May 31 - Proverbs 14:1-16:33

Good morning everyone,

Well, we continue to work our way through the wise words of Solomon. Gosh there are so many “one liners” with no real flow other than “wisdom vs folly” that each morning I find myself wondering where God is going to lead me, what is it He’ll want put out there. When we were following David and Solomon it was easy to expound on where they were in their lives but here in Proverbs it is not so clear. It is a great exercise in waiting on the Lord. As I sit here, I got nothin’, one could even say I am just babbling, waiting for the Lord to kick in at any second now with what He wants said; and I’ll wait because we all know that to go before the Lord always ends in disaster. Agreed?

Okay … let’s go to chapter 15:15 where it says, “All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” Feast? I love to eat! But what this is telling us is that our attitudes, in any situation, affects our whole personality.

No matter the trials that come our way, it is up to us on how we react to
them. We can either murmur and complain because we believe the problems
are too difficult to overcome, or not fair, or we just plain don’t like them or … or we can choose, friends get this, we can choose, we can choose to be cheerful and know that we will be well equipped to face and overcome every obstacle that comes our way. Have you ever been in the company of a baby, a child or even an adult who is not happy, maybe even angry for one reason or another and throwing a big hissy at you and then a bottle is offered, or a friend knocks at the door or the phone rings and instantly, instantly they take on a whole different countenance and proceed with a polite, “Oh hi, (cheerful face), doing great, you about you.” Clearly a choice.

So, of the choices above, I choose the second option at all times (well at least try to) because faith does not work in the presence of a complaining spirit. We cannot expect to be overcomers in life when all we do is see the negatives and reasons why something can't be done. Nothing is more frustrating than trying to think through or do a project with someone and with every suggestion you are met with a, “hmmm … ( you need to say this in your very best eeyore voice), wel-l-l, that won’t work …..” We must change our viewpoint and see things in a positive light. Psalm 28:7 says “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Right? When we change our mindset and choose to have an easy-going and cheerful attitude, we will find our problems being solved with much less stress and worry and our hearts will be filled with peace because we chose to trust the Lord and not depend on ourselves. Let go and let God!

Our attitudes, in any situation, affects our whole personality. God is clear that during our lives, we will experience our fair share of labors, cares, and tribulations. And still He tells us that a cheerful heart does us good. Which means it must be possible! Right? Habakkuk 3:17-19 tells us, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” YET … I will be joyful in God my Savior. Amen?

Have a super good day to God be the glory.

Gd bless you all …

May 30 - Proverbs 11:1-13:25

Good morning everyone,

This morning as I was reading the daily scripture I could just see Solomon, sitting at the table with a huge turkey drumstick in one hand (did they have turkeys in his kingdom?) and a goblet of his favorite beverage in the other hand enjoying a fine meal when he has an “ah ha” moment and points to the ever ready scribe, then looks across the table and says to his boy, “You know son, the Lord detests dishonest scales ….” and continues on with many more words of wisdom. 

How many of you have heard and done the same thing? From the moment we were born our parents began instilling their version of right and wrong into our heads. Agreed? Who does not remember hearing over and over, “What’s the magic word? Say please. Say excuse me. Thank you?” As we got older moving on to such things as, “Don’t lie. Play nice. No cheating!” ~ Once, many, many years ago when I was quite young, in fact just a teenager, I was living with my aunt who is the mother of an amazing, then little girl, who, incredibly smart and Shirley Temple witty, one fine afternoon asks her mom if she can go down the street to play with her friend. My aunt looks at her and begins her, “Yes, but …” and without missing a beat, this sweet little girl looks up at my aunt and with one hand on her hip politely cuts in and says, “ I know mom. I’ll play nice. I’ll talk nice, and I’ll say excuse me if I fart, so can I please go and play?” My Aunt smiled at her then lovingly said, “I know you know, but I love you enough to say it again.”

We all know the rules, or at least we should, and may even find ourselves while reading the proverbs thinking, “I know Abba, weigh fairly, have integrity, don’t cheat on my spouse, be an upright person, now can I please get on with my day?”  Yet … yet friends, there is the human nature side, the world side of us the enemy likes to control and he is such a sneaky, sly, scheming, lo-down, slime dog. He won’t start you off with heavy drugs, or major embezzlement or flat out cheating on your spouse. Nope, he will ease you in. He will try to get you to believe that there is a “free zone” before committing a dishonest act, a “fudge factor”, if you will, that allows you to be a little sinful without totally compromising your integrity. It is one of his favorite tools. And once you fall for that seduction, your moral standards loosen, your self-perception as an honest person gets a little hazier, and your ability to rationalize, to make excuses, goes up. A single act of dishonesty can change our behavior and the way we think about ourselves and the way others think about us, forever. In an instant, a single lie can wipe away a life time of integrity, that will never ever be restored to new condition. If you give up your virginity you can never be a virgin again. If you smoke you will not ever be able to claim “I’ve never smoked” again. The same goes with drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, everything and the first cut is the deepest. Once you’ve compromised the first time, the next time is infinitely easier. Does this make sense?

These are dangerous times for the mind and soul. God knows this and is aware of how easily we, like sheep, can wander away. It is exactly why He has the proverbs in a book for us, some of them repeated over and over. I would encourage you each day as you are reading in your Bible the same words you, in fact, have read over and over, to look up and see God smiling down at you, and with agape love saying, “I know you know, but I love you enough to say it again.” Amen?

Have a great day, to God Almighty be the glory.

God bless you all ….

May 29 - Proverbs 8:1-10:32

Good morning everyone,

Today we get to meet another Proverb’s woman, Wisdom. Now Wisdom, we’re told, and look at this in your mind’s eye, it’s totally amazing, was brought forth even before the world came to be. Before the world came to be?! When there was nothing. Can you even see what nothing looks like? How big it is? And, there is Wisdom, brought forth as the first of God’s works, watching as the heavens were put into place, as the clouds were established, as the horizon was marked out and while the waters received their boundaries. Verses 30-31 say, “Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.” May I just say, I can hardly wait to be constantly at His side! But the point here is, Wisdom is so important to God, it was the very first thing He did and there she stands, calling out to all mankind, can you hear her? “Hello … hello. Take a listen, I have trust worthy things to say.” Makes me smile.

So what is wisdom exactly? Merriam-Webster tells us that it is knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life: the natural ability to understand things that most other people cannot understand: knowledge of what is proper or reasonable: good sense or judgment. The Bible tells us that wisdom is a skill that enables us to live obediently before God in the midst of trials. The result will be a truly beautiful life that glorifies God. Job 12:13 says, “With God are wisdom and might; he has counsel and understanding.” 1Corinthians 1:30 says,  “God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom.” That is so beautiful!

Where do we get wisdom? Well that’s easy. James 1:5 says, “If you need wisdom -- if you want to know what God wants you to do -- ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.” We simply drop to our knees and humble ourselves before our God, confess to Him that we do not know what we need to know in order to live joyfully, especially in the face of trials and He will eagerly, with pleasure, supply us with the wisdom we require. James 3:17 tells us, “The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere.” 2 Timothy 2:7 tells us, “Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.”

God’s wisdom typically does not come as a sudden revelation or impression that hits us out of nowhere. Remember those cartoons you use to see on TV where the person got a brilliant (questionable) idea and a light bulb appeared above their head? Yea … No. It’s not like that. No, God’s wisdom is more of a learning process, made known to us over time, in increments we can comprehend, it comes directly from God and is revealed in His Word through the Holy Spirit allowing us to apply biblical truth to every situation that we face. Make sense? Clearly, you need to be in God’s Word to know God’s Word if you expect to glean God’s wisdom. I speak from experience when I say, the more you are reading your Bible, the more you learn about God and Christ Jesus, the clearer understanding you will have of His love for you and His will for your life. Everything from forever ago to today is so much more coherent. It all has a perfect order. Ecclesiastes 2:13-14 says, I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Let us be a people who walk in the light. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 28 - Proverbs 5:1-7:27

Good morning everyone,

Today we are going to have Sex Education 101 as taught by Solomon, although you will find it to be a whole lot different than the version of sex education you received when you were in middle school. I think we can all agree that sexuality is a gift from God and should be viewed as such, right? It makes you feel special in they eyes of your someone special. I think that we could also agree, God created sex so that a man and a woman could come together to procreate and also to form a bond in their husband and wife relationship. Territory where no one else should go. The Bible is very clear that any other use of sex is a sin. Sexual immorality grinds down a person’s ability to love, it turns human beings into objects, it can lead to disease,  it destroys family life and the wake of hurt it leaves in it’s path can go on for years and years. Is there any question why God is so against it?

Solomon, today, is warning us in particular against the prostitute, who, doesn’t necessarily have to be standing on a street corner in the red light district, it could be at your place of work, at the grocery store, even watching your kids play sports, anywhere. A common mistake married couples make is letting their marriage become, dull, or routine. They forget the charm, the sense of humor, the kindness that they first fell in love with that has long since been replaced with, well let’s face it, the reality of life. We can get so caught up in the weighted responsibility of bills, and children that often, way too often, all it takes is one brief accidental touch of a hand on ours, or brushing up against someone in an elevator or even just a compliment, to set the tingles of a new relationship in motion. The enemy vigilantly watches for such moments so as to start filling our ears with lies that would sound something like, “doesn’t that feel good, your husband doesn’t make you feel that way any more”, or “she really gets you, and doesn’t nag you like your wife”. She, or he, can be anyone with a flattering tongue who is prepared to tell you how wonderful you are, beware! 

We don’t have to become tedious or complacent in our marriages. Seriously! With just some awareness, some thoughtfulness sprinkled with loving kindness we can keep them as fresh and as exciting as the first day we met with the added bonus of a best friend who is there for you forever. Someone who has your back when any problem arises, who will pick up the groceries from all over the ground when the plastic bag breaks, who encourages you when you are sad, who randomly sends flowers, makes your favorite meal, who laughs with you, holds you when you cry, who sends you hand written letters just because sometimes you get lonely, who … well the list goes on and on. 

Marriage is continual acts of selfless behavior. A life time of putting the other person first, of not playing the blame game, of not being offended, being THE one to tell them how special they are; we all want to hear that, right? And always, always, always believing the best. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”  Amen?

Have a good day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 27 - Proverbs 1:1-4:27

Good morning everyone. Proverbs … hmmm, they’re typically short, compact statements that express truth about human behavior. They were written primarily by Solomon at about 1000 BC to pass along the wisdom God gave him to his son, to allow him some solid direction with the basic “do’s and don’ts ”of life. It was a good time for Israel, they were at peace and experiencing great prosperity, all was good in the land. 

There are thirty one chapters in Proverbs. It is reported that for countless years Billy Graham read one chapter from proverbs every night, matching the date up with the proverb chapter and starting over each month. He is quoted as saying, “I used to read five psalms every day - that teaches me how to get along with God. Then I read a chapter of Proverbs every day and that teaches me how to get along with my fellow man.” I love that; don’t you? I think, from time to time, we could all use a little more instruction on how to get along better with God and with our fellow man. Right? 

The proverbs all seem so simple when reading through them. Over and over I found myself thinking, “well, that’s a no brainer”, and yet sometimes the obvious just has to be stated for a person to fully get it, so that there is no question. You know? So I just love how Solomon says vs.7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” That is pretty straight forward. The fear of the Lord is where it all begins. The Lord wants us to succeed and He is committed to instructing us, we can either learn from the wisdom God gave Solomon, who then passed it along to us, or we can learn in the “school of hard knocks.” It is with great humiliation I confess that for too many years of my life, my name was “fool” and I was the recipient of many a bruises in the afore mentioned school before I realized that it would be much easier Billy Graham’s way, to learn by studying the Word. I love God’s Word and all it has to offer. I love how dependable it is, how it has direction for every aspect of our lives, and that the instructions are crystal clear. Yep, and I especially like how it leaves me less marred. :-)

One of my very favorite proverbs is 3. “Let love and faithfulness never leave you.” “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him.” Submit is a hard word for our culture, especially women. In Ephesians, Colossians and 1 Peter we’re told, “Wives submit to your husbands.” It does not say, “If it sounds like something you want to do, submit” or “if you feel like it, submit” there is actually no “if” attached to it at all other than, of course, God would not want you to do anything that is a sin. So, it is the job of the wife to submit to her husband, to cheerfully submit. God puts that instruction there for a reason, it allows order and contrary to the way television and movies would have us believe, men can do an amazing job of leading the household when they are allowed to. When they’re encouraged, not nagged. When they’re uplifted, not beaten down. If you put your trust in God, pray for your husband, and be his cheerleader you will find amazing things will happen; not overnight, but it will happen and you and your marriage will be happier and stronger for it. God is faithful, Psalm 117:2 says, “For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the Lord.” Amen?

Have a wonderfully sunny day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 26 - 1 Kings 4:1-34 | Psalm 72 | Psalm127

Good morning everyone,

We begin our reading this morning by tying up some loose ends in the story of Solomon before heading into the Proverbs. While looking at the twelve district governors who supplied the provisions for the king and the royal house hold, I found myself wondering what their system was. I like systems, my mind works that way. In every task I take on, from sewing six pair of pajamas to planting seven raised boxes, I devise a system for the most efficient and productive way to do it. So for me, it begs the question, how does one transport 16 tons (what do you get, another day older and deeper in debt), so sorry, couldn’t help myself. Anyway, back to the question, how does sixteen tons of grain, thirty cows, a hundred sheep, goats and miscellaneous other critters, get to the palace for preparation, on a daily basis? That is mind boggling to me. Not to mention the staff involved to prepare all of that food. Good grief! There had to be a very good system in place. Suffice to say, it was a good time for the people of Israel. There was peace and prosperity and all was well.

Solomon, like his dad, loved to write penning most of the book of Proverbs which offers wisdom for practical living. Over the next week or so we will be blessed to read some of the many wisdoms of Solomon. Today though, we have two psalms attributed to Solomon. Psalm 72 concludes part two of the Psalms, though some commentators believe it is written not by Solomon but by David for Solomon, all agree it is a royal psalm asking God to bless the just king, and that this psalm goes beyond earthly kings. It speaks to the King of Kings who will some day come and reign the perfect reign.

Psalm 127 is a psalm of ascents, you will remember these were sung by the worshippers as they ascended the road to Jerusalem to attend the three pilgrim festivals. It starts off with, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” Once, many years ago, life threw me a curve ball. Without going into detail, I can comfortably say that everything I knew and believed in, suddenly was not in place anymore. I was confused, very disoriented, frantic in fact, and making some “not so wise” choices. In an effort to get some order back into my life, I … don’t let that get passed you, “I” decided it would be a great idea to start a Bible study at a church who did not know me from you. I just marched in there one day and basically advised them my plans. They told me in the most polite way possible, indeed, several different times, “no thank you,” but, nonetheless, I continued forward with my plan. I purchased all of the supplies and books needed and they were kind enough to finally allow me a room in their building to hold “my” study, giving me just enough rope to sufficiently hang myself.

Even a blind man could see God was so not in the teaching of that study, that my labors were not only in vain but foolish. Looking back, I shake my head and wonder what I was thinking and I thank God for the failure. I thank God for the reminder that with Him and through Him all things are possible, but when we go off on our own, when we get ahead of Him, we’re certain to fail. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” and Lamentations 3:25 says, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.” It was when I quit trying to control my life, when I humbled myself to the Lord, and once again started searching for His will in my life that He began to speak to me, saying, “Honey, it will be okay, let’s go here instead.” I love, love, love God and how dependable, and so right on he is about everything. I love how He knows the big picture and how his plans for me and for you are so much greater anything that we could ever imagine. My life is infinitely better now, having learned that lesson. Our God is an awesome God! Amen?

I pray you all have a most excellent day and to God be the glory.
God bless you all …

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May 25 - 2 Chronicles 8:1-18 | 1 Kings 9:15-10:13 | 2 Chronicles 9:1-12 | 1 Kings 10:14-29 | 2 Chronicles 9:13-28 | 2 Chronicles 1:14-17

Good morning everyone,

When God first came to Solomon, you’ll remember, he asked for wisdom. God granted the request and in addition to that, God told Solomon he would also have riches and honor. Now, God is not known for doing anything small, and so it was, that Solomon’s wealth was legendary. Leaders from other nations would travel hundreds of miles to glean some of Solomon’s wisdom and leave in awe at his prosperity, one such person was the queen of Sheba. She traveled 1,500 miles, by caravan, across a hot desert to check, check, check it out.

When she got there she was not disappointed, quite the contrary. She was not only blown away by the lap of luxury Solomon lived in but was also most impressed with the way his servants were dressed, everything was far greater than her expectations. She lavished him with gifts, probably in hopes of securing a peace treaty, then, left with the greater gift, as there is evidence in Matthew she became a believer in God.

Solomon’s wealth continued to amass, he had so much wealth that silver was but rocks kicked around on the streets, he was bringing in apes and peacocks from Tarshish for entertainment. He was collecting and trading horses, he was also dealing with Egypt and having relationships with foreign women, doing exactly what Deuteronomy 17 specifies a  king in Israel should not do. He would pay a heavy price for this, not personally for he was David’s son, but his heir to the throne will suffer terrible consequences for Solomon’s poor choices. Kind of a bummer for the kid. Right?

What legacy are we leaving our children? Are we teaching them that God is almighty, to be feared? Oh, not feared because He will hurt us, but fearful that we will hurt Him, hurt His feelings, stomp on His love. When we turn our backs on Him, it totally leaves him heartbroken. Our priorities, the way we conduct our lives, the values we place on, not just God but everything, serves to pave the way our children will think, process, and live their lives. Are you living for the present only, leaving your children a legacy of material wealth, which is great for today, don’t get me wrong, but it will burn. Or are you investing in your children’s eternal future, storing up riches in heaven that will be available to them for all eternity. 

Solomon was a very wealthy man with great power and influence yet he was very miserable and empty. Why, because he had forgotten the God of his father David. Nearly all failures in the life of a Christian can be traced to losing our focus or taking our eyes off Jesus. In Hebrews we are encouraged with, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Let that be the example we set, the legacy we will leave for our children. Amen?

I pray you have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 24 - 1 Kings 8:54-66 | 2 Chronicles 7:1-10 | 1 Kings 9:1-9 | 2 Chronicles 7:11-22 | 1 Kings 9:10-14

Good morning everyone,

We begin our reading this morning with Solomon finishing up his prayer for the temple at which time, we’re told, “fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple.” Now, in your mind’s eye, picture yourself at this celebration. Will you? You’re all caught up in this prayer and out of nowhere, BOOM!, fire comes down from heaven and, not just burns but, consumes all the sacrifices and also … also, the glory of the Lord is so thick that the priests could not enter the temple. Friends, can you see this? Can you put yourself there? I’m thinking, “the best pyrotechnics display, ever!” Right? What a staggering experience that would have been, and, even better yet, having the presence of God so close, so very, very close. Oh my word. Psalm 97:5 says, “The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord.” Yea … of course! No doubt about it! I too would have been on my knees praying, “He is good”, while wondering if I was still alive. Seriously. How about you? I get excited reading that, I imagine that’s how heaven is going to be. Our Lord, our Abba Father, right there, all of the time and we will forever be in the blissful state of His majestic presence singing, “Holy, holy, holy. Lord God Almighty.” I say, “Come Lord Jesus, come!”

Now, as long as you are there in your mind’s eye, will you imagine, will you please picture, what one, run of the mill, average cow, looks like? You’ve all seen them, maybe in a field somewhere, or at a fair, at the very least in a picture. They’re a pretty good sized animals, averaging five to six hundred pounds. Now envision, if you will, ten of these cows. How manageable is that? How about a hundred? Getting a little more crazy? Well, we’re told they brought in and sacrificed twenty-two thousand cows, and one hundred-twenty thousand sheep and goats. Yikes! Are you seeing this? Can you feel the dust landing on your arms and face, as it is being stirred up from the shuffling of the hooves. Can you hear the mooing, and the neighing, growing louder, probably getting more and more anxious, more desperate, each animal struggling to get away as their turn draws nearer. Now, can you see the bronze alter where each one of these one hundred forty-two thousand animals will be sacrificed, the blood pouring down in rivers; the smell pungent and undeniable. The smoke rolling in thick plumes into the sky. I am about almost choking. You?

Well, (come on out of your mind’s eye now :-) ) the bottom line here is, that, as wonderful and elaborate as the dedication program for the temple was, and as glorifying as the praises were, they could not replace the sacrifices that needed to be made. God still had to be honored through blood sacrifice, both for atonement for sins and as a demonstration of fellowship with God. It is the same today, in as much as ,the price for atonement is still blood, however, the difference is, our debt has been paid in full. It is the the blood of Jesus Christ that honors God, for all who live, for all time. Jesus is not merely a Messiah, oh no! He is so much more than that. He is THE Messiah, the only one who could pay for the sins of the world. Our, as we can read in Genesis 22, Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord who sees, the Lord who provides. The only One who is fully able to meet my needs, to meet your needs, in just the right time. So lets all sing, “Jehovah Jireh, My provider, His grace is sufficient for me, for me, for me.” Amen?

I pray you have a really good day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all … 

May 23 - 1 Kings 8:1-11 | 2 Chronicles 5:1-14 | 1 Kings 8:12-21 | 2 Chronicles 6:1-11 | 1 Kings 8:22-53 | 2 Chronicles 6:12-42

Good morning everyone,

Today in our reading we have the privilege of attending a most exuberant day for all of Israel. The Temple is finally ready to house the ark, so King Solomon summoned up all of the elders and pretty much everyone who was anyone to join in the parade to transport the ark from the City of David to it’s new home in the Temple. You will notice that there are no carts mentioned here. You remember what happened when David first tried to move the ark? Right? He put it on a cart and the Lord was not going for that. I am fairly certain that when David handed the blueprints to the temple over to Solomon he was quick to caution him about God’s Word on how the ark was to be moved only by the Levite priests, and so indeed it was the priests who took the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple. 

We read that when the priests withdrew from the Holy Place all the Levites who were musicians began playing their cymbals, harps and lyres, plus there were 120 priests blowing on their trumpets, and singers who began to raise their voices in praise to the Lord singing, “He is good; his love endures forever.” AWESOME!! Oh how I love worship music, especially before a church service sung with so many like minded people. I am just going to throw this out there; Worship music is not in place to act as a buffer, or a count down clock for those who are always late. It is in place to praise God, to honor him, to draw close to Him, to recognize Him as God of all creation, God of all wonders; to prepare our hearts to hear what the Spirit has to say to us through whoever is teaching or preaching that day. Make sense? So let yourself be blessed and fall into the worship of God before services. Yes?

We’re now told, 1Kings 8:22, (NLT) “ Then Solomon stood before the alter of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel. He lifted his hands towards heaven, and he prayed.” This prayer is so amazing, it begins with praise and it is riddled with so much passion, and love, and awe, and admiration for the King, our King of Kings. Recognizing His power, humbled by His love. I wonder at what point he quit hearing the murmurs of the thousands assembled and was lost in the celestial world of just him and God. How euphoric that must have been, we’re told by the end of the prayer Solomon had dropped to his knees his hands still spread to the heavens. In 1 Chronicles 7 we can read that after he prayed this prayer, fire was sent down from heaven to consume the sacrifices on the alter. Dang!! 

How powerful are your prayers? Are my prayers? Do we take the time to get so engaged with God in prayer that we fall to our knees with hands raised high, as everything else in the world is blocked out while we pray with a fervency that could send fire down from heaven? Luke tells us that the Lord God Almighty can do all things; there is nothing impossible for Him. And that the Lord God Almighty invites His people to pray to Him persistently, with thanksgiving, in faith, within the will of God, for the glory of God, and from a heart right with God. And when we do, amazing things can and will happen. So friends, let’s be praying. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 22 - 1 Kings 7:1-51 | 2 Chronicles 3:15-4:22

Good morning everyone,

Today we get to take a look at some of the detail that went into the making of Solomon’s palace and the temple furnishings. We’re told it took thirteen years to complete the construction of Solomon’s palace which included, his personal residence, the queen’s house and then the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. Though, little else is mentioned we do know all were built with high-grade stones and the finest timber. 

As I read about the palace and pondered over it, I found myself chuckling a bit. This estate was huge, right? Sometimes when Matt is working out in one of the the pastures or down in the barn or the garage and I need him for one reason or another or just want to say “hey”, I will first try his cell phone. However, often it doesn’t work out here, so I resort to actually walking (I know, weird … who does that today?) from one place to the other until I can finally locate him. Usually it doesn’t take too long, but we don’t live on a very large place. Well, the palace was a very large place and clearly they did not have cell phones then, so how long do you think it would it take to hunt a wandering king down on grounds as massive as King Solomon’s? I can just see some young servant, the ever so impatient queen sent out, frantically scurrying from room to room asking everyone he sees, “Have you seen the king? Have you seen the king?” I know, not very devotional but it made me chuckle :-)

The Temple. I am more than a little impressed at the work and the craftsmanship that went into the furnishings for the temple. Everything was made with the finest materials available, by the best in the business and on such a grand scale, but of course they had to be, to accommodate the incredibly huge sacrifices that were to be made there. Now, there a few things that had me shaking my head wondering, “how did they do that”, but one in particular just totally stopped me in my tracks. The two bronze pillars. Seriously! Each of these were about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference and they were cast bronze, not hollowed out, but cast, which about weighs 44.8 lbs. for 1 sq. ft. Now, I am no math major but I can tell you that those pillars were down right heavy; actually we’re told that they were too great to weigh. cRaZy! Not to mention the fact that they would have had to have been transported about 20 miles, up hill, from where they were made, to where they would then have to be stood up and positioned. Massively huge job!

I am pretty sure Jesus thinks we are a massively huge job, at times, too. You know, brass serves as a symbol of the judgement Jesus bore on our behalf. Revelation 1:15 says, “And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.” The furnace is a symbol of wrath, purification, and refinement. Sometimes we have a tendency to remember Jesus as a meek, silent, long suffering, Lamb, and he was, but here we see Him as the Mighty Roaring Lion who will one day, as promised, return and rapture His church. There will come a time when, as Romans 14:11 tell us, "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’" As for me, I say, “Come Lord Jesus, come!” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 21 - 1 Kings 3:16-28 | 1 Kings 5:1-18 | 2 Chronicles 2:1-18 | 1 Kings 6:1-13 | 2 Chronicles 3:1-14 | 1 Kings 6:14-38

Good morning everyone,

We start our reading this morning with the story of the two women who went to Solomon with a single baby, both claiming to be the mother. Oh, I can see it in my mind’s eye. The royal police get a family disturbance call, two of Jerusalem’s finest peace keepers go to the scene, they can not calm the women down and so they haul them off to let the king solve the problem. There they stand, both in tears pleading their cases. One innocent and desperate for the return of her child, the other, though equally desperate beyond comprehension, her heart broken with the death of her son, guilty. What’s a king to do? Never loosing his cool, and in a calm but authoritative tone, King Solomon orders, “Bring me a sword.” This is a classic example of the wisdom God gave Solomon. The same wisdom is ours for the asking. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” This is a great promise, one you can, we all can act boldly in, when we are in prayer, in communication with God.

On to the Temple. Now you remember, right?, it was to be built at the threshing floor of Araunah on Mount Moriah, that David bought to erect an alter on back when God called him out on his sin of pride. Okay? Solomon’s looking at this real-estate one morning and thinks, “now is the time”, so he contacts Hiram, the king of Tyre who had been a very good friend of David, tells him of the plans he has and that he is looking to him for timber. Hiram says, “No problem”, and so begins the construction. This was to be a seven year project. It will take 153,600 plus workers, requiring literally hundreds of tons of food daily, that’s right, daily; wood, metals and jewels that in today’s economy would equate to billions of dollars; and precision cut stones (totally understated, some weighing several hundred tons. Yes, tons!) from a quarry. These stones were to be cut, chipped and chiseled to the precise size and then hauled up to location. 

Hmmm, cut, chipped and chiseled, I kind of like that. Isn’t that what God is doing with us here on earth? We’re the stones and He uses different tools daily to cut, chip and chisel us into a better person. He whittles away at the calluses we can form, He smooths out our attitudes and patterns us into a person more like minded with Himself, so that when we get “hauled up” to heaven we’ll fit perfectly. Make sense? Those tools could look like a cranky boss, or a person who cuts us off on the freeway or a neighbor who allows their animals to do their morning “dootie” EVERY morning in your yard; anything and everything, all designed to prepare us for eternity. I would encourage you to not fight against it, to choose to not get so upset with these challenges God puts before you, perhaps try praying for them or singing praises to God through them. You know, nothing drives the enemy away quicker than prayer and praises to God. Nothing! And it leaves you feeling so much better for it. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Ahhh, I love the peace that goes with that. Thank you Jesus! Amen?

I pray you have a great day, to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 20 - Psalm 83 | 1 Chronicles 29:23-25 | 2 Chronicles 1:1 | 1 KINGS 2:13-3:4 | 2 Chronicles 1:2-6 | 1 Kings 3:5-15 | 2 Chronicles 1:7-13

Good morning everyone,

Psalm 83 is believed to reference 2 Chronicles 20, a pretty cool story, actually. King Jehoshaphat was about to be annihilated when the Spirit of the Lord came upon a  prophet who told him, “ The Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” So Jehoshaphat instead of running or fighting, appointed singers to go before the army singing praises to the Lord. It confused the attackers so much they started attacking each other, killing each other off. I love that! Well, not that they killed each other, but the reminder that “the battle belongs to the Lord” and if we would just sing praises, to God in all situations He can do a much better job of taking care of any attack or grief than we can. Right on?

On to King Solomon, I feel like we’ve been in sort of a mourning for the death of King David. Honoring him with his and other’s Psalms, but now it is time to move on. You’ll remember that Solomon was but a child, somewhere between 12 and 16 when he took the throne. Clearly wise beyond his years. One of the first things he does is clean house, taking care of the men, the treacherous traitors, his dad had warned him about, firmly establishing the kingdom.

We’re told Solomon loved the Lord, following all the decrees of his father, David. It was Solomon’s practice to give sacrifices to God, however, when David brought over the ark over from Gibeon to Jerusalem, he left behind the bronze alter in front of the tabernacle of the Lord. So Solomon gathered all the leaders of Israel and together they made a road trip to Gibeon where, we’re told, he offered a thousand burnt offerings on it. Holy cow … literally. Right?

While at Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night and, you know the story, God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you” and Solomon said, “But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties…..give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” The child asked for wisdom to do his job. He didn’t ask God to do his job for him, but that God would provide the tools for him to do the job himself. That, in and of itself, is a devotional. Too often we sit and ask God to “help” us and we don’t lift a finger to help ourselves. The perfect example would be; (bear with me  and please don’t judge :-) Picture this, I am sitting on a sofa washing down my third In-N-Out cheeseburger with an extra large chocolate shake and I say, “Oh God, please let me lose weight.” Seriously, God will help you with anything, “help” being the operative word. God can make me lose weight all by himself but what lesson would I learn? God wants you, wants me to be a disciplined people. Make sense?

Anyway back to Solomon, he asks for wisdom, it begs the question, how does a kid that age even know to ask for wisdom? Where else? His dad, David, who was a man that loved God, who sought to be close to God at least as much, if not more, than any other person ever. David tells Solomon all about wisdom, we read in Proverbs 4:4-9, and Solomon remembered his Father’s words. 

Over and over again in the Bible we read, we’re given examples, we’re instructed teach your children. You, as their parent or grandparent, are their single biggest influence. What you say, the way you act, depicts the way they will want to live, molds the person they inevitably will grow up to be. Solomon knew wisdom was more precious than rubies because that is what his daddy taught him. Friends, I would encourage you to teach your children the BIBLE. The Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, so when they are on their own, they will remember and act accordingly. Amen?

I pray you have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 19 - Psalm 79-82

Good morning everyone,

As we begin reading today we need to keep one thing in mind, when God commands us to do or not to do something it would be a wise decision to obey His command, for if (more like “for when”) we don’t, there is always a consequence of choice to follow. God’s patience with us does not exhaust quickly or easily but there will come a time when He will shake his Almighty head and say, “Alrighty then, I told you what would happen “if”.” God will sometime use others to bring us to our knees, in the case of Israel, often other countries, to show them the error of their ways, to bring them back to their senses. 

Psalms 79 and 80 were written at a time when Israel had allowed the trinkets of the enemy, the seductions of the world to not only infiltrate but rule their behavior, so God used Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon to burn them to the ground. Thousands upon thousands lost their lives while the rest were marched off into captivity. I call that “tough love.”

It may look a little different in 2014, but God is still here, doing same thing today. When our personal lives get so busy that we quit making time for God, when we have quit talking to Him, consulting Him, when we totally eliminate Him for other “stuff” of the world; the idols, the sin, we will find there will be a distance between us and God. He will not watch you dis Him, He will turn his back to you while you choose to live with sin, the same way He turned His back on Jesus when He took on all of our sins at the cross. As a result we will suffer. Our joy is drained, our relationships will be effected, our health and happiness may also be in distress as little by little we die inside.  

The good news is God loves you! He loves me! He love us so very much and though he will not look on our sin, God will find a way to get your attention, often having to hit us where it hurts, perhaps using an illness, or the loss of your job or the death of a loved one, or some other “foreign country” to get your eyes back on Him. “If you … then He will” If you will but repent and love Him, He will shower you with blessings beyond all measure. This is our God. Hebrews 13:5 says, Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

We may leave God, but He will never leave us.  No matter how bleak the situation, no matter how empty the feeling comes, God will never leave you!  His promises are true.  His word is above all!  We can move forward because, He goes before us.  And if God be for us, who can be against us?Amen?!

Have a great day friends and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 18 - Psalm 75-78

Good morning everyone,

Today we have four more of the twelve psalms of Asaph. Who exactly is Asaph? Well, as I have mentioned before he was a young priest from the tribe of Levi and one the three music directors David used, serving him for his entire rein as king. Asaph was so talented that David put him in charge of the music that went before the ark when he was but in his twenties and he held that position for forty years. Asaph actually saw David’s death, the crowning of Solomon and the building of the Temple and all of the love and war that went on in those years, including the murder of his brother.  Asaph was a very godly man, a very credible man, who was able to accurately reflect the sign of the times through his poetry or psalms. 

Now, Psalms 75-76 are super cool, especially when you know the back story of when and why they were written, you can find that in 2 Kings but we will get there in a month or so if you want to just wait. What I really want to address this morning is Psalm 78, it is a Maskil or a Maschil, depending on what Bible you are looking at, which means it is a teaching psalm. God had commanded that the stories of the history of Israel be passed down from parents to children for generation after generation and Psalm 78 serves to remind us to teach our children. At the risk of sounding “preachy” we too need to be passing the story of Jesus, how much He loves us and the price He paid for us, along to our children. 

We can not expect our kids to do well in a world that is, well just that, worldly, if we are not taking the time to prepare them for it, if we are not passing on the stories from the Bible to them at a very young age. We encourage them to learn to walk, help them use the correct words when they begin to talk, we send them to school to get educated in math and world history, and yet, friends, how many of us are disciplined in getting our kids in the Word of God every day? There is nothing more important than passing on the stories of God’s mighty power, nothing as comforting as knowing the grace and compassion of Jesus, and it is ever so reassuring to rest in the direction of the Holy Spirit. Our kids, more than anything else in the world need to have God’s Word hidden in their hearts. Proverbs 22:6 says “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” Deuteronomy 11:19 tells us, "Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” How are we all doing with that?

I’m obliged to say that we must also be good role models. Training our kiddos isn’t only about teaching them the words of God, but about acting out what a Christian, a child of God looks like every single day. Being a 1 Corinthians, “Love is patient, love is kind, type of person. Yes? Good role models in all we do. If you want them to look at you when you’re trying to tell them something, then turn off your screen when talking to look at them. If you want them to talk kind about others, so should you. If you want them to read and know God’s Word, then let them see you doing it. Make sense? In every media the enemy is fighting, is devising a scheme for our kids to look like the world. May I suggest that at home they see, they get a huge picture of what it looks like to be a child of Christ. Our kids are so worth it. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …

May 17 - Psalm 50 | Psalm 73-74

Good morning everyone,

We start off today with Psalm 50 which first speaks to our future, Asaph describing the day Jesus comes back and then speaks of our present walk, cautioning us in verse 22-23 to take a look at out lives. Is there fruit in our walk with Jesus, or are you, are we simply going through the motions of having a relationship with Him? Hmmm…

Psalm 73, Oh boy! I’ll be honest with you, many, many years ago I was right there with Asaph on this one, for way too many years of my life. It just did not make sense to me how all of the “bad guys” the cheaters, the drug dealers, the swindlers or even so many of the “nice entrepreneur persons” who are loved by all, but totally slander and deny God, can be so successful; while those who give it all to and for the Lord struggle to even make ends meet. You know? It was a terrible stumbler for me, a huge boulder in the road, but this was a time in my life when I hadn’t fully committed to God. Oh for sure I was a Christian, but I was more like one of those who are sitting on the fence, with one foot in the world and one foot in the Bible. You know the type I am talking about, they want to claim the grace of God along with the peace, joy and love the Bible has to offer on Sunday morning while the rest of the week Jesus rarely crosses their minds as they carry on with whatever sinful or even not so sinful behavior they enjoy. I am embarrassed to say I was guilty of that. It was when I totally committed to living a life pleasing to God, got off the fence, that God blessed me in a way that is far beyond anything any amount of money can buy here on earth. I am so stinkin’ serious about this, you can not out give God. The more time, the more energy, the more tithe, the more you read your Bible, the more effort in anything you do to give to God, is the more you will be blessed and yes, it can be monetarily, but that will not even matter to you when you are there at that “give it all for God’s kingdom” state of mind. Yep, what’s infinitely better than the big bank account is being so close to God and the riches He allows your heart. You can not in your wildest imagination conjure up how cRaZy awesome it is to be dusted with the presence of the Holy Spirit, I can not describe it, but I am in constant quest of it. 

Please don’t misunderstand me, I am not saying all successful, wealthy people are not close to God. Nor am I saying that all who struggle financially are close to God. I am just sayin’ that the riches God has to offer, wants to shower us with are a whole lot better than anything, than everything that is available to buy in this world and the only way to get them is to get close to God.

Asaph got there. After his “grrrrrr” moment he rested in the knowledge that ultimately none of it mattered and he understood four things; the guarantee of God’s presence with him, that He held his right hand, (awesome!!), that God would guide him with council and that the glory of heaven awaited him. Do you have that peace in your heart? It is so there for the asking. I love ten thousand to the ten thousandth power, how God loves me and how He is making himself known to me more and more every day. God loves you too and totally longs to be as close to you as you’ll let him. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, the house, the car, the screens, the boat, the plane and everything else will burn, but God’s love will live on. Amen?

Have a super good day you guys, and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …

May 16 - Psalm 144-145 | Psalm 88-89

Good morning everyone,

I know what you’re thinking and, no, I didn’t get confused in the order of the verses. As you all know, the Bible isn’t necessarily written in chronological order and since that is how we are going through the Bible this year, this is how today’s verses fell. That and Psalm 88 and 89 were not written by David but by Kora and Ethan, respectively, Levite musicians who served under David. Right on?

In Psalm 144:3-4  David wonders of God how it is He can remain so devoted to us, human beings, mere mortals, and pointing out that life is short.  We are like a breath of air; our days are like a fleeting shadow. James 4:14 tells us the same thing, it says, “You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” So I ask; What are you doing with that time. I once heard a teaching that really had a strong impact on me and the way I spend my time. I would like to be able to tell you that I don’t waste any, but I do. I would really like to say that I don’t get lost in my screens but I still do that too, but far less than before and even less with each day that goes by.

I am a super visual person and I can picture in my head ev-ery-thing. It is a blessing … it is a curse. So while I did not write the following illustration, author is unknown, I can totally see in my minds eye Satan doing this. When you realize you are being duped by a creepy liar, a jerk of all jerks it is much easier, at least for me, to avoid all the tactics he uses to distract you, distract me, from prayer, or worship music or listening to a teaching or even reading my Bible. What?? Read your Bible in the middle of the day? Yes! Anytime! So take a read, let your eyes see if perhaps the enemy has infiltrated your life.

Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his demons, he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from conservative values. But we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding experience in Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. "So let them go to church. Let them have their conservative lifestyles. But steal their time so they can't gain that experience in Jesus Christ.” 

"Here is how I want you to do this. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day."

"But how shall we do this?" shouted one of his angels?

"Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent numerous schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work and the husbands to work 6-7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their life-styles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work."

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, to keep the TV, the VCR, their CDs going constantly in their homes. And see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day and invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogs, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from it exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week."

"Don't let them go out in nature. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion."

"Let them be involved in soul-winning. But crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family unity for the good of the cause."

Well, in the end it was quite a convention. The demons went eagerly to their assignments, causing the Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there.

Has the devil been successful in his scheme? You be the judge.

Me again :-) - Is Satan keeping you from an intimate, abiding experience in Christ? Friends, spiritual warfare is for real!! You need to believe that. Distractions are designed to take our eyes off the Lord. Seriously, how may of you have gotten up a little late in the morning and thought, “Oh I will do my devotions a little later, yea … tonight before I go to bed would be good.” And for the most part we do not, distractions with tired, children, phone calls, word games, you name it keep us from getting to this put off devotions. We, as Christians, we must bring discipline to our thought life and our actions.  If we allow these areas to be compromised, we simply can not be effective in resisting the enemy, we will not be able to stand firm against him. Our strength, our wisdom,  our ability to make good judgement calls, are dependent upon our close walk with the Lord. I know I have said this before, but keep your eyes on the prize.  Remember, our time on earth is like a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes, but eternity, infinity and beyond, will be spent worshiping and praising our God in heaven. Amen? 

Have a super good day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all…

May 15 - Psalm 131 | Psalm 133 | Psalm 138-141 | Psalm 143

Good morning everyone,

This morning we continue our stroll through the psalms of David beginning wit a Psalm of ascent.  The Mosaic law required adult male Israelites to appear before the Lord three times a year. It is believed these psalms of ascent were sung by the men as they made their pilgrimage,  ascending the road to Jerusalem  to attend the three festivals. I love the picture in my mind’s eye of hundreds, perhaps thousands of bearded men shuffling down the dusty road in Israel, enjoying each others company, laughing and singing psalms along the way to worship the King. I kind of do the same, when I am driving to church I have my praise and worship music on and I sing along with that. Right? I bet you do too.

Psalm 139, I totally, totally love this psalm. It is so personal and speaks straight to my heart. It begins with, “You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise, you perceive my thoughts from afar.” How amazing is our God! According to populationinstitute.org there are more than 7,266,564,249 people on the face of the earth. Yikes! Now to be honest, I don’t even know how to say that number, but I do know it is a super,huge amount and out of all those people God knows me personally, and he knows you just as personally, so personal, in fact, that he perceives our every thought, he knows when we sit and He knows when we rise. Will you stop for a single moment to try and wrap your head around just how big that is. It is ginormous plus. Right?

If that is not astounding enough, move on down to verse 13, it says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” So, not only is God with us every single second of every single day of our lives, but God also personally, (yep, worth repeating) personally fashioned each and everyone of us. He knew us and loved us before we were even born, before we were even conceived, He knew what we were going to be. I am obliged to echo Paul’s words from Romans 8:31 where he said, “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?” Amen … right?! Then Paul goes in to say in verses 38-39, “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Friends, if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus, or even if you do but are not spending time getting to know Him, then you are really depriving yourself of some of THE most amazing moments of your life. You can not, I most certainly can not, ever begin to fathom just how big the Father’s love is for me, is for us. I can, though, attest to the fact that the closer I draw to God, the more I dig into His Word and really get to know Him, is the more He opens himself to me and I am allowed moments that can only be described as euphoric. Whispers of His almighty presence waft around me leaving me desperately longing for more. God is so amazing, He is so over the top amazing and He loves us. Oh, how He loves us. Oh how He loves! Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory,

God bless you all …

May 14 - Psalm 103 | Psalm 108-110 | Psalm 122 | Psalm 124

Good morning everyone,

This morning our reading begins with, Psalm 103:1. The (kjv) says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.” I love that verse! But, what I really want to know is, how many of you heard Matt Redman’s song, “10,000 Reasons?” and sang in your head the lyrics, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, O-o-o my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before, O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name.” I did, over and over, actually, but what does it mean to bless the Lord? Literally, according to a dictionary, to express or feel gratitude toward; thankful. In this Psalm, David is focusing on all the good God has done, all that He has provided for us with a list  of what we should not forget which includes, healing, redemption and forgiveness.

One of my favorite verses is 12, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Did you know that east and west never meet? Seriously, think about it, you can get on an airplane and fly east as long as you'd like but there will never be a time when you'll reach west. Likewise, you can fly west for all eternity, but there'll never be a time when you reach east. You can go east or west forever, but you'll never reach the other. CrAzY, right?!

However, if you travel north, you can only go so far until you're going south. And if you travel south, once you pass Antarctica you'll be headed up north again and so forth. 

Jesus has washed away our sins as far as the east is from the west. His hands were stretched out on the cross as if to say, “This is how much I love you. This big.” And … and, God didn't say He separated our sins, no, no. He said, he removed, that’s right, REMOVED our sins. Friends, they’re gone! Gone, gone, gone!!!  Just as if they had never happened. We are “justified” through the blood of Christ. Don’t ever let the enemy dredge up those sins, those poor choices from days gone by and whip you with them. He is miserable and misery loves company. Just remind that wicked so-n-so, God doesn’t remember them, they are totally removed from us to be remembered no more, then bless the Lord and sing praises to His holy name. He is very worthy of our praise. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …