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

All Your Heart

 Scripture:

“The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant before the Lord, agreeing to follow the Lord and to obey his commandments, laws, and rules with all his heart and being, by carrying out the terms of this covenant recorded on this scroll. All the people agreed to keep the covenant.” ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭23‬:‭3‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

King Josiah ran after God with all his heart. When he heard the word of the Lord, he went through Judah tearing down everything he could have previous worship of other gods. He did his very best to turn God’s people back to God. In this passage, he had just read the scroll found in the Temple and renewed a covenant with God with all his heart and being. Even the people followed him and entered a covenant with God. Unfortunately it didn’t last, but the heart was right.

Application:

We should tremble at the word of the Lord. When we read God’s word, it should shake us like it did Josiah. When we read the scrolls of the Lord, we should look to repent and turn completely to God. It is the natural response when we realize we have neglected the voice of God. I want to serve God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I want to serve Him well in my generation.

Prayer:

Father, forgive our half-heartedness. Help me to run to You and away from anything that You don’t approve of. Teach me to tremble at Your word and to live a life that pleases You. I want to see the blessings that follow a heart that is completely sold out to You. Let me never be a half-hearted Christian. I want to be sold out for You and Your purposes in the earth. 

Yours,

Jeff

God’s Angel Army

 Scripture:

“I will shield this city and rescue it for the sake of my reputation and because of my promise to David my servant.’” That very night the Lord’s messenger went out and killed 185,000 men in the Assyrian camp. When they got up early the next morning, there were all the corpses.” ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

Assyria was coming after God’s people and King Hezekiah cried out to the Lord. It seemed there was no hope for God’s people. When Hezekiah cried out to the Lord, God decided to move. He was told that he would not have to defend against the Assyrians because the Lord would deter them. That night, an angel of the Lord killed 185,000 Assyrians and they held quickly from God’s people. 

Application:

When the enemy threatens, we must remember that God can do far more than we think He can do. He can send angel armies to defeat enemies. He has resources we can’t even imagine. We must do our best to serve God, then know that we have a covenant with Him. He will fight our battles as we align ourselves with Him. God can handle any situation that comes our way. We must learn to trust Him more and believe He will take care of His own.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, I worship You! I glorify Your name. I exalt You! You are the only one worthy of praise. When the enemy threatens my life, or my family, or my church, let me respond in faith, knowing God will fight my battles. Let my faith in God grow to new levels. Help me to trust You above the reports of this world. Work Your miracles on our behalf I pray.

Yours,

Jeff

Obedience Brings Favor

 Scripture:

“He was loyal to the Lord and did not abandon him. He obeyed the commandments which the Lord had given to Moses. The Lord was with him; he succeeded in all his endeavors. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and refused to submit to him.” ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NET‬‬

Observation:

King Hezekiah was loyal to the Lord and did not abandon Him. He obeyed the Lord‘s commands that were given through Moses. Because he follow the Lord and was loyal to Him, it says the Lord was with him and he was successful in all his endeavors. Success comes from being in with relationship with God. He is the author of success. 

Application:

Success and victory don’t come from us or our hard work. The Lord blesses those who live according to His ways. He is faithful when His people are faithful. God rewards and honors those who listen to His voice and do what He says. God is with you when you walk in obedience and when God is with you, no enemy can prosper against You. 

Prayer:

Lord, let my life be a life of obedience to You and Your word. Help me to follow You with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. You are my rock and the foundation of my life. Help me to serve You well. I want to represent You well in my generation. Teach me Yours ways. Let my life be a life of obedience.

Yours Forever,

Jeff