2 Chronicles 6:18

But will God indeed live on earth with man?  Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.

Solomon prayed this in his prayer of dedication for the temple he built for God. While this temple is still considered to be the most splendorous of all temples on earth, Solomon knew that it could not contain the entire glory of God. Our minds simply just cannot imagine the greatness of our God.

Perhaps, Solomon knew that his temple was made of earthy things that could ruin, as his temple eventually did when Babylon invaded it. God’s glory and majesty are eternal, and no earthly temple can properly display His greatness. According to Solomon’s wisdom, not even heaven can contain our God. Why on earth would we want to settle for worshiping another god? The God of all creation loves us, sent His only Son to die for us so we might have relationship with Him, and wants the very best for us. If we belong to Him, He is currently working all things together for our good. If He is as great as Solomon describes Him to be, why do we not expect more of Him?

How great is your God today? Have faith to believe He is greater than any negative situation you face. If the highest heaven cannot contain Him, your little situation certainly can’t restrict Him! 

Concentrate on His greatness, even though your mind cannot fully comprehend it. Worship Him today for the glory and the majesty to which only He ascribes. You belong to Him, and He loves you more than you can possibly imagine. Begin to see your problems dissipate as you behold His greatness!

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 49:2

He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand. He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.

In this verse Isaiah is explaining to Israel his mission from God as a prophet. He recognized that God hid him for a special purpose, and he was very valuable in God’s hand as a sharpened arrow to attack the enemy. God hid him as a weapon.

Isaiah’s own words about himself seem somewhat different as we read verse 4:

“But I myself said:  I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and futility; yet my vindication is with the LORD, and my reward is with my God.”

 While God was hiding Isaiah in His hand, Isaiah felt like a failure, accomplishing nothing. 

Understand that before God releases you to act upon the purpose for which He created you, He may very well keep you in hiding until your appointed time. Like Isaiah, you must remember that your reward is with God. Any success you receive will come from His hand.  Isaiah was an arrow, made to be sharp. God would be the one to send the arrow where it should go. The arrow itself does not hit the target; the one who shoots it does. God has fashioned you for some specific purpose, and He will place you exactly where you need to be to accomplish it. 

Today, if you feel like a failure, realize that you are a well-hidden vessel in God’s hand. Allow Him to sharpen you and fashion you for His glory. He is working everything out according to His timetable, and He has not forgotten you. He has hidden you in His quiver so the enemy will not steal you. At just the right time, He will hit His target with you. A tool in God’s hand is of great value. You may be surprised at just how He will use you when your time has fully come.

Have a blessed day!

Luke 15:7

I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.

All of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents. Turning to God brings joy in heaven because one more person is destined for its gates. To be repentant, one must first admit wrongdoing and a need for forgiveness. At this point, spiritual growth begins.

Notice that heaven does not rejoice over the righteous people who don’t need repentance.  According to Romans 3:23, however, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That means there are none who are righteous and not in need of repentance. Heaven doesn’t rejoice until we come to our senses and realize that we are in need of the grace of God.  Realizing our need for grace stirs the heavens and brings spiritual movement and power into our lives.

We cannot be saved by our own merit. Grace is required, and the heavens rejoice when we turn to grace. We can achieve nothing without grace.  Neither can we overcome anything without grace. Heaven rejoices every time we surrender our own efforts and rely upon God. 

If you are struggling in an area today, realize your need for repentance and grace. Turn it over to God, and know that heaven rejoices over you. Don’t think you can do it all by yourself. Call out to God, and let Him save you from your struggle. 

Have a blessed day!

Joshua 5:13-15

When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand. Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?” “Neither, “He replied. “I have now come as commander of the LORD’s army.” Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship and asked Him, “What does my Lord want to say to His servant?” The commander of the LORD’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

Joshua was on the brink of entering the land God promised to His people when a commanding and threatening presence stood before him. Thinking he was in charge, Joshua immediately confronted the man to find out if he were with him or against him in the battle.  What he learned must have shocked him.

The Commander of the LORD’s army had come to take charge and lead the men into battle.  Joshua bowed in submission. Most scholars believe this Commander was either an Angel of the Lord or Jesus Himself.  Either way, Joshua must submit to His leadership in taking possession of God’s promised land.

When we are on the verge of entering our own promised lands, God takes over. Our promised land is His purpose, and He must lead us through. He insures the victory, but we gain it by following Him. 

When Joshua asked the Commander what He would have His servant do, the Commander told him to remove his sandals because the place where he stood was holy ground. As was the case in the burning bush experience with Moses, God was about to move in mighty ways, and the place where these men stood had great purpose. This ground was holy – set apart.  God was about to grant a tremendous victory that would change the course of history for His people, but they would have to submit to His leadership. He was in charge at this point.

How badly do you want your promised land? Realize that it is holy ground, and God must be in charge for you to enter it. Submit fully to His leadership today, knowing that the victory is already yours! He is neither for you nor against you in your efforts to take the land by your own means. He has come to take over the battle! Trust His strategy, and submit to His authority. Let Him lead you to victory over your enemy and into full possession of all He has for you. It is a beautiful land, flowing with milk and honey, and you don’t want to miss it!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

These are certainly shaky times. We live in a world filled with violence, hatred toward Christianity, economic woes, and uncertainty. Indeed, whatever can be shaken will, according to Hebrews 12:27. It is not God’s intention, however, to cause anxiety in His people. On the contrary, He provides us with peace. For this reason we are to cast every burden upon Him, knowing that He will support us. If we are in Christ, we have His righteousness. God will never allow those with the righteousness of Christ to be shaken loose from their firm foundation in Christ.

That does not mean that we will not encounter shaky times. God will shake out everything in us that is not of Him so that only the righteousness of Christ remains. By casting every burden on Him, we take the matter out of our own hands and put the result in God’s. We take away the temptation to ease discomfort through sin. 

If you feel the world around you shaking today, cast your burden upon the LORD. He is the only real support we have in these times. The good thing is that He promises to support us through the shaking! He is not trying to destroy you or punish you. Anything He allows into your life is for the purpose of drawing you closer to Him. Cast your care upon Him, and find rest in His arms. You really can’t control what happens, anyway. Why not trust the One who has the whole world in His hands and can speak to any wind or wave in your life to calm the storm? 

Have a blessed day!

 Proverbs 4:23

Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.

Be careful what you love. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also, according to Matthew 6:21. The word “guard” here is rendered “keep” in the KJV.  It means to protect, maintain, or obey. We are to protect our hearts from the dangers of this world because from our hearts flow the wellspring of life. We will live according to what is in our hearts.

If our hearts are full of deceit, we will live a lie. If our hearts are full of pride, we will be arrogant. If our hearts are lustful, we will follow the lusts of the flesh. If our hearts desire integrity, we will live honest and trustworthy lives. Whatever is in your heart will manifest itself in your behavior. 

What is in your heart today? Guard it from the works of the flesh. Don’t let evil corrupt your heart because it will eventually flow into your behavior. 

Be careful who you choose as your friends. It is wise to guard yourself from those you know wish to cause you harm or from those who could easily lead you down a wrong path. You can still love people and be guarded against negative behavior. This is why we must learn to set boundaries and not let anyone cross our lines of integrity or personal influence. Setting boundaries is healthy for all parties involved and can even strengthen relationships when both parties respect the other’s right to guard their own hearts. If someone truly respects you, they will respect the boundaries you set. Anyone who does not respect you will seek to cross those boundaries or become mad because you set them. You have every right to guard your heart or your personal life from anything that invades you or seeks to cause you harm. 

Guard your heart from the works of the flesh. Learn to set boundaries and develop healthy relationships. A happy heart will produce a happy life. 

Have a blessed day! 

2 Corinthians 7:1

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God granted to the churches of Macedonia:  during a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity.”

Paul presented a picture of grace regarding the believers in the churches of Macedonia. This grace was given through a season of severe testing by affliction. It reminds me of the words to a popular song, “What if our blessings come through rain drops?” God did not grant relief or deliverance through this season of severe testing. He granted grace.

Two things flowed into the wealth of their generosity – an abundance of joy and their deep poverty. While they may have been very poor, they gave generously from their resources, and they gave it cheerfully. They were rich in generosity. 

A generous person is not a greedy person. A generous person finds happiness in giving to others and by meeting needs. The generous person considers what another person needs and places those needs as a priority above her own. God granted these believers the grace to be generous in the midst of their own afflictions. 

So, what does a generous person give in the midst of deep poverty? You can’t give what you don’t have. The answer is found in verse 3:

…Instead, they gave themselves especially to the Lord, then to us by God’s will.

The believers in Macedonia committed themselves to God’s plan and purpose for them and poured themselves into the lives of others. Paul told the Corinthians in verse 7 to excel in this same grace. By dying to ourselves and denying our own needs, we become a conduit of blessing to others. Through grace, God uses us to minister to others. He preaches through our actions, and others see God’s grace and His power in action. 

God is not as concerned about your money as He is your mission. Generously give Him your life today. Stop worrying about the needs in your life that seem unmet. Give yourself to His service, and meet someone else’s need. Be rich in generosity. To live is Christ. Anything else is living a “less than” life. 

Have a blessed day!

Matthew 13:29-30

“No,” he said. “When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them.  Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.”

Matthew 13 tells the story of a man who planted good seed in his field, but an enemy came at night and sowed weeds in the field to choke out the harvest. Instead of removing the weeds when they began to sprout, the man decided to wait until harvest to remove them.  The kingdom of God can be compared to this.

When weeds begin to sprout, they may closely resemble wheat. Even though an experienced eye could recognize the difference, the man did not want to take any chances. His intention was to protect the harvest. At full growth, weeds would be very distinguishable from wheat.  His reapers would then gather the weeds, tie them up, and burn them. The wheat was to be stored in his barn for future use.

While God has planted good seed in the earth to grow His harvest, the enemy has certainly planted weeds to choke out the wheat. God will allow these weeds to grow among His people until harvest time comes, when the two will be very distinguishable. At that time, His reapers will gather the weeds for destruction, and His wheat will be stored for use.

Are you being choked by weeds today? If so, realize that their time is near. God will not allow them to continue at harvest time. Whatever is not the good seed He has planted in your life will eventually be gathered and burned. What He has planted, however, will grow to fruition and be stored with what is valuable. While you may have to tolerate weeds for a short while, your time of separation is inevitable! Don’t become entangled with the weeds. Flourish and grow distinctly among them. In doing so, you are marking yourself out for future use. 

Have a blessed day!

Philippians 2:13

For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to will and to act for His good purpose.

Do you realize that God is working in you? When you suddenly change your bad attitude to a good one because you realize it is futile otherwise, God has done a work. If a verse of Scripture has new meaning to you, God just paid you a visit. When you change your mind on something because you gained more insight into the situation, God has been working. If you now desire to do something good that you would have never attempted before out of fear, God has been working. He has been changing your heart and your desire to bring it in line with His own.

God does not force His will upon us. He knows what to do to make us desire to do His will, and He empowers us to do it. He created us, and He knows just what it takes to make us run like a well- oiled machine. He fills us with the oil of His Holy Spirit and speaks to us in ways we understand.

We are all a work in progress, and God works from the inside out. We may not outwardly see what is happening, but God is actively working on the inside. Eventually, what He is doing will work its way out. Be patient with yourself and with others. God knows how to work all things together for our good and how to bring His will into being. Where we are unwilling, He knows how to make us willing, which is both a promise and a warning. Whether we are as gentle as a lamb or as stubborn as a donkey, we will eventually fulfill our purpose. Some just require more discipline than others. Which will you be?

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 89:33

But I will not withdraw My faithful love from him or betray my faithfulness.

Regardless of how difficult things may be in life, we can always count on God’s faithful love!  He will not abandon us when we fail. While we may feel the rod of correction, He is faithful to love us and to continue in relationship with us as our heavenly Father. He cannot help but be faithful to us because that is His nature. Faithfulness is an attribute of God.

We may face times when we know correction is coming or feel as if a particular hardship is of our own making. While this may be true, we can still count on God’s love toward us. Just as a parent still loves a child who has misbehaved, so God loves us. He may be seeking to change our behavior, but He is certainly not seeking to disown us or to reject us. We can turn to Him in those times and receive mercy. We can still experience His blessing when we have failed!  Hallelujah! 

Where have you blown it? Turn it over to God, and experience His faithful love toward you.  Where do you feel rejected? Turn to God in that area, and immediately feel His acceptance.  All discipline is designed to turn you to God and not away from Him. The devil condemns and tries to make you think God cannot love you or use you anymore because of your failure. In reality, God is waiting for you to turn to Him so He can revive, refresh, restore, and renew you for His greater purpose. That is the devil’s worst nightmare, and he will do anything to try to prevent you from walking closer with God and to direct you to rebellion. Dare to defeat Him and turn to your faithful and loving Father. He will be good to you and bless you beyond your wildest imagination! You belong to Him as His child, and He cannot help but love you!

Have a blessed day!