The Art of Preparation – 2 Chronicles 3:2

2 He broke ground on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his rule.

– 2 Chronicles 3:2

The Art of Preparation

How many of us would be OK waiting 4 years, 2 months, and 2 days to kick off our ministries?  Not many I think . . . including myself!  But in today's scripture, Solomon, who was anointed by God to build His temple, took exactly that long before breaking ground.  If it was me, I would have broken ground first, and then, after the big kick-off celebration and the fanfare died down, I would have been all stressed out trying to figure out how I was ever going to be able to pull this off!  I know, because I've actually done it before!

But in his wisdom and knowledge (that God blessed him with), Solomon knew that in order to do anything for God, everything had to be perfect. Every detail, every contingency, every color of every thread of every fabric had to be designed, redesigned, and then prototyped and tested, before construction could begin.  There had to be meetings (many, many meetings), and brainstorming sessions, and focus groups, and assigning of duties, and approving of ideas, and most of all . . . there had to be prayer . . . LOTS of prayer and quiet reflection with God.

How many of us start a ministry, or a Bible study, or a Sunday School class, and we just order the materials, put out a sign-up sheet, and dive right in with barely even gaining full understanding of the material we will be using.  We scarcely prepare for  our meetings, and then we wonder why things didn't go very well and the response was underwhelming (ashamedly, I must admit that I've done this one before as well).  Or here's another scenario . . . you feel God has called you to start a particular ministry so you go to your Pastor to get his permission to get started, but instead of being all excited about your new passion, he pulls the brakes and asks you to hold off for a while because the timing just isn't right.  WHAAAT?!  Time to find a new church, right?  Time to go ahead and do what you want anyway, whether the Pastor likes it or not, right?  Sadly . . . "been there done that" one too.

God requires our very best because He's given us HIS VERY BEST!  He doesn't need our half-baked, ill-prepared, luke-warm efforts to the great ministry potential He's birthed.  When He gives us an assignment, He expects that we will give Him our best effort to make sure that He is honored and that He is presented with excellence and that His Word and His Purpose are being executed with full wisdom and knowledge of HIS Love for people.  We must take the time necessary to prepare the way for the Lord to move.  We must make preparation more important than self gratification, or accolades, or recognition for serving.  We need to make sure every word of God, every worship note, each Bible study class, and ALL outreaching hands, are being presented with the authority of a fully-prepared heart . . . no matter how long it takes.

God doesn't need or want our efforts . . . He wants us to understand and to know Him, and He wants us to be excellent when we represent Him.  So starting today, let's honor our Father with the gift and the art, of preparation.

Prayer

Father, the Bible says that You have prepared a place for us in Your house.  Thank You for the preparation.  Thank You for the planning and the thought and the detail that has gone into that place.  Forgive us for treating You and Your work with half-hearted efforts and little or no preparation.  Help us to make preparation a habit and a priority so that everything we do in Your name, will be received in the manner most worthy, and so that Your Name will be Glorified and Lifted Up!

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard 

Get A Grip! – 2 Chronicles 1:1

1 Solomon son of David took a firm grip on the reins of his kingdom. God was with him and gave him much help.

– 2 Chronicles 1:1

Get A Grip!

When God gives you an assignment, He expects that you will have the faith and the confidence – the faith and confidence that HEs already given you – to fully complete the task to the fullness of His glory. I think we can all agree on that point, right?  Well then . . . why is it that when our ministry stalls, or we don't get the results we were expecting (for ourselves), or we run into some kind of opposition, we blame everything and everyone . . . but ourselves?  Harsh words?  You bet they are!

God deserves . . . NO! . . . God DEMANDS our best . . . our VERY best!  He expects that the Power, and the Grace, and the Anointing that HE has solidly placed, firmly on our shoulders will give us the confidence and the faith in HIM, to carry our our assignment.  He expects us to take a firm grip on the reins and take command, with ALL authority and purpose, and to be worthy of the calling as His child and His anointed.  

God doesn't deserve excuses.  He doesn't deserve delays.  He shouldn't have to watch us fizzle, and fade out, and give up at the first signs of trouble.  Our Father, who hand-placed each star in the sky, and which stars shine confidently and purposefully, fulfilling their assigned mission, doesn't deserve for those who claim to love and adore Him and to have full faith in Him, to show the world that our God can't do what He says He'll do.  He deserves so much better than that!

The world needs to see that we are powerful!  They need to see that our God IS God!  They need to desire the Victory that we have in Jesus and they definitely need to see that the God we claim to love – the God of the Angel Armies – the Creator of Heaven and earth and everything and everyone in it, can accomplish amazing things through those who call Him Father.

So how about it?  Let's show God that we know and understand who He is in our lives.  Let's make our Papa proud today, and tomorrow, and the next day, and every day after.  Let's show the world that we aren't quitters, or doubters, or wishy-washy – hot-and-cold – off-and-on "Christians." Let's take the reins and charge into our assignments, fully expecting miracles and resounding success!  Let's prove to our Father that we are Generals in His army, leading the charge under all authority and confidence . . . in Him!

Prayer

Father, thank You for reminding us today that we need to take charge of our lives, our assignments, and our ministries.  Thank You for providing the Victory and the Success before we even start.  Help us to doubt the doubters and to prove wrong the nay-sayers.  May we show You that we know and understand that YOU are our God, our beautiful Father!

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard

The Attitude of Giving – 1 Chronicles 29:14

17 I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface – you want us, our true selves – and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly - what a joy! 

– 1 Chronicles 29:17

The Attitude of Giving

I have learned over the years that I derive the greatest joy by giving to the Lord – giving of my time, giving of my talents, and giving of my finances – giving from all that I am . . . from the heart, if you will.  It has become so ingrained in me that it is really more of an instinct than a conscious effort.  I just want to bless others and to let them see that there is such a thing as "no-strings-attached" generosity – a blessing from God, through my willingness to give.  But I had to develop my attitude of giving because some areas were easier to give from than others.

It was easy for me to give money.  I mean, the Bible said do it, so I just did it and I saw the generosity of God in my life and I experienced first-hand how He took my little tithe and blessed me to the point where I tithe more now in a month than the amount of my entire monthly earnings when I first started tithing!  Giving of my talents was also easy.  As an artist (and like all artists), displaying our talent is kind of what we're called to do, but I had no idea how God would take the talent I thought I had, and take it to places I never could have imagined.  He gave new life to my art and showed me how it ministers to people!  

But of all of them, I think that giving of my "Time" was the most difficult "Giving" habit for me to develop.  I am a fairly private person (or I used to be), and I used to relish those days when I could just spend hours of "me" time – away from idle conversations and shop-talk; away from the pressure of having to be "on" all the time, and away from people's expectations.  I could spend hours doing nothing, and to me, that was peace . . . but I was miserable.  But by opening myself up and getting involved, God has taken this "lone ranger" from days past, and He's given me a servant's heart, and now my days are filled with God conversations, and ministering opportunities, and life, and joy, and even though I'm busier now in my 50s than I've ever been . . . I'm more at peace than I've ever been.

So I want to encourage you today – whatever area of "giving" you struggle with, the key is to keep working at it and soon it will become a part of you, and you will become the giving being that God created you to be.  Your weakest area will become one of your strongest, and I'm confident that soon you will be giving all of yourself to God and His work, and you'll be doing it honestly and happily as well.  The great thing about it is that your transformation will be evident to the people who know the old you, and they will see how God is blessing everything you give of yourself to do, and THEY will start doing the same thing . . . giving to God, freely and willingly . . . from their true selves . . . honestly and happily . . . what a joy!

Prayer

Father, Thank You for giving so freely to us!  Everything we have; everything we can do; everything we are, comes directly from You and your gracious hand.  So now we give back!  We give back from our time, and our talents, and our finances Oh God, with glad and honest hearts, to honor Your example of giving.  What a joy it is to bless others by first blessing You.

Have a Blessed and Giving day everyone!

– Richard

Give Faith Your All! – 1 Chronicles 22:13

13 That's what will make you successful, following the directions and doing the things that God commanded Moses for Israel. Courage! Take charge! Don't be timid; don't hold back.

– 1 Chronicles 22:13

Give Faith Your All!

God has created you to be a champion – a mountain mover and an earth shaker – so why are you sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone else to take the lead (you know who you are)?

The gifting and the ministry that God has anointed you with is waiting to spill its banks – to overflow and flood the land with the Power of the Holy Spirit!  The only thing holding it back is your reluctance to see the Authority that God has already given you, but that you've yet to discover because of a timid heart.  I'm not saying it's going to be easy.  I'm not saying it won't be without its obstacles and trials.  I'm not even saying that you won't face quite a bit of opposition from some pretty impressive people . . . but what I am saying is that by Faith it's yours!  By Faith it's there for the taking!  By Faith you will change this world . . . by Faith!

Every hero of the Bible was reluctant and timid at one time or another.  They doubted, and they feared, and they made mistakes, but when they could no longer deny the Power and the Presence of God in their lives, by Faith, they took Courage, and the set aside their timid hearts, and they didn't hold anything back!  And because of their faithfulness, God used them to touch the heart of man!  He used them to present His Truth of Love, and Grace, and Forgiveness to the lost generation of their time.  Their Faith was so strong, and their success so overwhelming that they are still changing the hearts of man today – thousands of years later.

God wants you to BELIEVE!  The assignment He has placed inside your heart WILL succeed!  The passion that has been burning inside you but that you've kept bottled-up is getting ready to explode with the full backing of God Himself!  But you've gotta have Faith!  You've gotta Believe!  You've gotta make the first (and most difficult) step!  It's up to you . . . no one's gonna do it for you because the task is not theirs to do . . . it's YOURS!

So follow God's direction:  Courage!  Take charge!  Don't be timid!  Don't hold back!

SEE what God will do through you!  SEE what God can do through your willing heart . . . and your unwavering Faith!

Prayer

Father, I pray for this person who needs to release the Power of Your Holy Spirit and step forth in Faith!  I pray for Confidence, and Courage, and Boldness that can only come from You!  Show them the way as they step forth and live the life You have called out for them.  I stand beside them in unified brotherhood, ready to hold them up and to help them to remain steadfast and true to the calling You have placed on their ministry and their life!

Have a blessed day everyone (You know who you are)!

– Richard

Look At ALL My Stuff! – 1 Chronicles 21:1

1 Now Satan entered the scene and seduced David into taking a census of Israel.

– 1 Chronicles 21:1

Look At ALL My Stuff!

Pride is a funny thing.  It is the great chameleon of sins and the devil knows that if he can just get us to take our eyes off God for just a second, he can start us looking at ourselves and our "stuff," as accomplishments instead of as gifts and blessings from our Father.

Now please know that if David, a man after God's own heart, the mighty warrior of God, the King of Israel, and Commander of massive armies, blessed, and anointed by God, and talked about to this very day – if HE could be seduced by Satan . . . you and I don't stand a chance.  No one does, and I believe God wants it that way because it keeps us in a constant state of needing to deepen our love relationship with Him.

Remember . . . it's only when our eyes, ears, hearts, minds, objectives, motives, and desires are diverted away from God, that the ever-patient enemy can get us to thinking about how good we are, or how much we've accomplished, or how talented we think we are, or in this case with David . . . "Look at how much "stuff" I've collected - MAN, I've done a great thing."

Man's greatest falls have come right after the greatest accomplishments and the biggest victories.  We let our guards down and we stand back with our chests out and our hands on our hips, and we say "MAN, I've just come through a tough battle!"  or "WOW!  Look at what I've done"  or how about this one . . . "Look at ALL that God has blessed me with – I sure am blessed!"

Yes, if we're not careful, counting our blessings can be very prideful and can be just the opening—the proverbial "chink" in the armor—the enemy needs to bring us down hard!

Se let's be mindful of where our blessings, our accomplishments, and our victories come from today.  That means that our minds need to be FULL of God.  They need to be saturated and totally focussed on Him.  We have to seek after that love-relationship with our Father with every fiber of our being so that we don't give the devil an opportunity to seduce us with . . . well . . . with "US"!

God loves to bless His children, and I know first-hand that His children LOVE to be blessed.  We just need to remember that without Him, we would have no blessings.  Without His Love, we would all be left to ourselves, and I also know from first-hand experience, that THAT is not a good thing at all.

So let's keep our eyes on Jesus today.  Let's develop a deep and meaningful love-relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Let's walk in the Power and the Direction of the Holy Spirit.  Let's let our boasts be only in and of the Lord.  I think He would be blessed by that . . . don't you?

Prayer

Father, Thank You for ALL You have given us.  Thank You for Your Love, and Grace, and for the Victories and the Blessings that You have so freely given.  Forgive us for the times when we take our eyes off of You and we start looking around and thinking that we've accomplished something.  Forgive our pride Lord.  Help us to keep our minds, and our hearts focussed fully on You.

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard

Thank God! – 1 Chronicles 16: 8 - 36

– 1 Chronicles 16: 8 - 36

Thank God!

8 Thank God! Call out His Name! Tell the whole world who He is and what He's done! 

9 Sing to Him! Play songs for Him! Broadcast all His wonders! 

10 Revel in His holy Name, God-seekers, be jubilant! 

11 Study God and His strength, seek His presence day and night; 

12Remember all the wonders He performed, the miracles and judgments that came out of His mouth. 

13 Seed of Israel His servant! Children of Jacob, His first choice! 

14 He is God, our God; wherever you go you come on His judgments and decisions. 

15 He keeps His commitments across thousands of generations, the covenant He commanded, 

16 The same one He made with Abraham, the very one He swore to Isaac; 

17 He posted it in big block letters to Jacob, this eternal covenant with Israel: 

18 "I give you the land of Canaan, this is your inheritance; 

19 Even though you're not much to look at, a few straggling strangers." 

20 They wandered from country to country, camped out in one kingdom after another; 

21 But He didn't let anyone push them around, He stood up for them against bully-kings:

 

22 "Don't you dare touch My anointed ones, don't lay a hand on My prophets." 

23 Sing to God, everyone and everything! Get out His salvation news every day! 

24 Publish His glory among the godless nations, His wonders to all races and religions. 

25 And why? Because God is great - well worth praising! No god or goddess comes close in honor. 

26 All the popular gods are stuff and nonsense, but God made the cosmos! 

27Splendor and majesty flow out of him, strength and joy fill his place. 

28 Shout Bravo! to God, families of the peoples, in awe of the Glory, in awe of the Strength: Bravo! 

29 Shout Bravo! to His famous Name, lift high an offering and enter His presence! Stand resplendent in His robes of holiness! 

30 God is serious business, take Him seriously; He's put the earth in place and it's not moving. 

31 So let heaven rejoice, let earth be jubilant, and pass the word among the nations, "God reigns!" 

32 Let Ocean, all teeming with life, bellow, let Field and all its creatures shake the rafters; 

33 Then the trees in the forest will add their applause to all who are pleased and present before God - He's on his way to set things right! 

34 Give thanks to God - He is good and His love never quits. 

35 Say, "Save us, Savior God, round us up and get us out of these godless places, So we can give thanks to your Holy Name, and bask in your life of praise." 

36 Blessed be God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 

Then everybody said, "Yes! Amen!" and "Praise God!" 

Have Blessed day everyone!

– Richard

You Can't Hide From God – 1 Kings 22: 34a

34 Just then someone, without aiming, shot an arrow randomly into the crowd and hit the king of Israel in the chink of his armor. 

– 1 Kings 22: 34a

You Can't Hide From God

This is a great story!  the king of Israel is going into battle but the prophet Micaiah tells him God is going to deliver him into the hands of his enemy, the King of Aram.  Being the wimp that he is, Israel's king decides to put his kingly robes on Jehoshaphat and send him out on the royal chariot so that he (the king of Israel), can hide amongst the other soldiers.  Just then . . . 

This is a great illustration that shows how God will always find us, no matter how much we try to hide from Him. And even though we aren't going into battle (most of us aren't anyway), there are things we try to hide from God every day – things like responsibilities, weaknesses, abilities, and sins.  But God sees it all.  He knows every thought and every intention.  He will not allow us to continue hiding and trying to avoid the plans He has for us . . . He Loves Us THAT Much!

"Not me," you say?  Well let's think about that for a minute . . . 

• Are you doing what God has called you to do?  ALL that He's called you to do?  Or has "life" and circumstances kept you from putting all your efforts into His call on your life?  
• Are you putting on a "brave" face so that everyone at church thinks you are on top of your own life?  All the while you are hurting on the inside and your soul is crying out for someone to care but you're too proud to let anyone know, and you're too proud to cry out to God and to give voice to your pain.  
• How about this . . . when you're all alone . . . all by yourself . . . are you giving in to that "secret" sin?  You know the one.  It's the recurring "chink" in your armor that has kept you from realizing your God-given potential because you keep it hidden from everyone else's eyes and you've even convinced yourself that God is OK with it because well, . . . He's the one that made you that way in the first place.

The bottom line is this . . . no matter what it is, no matter where you go, no matter how hard you try to keep things hidden and "under control," God will not be denied, and He will find you and expose your "secret" one way or another.  The key to not being caught like a deer in the headlights, is to open yourself up to all that God has for you.  Give Him ALL that you are!  Cry out to Him and ask Him to take the hidden things from your life and to help you overcome the chinks in your armor so that you can walk in the freedom He has planned for your life.  

God wants an open and honest relationship with each of us.  Let's show Him that we Love Him enough to honor Him with a totally open life . . . nothing hidden . . . no secrets . . . no playing games.  Let's be ALL God has designed us to be so we can show this skeptical world that our God is THE God . . . the God of the Angel Armies, Who sees all, Who knows all, and Who reveals all.

Prayer

Father, thank You for reminding us of our need to be transparent to You.  Forgive us for trying to hide the difficult things of our lives.  Help us to trust and to have confidence in Your Love and Forgiveness.  May our lives be open books to Your ever-searching eyes oh Lord.

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard

 

They're BA-ACK! – 1 Kings 20:22

22 Sometime later the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, "On the alert now - build up your army, assess your capabilities, and see what has to be done. Before the year is out, the king of Aram will be back in force."

– 1 Kings 20:22

They're BA-ACK!

On the alert now! 

Build up your army! 

Assess your capabilities!

See what has to be done!

Every Christian should take careful notice of these directives.  The Victory we have in Jesus comes with a big responsibility and we have to be very careful not to take it for granted!  The Bible tells us that the Enemy prowls around like a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), just waiting for an opportunity when we let our guards down, to pounce on us and do his best to devour us.  We have to be in the Word every day, without fail, growing our relationship with Jesus, listening for direction from our Father, and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.  We are a strong and Blessed people and the enemy hates us with every fiber of his scrawny little being, and he will never rest his attempts to steal away our victory.

The stronger we get in relationship with God, the stronger our walk becomes, and the more we walk in Blessings and Grace . . . becoming more like Jesus, if you will.  And THAT's when we have to be on alert!  THAT's when we have to build up our defenses by putting on our armor every day (Ephesians 6:10-18)!  THAT's when we have to assess our capabilities – AND, our weaknesses – we have to know what things in life are likely to cause us to stumble.  Things that we all struggle with but for each of us, there is that one thing that snares us every time.  For some of us it's envy or jealousy, for others it's lust and/or pornography, some struggle with anger or self control, and then there's pride – I think most of us can raise our hands to that one.  Whatever it is that "snares" us, the only way to overcome it (aside from God delivering us from it), is to recognize the weakness when it presents itself and make plans on how to stop it.

For me personally, every day, I make a plan.  I mentally go over the things that I know cause me to sin against God and I specifically plan out the responses and the actions I will take in order to stop the enemy in his tracks.  It goes something like this:  OK, I know that when I'm on the internet, visiting my favorite sports team's website, or searching for images for my job as a graphic designer, or just Googling for some information, the enemy is going to present me with images that I don't need to be looking at – images that, without a plan in place, could cause me to fall back into pornography.  So . . . when those images come up, I will NOT click, linger, hover, or even consider them.  I will look past them and go on with my intended search or I will just quit my browser and walk away.  Then I will pray for strength and thank God for His Armor and the Power of the Holy Spirit to defeat the enemy's attack.  This plan has served me well for many years but I know that I HAVE to repeat this ritual every day so that I don't fall into the devil's traps.

Each of us will have to see what needs to be done in order to defeat our own prowling lion.  Each of us has to find a way to be on the alert and to build up our defenses.  Each of us has a choice to make – a choice to be a victim or the choice to stand Victorious!  It's an individual "you" and an individual "me" thing.  It's something we can't ignore because rest-assured . . . "Before the year is out, the king of Aram (the enemy) will be back in force."

Prayer

Father thank You for our Victory.  Thank You for our Savior Jesus, who gave Himself over so that we could have that Victory.  Help us to remain ready for any attack the enemy can try to use against us.  Thank You Lord, for the gift of Your Armor and forgive us Father, for the times when we fail to use it.  

Have a Blessed day everyone!

– Richard