Monday... It seems that success is within our grasp.

Monday... These two phrases caught my attention as I was reading this morning in 2 Chronicles. They were two phrases about two different Kings of Judah. It seems that success is within our grasp.

The first phrase was in 2 Chronicles 25:2 (NLT), "Amaziah did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, but not wholeheartedly." The MESSAGE says, "He lived well before God, doing the right thing for the most part. But he wasn't wholeheartedly devoted to God."

It is good that he did what was pleasing in the Lord's sight, but here is the problem, he did the right thing for the most part. And that showed up to be his downfall in his later days. He wasn't fully committed and God knew it. Oh God, may we be fully devoted to you not for the most part but wholeheartedly.

And then in chapter 26 we read about King Uzziah. He was sixteen when he became king, and verse 5 says, "Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success." As long as he sought guidance.

Two things to be reminded of today; doing the right thing for the most part is not the way to live a successful and prosperous life. And as long as he sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success.

Oh God, may we live with our whole heart given over to You and may we continually seek Your guidance. May that be our prayer as we start this new day and this new work week. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

Comments

Thursday... Maybe we need this word today.

Psalm 57:1b (NIRV), "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Thursday... Maybe we need this word today. There are words in life that give us confidence no matter what we are facing. Now we have to believe them in order for them to have an impact. David wrote Psalm 57 while he was in a cave hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him and he says in the last part of verse 1, "There I will stay." It was a safe place and Saul didn't know that he was there. But he doesn't stop there. With confidence he said, "There I will stay until." And until is definitely a word of faith and confidence. "There I will stay until the danger is gone." Do we need that today? Let me give you the whole verse. In verse 1 David says, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." And that is a great place to start in times of trouble. Maybe that is what we need to pray today, "Have mercy on me, God. Have mercy on me." It is so great to have someone...

Tuesday... We just have trouble listening.

1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." Tuesday... We just have trouble listening. Over in Jeremiah 25:4 (NLT) it says, "Again and again the LORD has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention." And Jeremiah went on to tell what was going to happen. There will be consequences if we do not listen to what God says through his Word. Now the Apostle Paul over in 1 Corinthians was having a problem with some professed Christ followers who were having trouble at listening. And we too can have problems at listening. We can think that being a Christ follower means we do a lot of finger pointing and we give up on people who don't do what we say. We can even do that in our families. But Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT), "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." In verse ...

Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute.

Proverbs 19:2 (NLT), "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." Friday... It is so exciting but wait a minute. This time of the year is so exciting. We get our paycheck from work and then we head to the store or Amazon and buy and buy and buy all those presents and then our check is gone Proverbs 19:2 (NLT) says, "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." But buying gifts can be so much fun and seeing how happy they are when opening those presents makes us feel so good. But then verse 3 says, "People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then they are angry at the Lord." Now for some that is their life. They get money and they spend it on their wants with no thought of what needs to be paid. An important lesson that we have learned is just because you have money in the bank doesn't mean you must spend it. But our enthusiasm takes over. But the problem is when it is gone and there is no money to pay th...

Today's Beginning

Search This Blog