Be careful not to forget the covenant of the Lord your God that he made with you: do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. –Deuteronomy 4:23-24
Noted in ”Blessings For Following His Way”, there was a definite correlation between the kings that followed God’s Way and those who did not. Those who worshiped the ONE true God and did right in His eyes were blessed with stability and peace. Those who did not had a nation filled with conspiracies, wars, and assassinations.
Like in this photo, don’t follow atoms … they make up everything. Follow God who is the Truth. This day with God, let us worship the ONE true God who promises to bless those who follow His Way. The blessings consist of a future with purpose, peace, and a perfect place that is beyond what could be imagined.
Reading today in 2 Kings 15, there is a definite correlation between leaders that did right in the eyes of God and those who did not. The kings that did right in the eyes of God benefited like the kings of Judah written about in today’s passage. Azariah was he king of Judah for fifty-two years. On the other hand, the kings of Israel did what was evil and their reigns were filled with mayhem, assassinations, and conspiracy.
The freedom of Israel was lost when her leaders turned from God. It’s the same in life today! If a person or nation turns away from God, they lose their freedom. The ideas for abundant living are not carried out because there is no incentive. Success is provided for a few rather than naturally occurring for the masses.
By applying the basic fundamentals of God’s principles, an individual or nation has more opportunities to prosper. What changes can be made to do more right in the eyes of the Lord? Some things that come to mind are to accept God’s grace. To pray for steps to take in the future, and to apply our faith.
Jesus made God’s grace available, so we are guided to loving relationships, nurturing families, and flourishing careers. There are many voices to listen to but trusting in the Holy Spirit for direction will lead us to places never imaging before.
This day with You God, we are focused on You who we obey. We pray that we follow Your Way and that our hearts do not go astray. You are the True God and the ONE who we worship today. Thank You for grace and the opportunity to come to You. There are many voices we could listen to but by accepting Your Son, there is grace and we are guided by the Holy Spirit. There are blessings now and into eternity for following Your Way and we are grateful. Amen.
A thought received from the study of John 5:30-47 is the need to remove what covers my vision and have an open heart that lets into my mind and soul the things of God. This day with God, search the Scriptures with diligence and pay attention to this best Way of living as explained by Jesus who worked with a passion to build something that will last forever.
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I will praise Him. – Psalm 28:7
Noted in “Strengths and Weaknesses” is that a person or nation may be strong and prosperous, but at the same time there may be weakness with moral decay that eventually destroys in the long run.
There needs to be a balance between our spiritual lives, our career, and family. The Good News is that the Lord is faithful in spite of our downfalls. The best resource for quickly moving into action and having a balanced life is the Word of God.
The Word is where we find the Way, the Truth, the Life, and can best organize around each other’s strengths to glorify the Lord. Let us praise the Lord with the song Housefires – The Way (New Horizon) (feat. Pat Barrett) and be mindful that in every challenge, God is our fortress
We all have strengths and weaknesses. It’s the simple things that make a big difference and like the simple tool called the shovel, we may think our individual God given strength is not that important but when combined with many other people using their strength, it becomes huge.
Today, we dig for more treasure from God’s Word. Reading in 2 Kings 14, Amaziah was king of Judah and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but the high places were not removed. He gained victory over Edom, but pride made him challenge Israel to a war in which he was defeated. Pride is considered a good virtue in some cases but can be detrimental when someone gets overconfident, arrogant, or lacks balance in their life.
Another king named Jeroboam became king in Samaria. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but he did restore the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea (v. 25). He had moral weakness but militarily he was a strong king that helped save the people of Israel with his achievements, including recovering both Damascus and Hamath from Judah (v. 28). The expansion of territory allowed the people of Israel to prosper like in the days of Solomon.
It’s the same in life. There may be times of prosperity, but at the same time moral decay that eventually destroys in the long run. There needs to be a balance between our spiritual lives, our career, and family. God is faithful in spite of our downfalls. The best resource for quickly moving into action and having a balanced life is the Word of God. That’s where we find God’s Way and best organize our life around each other’s strengths to glorify God.
This day with You Lord, we are connected to Your power source because of Jesus. We are not hooked in to things that lead to destruction but to Your Way that leads to life. You give us hope in a world that seems hopeless and supernaturally, You work through each of us because the Spirit inside empowers us to use our skills and talents for Your glory. There is no more fatigue, discouragement, failure, or weakness. There is only strength because we pull together in the name of Jesus. Amen.
