How to prevail against the enemy.........

2nd Chron 13;18 Thus the children of Israel were subdued at that time; and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.

You notice several things from this verse..........

#1. The enemy was subdued.

#2. The children of Judah prevailed.

#3. Because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.

There is alot to be said for how the children of Judah acted under the leadership of King Abijah.

You may want to read through the chapter, and see what is said there, but to just focus on this thought for a moment, and that is, that they prevailed against their enemy, and it's because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers.

This is what Jesus did also. He prevailed against the enemy, and it's what God wants for you, and for all of His people, that is, to prevail. It means to be victorious. The Bible tells us that we are more then conquerors through Him who loved us .....Rom 8.

But, what is the simple secret that led them to prevail, and how is it that the Lord leads us to be victorious and to prevail? It's right there in the verse, at the end, "because they relied on the LORD God of their fathers"

That means, that they trusted God........In fact, the word, LORD, means, "the existing one". Or the self existing one. He has existed long before our enemy. He is above our enemy. He has defeated our enemy, by rising from the dead.

And, when you rely upon God, when you trust in God, you will find that you will prevail also. Here's an encouraging verse of scripture...

Isa 50:10 “Who among you fears the LORD? Who obeys the voice of His Servant? Who walks in darkness And has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD And rely upon his God.

Lord, I'm praying for myself, and for anyone who is reading this blog at this moment.........Lord, we fear You......Lord, we seek to obey You. We walk in darkness and often have no light. This question, and this description fit us Lord. But, we trust You today. We put our trust in You right now. We rely upon You Lord. We love you, in Jesus name.........

The way to blessing, or happiness

Ps 1:1 ¶ Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

Blessing in Ps1:1, also translated "happiness" is found interestingly enough by what we avoid in our lives, and by what we give ourselves to day by day. So, here is what the Lord says to us...........

#1 You will be blessed if you do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Or the advice of those     who act wickedly.

#2. You will be blessed if you do not stand in the path of sinners. This means to "take one's stand with sinners". Sinners, are defined in the Bible who are missing the way. That is, they are not walking in the way, who is Jesus Christ.

#3. You will be blessed if you do not sit in the seat of the scornful. Scornful means to talk arrogantly, to boast, to mock and to deride or to ridicule.

Then, we are told that blessing comes by what we delight in, and what we meditate upon. That is, the law of the Lord, or the Word of God, or the Lord Jesus Christ.

To delight is to take pleasure in, it means longing, and desire. And, to meditate, means to muse, or to speak to oneself, to consider to ponder, to think about.

Putting those two things together then, mean that if long for, desire the Word of God, and then take the Word of God and speak to ourselves about it, we will find ourselves being blessed, or happy.

The Lord wants to bring blessing into our lives, and He lays it out for us right here. Stay away from certain things, and then give yourself over to Him. To His Word etc. etc.

Let's pray. Father, many things in life are easier said then done. This would be one of them. The pull of sin is not only from within, but it's from without also . However Lord, we know that You are above all things, and that Your power is greater then our flesh, this world and the devil. We pray now for ourselves as we read these things, that You would help us to long for You, and to ponder the wonder of Jesus Christ, the truth of Your Word. Help us Lord to fill our minds with the Word, and then give our time and attention, our innermost thoughts and such to You.

We love You Lord. In Jesus name. Amen.....

    

Faith extinguishes the enemies darts.

Eph 6:16* above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

God has provided us with everything we need to stand against the attack of the enemy. It's believed that the shield of the Roman soldiers, was not a simple round like shield, but more like a door, tall and wide, covering the entire body. Soldiers would actually stand next to one another, touching their shields with other shields, and thereby form a massive wall of defense against their enemies fiery arrows.

Your faith, is a shield from God, that does actually quench or extinguish satan's darts. You have faith, and Your faith can be exercised by trusting God, believing His Word, acting upon His Word and so on.

As you do, the damage that could be done to you, is stopped. Faith in Jesus Christ is indeed a blessing.

May God help You today to simply trust Him. God bless you.

God hears prayer, and forgives sin........

When Solomon prayed at the dedication of the temple, ( see 2nd Chron 6 ) he not only knew that God kept His promises, but he knew something else.........He knew that God hears prayer, and that God forgives sin.

How did he know these two things?

We are not told for sure, but I'm thinking he learned it from his father David. You see David had sinned, and David had prayed and asked for forgiveness, ( see Ps 32, and Ps 51 )

Solomon was the son of the woman named Bathsheba. She was the one David had sinned with.

When you read the book of Proverbs, ( most of the 31 chapters were written by Solomon ) he talks about what his father and mother had taught him.

So, two very important and wonderful truths about God. He hears our prayers and will forgive our sins.

Can I pray with you and for you right now. Father.........Thank You for hearing our prayers. Thank You for being a forgiver of our sins. Please hear any right now who are calling out to You, and forgive them their sins as they come to You Lord. In Jesus name, amen.

God keeps His promises........

2nd Chron 6:15 “You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth and fulfilled it with Your hand, as it is this day.

Solomon was praying here, and expressing to God, that He had kept or accomplished what He had promised His servant David, who was Solomon's father. He went on to say that God not only had spoken about what He would do, ( to build the temple ) but, by His own hand had fulfilled it.

In the Bible, the word promise means to make a a claim. God has made so many claims in the Bible, and He has fulfilled everyone of them, and will fulfill those that are to come.

Can I encourage you today, ( especially if you are suffering, going through a very difficult time, and are afraid of the future, and are worried etc, ) to ask God to bring His promises, or one of His promises to your mind and heart. And, then, can I encourage you to believe His promise. Why? Because God keeps His promises.

May I pray for you right now.......Father, thank You for Your love, Your grace, and Your mercy towards us. And I ask right now in Jesus name, that You might help any dear brother or sister who is in great difficulty at this moment to find comfort and strength in and through Your Word, and Your promises. ............We love You Lord........

Let God help your heart.......

This was the attitude and prayer of David as he prayed before the people of Israel. David was a man who knew full well the need for God's grace and power in his own life. And, as king, he was in this prayer expressing some key thoughts about what the Lord can do in our hearts.
See 1st Chron 29:18

First of all, David looked to God.
Secondly, David knew of God's track record with His people.
Thirdly, David asked God to "fix" the hearts of His people in their devotion to Him.

So, we can also look to God. That is, to exercise our faith in God. Faith is like breathing, it's something we do day by day, throughout the day, and not just on Sundays or Wed's etc.
No, Faith is that active trust and dependence upon God.

The God we trust in, has demonstrated His faithfulness to His people. Going way back to Abraham, to Isaac, to the nation of Israel, and all the way up till this very day. God can be trusted.

In looking to God, we can ask Him to "fix", or establish our hearts towards Him. In other words, we can ask Him to help us to simply keep looking to Him. God is able to work in our hearts, and will work in our hearts as we humble ourselves before Him.

Let's pray right now. Father, as we lift up our hearts to You today, we do so because You are worthy, and because we trust You, and because we need You. Will You Fix our hearts towards You Lord. We pray that You will. We love you in Jesus name. Amen...

1Ch 29:18 “O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You.

Encouraging Words to face the day......From 1st Chron 28:20

We all have something to do from the Lord, we call it His will in our lives. Solomon had a temple to build for God. His father David said several things to him that were very encouraging. I hope they encourage you as you move into your day, and into the will of God for your life.

1. Be strong.
2. And of good courage.
3. And do it.
4. Do not fear.
5. Nor be dismayed.

Then David went on to give the basis for what he had said to Solomon. And it included several things as well.

1. For the LORD-my God-will be with you.
2. He will not leave you.
3. Nor forsake you.
4. Until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

1st Chron 28:20

And David said to his son Solomon, “Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the LORD God--my God--will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the LORD.

It's my prayer for you today, and for myself that we might find encouragement and strength, direction and joy as we take God's precious word to heart, and move into this day that He has made. In Jesus name. Pastor Bob

3 things Jesus said to those who want to serve

Position in the kingdom, is not His to give. Those positions are given to us by the Father. It's not our choice, it's His choice. So, it's no use to push our way to try and manipulate our way into something, but rather understand that our heavenly Father has a will in what we do, and it's His call to place us where He wants us to be.

Suffering goes hand in hand with the call of God to service. Jesus is the classic all time example of one who drank the cup of suffering when He died on the cross. We generally don't understand, that those positions the Lord puts us in, will also be positions that include a cup of suffering. Like Jesus, we can say, "not my will by your's be done" and drink the cup.

Service not lording over others is the call of God to those He places in positions of ministry. Ministry means service. And service is not bossing other people around, but rather serving others. If anyone was in a position to boss others around, it would have been the Lord Jesus. But, He did not do that, rather He humbled Himself and became a servant, and died on the cross that he might save us from our sins.

Lord, put me where You want me..........Give me grace to drink the cup You hand me..........and, thank You for the example of service in Jesus. May we follow His example. In Jesus name.

Good morning. Jesus

Good morning. Jesus tells us that there are two paths in front of us today. One is wide and leads to destruction, the other is narrow and leads to life. He is the way the truth and the life, and no man comes to the father but by Him. He beckons all men to follow Him into life and salvation. I thank God for any and all who have already responded to His call, and am reminded that He is with us personally, and calls us into that simple walk today, "Follow Me" Lord, That is Your Word, and our heart is to follow You. We love You.

Forgiveness and grace and mercy

How interesting that in two instances in the Bible, God chose to not even mention the sin He had forgiven.

Take for example King David.......In 2nd Sam 11, David himself went into great detail about his sin of adultery and murder. ( It's believed that David wrote 2nd Sam ) But, then later in 1st Chron 20, Ezra when talking about the same period of time as 2nd Sam 11, chose not to even mention the sin(s)

And, then, over in the NT, it says, 2Pe 2:7* and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked

In the above verse, the Lord refers to him as "righteous" Lot. Yet we know that he had his share of problems and sins.

Does God just overlook sin? No, not at all. What God does do, is to forgive sin. He paid for our sins when He sent Jesus to the cross. And thus, for any person who has received Christ, their sins have been forgiven.

In our dealings with others, the Lord would have us to be just like Him when it comes to someones sin. Let's walk in forgiveness, grace and mercy.

Remember, 2Pe 2:7* and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked

Longsuffering......

It means to suffer long with someone or with a situation. What a blessing to know that when we are facing difficulties, or dealing with people who are difficult, that we can have from the Lord what is called longsuffering.

In the book of Ps's, David declared concering God ......Ps 86:15 But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. The word actually, means slow, longwinded, patient. and slow to anger. In other words, being slow to anger and patient is part of God's very nature.

In Galatians, when Paul is talking about the fruit of the Spirit, he says, Ga 5:22* But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

As God's children, we have His nature within us, and the bearing of fruit, which is what He is, is what Jesus said the Lord has called us to do. Be fruitful, bear fruit and so on.

One other very encouraging thing, and I think we forget this so easily, and that is, that we can pray for the Holy Spirit to give us this longsuffering. Paul the apostle did this very thing when he prayed for the Christians in Colosse.

Col 1:11* strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

So, whether is a person, or a situation and circumstance that is a challenge and difficulty for you, God says that He will help you be patient in it, and that He wants to give this longsuffering to you, and to help you. Can I pray for you right now....

Father, I dont's know who may be reading this, but You do. I don't know the exact circumstance in this person's life, but You do. And, I'm simply asking in the name of Jesus for that wonderful and helpful grace of "longsuffering" to be in their lives, to help them in their time of need. And, as a p.s, Lord, I am asking it for myself as well.

Thank You Father, in Jesus name.

Knowing the will of God....

This weekend, we are going to look at a passage in the Bible that demonstrates a number of simple, but clear principles when it comes to knowing about and doing the will of God. ( See 1st Chronicles 17 )

I've listed them here below.

These thoughts are seen in David's life when he wanted to build a house for the ark of the Lord.

He went to Nathan the prophet, and shared what was on his heart, and Nathan encouraged him to move forward in it. Later that night, the Lord came to Nathan and said, "go tell my servant David, you shall not build Me a house to dwell in". The Lord went on to explain to David, that He was going to do something for David. David then willingly and happily submitted to God's Will.

You could say it this way............

1. What do you want to do for God?

2. Seek Godly counsel.

3. Expect God to speak to you about it.

4. Remember, the Lord wants to bless you.

5. Do what God shows you to do.

Do you want to do something for the Lord? Is there something on your heart, something You think God may have put on your heart to do? If so, you might want to talk to another Christian, and share your heart with them, pray with them, and see what they might say to you.

It's encouraging to me to see that God was faithful to speak to David and redirect him if you will. Everything was rolling along, and then God spoke to Nathan and said, "No".....I don't want you to do what you want to do.

Then, God said, rather then you doing something for me, I'm going to do something for you.

David, was overwhelmed with God's goodness and grace, and happily went along with what God wanted to do.

Father, for each of us who know You, no doubt there are things in our heart that we want to do for you, and we bring those things to You right now. We bring our hearts to You in this prayer, and ask for Your direction.

Would you please open doors, close doors, so that we know where not to go, and where to go.

We love You Father, in the name of Your Son Jesus......

The day after, i.e leftovers

Good morning. On any given day, like yesterday, we can hear the Word of God, and He speaks to us so clearly, and so meaningfully.

And, the next day, like a Monday morning, we can continue to be built up, encouraged, directed, comforted, exhorted, etc, etc, by simply thinking about, or meditating, ( meditation in the Biblical sense, is not like meditation in the world, where, it means to empty your mind, but rather to fill your mind, and to consider to ruminate, etc, ) on what the Lord said to you the day before.

So, today, I've been meditating, on the four or so aspects of the prayer of Jabez, and am finding that like eating leftover the day after, God's Word is eternally alive and fresh, and such a blessing.

May God bless you today as you consider what He may have said to you yesterday. In Jesus name. Pastor Bob

That I may not cause pain!

I was very touched by this part of Jabez's prayer. That I may not cause pain!....Just abit earlier, Jabez had asked the Lord to keep him from evil. And, this part of his prayer, ( that I may not cause pain! ) seems to be connected. That is, it's ultimately evil, that would lead us to cause pain in another person's life, and Jabez understood this.

I think most people don't really want to cause pain in the lives of other people. But, most people, like me or you may wind up doing that very thing. Paul talked about this problem in Rom 7. He was describing the internal spiritual battle the christian faces, when the very things they don't want to do, they wind up doing. And the things they want to do, they may wind up not doing. Causing pain I think would fall right in there.

But, having said that, isn't this a great prayer? And, don't you think the Lord will honor this request in the life of His children?

Human beings cause one another alot of pain. Jesus is the only one who came into this world, and did not cause any pain to others. He actually dealt with the very thing that is the cause of all pain, and that of course is our sin.

He died on the cross for our sins.....what pain He suffered there in our place.

Can I pray for you right now, along with myself? Lord, You know all the pain that any of us has caused to other people, and You know that in our right minds we would never wish to do that to anyone. Thank You Lord for forgiveness, and thank You for Your grace, and the power of Your Spirit that help us to walk in love, and to do just the opposite of causing pain.

Father, You honored Jabez's prayer, You granted His request, and that's our reguest also. In Jesus name. Amen.......

10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Praying for and loving one another

It's so exciting today, because the Lord has been leading our staff to do the very things that He tells us to do in His Word.......and that is to pray, and to pray for one another.

Speaking for our Pastoral Staff, can I tell you that we are thrilled, stoked, amped, etc, etc, to be available anytime to pray for you, but specifically, to be available to PRAY FOR YOU AT THE END OF EACH AND EVERY SERVICE.

Last nite, instead of my going out into the lobby, or foyer to greet folks, I joined our Pastoral Staff at the front of our platform to pray for anyone who wanted prayer.

While all this may sound very simple and not very abnormal, it is different and more important and fruitful when you realize that the Holy Spirit is putting this on your heart.

I thank God for our staff, and the relationship we have with one another to share our hearts and the things that are on our hearts. What a blessing to receive ministry from and through one another.

So, last nite, there were many who came forward for prayer. What a blessing to get connected with those you pray with, and to know that most importantly, God is not only developing relationships through His love right then and there, but He is listening to our prayers, and promises to not only hear, to answer to guide to lead, etc, etc.

So, Lord, thank You for what You are doing.

P.S ......We have over 100 men coming to our Men's Ministry Dinner tomorrow evening. Thanks for that also Lord. Would You please knit our hearts together, and build us up in Jesus Christ. We love You Father.

To be continued...

More coming soon.....