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May 17, 2010- He Who Dies with the Most Stuff Wins

May17

Scripture to read today:
1 Kings 2; 1 Chronicles 29; Psalm 95; 2 Thessalonians 1

Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Chronicles 29:14
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.

Observation:
David recognized that all he has was given to him by the Lord. He wasn’t entitled to it, and by this statement, seems to believe that he wasn’t worthy of it. But the Lord gave it to him, so David felt that he was able to also pass it along to others in generosity.

Application:
We are living in a society that believes in acquiring things. I had a poster once in college that said “he who dies with the most stuff wins.” That seems to be the belief of many Americans. But we need to remember (and yes, I need to remember) that what we have was given to us by God. He wants us to be as generous to others as He has been to us. Which isn’t easy in a world that tells you to get more… and more… and more. Because the real winner is not the one who dies with the most stuff, but the one who gives the most before he dies.

Prayer:
Lord, help me to be unselfish and to share my bounty with others. Amen.

May 17, 2009- God’s Money

May18

Scripture to read today:

1 Kings 2; 1 Chronicles 29; Psalm 95; 2 Thessalonians 1


Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Chronicles 29:10-13
10 David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,
“Praise be to you, O LORD,
God of our father Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.

11 Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.

12 Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.

13 Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name.

Observation:
Jerusalem has just finished taking up an offering so they may build the temple. The people gave gold, silver, bronze, iron, and precious stones. Verse 9 says they gave “freely and wholeheartedly.” This prayer of David’s is magnificent- he understood that everything the people had was given to them by Almighty God to begin with, and he praised the Lord for His power and His strength.

Application:
David got it, but I don’t think we get it sometimes. We see money as something WE earned. We work hard for our paychecks. We get up every morning and drag ourselves to work. We don’t see that God put us here, in this time and place, to do this job to His glory. We also don’t see that the money we earn past the 10% we give to the church, is His as well. We need to spend it in ways that are pleasing to Him.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank You for blessing me in abundance. I know I am rich, maybe not by American money standards, but I am by world standards. Help me to use what You give me to Your glory. Amen.

May 14, 2009- Grant me Wisdom

May14

Scripture to read today:

1 Chronicles 22; 1 Chronicles 23; 1 Chronicles 24; 1 Thessalonians 3


Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Chronicles 22:12
May the LORD give you discretion and understanding when he puts you in command over Israel, so that you may keep the law of the LORD your God.

Observation:
This is King David talking to Solomon. David is getting old, and is preparing to make Solomon king. Moreover, he is preparing things so Solomon can build God’s house- a fine temple for the Lord. This is part of David’s blessing of Solomon, asking for discretion and understanding. We know that Solomon ended up with an abundance of both.

Application:
So what do we ask God for? Solomon was very smart, and it appears so was David, in that they both asked at some point for wisdom. I ask for peace, for protection, for love… for lots of things! I don’t know that I’ve asked for overall wisdom (only in particular circumstances.) My prayer today is going to be for wisdom, for if I was wise, I would make good choices in a lot of situations, not just in one particular one.  I would handle things better than I do. So today I ask for wisdom, not that I have a certain situation in mind, but so that I will be wise the next time a situation arises.

Prayer:
Lord, grant me wisdom, that I know how to conduct myself and my business so that You are uplifted in all I do. Amen.

May 13, 2009- Sacrificial Giving

May13

Scripture to read today:

2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21; Psalm 30; 1 Thessalonians 2


Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Chronicles 21:24
But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

Observation:
There has been a plague in the land and David is desperate to appeal to the Lord to end it – because it came from his greed in wanting to count all the fighting men of Israel and Judah. So he goes to where the angel is- on Araunah’s threshing floor- to sacrifice to God. Araunah offers him wood and oxen, as gifts to his king, but David insists on paying for them, and points out that they aren’t really offerings if they didn’t cost him anything.

Application:
Are we tempted to offer things to God that don’t cost us anything? I believe I am- and probably we all are. There’s not a lot of sacrificial giving going on. (Not sacrifices like slaughtering an ox, but sacrifices like doing without something we want in order to give to God.) I daresay that a lot of people don’t even give their 10% tithe. What David knew, and what I learn every now and then (yes, I forget sometimes) is that when you sacrifice to and for God, you get back so much more!

Prayer:
Lord, thank You for being a loving God. Let me remember that not only the 10% I give you, but the other 90% as well, comes from You. It is all yours, and I must do the best I can with it. Amen.

May 3, 2009- What does the Lord want?

May4

Scripture to read today:

2 Samuel 7; 1 Chronicles 17; Psalm 2; Matthew 20


Scripture that spoke to me:
1 Chronicles 17: 7-11
“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name like the names of the greatest men of the earth.  And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also subdue all your enemies.
” ‘I declare to you that the LORD will build a house for you: When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.

Observation:
David has offered to build a ‘house’ for the Lord (for the ark of the covenant) because he has noticed that he is living in a palace but the ark resides under a tent. This passage is God’s answer to his offer. God has provided for David and the people of Israel. He is telling David of all that He is going to do- not what He wants David to do.

Application:
Isn’t that the way it is sometimes? We want to do something for someone that they don’t want. So if God didn’t want a house, what did He want? He wanted David to continue to serve Him- He wanted to be praised and worshiped. That’s still what He wants today. We put a lot of energy into our church buildings (and I’m not saying it is wrong to build a church, because that is where people come to know God) but we should remember that God wants worship first and foremost. If we put all our energy into building and forget about worship, this will not be pleasing to Him.

Prayer:
Lord, let us not do for You what we would want for ourselves, but remember always to praise and worship You in all that we do. Amen.