"Be Successful"

"Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:  So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine."  Proverbs 3:9, 10

Everyone wants to be prosperous.  We want to have plenty, and even more than plenty.  There is a key to achieving it.  It is called giving.  When we give God the first fruits of all our increase, He gives it back to us good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.  There is a promise that when we give Him the tithes and offerings, He will rebuke the devour for our sake. 

In this verse it is talking about material things-- money, crops, etc.  But there are other ways to be prosperous as well.  The word prosper means to be successful.  We can be successful in our journey through life, in our soul, in our business dealings, in our work for the Kingdom, in the ministry God has called us to, and so on.  But the route to prosperity, in any area, comes one way.  "Honor the Lord."

We said earlier that it comes through giving.  It comes when we give honor the Lord.  The word honor is the same word as "glory".  When we glorify God, when we do what we do for His glory, when we keep Him in mind, when we honor Him-- by obeying His commands, by seeking Him first, by doing what He requires-- He in turn makes us prosperous.  This is when success will come.  In other words, He fills our "barns with plenty".  Our "vats burst forth with new wine".  "Our way will be prosperous".  We will be "fruitful in every good work". 

Have a great day.  The key to prosperity (success) is to honor the Lord.

For further reading:
Psalm 1:1-3
Joshua 1:8
Roman 1:10 
3 John 1:2
Colossians 1:10

"A Reason To Rejoice"

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24

Today I don't know what I may face or what I may go through, but I know that I can still rejoice and be glad in this day.  The Apostle knew this when he pinned the words, "... we glory in tribulations.." (Romans 5:3)

So today I might find myself walking in a dark place, but I can rejoice because Jesus is the Light.  I might go through the fire but He will be the fourth man in the fire with me.  I might go through the storm but He still speaks, "peace be still", to it.  I might face enemies, but I can rejoice because He fights my battles for me.  I might face many temptations, but He makes a way of escape in everyone.  I may find myself in lack, want and need.  But I can rejoice anyway because my God shall supply all my need.  If I become weak today, His strength will be made perfect in my weakness.  I may need wisdom, but He will give it to my freely. 

I won't rejoice because of the tribulations, problem, trials, trying situations, but I will rejoice in spite of them.  The reason is because "You (The Lord) are with me".  I never face them alone, in my own strength, or by my own power and ability.  He is with me.  He will give me all that He has and all that I need to make it through them.  He will endue me with power, strength, grace, understanding, deliverance, healing, and anything else I need to make it through the day.  So, when you have everything you need, in every situation you face, and you know that God is supplying it because He loves you and is with you, you don't have a good reason to do anything but rejoice.

Have a great day.  When going through difficulties, we can rejoice because the Lord is right there with us providing all that we need to make it through them. 

"Mercy For Today"

"O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever."  Psalm 136:2

Each verse of Psalm 136-- all 26 of them-- ends with, "for his mercy endureth for ever."  If you read each verse leaving out this ending, you will see that it paints a picture of how truly great, mighty, awesome and powerful God is.  He is the God of gods.  The Lord of lords.  He created the sun, moon and stars.  He defeated great nations, kings and kingdoms.  He did signs, wonders and miracles.  He brought judgment upon oppressors and the wicked.  He is a deliverer.  Keeps His promises.  He makes provision for and takes care of His people. 

Even though He is so great, mighty and powerful; and even though He is God and does not have to answer to anyone nor seek the approval of any; and even though He is so highly exalted above everything and anyone else-- He is also a merciful God whose mercies endure forever. 

This all powerful, all knowing, all present God is a God who is full of mercy.  He shows compassion, kindness and benevolence to those who are so undeserving of any goodness.  He is gracious and gives favor.  He bestows His blessings on us.  He forgives our sins and heals our diseases.  This is why we are reminded repeatedly that His mercy endures forever.  It isn't here today and gone tomorrow.  It didn't cease after the Old Testament.  It didn't stop after the New Testament.  He is a merciful God forever.  This means He is as merciful to us today in our faults, failures and short comings as He was back then and has always been.  His mercy endures forever because He is Mercy and He is Eternal.

Have a great day.  God's mercy endures forever.... even today.  

 

"A Great God"

"Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable."  Psalm 145:3

The Lord God is a Great God!  When we think about His greatness, we think about His great power.  While He is great in power His power isn't the only thing about Him that is great. 

His love is great.  His compassion is great.  His mercy is great.  He is great in grace.  He is great in His faithfulness.  He has great peace.  He gives great joy.  His gentleness is great.  He is great in wisdom.   

Great seems like such an inadequate word when describing God.  He is great beyond what we can comprehend.  He is great enough to speak the world into existence-- from nothing.  He is great enough to measure the universe-- in the palm of His hand.  He is great enough to speak peace to raging storms and they calm.  He is so great that the cross couldn't kill Him-- He yielded up the ghost/His soul.  He is so great death couldn't keep Him-- He conquered it.  He is so great the grave couldn't hold Him-- He was resurrected, and the tomb is empty!

If you are saved by the blood of Jesus and are following Him and His will, you are not serving a weak, milk toast of a God.  He is not an average God.  He is not a tired God.  You are serving a GREAT God!  So great that there is nothing that can compare to Him.  There is nothing that can do what He can do.  And there is nothing that is greater than He is.   

In the words of the children's song-- "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing that my God cannot do!"

Have a great day.  Don't forget that it is a GREAT God that you are serving!

For further reading:
1 Chronicles 16:25
Psalm 48:1; 95:3
Proverbs 26:10
Titus 2:13
Revelation 19:17

"Betrayed"

"For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread."  1 Corinthians 11:23

One of Jesus' own "disciples/followers" betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver-- Judas.  Judas was a follower in presence only, but not a follower from his heart. 

Many are "following" Jesus in "presence" only.  They're present in church on Sunday morning.  They even sing in the choir.  They post something about Him every once and a while on their Facebook wall.  They profess to know Him.  They say they are a Christian.  But it is only with their presence and lips-- not their heart.  "Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me." (Matthew 15:7,8)  

Is this you?  Are you a Christian in name only?  Do you have the appearance of following Jesus?  Do you "talk" about Him, but not "know" Him personally, intimately?  Do you show up for "roll call" but in presence only?  Or are you betraying Him by saying one thing but doing another?  Are you betraying Him through continuing to live a lifestyle of sin while professing to "follow" Him?

Judas' heart was set on riches and money.  They had his heart-- not Jesus.  He broke the first commandment to love God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.  What is your heart set on?  What is your heart following after?  If your heart is divided between Jesus and other things; if other things come ahead of Him in your life; if you desire something else more than you do Him, yet you are professing to be one of His followers... then you are betraying Him.

Have a great day.  Jesus was betrayed by one who professed to be His follower. Does that sound like you?