Our Part, Then His

By: Jenifer Metzger

And My people, who bear My

name, humble themselves, pray

and seek My face, and turn from

their evil ways, then I will hear

from heaven, forgive their sin,

and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 CSB

God gives us clear direction in 2 Chronicles 7:14. He tells us that we have some actions steps to take before He does His part.

We must:
•bear His name
•humble ourselves
•pray
•seek His face
•turn from evil

After we do those things, then He will:
•hear us
•forgive us
•heal us

We often expect God to hear our prayers, forgive our sins, or heal our illness before we do any of our part. We continue living in sin and we fail to truly seek Him, yet we expect God to hear us. But let's notice that four letter word in this verse: then. We do our part, then God will do His.

However, if you turn away and abandon

My statutes and my commands that I have

set before you and if you go and serve

other gods and bow in worship to them,

then I will uproot Israel from the soil that

I gave them, and this temple that I have

sanctified for my name I will banish from

My presence; I will make it an object of

scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.

2 Chronicles 7:19-20 CSB

But then we look at verse 19 and see an important word there too: however. However if we don't bear His name, humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our evil ways, if we abandon His ways and His commands, not only will God not do His part, but He clearly tells us there will be punishment.

We have to stop expecting God's hand of blessing in our country when we have so much vile evil going on. We have to stop expecting God's hand of blessing in our marriage when we fail to put God at the center and treat our spouse so poorly. We have to stop expecting God's hand in our finances when we fail to honor God with our money and obediently pay out tithe. We have to stop expecting His hand of blessing when we are not doing what He commands us to do!

Friend, it is time to closely look at our lives. Are we truly bearing His name, humbling ourselves, praying, seeking Him, and turning from evil? Are we truly living by His Word and commands? Or are we floating through life doing the "bare minimum" and sitting here waiting on God's blessings to rain down?

Discussion:

1. Closely look at different situations in your life. Is there an area where you haven't done your part according to 2 Chronicles 7:14?
2. Today commit to truly living this verse out and doing your part before God.

Throughout All Generations

 By: Joanne Viola

 

We have a granddaughter who did not want to stay at the table when we said grace. She would excuse herself and return after we prayed. Her parents would often joke about “the little heathen”, but hearing the word ‘heathen’ only made me pray for her all the more.

Recently when we all came to the table, this same one asked if she could pray for dinner. Her prayer was the most moving and sincere prayer. It was uniquely hers and precious. It was also an answer to prayer.

“All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, 
his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all, 
and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt were two; 
all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.” 
(Genesis 46:26-27, NASB)

All of Jacob’s people, his family, traveled with him to Egypt. Much like Jacob, I am traveling through my life. In actuality, I am more than half-way there. My children are now raised, and there are grandchildren.

There have been many a time, my own two children have heard me say, “If one day I stand before the Lord and they are also not present before His throne, nothing else done in this life will have mattered.”

“I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth.” 
(3 John 4, NASB)

My desire for my children, and now my grandchildren, is for each of them to know and pursue God. I think Jacob knew the feeling as well.

When God calls him to go to Egypt, every family member is in tow. All sixty-six descendants, not counting the women, went with him to Egypt. He left no one behind.

It is nothing short of a miracle to raise children who know and love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind. May we, as parents, believe, and ask in prayer, for this miracle in our families.

When I stand before Him, I want to be next to all of my family. I want to rejoice that we all made it, and are present before His throne, because of His great power at work in our lives.

And all because each generation believed.

“Your name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your remembrance,
O Lord, throughout all generations.”
(Psalm 135:13, NASB)

 

Reflection: 
Whether you come from a long line of believers, or you are the first one in a line of believers, may you be encouraged today to keep on praying and believing for every generation. Are there Scriptures you use to pray for your family? If you are looking for an encouraging prayer, you may want to check out Prodigal Prayers: 52 Weeks of Praying Over the Prodigal by Patsy Burnette.

 

**Image was a free download from Pixabay

 

 

What He Said Then, He Says Now

By: Lauren Thomas 

We are used to things changing. Seasons change. Children grow up. People grow old. Things wear out and are replaced. Fashion cycles. Friends move. Years pass. We may not like change, but we accept its inevitability.  

But when we assume this about God, that’s a problem.

Toward the end of the account of Solomon’s life in the Bible, we read:

 

9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.

1 Kings 11:9-10 ESV

 

Before this, we read about God’s visitation and communication with Solomon, about the glory of Solomon’s kingdom, and about Solomon’s wisdom. But in chapter 11 we read about Solomon’s heart being turned from God by his many wives who worshiped many other gods. What happened? What changed for Solomon?

 

Maybe Solomon forgot those words from the Lord. Maybe he chose to turn his back on them. Or maybe, Solomon just assumed since God hadn’t spoken to him in so long, the original instructions had faded or changed. 

 

We can learn a lot from Solomon’s failings, but another lesson hidden in his life is that what God said then, God says now. 

 

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Matthew 24:35 ESV

 

Because God doesn’t change. He is eternal. He is constant. He is unchanging. What he said then, He says now.

 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 ESV

 

…from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

James 1:17b ESV

 

This goes for God, His word, His revelation to us in Holy Scripture, and it goes for personal words from the Lord. If the Holy Spirit has spoken something to you [that aligns with Scripture], He has not changed or revoked or modified it. If God told you he loved you then, He loves you still! 

 

In a world of constant change, God remains the same. And therefore, His words remain unchanged. His instructions and commandments have not been modified. His love continues forever. 

 

Reflection:

What previous instruction from the Lord have you maybe failed to remember?

How have you seen culture try to change or modify God’s word?

How does God’s unchangeability encourage you?

 

Familiarity VS Obedience

By: Jenifer Metzger

But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord,

choose for yourselves today: Which will you

worship—the gods your ancestors worshiped

beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the

Amorites in whose land you are living? As for

me and my family, we will worship the Lord.

Joshua 24:15 CSB

Recently my husband had his glasses on his head while working on something and in frustration, he tossed his head back and the glasses landed lens down on the concrete. When we grabbed them to check the damage, hoping there was nothing there, there was the tiniest dot on each lens. Not a scratch or crack. A tiny dot. He immediately said he was done with the glasses, he just couldn't handle the dot in his vision. I laughed, "Haven't you seen my glasses!?" My glasses are so scratched up and scuffed up that it's actually ridiculous. And after taking a bad fall last year, the frames are slightly bent so they press into my head on one side.

After a few days of refusing to wear his glasses, yet not being able to see, we went to the eye doctor and ordered him a new pair. My husband asked me why I wasn't ordering glasses too, since my glasses are such a mess. I told him that I was good, I didn't need any.

The truth is, I have four other pair of glasses. All newer and better. All a more updated prescription. Frames perfectly shaped. Lenses without even the slightest blemish. Yet, even with all of these great options, I always wake up in the morning and choose my oldest, most beat up pair, the pair that is so beat up it does in fact mess with my vision. I really have no reason or excuse other than they are comfortable to me. Once in a while I put on a better pair, but after an hour or so, I always go back to the old ones.

Sometimes we are like that with sin. We know we shouldn't do something, yet comfort or familiarity always has us going back. We know our choice of music isn't uplifting or leading us closer to God, yet somehow we always turn it back on. We know gossip is wrong, yet when we get with the right person, it flows freely from our lips. We have that friend we know is a bad influence on us, yet we keep hanging out with them. We know we should be reaching for our Bible to spend some time with the Lord, yet we reach for our phone to doom-scroll yet again. We know we need to get up for church or we will be late or even just give up and stay home, yet the comfort of our bed draws us to stay put.

We let the familiar and the comfortable call to us even when we know there is something so much better for us. I know with one of my newer, better pair of glasses that I can see better -much better in fact- and won't feel the pressure on the side of my head from a bent frame. I know there is better. But I choose the comfort of my old glasses.

When I lay down these old glasses for a better pair, I can see more clearly. When we lay down the comfortable and familiar and choose the Father and His ways, we can see more clearly and we begin to grow in Him.

I am going to step away from comfort and put on my better glasses now...

Discussion:
1. Think of that thing you know you should avoid but always go back to out of comfort or familiarity.
2. What can you do to lay down the comfortable and familiar and choose God?

Names of God Series: Being Guarded by The Shield

 By: Rebekah Hargraves

Photo Courtesy of: Erik Mclean

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Therefore my heart celebrates, and I give thanks to him with my song." 

~Psalm 28:7

In our weekly series on the names of God, we come now to this beautiful passage from Psalm 28, where the Psalmist refers to God as being his "shield". The Hebrew word translated "shield" is "māḡēn", and points to the Lord being our defense. 

We live in a day and age in which so often people want to defend themselves. Defensiveness is a common issue in many relationships and leads to drama very quickly. But while we may want to jump to defend ourselves, to shield ourselves, and to protect ourselves from any and all attack, the comforting reality is that we don't have to. God is our defense, He is our shield.

When the enemy comes prowling, God is our shield.

When the accuser starts talking, God is our shield.

When people misunderstand us or falsely accuse us, God is our shield.

When people hurt us or use us, God is our shield. 

Whatever we may be facing now or will be facing in the future, our God is our shield and always will be. What a blessing that is to remember! 

Reflection Questions:

1) How does it comfort your heart to know that God is your shield?

2) How is the Lord showing up as your shield right now with what you are currently facing in your life?

3) How has He faithfully been your shield in the past?