Speak to God First

 Scripture:

“David asked God, “Should I march up against the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The Lord said to him, “March up! I will hand them over to you!” So they marched against Baal Perazim and David defeated them there. David said, “Using me as his instrument, God has burst out against my enemies like water bursts out.” So that place is called Baal Perazim.” ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

David was smart enough not to trust his own decisions, but asked the Lord what to do. He knew it was God who fought his battles and therefore wanted to make sure he wasn’t going ahead of God. Once he heard from God, he marched, and God defeated his enemies. He declared that God used him as His instrument to burst out against his enemies.

Application:

We can be used by God to destroy the works of the enemy when we first hear His voice and do what He is doing. We can’t ask God to anoint us to do our will. We can only ask God to anoint us to do His will. The greatest place we can be is in the place of full surrender to God and His will for our lives. When we work with God, great things happen. When we work in our flesh, disaster usually comes. We must speak to God before we attack enemies.

Prayer:

Father, help me not to rush into battle, but to wait for You to dictate my steps. I want to be doing what You want me to be doing with my life. Help me to follow You well and anoint me to accomplish Your plans, not my plans, for my life. My life is in Your hands. Use me for Your glory and open the right doors at the right moment. I want to live a surrendered life.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

His Presence is Everything

 Scripture:

“David’s power steadily grew, for the Lord who commands armies was with him.” ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭11‬:‭9‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Throughout the Old Testament, we are told about people of whom it would say, “and the Lord was with them.” Those people always prospered. Those people always won battles. Those people always lived very blessed lives that had a supernatural element to them. Here it says David’s power steadily grew because God was with him.

Application:

The greatest thing you can have in your life on this earth is God’s presence and power on your life. When God is with you, things go well for you and He opens doors for you that nobody can shut. He makes things prosper in ways we could never do alone. As for me, I know God is with me because He lives within me, but I also love when He manifests His presence and lets me know He is there. We should continually seek God’s presence in our lives and pursue Him with all our hearts.

Prayer:

Father, You are the best! You are my everything and I love You with all my heart. Help me to walk humbly before You. I want Your presence to be evident in my life. I want You to smile upon me and let Your supernatural favor and grace be upon me. Set me apart for Your purposes and let my life bring You glory and honor. I am Yours. Let my life count for Your kingdom. Bless our events this weekend with Your presence. Come Holy Spirit.

Yours,

Jeff

Raising and Releasing Warriors

 Scripture:

“Altogether the genealogical records of the clans of Issachar listed 87,000 warriors.” ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭7‬:‭5‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

It is interesting to read the genealogies of some of the people in the Bible. You find little things here and there about families. In this passage it talks about the sons of Issachar. 87,000 warriors came directly through his lineage. He raised warriors, who raised warriors, who raised warriors. It seems that had lots of babies as well because this is a huge number of fighting men from one ancestor. 

Application:

The Bible tells us in other places that the Sons of Issachar knew the times and seasons. They were not only warriors, they understood how to hear from God. As a spiritual father, I want to lead men, who lead men, who lead men. I want to build warriors, who build warriors, who build warriors in God’s kingdom. I want to pass on to the next generation everything the Lord has put in my life.

Prayer:

Father, let this next season of my life be given to raising and releasing sons and daughters who will today sons and daughters, who will change the world. Give me wisdom and insight concerning this and how to walk in it. Teach me to raise and release world changers for Your glory. Help me to father them well and to prepare them for service in Your kingdom.

Yours,

Jeff

The Blessing

 Scripture:

“Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only you would greatly bless me and expand my territory! May your hand be with me! Keep me from harm so I might not endure pain!” God answered his prayer.” ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Te beginning of I Chronicles is a long genealogy. It tells all the names of the descendants of God’s people. Most of the people we don’t learn anything about, but once in a while a person gets an additional line or two of text. Jabez got a little additional description. It says he was born in pain, but he called out to God and asked God to bless him, expand his territory, and to let His hand be with him. He also asked that would not have to endure pain. Then it simply says, “God answered his prayer.” Then the genealogy continued to the next person.

Application:

Sometimes we have not because we ask not. I am one who doesn’t ask very much. I tend to be pretty self-reliant and don’t want to be always begging God for things. I need to learn that it is not a problem to ask my father for His blessing. I need to ask God more instead of leaning on the fact that He knows my needs before I ever express them. 

Prayer:

Father, bless me. Bless the work of my hands. Bless my family. Bless the church I lead. Bless my county. Let Your blessing be evident in my life and work. I want to see Your name glorified in every nation of the world. Empower me to do Your will and extend Your kingdom in and through my life. Help me to lead Your people well and to serve them with excellence. I want to represent You well. As we celebrate 25 years at Word of Life this week. Bless the weekend with Your presence and bless the church in every way.

Yours,

Jeff

One Bad Decision

 Scripture:

“The son of Carmi: Achan, who brought the disaster on Israel when he stole what was devoted to God.” ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭2‬:‭7‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

The first three chapters of I Chronicles is a detailed lineage of God people from Adam. In this geneology, very little is spoken about anyone. It is simply a list of who was born to who. Once in a while, there will be a very little information about one individual. When it came to Achan, he received additional information that said, “who brought disaster on Israel when he stole what was devoted to God.”

Application:

You can do a lot of good in your life, but it is usually the one bad thing you did that gets you remembered. You can work all your life to build a reputation, then lose it in a moment, causing you to be remembered as the person who fell from grace or did something terribly wrong. I’m sure Achan did some things right in his life, but he went down in history as the guy who stole from God and caused Israel defeat. I want to finish strong and be known for what I did right, not where I messed up.

Prayer:

Father, I want to represent You well throughout my life. I want to make Your kingdom look good, not bad. Help me to follow You completely and to make Your name great. You are worthy of my very best. Help me to live a life that brings You honor and praise. 

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Living For Eternity

 Scripture:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be paid back according to what he has done while in the body, whether good or evil.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭10‬ ‭NET‬

Observation:

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians and it is a good reminder about how we live our lives here on earth. He says we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ after we die. It states that we will be paid back, or rewarded, according to whatever we have done in our earthly lives. Like is a downpayment on our eternal rewards. 

Application:

Everything we do on this earth while we live here, will be judged one day. It will either be valuable or not valuable. God is taking good notes of every moment of our lives. As believers, we don’t have to worry about hell, but in heaven there will be a reward system. We need to live our lives knowing that one day we will stand before God and give an account. As for my, I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Prayer:

Father, help me to live with eternity in focus. Help me to live my life producing valuable things for Your kingdom. Let my answer always be “yes” when You want me to do something. Teach me to live a life of obedience in everything I touch. Let my life be lived for Your glory.

Yours,

Jeff

Power in Clay Jars

 Scripture:

“But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭7‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Paul is writing to the Corinthians here and tells them about the extraordinary power in him that belongs to God. That power, Paul said, comes from God and not from us. He used the analogy that we are simple clay jars, containing the power, but not the source of the power. Paul knew he had great power, but he also knew where it came from.

Application:

As God’s children, we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We should not shy away from the fact that we have extraordinary power, but we should never forget there that power comes from. We must always point to Jesus, and not ourselves. We are simple conduits of God’s power. We can do nothing without Him, but everything with Him. We just need to learn our place and walk with God to fulfill His purposes.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, You are great and glorious. You are incredible and I worship You. You are worthy of all my praise and worship. You are worthy of any sacrifice I need to make. You are my everything. Help me to walk in Your power, but remember that power comes from You and You alone. This world needs to see You working through people, but they need to know it is not the people, but God Almighty working through them. 

Yours,

Jeff