Obedience leads to success

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Just as David told his son, Solomon, the importance of obedience to God’s commands and that it would lead to a successful reign for him, so it is with us today. First of all we must experience the results of such obedience ourselves, then as we preach that to our kids it will have much more of an impact. Too often we live like the world and become envious of all that we could have been if only we had been obedient. Friends, we must commit ourselves to obedience and the ways of God. It’s our witness that is at stake, and our joy that is incomplete. It’s up to us, friend, to shape our destiny as God leads, if only we will Trust and Obey the Master!
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If you obey all the laws which the LORD gave to Moses for Israel, you will be successful. Be determined and confident, and don’t let anything make you afraid.

Will We Recognize Answer To Our Prayer?

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Although hurting terribly about the loss of her Lord, Mary was first to the tomb, and first to find the tomb empty. No doubt, she was one of the first to pray for the safety and peace of the body of Jesus who had been crucified. But like us, when we see answer to that prayer we are in deep shock and disbelief. Often we say things like: “I can’t believe it!”; or “Who would have ever thought!”; or “We sure were ‘lucky’ to see the change in events today!” Friends, like Mary who prayed earnestly for her Master, we too must pray in earnest. We must learn to pray with such compassion that it consumes us. We hurt and even cry out to God for that concern. Then, we look with such anticipation and anxious expectation for any sign of answered prayer, so that we can quickly praise God with a thankful heart for hearing His children and answerring our prayers. Remember, God may answer prayer in His way. Totally unexpected ways from our ways, but He is in control. Let Him be God!

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Then she turned round and saw Jesus standing there; but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Facing a battle?

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Don’t try to-
Figure your way through,
Reason your way through,
Guess your way through,
Feel your way through,
Push your way through,
Manipulate your way through,
Fake your way through.

What should you do?
Trust your way through! We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You. 2 Chronicles 20:12 AMP
Pray your way through! Pray at all times (on every occasion, in every season) in the Spirit, with all [manner of] prayer and entreaty. To that end keep alert and watch with strong purpose and perseverance. Ephesians 6:18 AMP
Believe your way through! This is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4 AMP
Walk your way through! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. Isaiah 43:2-3 NLT
Praise your way through! This happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat. Joshua 6:20 NKJV

-Devotional by Roy Lessin, from his blog Meet Me In The Meadow.

Why We Should Care When No One Else Cares

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David, the king of a vast domain, Israel, made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly. This is not just my opinion, this is verbatim from verse 14. Friend, in verse (6) we see that David was controlled by the Lord. That verse tells us that The Lord made him victorious everywhere. Now to read that he deeply cared for his people falls right into place, because I know that in spite of how he may have felt about certain factions of his kingdom, God was instilling in him the importance and the love to care for all of God’s people. Do you struggle with accepting, or loving some people? How’s your connection to the source of real love? Is God controlling your love for others? You will deeply care for those you love. There will be no prejudice or unfair treatment for some when we love as Jesus did, and as He has taught us to do, and as He will guide us to do. Let’s get closely connected to the source so that we may care/love like He did and like He intended us to do.

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David ruled over all Israel and made sure that his people were always treated fairly and justly.

Loving and Caring for Parents Even When Beyond Our Control

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Jesus cared for and showed love to all while He was alive. Now even hanging on the cross, He tenderly provided for his mother based on His impending death. This is awesome that, although God removes one comfort from us, he raises up another for us, where we never even suspected. Christ’s example teaches all men to honor their parents in life and death; to provide for their wants, and to promote their comfort by every means in their power. This is in stark contrast from what we see today when we visit nursing homes and realize that some have dropped their parents off and never went back to visit them. Friend, in spite of the struggles that we face today, we must care for our parents. It’s a part of God’s law, plus it is evidence of our love for them. Let us love like Jesus showed us – especially our parents. Even this is part of our Christian witness to a lost world!

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Standing close to Jesus’ cross were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, “He is your son.”  Then he said to the disciple, “She is your mother.” From that time the disciple took her to live in his home.

As It Is Written

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God’s Holy Word contains many truthes that we often brush off because we either believe that they are directed to the brother to the left, or the sister to the right of us. However, as we study the Word we see things fulfilled just like they were prophesied earlier in Scripture. Think about the action we take when we see the clouds building and the thunder rolling in. These are signs of what’s to come. As we study God’s Word we must keep that in mind. We need to take heart, give God thanks for the warning, prepare our hearts for the long haul and hang tight. In this particular scripture, had Christ not suffered at the hands of, and been rejected by, the Jews, we would be eternally rejected by God. Friend, it behoves us to ready our heart for Christ’s return. The Bible foretells this, so we should count on it. If you don’t, the Bible also says that you will be rejected by God. Sad, but very real friend. Only you can change that course in your life. Do it today, please?
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Pilate wrote a notice and had it put on the cross. “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”, is what he wrote. Many people read it, because the place where Jesus was crucified was not far from the city. The notice was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The chief priests said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews’ , but rather, ‘This man said, I am the King of the Jews.’ ”  Pilate answered, “What I have written stays written.”
 

What Do We Do With Him?

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Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd and asked them what they wanted him to do with Him. Each Sunday most churches/pastors will present the gospel and ask the crowd to respond to a similar question. Most of us leave our churches having said something very similar to that of the crowd before Pilate. Perhaps by our unresponsive action we are saying, hey you may as well crucify Him, for we have this ‘life’ thing under control. I don’t need this Jesus interferring and telling me what to do or how I should act, or highlighting my wrongs. Perhaps we totally ignore the message, and the idea that Jesus is in control of us and all of life’s happennings. Perhaps we conclude that since Jesus is available, we could easily and quickly call on Him if, and when, we need Him. Friends, in and of our natural selves we have no desire for godly things. If we ARE alerted to the things of Christ, we are actually being personally admonished by GOD Himself. We NEED to listen and obey, not aim to crucify Him.
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Pilate went out once more and said to the crowd, “Look, I will bring him out here to you to let you see that I cannot find any reason to condemn him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Look! Here is the man!” When the chief priests and the temple guards saw him, they shouted, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “You take him, then, and crucify him. I find no reason to condemn him.”
John 19:4–6 (GNB)

The Purpose for Which Jesus Came to Earth

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Jesus expressed His purpose for coming to this earth. We often hear people’s explanation being that He came to save the world. Fortunately, I believe both statements are true. The first statement is true, because Jesus said it. The second statement is true, because as the ‘truth’ is spoken about the love of God and about His salvation, people believe and are saved. The idea of ‘truth’ has another powerful impact though. It tells us to consult with God and His Word anytime we want to know the ‘truth’ about something, because just as He is Truth, and He speaks of ‘truth’ so shall we too have access to perfect, unadulterated, unbiased truth. Let us look at God and His Word as the plumbline against which we look to test everything else in this world.
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So Pilate asked him, “Are you a king, then?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. I was born and came into the world for this one purpose, to speak about the truth. Whoever belongs to the truth listens to me.”
John 18:37 (GNB)

Unity and Joy Results in Giving

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In a day when many churches are closing their doors, and many others are struggling to stay opened, if I told you that the answer to the all time problem of giving could be solved through unity in the church that, in turn, increases the joy in the hearts of the people that, in turn, encourages the people to give of a joyful heart and, in turn, allows God’s work to flourish, you would struggle to believe me. However, read these few verses carefully and see if you can conclude with me this exact thing that happened to David and over 200,000 men that joined him to fulfill the will of God. Are willing to chance that this couldn’t work for us and our respective churches? The last part of verse 40 concludes that all this giving was going on because of the joy that was felt among the people. Perhaps we need to concentrate more on unity and the joy of the hearts, then we might see giving maximized, all for the glory of God!

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All these soldiers, ready for battle, went to Hebron, determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. They spent three days there with David, feasting on the food and drink which other Israelites had prepared for them. From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun, and Naphtali, people came bringing donkeys, camels, mules, and oxen loaded with food—flour, figs, raisins, wine, and olive oil. They also brought …

What Would You Do In A ‘Peter’ Moment?

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The Bible (The Good News Translation) – John 18:

17The girl at the gate said to Peter, “Aren’t you also one of the disciples of that man?”

“No, I am not,” answered Peter.

 

Thought:

Let me guess, you accepted Jesus as Lord; was ready to evangelize the world on His behalf; told everyone you came into contact with that you were saved and living for the Lord; right? Now, before we criticize Peter in this story for denying Christ, I want you to think about: you are in a business meeting with many of your peers (many of them being non-Christian), and the president of the company shares their pleasure in seeing such a difference in your attitude and work ethics over the past six months, and they ask you to explain what happened in your life to impact this change, as they would like other workers to take note. You know that you surrendered your life to Jesus around that time and through daily prayer and Bible study, you have been truly impacted by Jesus. So what do you respond to your president and peers, knowing that the whole room will go silent – perhaps out of embarrassment, and don’t overlook that you may be jeered at for months? Will you tell the whole truth? Jesus said that if we are ashamed of Him down here, He will be ashamed of us before His Father. Do you suppose He is proud to call you His own?