlasting to everlasting. You never change and are the epitome of love. Show me how to effectively commission ministries and people for Your kingdom. I want to do what You are pleased with and not just what I want to do. Help me to always walk in obedience to You and Your words.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Open My Eyes and Ears

 Scripture:

”This is the message Balaam delivered: “This is the message of Balaam son of Beor, the message of the man whose eyes see clearly, the message of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who bows down with eyes wide open:“ ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭24‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

I see here the description of Balaam as something I want to be like. It says that his eyes see clearly, he hears the words of God, has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, and who bows down with eyes wide open.

Application:

I want to walk with God at this level. I long for my eyes to see clearly what God wants to do in every situation. I long to hear God’s words accurately and to knowledge directly from Him. I long to see visions and to be a person of worship, who bows before the Lord. I want to know God at a deeper level and to be a carrier of His words and visions to people. I want to hear accurately and do whatever He says.

Prayer:

Father, once again I pray, open my eyes to see what You are doing. Open my ears to hear what You are speaking. Open my spirit to communicate with You. I don’t want to minister out of my own well and resources, but want to minister out of the abundance of Your goodness and I want to deliver exactly what You are speaking to the people You allow me to serve. I want to hear clearly and speak clearly whatever You want to say.

Your Son,

Jeff

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Walking with the Right People

 Scripture:

”“The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the water at Meribah.“ ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

In this passage Aaron is about to die and the Lord says he will not enter the Promised Land because Aaron and Moses rebelled against the instructions of the Lord at Meribah. Meribah is where Moses struck the rock to provide water instead of speaking to the rock like the Lord told him to do. In that passage, I don’t see where Aaron did anything wrong. They both fell facedown before the Lord and the Lord spoke, but it was Moses who disobeyed.

Application:

We have to beware of the company we keep. In this passage Aaron is punished for the sin Moses committed, maybe because he was there and did nothing about it. Maybe because he didn’t speak up to Moses. We are not told exactly why, but it says he and Moses rebelled against the Lord. I do see that it was Moses who struck the rock, but Aaron called the people together and generally he was the spokesperson for Moses. Maybe he spoke and Moses hit the rock. We are not told, but we do see him being punished for something  he did with Moses.

Prayer:

Father, let me keep the right company. Help me to stay around the right people and to be influenced by the right people. I want to be pure before You and to walk humbly before You. Show me how to walk and who to walk with that I may please You completely.

Yours,

Jeff

Monday, March 11, 2024

Giving God Our Best

 Scripture:

”Be sure to give to the Lord the best portions of the gifts given to you.“ ‭‭Numbers‬ ‭18‬:‭29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Observation:

This passage is speaking to the Levites concerning the tithe. The people brought their tithes to the Levites, who lived off of the tithes of the people. This passage reminds them that they, as well, must bring the best portion of the best gifts they had received as their tithe to the Lord. Their tithe ended up being the best 10% of the best 10% of the people. God wanted them to give their very best to Him as their act of worship.

Application:

When we give to God, we should always give Him our very best, whether that is in worship, work, attitude, praise, resources, etc. God is worthy of the best offerings we can bring Him. He shouldn’t get our leftovers, but the best part of our lives. Like David, we don’t want to offer to the Lord that which costs us nothing.

Prayer:

Father, I want to give You my very best. I want to honor You in every way possible. Let my life be a life that brings You sacrificial praise and worship. Let me never be skimpy on my offerings, but let me give in response to all You have given me. You gave me Your best when You sent Your Son. Enable me to give the best of my life to You.

Yours Forever,

Jeff