Tag: Right

Integrity of heart

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Psalms 101:2  I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.  A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil.

Psalms 119:106    I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

2 Chronicles 31:20-21    Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God.  And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

Genesis 18:19    For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice

Deuteronomy 6:7    You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

1 Kings 11:4    For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

2 Chronicles 15:17     But the high places were not taken out of Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was wholly true all his days.

Isaiah 38:3     and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

When David came to royal power, he didn’t say: “Now I can live the good life.” he said “I will ponder the way that is blameless. He understood that the sense of God’s presence was connected to obedience.  1 John 1:6-7: If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  David understood life had to be real in his conduct within his own house.  You must not gauge your worth by what the outside world thinks and says about you.  David knew that one measure of a righteous life was what one chose to set before the eyes. There are many wicked things to set our eyes upon, and the lust of the eyes is a lure of this world.  Keep your heart, mind and soul tuned to God’s word with a deep desire to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey.  Learn to know the ways of God and purpose to choose to walk in them.

God is Great

“for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.”

Psalms 95:3  For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Psalms 86:8-10   There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.  All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.  For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God.

Psalms 96:4     For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

Psalms 97:9    For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods.

Psalms 145:3     Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

Jeremiah 10:6-7     There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.  Who would not fear you, O King of the nations? For this is your due; for among all the wise ones of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you.

Jeremiah 10:10     But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.  Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”  It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.  When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.  Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them.  They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish.  Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name.

Isaiah 44:8    Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

People believe many things contrary to God.  Much of what they believe is found in various types of media.  (TV, radio, books, internet, magazine articles, video’s) All proclaiming there is no God.  All of these comments are placed in these various forms of media by someone.  No one would believe they just appeared there by chance or developed on their own.  These authors have placed their thoughts for others to see – to convey a message.  Many who read/watch these have no doubt the author exists even though they have not met or seen this person(s).  God has communicated in a much grander way -through creation of all there is.  One only has to look up into the sky at night, or at a seed sprouting in the spring, or a new born baby, or the mountains, or laws of physics.  There is no delusion in His creation – it it there for all to see the work of His hand.  And yet there are those who choose to believe a lie proclaimed in some form of media by a person they have never met.  These people see the work of God’s creation and choose to call a “chance happening”.  God is very much alive and very real and ever present.  See God through His creation, know God through His word, and desire to live to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey Him.

God’s purpose

“this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.”

Joh 19:6  When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.”  The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”  When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid.  He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer.  So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”  From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

Genesis 45:7     And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.  So it was not you who sent me here, but God.

Exodus 9:14     For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.  For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.  But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Psalms 39:9     I am mute; I do not open my mouth, for it is you who have done it.

Psalms 62:11     Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God,

Jeremiah 27:5     “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.

Lamentations 3:37     Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it?

Daniel 4:17    The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.’

Romans 13:1     Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Ephesians 1:11    In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will

All the plans of man fall into two categories – in line with God’s plans humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying – or – not.  All of the scripture today speaks of God’s plan and purpose.  He is sovereign, all knowing,  and all powerful. Our sinful nature does not want to in part or fully believe this.  Life has a way of taking us down paths of making plans and have our own purposes, giving God nothing more than a second thought most days.  Think about how far our culture has moved away from God.  Science is hell bent on denying He exists.  Schools are afraid to teach creation.  Research is looking for the “God Particle” – the origin of life – the beginning.  This folly is easy to grab on to because it throws questions into and onto what we believe.  I fear many walk lukewarm christian lives and do not want to fully commit.  Read theses scriptures;


The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 

What fruit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? The outcome of those things is death. 

Apart from God and void of His word in our lives we soon find our christian walk diluted to a point where we no longer hear His whispers of guidance or know His word, His power, or  what it means to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.  Just because it is approved by our culture and within our laws or seems right to us, does not make it right with God.  .

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.“

Do not lose sight of God, His plan, His purpose.  Apart from it we find no joy, hope, peace, power, courage, love, or place of refuge.

Hearts far from God

“Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me,”

“the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the unfaithful.”

John 15:22  If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.

John 3:18     Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.  For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.  But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

John 9:41    Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

John 12:48     The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.

Ezekiel 2:5     And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house)

Ezekiel 33:31     And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain.  And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.

Acts 17:30     The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,

Hebrews 6:4     For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit,  and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come,  and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.  For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.  But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.

James 4:17     So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Romans 1:20     For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Romans 2:1     Therefore you have no excuse

1 Peter 2:16     Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Revelation 3:15  “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.

How do we know if our heart is hard? How do we know if we are only serving God with our mouth and not our heart, mind, and soul?  What are we going to be held accountable for?  What does it mean to be without excuse?  What does it take to be rejected or, for that matter, restored?  How do we know if we are lukewarm?   I remember it being considered normal to attend Sunday morning bible study, then worship service, then Sunday evening study, having a couples bible study during the week, Wednesday evening prayer meeting, and a mens bible study one morning during the week.  Being in God’s word throughout the week.  It does not seem this is the norm any more.  In fact it appears that if we are attending Sunday morning worship service every week we are considered a fanatic.  The expectation for what it means to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey God has dropped to a very low expectation in our culture.  We need to be mindful of our heart, mind and soul and the influence of the world and it’s expectation making us think we are in some way serving God with a lukewarm life.  We are meant to be a light shinning in the darkness, making disciples, serving God,  feeding on His word,  knowing His word, meditating on His word, hearing His whispers of guidance, being led by the Holy Spirit, finding purpose each day seeking to honor Him.  How is this done if our we neglect His word?  Scripture is clear we are without excuse for being complacent.  Praise be to God that He pursues us and draws us back to Himself.  Praise to Him for not leaving us in a state of being lukewarm.  Praise to Him for standing at the door of our heart knocking.  Praise to Him for His steadfast love.  Forget doing right and wrong and thinking this in someway makes it right with God.  Come to Him broken and seek His building you up into a humble servant.  Seek to honor Him.  Desire to follow and obey Him for the purpose of glorifying Him.  Run to Him for His leading in your life.  Yield fully in service to Him.  SPEND TIME IN HIS WORD

Clean hands and pure heart

“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Psalms 85:9  Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Psalms 24:4     He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.  He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Psalms 50:23     The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!”

Psalms 119:155     Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.

Mark 12:32     And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.  And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Acts 11:13     And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter;  he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

Zechariah 2:5     And I will be to her a wall of fire all around, declares the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”

John 1:14     And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Exodus 34:6    The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

John 1:17     For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ

Romans 3:25     whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.  It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Guilty, iniquity, wicked, transgression, sin, do not seek, false, deceit, and unclean heart are all words used to describe the heart and condition of man without Christ.  Now look at what scripture says of God and what is found through Christ to those who believe; good, steadfast love, salvation, faithfulness, righteousness, peace, clean hands, pure heart, thanksgiving, understanding, strength, saved, grace, truth, forgiven, and justified.  Open your heart and mind to His word and seek Him in times of peace and trials.  There is no other place to find truth, happiness, and hope for eternity.

Mind set on this world

 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.”

John 8:43  Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.

John 8:47  Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

Isaiah 44:18    They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

Hosea 14:9     Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Micah 4:12    But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD; they do not understand his plan,

Isaiah 6:9     And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’

Jeremiah 6:10     To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.

Romans 8:7     For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

1 John 3:10    By this it is evident who are the children of God,

1 John 4:4    Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.  We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

In these scripture we see there are those who hear, listen, and seek God.  There are also those who do not.  It is important to know that the people who were not listening we God’s chosen, the Israelites. These are the ones who had seen the hand of God first hand or had heard first hand what God had done and what He expected.  These were people who either chose to honor, serve, obey and follow God or Not.  I fear we take to lightly this life and walk with God.  We become complacent and neglect our walk with Him until something in this life overcomes our ability to cope and then we run to Him.  This should not be the way our life of service to God is lived out. Give thought to: What does it mean to seek God with your whole heart, mind and soul?  What does a life look like that humbly serves, honors, obeys, and follows God?  Our walk with and service to God is not to be taken lightly.  Spend time in His word.  Seek to know and understand Him and His purpose for you.

Anointed me to bring Good News

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”

“and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

“And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers,”

John 1:35  The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples,  and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”  The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.   Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?”  He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.  He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).   He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter)

2 Kings 7:9   Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.”

1 John 1:3   that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

The verses that stands out today are “He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” and as well “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news.”   both speak of the urgency people had to tell others things of God.  How are people to hear of this Good News if we do not speak of it?  When we do speak of this Good News others are changed.  Do not lose sight of our urgent calling to proclaim the Good News of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Encouragement

 

“The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.”

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”

”Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

Psalms 69:3o   I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

Psalms 40:3    He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

Psalms 118:21   I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

Psalms 118:28  You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you.  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Psalms 25:9   He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

Psalms 34:2    My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.

Isaiah 61:1-3   to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.

John 16:22   So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

In place of sorrow there will be rejoicing.  Sometimes I do not understand the affliction and trials others bear and how they seem to rise above them and give God praise.  It is inspiring to see those who bear the affliction and those who love them walk in a way that does not complain but rather continues to seek God and His love and mercy.  It is inspiring to see them quote promises of God and hold fast to Him.  It is encouraging to see their faith in action – God is able but even if He chooses not to act in this matter we hold fast to Him.  Holding on and trusting God is possible when our walk with Him is lived out and His word is in our heart. Seek Him today and hold fast to His promises. He is certainly able to do more than we ask and much more than we can think.

I have found a ransom

“What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?”

“His soul draws near the pit, and his life to those who bring death. If there be for him an angel, a mediator, one of the thousand, to declare to man what is right for him, and he is merciful to him, and says, ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit; I have found a ransom;”

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

“And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

Psalms 49:15  But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me.

Psalms 31:5    Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

Psalms 56:13    For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

Hosea 13:14    I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death.

Revelation 14:13   And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Psalms 16:10  For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Psalms 86:13   For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

It is clear that those who are redeemed by his might, mercy, and grace will not see the death reserved for all mankind – Sheol(Hell).  The question is asked – “What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?” No man can live and not see death.  This is our end.  But the question more important is who can deliver us from hell?  What are the requirements for this deliverance?  That too is clear.  Believe in the redemption in and through Christ.  Too many stop at this and say I believe but there is no deliverance in the way they live other than going to church once per week.  They are consumed by the things this world has to offer and so easily lose sight of humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying God each day.  Little time is spent in His word, meditating on it, or listening to Him speak through His word into their heart, mind, and soul.  Ask yourself how much do you want God into your daily life.  if the answer is more – then commit to spend more time in His word and living each day as He directs.

Eye’s Open

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?  As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Psalms 27:3  Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.

Psalms 52:2  Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The steadfast love of God endures all the day. Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. You love evil more than good, and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue. But God will break you down forever; he will snatch and tear you from your tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah  The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

2 Kings 6:15-17   When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”  He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

2 Chronicles 20:15   And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Isaiah 41:11-12   Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.  You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

Isaiah 54:16-17  Behold, I have created the smith who blows the fire of coals and produces a weapon for its purpose. I have also created the ravager to destroy;  no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.”

Awesome words of encouragement for us today.  Time after time God has seen to it that these words are recorded to give us hope in times of our trials.  The battles we face are His.  Yet do we believe this or do we try to go it alone and in our own strength?  Look at the warning also given to those who trust in themselves and give no thought to or about God. “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”  We have a place of refuge in God.  We have a place of strength in God.  We have a place of hope in God.  Why is it we always seem to try it on and in our own strength.  How many times do we need to fail in these attempts before we choose God to be the first place we run to?  From my own experience I am not sure I have learned this fully.  There are times my first response is to hit it head on alone.  Oh that we would first run to the one who is able – God!