Don't Weary The Lord

Scripture:

Malachi 2:17  "Ye have wearied Jehovah with your words.  Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?  In that ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of Jehovah, and he delighteth in them; or where is the God of justice?"

Observation:

Malachi tells God's people that they were wearying Him with their words.  They were saying they served the Lord, but their actions were not backing up their words.  They were telling people God was delighted with them, when actually they were not even right with God.  This was trying on the Lord's patience because they were not accurately depicting who God is.  His justice was being overlooked.

Application:

I think we are in dangerous waters today when I read verses like this.  Today we preach how God is head over heals in love with everyone, no matter how they are living.  We basically tell people they can do whatever they want and live however they want, and God is so radically in love with them that He doesn't look at the sin in their lives.  God doesn't delight in sin and iniquity.  He is a righteous God who empowers His people to live righteous lives.  We need to stop wearying the Lord's patience.

Prayer:

Father, let my life please You in every way.  Forgive me for taking Your sacrifice and love for granted.  Help me to live a life worthy of Christ's death.  Let me accurately reflect You when I preach to people.  Help me to rightly divide the word of truth.  I don't want to bless what You are cursing and curse what You are blessing.  Lead me Holy Spirit.

Yours,
Jeff

Rejoice Greatly

Scripture:

Zechariah 9:9  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly; and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass."

Observation:

Zechariah prophesies here that the people of Zion would rejoice one day because their king would come to them.  He tells that this king will be just and having salvation.  He says he will be lowly and riding on a donkey.  Jesus fulfilled this passage exactly when he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

Application:

Sometimes our answer doesn't come to us in the package we expected.  Sometimes God uses the little things of this world to confound the wise.  Sometimes God works in ways we cannot understand.  Our job is not to tell Him how to come, just to rejoice because we know the answer is coming.  We can rejoice in the fact that we have a God who loves us and is working on our behalf, whether we see the answer coming or not.

Prayer:

Father, help me to trust You more each day.  Help me to realize that sometimes Your answer comes in the mighty and sometimes Your answer comes in the simple.  Either way, You always take care of Your kids.  Thanks for reminding me that sometimes the greatest answers come in simple packages.

Yours
Jeff

Dilligently Obey

Scripture:

Zechariah 6:15  "And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of Jehovah; and ye shall know that Jehovah of hosts hath sent me unto you.  And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of Jehovah your God."

Observation:

Zechariah is given a word from an angel about people from all over coming to build in the temple.  He was told that hen he saw it happen, he would know the angel was sent from God.  At the end, the angel tells him something crucial to all of it.  He says, it will come to pass, IF he would diligently obey the voice of the Lord.

Application:

We all want to claim the promises of God, but promises in God's word generally are conditional.  When we are obedient to Him and walking in the Spirit, we can ask what we will and it will be done for us, but when we are walking in disobedience, we have nothing to stand on.  Our promises generally have an "if" attached to them.  We do our part of obedience and God does His part.

Prayer:

Once again Lord, I ask come before You and ask you to help me walk in obedience to You at all times.  Help me say yes, no matter what You ask of me.  Open doors and I will walk through them.  Let me hear Your voice and I will say yes. 

Yours,
Jeff

Seek Jehovah

Scripture:

Zephaniah 2:3  "Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger."

Observation:

Zephaniah was talking to people who were about to be punished by the Lord.  God was about to destroy many nations who were not following him.  To this people, Zephaniah says, "Seek ye Jehovah".  He was telling them that if they sought the Lord and righteousness, He may hide them in the time of his anger.

Application:

God can hide his people, even in times of His own wrath.  He that dwells in the secret place of the most high will be hidden from God's wrath and all other calamity.  The best thing we can do as we see the last days coming is to seek the Lord and seek His righteousness.  I want to be hidden away with Him.

Prayer:

Father, make me a seeker of You.  Help me to continue to seek Your face all the days of my life.  Draw me more and more into Your presence.  I want to be hidden under Your wings and to be close to You.  Teach me to follow You more closely each day.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Filled

Scripture:

Habakkuk 2:14 "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea."

Observation:

Habakkuk is given a vision of a day when the entire world would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.  He was told that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord would be so encompassing that it would be like the waters covering the sea.

Application:

I want to be part of helping this verse come to pass in my life.  I want the knowledge of the glory of the Lord to cover the earth like the waters cover the sea.  I commit my life to the expansion of the kingdom of God in all the earth till the whole world knows.

Prayer:

Father, let me be part of extending Your kingdom into all the earth.  Help me to follow You completely and to be an instrument in Your hands for the extension of Your reign and rule in the earth.  Let my life be used to bring other lives to You.

Yours,
Jeff

Washed Robes

Scripture:

Revelation 22:14 "Blessed are they that wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and may enter in by the gates into the city."

Observation:

In the book of Revelation, there is much talk of white robes.  We are told earlier in Revelation that the white robes are the righteous acts of the saints.  Here, we see that having the right to come to the tree of life requires washing of the robes. 

Application:

There is much teaching today in the body of Christ about grace.  Many teach that we can live however we want because Jesus was the once and for all sacrifice for our sins.  Jesus paid the punishment for our sins, but we have to choose to walk in righteousness.  We have to decide to live above sin and follow His ways.  I want to have the right to come to the tree of life.  Therefore, I want to live holy before my God while on this earth.  I want to please Him in every way.

Prayer:

Father, wash me, cleanse me, and help me to live in righteousness according to Your ways.  Help me to walk with You closer and closer each day.  I want to serve You well and to make Your name great.  Purify my life and help me walk in purity and power all the days of my life.

Your Son,
Jeff

A Great Multitude

Scripture:

Revelation 19:1 "After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God".

Observation:

When it's all said and done, God wins, the devil is defeated and God's people, "A Great Multitude", will be worshiping Him in heaven.  We will be singing hallelujah, salvation, and glory, and power belong to our God.  What a beautiful picture of how this all wraps up.

Application:

We are living in the last days and must remain alert and walk in close relationship with our Father.  It says that there will be a great multitude in heaven worshiping.  I want to be part of making the multitude larger and larger.  I want to extend the reach of God's kingdom farther and farther until the time of the Gentiles comes to an end.  I need to commit my life more and more to the extension of the Kingdom of God.

Prayer:

Lord, I want to be in that great multitude one day, but I also want to be part of building that multitude here on earth until that day.  Help me to stay focused on winning souls and making disciples.  Help me to keep the main thing the main thing.  Keep me on track and empower me to build and extend Your kingdom here on earth into every nation, tribe and tongue.

Yours,
Jeff

All Nations

Scripture:

Revelation 15:4 "Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all the nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy righteous acts have been made manifest".

Observation:

John was witnessing some pretty incredible stuff about the anti-christ and false prophet, then he comes into this section and declares the part of the song of Moses.  He talks about everyone fearing the Lord and all nations worship before Him when His righteous acts are made manifest.

Application:

One day, every knee is going to bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God.  I want to be a person who worships Him now, instead of one who waits until its too late.  I also have volunteered my life to take His good news to the ends of the earth.  I want to be part of every nation knowing Him before its too late.

Prayer:

Father, I give myself fresh to You today for the building of Your kingdom in every nation of the earth.  Let me be part of extending Your kingdom into the whole earth.  I want to see the nations worshiping You together.  I want to see that here in my church and around the world and I give myself to You for that purpose today.

Yours,
Jeff

Picture of Heaven

Scripture:

Revelation 7:9 "After these things I saw, and behold a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes, and palms in their hands".

Observation:

In this verse, we get a glimpse of what goes on in heaven around the throne of God.  John saw a great multitude of people that was innumerable.  They were from every tribe, nation and language and they were worshiping the Lamb together.  The greatest demonstration of worldwide unity happens every day in heaven.  There is no division, race, or language discrimination.  Perfect unity!

Application:

As we pray "Thy kingdom come and the thy will be done", we must remember what we see in this passage, is the will of God.  God wants His children to worship together from all over the earth.  In heaven, there will be no race distinctions.  In heaven, there will be no race divisions.  We will all worship the King together in perfect unity.

Prayer:

Father, I give my life to building unity in Your kingdom.  I pledge to You that I will do my best to reconcile pastors, churches, leaders, and denominations to each other and to You.  Help me to do it.  Give me the platform and I will speak.

Yours,
Jeff

Dead Works

Scripture:

Revelation 3:1 "And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead."

Observation:

John is writing to the church at Sardis.  He tells them that they have a name that says they are alive, but that they are dead. 

Application:

Many have a name that says they are alive or go to a church that says they are alive, but in reality, they are full of dead works.  We need to stay close the Lord and walk with Him at all times.  We don't want to be dead and not know it.  I'd rather have name that is dead and be alive, than to have a name that is alive, but be really dead.  Our reputation must match our name.

Prayer:

Father, help me stay on track with you all the days of my life.  Help me to follow You well and to be alive in Christ always.  You are amazing and I want Your life to flow through me.

Yours,
Jeff

The Power of God's Word

Scripture:

Micah 3:6 "Therefore it shall be night unto you, that you shall have no vision; and it shall be dark unto you, that ye shall not divine; and the sun shall go down upon the prophets, and the day shall be black over them."

Observation:

God's people had walked away from Him and his prophets were not speaking truth.  His punishment in this case was to take away His word from them.  He said it would be night to them with no vision, no hearing the word of the Lord and the prophets shall have nothing but blackness.  God's punishment was to withhold the word of the Lord from them.

Application:

If withholding the word of the Lord is seen as punishment, how much should we value the word of the Lord?  It should be guiding us and bringing light into our lives on a daily basis.  We should be filling ourselves with His word so that we never go into darkness and so that we live according to His ways.  May the sun never go down on our ability to hear the word of God.

Prayer:

Father, thanks for reminding me of the power of Your voice.  Speak to me today.  Let me see what You are doing and follow You completely.  Help me to walk in the light as You are in the light.  Thanks for Your revelation.  It is everything to me.

Yours,
Jeff

Seek God and Live

Scripture:

Amos 5:4 "For thus saith Jehovah unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live."

Observation:

God had been speaking about the destruction of Israel before this portion.  He was talking about only one tenth of the population surviving His destruction, then He send them this message, "Seek ye me, and ye shall live".  He sent a clear way out of the consequences they were facing.

Application:

There is life in seeking God.  He is the author of life and He loves it when His people seek Him.  To seek means to search for.  We must search out what God is doing and who He is.  We must look for Him like we look for our lost cell phones.  We must pursue Him at all times.  He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Prayer:

Father, help me to always be a seeker of God.  Let my life be full of times of seeking the Lord.  In You is everything I need.  You are my provider, my sustainer, my guide.  You are my source and my resource.  You are all I need.  Help me to never stop seeking You.

Yours,

Jeff

The Shepherd Prophet

Scripture:

Amos 1:1 "The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake."

Observation:

The book of Amos is a short, powerful little book of some prophesies by a prophet who was among the shepherds of Tekoa.  He apparently wasn't trained in the school of the prophets and probably didn't travel with a group of prophets as was customary in his times.  He was a shepherd who heard the voice of the Lord and apparently his message made its way to kings.

Application:

God can raise up someone out of nowhere to guide a country, speak to a nation, or to advise presidents and kings.  God can speak, and does speak to those of lowly estate, and allows their voice to be heard by leaders of nations.  God doesn't look at your resume when He needs something done, He looks at your heart and your willingness.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to walk with You and be willing to do whatever You speak in my life.  I avail myself to You this morning.  Speak through me.  Work through me.  Help me to walk in tune with You and to do Your will in the earth.  Let my life bring Your praise.

Yours,
Jeff

God's Commands

Scripture:

I John 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

Observation:

John had spent much time talking about love for most of his letter.  As he nears the end of his letter, he adds this little piece.  He says that if we love God, we will keep his commands and his commands are not grievous.  Love and obedience go hand in hand.

Application:

When you really love someone, you will go out of your way to bless them and make them happy.  It is not grievous to do what they want to do.  In marriage, one must live in a way that pleases the other person because love causes you to want their happiness.  We work hard to make sure the person we love is feeling the love.  God feels the love when we obey His commands.  Doing it out of love makes it not grievous, but a joy.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, I love you and want to live a life that pleases You.  Help me to walk in Your commandments.  Teach me to love Your word more each day.  Show me where I'm messing up and I will work on it.  I want to walk as an obedient child, nor a rebel to your commands.

Yours,

Jeff

A Condemned Heart

Scripture:

I John 3:21 "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness toward God; and whatever we ask we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight."

Observation:

John says here that when our own heart doesn't condemn us, we have boldness toward God.  Therefore, if we allow condemnation in our hearts, we lose our boldness toward God and we don't receive whatever we ask of Him.  When we keep His commands and to the things that are pleasing to Him, our hearts don't condemn us and we will see more prayers answered.

Application:

We need to walk in step with the Spirit and do what He says.  When we do this, we have no self-condemnation because we know we are walking in purity before the Lord.  Walking above condemnation then allows us to have boldness toward God and receive what we ask of Him.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to follow You more closely every day.  Teach me to walk in the Spirit at all times.  Forgive me for the times when I get out of the Spirit and into the flesh.  I want to walk with You and talk with You throughout each day.  Help me today to remain aware of You and Your will at all times.

Yours,
Jeff

Grow

Scripture:

II Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory both now and forever."

Observation:

At the end of his letter, Peter tells his audience that, instead of falling away toward false prophecies and teaching, they should grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He is saying that this will keep you from falling prey to all the crazy doctrines that will arise as the coming of Christ is closer.

Application:

We are told here to grow in grace and knowledge.  This is a command for us, not a prayer by Peter.  In other words, our growth is on us.  We have to make the decision to grow in grace and knowledge.  In both cases, we grow by knowing Christ more.  We grow in grace when we know that author of grace and we grow in knowledge by studying His word and life.  I need to take my growth seriously, especially in this time of my master's program.

Prayer:

Father, help me grow in grace and in knowledge of You.  Teach me Your word.  Show me how to grow in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Help me understand more clearly what exactly that means.  Work in my life and make me more like Jesus every day.

Yours,

Jeff

Who is Wise?

Scripture:

Hosea 14:9 "Who is wise, that he may understand these things?  prudent, that he may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall therein."

Observation:

Hosea tells us that those what are wise and prudent know and understand that the ways of God are right and they walk in them.  God's ways are always right and we must learn to follow His ways above all else.  We must humble ourselves before Him and not transgress His ways.

Application:

We are wise when we understand and know that God is right and we are not.  Our job is to do things God's way, wherein we can expect His blessing and favor.  When we do things God's way, we get God results. When we do things our own way, we can expect human results.  Our job is to find out what pleases God and walk accordingly.  Faith pleases God.

Prayer:

Lord, increase my faith.  Work in and through my life today.  Help me to walk according to Your ways and to do your will at all times. Thank You for the incredible blessings You have blessed me with.  Following You is incredible.  Help me to communicate to others the blessings of following You.  Work through me today.  Heal the sick, minister to the oppressed, and set the captive free in our service this evening.

Your Son,

Jeff