What do you seek after? What do you love? What you are currently spending your time and money on is a good indicator of what you seek and love! Some people seek fame, prestige, etc. . . . through Facebook, blogs, looks, social engagements, etc. Some people seek love, so they have a bunch a babies. Some people seek companionship so they go out with friends. Some people seek things and they work to be able to buy those things. Whatever you seek, God tells us to seek Him!
I was reading in I Chronicles 28:8, 9 today. David is literally at the end of his life. He has handed the reigns over to Solomon and he's giving him a charge in front of the nation. He tells Solomon in verse 8 to "...keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God:". We are not only to keep God's rules, but we are to be seeking them. That's kind of encouraging in a way. Think about it. When you were a young christian there were things you didn't know to do or not to do but as we seek God He continually reveals more of Himself to us enabling us, if we will submit, to become more like Him! I told a brand new christian just Sunday, "Baby Steps". That's what we desire in the christian life from every believer. You cannot change everything all at once, nor should you, because those decisions probably won't stick! Baby Steps! Little by Little. Etc.
David didn't stop there. He went on in verse 9 to give Solomon some instructions that if we were to heed it would do well! He says, "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of the; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee of for ever." David gives Solomon some great words, that if we modeled our life after would never go wrong.
First, David tells Solomon to know God. How do we get to know God? ONLY one way, through His word! We must be in God's word daily! What are some ways we can get God's word? The obvious one is in our daily devotions. Every day, on our own, we open God's word and let Him speak to us. Another way is through the preaching of God's word. A warning here, if you only get God's words when you are church you will be spiritually weak. How else can we get God's word into our lives? Through godly books, NO "christian" romance novels are not godly! That's like saying there is "christian" rock music or "christian" drugs! Another way we can get God's word into our life is by making and developing christian friends! Be friendly to the world, but don't let them influence you. Seek out people who will challenge you with the Bible. Be friends with people who talk about the Bible, God, the things of God, as an everyday thing. Look for people who aren't afraid to tell others about Christ! We need to get to know God. The first and best way is personally through His word, if we don't do that, none of these other things will have much impact on our life!
Then David tells Solomon to serve God with two things. Look at those two things He mentions: "a perfect heart" and "a willing mind". Wouldn't you think if you have the one you would automatically have the other? The more I've been in the ministry the more I realize you can have one and not have the other. I have seen people who had a willing mind to serve God but they did not have a perfect heart, nor were they willing to make that right and visa versa. God requires BOTH! He wants our minds and our hearts! If He has that, He WILL have EVERYTHING else! Determine today to let God be God of your heart and mind. Give God your emotions, your intellect, your will and desires. Let God rule your life, the things He will be able to accomplish will never stop amazing you! But if you hold back, well, it's like having a $100 bill. You tell someone you are going to give it to them, but you tear off just one side of it. When that $100 has been ripped apart how much is it worth? Say you got 20% of it, does that mean you have $20? NO, YOU have nothing and neither does the other party! Give God EVERYTHING, you will never regret it!
As we go further in verse 9 we see that David tells Solomon that it is God that tries the hearts! and only He understands our thoughts and imaginations! Then there is a wonderful promise in the end of that verse: IF we seek God He will be found! This conditional promise comes with a warning. If we don't seek God but forsake Him, He will cast us off for ever! Now you are responsible for the truth you have read, choose to seek God! Again, I can't reiterate enough that you will NEVER regret it!
The New Testament put it this way: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
My God Didn't Just Save Me . . .
My preacher said something so profound this weekend. He said, "My God didn't just save me, He gave me himself." Song of Solomon says "I am His and He is mine" whenever it uses the word Beloved. Mrs. Caryn Bane at a ladies conference I went to reminded us that it is the God of the Blessing we should be seeking, not the blessing of the God. Too often I find myself asking God for things and thanking Him for stuff He has done, but forgetting to ask for Him and thank Him for who and what He is! Take a moment to consider how great my God is! He is wonderful! He is mighty! He made not just the rocks, and the trees, and the birds and the seas, but the mighty mountains, the smallest molecule up to the entire universe and HE holds it all in his hand! He made me! I read on pinterest the other day, "What if we woke up today with only what we thanked God for yesterday?" YIKES! That's all I could say, There would be days I would be stark naked, with no food, family, house, or friends, and let me tell you that would be frightening! Today seek God. Read your Bible with the intention of finding God in there. Thank God not for things, even though that's good, thank Him for who He is! Don't ask God for anything today except for Him! Seek the God of the Blessing and NOT the blessing of God. You want to know a basic truth? If we do that, then the blessing of God WILL follow! Isn't that amazing? All I can say is, God is SO good!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Sabbath Day Teaching
Please don't think from my title that I'm a Seventh Day Adventist, I am a saved, bible believing, christian Baptist, ALL the way! But if you would pull out your King James Version of the Bible and find yourself to Psalm 92, I have something very awesome I want to share with you! Now, as you read, make sure you don't skip over the heading, right under the chapter and before the first verse! It reads, "A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day." So that title tells us we're about to learn something about the Sabbath Day or in Old Testament times, their "Church Day" or their "Sunday"! Hold on, these principles we're about to learn are deep! Not really, but unfortunately the way some "church members" act you might think they were! So if you are one of those church members I might be talking to, please don't take offense! If you are one that fits all found in this passage, go teach this to someone else! These principles are things we need to be doing on the "church day" and in our case, Sunday:
1. Give Thanks to God
(vs. 1) "It is good to give thank unto the Lord"
2. Sing Praises to God
(v. 1) "and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:" It was almost as if the Psalmist says, oh yeah and if you don't where to start in praising God start with O most High, and work your way down from there!
3. Find Ways to Be an Encouragement
(v. 2) "To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning," I think God intentionally put a time of day here because often we have that "Sunday-Morning-Only" crowd. This is the crowd that need all the rest of the times of church the most but don't realize they do. This is also a time to bring in people like say, "bus kids". Underprivileged children that YOU have the privilege of bringing to church and telling them about Jesus! So, those who need encouragement the most, mostly come Sunday morning and we need to find ways to be an encouragement to them and show God's lovingkindness!
4. Be Faithful to EVERY service
(vs. 2) "thy faithfulness every night" If you go to church Sunday morning, plan on going back Sunday night. So often we approach church with the attitude that "I'll choose if I'm going to go. Do you choose to wear clothes every day? NO, you just do, or at least I hope you do! Then church ought to be that kind of "choice" just something you do and don't think about not doing!
5. Play Instruments in Church
(v.3) this whole verse is about playing instruments with a solemn sound. Sorry to all the "party churches" out there! Coming to church is a time for seriousness when it comes to music! NOT rock n' roll!
6. Work God's Work at God's Church with a Happy Attitude
(v.4) "For thou, Lord, has made me glad through thy work, I will triumph in the work of thy hands." Some people have the mistaken idea that they only need to go to church to get fat and sassy, spiritually speaking! We need to go to church, yes to be fed, but this verse was put in there BEFORE verse 5, which we'll look at next! And even into verse 5 the first part it continues with, "O Lord, how great are they works!" We need to be working at church! Find out what God is doing in this work and find your place in it and DO IT! It is as simple as that! Hand out bulletins, commit to pray for the prayer requests you hear and tell them you are praying for them, clean the bathroom, pick up the trash, teach a Sunday School, keep the nursery, lead the singing, sing a special, etc! Work for God!
7. Listen to God's Word
(v. 5) "and thy thoughts are very deep" When I was at a large ministry I started working so much I NEVER heard the preaching of God's word! I didn't last long, I had to have God's preaching! Listen to and LOVE the preaching of God's word. I always worry about someone who doesn't love preaching!
8. The Results of Doing these 7 things:
A. (v. 13) Being planted in God's house leads to flourishing!
B. (v.14) Being planted in God's house leads to producing fruit, in your youth and into your old age!
C. (v. 15) Ultimately this leads to us being able "to shed that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." WOW! We will get to show the world our Christ!
So go to church this week, EVERY time the doors are open! You will NEVER regret serving God!
1. Give Thanks to God
(vs. 1) "It is good to give thank unto the Lord"
2. Sing Praises to God
(v. 1) "and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High:" It was almost as if the Psalmist says, oh yeah and if you don't where to start in praising God start with O most High, and work your way down from there!
3. Find Ways to Be an Encouragement
(v. 2) "To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning," I think God intentionally put a time of day here because often we have that "Sunday-Morning-Only" crowd. This is the crowd that need all the rest of the times of church the most but don't realize they do. This is also a time to bring in people like say, "bus kids". Underprivileged children that YOU have the privilege of bringing to church and telling them about Jesus! So, those who need encouragement the most, mostly come Sunday morning and we need to find ways to be an encouragement to them and show God's lovingkindness!
4. Be Faithful to EVERY service
(vs. 2) "thy faithfulness every night" If you go to church Sunday morning, plan on going back Sunday night. So often we approach church with the attitude that "I'll choose if I'm going to go. Do you choose to wear clothes every day? NO, you just do, or at least I hope you do! Then church ought to be that kind of "choice" just something you do and don't think about not doing!
5. Play Instruments in Church
(v.3) this whole verse is about playing instruments with a solemn sound. Sorry to all the "party churches" out there! Coming to church is a time for seriousness when it comes to music! NOT rock n' roll!
6. Work God's Work at God's Church with a Happy Attitude
(v.4) "For thou, Lord, has made me glad through thy work, I will triumph in the work of thy hands." Some people have the mistaken idea that they only need to go to church to get fat and sassy, spiritually speaking! We need to go to church, yes to be fed, but this verse was put in there BEFORE verse 5, which we'll look at next! And even into verse 5 the first part it continues with, "O Lord, how great are they works!" We need to be working at church! Find out what God is doing in this work and find your place in it and DO IT! It is as simple as that! Hand out bulletins, commit to pray for the prayer requests you hear and tell them you are praying for them, clean the bathroom, pick up the trash, teach a Sunday School, keep the nursery, lead the singing, sing a special, etc! Work for God!
7. Listen to God's Word
(v. 5) "and thy thoughts are very deep" When I was at a large ministry I started working so much I NEVER heard the preaching of God's word! I didn't last long, I had to have God's preaching! Listen to and LOVE the preaching of God's word. I always worry about someone who doesn't love preaching!
8. The Results of Doing these 7 things:
A. (v. 13) Being planted in God's house leads to flourishing!
B. (v.14) Being planted in God's house leads to producing fruit, in your youth and into your old age!
C. (v. 15) Ultimately this leads to us being able "to shed that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him." WOW! We will get to show the world our Christ!
So go to church this week, EVERY time the doors are open! You will NEVER regret serving God!
Don't Turn Out the Lights!
I have been reading in I Samuel and I came to the part where the child Samuel is now living at the temple. Chapter 3 and verse one tells us a little about the times: the word of the Lord was precious, there was no open vision, and then we see in verse 2 that Eli was getting old, his eyes had begun to wax dim and he could not see. Perhaps application wise, he was getting weary in well-doing and this was starting to affect his eyesight!
Jump down to I Samuel 3:3. Here we a phrase, just a small one, kind of insignificant, but nothing in the Bible is there by chance, so I think that it is worth taking a look at! The phrase, "ere the lamp of God went out in they temple of the Lord,:" Ok, so what's the big deal, why even mention it, because in that same verse it says, "Samuel was laid down to sleep;" So who doesn't put out the lights when they go to sleep? Oh yeah, all those who are protesting the green propaganda they are trying to shove down our throats! No, seriously, what's the big deal about turning out the lights when its bedtime? I'm sure you have that ONE person in your home as I do in mine, that you have to constantly be after to "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS"! But that is not what this is talking about.
If you jump back to Exodus 27:20, 21 you find a very interesting command given to the children of Israel! "...command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always...it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations..." This lamp, the lamp that Eli and his sons were in charge of, the lamp of God, the lamp in the temple to be a statute to generations, this lamp was not to go out, EVER! Not for a minute. It was supposed to be constant. During sleeping, when you wake, wherever you go, this lamp was supposed to be burning!
Now go over to Psalms 119:105 and the Bible tells us something, I probably don't even have to write down, because you are probably already quoting it, but just incase you've fallen asleep as did Eli, you've become weary in well doing, let me write out this verse for you: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Hmmmmmmm...If I were writing a Psalms, I might use the word Selah. Do you see it? Can you draw the comparison? The lamp, the lamp of God, the Bible is never to go out of our lives! It is there to guide us, it should always be shining! It should be constant, wherever we go, whatever we do, God's word should guide and direct us!
But wait! There's more! I know, as if that's not good enough! But remember back in Exodus, what were you to use in this light? oil, and not just ANY oil, pure oil from olives! Do YOU know what oil is a picture of? Ding, Ding, Ding, yep you got it! The Holy Spirit! So not only is the Bible not supposed to go out of our lives, for a month, a week, a day, even a moment but we are to live in the presence of the Holy Spirit! I think God used this little insignificant passage to try to teach us an important truth, that if heeded and lived by would CHANGE our lives and possibly the world around us! We ARE to live our lives being Spirit filled! Every moment of every day God's Holy Spirit should guide us, drive us, lead us, determine our actions and reactions! We should be God's vessel, cleaned inside and out so God can do great and mighty things through us and often inspite of us!
I hope you find this post helpful. If you would like, please feel free to leave a comment about how God has worked in your life recently!
Jump down to I Samuel 3:3. Here we a phrase, just a small one, kind of insignificant, but nothing in the Bible is there by chance, so I think that it is worth taking a look at! The phrase, "ere the lamp of God went out in they temple of the Lord,:" Ok, so what's the big deal, why even mention it, because in that same verse it says, "Samuel was laid down to sleep;" So who doesn't put out the lights when they go to sleep? Oh yeah, all those who are protesting the green propaganda they are trying to shove down our throats! No, seriously, what's the big deal about turning out the lights when its bedtime? I'm sure you have that ONE person in your home as I do in mine, that you have to constantly be after to "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS"! But that is not what this is talking about.
If you jump back to Exodus 27:20, 21 you find a very interesting command given to the children of Israel! "...command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always...it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations..." This lamp, the lamp that Eli and his sons were in charge of, the lamp of God, the lamp in the temple to be a statute to generations, this lamp was not to go out, EVER! Not for a minute. It was supposed to be constant. During sleeping, when you wake, wherever you go, this lamp was supposed to be burning!
Now go over to Psalms 119:105 and the Bible tells us something, I probably don't even have to write down, because you are probably already quoting it, but just incase you've fallen asleep as did Eli, you've become weary in well doing, let me write out this verse for you: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Hmmmmmmm...If I were writing a Psalms, I might use the word Selah. Do you see it? Can you draw the comparison? The lamp, the lamp of God, the Bible is never to go out of our lives! It is there to guide us, it should always be shining! It should be constant, wherever we go, whatever we do, God's word should guide and direct us!
But wait! There's more! I know, as if that's not good enough! But remember back in Exodus, what were you to use in this light? oil, and not just ANY oil, pure oil from olives! Do YOU know what oil is a picture of? Ding, Ding, Ding, yep you got it! The Holy Spirit! So not only is the Bible not supposed to go out of our lives, for a month, a week, a day, even a moment but we are to live in the presence of the Holy Spirit! I think God used this little insignificant passage to try to teach us an important truth, that if heeded and lived by would CHANGE our lives and possibly the world around us! We ARE to live our lives being Spirit filled! Every moment of every day God's Holy Spirit should guide us, drive us, lead us, determine our actions and reactions! We should be God's vessel, cleaned inside and out so God can do great and mighty things through us and often inspite of us!
I hope you find this post helpful. If you would like, please feel free to leave a comment about how God has worked in your life recently!
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