Source:- GOOD NEWS

Path of Least Resistance
Jesus Said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." - Matthew 6:19-21. While God wants us to prosper and enjoy having things, we are not to worry about the material things because we have better things waiting for us in heaven. When we take the step to live our lives for Christ we can be sure to meet opposition when we decide to occupy our time on eternal treasures rather than the trash of earthly desires and do the will of God.
The book of Nehemiah is the sixteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains thirteen chapters. The author of the book is Nehemiah and it was originally written to the Israelites. The purpose of the book was to continue showing the history of Israel and the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. What we are to learn from the book is that there is no opportunity without opposition and that faith without works is dead.
When Nehemiah's relative Hanani arrived in Persia from Jerusalem, he told Nehemiah of the pitiful conditions that existed there. "The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven," - Nehemiah 1:1-4. Nehemiah knew the Scriptures and the power of prayer and fasting, reminding the Lord of His promise and fourteen years after Ezra returned to Jerusalem, Nehemiah led a group of people from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls. He left all the luxuries of home knowing that he was about to head for a disastrous state. We as Christians were at one time is a disastrous state, but Jesus gave up the luxuries of heaven to come down to a earth in ruins to seek out the remnant that are in dire straights.
Soon after Nehemiah began rebuilding the walls, he faced opposition from Sanballat and his crowd of followers. "But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem." - Nehemiah 2:19,20. Nehemiah knew that God was on his side and that as long as he was in His will he had nothing to fear. Of course, the closer we draw near to God the more opposition we will face from the devil. He will send many people and objects in our path to try and stop us from being so faithful to God. However, God gives us the power to stand up and continue to do His work without fear. Nehemiah remained faithful to God and several groups of people were used to rebuild the wall.
There are three basic characteristics that contributed to Nehemiah's success. First, he has a desire to do the will of God. Second, he not only prayed, he fasted and confessed their sins as well. Third, he never gave up and was determined to get the people to join him in rebuilding the walls. He refused to become discouraged and give up on accomplishing God's will, regardless of any opposition he faced.
Accomplishing the will of God is dependent upon remembering who we are living for, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." - Hebrews 13:5-8. God's path is rarely the path of least resistance, but we can be content and follow the will of God knowing that He and His Word never changes, He will never leave no forsake anyone who truly want Jesus to be Lord of our lives. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and have an awesome week.
P.S. I apologize for being late posting this.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Truly Committed
When one thinks of the word adultery the first thing that comes to mind to most of us is an extramarital affair. The word adultery goes beyond a physical affair, it is being disloyal and betraying, it is breaking a commitment given to another. When we make a commitment whether, it be a marriage vow, a contract, or living our life for Christ we are accountable for following through with that commitment. If we are disloyal in any way, whether it be in body, mind, or spirit, we are committing adultery.

Ezra, after making the long four month journey to Jerusalem, was expecting to find a joyful place, instead he found one in ruins. Israelites, including Levites were married to Canaanite women, some of them having children with them. He was so distraught over their sins that it drove him to intense prayer. "Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth unto thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they should do according to this word. And they sware. " - Ezra 10:1-5. Ezra's deep grief and the willing submission of the majority of the nation's leaders and people were exceedingly important from a national point of view. As the Israelites listened to Ezra proclaim the Word of God, they were convicted of their sins. Sometimes when others are living in sin the best thing we can do for them is pray for them. It brings about conviction and the majority of the time when people are feeling convicted that is when they repent.

One by one, each man who had married a Canaanite woman had to present himself with his wife and children before the court to determine whether or not they were involved in idol worship or were worshipers of the true God of Israel. "And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us." - Ezra 10:10-14. Any man found in idol worshiping was forced to divorce his wife, even if they had children together. If the wife was found to have been converted and worshiping only God then they were allowed to remain married and became an Israelite. Now, God does not condone divorce, but if a woman causes a godly man to live a heathen life He will make a way to end the relationship. Jesus Said, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." - Matthew 5:32. This is why it is important that we be separated from non-believers. They will almost always get us away from God and into their wicked living. Although I never got married, praise God, I was involved with a man who was morally corrupt and took me right down there with him until I realized I did not know who I was anymore. God does not make up these rules to keep us from living a good life, He makes them to keep us from going through unnecessary suffering.

Every time we put people, things, hobbies, or careers before God, every time we miss a church service to go to a game, or every time we break one of His commands we are committing spiritual adultery with God. Now, God knows what we are going through, He knows there are times when we may have to work because of a conflicting schedule, get sick, get caught up in obligations, or are just having a rough day and He is okay with that. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." - Proverbs 28:13. What He is not okay with is deliberately going against our commitment to live our lives for Him. "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." - Revelation 3:15,16. God knows our hearts and He will not pardon anyone who has not truly, wholeheartedly accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Of course we are going to sin, of course we are going to have days when God is not in the picture, but God will never leave nor forsake those who truly are committed to Him.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

The Power of God
At times it can be a little discouraging to be a Christian, even though you are faithful to God and live your life for Him, some people, including our very own family members, want nothing to do with God and even try to discourage you from doing what He calls you to do. This is when the power of God is needed to keep us encouraged and motivated as well as be that spiritual guidance and example the unfaithful need to see how a life can be beneficial and changed through our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ezra was a prophet born in Babylon, since he knew the Scriptures he decided to be responsible for leading about five thousand men, women, and children on the journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. "And I gathered them together to the river that runneth to Ahava; and there abode we in tents three days: and I viewed the people, and the priests, and found there none of the sons of Levi. Then sent I for Eliezer, for Ariel, for Shemaiah, and for Elnathan, and for Jarib, and for Elnathan, and for Nathan, and for Zechariah, and for Meshullam, chief men; also for Joiarib, and for Elnathan, men of understanding. And I sent them with commandment unto Iddo the chief at the place Casiphia, and I told them what they should say unto Iddo, and to his brethren the Nethinims, at the place Casiphia, that they should bring unto us ministers for the house of our God....And I said unto them, Ye are holy unto the LORD; the vessels are holy also; and the silver and the gold are a freewill offering unto the LORD God of your fathers. Watch ye, and keep them, until ye weigh them before the chief of the priests and the Levites, and chief of the fathers of Israel, at Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the LORD. So took the priests and the Levites the weight of the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, to bring them to Jerusalem unto the house of our God. Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way." - Ezra 8:15-18,28-31. Shortly into their journey Ezra realized that out of all the people traveling with him none were priests of the Levites, which were needed to minister and accept the offerings offered to the Lord. So, he called for them and gave them the task of delivering the priceless Temple treasures to the House of God. During this journey they would face many dangers and difficulties, including possible attacks by nomadic robbers. Furthermore, Ezra said to those who were with him that God could protect and provide for His people and He did, they arrived safely into Jerusalem four months later. God is always with us and will protect us, whether we are doing His work at home or two thousand miles away, through all the dangers and difficulties along the way. It may feel as though He is not with us at times, but those are the times when He is with us more than ever.

When Ezra and the people arrived in Jerusalem they expected the people to be worshiping, praising God, and giving them some hope of a God filled life. However, it was just the opposite, the moral and spiritual condition in Jerusalem was terrible and it grieved Ezra to the point that he fell on his knees, pread out his hands to the Lord, begging for forgiveness of the people. "Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass. And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice. And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens." - Ezra 9:1-6. Ezra. Ezra saw godly men living in sin and he was ashamed to of them, godly people are to set examples of a moral and uncorrupted life, but when they live as the world all they are doing is telling them it's God, big deal, nothing changes if we know God. When we see people living in sin we are ashamed and God forbid we let other Christians know we are with them. However, God is a forgiving God and we must pray for them and forgive them.

When Jesus was on the cross and the people were crucifying Him He said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." - Luke 23:34. Those who live in sin, are lost or have been away from God so long that they have forgotten that they too can be forgiven. They truly have no idea what they are doing and need our prayers and forgiveness just as much as everyone else. After all, if we do not forgive them God will not forgive us for our sins. Jesus Said, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." - Matthew 6:14,15. I know that some people are more wicked than others, but we are all sinners and sin is sin in God's eyes, He is not a respecter of persons, He just wants everyone to seek Him and accept Him. We need to beware though, that we can not take advantage of God's good graces, He will not be mocked and if He finds anyone abusing His love He will put a stop to it.

We are all under the loving care of the hand of our heavenly Father and nothing can touch us except with His permission. Since this is true, outbursts of fright, unforgiving, complaint, or anger over our circumstances are evidences of our failure to recognize the presence and power of God. "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." - Romans 13:1.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and have a good and awesome weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Don't Try, Do
As Christians we have made a covenant with God, an agreement, we agreed to live our lives for Christ, to love the Lord with all our heart, our soul, and our mind. In return. He agreed to never leave us nor forsake us and even though we will still face trials, He will be with us giving us the strength to move forward and get through them. I was listening to this young man talk with our Preacher about an upcoming youth conference, he told the Preacher I will try to do what you ask. The Preacher said don't try, do, if you say you will try you will not do. God has the same response to us when we say we will try to obey Him and live our lives for Him. If we say we will try then we really are not going to make much of an effort to do what we say, but if we say we will obey Him and live our lives for Him then we are going to make an effort to do what we say. Now, God knows that we can not change over night and He does not expect us to, but as long as we are willing to follow through and do what we say then He has no problem with that and will always be with us to give us the strength, will, and encouragement to follow through with our agreement.

Fourteen years had passed after the Jews laid the foundation of the Temple, but once God's Word and authority were recognized, it was time to get it done. "And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king. And the children of Israel, the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy. And offered at the dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks, two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according to the number of the tribes of Israel. And they set the priests in their divisions, and the Levites in their courses, for the service of God, which is at Jerusalem; as it is written in the book of Moses. " - Ezra 6:14-18. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah reminded the Jews that they had a job to do. They just needed a revival, a little encouragement to remind them that God was still with them. What caused this revival? Their circumstances had not changed, they has the same intense opposition and determination by the enemy to cause the work to cease, but this time, they were strengthened by the power of God and His Word. There is nothing more comforting, eye opening, and encouraging than the Bible. Through it we learn of God's grace, commitment, and convictions with His people. He reveals a little bit at a time to us so we can not only live a prosperous life, but one with a great relationship with God.

God's work can only be sustained and strengthened through obedience to His Word, which is the foundation of our Christian lives, one power that Satan cannot overcome. God's Word is the source of strength by which His children cannot be defeated. Ezra was born during the Babylonian captivity. He was a descendant of Aaron, Israel's first high priest. He was sent to Jerusalem to bring spiritual leadership to the people. "This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him...For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel....And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem:" - Ezra 7:6,9-11,25-27. The key to Ezra's great effectiveness in accomplishing the will of God is that he prepared His heart to seek the law of the Lord, in other words, he studied God's Word and did it. Ezra was committed to seeking, doing, and teaching God's Word. This should be a reminder that, if we want God to bless our lives, we too must prepare our hearts to seek the truth in God's Word and do what He commands.

Everyone reading this is at different levels of their Christianity, some may not know Christ yet, but are as we speak, some are newly converted, some have been for years, but have gotten away from God, some have not been taught the Word of God at all, and some are mature Christians, but we are all special, chosen by God Himself and accepted through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. All who have accepted Christ are now the Temple of God in which He dwells in. Every Christian represents Christ and those who truly seek Him with all their heart will not try to, but do make an effort to fulfill their agreement to commit to Christ. Jesus has the power and does change the life of anyone willing to fulfill their commitment to love the Lord, with all their heart, soul, and mind. Unless we read God's Word and study it for ourselves we will never know what God asks from us nor will we do it. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ....But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; " - I Peter 2:2-5,9. Every chapter, every verse, and every word in the Bible is there to help us learn, to grow, and to know His commands. If we truly want Jesus to be Lord of our lives and want to see the blessings flow through the trials we face, we must not try to, but do make an effort to fulfill our agreement with God. Jesus is the light through the darkest path, He is God's Word and all who seek Him will be blessed. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Facing Challenges
As Christians we are going to face challenges testing our faith constantly, whether we face a trial or two from God, Satan, or from the world, how we handle these challenges determines our character and ability to win these challenges. As long as we have God on our side we can win any challenge, leave it up to our own thinking and reasoning and we are headed for defeat.

The nation of Israel was in utter chaos, most of the Jews were forced out of the country or under control of Assyria. Only Jerusalem and a few others were still free, but that was about to change, God was fed up with all the idol worshiping and wickedness that was going on right under Him, He was done with seeing His nation destroyed, but He knew that there were a few, a remnant of people standing by Him. After the mess that his father, Manasseh made, Josiah began to reign at the age of eight, and he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord as David did. "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about." - II Chronicles 34:1-6. At the age of sixteen this young man decided that he did not want to follow in the footsteps of his father and began seeking God, destroying all of the idols and groves throughout Judah that caused Israel to sin. Josiah's religious leadership ranked him with David, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah as an outstanding godly ruler, for he took a firm stand against idol worship and other evils that had saturated his kingdom. As Christians we must not let all the evils and corruptions of the world keep us from living a godly life. We can have a wonderful, prosperous life in the midst of all the chaos without compromising our beliefs or following along with them because we do not want to feel like an outcast. It is good to be an outcast.

Josiah was the last king to restore Temple worship to the One True God before the destruction of the southern kingdom and Jerusalem. Josiah's leadership abruptly ended when he attempted to stop Pharaoh Necho's plans to attack the Assyrians. "In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept. After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah." - II Chronicles 35:19-24. Josiah was fatally wounded at Megiddo, but he fulfilled the will of God who spared him from the tragedies that were to soon come upon Jerusalem and the Temple. The last four kings of Judah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, were all evil, and led the nation in a descending course to its disastrous end morally, politically, and spiritually. This is a foreshadowing of Christ's return. When He returns all the world will face destruction, but those who have accepted Jesus will be carried away and spared from the tragedy.

Nebuchadnezzar's soldiers eventually broke through the north wall and mercilessly butchered both young and old. This time there was no room for repentance, the Lord left the Israelites to their ruin, some escaped, but most were carried off as slaves to become exiles in a foreign land. "Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years." - II Chronicles 36:17-21. The Jews who were taken captive were once again in bondage to another country, for seventy years they were under control of the Babylonians. The Israelites may not have realized it at the time, but they were spared as well from seeing the tragic destruction of the place where God would call home. I am sure it grieved God to see His people suffering, but just like everything has a season, this too would come to pass and eventually the remnant would find peace and comfort.

As we face the many challenges of our lives, we can be sure of one thing, God will not allow Satan or the world to challenge us beyond what we can not handle or get out of. The Word of God provides guidance and encouragement so that we might find a way to beat all of the challenges in our lives. Of course we are going to lose some, but as long as we remain faithful to God we will come out even more stronger and able to win the biggest challenge yet to come. God is always with His people and always eager to hear them say, I tried to do it on my own and failed because of it, I am depending on You to help me win this challenge.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and God bless the fallen soldiers who gave their lives for their country.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Redeemed = Free
To be redeemed means to have a debt paid off, to be clear and free from any debts that one has acquired. We all have or had debts in our lives from time to time and it feels great to be redeemed from them. Perhaps one of the most overlooked debts of all is that of sin. Yes, there is a debt owed for sin and that debt is death and hell. Since we sin every day in some way unknowingly that means we would accumulate a huge debt over the years. However, there is a way, praise God, to be redeemed from that debt and that way is Jesus Christ. Praise God! As Christians the greatest redemption of all is our salvation, we know that is only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ we are redeemed of all our sin debt. The second we went to Jesus and said, I believe in You, Jesus, come into my heart, remove my sin debt, and save me. We are saved and redeemed. If any of us have forgotten what that means, the means we no longer owe the huge debt we acquired, it is paid off, we are clear and free of all of our sin debt, once and for all and forever. Praise God. Does that mean we will never sin again? Of course not, everyone sins, even men of God sin. Does that mean we have to get redeemed all over again? Of course not, once redeemed, always redeemed. Now, we do have to repent and ask for forgiveness, but even if you have gotten away from God and lived the most sinful life, you are still redeemed. God is just waiting for you to go to Him and say, I'm sorry God, forgive me. God is and always will be faithful and forgiving, even to the most ruthless sinner, as long as he truly repents.

After king Jotham died, Ahaz, his son reigned, but he was perhaps one of the most ruthless and wickedest kings in the history of Judah. He brought and encouraged false god and idol worship into Jerusalem, causing all of Israel to sin. He even sacrificed one of his own children. "Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter." - II Chronicles 28:1-5. Ahaz robbed the Temple of its gold and costly furnishings, drained the national treasury, confiscated the resources of leading citizens, and gave it all to the Assyrian king to have him attack the Northern Kingdom and Syria. Because of his wickedness, his kingdom suffered serious losses of territory and strength During his reign he encountered many defeats in war, and thousands of his people were taken as slaves by neighboring nations. God would never allow a human life to be a sacrifice, that is why He sent Himself as Jesus to be the sacrifice for us. God will not stand for anyone hurting one of His people and or causing them to sin. He will end a saved persons life here on earth and bring them to heaven if they continue to sin and cause others to live in sin, but He will make them suffer for a time.

The amazing thing is that while we may all suffer from others sinning, it all comes to pass and we can overcome it. Either the person causing the sin will return to God or get redeemed or God will see your faithfulness and we will be blessed through it. Suffering always brings about blessings. Praise God! Now, Jerusalem was suffering severely because of the sins of Ahaz, Hezekiah began to reign and had a very big job to do to get Jerusalem back on his feet. Hezekiah was a godly man, just as David was, and he was determined to get the people right with God and redeemed, even the priests were found to be unholy and were called to cleanse themselves. "Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place." - II Chronicles 29:1-5. Hezekiah began restoring biblical principles and true worship of God. He recognized the blessings of God as of utmost importance and as most essential. He repaired and cleansed the Temple. Under extreme difficulty and danger, he was determined to do God's will, no compromise, no half-measures, no delay was going to stop him. Even if every other person in your family was against God do not stop serving in and believing in Him. He will take care of every person who truly wants to live his life for Him.

After the Temple was repaired Hezekiah encouraged all the people of Israel to come to worship God the way they were supposed to. It did not matter if they had gotten away from God, they were His people and they all had a change to be redeemed. "And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel....Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him. So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem....For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people." - II Chronicles 30:1,8-11,18-20. Many of the people mocked Hezekiah and laughed at him, but those who truly wanted God in their lives humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem to be redeemed. While God created every one, only a small portion of people are His people and they are the ones who will humble themselves and return to God. As Christians, God assures us that we are His people we are redeemed, and all we need to do to get right with Him is return to Him. He still loves you and always will. If you are hiding from God and feel ashamed over something that has happened, He will forgive you. Just go to Him and get right with Him. All who have accepted Christ into their hearts are saved and redeemed and God's people. He will get us right with Him one way or another, praise God for His love, patience, forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Blending In
As Christians the temptation to blend in with the world is always around us, family, friends, associates, and even people we do not even know contribute, sometimes unknowingly, to trying to get us to all come together as one. It is one thing to be friendly and cordial with people who live in the world, it is another to become or remain friends with them. If you are a Christian, especially one who never grew up in church, you know you have one or two friends who are not. The closer you get to God the further you get from them and there is a reason why that happens. When people decide to dedicate their lives to Christ, they no longer want to blend in with the world, they realize there is something more satisfying and important to life than what the world can give them, God. Now, we can pray for the best and maybe they will see what we see, but it is usually much harder to get a worldly person to convert. Why? When you are living in sin you do not want to hear the truth, you run from it. That is why friends living in sin, who have no intention of living for God, do one of two things, run or get you to run. Sadly, much too often, they are the ones getting the godly to run with them. The flesh is much stronger than the spirit when we allow sin to be around us, even if we are not living in sin ourselves. That is why it is important as Christians that we separate ourselves from worldly people.
Jehoshaphat was one of the most godliest men to reign as king in the Southern Kingdom, his downfall was his friendship with Ahab, the ruthless king of the Northern Kingdom. Jehoshaphat erred in allowing his son Jehoram to marry Ahab's daughter Athaliah, who was also the daughter of wicked Jezebel. Although it did not effect his life, it effected his sons and grandsons. After Jehoshaphat died Jehoram became king and he was as wicked as his father-in-law, Ahab. "Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. ... Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD. Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever....Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease." - II Chronicles 21:1,4-7,16-18. Jehoram had all his brothers killed and completely turned Jerusalem upside down. God did not destroy all of Jerusalem, but he did bring destruction upon Jehoram and his family, all but one son was killed and he was struck with an incurable disease. You can say, what goes around comes around or you reap what you sow, but everything we do, whether it is godly or wickedly comes back to us and always ends up how we started.
The destruction did not stop there, after Jehoram died his son Ahaziah reigned, only for one year, but he was under the wing of his mother Athaliah, when he was killed, she took over as queen and killed all of the house of Judah. It was only by the courage of one godly woman, Jehoshabeath, Ahaziah's daughter, that hid a little baby and only seed left of David for six years. "But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons that were slain, and put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land."- II Chronicles 22:10-12. Jehoshabeath, was used of God to save Joash from assassination. Joash was soon smuggled into the Temple where he was brought up under the care of Jehoshabeath and the high priest and trained and prepared for his destiny as king. Athaliah thought she was in control, but she failed to realize that God was in control. Wicked people only think they have everything under control and think they have the power to do anything they want. What they fail to remember is that God is greater than any evil that can be brought upon by anyone. Even Satan knows he is powerless to God. And no evil thing goes unpunished. Satan knows where he is going when Jesus returns and all the wicked people are going down there with him.
Every person on earth is born either good or evil, good people may get themselves into evil things, but deep down they are good and these are the people who will one day realize that there is more to life than what the world has to offer and Jesus, who truly gives us life, is what life is all about. Wicked or evil people never change and always bring good people down with them as long as they remain in contact with them. Jesus Said, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." - Matthew 6:19-24. We can not have both, we must choose and when we choose Jesus we will never have to worry about what is going to happen. God will take care of us, He will help us separate from friends and even family that are not good for us and either get them to commit to Christ or remove them and send godly people our way. I struggle every day to remove from my heart a man that I love dearly and know is against all God's commands to keep him in my life. It in only through God and His strength that I am separated from him and do not run to him. If I take my eyes off God one second and try to blend with him just a little bit then I will quickly fall away from God and get right back into a world that I know has nothing to offer me. Therefore, I take one day at a time keeping my eyes on God, knowing that I will see the light and one day that man will be out of my heart and a man that God truly has in store is waiting for me. God will give us a way out of every situation and will always be there for those who come to Him. God knows what and who we need in our lives, instead of trying to blend in with the world, it is time to blend in with God. He will give us life and a light to any darkness in our lives. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

GOOD NEWS
A Perfect Heart
When we pray we are asking God for something, we can communicate with God in other ways, praise Him, serve Him, thank Him, but the only way to receive things is to ask Him for them in prayer. As Christians we rejoice at seeing a prayer answered, it is the best feeling in the world to know that God has heard me and that I received what I asked for because I did not give up on Him. Most of us are prone to pray about the circumstances in our lives, but when things are going good, many will kind of get lax in seeking God in prayer. Why? Well, we can get so caught up in things when everything is going the way we would like them that we forget God gave them to us and begin relying more on people than on God. People may help us along the way, but God is the author and finisher of everything, even if people have no idea they are working for God. We are to have a perfect heart for God, meaning give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, whether things are going well or not. God wants to be in our lives at all times, not just when we need things from Him.
King Asa was the grandson of Rehoboam and the great-grandson of Solomon, he loved God, rejected the heathen gods and idols that these kings allowed in the cities of Judah, removed them all, and encouraged the people to seek and serve God. Because he had a perfect heart for God all was quiet in the land and there was no war for ten years. "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment." - II Chronicles 14:1-4. As we seek God when things are quiet and going well, we assure God that we know He is there and that He is the reason why we are at peace and everything is going so well. Incidentally when we pray, rarely do we pray for something that will happen right away, although God will answer a prayer quickly, at times most prayer pertains to the future. Therefore, we are never cease from praying.
As long as Asa sought God he and all of Judah was a peace, but you can be sure that Satan is not far away trying to wreck havoc on God's people. When Zerah, the Ethiopian king, declared war on the Southern Kingdom of Judah, King Asa and the nation of Judah were faced with a million soldiers who had 300 chariots, the largest army recorded in the Old Testament. Asa prayed and reminded the Lord that He alone could give them victory, even though they were a small army and powerless. "And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let no man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled." - II Chronicles 14:9-12. Asa put his trust and faith in God and because of that they won the war.
Asa and the Kingdom of Judah enjoyed many years of prosperity, but later when Baasha, King of Israel, became a threat to his border cities, sadly, we learn that Asa stopped relying on God and sought his own judgment in seeking help to defeat Israel. He took treasures out of the House of God to buy protection, "In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Benhadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me....And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars." - II Chronicles 16:1-3,7-8. Asa lost sight of God when he let his riches and fear take part of his heart rather than keep his heart perfect with Him. The result, war for the rest of his days as king and a disease that would take his life because he solely relied on people than on God in the last days of his life. Sometimes pride is the thing that keeps us from seeking help from God. Some can feel as though God will not forgive them or they are ashamed to admit to God they messed up and need His help. What they fail to realize is that God still loves them and they have nothing to be ashamed of, all they need to do is go to Him and He will forgive them. God forgives all who come to Him with a perfect heart.
God loves us and wants to give us the things we need and even desire, but you can be sure if what you have asked for starts replacing God, He is going to get jealous and start taking things away. Why does God get jealous? Think about it, if your spouse was checking out someone else and spending time with that person you would get jealous. God is the same way, when we spend more time on something else we are in a sense cheating on God and He gets jealous over anyone or thing that takes His place. We should be honored to have such a response from God, the only way a person would be offended by His being jealous is someone who is truly guilty and needs repentance. Regardless of the past, even if we have given our hearts to other things and lost sight of God, He is always there and willing to give help and guidance to all come to Him. God will work everything for good to those who have a perfect heart for Him, and or get their heart perfect. "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart." - Psalm 119:1,2. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

The Right Way
As Christians we can rejoice because we are saved and know that the only way to heaven and to God is through Jesus Christ. While we can get saved anywhere and anytime and read God's Word anywhere, it is important that we meet with other God fearing Christians who agree on the same doctrine and morality. Yes, morality, because of the abundance of religions out there morality levels go from conservative to lax to down right disgraceful. Of course God loves all of His people and is open to anyone getting saved and living for Him, but He wants them to live by all of His Word, not make things up to satisfy a need to please themselves. Religion is not from God, religion is from man making God the way man wants Him to be. We are to "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" - II Corinthians 6:14. We may all believe in Jesus, but we do not all believe in the same doctrine of Jesus, the death, burial, and resurrection of God's only begotten Son, born of the virgin Mary. If we truly want to live our lives for God, we need to know God the right way and get around people who can show us the right way through the true Word of God.
After Solomon died, his son Rehoboam became the next king, he made the worst judgment ever that would be the cause of the division of Israel. Instead of listening to the advice of the elders, he took the advice of his friends. "And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king....And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents. But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them." - II Chronicles 10:1,13-17. The leaders of Israel met with Rehoboam with a reasonable request that he ease the excessive taxes his father had imposed upon them. They also asked that he discontinue the forced labor which had persisted since Solomon first began building the luxurious palaces, stables, chariot houses, magnificent parks, and other spectacular structures within his famous kingdom. Instead he enforced harsher rules and labor that his father did. The result, a nation divided, all of Israel except for the house of Judah and Benjamin followed Jeroboam and he reigned over the Northern Kingdom. This is an example of a man making decisions based on his pride, he wanted to feed his ego and be known as the leader and the one in control. A leader is a person who people look up to, a leader does not impose a bunch of rules to please himself, a leader serves the people and wants the best for those who are under him. A leader is not someone who has to constantly make people aware of their rank, but is right there working with the people and showing them how to do things the right way. Jesus is an example of a great leader and one that we should all be eager to serve under.
Now, the nation is divided, Jeroboam chose and allowed the Northern Kingdom to serve false gods, so he cast off all the priests to the Lord so they and everyone else who wanted to serve God went to live in Jerusalem. "And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah.... And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts. For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the LORD: And he ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers." - II Chronicles 11:5,13-16. The Levites and all those who wholeheartedly wanted God in their lives left the comforts of their home, their families, friends, and all their possessions in order to be near and worship God the right way. As we grow as Christians we learn that sometimes a church we have grown comfortable with no longer teaches the correct doctrine or is not as morally sound as it should be. When that happens you have to make a decision, leave the comforts of your church home and some of your family or friends there and worship God the right way, or stay where you are and remain ignorant to the truth. I had gotten away from God for about fifteen years before I walked into a church and for a few years it was my home away from home, but things began to change, it was no longer a place to worship God, but a place to go to a concert. It was time to leave, I kept thinking if I just give it some time things will go back to the way they use to be, but all I was doing was allowing myself to remain ignorant to their partial truths. Now, my church home is a wonderful God fearing church that follows the doctrine and morals of all of God's Word, not just what makes people feel good.
If we truly want Jesus to be Lord of our lives we need to do it the right way, seek and accept Him, read all of His Word and follow all His commands. Of course, it takes time to grown in our walk with Jesus, but ignoring the truth and allowing yourself to be subject to the doctrine of religion rather than God Himself is only going to prolong the blessings that are waiting for you as you submit to all of God's Word. We need to all proclaim what
Jesus said to the devil as He was being tempted by him, "It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." - Luke 4:4. Living by all of God's Word keeps us one step closer to God and away from Satan. Praise God for His living Word, Jesus Christ. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God....And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." - John 1:1,14. Knowing the truth and all of the truth will enable all of us to know God and worship Him the right way.
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

A Strong Foundation
A foundation is the natural or prepared ground or base on which a structure rests, without a good foundation no matter how strong the structure is it will tumble at the slightest distress. Since we are God's Temple, Jesus Christ is the foundation that it needs to rest upon, without Him our strength is no match for Satan who will stop at nothing to get us to tumble. "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." - I Corinthians 3:11.
King Solomon is credited for having said some of the longest prayers and offering the biggest number of sacrifices in all the Bible. "Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God." - II Chronicles 7:1-5. God loves to hear us pray, the bigger the prayer, the more He rejoices. Why? Because we are saying to God, I need your help, I have tried it on my own, but I can not do this alone. I am depending on You to give me the things I need and desire. When we humbly submit ourselves to God, seek forgiveness, praise Him, and thank Him through even the most difficult circumstances, He shines through us and gladly receives our prayers. The more we are dependent on God the stronger our foundation gets, the stronger our foundation gets the more our structure can survive Satan's storms.
Now, once we go before God in prayer and repentance we are making a covenant with God, an agreement, in that agreement we are saying, Lord, I will obey and follow Your commands and in return You will grant me the things I am asking You for. After Solomon's huge prayer and sacrifice, God came to him in another dream and reminded him of the covenant between the two of them. "And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations." - II Chronicles 7:12-20. God is telling Solomon, I hear your prayer, if you want to be forgiven, be blessed, and receive the things you ask, follow my commands, turn not away from me, if you turn away from me you will suffer and so will the people. God wants to give us things, but we must give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him. We can pray all day long, but unless we seek His face, turn from all wickedness, and humbly and sincerely seek His forgiveness He will not hear us. To seek His face means to seek Him in His Word so we may know what life is all about. As we read His Word, the Holy Spirit not only enlightens our understanding of how to follow His commands, but He empowers us obey them and eliminate any hidden sin or wickedness in our lives.
Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are no longer strangers to God, we are a part of the House of God and built upon His foundation. "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." - Ephesians 2:19-22. Since we are now built on a strong foundation, each circumstance, each trial, and each chastisement helps us to be holy Temples that God does not turn away from His sight and is eager to bless us with the things we ask for, even the things we desire. Jesus Said, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." - Mark 11:24. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and the Lord's day.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

The Glory of The Lord
As Christians we have the great privilege of living under the grace of God. It is only because of God's great grace that we can even stand before Him, through our faith and acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ, and say we are a saved child of the one and only living God. Now, everyone and every living thing is created by God, but only those whom have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior can say that they are a child of God. The amazing thing is that when one has wholeheartedly chosen to live their lives for Christ, the Glory of the Lord shines through so bright that it effects everyone around you. Those who do not know Christ will either become inspired to do so or run away, but do not take it personally, just rejoice knowing that God is with you and that He is working in that person as well, in one way or another all will see the Glory of the Lord.
King Solomon continued building the House of the Lord, it took about seven and a half years for it to be completed, but every detail was precise and everything that went into the Temple was pure and only of the best quality. "Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out. And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold; And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold." - II Chronicles 4:18-22. The furniture and amount of items in the temple, compared with that of the tabernacle, showed that God's church would be enlarged, and His worshipers multiplied. It was important that everything that went into the Temple be pure and perfect, a foreseen quality that would be of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, we are the House of God, His Temple, and it is just as important that everything that goes into our bodies, or Temple, be pure. We are not perfect, but we can be pure and if we learn God's Word and follow it we will remain pure. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." - II Timothy 3:16,17.
Now that the Temple was complete it was time to bring the Ark of God to it's final resting place. "Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up." - II Chronicles 5:1-4. Solomon gathered the priests and Levites as God commanded would be the only ones allowed to handle the Ark and put the Ark and all the holy vessels in place. The Ark was a token of the presence of God, when the people saw the Ark they knew that God was with them. God is always with His believers, but there is something about the sense of seeing His presence that increases a persons faith in Him. Any believer, even today, has the power to see His presence, look around you, God is everywhere, in the people we meet, in ourselves, in His beautiful creations, in the miracles we see every day, life in itself is a miracle and we should never take for granted that we are one of God's miracles. Praise God!

With praise, thanksgiving, music, and singing all the people were gathered together as one to see this wonderful event take place. There was nothing on the Ark except for the Word of God, which contained the original Commandments from Moses. These were to be a constant reminder of God's Covenant with Israel and to make them a holy nation. As soon as the Ark was in it's place God took possession of the Temple. "There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God." - II Chronicles 5:10-14. God was pleased and the Glory of the Lord shined so bright that the priests could not stand to minister to the people. Today, all who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior become a part of the assembly that with one accord proclaim that they are a sinner saved by grace through their faith and belief in the death, burial, and resurrection of God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. The second we say we believe in Jesus and ask Him into our heart it pleases God and He comes into our soul. The more we sing praises and give thanks to Him, the more He shines through us.
The Glory of the Lord shines through every person who has accepted Christ and made the decision to follow Him. The more we learn His Word, obey His commandments, thank, and praise Him the more He shines in us as the Holy Spirit works in us and changes us from just knowing the name of Christ to being one with Christ. "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." - II Corinthians 3:17,18. It is only by the Spirit of God that we can change and allow the Glory of the Lord to shine through us.
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

The Best Things in Life
The book of II Chronicles is the fourteenth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains thirty-six chapters. The author of the book is the prophet Ezra and the book was written to the Israelites that were in captivity in Babylon for seventy years. The purpose of the book was to record the religious history of Judah. What we are to learn from the book is that the blessings that God give to us comes through our humbling ourselves and seeking Him in all that we do.

It is natural to want the best things in life, to desire things that we could only dream of having, and to even work at getting them. However, for some, sooner or later, the best is not enough once they get it, they lose interest and are once again in search for something better. What the world does not realize, and even us Christians sometimes forget this, is that the best things in life can not be bought. No possession or position can replace the one person everyone needs, God. God is the best thing in life and as long as we remember that, He will give us new desires and we will receive them. People make the mistake of thinking that living for God means that all you can do is sit in a corner and read the Bible. While that is a good thing art times, God knows nothing would get accomplished if we just sat there. We are to go out and enjoy life and enjoying life is not about getting high and drunk and seeing how many notches you can add to your belt. It's about making a difference in yours and someone else's life and doing it morally. Sooner or later everyone gets tired of playing their part in trying to fit in with the world. There is always a way out and God is always right there waiting to give you the best things life has to offer.

Solomon was now king of Israel, he began his reign in submission to God and because of that he prospered quickly. "And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers...In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like." - II Chronicles 1:1,2,7-12. God spoke to Solomon in a dream, it was His intention to get Solomon to see that what was more important than riches and fame was to be obedient to the Word of God. When we live in submission to God we become more obedient to the Word of God as we learn it. The key is learning it, we can not know the best things that God has in store for us unless we learn what He has to say.

Solomon is credited with offering the largest sacrifices, building the most famous Temple, and becoming the most famous king, but he quickly lost sight of God the more He took his eyes off Him and on the riches of the world. Immediately following the offerings made at Gibeon, Solomon began purchasing chariots and horses, and silver and gold for his own needs. "And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance. And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price. And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means." - II Chronicles 1:14-17. Doing this was a direct violation of the Word of God who commanded that a king not multiply himself possessions, wives, or riches (See I Kings 4). Solomon defiantly broke all three commandments, including taking several heathen women as wives. It may appear strange for one to possess such wealth and wisdom and not desire to please the Lord as David did, but possessions give a false sense of security and self-sufficiency which often robs many of what the best things in life truly are. Before Solomon died, he realized this, in fact, the book of Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon having realized that all he ever had was vanity, losing sight of the one person he truly needed and that was God.

The Scriptures teach us that the Word of God is the source of true wisdom for daily direction. As we read the Bible with a sincere desire to do His will, the Holy Spirit, the Living Word, the Spirit of Jesus Christ Himself, guides our thoughts and actions to know what the best things in life truly are. We can enjoy life to the fullest and even receive the desires of our heart, but if we are not in submission to the will of God, we will never see the potential of what God can truly bless us with. Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;" - John 14:12-16. The Holy Spirit is our guide and He lives in all who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. He gives us the wisdom and knowledge we need to understand God's Word. When we let the Holy Spirit Guide us He will show us the true desires of our heart and what are truly the best things in life. Are you ready for the best things in life? Put your faith and trust in Jesus and He will show you what they are and how you can obtain them. It takes work to get the things we desire and as long as we live in submission to God and His Word we will receive them. Praise God for His faithfulness and love for all of us. I have had a taste of what the world has to offer, I desired those things and I got them, but it was not long before I was bored and in search for something more fulfilling, all the world got me was in one mess after the other and it was not until I went to God and dedicated my life to Jesus that I got out of them. God will forgive and receive anyone who calls on Him, even those who walked away from Him. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and your weekend.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Be Strong And Do It
Much of the Book of I Chronicles focuses on doing the work of the Lord, God creates us for a purpose and calls us to do a job for Him and if it takes nearly a lifetime on earth to do it, He will keep on us until we realize what He wants us to do and do it. We should all be honored that God has called upon us to do a special task for Him, but many of us, and this can happen to even the strongest Christian, get caught up in circumstances and or every day stresses in life that can deafen us from hearing His call. It is times like these when we need to take a deep breath and realize that God is with us and wants to help us, He does not want us to try to handle things on our own. He is not punishing you, He is strengthening you and preparing you to do the task He called you to do.

King David was about to hand the reins over to Solomon, before he did he calls all of Israel's leaders and Solomon and gives full instructions from God on how to run the nation when he's gone. "And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.... Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it." - I Chronicles 28:1,8-10. David told them how God had chosen Solomon to build His Temple and that their greatest concern should be to be obedient to all of God's commands. David also stressed to Solomon how important it was to serve God with a perfect heart. It is not easy doing the task that God calls you to do, you will face all sorts of obstacles as Satan tries to stop you, but you can not let that stop you. You have to be strong and just do it, running only prolongs it, but God will get you back in His will, no matter how long it takes. Moses ran from God and it took forty years to get him back in the will of God, Jonah ran from God and got swallowed up by a whale and stayed there for three days until he got back in the will of God.

God knows our hearts and intentions, if we are serving Him wholeheartedly He will always be with us, helping us, and giving us the power and strength to accomplish the task as well as overcome the obstacles we face in our walk of life. A person can be obedient and still miss out on the blessing of God by having a bad attitude or complaining about what God has asked them to do. Also, use God to achieve your own selfish goals and you will suffer, I have seen so many people use tragic situations to their advantage to make money off of people and say that it was a gift from God only to fall flat on their faces. After David's instructions, he offered one of the most inspiring prayers recorded in the Scripture, a prayer of thanksgiving, praise, and adoration, and God's great love. "Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.... I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee." - I Chronicles 29:11-14,17. David's heartfelt prayer is a reminder to all of us that prayer should be a time of praising and worshiping God with thanksgiving for who He is, as well as for what He has given us. As we recognize our total dependence upon God for everything, we will praise Him for His provision. When we neglect to praise the Lord daily, our worship often becomes a mere ritual. Every day, under every circumstance, in every thing we need to give thanks to the Lord. It is through praise and worship, especially through our roughest days that we do have the strength to do the task that God calls us to do.

We all have things in life that we do not want to or feel like doing, but they are things that need to be done, so we might as well as do them joyfully so we can get them done faster. Jesus said, "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:10,11. When we do the work of the Lord we will find joy, in fact, you actually feel as though you have accomplished something great. And you did, you became strong and you did it. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night, God Bless You, I am praying for you

From Suffering to Forgiveness
As Christians we can rejoice in the fact that our God is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sins and show us the way out of them should we fall from time to time. Because we have this flesh we are going to be constantly tempted and tricked into sin by Satan. Even little, simple sins done ignorantly can have serious consequences. Sin not only wrecks our relationship with God, it also wrecks our relationship with family and friends. When we sin, everyone around us suffers. The hard part is that sometimes we know we have sinned, but many times we really have no idea we have sinned and it is not until we see people suffering that we realize what we have done. The amazing thing is that God is still merciful and forgiving regardless of what we get ourselves into and will always give us an end to the suffering and a way out of every sin we commit as long as we are willing to accept responsibility for what we have done and ask Him for help.

David was one of the most godliest men we have ever known about, but he was just like the rest of us, he had this flesh that Satan could get a hold of sometimes. The stronger our faith in God, the more he will attack us and all it takes is one moment of weakness or feeding the ego and we fall right into sin, such as we learn about David. "And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem....And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me." - I Chronicles 21:1-4,7-12. David knew what he did was wrong, but the damage was done, he had to choose which form of punishment that Israel would have to endure for his sin. Satan, the adversary, was permitted to influence David to authorize the census. We do not know why David felt he needed to number the people, but this one little sin caused suffering for all the people. Few are aware that Satan is so near or so powerful in prompting sin that appears on the surface to be innocent. Be assured that wherever there is a ministry being done for Christ, Satan's strategy of discrediting the believer and God Himself must be recognized. It is of utmost importance that we read the Lord's directions in the Bible. It alone is our weapon, and armor against our most dreadful adversary.

Although God can become angry and make us suffer and allows Satan to cause evil upon us, He is still a loving God and wants the best for us. He allows these things because He knows that we are much stronger than we think we are or that we are liars and really are not sincere in seeking forgiveness. When we are sincere, God can be persuaded to lessen the suffering. "So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.....And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof." - I Chronicles 21:14-18,26,27. David's sin caused pestilence, a deadly plague to hit the people and 70,000 lives were lost. Then God sent the angel of the Lord to Jerusalem to destroy it, but David begged and pleaded with God not to let the people suffer for what he had done. Because of his sincerity and obedience God changed His mind and Jerusalem was saved.

It is important that we seek forgiveness, but equally important that we forgive others as well, even those who cause us to suffer for sins they committed. Jesus Said, "And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." - Mark 11:25,26. We must forgive those whom have wronged us if we want God's forgiveness. Because God is merciful to everyone that means all deserve forgiveness. I know it can be hard to forgive people, especially when they have caused harm to a child, but we must let it go and let God handle it. Holding on to these things only causes us more pain. God knows what we have gone through and He will take care of it. Jesus Said, "It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." - Luke 17:1-4. My father cheated on my mother and had another family on the other side of town. My mother was forced to raise three kids on her own in the ghetto. We suffered and went through one struggle after another for his sin, but God pulled us through it. It was important that I forgive my father for what he had put is through. Oh, I have dealt with some bitterness at times, but God has blessed me through my sorrows, as He will anyone else, and to see my father now I know that God has taken care of the situation. God takes care of anyone who comes to Him. Satan may provoke us to sin and he may even cause others to sin against us, but one thing he can never do and that is take away our Salvation. Any person who has accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior is saved from their sins and nothing can take that away. Praise God! We may suffer from time to time, but we have a great and mighty God on our side, ready and willing to let by gones be gones and is always faithful and just to forgive us of all of our sins. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Rejoice in The Lord, Always
As Christians we can rejoice in the fact that we know we have a great God on our side to shield us, comfort us, and correct us when we obey and follow our Lord Jesus Christ. No matter how faithful we are to God, at times, circumstances or even day to day life can cloud our minds to the point that we do not even realize He is always with us. Of course when that happens even more circumstances come our way until we realize that we have forgotten about God or that He is in control of the situation. We are to rejoice in the Lord always, through joy, happiness, mourning, pain, financial difficulties, marital problems, loneliness, and everything in between. When we rejoice in the Lord in every aspect of life we not only receive His blessings, we also go through a lot let suffering. God never places things before us that we can not handle.

David went through one trial after another before he became king, through it all he never failed to praise God or seek His guidance in the steps he took. Often the phrase, and David enquired of God, is written in the Scriptures. "And the Philistines came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. And David enquired of God, saying, Shall I go up against the Philistines? And wilt thou deliver them into mine hand? And the LORD said unto him, Go up; for I will deliver them into thine hand. So they came up to Baalperazim; and David smote them there. Then David said, God hath broken in upon mine enemies by mine hand like the breaking forth of waters: therefore they called the name of that place Baalperazim. And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire. And the Philistines yet again spread themselves abroad in the valley. Therefore David enquired again of God; and God said unto him, Go not up after them; turn away from them, and come upon them over against the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when thou shalt hear a sound of going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt go out to battle: for God is gone forth before thee to smite the host of the Philistines. David therefore did as God commanded him: and they smote the host of the Philistines from Gibeon even to Gazer. And the fame of David went out into all lands; and the LORD brought the fear of him upon all nations." - I Chronicles 14:9-17. David was prosperous and successful as a king and feared by all nations knowing that he was the king of God's people.

During the forty years that Saul reigned over Israel, the Ark was ignored, but when David became king, he was deeply concerned that the Ark, above which God's presence dwelt. He knew that the nation's success was dependent upon God's presence being in their midst. Soon after establishing his capital in Jerusalem, David united the nation for a glorious time of praising the Lord while bringing the Ark of God from the house of Obededom to Jerusalem. To demonstrate his reverence for God, and in recognition that God was the Supreme Ruler, David humbly laid aside his kingly garments and dressed in a plain linen ephod, a garment the priests wore when ministering before the Lord. "And David made him houses in the city of David, and prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent. Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever. And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had prepared for it. And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the Levites:..And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto the place that I have prepared for it....And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses commanded according to the word of the LORD....And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen. " - I Chronicles 15:1-4,12,15,27. In doing this, David was publicly acknowledging his submission to the authority of the supreme King and expressing adoration and praise to his Lord as Almighty God and the true King of Israel. This time David carefully obeyed God's Word, telling the priests to sanctify themselves and bear the Ark of God upon their shoulders as Moses commanded according to God's Word. God's work must be done in His way not in our own, if He is to be glorified. It is only as we serve the Lord according to His Word that we enjoy His presence and receive His blessing.

There is only one true God, oh people might try and create other gods and worship them as if they were God, but all they are doing is deceiving themselves and sending themselves right to hell, if they have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Even before Jesus came the people knew they needed to be saved, David encouraged the people to rejoice in their salvation in public, recognizing that there is only One God who saves. "Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations. For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place. Give unto the LORD, ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness." - I Chronicles 16:23-29. When we rejoice in the Lord always we will not only send joy to God we will become strengthen and able to handle tougher situations. We can not be afraid to show the world that we follow Christ. So, we are called Jesus freaks or something worse. I rather be a Jesus freak than act like a fool to please the public. It is only when we rejoice and praise God that He acknowledges and blesses us. There is a song called the never ending song, it's endless, the more you sing it the better you feel,
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
And Again I say rejoice.
Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

Keep repeating the verses over and over again.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and let's have a great week knowing Jesus is with us.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

God's Guidance

The world rejoices at fame, fortune, and material things, the more you have, the more you are accepted, the less you have the more you are rejected. Christians rejoice in the life changing experience of serving God, the more you do for God, the more you have, and He never rejects you. Praise God! Sadly, many people will continue to search for things for self improvement, escaping the fact that God is what they need, including many Christians. I just saw on the news yesterday a story about a woman who was offering spiritual guidance to women who are struggling financially in the form of guardian angels, she was charging $60 a hour and prices went as far as $1000 for a hour to tell them that their guardian angels will help them if they acknowledge them. It is frustrating to see so many people continually making money off people who are desperate to find answers, peace and comfort in their time of sorrows. Let me tell you something, God's guidance is free and priceless. You do not have to pay money to find answers, peace, or comfort, you just call on Jesus and He is there. Of course, we all need fellowship and encouragement, but our true source of guidance comes from God and God alone.
Since He created the world, God has been guiding faithful men and women to lead blessed, prosperous lives. Of all the families of Israel, none were so illustrious as the family of David mainly due to the fact that from this family, as concerning the flesh, Christ was born. Further account is given of Judah, the most numerous and most famous of all the tribes. The most remarkable person in this chapter is Jabez, we are not told upon what account was more honorable than his brethren, but God makes an appoint to let us know that he was a praying man. "And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." - I Chronicles 4:9,10. Jabez prayed to the living and true God, who alone can hear and answer prayer. He resolved to devote himself entirely to God reassuring Him that if you bless me and keep me, do what you will with me, I will be at Your command and disposal for ever. People in the world will try and come up with a visual or scientific explanations for godly people receiving answered prayer, they fail to realize that God is proven fact and the only one who can truly answer prayer.
Without God's guidance we are not prepared to handle the battles that come our way, the tribe of Reuben preferred to live in the rich, fertile lands just outside the promised land, choosing what seemed would bring them success. "Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after the birthright. For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was Joseph's:)...And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day." - I Chronicles 5:1,2,25,26. With the river separating them from their kindred, the Reubenites were among the first tribes to be conquered and taken as slaves to Assyria. The number one reason why they never were captured first, they did not have God leading them. The Reubenites are an example of people who are so involved in the things of the world that God and His Word are not given first consideration. They are willing to settle for less than His best in order to receive material gain and satisfy their own ambitions and pleasures. How satisfying it is to yield oneself to God to be led onward in the path He has chosen. He uses the men and women who have prepared themselves to serve the Lord and when we let Him lead He will always bless us with the things we are in need of and even the things we desire.
It is time to let go of worldly self improvements and let God improve us from the inside out. The first step is by having Jesus in our lives, without Him nothing we do will have an effect on God. If we want to be led of God we need to be led by all of His Word, not just part of it. "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him." - I John 5:12-15. If we have Jesus we have eternal life and that is the best gift we could ever receive from anyone. Once we have Jesus we do change from the inside out, the things of the world no longer are significant and because of that He will give us the desires of our heart. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and rest of your week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Sinful Pride
As Christians we can rejoice in the fact that we are sinners saved by grace through our faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. However, that does not mean that we will not face the consequences of our sins. Now, sin is any act regarded as disobeying God. Some sins are obvious, such as taking the Lord's name in vain, idolatry, and adultery, but many are not obvious, especially to many new Christians, such as being slothful and little white lies. The root of all sin is in the heart, whatever it is, that makes men proud, secure, or discontent, is caused by their own heart. Perhaps the hardest sin to overcome is pride, now, it is one thing to take pride in what we do, it is another to be so proud that we think of ourselves above anyone else. Of course, we all have skills and talents that God has given us that others do not have, but that does not mean that one person is better than the other. There is always someone to replace us, no one is irreplaceable, unless you are Jesus Christ, and if we do not get a hold of our pride, it can be the destruction of us.

Amaziah, was the next king of Judah, he was promising as a king and loved the Lord, the first order that he gave as the king was that those responsible for his father death be put to death. "In the second year of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash king of Judah. He was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did. Howbeit the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense on the high places. And it came to pass, as soon as the kingdom was confirmed in his hand, that he slew his servants which had slain the king his father....He slew of Edom in the valley of salt ten thousand, and took Selah by war, and called the name of it Joktheel unto this day. " - II Kings 14:1-5,7. Amaziah sought to please God in all that he did, and in seeking God's pleasure, his thought was right by God. However, he used his father Joash as his guide rather than his forefather David, so, he continued doing what he was taught by his father. This is where we all need to set the right examples for our kids, it is great to teach them to be godly, but we must be willing to go beyond that and teach them through Scripture. Had Joash learned the Scriptures and taught them to Amaziah he would have known to get rid of the high places, which were teaching the people to combine God with their idol worshiping.

After his victory over Edom, Amaziah got overly confident that he could defeat Israel (the Northern Kingdom.) He then calls for a challenge against Jehoash, "Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents." - II Kings 14:8-12. King Joash, gave his answer to Amaziah's challenge, and the answer came through this story of thistles. He is telling Amaziah that his army is nothing, but a patch of trodden down thistles compared to the cedars which we are that are very big and strong. Joash tries to settle this dispute without war, and let him know that the odds are not with Judah in case of war, but Amaziah refuses to listen and the result is a civil war that causes Judah to lose severely, but the war didn't last very long, and very few lives were lost, because Judah's army didn't stick around when they heard that God was not on their side as every man headed back home for his own tent back home. Amaziah was too proud and it was that pride that not only caused him to lose God's respect it also caused unnecessary suffering for the people of Judah. Sinful pride does not just cause us to suffer, but all those who are around us as well.

Azariah, also known as Uzziah, was a king who sought God and the had done more to restore lost territory and strengthen the prestige of Judah than any king since the kingdom divided. Sadly, his great military success and popularity may have caused him to lose sight of the fact that, although he was a powerful king, he was merely a servant of God. "In the twenty and seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Azariah son of Amaziah king of Judah to reign. Sixteen years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned two and fifty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah had done; Save that the high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places. And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land. " - II Kings 15:1-5. The book of II Chronicles chapter 26, tells us that Azariah was struck with leprosy because he took on the position of a priest, burning incense upon the altar in the House of the Lord. The king had his functions to rule, to judge, to decide on peace or war, to lead armies, and to direct the whole policy of the nation, but one thing he was not permitted to do was to usurp spiritual responsibilities in the Temple of God. It's amazing how a person can become so successful then somehow forgets that it is God who causes him to prosper and lets his pride takes over only to learn the hard way that he is nothing without God.

Though Judah was not without troubles, yet that kingdom was happy, compared to the state Israel was in. The imperfections of true believers are very different from the allowed of ungodly men. It is human nature to search our hearts and do what we feel is best and that is our downfall. If we leave everything to the heart, deceitfulness, corruption, and or wickedness always comes in to play. As Christians we should all be so grateful of the restraints that God places before us, from being kept from temptation, and for the humbleness He instills in all who seek to follow His will. All of the kings, regardless of North or South had one problem that kept them from seeing God's true blessings and potential in their lives and their kingdoms, that is their unwillingness to get rid of their false gods. They continued to compromise with the world rather than eliminate all of the wickedness from God's people. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." - I John 2:15-17. As Christians we need to daily beg God to renew the Spirit within us that keeps us from falling into sinful pride. "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit." - Psalm 51:10-12.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and the rest of your week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you

Source:- GOOD NEWS
The True King
Wicked people have one thing and only one thing on their mind, control. They want control of everything, they want things their way and will stop at nothing to get it, no matter how many people they hurt or even kill to get it. Why do you think that there are so many religions out there? It's all about being in control, it's an attitude that says, "I am God, I can do what I want, believe what I want, have what I want, and I will take down anyone that gets in my way." This is the very reason why we have Satan in the world, he thought he could be God, but in reality he and every other person who thinks they are in control are spineless cowards who use lost and desperate people to do their dirty work for them, even Christians. As Christians, we may suffer persecution and heartache, but God always takes care of His people and if anyone hurts anyone of us you can be sure that He will seek vengeance in His own way and in His time. The truth is, God is always in control and no one or thing can change that, no matter how many people try to be God, there is only One God and One Savior, Jesus Christ, and He is the True King and Ruler of all.
When Jehu had all the house of Ahab killed as well as Jezebel he did not execute the wicked Athaliah, who was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and mother of King Ahaziah (Northern Kingdom). After Athaliah, received word that King Ahaziah (her husband) and Ahaziah (her son), was dead, she seized control of the Southern Kingdom and had the entire house of David killed. "And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him, even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son....And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king. " - II Kings 11:1-4,12. To make sure she had no competition, Athaliah ruthlessly murdered her own grandsons, thinking she had killed all of David's descendants, she reigned for six years. Little did she know that God was in control and Ahaziah's son, the only seed that would preserve the empire of David and lineage of Jesus Christ, was hidden safely for six years.
Joash (Jehoash) was seven years old when he was make King of Judah, "And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the LORD, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. And all the people of the land rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house. Seven years old was Jehoash when he began to reign." - II Kings 11:19-21. Not only did this wicked queen get executed, Joash began to reign at the age of seven. Never underestimate the power of God to protect His children, even when they appear to be victims of evil circumstances beyond their control.
The first thing Joash was given as king was a copy of the Bible (testimony) and he did which was right in the Lord and ruled for forty years. "In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Zibiah of Beersheba. And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the LORD, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the LORD, Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found." - II Kings 12:1-5. Sadly, the Temple was in great need of repair and because of that the people still sacrificed in high places. It was not until Joash's twenty-third year in reign that he began to see assistance in repairing the Temple. It is a great honor and mercy to young people, especially to all young men of rank, to have godly men about them who will instruct them to do what is right in the sight of the Lord. They do wisely and well for themselves when willing to be counseled and ruled, even though they are rulers. We must be willing to be taught in order to lead.
God is always in control, people may try to change their destiny, but God will always intervene and get you right back where He wants you to be. I remember a time in my life when I was so far away from God that I did not even know He was around. It was only my His mercy and grace that He placed me in a situation where I knew I needed Him, but as I look back over the years I thought He was not around I realize He in fact was around and protecting me. I remember the first day I picked up the Bible and began reading it, after years of ignoring it. I was in a hotel room, contemplating the mess that I had gotten myself into, thinking about God. Little did I know that the circumstances I faced were all needed to get me to see that life is not about the people you know, the things you have, or the job you have, it's about letting go and giving everything to God. He is always in control, so, we might as well just go with it the right way instead of going against Him and face unnecessary consequences for trying to go against His will. Regardless of what we get ourselves caught up in, God is faithful and just to forgive us and get us all back on track. "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." - I Corinthians 6:9-11. We are forgiven and cleansed of all our sins by our faith and trust in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Coming to Him is the only way to be forgiven, but praise God, we have a way to be cleansed and justified. God is always in control. Praise God!
Enjoy the rest of your day/night and rest of the week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you