Get Up!

Scripture:

Ezra 10:4 "Get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to proceed in setting this straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action".

Observation:

Ezra was praying and repenting before God for the sins of his people. They came to him and said, "we have been unfaithful to God", we have married wives and had children with the foreigners in the land we were in. While Ezra was weeping before the Lord, the people came and said, "get up, for it is your duty to tell us how to set things straight. We are behind you, so be strong and take action". He was realizing the people had been in terrible sin by taking wives of the heathen nations around them and wanted out of it. They wanted him to be strong in the Lord and tell them what they needed to do to get right with God.

Application:

Most Christians really do want to serve God with all their heart and want to know when they are doing wrong and how to fix it, but because we don't want to say anything hard to them, we hesitate to say anything. We leave them in their sin instead of confronting the things in their lives that are killing them. It seems today that people don't want to hear the fact that they are not in obedience to God, but this morning the Lord is speaking to me and saying, "get up, for it is your duty to tell them how to set things straight, be strong and take action". We should never be afraid to speak up for God when something is true in His word. We should be ready to defend Him and His word at all costs, even if it offends people. Ezra was about to tell all Israel to divorce their wives and leave their children. WOW! What a message to bring to a people.

Prayer,

Lord, you have placed me in a position where I have to say what You want said whether people like it or not. Give me the strength to get up and tell people how to get back to God. Give me the strength to confront sin and sinful behaviors with the passion of God Him self. Teach me to be strong i You and less concerned about how people will like me than about being true to You word. I love You Lord and want to represent You well. Give me the strength I need to get up and tell the truth to people.

Thanks,
Jeff

The Favor of God

Scripture:

Ezra 7:6 "He came up to Jerusalem from Babylon, and the king gave him everything he asked for, because the gracious hand of the Lord was on him".

Observation:

When Ezra was leaving Babylon, he left with the favor of the Lord. He was coming back to Jerusalem and God's favor was with Him. Scripture tells us that "the king gave him everything he asked for". God's favor was so great upon Ezra that King Artaxerxes gave him anything he wanted as he was going. Scripture then says why this happened, "because the gracious hand of the Lord was on him". God's hand was on Ezra's life to the degree that the king of Persia gave him anything he wanted.

Application:

When God's favor comes on someone's life, He will make even your enemies love you. Even those that hate you will want to bless your life. God has a way of working in the lives of those who are truly His. He can make your application rise to the top, your resume be seen when there are many others with more qualifications, He can cause those who don't even like you to give to you. The favor of the Lord is incredible. You can't earn it, but you can ask for it! When God chooses to bless, He does it to the extreme! I want His gracious hand on my life.

Prayer:

Lord, You are my life and my salvation. You are my rock and fortress! You are my deliverer! I want Your favor on my life. I ask You today to let Your favor and your gracious hand be upon me. I need You. Let Your favor be strong on my life as I endeavor to serve You. Without You, I can't do anything. I need You Lord. Thank You for Your awesome presence in church yesterday. You are incredible!

Jeff

All His Heart II

Scripture:

II Chronicles 34:31 "He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all His commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll".

Observation:

Josiah became king at only eight years of age. At sixteen, he began to seek the Lord and destroy all other Gods from Judah and Jerusalem. From there, he began to repair the temple of the Lord. While repairing the temple, someone found the book of the Law of the Lord. Josiah had a heart after God and had it read to the entire city of Jerusalem. He then promised to follow the Lord's commands with "all his heart and soul". Josiah saw peace in his generation and the Lord delayed the destruction that was coming in Judah until after his reign because he sought the Lord with all his heart and soul.

Application:

This is the second day in a row that we have come across the words, "with all his heart and soul". Once again, throughout the entire bible you will read these words in one form or another and will notice that whoever seeks the Lord like this prospers in everything they do. If we will "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto you". God is looking for a people who are fully committed to Him, who will obey when it is easy and when it is not. He is looking for a people who will follow Him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. it is this person who will see the incredible blessing of the Lord.

Prayer:

Lord, You are really speaking to me this week about seeking You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. I want to see the day of Your power in our area. I want to see Your name glorified in the earth and today I want You to have all of me; heart, soul, mind and strength. I want to serve You and bring glory to Your name with everything I have. Be exalted in my life. Teach me to trust You more and fully sell out every area of my life to You. You are the best and deserve full and complete devotion. Show me more how I can do that.

I Love You,
Jeff

Serving the Lord with ALL Your Heart

Scripture:

II Chronicles 31:21 "And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, in the law and in the commandment, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart. So he prospered".

Observation:

King Hezekiah was one of the great kings of Judah. He served God with all his heart, cleaned the temple and repaired it, restored worship of the Lord throughout the kingdom, and positioned the priesthood to function once again. Everything Hezekiah did was blessed of the Lord and prospered because "He did it with all his heart". As you read on, you see the incredible blessings that came to this king. His house overflowed with gold, silver, gems, etc. He was blessed in every way and his enemies were defeated before him by the Lord our God.

Application:

I believe God wants to honor and bless His people, but in this passage I see one of the conditions for obtaining the blessing of the Lord. All through scripture we hear the words "with all his heart" or "with all your heart". It seems that God blesses those who serve Him with everything they have. Those who go the extra mile are always blessed. God hates half-heartedness! He is a God who wants to be served with "all your heart". He wants to know that you will obey in every area, whatever He says. He wants to know that you will lean on Him for every part of your life. Many people today want the blessings of finances like Hezekiah had, but they are not willing to serve the Lord with "all their heart". It seems today that we have become plagued with the feeling that God is here to bless me and I don't have to do anything. God blesses those who are willing to give up everything for Him and serve Him with "all their heart".

Prayer:

Lord,
I want to serve You with all my heart. I want my life to become what You desire. I don't want to be half-hearted! I want to serve You with everything I have. I want Your will accomplished in and through my life. I surrender to You this morning and ask that You would lead, guide and direct me into all truth. Show me how to serve You better. Lord, You have my heart, but today I give You "all my heart".

I Love You Lord,
Jeff

Divine Acceleration

Scripture:

II Chronicles 29:36 "And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had done for the people, for everything had been accomplished so quickly".

Observation:

King Hezekiah was placing everything in order. He started out with repairing the temple of the Lord. His heart was in the right place and he was doing things according to God's plans and purposes. As he was working, doing things God's way, God came and accelerated it so that everything was accomplished very quickly.

Application:

When you do things God's way and according to His timing, He has the ability to do the impossible and speed up time when He needs to. He can accelerate you into your destiny quicker than you can imagine! I have watched the Lord accelerate people's destiny many times as they were fully following Him. He can put you in the right place at the right time to accelerate His will. When He does it, you can rest assured it will be awesome. Follow God's plans and allow Him to raise you up at the right time. Be in the right place at the right time and watch God work! He is incredible.

Prayer:

Lord, sometimes we labor and labor for things in Your kingdom, then suddenly You decide to do a quick work. It is awesome to watch You do this. Help me not to be weary in well doing, but to look anxiously for You to accelerate things. I believe You are going to accelerate Word of Life faster than what we have been accustomed to. Help me be ready for it. Give me wisdom to lead us through this acceleration. When it is all finished I want people to say, "it had to be God". I want my life to bring You glory!

I love you Lord,

Jeff

Obedience Brings Blessing

Scripture:

II Chronicles 27:6 "King Jotham became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord his God".

Observation:

Uzziah was a great king who wanted to please the Lord. He followed the Lord, but went a step too far and offered incense to the Lord, a job reserved only for the priesthood. He instantly got leprosy and lived the end of his life in isolation. After his death, his son takes the throne and reigns sixteen years in Jerusalem. It says in this passage that he "became powerful because he was careful to live in obedience to the Lord". His careful obedience brought about God's blessing.

Application:

I have always taught my children, "Obedience brings blessing". The blessing of God is more important than money, fame, or anything else and here we see how this man received the blessing. It says he was "careful" to obey. It is one thing to obey, it is another thing to be careful to obey. He wanted to please the Lord and was sensitive about doing it right. It should be our desire as believers to please our Lord carefully. We should live our lives "carefully" following the Lord.

Prayer:

Lord, I want to follow you carefully. I don't want to miss Your voice or hear incorrectly. I want my life to be a life of obedience in every area. Help me Lord to obey every instruction and to be a man of God who follows You carefully. Teach me to hear Your voice clearly and to follow it carefully. I love You Lord,

Jeff

Teamwork makes the Dream Work

Scripture:

II Chronicles 24:13 "So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it".

Observation:

Joash had a desire to repair the house of God. He took huge offerings to get the job done, then gave the money to workers who were skilled in different areas. They each did their job and used their personal skills to rebuild the house of the Lord. I also see here that the workmen worked! As they worked, the house of God was repaired and strengthened.

Application:

The house of God needs workmen. We need men and women of God who are willing to roll their sleeves up and work with all their heart to strengthen the Kingdom of our God. When each member does the work they are best at, the kingdom of God will advance incredibly. Today, there are many in the body of Christ who want to work for God, but don't want it to cost them anything. Strengthening the Kingdom of God will cost you something. It will take work, lots of work.

Prayer:

May the body of Christ begin to find the position and begin to work hard in their assignments. May we come to the place where we are willing to sacrifice for the Kingdom of God. Lord, teach me to lead Your people out of laziness and into fruitfulness. I want to see an active church that is changing their society, but I realize it takes work. Strengthen us, that we may strengthen the Kingdom of God.

I Love You Lord,
Jeff

Open Doors to the Enemy

Scripture:

II Chronicles 12:2 "And it happened in the fifth year of King Rehoboam that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord".

Observation:

Rehoboam had forsaken the ways of his father Solomon and according to verse 1 "forsook the law of the Lord". Verse 2 comes along and tells what happened as a direct result of him forsaking the Law of the Lord and says specifically that Shishak came against them because they had transgressed against the Lord. His sin caused all Israel to come under attack.

Application:

When we walk in willing, known sin, we open doors to the enemy and God's walls of protection around our lives. Here we see and OT example of this. Jeroboam was not walking according to the paths of his father and grandfather and all Israel was attacked. We must come the realization that our sin has significant consequences. Our sin affects those around us and the greater our influence, the greater our sin affects others. Satan enters and causes problems in us and those around us when we decide to walk in disobedience.

Prayer:

Lord, let my see the devastating results of personal sin. I want my life to please You. I give myself afresh this morning to be a man who strives after righteousness. I want to see others lifted up and no open doors to the enemy in my life. Keep me in the path of purity.

I Love You Lord,
Jeff

The Power of Unity

Scripture:

II Chronicles 5:13 "indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets ans cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord saying: 'For He is good, For His mercy endures forever', that the house, the house of the Lord was filled with a cloud".

Observation:

Solomon is dedicating the temple his father wanted to build and made preparations for. The work has finished and the dedication ceremony was beginning. It says, "when the trumpeters and singers were as one", the Lord showed up and filled the building with a cloud. I noticed here that the cloud of God's presence did not come until the music and singing was as one and they were making one sound.

Application:

Psalm 133 is my favorite text about unity. It talks about the power of unity and how God commands His blessing on unity. Here again we see unity as the key factor before the Lord decided to show up. I believe unity and all being on the same page is absolutely important if we are going to see God work in greater ways. It was as the singers and trumpeters were singing as one that God came in power. When God's people decide to be single minded in their pursuit of Him, we will see an incredible revival of God's power, but as long as we stay isolated and full of ourselves, we will never see God's power revealed in large scale ways. We must be one in singing the same song, walking together in unity, dying to ourselves and becoming more like Christ every day.

Prayer:

Lord, Let the church of Jesus Christ become "ONE" again. Teach us how to do this. Show us how to bring about unity at a greater dimension. Lead us into singing, praising, and worshipping as ONE. I want to see Your glory spoken of throughout the earth. Come Holy Spirit and breathe on Your church! Move us closer to each other and closer to You.

You're the best,
Jeff

A Magnificent Temple

Scripture:

II Chronicles 2:5 "This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods".

Observation:

Solomon has just become king and immediately asks the Lord for wisdom to lead the people of God correctly. He quickly begins gathering supplies to build God the Temple that David, his father, wanted to build for God. As he is preparing the work force and supplies, he says, "This must be a magnificent Temple because our God is greater than all other gods".

Application:

Solomon wanted to world to see how awesome his God was. He built God the most beautiful temple the world had ever seen as an honor to the Lord. I see two applications in this verse. The first is physical, the second is spiritual. In the physical, Solomon wanted the world to look at this building that was built in honor of the Lord and say, "the god of the people of Israel must be awesome!" It is awesome to walk through the cathedrals in Europe and see the same magnificence. Today we through us a church as fast as we can, decorate it as cheaply as we can, because we don't want to be accused of spending too much money on a building and not on the people. I believe God can be honored in architecture! What we do for the Lord, must be done with excellence. Secondly, I believe this speaks spiritually. The NT brings out the fact that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. If we really believed this, it would change the way we take care of our bodies. We should honor God by presenting to Him a body that bring Him glory. We should want to make His house great!

Prayer:

Lord, I want my life to bring you honor and people to say, "Jeff's God must be awesome!" Help me to walk in excellence in the simple building you have given us to worship You in currently. Help me to treat it with respect and make it as nice as possible because to a degree, it represents You. Also help me to provide You a wonderful temple in my body. Help me to bring my body into subjection an every area. help me get in shape and take better care of the body You have given me. Thank You for convicting me this morning.

I Love You,
Jeff

The Makings of a Great Family

Scripture:

I Chronicles 26:8 "all of these descendants of Obed-Edom, including their sons and grandsons - sixty - two of them in all - were very capable men, well qualified for their work".

Observation:

Many times in the Scriptures, we find great men of God who didn't raise their children properly and their children were totally ungodly. In this little verse we read about Obed Edom, all of his sons and all of his grandsons were very capable and well qualified.

Application:

It is one thing to raise a kid who turns out good, but when you see 62 sons and grandsons who "all" were capable and qualified, it speaks volumes about their parents. Here you see generational blessing. Obed - Edom did something right and his family was blessed for it. In I Chronicles 13:14 we get a small picture of the Ark of the Covenant being stored at the house of Obed-Edom for three months and it says, "The Lord blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he owned". I believe the keys to having a successful family are a heart after God and good training. His sons had seen the Ark of the Covenant and the blessing that came with it. They saw something real. The second part is that Obed-Edom must have provided some training for his family because they were capable and qualified.

Prayer:

Lord, I want my boys to be capable and qualified in every area of life. Help me keep them in and near the real presence of God, yet train them to be skillful in real life. Teach me to be the father You want me to be, that the blessing of God will be upon my sons and their future families.

Love You Lord,
Jeff

The Price of True Worship

Scripture:

I Chronicles 21:24 "But King David replied to Araunah, 'No, I insist on buying it for full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing'".

Observation:

King David had blown it and sinned by numbering Israel. God was very displeased and caused a plague to wipe out 70,000 people because of David's sin. David sat in sackcloth for a period of time and his advisor told him to build an altar on the threshingfloor of Araunah. David went to build the altar and Araunah decides to just give the land to David. David refuses and says this phrase, "No, I insist on buying it for full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing".

Application:

David understood the cost of true worship. He understood the concept of sacrifice. Most people today don't want worship to cost them anything. God is there to give to them, but they shouldn't have to sacrifice anything at all. It's like God is their own personal Santa Clause in the sky who is to meet their needs, while they sacrifice nothing for Him. We must understand the concept of sacrificial worship. Value is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for an item. If we never sacrifice for our God, how much value have we given to Him?

Prayer:

Lord, You are amazing and I love You! Teach me to worship You in Spirit and in truth. Teach me to offer You my very best. I want to give You the offering of my life. Help me not get upset when serving You costs me personally. I want my life to be a sacrifice for You. You have blessed me beyond measure and I love you for it. Help me to show my appreciate in a way that communicates value to You for all You have done in my life.

Yours,
Jeff

Israel - God's Chosen People

Scripture:

I Chronicles 17:22 "You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, Lord, have become their God".

Observation:

David is speaking to the Lord and has told the Lord he wanted to build a permanent house for the Lord, where God could be glorified before the people. God says that David's son will get the honor of doing that. David then says to the Lord, "You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever". God always wanted a people to call His own. From the beginning of time, God's desire was for a people He could walk and talk with. Israel is God's chosen people.

Application:

As Christians, we must realize that we have been grafted into spiritual Israel, but there is a physical Israel that God made many promises to in the Scriptures. No matter what politicians say, Israel should be honored as God's chosen people and their land should be seen as God's land. God set His affection on Israel many, many years ago and called them "His special people". he fought on their behalf in the past and He will fight on their behalf in the future. As Christians we should be very sensitive towards Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem. We have been grafted in, but they are God's original chosen people.

Prayer,

Lord, I pray that You bless Israel. Let them be a light to the nations. Bless and prosper them again. Make them strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. I pray for the peace of Jerusalem and ask You to strengthen them as Your chosen people. Make Your face to shine on Your people Israel. May they know the God of their forefathers and be drawn back to You.

Amen,
Jeff

Neglecting the Ark

Scripture:

I Chronicles 13:3 "It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, from we neglected it during the reign of Saul".

Observation:

Saul has just died a terrible death and David is being inaugurated as king of all Israel. As he is becoming king, he feels it is incredibly important to get the Ark of God back into his care. The Ark of God is where the presence of the Lord was concentrated in those days. Saul apparently did not feel it was important to have the presence of God on his side. he must have felt self-sufficient in leading the nation because he neglected the Ark. David comes along and one of the first things he does is to try to get the Ark back where it belongs. He must have remembered the stories of how the priests carrying the Ark stepped into the Jordan River and it parted and how whenever the Ark was with them, they won conflicts and battles.

Application:

We have neglected the Ark of God just as they did in Saul's time. Most of what happens in our churches today would simply continue if the Holy Spirit was removed. We need the presence and power of our God back in our ministries! We need to realize we have neglected this aspect in our churches. We need God to come and work among His people. We cannot continue to neglect the Ark and expect to see the kingdom of God expand. We need to show our utter dependence on Him and cry out for Him to come again.

Prayer:

Father, we have neglected the Ark. We have put on programs, done slick advertising, and leaned on our own understanding of how church is to operate. I want to see the body of Christ turn back to You and desire Your presence. If You don't show up in the churches of America, we are sunk! We need You and will do whatever it takes to get the Ark of the presence of God back into the churches of this nation. Come Holy Spirit and fill our sanctuaries and meeting places with Your Holy presence. WE want the Ark back in our churches!

I Love You,

Jeff

More and More Powerful

Scripture:

I Chronicles 11:9 "And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven's Armies was with him".

Observation:

Saul has just died and David is rising to become king of all Israel. When describing David's rise to kingship, credit is not going to David, but to the Lord. It says that David became more and more powerful, not because of his great might and achievements, but because the Lord was with him.

Application:

Everywhere in the Bible that it says "The Lord was with" someone, they prospered, became leaders, changed nations and turned the hearts of people. David was known as a man after God's own heart. Scripture tells us "draw near to God and He will draw near to you". If we want the Lord to be with us, we must first be with Him. we must pursue Him! As David passionately pursued the Lord, the Lord was close to Him and raised him up. When God sees a heart that is fully devoted to him, He will always raise it up and put it in the position for the most effectiveness. He also draws near and begins to bless.

Prayer:

Lord, I want it to be said that "The Lord was with him", when people speak of my life. I want my life to bring You glory. I want to sense You closeness every day. I want to walk with You, talk with You and bring You glory. I want to be as close to You as is possible. Father, I surrender my life to You. Use me for Your glory and walk with me throughout every day.
I love you,
Jeff

The Power of One Man's Sin

Scripture:

I Chronicles 2:7 "The son of Carmi was Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the accursed thing".

Observation:

I Chronicles starts out as a genealogy that is being passed down from generation. In this genealogy very little is said about anyone, but when they get to one man, they make a little comment. In this genealogy there were some remarkable men who did some great things. They are not commented about except to say their name. When we come to Achar, it says he was the troubler of Israel who transgressed in the accursed thing. From this reference we realize this man was actually Achan who, in the book of Joshua caused the first failure of the army to conquer a small city. Joshua tells us that there was sin in the camp and they found idols in Achan's tent. His sin affected all of Israel and he goes down in history as the troubler of Israel.

Application:

Sin has incredible power to destroy a person's life and history. This man probably did some good things in his life, but he is only remembered for the one thing he did wrong. He is remembered as one who troubled a whole nation because of his disobedience. When we sin, we are not only affecting ourselves, we are affecting the lives of countless others. Sometimes we don't deal with hidden sin, like Achan's, and those around us are losing their blessing. When someone falls, no matter how much good they have done, they are remembered for what they did wrong, not what they did right.

Prayer:

Father, help me to stay on the straight and narrow way that leads to life. I want to hear "well done good and faithful" with all my heart. I want to be remembered as someone who not only preached God's word, but lived it well and finished the race with character of heart. Help me Lord to follow after You and You alone. You are my portion! I love You Lord.

Thinking of You,
Jeff

Tombstone Truth

Scripture:

II Kings 23:25 "Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him".

Observation:

Josiah is remembered as the king who cleaned house in Judah. He got rid of every altar, image, shrine, priest and anything in the nation that dealt with worshipping any other God than Jehovah. He cleaned house in a big way and then as he is remembered in history, he is remembered by saying "there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul and with all his might". What better words can be spoken of any person on the planet?

Application:

In our society today, God is looking for some Josiah's who will turn to the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. He is looking for those who will not be afraid to turn the tide of hypocrisy and stand for what is right according to His word. He is looking for someone who will fear God more than man and begin to do things God's way. On my tombstone I want to have it say something like what Josiah's did. He turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength.

Prayer:

Lord, teach me to listen to Your voice and become the person You want me to be. In this difficult generation, I want to be a voice for You who will not be ashamed of the truth and will clean house where it needs to be cleaned. Help me to be as bold as Josiah who went recklessly hard after You and turned a nation back to the God of their forefathers. America needs revival! Let me be part of it by turning my heart completely to You.

You're the Best!

Jeff