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1 Chronicles 10:10-12

“Give me wisdom and understanding, so that I may go out and come in before this people, for who can judge this great people of Yours?”

Numbers 14:18

‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth, taking away lawlessness, wrongdoings, and sins; but He would not cleanse the guilty by repaying the sins of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’

Encouraging Words…

Moses reminds us here that even though God could uphold His covenant with the early fathers by holding them accountable for their sins, even to their future generations, He did not. Why? Because God is love, and in His love He chooses to be longsuffering and abundant in mercy toward us. He forgives us and is not the judgmental, legalistic God that so many make Him out to be. Glory be to God!

Luke 11:9-10

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Encouraging Words…

What if our prayers and petitions were to shift from asking God for things “out there” to those important things that we need “within” us? A new and clean heart. A broken and contrite spirit. A life of humility and repentance. If we were to focus our desire on these would we not be a better child of God and more able to be used by Him to bring about those things needed around us? Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

1 Peter 1:13-16

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Personal Challenge…

Is it possible to live a holy and righteous life? Some would say “No”, because we are viewed as depraved and bad. But our Lord would not challenge us to be holy as He is holy of we could not do this. We cannot live this way on our own. We need the Holy Spirit working in our lives. We need the community of believers that our fellowship brings to us. We need the traditions of the church to keep us focused. But we also need to be proactive, girding up the loins of our minds so that we can take every thought captive and turn it over to God. We need to turn from this world toward God’s kingdom.

Proverbs 27:17

Iron sharpens iron,
And a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Personal Challenge…

This is such a true statement. Those few times in my life that I have had this kind of friend have been rewarding and growth-filled. Why is it so difficult for us, especially us men, to develop deep relationships with others? Relationships where we can share the deep thoughts and secrets of our lives and know that we will will be sharpened by the other as a sword. Is it because we have become such individualist that we strive to live this life on our own? Is it because we are so focused on ourselves that we cannot find the wherewithal to invest in another’s life? Is it because we are so busy with the busy-ness of life that we cannot slow down and be in a relationship? David had Jonathan. Jesus had the twelve and especially the three that He was closest to. Even God Himself has the Trinity. Oh Lord, my God, I long for a Jonathan, or a Peter, or a John in my life so that I can be challenged to be more like you.

Psalm 46:1 (45:2 LXX)

God is our refuge and power;
A help in afflictions that severely befall us.

1 John 3:16

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Personal Challenge…

We go through our lives as Christians saying that we want to be like Christ, saying that we want to be godly and righteous men and women. How do we really do this? Through love of others. Loving them so much that we would be willing to give up our lives for them. This is a pretty radical way to be like Christ. But it is what He did for us and therefore if we are to be like Him we must do the same. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Colossians 2:6-7

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.

Encouraging Words…

How is it that we have received Christ Jesus the Lord? He came so that He, and He alone, could be the foundation upon which our lives could be built. What is the core, the substance, of that foundation? Love! “For god so loved the world…”. If we live our lives with Jesus (Love) as the foundation then everything that we do will be from a heart, soul, and spirit of love. Glory be to God!

Joel 2:12-13

Now says the Lord your God, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and wailing and with mourning; rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is merciful and compassionate. He is longsuffering and plenteous in mercy and repents of evils.

Personal Challenge…

Sin, missing the mark, is done by all of us because we still live in the fallen, broken world. Even though we can learn to sin less because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us we will still sin. Here we are admonished by the Prophet Joel to turn to our Lord to confess our sins and repent, or turn away from them. He reminds us that confession and repentance are not just saying a prayer but a physical act of being mournful of our wrongdoing, whether voluntary or involuntary, committed in knowledge or ignorance, and fasting so that we are reminded that we are to thirst and hunger for our Lord alone. These physical acts start in our hearts but progress to actual actions so that we are completely engaged in our confession and repentance. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Proverbs 23:18

For if you keep these words, you shall have offspring,
And your hope will not depart from you.

Encouraging Words…

Wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, informs us through this verse that if we spend time with Him, keeping Him in our hearts and minds, then we will have offspring in our lives. What kinds of offspring? Virtues! Virtues like prudence, justice, temperance (or restraint), courage, faith, hope, and love. From these virtues sprouts a life that is righteous and godly, which then produces additional offspring…people in our lives who desire to know the Lord this way as well. Glory be to God!