Tag Archives: God

A Lesson From Solomon: Pray!

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Solomon does some things in his prayer that convicted me this morning when I read it. (I Kings 8, 2 Chronicles ) His prayer began with telling God what he meant to him. God, there is no one like you. You keep your promises. Your love is unfailing.

Then Solomon lays down his specific requests. And while Solomon is asking, he’s still praising God. Solomon’s prayer ends in praise, too.

I have to confess I don’t have a good prayer life. Oh, I whisper short prayers throughout the day, thanking God for this, asking him for that. But I don’t often sit still and talk to my Heavenly Father. 

I want to pray like Solomon did. I want to remember to praise God every day for WHO he is and not just a quick, “thank you for today”. I want to lay my requests down at his feet with more than, “God bless so and so”. I want to learn to tell him how much he means to me with something other than a two word, “thank” and “you”.

So if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to enter the throne room and have a private conversation with my King. I hope you’ll do the same.

Get Rid of It?

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In I Samuel we read that the Philistines captured the Ark of the Lord and took it to their temple. They placed the Ark next to the statue of their god, Dagon. During the night, God pushed the idol over and the next day the people put the idol back where it was. That night, God did the same thing and in the morning the people found Dagon face down again. This was no coincidence.

When the Philistines began to break out in an epidemic of tumors, they had a choice to make. Faced with the reality that the God of Israel was real and powerful they said, “We can’t keep the Ark of the God of Israel here any longer. He’s against us! We will all be destroyed along with Dagon, our god.”

That’s just sad.

Here they were in the presence of God himself and their answer was, get Him out of here. They had to admit that their god was powerless, yet they decided to cling to that worthless carving.

Why didn’t they bow before the One True God and destroy the idol themselves? Why did they cling to it instead of turning to the Living God who was trying to get their attention? Why did they decide to get rid of the Ark?

Oh God, I see America 2014 in this story.

When the facts show that God has blessed America while we were a nation that honored him, and when those same facts reveal that he cannot bless us when we turn our backs on him, why don’t we bow before him and turn from our worthless idols of self, of science, of intellect, of power, things as worthless and meaningless as Dagon?

We’re doing the same thing the Philistines did. Get rid of God. Take him out of schools, Label Christians “haters”. Remove the 10 Commandments from our courtroom walls. Legislate laws that contradict God’s Word. Tolerate all faiths and differences. Pay homage to a god of love at the exclusion of his holiness. Don’t talk about Jesus. Deny the existence of God.

That’s not just sad. It’s serious.

Dear God, I pray you will raise up Christian men and women who will get involved in our political system and reclaim America as a nation under God. Forgive us for sitting back and allowing ungodly people slowly expel you from our country. May your children pray, speak out, stand up against Satan and his pawns. I pray for a mighty revival in the hearts of each of us who call the US home. Don’t go, God. Please don’t go.

November 8

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Mark 15:22-41; Matthew 27:33-56; Luke 23:33-49; John 19:17b-37

Jesus died. He willingly, lovingly, painfully died on the cross that day. So many prophesies were fulfilled during those precious hours. Nothing that happened was a surprise or contrary to what God had planned before creation. The Lamb of God paid for the sins of the world once and for all.

From the sixth hour to the ninth, the sun stopped shining. Did all of creation mourn as Jesus took upon himself one sin, then another, and another? Then something amazing happened (as if Jesus giving his life wasn’t amazing enough). The curtain in the temple ripped in two, exposing the Holy of Holies. The curtain that had kept the common people separate from the presence of God was destroyed. Jesus’ death granted us entrance into the throne room of God Almighty. And we can stand before our Holy God clothed in Jesus’ holiness. No more need of a priest. No more ceremony required. When Jesus died God became accessible to anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.

As I read these scriptures today I can’t help but say with the centurion, “Surely this man was the Son of God.”

Dear Jesus, Savior, Lamb of God. I have no doubt that you are who you said you are. You are the Son of God and you died for me that day. May all who read these Scriptures today realize what it cost you. And may that knowledge change us. Thank you for the privilege of going boldly to your throne room where once I was forbidden. Thank you that because you died, there is no more need of a curtain to keep me out. I am your child. I am forgiven and my sins are covered by your precious blood. Clothe me with your righteousness and may I be one who serves you well from a heart of thankfulness and love.

October 29

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Mark 12:18-40; Matthew 22:23-46, 23:1-36; Luke 20:27-47, 10:25-37

What word would your family and friends say describes you best? Would it be ‘religious’ or ‘giving’, ‘athletic’ or ‘musical’, ‘parent’ or ‘grandparent’? Would they name your occupation? ‘Teacher’, ‘accountant’, ‘preacher’, ‘mechanic’? I hope it wouldn’t be things like ‘mean’ or ‘selfish’ or ‘gossip’. But I wonder what they would say.

After reading this Scripture today I realize I want the word ‘love’ to describe me. First of all, love for God. I want the people closest to me to know without a doubt that I am totally, passionately in love with my Lord. I want that love to be evident in my face, in the words I speak, and the things I do. I want to talk about him, share him, and please him so that everyone knows I love God with my heart, my soul, and my mind.

Then I want my family and friends to know I love them unconditionally. That doesn’t mean I’ll always agree with them or even approve of some of their choices. But I want them to know I love them no matter what so that they will understand God loves them, too.

And I want people I meet in all walks of life, in all skin colors, in all beliefs to feel God’s love through me. I want to see them through Jesus’ eyes.

Jesus tells us the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your minds and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”

May it be true in me.

Father, I love you. But I want to love you more. I love my family and friends. I want to love them better. I see people for whom you died. May I love them because you do. I pray that your love will flow in and through me today. And may I love you with all my heart, my soul, my mind and my strength. You are worthy of all my love.

July 22

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Isaiah 61-65

Isaiah 64:4 says “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” Over and over God has shown himself to be the one true God. There just is no other.

And the amazing thing about God is that, not only is he bigger than life, mighty, holy, and righteous, he is also personal.

God wants to live right here in our hearts. He wants us to recognize his still small voice. He wants to have fellowship with each of us.

The Bible tells me God is working in my life to bring me closer to him. He’s working in your life, too. He wants to speak to us both through the pages of his Word. He wants us to wait on him, meditate on his Word, pray. He wants us to know when he nudges us toward action and he wants us to obey.

And when we wait on him, when we obey, he promises to act on our behalf. That doesn’t mean we’ll always get what we want. But it does mean we’ll get what he wants for us.

Even better!

 

July 1

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Hosea 5:8-7:16, 8:1-9:17; 2 Kings 16:10-18, 15:30-31; 2 Chronicles 28: 22-25

The title my Bible gives Hosea 6 is “God Wants Israel’s Love”. If you read it from God’s broken heart you can hear the agony, the longing for his people to come back to him. If you read it as though it was talking about the spiritual kingdom in 2013, the church,  you will also read God’s desire that we love him, too. And it brings him no pleasure when we reap the consequences of our rejection of him.

“Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.”

“For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.”

“…they don not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them: they are always before me.”

“Foreigners sap his strength, but he does not realize it.”

“(the church) is like a dove, easily deceived and senseless.”

“I long to redeem them but they speak lies against me.”

Do you love God? Do you have that deep down, honest, passionate love for him? Do you talk to him every day? Do you listen to what he wants to say to you through the pages of his written word?

That’s really all he wants. He wants us to love him.

Dearest Father, we often speak about your love for us, that unending, unconditional love that we don’t deserve. But today I want to love you. Just love you. May everything I do and say reflect how much you mean to me. May I love you without expecting anything in return except the privilege of loving you.

May 8

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2 Samuel 24:1-25, 15:7-36; I Chronicles 21:1-30

Not sure why counting the troops was such a big deal. Maybe it wasn’t the census that was a sin, but doing it without going to God first was.

Once again I am reminded that if God isn’t in it, even the simplest, most innocent act can be sin. I wonder how many examples of this lesson are recorded in the Bible. Dozens, I expect. And always those who are obedient to God are blessed, those who go in on their own suffer consequences.

This year as I read God’s Word I am struck at the importance of this theme. Yes, God is loving and forgiving, gracious and kind. But he is none of that at the exclusion of his holiness and his demand to be obeyed.

If we worship a god of love, a tolerant god who accepts multiple avenues to him, we worship a worthless idol. That is not the God of the Bible, who is loving AND holy, who is forgiving AND a righteous judge, who cannot tolerate sin AND who gave his life so that we can stand before him faultless when we accept him as our Savior.

My prayer is that we will go to God on his terms, that we will obey him in every detail of life. And that we will share him with others, knowing there just is no other way.

April 10

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Judges 6:23-31, I Samuel 2:22-5:12

Every once in a while God allows us to see that he has a sense of humor. I think the story of the Philistine god Dagon is funny.

I always loved playing with my sisters’ children and now am enjoying my great-nieces and nephews. How many block towers have I built, then pretended to look away so the little ones can knock them down and I act surprised by it? That’s the picture I have here. God, when everyone is asleep, nudges Dagon with his index finger and the idol tumbles down. The people are surprised by it and put Dagon back up again. But God’s not done with this game. The next night, down Dagon goes!

I know God wanted the Philistines to recognize that the God of Israel is the God of the entire world. We read they didn’t and things got worse for them. Had they accepted the truth of their fallen god and the power of God, we would be reading a different story.

I am reminded that, as the creator, God invented fun. It’s not wrong to laugh or find humor in the day-to-day. I challenge us all today to try and find an example of God’s holy humor. And remember, he wants us to enjoy our journey as we walk with him.

Father, I thank you for laughter. Help us to recognize that you created everything about us, including a sense of humor. But may we honor you in our fun, always remembering that you are holy. 

February 13

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Exodus 33:7-36:7

God describes Himself in this passage. As He passed in front of Moses He said:

The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sins of the father to the third and fourth generation. (34:5-7)

God wants us to know him. He’s not some big mystery in the sky. He’s real. And he is the same today as he was the day he walked so close to Moses he could put his hand over Moses’ eyes.

So what is it he wants us to know about himself? He wants us to know he is loving, faithful, compassionate and forgiving. But let’s not stop there. He also wants us to know, as loving and compassionate as he is, he cannot let sin go unpunished. God will never ignore sin or overlook disobedience. And the wages of sin is death.

However, that same Holy judge who demands holiness of us, lovingly offers cleansing from every sin we’ve ever committed. He is faithful to forgive us when we repent. The forgiveness is there for the asking because he is who he said he is.

God, I thank you that you want us to know you. Thank you for revealing yourself to Moses and to us. You are compassionate and gracious, loving and faithful. You are holy. And I thank you that you have provided everything we need for the forgiveness of our sins. Continue to reveal yourself to us as we walk with you today.