Listening to the Word

1 Kings 1; 1 Chronicles 28; Psalms 91; 1 Thessalonians 5   “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence…You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday…For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;” Psalm 91:1, 3, 5, 6, 11 Where do we find our security - in a good security system, a firearm, a great job, or a stable country? Moses testified that security is found in the presence of the Lord. Giving our lives to the Most High is the key to finding rest and being free from fear. Moses watched firsthand as the Almighty destroyed the most powerful kingdom on earth. Moses chose to switch his trust from Pharaoh and his power, to the Most High God. Moses witnessed the mighty angels whom God assigned to deliver Israel and guide the...

1 Chronicles 25-27; 1 Thessalonians 4   “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother [or sister] or take advantage of him...” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-6 Why do our bodies matter to God? For those who have a living relationship with God, our bodies are the temple of the dwelling place of God through the Holy Spirit. We are the gatekeepers of the temple of our body. Avoiding sexual immorality in entertainment today is challenging, but that’s the will of God. Addictions we think are personal and private are seen by the Lord and defile our body. They also distort and damage our families with generational sin-patterns through the influence of lust rather than love. Sin affects our body in many ways. Sanctification is a process of yielding con...

1 Chronicles 22-24; 1 Thessalonians 3   “But this word of the Lord came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side…’” 1 Chronicles 22:8, 9 The building of God’s house required hands that were clean and free of bloodshed.   Has God changed in this regard as he looks for people to join his mission of bringing salvation to the nations? We live under the atoning sacrifice of Christ’s blood for our sin. This blood speaks a better word than the cry of innocent blood for justice. Those who know Christ’s forgiveness are ambassadors of reconciliation to the nations. We are peacemakers because we have experienced peace with God through the Prince of Peace. We choose to forgive our enemies and do good to those who persecute us because we are representin...

2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21; Psalms. 30; 1 Thessalonians 2   “David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.” 1 Chronicles 21:26, 27 God’s judgment of Israel through a plague (pandemic) cost 70,000 lives. It was only as David repented before God that the Lord commanded the angel who stood over Jerusalem to put his sword back into its sheath. What is our response before the Lord during the plague in our day? What if we could see the angel of the Lord with a drawn sword? How would we respond? As David cried and repented before the Lord, his intercession was heard and the Lord’s mercy and compassion were stirred. It is the Lord who is our Saviour - more than science or the wisdom of man. Jesus has paid the price for the sin of the world; however the Lord stil...

2 Samuel 21-23; 1 Thessalonians 1   “During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, ‘It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.’…David asked the Gibeonites, ‘What shall I do for you? How shall I make amends so that you will bless the Lord’s inheritance?’” 2 Samuel 21:1, 3 Blood-guilt from the reign of Saul affected rainfall many years later during the reign of David. The healing of the land which God promised Solomon was conditional on the Israelites humbling themselves, seeking God’s face, repenting, and turning away from their wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14). God is still grieved with blood-guilt. The shedding of innocent blood defiles our land as well. David asked the Gibeonites, “How shall I make amends”?   Are we willing to ask the same question? The atonement of Jesus’ blood is our covering from God’s wrath against sin. However, Jesus t...

2 Samuel 19-20; Psalms 55; Matthew 28 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 These final words of Jesus to his disciples in Matthew’s gospel follow a period of incredible trauma and pain. The betrayal of Jesus, his tortuous death, and the shocking resurrection had deeply shaken the disciples, so much so that as these words were being spoken by the resurrected Christ, some of his disciples doubted it was really Jesus. Jesus didn’t engage the doubters; instead, he refocused the attention of his disciples on their collective mission. Jesus’ call to make disciples, baptizing them into a new identity, and teaching them to obey all that Christ had commanded, focused the disciples on the future. Are we focused...