II Chronicles 20 is one of those epic chapters that’s stuffed full of lessons to be learned. For your time sake, I will try to get directly to the main points. In the beginning of the chapter, we see that the children of Moab and the children of Ammonites (a great multitude) united together to battle against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. (vs. 1,2) Was Jehoshaphat’s first response to this situation, “I’m going to show them who they’re messing with!”? No, his first response was just like our own human flesh would respond. He had FEAR. Most of the time, we’re going to have this same fleshly response because life can…
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Good Morning, Lord!
“My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” – Psalm 5:3 KJV This simple Bible verse of David’s psalm spoke volumes to my heart this week. There’s three simple points that I would like to share with you from my perspective. 1. Prayer was a priority for David. David prayed in the morning — before getting side-tracked with other activities of his day. He didn’t neglect to say, “Good morning, Lord!” “Thank you for your goodness and your mercies.” (Psalm 145:9) “Thank you for another day.” (Psalm 118:24) We, too, have a wonderful privilege…
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Step Away! Step Away!
*Reference for Bible reading: John 4:46-53 Shortly after Jesus had arrived in Galilee, a nobleman from Capernaum journeyed nearly 40 miles in pursuit of Jesus’ help. We don’t know much about this man (other than he was a man of noble rank), but we do know the story is important enough to be recorded in our Bible history, which tells us there is some important biblical truths to learn from the story. Today, I’m focusing on just one simple truth. This nobleman’s mission was an urgent matter, something especially dear to his heart. He had a very sick son. With the upcoming Father’s Day this month, I think he might…
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Our View Versus God’s View
Monday morning, as my hubby and I were traveling, the weather was grey, wet and drizzly. It wasn’t the picture-perfect-sunshiny kind of day. The gloom weighed upon us while driving, and yet, there was a sliver of peace resting in the atmosphere. I looked far ahead to view the horizon. There in the long distant, you could see the sun shining radiantly. There was a town or city, numerous miles ahead, that was enjoying a bright, gleeful day. This reminded me of life’s trials — our view versus God’s view. Although we may look at the gloomy present surrounding us, God clearly sees what’s ahead to give us an expected,…
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From Grumpy to Grateful – 5 Simple Ways to Change Your Attitude
Have you ever felt grumpy, but you knew in your heart there really wasn’t a good justification for being a grouch? Our flesh seems to revel in grumbling when things are less than perfect. We know that life could be much worse, but we’d rather gripe than act joyful. On the other side of the fence, you and I both have experienced days that were truly horrific. We’ve probably had legitimate excuses for being a bit grouchy at times. But then we come to that testy question… Does grumbling please God? In the Old Testament, we read how the Israelite people grumbled and complained often. It displeased God much. Looking…
