Month: February 2023

“And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated…” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭15‬:‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬
“Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD…” 2 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭2‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Both of these verses are written about King Asa, but at two different times during his reign. At first, when he was humble and sought God, they experienced great victories over their enemies. God greatly blessed the kingdom because they sought Him and made Him first in their lives. But we wonder, what could have happened to make such a difference? Earlier he is putting INTO the house of God. But later, he is taking OUT of God’s house. In essence, King Asa had changed, from a man who once gave his best TO God, to a man who robs FROM God. The reality is, many years of prosperity and ease had passed. During that time, his entire attitude towards God had changed. Earlier, he had humbly sought God when the enemy came. But now, in his unbelief, he leans on the arm of flesh. Let us learn from Asa, and always guard our souls against anything that would hinder our devotion to God.

“the eyes of your understanding being enlightened…” Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬. There are times in life we experience some crisis and we refer to that as ‘an eye opening experience’. A doctor gives a bad diagnosis and our eyes are opened to realize how fragile our physical health is. A friend or loved one passes away and our eyes are opened to the reality of how fleeting this life is. But how much more important it is that our eyes are opened to the absolute priority of spiritual things! Most church people today seem to go through life as spiritually blind individuals. To them the things of God have very little priority in their lives. But we should all ask God to open the eyes of our understanding so that we can recognize, nothing in this world is so important as our relationship with God and the needs of souls! Nothing else compares to a life lived for God’s glory and helping others come to know Him. May God help us to open our eyes to see the eternal value of souls. Each soul is worth more than this whole world. A spiritually blind person may appear to be successful and obtain all that this world seeks for. But only someone whose eyes God has opened will seek first the kingdom of God and love souls as God calls us to. May God give each of us an eye opening experience spiritually.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”Psalms‬ ‭43:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Several times in these 2 Psalms, David asks this and other questions that reveal he was in a very low place emotionally. And we all know what it’s like to feel downhearted. We all have low places that we go through. But, in these times, do we ever pause to ask ourselves “Why? Why am I feeling so down? Why do the clouds seem to hang so low?” In asking this question honestly we can begin to encourage ourselves in God. Because, no matter what we give as our answer, we can always know that God is still God! He is still my God. He is still the same Unfailing God that I have placed my hope and trust in. We can begin to rejoice, that He has not changed! No matter what has happened to me, He is still the Almighty God Who lives in me. No matter who rejects me, He is still the God Who loves me and accepts me as His own. No matter what happens in the world around me, He is still the same Sovereign God Who promises to work all things for good to those who love Him. So in our discouraging days, let us lift our eyes of faith, to our Unchanging God and keep our hope in Him.

“And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.” 1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭7‬ ‭KJV‬‬. On this occasion Elijah the prophet was very discouraged. Just the day before the angel had prepared him nourishment and he rested. But now the angel says again, “Rise and eat, because the journey is too great for you”. This reminds us of our need of constant spiritual nourishment. Our Lord knows that the things that lay before us are far too difficult for us to overcome on a human level. We must prepare our souls daily by partaking of the Bread of Life, which is Jesus Christ. We must nourish our souls with the manna of God’s Word. And yet, as clear and as great as this need is, it is one of the most neglected areas of spiritual life in these days. The enemy of souls has deceived many believers into thinking that they are too busy to spend time in personal communion with God. They think their schedules are too full to spend time every day in God’s Word. But let us be very clear, the challenges that lay before us are far greater than we can face in our human strength. If we truly desire to go forward in spiritual victory and live our lives for God’s glory, then we must continue to nourish our souls with God’s Word and constant communion with Christ.

“…And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times.” 1 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭42‬-‭43‬ ‭KJV‬‬. As the prophet Elijah prayed for God to send the rain, he prayed in faith and with the expectation that God was going to answer. And each time that he rose from prayer, he sent his servant to look for a sign that rain was coming. But each time he hears the same words, “There is nothing”. But thank God, he held on in prayer until the answer came! He did not give up. Many times today when we begin to pray, we experience similar things. We pray and pray but it seems there is nothing to indicate that the answer is on the way. Most people will grow discouraged and soon give up. Some even use the excuse, that perhaps it is not God’s will. But let us have the faith like Elijah that continues persevering in prayer, even when we see nothing! Many times God uses these situations to test and strengthen our faith in Him. He wants a people who will believe Him and continue praying even when the things we look for do not appear. God is using these occasions to shape and mold us into the intercessors that He wants us to be and that our world so desperately needs. Keep praying and looking, the answer is on the way!

“The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind…” Psalm‬ ‭146‬:‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬. One of the desperately needed things in this generation is, for people’s eyes to be opened to the truth. Sin is what blinds their hearts and minds. Sin is by nature very deceitful. On almost every level of society, people are choosing to believe lies. Our enemy knows if he can get us to believe his lies, then he will take control of our lives. And yet, as much as we desire for people to open their eyes, we are confronted with the reality that we do not possess the ability to open their blinded eyes. We cannot open their eyes to see the truth of God’s love and what He has freely provided for us through Jesus Christ. We can’t open their eyes to see the error of their ways and where it is taking them. But let us not be discouraged by our inability, because we serve the God Who is still able to open blind eyes! Thank God, Jesus has the same power today as when He healed blind eyes physically. And part of our responsibility is, to cry out to Him to move in His divine power to open the eyes of the lost souls we are trying to reach. Let us pray that He will open the eyes of precious souls who are blinded by the lies of false religion. Let us earnestly seek God, because He alone is able and willing to open the eyes of the blind.

“Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:”Psalm‬ ‭146‬:‭5‬ ‭KJV. In this passage the psalmist is making a contrast with what was written in verses 3-4. We are reminded not to put our trust in man, because there is no real spiritual help to be found there. Man is very limited both in power and wisdom. But when we put our trust in God and depend on Him to be our help, then we begin to experience the real joy of being God’s child. And thank God, when our faith in God is genuine, then all our hope is in Him! This is what makes the soul of man truly happy. However, anytime we let our hopes be lifted up in people, we soon lose our joy. People will often disappoint us. People are finite and fallible. We must learn to place all of our hope in the One Who is infinite and infallible! So a part of our challenge is, to always keep hoping FOR people, but to keep our hopes always anchored IN the Lord! Many years ago, Edward Mote wrote these words which became part of the song, ‘The Solid Rock’: “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ Name”. Let us keep all our hope in Jesus and His joy will fill our hearts.

“The LORD preserveth all them that love Him…” Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭20‬ ‭KJV‬‬. Love is the foundation of true Christianity. The truth that God loves us and has proven it so abundantly in Jesus Christ, is what drew our hearts to Him. And now, having come to Him in a life changing, personal relationship, we love Him because He first loved us. And this is what God has always desired, a people who respond to His great love! He wants a people who will love Him with all of their heart, soul, mind and strength. And what a joy for us to realize, that God’s heart thrills in those who truly love Him. Those who love Him are the apple of His eye! And realizing this, the psalmist expresses this wonderful truth, that God is going to take care of those who love Him. He promises to preserve us, keep us and protect us from the evil one. He will watch over our souls as a Father watches over his little children. What comfort this brings to us, to know that the Almighty God Who created this universe, is the same One Who watches over us! Let us rejoice with the songwriter: “Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, And long for Heaven and home. When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He: His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me”.

“He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them.” Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭19‬ ‭KJV‬‬. This verse connects with the previous in that it gives a promise along with a qualifying condition. We all want God to hear our cry and save us when we are in need. We certainly want Him to fulfill our desires. But these blessings are only for those who have a proper fear and reverence for God. Too many today either disregard or fail to understand what it means to fear God. They misuse certain scriptures which refer to unhealthy fear, which we are not supposed to have. But to have the proper respect and reverence for God is one of the central teachings of the Christian faith. How can we have a right relationship with God if we do not honor Him for Who He is? How can we believe and trust Him if we do not reverence His greatness? We should be very clear, that God is infinitely high above us. His greatness exceeds all of our comprehension. Only as we recognize this can we come before him with the proper attitude of humility and take our place at His feet. And when we have the proper fear of God, it changes our desires. We no longer want the perishing things of this world. We no longer seek after the praise and applause of people. We let go of our selfish desires. We fear displeasing the One we love. Godly fear causes us to desire to please and honor Him above all others. That desire He will always fulfill.

“The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth.” Psalm‬ ‭145‬:‭18‬ ‭KJV‬‬. These words provide great comfort to all who will call upon God with an honest and sincere heart. Thank God, He is willing to hear our cry and be near to us in the way we need. But we should also recognize, this is not a promise to those who are dishonest and insincere with God. Too often in religion today, people have the mistaken idea that they can live as they please and yet still be able to pray and have God come to their rescue. But the psalmist uses this brief qualifying phrase to make clear who the promise is for. It is only for those who call upon God in truth. That means we must pray with absolute honesty and sincerity. It means we must be willing to obey the truth of God’s Word that we know. And it also means that we must pray acknowledging the truth of Who God is. Why would God hear our cry if we refuse to believe the revealed truth about Him? Part of that truth is, that God is a Holy God Who desires a holy people. For us to live with a desire less than this is proving that we cannot pray in truth. By God’s grace, let us always call upon Him in truth.