Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 28 & Psalm 112

 

The Legacy of Good Advice

King David, the man after God’s heart, had lived a good life. Although he had many struggles and failures, his life was marked by the blessings of God.  Now, he is about to die at “a good age, full of days, riches, and honor.” (1 Chronicles 29:28) In his final few days, he made it a point to pass on his legacy to those who would follow behind him. First, he addresses the leaders of Israel. Then he turns his focus on his son, Solomon.

In verses 9-21, we read of David’s charge to his son. He passes on the plans for construction of the Temple in Jerusalem and encourages Solomon to remain strong and courageous as he takes on this important project. The most profound and poignant portion of this charge is found in verse 9: “And Solomon, my son, learn to know the God of your ancestors intimately. Worship and serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.” (NLT)

David’s charge to Solomon to “know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart” is one of the most repeated pieces of advice found in the Bible. With these words, David reminds his son that the MOST IMPORTANT pursuit ahead of him was to maintain a right relationship with the Lord. All of his other challenges and pursuits in life pale in comparison to this one most important pursuit. David knew that he could no longer “carry” Solomon along in the faith – it is something he must make personal and do for himself.

The dictionary defines “legacy” as an amount of money or property left to someone in a will. But this definition of legacy falls far short of God’s definition. In God’s kingdom the most important legacy you can leave to your children and grandchildren is a vibrant faith and love for God. All the riches and property in the world are worthless compared to the vast wealth of knowing God and serving Him.

As a parent or grandparent (or brother, sister, cousin, friend, neighbor, coworker) your most sacred duty is to leave a legacy of faith for those who come behind you. Make sure that you constantly advise them that they must know and follow God and that “if you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 27 & Psalm 111

 

Holy and Awesome!

On the day we finally arrive in Heaven and look back on the history of our planet, there will be three things we will declare about our experience with our Creator: (1) He sent redemption to His people; (2) He has commanded His covenant forever; (3) Holy and awesome is His name!

He sent redemption to His people. Yahweh is a God of redemption. In Hebrew, this word "redemption” literally means “to place a distinction or division between, thus to liberate.” God repeatedly throughout history is seen liberating His people. By placing a distinction between Noah, who found grace in His sight, and the rest of the corrupt population, God liberated Noah and his family from the flood waters. God placed a distinction between the Jews and the Egyptians when, through Moses, He liberated the slaves from their bondage. Repeatedly in the history of Israel, we see God stepping in and sending judges to liberate them from the hands of their oppressors. Later He sent Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel to liberate them from Babylon. And, in the most profound act of liberation, God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus to redeem an entire lost world from sin, misery, and eternal death.

He has commanded His covenant forever. Yahweh has made a legal agreement with the human race. This covenant contains His binding oath that He will perform certain things on behalf of those who accept the terms of His agreement and agree to follow Him. The New Covenant is the unchanging promise that God makes with humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. “’But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,’ says the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people’”  (Jeremiah 31:31-33). This is His forever, permanent covenant with mankind – it will never be rescinded or broken.

Holy and awesome is His name. Because Yahweh has sent redemption to His people and established His forever covenant with them, there is nothing left to say but that He is holy and awesome. The word “holy” means to be like none else. It reflects the fact that Yahweh alone is unique and separate from all other beings. It carries the idea of being pure and sacred and free from defilement of any kind. And His name is “awesome!” The Hebrew word here means to stand in awe, reverence, and honor of the One who is like no other.

What will you be doing in Heaven? Praising your God’s holy and awesome name as you reflect on His redemption and eternal covenant. That day can’t come soon enough!

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 26 & Psalm 145

The Satisfier of Every Need

As God was creating the world, He had to take into account the dietary and nutritional requirements of each living thing. He had to make sure that there were the proper kinds of foods for the various classes of animals, plants, and other living organisms. Imagine the failure it would be for you to purchase, say, a horse but not purchase the necessary hay and feed it would need to remain healthy and strong. Now, imagine the colossal failure it would have been For God to have created a particular type of animal and placed it in our world, but didn’t create the necessary food to sustain that animal. Fortunately, as our genius and unfathomably wise Creator made all of the living organisms, He placed them in an environment that would “satisfy the desire of every living thing.” 

From the smallest organism to the largest plants and animals, our God made sure to create a world where there were adequate supplies for all. He created phytoplankton, bacteria and other protozoa for the microscopic organisms to feed on. At the same time, He made sure there was an adequate supply of plants, fruits, and vegetables for the herbivores to eat and a variety of smaller animals for the larger carnivores to be satisfied. What a hand this is that holds in it all the food that meets the desires and necessities of His universe of creatures! 

Implied in this verse is the truth that God has not left nature, He is in it. The great Spirit of God is embedded in all the wheels of His machinery. There is a Personal God in personal action, in all of the natural world. He is not a God who is far off, or who is disinterested in the daily affairs of our world. No, in fact, He is constantly opening His hand and satisfying the necessities of “every living thing.” As Jesus said, “not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge” (Matthew 10:29). Wherever there is a creature that God has made to need anything, that creature shall have what its necessities determine.

This verse goes on the say that the Lord who meets the needs of His creation, does so with righteousness and kindness. Some may view our God as an angry ogre “in the sky” just waiting to inflict pain and punishment on those He chooses. But our God is far from that. In the kindness and gentleness of His heart, He is just waiting to impart righteousness, peace, and joy on those who call upon Him. The deepest desire of this “living thing” we call a human being is the deep need to be connected to and in fellowship with his/her Creator. His hand is open. He is waiting to satisfy that desire in your life. Come to Him and discover the greatest kindness you can imagine. He opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing.

 

Today's Reading: Psalms 143 & 144

Lead Me to the Level Plain

This Psalm is a cry for help.  Here in verse 10, David the Psalmist prays that the Lord would teach him “how to live to please you, because you’re my God.” David’s strong desire was to know and follow God’s will for his life. David wanted to do in his life what God wanted to do through his life. It was his desire to live his life according to the will of God and not according to the will of David.

The phrase “lead me on level ground” at the end of this verse has a very interesting meaning in the original Hebrew language. Translated as “lead me into the land of uprightness” in the King James Bible, this verse literally means “guide me to level plain.” It carries the picture of a being on a hike in the wilderness with a wise and experienced guide - someone who can lead you out of the thorns and thickets and away from the cliffs and rocks and confidently into the solid level clearing. In the Scriptures, the “level plain” was a safe and proper place for God's children to walk – the place of holiness and righteousness and faith and obedience. It alludes to a spiritual condition in which there is a firm foundation of solid ground underneath us – a spiritual level ground so to speak.

David genuinely recognized his own wretchedness and his own human inclination toward sin and selfishness. He knew that because his heart was deceitful and his nature inherently selfish, he would never discover God’s highest calling for his life by his own efforts or “good intentions.” He knew he must be submitted to God’s Holy Spirit and yielded to His teaching and guidance. Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). Oh what a blessing it is to know that we are not on our own trying to find out God’s will by “trial and error” in our lives. We recognize that being led to the “level plain” is solely the work of the Holy Spirit and that all I must do is ask Him to teach me and guide me and then yield to His will.

David knew that if his plea to fulfill God’s will with his life were to become reality, he would have to be taught by God. Doing God’s will does not come from human consciousness or our mind, intellect, reasoning, or emotions. In fact, if we are NOT taught by God what His will is, we have no hope of discovering that will, let alone doing it.

What about you? Do you want to live your life according to the will of God? Do you want to discover His highest and greatest calling for your life? If so, are you pleading with God to teach you what that will is? Stop trying to figure it out with human reasoning or problem solving. Simply acknowledge your own wretchedness and cry out to Him to teach you His will and to lead you to the place of holiness and righteousness.

 

Today's Reading: Psalms 131 & 139

 

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

As the great singer, Louis Armstrong, once sang, “I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.”  It is indeed a wonderful world God has made. Even He thinks so! (See Genesis 1:31) As He stepped back from His acts of creation, He saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good. Our God finished His creative work by taking delight in it – He saw all that He had made – and behold, it was wonderful in every way.

Think about how wonderfully made you are. Much like your Creator, you are a triune being – made of body, soul, and spirit.  Your body is, of course, the physical part of you designed by God to interact with the “very good” environment He created. It is your human anatomy made up of several very complex and ingeniously designed systems: skeletal, muscular, circulatory, digestive, respiratory, and reproductive systems all controlled and maintained by your unmatched brain and nervous system. Every human being – all tissues, body parts, and the organ systems are made up of billions of cells - the fundamental unit of life. Your body is truly fearfully and wonderfully made. And I think to myself…

Your soul is comprised of your consciousness, mind, emotions, and will. Your soul is mysteriously able to perceive and understand things in the intellectual or psychological world. Your soul is your personality, who you are. With your soul you think, reason, consider, remember, and wonder. You experience emotions like happiness, love, sorrow, anger, relief, and compassion. And you’re able to resolve, choose, and make decisions. With your soul, you are able to communicate and interact with other human beings. Your soul is indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. And I think to myself…

Your spirit is the deepest part of who you are.  It is the invisible life force, wind, or breath found in all living human beings. By means of this innermost part, you are able to contact God and have fellowship with Him in the spiritual realm. The spirit is the part of you that covers matters like faith, trust, worship and so on. The spirit is seen as the innermost part of your being. It is enveloped by your soul, which in turn is enveloped by your body.  It’s in your spirit that you find meaning and purpose in life. Your spirit is also fearfully and wonderfully made.

And I think to myself, what a wonderful God who made such a wonderful world! I praise Him for I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 25 & Psalm 138

 

He Regards the Lowly

Although we were created in God’s image, sin has marred God’s creation. As a result, it seems to be built into our nature to categorize and classify members of the human race. We see some as “upper” class and some as “middle” or “lower class.” And those who perceive themselves as being in the upper class have a tendency to disregard, or even disrespect, those who they see as “lowly” (common, ordinary, unfortunate).  Some even see it as a great offense if someone attempts to break into their circle or personally approach them.

But our God is not like us! Our Lord God is high royalty – He is the only true “upper class.” He is the King. He is the Lord. As the Creator of the universe, He truly is far above all space, matter, energy, and life. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He possesses vast and endless wealth and power. “For you, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.” (Psalm 97:9)  As such, He has no obligation to respect or regard those who are below Him.

But here’s the amazing thing… He is not offended by any of us attempting to gain an audience with Him or personally approach Him. He welcomes all. He invites us into His “inner circle.” In fact, the Bible goes out of its way to teach us that God doesn’t see social classes the way human societies do. To Him, there is neither rich nor poor, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female. All are alike to Him. And all are loved deeply by Him. In fact, He loves us so much that He humbled Himself and became a “commoner” just so He could rescue us from sin - “Though He was in the form of God… He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, and was born in the likeness of man.” (Philippians 2:5-8) Today’s key verse (Psalm138:6) says that this God – the LORD - “regards” (respects) the lowly. He gracefully accepts the common, ordinary and unfortunate people into His presence.

And yet, so many people seem to be “afar off” from Him. If God is so welcoming, what then is the barrier that keeps so many people away?  There is only one barrier that keeps people from accessing Him. And it is not Him. Human pride is the barrier. This verse goes on to say that “the haughty He knows from afar.” The “invisible barrier” that keeps us away from our King has not been put there by Him, it has been put there by our pride and arrogance. He broke every barrier to come to us. He only asks in return that we approach Him humbly and accept His grace and love.  Those who remain haughty will keep themselves out of His “inner circle.”

Today's Reading: 1 Chronicles 24

 

A Place For Every Member

King David is “getting his house in order.” As part of that process, he focuses on the priests and their duties in the house of the Lord. While chapter 24 may seem like a dull and meaningless list of names and procedures and assignments, it teaches us a very important lesson about our service to the Lord. None of God’s word is meaningless – every word, every name, every person, every event, every location, every list was put there by God for our learning. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction” (Roman 15:4). One of the lessons we can learn from chapter 24 is that God has a place for everyone and a specific purpose each one is called to fulfill.

In the New Testament, we are taught about the Body of Christ and the truth that every member of His body (the Church) has a place and a specific purpose to fulfill. “All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). In the Church, though we are many, we “form one body, and each member belongs to all the others” (Romans 12:5). As members of the “one body,” we each have been called by God to perform a specific ministry in His church and each of us has been endowed by God with the talents and spiritual gifts to perform that ministry. That includes you! God has chosen YOU for a specific ministry. And He has given you the ability to fulfill that ministry!

According to the Scriptures, these gifts include such ministries as faith, healing, prophecy, evangelism, teaching, administration, reconciliation, compassion, and self-sacrificing service and charity for the help and encouragement of people. The gifts have also been categorized as those that promote the inner growth of the church (apostle, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, teaching, word of wisdom/knowledge, helps, and administration) and those that promote the church's outer development (faith, miracles, healing, tongues, interpretation of tongues, evangelism). Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 make it clear that each and every Christian is given spiritual gifts according to the Lord’s choice. Spiritual gifts are given for the edification (building up) of the body of Christ.

You have been given spiritual gifts by God so that you can help with the advancement of God’s work on earth by serving and using your special ability. Yes, you! Just as David focused on the place and specific purpose for each of the priests, so you should focus on discovering your spiritual gifts and the place and specific purpose God has called you to fulfill.