by George | Sep 14, 2020 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
Your Work Shall Be Rewarded
“But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.”
2 Chronicles 15: 7
King Asa ofJudah had just come back from battle. God had just given them a great victory. A miraculous victory! Odds makers would have said it was 1,000 to one odds that Judah could win, but God stepped in and saved the day. “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Luke 1:37
Asa could have sat back and relaxed. He could have had an “after party” at the palace. Celebrating with the soldiers.
But no, Asa set to work on returning the hearts of the people to the Lord. He removed idols and rebuilt the altar. Asa gathered Judah together and held a great sacrifice.
“Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;”
II Chronicles 15:12
Who encouraged Asa to do all this? Azariah the prophet. (Also called Oded.)
“And when Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the vestibule of the LORD.”
II Chronicles 15:8
Sometimes all it takes is a word of encouragement to inspire someone to greatness.
Could it be that God has placed a word of encouragement in your heart, to share with someone today?
by George | Sep 7, 2020 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
“You Are Trying Too Hard”
“O Lord, my heart is not lifted up; my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.”
Psalm 131:1
How many times have you spent recently trying to figure things out. Why is all this stuff happening? What is the solution? Am I doing enough?
The human mind is an amazing creation of God. The average person fails to fully unlock it’s potential.
Yes, we are human. Our minds don’t know everything.
That can be frustrating sometimes, when we try and try to figure something out.
The psalmist realizes he doesn’t know everything.
He has the right attitude.
His heart is not “lifted up.”
The psalmist has the right perspective about himself.
“My eyes are not raised too high.”
A blogger who calls himself “Pastor Peter” explains it this way:
“My eyes are not raised too high. In other words, I do not live with grand illusions about me or grand expectations of me, what I can do, or my life. It is not that we have low expectations but that we know ourselves, we know the world, and, most of all, we know Christ.”
The proper perspective the psalmist has leads him to “not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.”
He realizes that he won’t understand everything.
So, we become comfortable in our own skin, knowing our limitations, and realizing that we can’t figure everything out, we rest in Him. God is all knowing!
“But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”
Psalm 131:2
If you are troubled today, and you can’t figure things out. Bring God your burdens, rest in Him, and listen for His still small voice.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and DO NOT LEAN TO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
by George | Sep 3, 2020 | Community News, Devotional, Newsletter
Keep Your Heart
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23
The neighbor across the street has the best yard in the neighborhood. You never see a tall blade of grass. Not even around the edging that surrounds the flower bed. There is not a weed to be found. The bushes are trimmed uniformly near the windows.
Does this beautiful yard just happen by chance?
No, it happens by the diligent work of the neighbor.
I see him out in his yard every day, doing something to keep his yard looking this way. Cutting the grass, weed eating, turning on a sprinkler, pulling weeds by hand…
Our neighbor is “vigilant” against any weeds or tall grass that would mar the beauty of his yard.
In the same way it takes vigilance to “keep our heart.”
This passage is not referring to the blood pumping muscle inside of us, but rather to our affections.
We speak of someone we love as “having our heart.”
Who, or what has your heart?
The rich young ruler went away from Jesus, because his heart was set on his riches.
Martha’s heart was set on making a perfect dinner instead of spending time with Jesus.
Demas left Paul because he was “…in love with this present world…”
2 Timothy 4:10
Is your heart set on the tumultuous events happening around you?
Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.” John 14:1
Remember to love God above all else. “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Matthew 22:37-39
Keep God first. Love Him with all of your being.
Our heart, our affections can easily be moved from God. It takes vigilance to guard our hearts from it. Keep the tall grass and weeds cut!
