Have They Heard?

 Scripture:

“When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the Lord, she came to test Solomon with hard questions.”  ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭10:1‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

The queen of Sheeba heard about King Solomon’s fame, but she also heard about his relationship to the Lord.  She heard these things and decided to come and see for herself and challenge him with questions.  She ended up super impressed by what she saw and the wisdom he spoke with.  She could see that the Lord was with Solomon.  

Application:

When people get around us, do they see the hand of the Lord on our lives?  DO they see the wisdom of God in my life?  Do they see the blessing of God in my life?  Do they see the my relationship with the Lord?  I must ask myself these questions.  I want to live a life that makes God look good.  In order to do that, my relationship with Him must be extraordinary.  I want to know Him more and more each day.

Prayer:

Father, fill me with Your Spirit of wisdom and revelation.  Help me to walk in Your ways and to know You more each day.  Speak clearly to me every day and show me every step I am to take.  Enable me to reflect You better and better in this generation.  Let my life shine brightly for You.  Let people see my life and realize that God is very involved in every part of it.  I want my life to bring You praise.

Yours,

Jeff

Great Wisdom

 Scripture:

“God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.”  ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭4:29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

God gave Solomon incredible and vast amounts of wisdom.  He was an expert in almost everything from trees, to plants, to animals, to leadership, to relationships, etc. etc. etc.  Here it is described as “measureless as the sand on the seashore.”  It was noticed by kings and leaders all over the world and they came to sit at his feet and learn.

Application:

Wisdom, understanding, and insight are given by God.  When we seek Him, we are seeking the one who can make us wise and understanding.  When we feel like we don’t know what to do about a certain situation, we should seek God because He is the author of wisdom.  I need to seek the Lord for wisdom in my life on a daily basis.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, teach me to walk with the wise.  Help me to say the right things to the right people, at the right time.  Show me how to navigate difficult decisions and discussions.  Help me to be wise in how I relate to others and how I lead.  Teach me to to lead Your people well and to do the hard things that I know need done.

Your Son,

Jeff

Act Like a Man and Obey

 Scripture:

““I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go”. ‭‭1 Kings‬ ‭2:2-3‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

David was nearing the end of his life and he called his son Solomon in to talk to him.  David had lived a long and very successful life.  At the end, he still knew what was most important.  He told his son, “Act like a man... observe what the Lord requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations.. do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go.”

Application:

I want to live out what David told Solomon.  I want to be a man and to what God requires of my life so that I may prosper.  Prosperity and obedience to God go hand in hand.  When we honor the Lord with all our lives, He prospers us.  When we try to do what we want in life, He is not honored and doesn’t prosper. I would rather have God prosper me than to try to prosper on my own.  He is much better at this than I am.  

Prayer:

Father, help me to follow You closely.  I want to serve You and prosper.  I want my sons to see that serving You is the best decision they could ever make in their lives.  I want them to see that You bless obedience.  Let the blessing of God come strongly into my life as I do my best to walk in obedience to You and Your ways.  I am Yours Lord, completely.  Have Your way in my life.  

Your Son,

Jeff

Bearing His Image

 Scripture:

“And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭15:49‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Paul had been speaking to the Corinthian people in this letter about the first and second Adam.  He was telling them that we have inherited the image of the earthly man, or first Adam, through birth.  The image of the second Adam is eternal and is Spirit.  We bear the physical image of the first Adam, but the spiritual image of the second Adam.  

Application:

Bearing the image of the second Adam really jumped off the page at me today.  We are to be so Christlike that we bear His image.  Bearing His image means we become like Him in every way.  When people look at us, do they see Christ?  When people see our lives, are they looking at the image of Christ?  We must live our lives bearing Christ’s image, doing what He does, saying what He would say, being who He is in the world.  We need to carefully examine our lives to see if we are bearing the image of our savior.

Prayer:

Father, help me to represent Christ better and better with my life.  Teach me to walk worthy of the calling on my life.  Enable me to bear the image of the one who died for me.  Let my life shout JESUS to the world around me.  One day the image of the first Adam will fade and die, let me live life focused on the image of the second Adam that will live forever.

Yours,

Jeff

Whatever You Do

 Scripture:

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Paul was writing to the Corinthians about abstaining from certain things because it might offend someone else.  He was telling them that there is freedom in Christ to eat and drink as we want to, but at the same time, if it offends someone else’s conscience, we shouldn’t do it.  He then tells them that whatever they do, they should do it for the glory of God.

Application:

When the question is “should I or shouldn’t I?” The answer is, does it bring glory to God?  Our lives should not be about what we can and can’t do, rather, they should be about what is going to bring God glory.  We need to live our lives for the glory of God.  When we are about to do something, we should ask, “Does this bring God glory?”.  That should be the heart of everything we do.  We should be more concerned about whether we are bringing God glory than whether we are getting our way and doing what we want to do.

Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, help me to live my life for the glory of God.  Teach me to seek Your glory more than my comfort and convenience.  Help me to live a life that pleases You and that You can bless.  I want to represent You well in my generation.  Teach me to hear Your voice and to follow accordingly.  Open doors and make Your path clear for me.  I will follow as You give me strength.

Your Son,

Jeff

Run to Win

 Scripture:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Paul tells us to live the Christian life like one who is running to win a race.  He says we should not just run, but run to win.  We shouldn’t just live our Christian life to get by and finish the race, but to win the race.

Application:

Running to win means I have to strive, put in extra effort, and work harder than everyone else.  If you want to win a race, you must train harder than everyone else.  Paul is saying we should take our spiritual lives very seriously and not just try to cross the finish line, but to live victoriously in this life.  In the spiritual life, we are never competing against other believers to win some spiritual pride, but we compete within ourselves to be the best we can be for the glory of God.

Prayer:

Father, help me to live a more disciplined life.  Help me to run the race well.  Teach me to train efficiently and effectively.  I want to win in this race called life.  Help me to live a life that is victorious and that finishes everything You want me to do.  I simply want to fulfill everything You call me to do.  Enable me to do what You place before me.

Yours,

Jeff

Faithful

 Scripture:

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Paul is writing to the Corinthians and lets them know that faithfulness is crucial in the kingdom.  He explained how he planted and Apollos watered, but it was God that gave the increase.  He was letting them know that whatever you are given to do by the Lord is important.  Faithfulness to what the Lord wants you to do is more important than what you actually do.

Application:

Whatever I am entrusted with, I must prove faithful with.  Jesus taught us to be faithful in the little things and we would be entrusted with larger things.  Our job is not to do what we want to do, but to be faithful in what God gives us to do, no matter how big or small that may appear to us.  God is looking for faithful people, who will do the little things well.  He then will raise up those who are trustworthy.

Prayer:

Father, help me to walk faithful to what You have called me to do.  Teach me to obey, no matter what the situation.  I want to be a person You can trust to accomplish whatever You need done in the earth.  Enable me to walk faithful to whatever You place in front of me.  When I get to heaven, I want to hear “well done”.  I want to have done everything You gave me to do with all my heart.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

He Delighted in Me

Scripture:

“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”  ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭22:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

Observation:

David had been rescued by the Lord so many times in his life.  He had defeated so many enemies in battle throughout his years that he knew he was only alive because of the good hand of the Lord on his life.  In this passage he tells why he believed the Lord always took care of him.  He says, “He delighted in me.”  David knew that the Lord delighted in him and favored him.

Application:

We can read scripture all day long that tells us of God’s incredible love for us, but most people deep inside don’t feel that God really loves them.  The Word of God doesn’t lie and doesn’t fail.  It is alive and powerful.  If it says God loves us, God loves us!  We need to have the confidence of David when it comes to the Lord’s love for us.  We should know that the Lord is delighted in us.  He is delighted with my life.  The only way to know that is to know we are doing our very best to follow Him completely and to walk in His word every day.  He does delight in us, but we must believe and receive that.

Prayer:

Father, You have delighted in me throughout my life.  You have favored me over and over again.  You have opened doors for me that don’t seem to open for others.  Thank You for delighting in me.  Help me to continually live a life You can bless and be delighted in.

Your Son.

Jeff

What Right Do I Have?

 Scripture:

“All my grandfather’s descendants deserved nothing but death from my lord the king, but you gave your servant a place among those who eat at your table. So what right do I have to make any more appeals to the king?””  ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭19:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

When King David came back from Absalom’s defeat and the kingdom was returned to him, he needed to find out who was with him and who was against him.  He confronted Mephibosheth about why he didn’t go with the king when they fled.  Mephibosheth said he was lame and couldn’t go because his helper wouldn’t take him.  He also said that the king had been so good to him and blessed him so much that he didn’t feel he could make any more appeals to the king because of all the king had done for him in the past.  

Application:

Sometimes we need to look to God and say, “You have done so much for me that I don’t deserve to ask for anything further.”  Our prayer of humility should be that God has already done so much for us in sending Christ to the cross that we don’t deserve much more.  His love is incredible and we need to be thankful for every little thing He does additionally for us.

Prayer:

Father, help me to walk in appreciation of all You have done for me.  Help me to never forget where You have brought me from and how You have blessed my life.  You don’t owe me anything else, ever, but thank You for allowing me to still come boldly to the throne of grace.  Thank You for allowing me into Your presence without fear.

You’re the Best,

Jeff

Let Him Curse

 Scripture:

“David then said to Abishai and all his officials, “My son, my own flesh and blood, is trying to kill me. How much more, then, this Benjamite! Leave him alone; let him curse, for the Lord has told him to. It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.””  ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭16:11-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

As David was leaving Jerusalem and his son Absalom, who was stealing the kingdom from him, was taking over, Shimei started cursing David and throwing rocks at him as the king passed his direction.  King David’s troops wanted to kill the man instantly, but David stopped them and said his own son was after his flesh and blood, let them and curse him.  He then added, “It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessings instead of his curse today.”  In other words, let the man curse, God is in control and might use it to restore everything to me.  David knew that God fought his battles and that God was gong to do something.

Application:

Sometimes when people curse us and say all kinds of things against us, it is easy to defend ourselves and fight back, but if we really trust the Lord, we simply say, “Let him curse”, because we know that God is on our side and that He will take care of things.  Full trust in God tells us that people can curse us, talk about us, they to overthrow us, etc. but God will always fight our battles.  Our trust, like David, must never be in ourselves, but in the Lord our God.

Prayer:

Father, help me to trust You every day in this area.  Teach me to follow You and Your ways at all times and to know that You have my back. Help me to have the attitude of David who knew that You would defend him and turn things around when people were trying to overthrow his throne and destroy his character.  Let me always walk with humility and the right attitude.

Yours Always, 

Jeff

Call Me Jedidiah

 Scripture:

“Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him; and because the Lord loved him, he sent word through Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah.”  ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭12:24-25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

David had sinned with Bathsheba and had her husband killed.  As a result, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.  The son died as a result of David’s sin and Bathsheba got pregnant again.  She gave birth to Solomon.  In this passage, it says his name was Solomon, but the Lord called him Jedidiah, which means “loved of the Lord.”  Solomon’s godly name was “love by the Lord.”  No wonder there was so much favor and blessing on his life.  

Application:

Everyone of us can be named Jedidiah because we are all “loved of the Lord.”  God loves His children and this should give us incredible confidence and understanding.  We should never wonder if He loves us.  He has named us with His own name and called us His sons and daughters.  We don’t have to wonder if we are loved by God, He has demonstrated that by sending His own Son to die in our place on a cruel cross.

Prayer:

Father, thank Your for loving me and sending Your Son on my behalf.  Thank You for favoring me and demonstrating Your incredible love for me over and over.  You have truly blessed my life and I am thankful.  I am in awe of Your love for me.  Help me to walk in it and give it to others as well.  Help me to love like You love.  Thanks for reminding me today that I am the loved of the Lord.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Dedicate it to the Lord

 Scripture:

“King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued:”. ‭‭2 Samuel‬ ‭8:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Near the beginning of his reign, King David fought many battles and defeated many enemies.  Once they were all dealt with, he had a good amount of peace in the kingdom for a long time.  After his battles, when the spoils of war came back, David didn’t take the spoils for himself and his palace, rather, he dedicated the spoils to the Lord.  He brought the silver and the gold to the house of the Lord.  He knew God had been fighting his battles, therefore, he gave the spoils back to the Lord.

Application:

When we win battles and God blesses us, we can’t forget where our blessings came from.  We must return the best of the spoils to the Lord.  When we honor the Lord by dedicating everything we obtain to Him, He continues to bless our lives.  Whenever God blesses my life, I need to give it back to Him and dedicate it for His purposes.  We can’t forget the giver of the blessings when we are blessed.

Prayer:

Father, let me never take lightly the blessing of God.  You have been good to me and my family.  You have blessed us in so many ways.  I honor You today and I ask You to help me to always return the blessing to You.  Help me never to take Your blessings for granted, but to honor You with everything that comes my way.

Your Son,

Jeff

Barrenness and Criticism

 Scripture:

“And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.”  ‭2 Samuel‬ ‭6:23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

This verse comes at the end of the story where David brings the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem and dances and sacrifices in front of it.  His wife Michal confronted him about it when it was over and told him he had destroyed his image among the people.  He said he would be more undignified than this in worship of God Almighty.  After this interaction, Michal had not children till the day of her death.  She became barren because she criticized a move of God.

Application:

I believe we need to be very cautious when we criticize something God is doing.  It is easy to judge others when God is moving differently in their meetings than He does in ours.  David was worshiping the Lord with a pure heart, but in a way that seemed overboard and maybe too emotional.  Michal, his wife, criticized him for it and she became barren.  We need to be slow to condemn or criticize things we don’t understand.

Prayer:

Father, help me to discern what is of You and what is not.  Help me to not criticize those who are seeing God work in a way that is different than I am used to.  Teach me to walk in step with Your Spirit every day and to fulfill all You have for me.  I don’t want to criticize what you are doing.  I want to be part of what You are doing.

Your Son,

Jeff

Everything was Returned

 Scripture:

“David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.”          ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭30:18-19‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

David and his people had been living in Ziklag.  He and his men went out to battle and while they were away, Ziklag was raided.   They took everyone and everything, then burned the village.  David and his men wept because their wives and children were taken captive.  David sought the Lord and the Lord told him to go after them.  He pursued the Amalekites and it says in this verse, that “David brought everything back.”  Everything the enemy had stolen from them was returned.

Application:

Jesus told us that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but that He came to give life and life more abundantly.  Whenever the enemy steals things from our lives, we must seek the Lord, attack the enemy and take back what belongs to us.  There is a fight to fight.  There is a battle to enlist in.  When the enemy takes away things that belong to God’s people, we must learn to fight back. Sometimes we need to fight and sometimes we don’t.  We must learn to do what David did and seek the Lord for guidance, then do what He says.

Prayer:

Father, today more and ever, I need to hear Your voice clearly.  I don’t want to step out of Your will at any time.  I want to walk in step with Your Spirit and fulfill everything You have for my life.  Help me to always be a seeker of God and help me to know when to fight and when to let things go.  Help me know when to speak and when to stay silent.

Your Son,

Jeff

Valuing People

 Scripture:

“As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.””    ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭26:24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

King Saul had been chasing David through the wilderness to kill him.  Twice, David had the opportunity to kill Saul.  On this occasion, David went in while Saul’s men were sleeping and took Saul’s spear and water jug from right next to him.  David then woke up Saul and his servants.  He told them what happened and then told them, “As surely as I valued your life today, so may the Lord value my life and deliver me from all trouble.”  He valued Saul’s life and expected God to value his life.

Application:

This is not a doctrinal statement, but when we value people, God will value us.  David saw this as how God would deal with him and I believe we can stand on the same principle.  God loves it when we value others.  When we value His creation, we value Him.  When we honor, value, and esteem others, we can expect God to value, honor and esteem us.  May we live a life that values others.

Prayer:

Father, teach me to see value in people who may not even like me.  Help me to honor those in authority over my life.  Empower me to bring honor and value to those around me.  I want to see others lives blessed because of my life.

Your Son,

Jeff

Let the Lord Judge and Fight Your Battles

 Scripture:

“May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.”  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭24:12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

David just had the opportunity to kill King Saul, who was pursuing him to kill him.  David refused to kill the one who was diligently trying to kill him.  He said to Saul, “May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you.”  In other words, I will let God judge and fight my battles.  I don’t need to defend myself, that is God’s job.

Application:

David had an incredible trust in the Lord.  He knew God would defend him, fight for him, and avenge him of whatever evil was done to him.  He completely trusted the Lord.  We need to walk in that level of trust. When things go bad and people go against us, we need to have the confidence that God will avenge us.  God will fight for us and God will bring justice on those who stand against us.  I want God to fight my battles and defend my life.  Therefore, I must trust Him to do it instead of taking it into my own hands.

Prayer:

Father, help me to trust You more each day.  Teach me to walk like David did, with complete trust and confidence that You will take care of me and won’t allow my enemies to triumph over me.  Guide me, guard me, protect me, and show me the way forward.  My life is Yours Almighty God.

Your Son,

Jeff

God Provides in Need

 Scripture:

“The priest replied, “The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the Valley of Elah, is here; it is wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod. If you want it, take it; there is no sword here but that one.” David said, “There is none like it; give it to me.””  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭21:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

David was out on his own, running for his life from King Saul.  He has no weapons, so he asks Abimilech and Abimilech happens to have the sword of Goliath that David used to cut off his head.  I feel like this particular provision was to let David know God was with him and would take care of him.  It was also a reminder that God delivered David from Goliath and He would do it again if needed.

Application:

Just as God gave David a special reminder from his past, God gives us reminders to let us know that He will take care of us in the future.  God will remind us of things we have been through in the past to prepare us for what is ahead.  When we are in need, we can rest assured that God will always take care of His people.  We don’t have to fear or be dismayed.  God has blessed us and taken care of us in the past and He will do it again.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for reminding me of your faithfulness to Your people.  You have helped me through so many situations.  You have blessed our life and ministry so many times when we didn’t see how we would make it.  Now, I can look back and know that we are always safe in Your hands.  You are incredible and have taken care of me all these years.  I offer You the rest of my life.  Use it for Your glory.

Yours Always,

Jeff

The Lord Will Rescue

 Scripture:

“The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you.””  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭17:37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, King Saul was talking to David about fighting Goliath.  David was willing to go fight him on behalf of Israel, but he was young and inexperienced as a warrior.  David replied to Saul that the Lord had rescued him from a lion and a bear and that He would rescue him from Goliath as well.  David knew it was the Lord who rescued him and he was confident that the Lord would do it again.  His confidence was not in himself, but in the Lord.

Application:

When our confidence is in ourselves, we will fail.  When our confidence is in the Lord, we will be successful at whatever we put our hand to.  Complete reliance on the living God is the only way to live.  When we rely on ourselves, we can have some level of success, but when we rely on the Lord, He will fight our battles and bring us great victory.  Our trust cannot be in our resources, but in the Lord.

Prayer:

Father, help me to never take my eyes off of You.  Help me to remain humble before You all the days of my life.  Teach me to trust You and not myself in every situation.  Help me to walk in confidence that You can and WILL come through every time as long as I depend on You.  Show me Your will every day and help me to walk in it.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

Stay Small in Your Own Eyes

 Scripture:

“Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.”  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭15:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Saul was king and did good for a long time.  He defeated many enemies and won many battles, but near the end of his reign, he began to do what he thought best instead of what the Lord said to do.  Even in what he did, he did it to honor the Lord, but it was not what the Lord wanted.  God told him that obedience was better than sacrifice.  Samuel told him, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel?”  In other words, when you were small, God raised you up.

Application:

When we stay small in our own eyes, we can be lifted up by the Lord.  When we get ahead of God and start doing what we think is best instead of seeking Him and His direction, we will get in trouble.  Staying small simply means that we must seek the Lord and do what He says instead of just doing what we think is best for our lives and those we lead.  No matter how many successes we have, we must remain in a position of realizing that without God, we are helpless.  Obedience is truly better than sacrifice.

Prayer:

Father, help me to never think more of myself than I am.  Help me to walk in humility before You all the days of my life.  I need Your direction, Your strength and Your anointing on my life.  I can do nothing without You.  Fill me today with your Spirit and let me fulfill all You have planned for my life.  Teach me to stay small in my own eyes.

Yours Forever,

Jeff

God is Attracted to Humility

 Scripture:

“Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?””  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭9:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Saul had traveled in search of some donkeys that were missing from his father’s flock.  As he was searching, they decided to go to a seer, a prophet, to see if he had knowledge of where to find the donkeys.  When they approached Samuel, Samuel let him know where he could find the donkeys, but also told him that today all Israel was turned toward him.  Saul’s reply was that he was from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe, and his clan was the smallest clan.  In other words, he knew he was a nobody, yet God had chosen him.

Application:

God generally doesn’t look at your qualifications list and your resume when He wants to do something.  He doesn’t look at our background or where we were raised.  He doesn’t choose people like we choose people for positions.  He generally chooses those who don’t appear to be the natural choice.  This causes them to depend on Him more.  We must always walk in humility before the Lord.  He raises up the humble and places them in positions of influence.

Prayer:

Father, help me to trust You every day and not lean on my own understanding, education, resume, or anything else.  You are my God.  You are in control of my life.  I trust You to make things happen and to place me where You want me.  Let me walk in the place where You can use me the most for Your Kingdom.  I want to be where You want me to be at all times.

Your Son,

Jeff

The Power of God’s Presence

Scripture:

“So they called together all the rulers of the Philistines and said, “Send the ark of the god of Israel away; let it go back to its own place, or it will kill us and our people.” For death had filled the city with panic; God’s hand was very heavy on it.”  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭5:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬ 

Observation:

The Philistines had captured the Ark of God from Israel.  When it was in their hands, their god fell twice, simply being in the same room as the Ark.  The people began to break out in tumors and there was a serious rat problem.  The people realized, this was started by the God of Israel and they decided they needed to get rid of the Ark as quickly as possible.  God’s presence, in the wrong hands, is devastating and the Philistines realized it.

Application:

The same presence of the Lord that brings great blessing to His people, can work chaos in those who don’t follow the Lord.  We must realize the power of God’s presence.  Today, we are the ark of the Lord.  He has chosen to live in His people instead of on a box called an Ark.  We contain the power to heal and the power to destroy within our bodies.  We have the presence of God in our lives and we are more powerful than we realize.

Prayer:

Father, let me walk with You.  Let me know You more each day and help me to understand more fully and completely what it is to have Your presence within me and not just in a special place of worship.  Let me grasp the concept that You are within me and that Your presence in my life can do amazing things.  As Jesus said, let me be one with You in every way.  I want to be Your extension on this earth.

Yours,

Jeff

Sacrifice is Rewarded

 Scripture:

“And the Lord was gracious to Hannah; she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.”  ‭‭1 Samuel‬ ‭2:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Hannah had cried out to the Lord for a child for years.  She promised the Lord, If You give me a child, I will give him to You.  She did just that.  When Samuel was weaned, she left him at the Tabernacle to grow up in the presence of the Lord.  She gave her first son and the Lord blessed her with three more sons and two daughters.  She went from barrenness to fruitfulness because she gave her firstfruits to the Lord.

Application:

When we give God our firstfruits, He always blesses us back in a multiplied fashion.  He always returns more than we give.  He gives back with good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  We must give God our first and our best, then He will make sure we are blessed with more.  I want to live a life of blessing the Lord with my very best.

Prayer:

Father, help me to follow You well all the days of my life.  I want to give You the firstfruits of everything I have.  I want to honor You with my life in every way.  Help me to be willing to make sacrifices for You and Your kingdom.  Walk with me and keep me in step with Your Spirit.  I want to serve You well and fulfill every plan You have for my life.

Your Son,

Jeff

God’s Incredible Favor

 Scripture:

“As she got up to glean, Boaz gave orders to his men, “Let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her.”  ‭‭Ruth‬ ‭2:15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, Boaz tells his men to “let her gather among the sheaves and don’t reprimand her.”  Ruth had come with Naomi, her mother in law, to follow her, her people, and her God.  As Ruth decided to take care of her mother in law, God’s favor began to come on her life.  She was a widow from another country, but God opened doors for her that no man could open.  God to care of her because of her faithfulness to Naomi and her willingness to leave all she had ever known to follow Naomi’s God.

Application:

God can use people no situations to show us His favor.  God’s favor provides for you when you don’t feel worthy of provision.  God’s favor opens doors for you that you didn’t even try to open.  God’s favor sustains you when you really shouldn’t even be alive.  When God’s favor comes on our lives, those around us will take notice.  Things start going well for you when the favor of God comes upon you.

Prayer:

Lord, let Your favor come upon my life more and more.  I trust You with all I have.  Help me to walk in complete obedience.  Help me to answer “yes” whenever You speak to me.  May I be like Mary told the disciples at Cana, “Whatever He says, do it.”  Speak Lord, and give me the heart to do it, no matter how crazy it may seem.  Thank You for Your awesome favor in the recent past.  Extend Your favor in my life.  Open doors for me to fulfill the full calling of God on my life.  Enable me to reach more people with the Good News than ever before.  Let my latter years be more productive than my younger years.

Yours,

Jeff

The Present Time

 Scripture:

“And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭13:11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

Paul was writing to the Romans and told them to wake up from slumber and understand the present time.  They hour had come to get up because our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  Understanding the present time is crucial to us each and every day. 

Application:

We must realize we are living in the last days and we must awaken to the fact that things are not the same as they were last year.  Things have changed drastically and we are much nearer now than we were a year ago to the coming of the Lord.  Especially in these days, we must understand the times and seasons.  We must seek the Lord to know what to do with the times we are living in and how to respond to what happens all around us.

Prayer:

Father, help me to wake up and realize what going on in my present time.   The world has changed so drastically in the past year.  Help me to stay in step with the Spirit so I am in tune and know what You are doing around the world.  Teach me to walk with You each day.  Show me what’s happening around me and around this world.  Show me how to lead well in these critical times.

Your Son Forever,

Jeff

For His Glory

 Scripture:

“For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”  ‭‭Romans‬ ‭11:36‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Observation:

In this passage, Paul tells us that everything we see is from God, through God it came into the world, and everything is for him.  He closes this section by saying, “To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”  Everything we see is really for the glory of God.

Application:

We need to live solely for the glory of God.  Everything in our lives, is not to please us or make us wonderful people, but to bring God glory.  I want to live my life for the glory of God alone.  I want to live a life that points people to the goodness of God and His Son Jesus.  In order to do that, I must live in a way that pleases Him and bring Him glory and honor.

Prayer:

Father, let my life bring You honor and glory.  Help me to live in a way that pleases You and brings honor to You.  Empower me to represent You well.  When it’s all said and done, my my life be a praise and glory song to You Father.

Your Son,

Jeff