Jehoiada the priest gathers support for Joash    verse 1- 3 

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself

and took the captains of hundreds

Azariah the son of Jeroham – Ishmael the son of Jehohanan

Azariah the son of Obed – Maaseiah the son of Adaiah

      Elishaphat the son of Zichri

into covenant with him

And they went about in Judah

and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah

      and the chief of the fathers of Israel

                  and they came to Jerusalem

And all the congregation made a covenant

with the king in the house of God

And he said to them

BEHOLD – the king’s son shall reign

as the LORD has said of the sons of David 

Jehoiada set that priests and Levites as guards  verse 4- 7 

This is the thing that you shall do

            a third part of you entering on the Sabbath

                        of the priests and of the Levites

shall be porters of the doors

            a third part shall be at the king’s house

            a third part at the gate of the foundation

                        and all the people shall be in the courts of the

house of the LORD

            BUT let none come into the house of the LORD

save the priests

            And they that minister of the Levites – they shall go in

                        for they are holy – BUT all the people shall keep

the watch of the LORD

And the Levites shall compass the king round about

                        every man with his weapons in his hand

            And whosoever else comes into the house

                        he shall be put to death

BUT be you with the king

when he comes in and when he goes out 

Jehoiada supplied weapons for the soldiers         verse 8- 10 

So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that

Jehoiada the priest had commanded

and took every man

his men that were to come in on the Sabbath

                        with them that were to go on the Sabbath

                                    for Jehoiada the priest dismissed

not the courses

Moreover Jehoiada the priest

delivered to the captain of hundreds

                        spears – bucklers – shields

that had been king David’s

which were in the house of God

And he set all the people

every man having his weapon in his hand

                        from the right side of the temple

to the left side of the temple

                                                along by the altar and the temple

by the king round about 

Jehoiada announced Joash king of Judah          verse 11 

Then they brought out the king’s son

and put upon him the crown

            and gave him the testimony

and made him king

And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him

and said

                        God save the king 

Athaliah heard the noise                                      verse 12- 13 

Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running

and praising the king

she came to the people into the house of the LORD

and she looked – and – behold

the king stood at his pillar at the entering in

and the princes and the trumpets by the king

and all the people of the land rejoiced

and sounded with trumpets

also the singers with instruments of music

and such as taught to sing praise

Then Athaliah rent her clothes

and said

Treason – Treason 

Athaliah killed by soldiers                                   verse 14- 15 

Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds

that were set over the host – and said to them

                        Have her forth of the ranges

and whoso follows her

                                                et him be slain with the sword

For the priest said

            Slay her not in the house of the LORD

So they laid hands on her

            and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate

by the king’s house – they slew her there    

 People destroyed temple of Baal                         verse 16- 17 

And Jehoiada made a covenant between him

and between all the people

and between the king

that they should be the LORD’S people

Then all the people went to the house of Baal – and brake it down

and brake his altars and his images in pieces

      and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars 

Jehoiada set up proper worship in the Temple   verse 18- 19

Also Jehoiada appointed the offices of the house of the LORD

by the hand of the priests the Levites

Whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD

to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD

      as it is written in the law of Moses

                  with rejoicing and with singing

                              as it was ordained by David

And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD

that none which was unclean in anything should enter in 

Joash set up on the throne in the palace              verse 20- 21 

And he took the captains of hundreds – and the nobles

and the governors of the people

and all the people of the land

And brought down the king from the house of the LORD

and they came through the high gate into the

 king’s house – and set the king upon

the throne of the kingdom

And all the people of the land rejoiced – and the city was quiet

            after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword 

 

COMMENTARY:          

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers 

: 1        And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adalah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. (2388 “strengthened” [chazaq] means to seize, grasp, to strengthen oneself by summoning all of one’s remaining strength, grow firm, to tie fast, to bind, to stick fast, have courage, or put forth strength)

DEVOTION:  Timing is everything in this world. We have to plan to have a revival if we are going to have one in our nation or in our world. Preparations need to be made if we are going to do something great for the LORD.

Here we have the high priest, Jehoiada, gathering the right people together to help the revival become a reality in the nation. He had his leaders chosen to help with the setting up of a seven- year- old boy to become king of the nation.

Once he was established as king the nation could return to the worship of the one true God. So there had to be preparation that would include working with all the people of the nation.

This type of action took courage. We are asked by the LORD in many places to have courage when we face the enemy of Christianity. Our enemy is the devil and those who chose to not worship the LORD because they are following his lead.

There are many people who are just waiting for the right Biblical leadership to come forward with a plan to revive the worship of the LORD even in other nations today.

We have to decide to act as well when the LORD gives us the ability to act. This comes only through prayer and fasting and good Biblical leadership that is true to the Word of God.

Men are needed to come forward with courage to reach those in their world for the LORD. The church is the chosen instrument to be used to help the people move forward for the LORD in any nation. If the church doesn’t have the right leadership, it will never have a revival but with the right leadership revival can happen even today.

Do we have men and women who pray for and really desire revival or are we settling for just sitting and watching the sky and listening for the trumpet sound? We can listen while we work to reach our world for the LORD!!!

Jehoiada stood up and was counted by the LORD to revive a nation that was worshiping a false god.

CHALLENGE: We still need revive today in the hearts of those who are genuine believers. Our world is headed in the wrong direction. 

 

DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers

: 6        But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall            go in, for they are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. (4931 “watch” [mishmereth] means the sentry, the post, preservation, safe, duty, charge, office, safeguard or ward)

DEVOTION:  The distinction between the people and the tribe of Levite was maintained by the High Priest Jehoiada.  He knew the different responsibilities of the Priests and the Levities. He gave each man his assignment and followed the law of Moses.

The common people were not to enter the Temple. Only the Priests who offered the sacrifices and the Levites who helped them could enter the Temple or the courtyard of the Temple.

There was a political problem that needed to be solved. Athaliah had killed all but one of the royal seed and declared herself ruler of Judah. This was unacceptable to Jehoiada. He had Joash, the grandson of Athaliah and son of Ahaziah hidden. She became queen of Israel for six years.

In the seventh year Jehoiada thought that Joash should begin his reign. He contacted the captains of hundreds and sent them throughout the land to collect the Levites and leaders to Jerusalem. Many other people came with them. Jehoiada organized this group into an army to protect the new king. He had everyone doing something to protect the young king.

The people stood outside the house of the LORD to safeguard the king from anyone coming in to kill him. He had the Levites and priests in the courtyard of the house of the LORD protecting the king. All the people were keeping the king safe. They were safeguarding his life.

Our responsibility is to pray for our leaders. No one can be elected to the leader of a nation without the LORD allowing it. Our prayer should first be for the salvation of those leaders who don’t know the LORD. Next we should pray that they would deal honestly with the common people.

In the reign of those who lead the church our prayers should be for their faithfulness to the LORD. Those who are elected officers in the church need to keep the pastor protected from those who want to hurt him. He needs to stay true to the Word of God. If our pastor is true to the Word of God, we can defend him against those outside the church and sometimes those inside the church.

Our prayers are a form of protection for our leaders. Our Biblical pastors and leaders are under attack from the enemy. Their battle is more intense than our battles, as Satan and his army of evil angels understands, that if the leader fall others will fall with them.

With proper leadership a Biblical church can move forward. The LORD’S work can be done. Jehoiada set up a Biblical king in the place of Athaliah. He made a covenant with the people to be the LORD’S people. Are we the LORD’S people???

When something is wrong in our nation what should the believer do? Do we stand up against those who dishonor the LORD? Do we pray for our leaders to follow the LORD? Do we vote? God is in control but HE wants us to do our part. Jehoiada did his part!!!!

CHALLENGE: We need to see the challenge and face it to serve the LORD properly.

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: 13      And she looked, and behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of music, and such as taught to sing praises. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. (1984 “sing praises” [halal] means to boast, to admire, eulogize, to exclaim Halleluiah, to express one’s esteem or approval of, or cheer)

What would be the reaction of the world or a nation to a revival today? It would be the same as the reaction the Queen had when she saw the nation gathered at the Temple to anoint a king that was supposed to be on the throne as king.

She had had her way with the nation for six years and thought that it should continue with her ruling. That was not going to happen. The people knew that she was not the rightful ruler and so they agreed with the high priest in establishing a descendent of David on the throne of Judah.

When the queen heard the noise in the Temple she went to find out what was happening and found that she had lost the nation to the rightful ruler. She didn’t like it and said that it was Treason when in reality it was her that was acting in a matter that was Treason.

When a nation honors the LORD there can be a time of rejoicing. The blessings of the LORD are real on nations that honor the LORD even today. If a nation stops honoring the LORD the blessings leave.

Are the people of our nation rejoicing now? Do they have any reason to rejoice? Can we see the blessings of the LORD on our nation or on the nations of the world today that seem to have told the LORD that they don’t want HIM represented in the public? They don’t want obey HIS standards of living and expect that they can see HIS blessings in their lives.

There was much confusion during this time period in Judah and there seems to be much confusion today in our nation and the nations of the world. Too many groups are preaching things that are not found in the teachings of the Word of God.

We need to return to the standards of the LORD as taught in the Bible in our local churches to the point that it affects the lives of believer to the point that they are obedient to the Word of God no matter the cost.

           

DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers 

: 16      And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD’S people. (3772 “covenant” [karath] means cut, to come to an arrangement, to make or enter into a covenant, conceived of as the cutting of a sacrifice associated with making a covenant, or make and agreement)

DEVOTION: Jehoiada was a priest in the temple of the LORD. The present individual who happened to be a woman was king and she was not serving the LORD.

So Jehoiada made an agreement between the people of the LORD of Judah. In this covenant they were going to establish a son of David to be king over the land instead of Athaliah who had made herself king by killing all the sons of Ahaziah except one.

This one was hidden in the Temple for years and finally was anointed king by Jehoiada and the nation of Judah. This was not pleasing to Athaliah but they dealt with her by killing her.

Now the nation of Judah had a king who was young but was faithful to the LORD because of being raised in the Temple to honor the LORD.

The promise between the king and the people was that the LORD would be first in the nation again.

It would be great to have believers who promised to make the LORD first in their lives. If this were true there would be many individuals who would become genuine followers of the LORD because they would be witnessed to by those who honored the LORD correctly.

We need a revival in our world of those who are genuine believers reaching out to those around them with the message of the gospel.

CHALLENGE: If you believe we need a revival would you reach out to those around you with the good news of the gospel? If so, then there could be a revival today in the nations of the world.

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: 21      And all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword. (8252 “quiet” [shaqat] means rest, still, be undisturbed, to be at peace, rest from conflict, or be in favorable circumstances.)

DEVOTION:  For a time period of six years, we find that the nation was in chaos. The queen mother had killed all the royal family to make herself queen of the nation and ruled without the blessing of the LORD. She was the one who established the worship of Baal in the nation during her reign. She was on the house of Ahab which was evil.

Now the nation had followed the lead of the chief priest who was the uncle of Joash. He put his seven- year- old nephew on the throne of Judah which reestablished a descendant of David on the throne after a six-year period of Athaliah’s reign.

What happened to the nation once it established Joash as king and started worshiping the LORD alone? The nation had a time of peace with the people rejoicing that they were again receiving the blessings of the LORD.

The Temple became the center of the nation. There was the reestablishing of the sacrifices to the LORD and singing of praise to the LORD.

It was a time of rest from conflict that people need to really enjoy worshiping the LORD.

When you have a ruler over a nation that doesn’t love the LORD the nation has little to rejoice over. It is a struggle to watch a nation move away from the LORD and into the worship of something manmade. False religion or no religion seems to be the theme of our day as well. We need a revival in the worship of the LORD today.

We know that there will be wars and rumors of wars in the last days and we sure have those signs happening today but that doesn’t mean that we can’t have a revival even today in our nation IF God’s people pray and sacrifice for it to happen. It starts with God’s people expecting it.

CHALLENGE: Do you expect the LORD to send a revival in your church? Do you pray for revival in your family? This is something we should consider even today. 

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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:

BODY

Chastity (Purity in living)

Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)

Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)

Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)

Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)

SOUL

Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)

Frugality (wise use of resources)

Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)

Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)

Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)

SPIRIT

Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)

Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)

Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)

Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)

Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group) 

Priest: Jehoiada                                                         verse 1, 8- 21

            Delivered spears, bucklers, shield that

                        had been king David

                        Covenant with captains of hundreds

                        Gathered Levites, chiefs of the fathers

                                    of Israel

                        Congregation made a covenant

                        Made covenant between people and king

                        Appointed offices of house of the LORD

 

Levites                                                                        verse 2, 4, 6, 18

            Porters of the doors

            They that minister shall gather

            Compass the king

House of God                                                             verse 3, 5, 6, 9

Priests                                                                         verse 4, 6.18

House of the LORD                                                  verse 5- 14

Sabbath                                                                      verse 8

Temple                                                                       verse 10

Altar of the Temple                                                   verse 10

Worship with singing                                                verse 13, 18

Burnt offerings                                                          verse 18

Worship with rejoicing and singing                        verse 18

Porters at gates of the house of the LORD             verse 19

People rejoiced                                                          verse 21 

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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:

Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible) 

David                                                                          verse 9, 18

Law of Moses                                                             verse 18 

God the Father (First person of the Godhead) 

God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign)                           verse 3, 9, 11

House of God                                                            verse 3, 9

LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)   verse 3, 5, 6, 12, 14,

                                                                                                16, 18- 20

House of the LORD                                                  verse 5, 6, 12, 14,

18- 20

Watch of the LORD                                                 verse 6

LORD’S people                                                         verse 16 

God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)

God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)

Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)          

Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)

Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)

Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels) 

House of Baal                                                            verse 17         

Unclean entering temple                                           verse 19 

Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins) 

Strength                                                                     verse 1

Covenant                                                                    verse 1, 3, 16

Promise                                                                      verse 3

Minister                                                                      verse 6

Holy                                                                            verse 6

Watch                                                                         verse 6

Anointed                                                                    verse 11

Praise                                                                          verse 12, 13

Rejoicing                                                                    verse 13, 18, 21

Singing                                                                       verse 13, 18

Worship ordained                                                     verse 18

Quiet                                                                           verse 21 

Israel (Old Testament people of God) 

            Jerusalem                                                                   verse 2

            Sons of David to reign                                              verse 3, 18

            Joash                                                                          verse 11, 20

                        Crown on head

                        Made king

                        Anointed by Jehoiada                                              

                        King upon the throne in Jerusalem

            Athaliah                                                                     verse 12-15, 21

                        Heard the noise of anointing of Joash

                        Rent her clothes

                        Said: Treason, Treason

                        Killed outside the Temple

            People broke down house of Baal                           verse 17

                        Slew Mattan – priest of Baal

            High gate into kings house                                       verse 20

            People rejoiced                                                          verse 21         

Church (New Testament people of God)

Last Things (Future Events)

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DONATIONS:

Remember that all donations to Small Church Ministries are greatly appreciated. The treasurer will send a receipt, at the end of the year unless otherwise requested. Please be sure to make check out to “Small Church Ministries.” The address for the treasurer is P.O. Box 604, East Amherst, New York 14051. A second way to give to the ministry is through PayPal on the website: www.smallchurchministries.org  Also if you can support this ministry through your local church, please use that method.  Thank you.

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QUOTES regarding passage

 

The verb translated “be quiet” (šāqaṭ) is used several times by the Chronicler to denote the divine blessing God grants to those following his will (13:22; 14:1, 4–5; 20:30; cf. 1 Chr 4:40; 22:9). (Thompson, J. A. (1994). 1, 2 Chronicles (Vol. 9, p. 311). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

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That the city was quiet was a sign of God’s blessing, which often followed special acts of faith and obedience (cf. 1 Chr. 4:40; 22:9; 2 Chr. 13:23; 14:4–5; 20:30). (Selman, M. J. (1994). 2 Chronicles: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 11, p. 470). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press)

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VI. The civil government re-established, v. 20. They brought the king in state to his own palace, and set him upon the throne of the kingdom, to give law, and give judgment, either in his own person or by Jehoiada his tutor. Thus was this happy revolution perfected. The generality of the people rejoiced in it, and the rest were quiet and made no opposition, v. 21. When the Son of David is enthroned in the soul all is quiet and springs of joy are opened. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (pp. 599–600). Peabody: Hendrickson)

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The civil government re-established, v. 20. They brought the king in state to his own palace, and set him upon the throne of the kingdom, to give law, and give judgment, either in his own person or by Jehoiada his tutor. Thus was this happy revolution perfected. The generality of the people rejoiced in it, and the rest were quiet and made no opposition, v. 21. When the Son of David is enthroned in the soul all is quiet and springs of joy are opened. (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (pp. 599–600). Peabody: Hendrickson)

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Jehoiada then restored the regular priestly and Levitical assignments just as David had prescribed they be carried out. Finally, he took the king with all the entourage of leaders to the palace and seated him on the throne officially. At last Judah knew peace once more. (Merrill, E. H. (1985). 2 Chronicles. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 637). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books)

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16–21. There is a beautiful order in the account here given. The first object of reform is to shew that God graciously looks upon his people and remembers his covenant. The covenant that is said to be made, is between him, and between all the people, and between the king. Him means, no doubt, the Lord, and Jehoiada, as his priest, might be supposed to represent him. Sweetly suggesting to us Jesus, our glorious Head and Mediator, whom Jehoiada typified. Hence, what a beautiful portion of gospel comes in, in the midst of this history? And where we expected to find nothing but a simple narrative concerning Judah, here we find a lovely shadow of the Lord Jesus! The next object in this revolution of Judah is the destruction of Baal and his images. When the hearts of the people are turned back again to the Lord, then immediately follows the destruction of idolatry. Reader! how precious a part of our holy faith is it, when we so love the Lord as to hate his enemies, David makes this the subject of appeal in proof of his sincerity, Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee? Psm. 139:21. The third step in the reform of Judah, is the arrangement of the temple service. During the usurpation and tyranny of Athaliah all had gone to disorder. But now the Lord shall be again worshipped in the beauty of holiness. And lastly, all the departments of government were brought into regularity and order. So that when God is honoured in his house of prayer, and true religion prevails through the land, all ranks of the people are made happy; there is no leading into captivity, no complaining in the streets. Well might the Psalmist, in the view of such a nation, cry out; Happy is that people that is in such a case; yea, happy is that people whose God is the Lord. Psm. 144:15. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, pp. 516–517). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

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I would pass over both the history itself, and all the circumstances connected with it, while I review the gracious events the Lord’s right hand here accomplished, to give my meditation wing in flying to the yet more precious subject of that revolution wrought by grace, when sin and rebellion, with all the usurpation of Satan, are put down in the heart of man. I desire to bless God for the mercies here wrought for his Judah, and that he raised up this Jehoiada for the deliverance of his people. But oh! my soul, think of that everlasting deliverance wrought for all his people, when God our father brought forth his dear Son, his true Jehoiada, hid from ages and generations, and set him as his King in Zion, when declaring the decree of redemption in his name. Here was the everlasting overthrow of Satan’s usurpation, tyranny, and power over our poor nature! Here was the final destruction of false gods, when the heathen oracles, by the coming of the Lord Jesus, were struck dumb for ever. And here was the introduction of that glorious kingdom of righteousness and peace, which shall flourish for ever. Hail, thou glorious, thou almighty Jesus! I see thee and thy lovely form beautifully shadowed forth in the character of Jehoiada, who ministered in thy name! Thou hast made a covenant indeed in thy blood and righteousness: for thou thyself art the whole of it. And it is thou that hast both set up the reform, and art the wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption of thy people. Oh! dearest Jesus! while the Father crowns thee King in Zion, and all the redeemed congratulate thee in thy coronation in the church of the first-born which are in heaven, do thou by the influences of thine Holy Spirit enable my soul to put the crown of my own personal redemption on thy sacred head, that I may exult as the people here did in the view of their lawful sovereign, for thou art my lawful God and King for evermore. And oh! my gracious Lord, while thou art blessing me with the communications of thy love, and my soul truly enjoys the fulness of blessings under thy reign, let thy grace draw out my heart in thy service, that all the idols of creature-affection may be destroyed, and Jesus alone govern my heart and affections forever. (Hawker, R. (2013). Poor Man’s Old Testament Commentary: 1 Kings–Esther (Vol. 3, p. 517). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.)

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FROM MY READING: 

(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)

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The Problem is not guns. It’s hearts without GOD, Homes without discipline; Schools without prayer and courtrooms without Justice.

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QUOTES

 

GOD’S PRESENCE

by Anne R. C. Neale

 

I can feel God’s presence any time,

My beating heart which He started to beat, which is fine,  

My heart beats all day and all night I know

And one day it will stop beating, that is so.

 

Each time I breathe, that is God’s gift to me,

I can feel God’s presence with my breath,

God keeps me alive all day and night too,

God keeps me alive until He calls me to my physical death.

 

God’s presence I can see, hear, and smell,

God surrounds me with my taste and my touch,

All the beauty in the world is God’s creation,

I treasure God presence everywhere so very much.

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Blocked Prayers

When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins. Mark 11:25

For fourteen years, the Mars rover Opportunity faithfully communicated with the people at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. After it landed in 2004, it traversed twenty-eight miles of the Martian surface, took thousands of images, and analyzed many materials. But in 2018, communication between Opportunity and scientists ended when a major dust storm coated its solar panels, causing the rover to lose power.

Is it possible that we can allow “dust” to block our communication with Someone outside of our world? When it comes to prayer—communicating with God—there are certain things that can get in the way.

Scripture says that sin can block our relationship with God. “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened” (Psalm 66:18). Jesus instructs, “When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25). Our communication with God can also be hindered by doubt and relationship problems (James 1:5–7; 1 Peter 3:7).

Opportunity’s blockage of communication seems to be permanent. But our prayers don’t have to be blocked. By the work of the Holy Spirit, God lovingly draws us to restored communication with Him. As we confess our sins and turn to Him, by God’s grace we experience the greatest communication the universe has ever known: one-to-one prayer between us and our holy God.

By Dave Branon  (Our Daily Bread Ministries)

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RIGHT THINKING

It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves. Psalm 100:3
Get right in your thinking about yourself; then think of yourself in your relationship to God. And the moment you do so, you will realize that you are utterly dependent upon Him. “It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves.” Our times and our breath are in His hand. God brought us into being, and He could end it in a moment. We, none of us, control life; God controls it all. But men and women do not stop and think about that. They say, “What shall I put on tonight? How shall I dress tomorrow?” They may be dead before tomorrow! But they do not think of that. The whole of life, for them, is without God; He does not enter into their calculations.
That is why the world is as it is, says our Lord. If only all men and women believed in God, they would all humble themselves before Him. If only the whole world believed in God, there would be no preparation for war, there would be no jealousy and envy and rivalry, because all men and women would be bowing before Him and worshiping Him and living to His glory and His praise. But because they do not, they set themselves up as gods, and they worship themselves. So there are barriers between nations. “I am going to be bigger,” says one; so he makes a bigger bomb. “I will make a bigger one!” says the other. And up and up and up we go, and we get worse. “Whence come wars and fightings among you. Come they not hence, even of your lusts…? Ye ask, and receive not,” says the apostle James (James 4:1,3).
You will never satisfy your god, and so, according to the Bible, we get all the troubles in the world–individual troubles and collective troubles, national troubles and international troubles! All this rivalry is because we are not living as under the eye of an almighty God.
A Thought to Ponder
If only all men and women believed in God, they would all humble themselves before Him.   (From The Kingdom of God, p. 40, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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When we are obedient to God, nothing can touch us that does not come from God Himself. The armies of Egypt, symbolic of the armies of Satan, are no match for a God jealous to care for His beloved people. Resting in God’s full protection in spiritual warfare, we may put on His full armor and stand firm, knowing that we will triumph in Him. (Quiet Walk)

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Submission
“Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” (Ephesians 5:21)

Normally in today’s world we are told to strive for the top. Desire to be “Number 1” overshadows the biblical injunction of submission. But when we are truly in a right relationship with God, we will be submitting to one another. Christ taught that servanthood was of much greater value in the eyes of God than mastery.
We all know too many examples of churches that have been split by conflicts arising from selfishness among the believers or an unwillingness to serve. “From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?” (James 4:1). A Spirit-filled Christian (Ephesians 5:18) desires to submit and serve rather than to assert and rule.
The same thought is reflected throughout Scripture: “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Peter 5:5). “Obey them [i.e., spiritual leaders] that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls” (Hebrews 13:17). We must also submit to “every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake” (1 Peter 2:13).
The word “submit” is a translation of two Greek words meaning “to line up under.” It usually reflects a military hierarchy, “to rank lower than.” Our goal, therefore, should be to place others above ourselves and to be in submission to and in service of them.
This attitude, of course, was the attitude that Christ exhibited as He left heaven to come and serve, and die, who “took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

                  (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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Nehemiah 4
The work on the city wall is ridiculed by those opposing it.
INSIGHT

It is difficult to do any work when we are strongly opposed. We begin to doubt the validity of the task or our ability to perform it. When we are assailed for doing God’s work, we must evaluate the source of opposition. We cannot assume opposition means that God is against us. While it is of little value to blame the devil for everything that goes wrong, the Bible makes it clear that spiritual opposition is a reality in the work of God. If we suspect spiritual opposition, we must oppose the enemy, remain at the task at hand, and redouble our prayers!   (Quiet Walk)

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HISTORICAL EVENTS

“that he should give eternal life”. John 17:2
If we base our position entirely upon experience, we will convince nobody. We are dealing with certain historical events and facts that we must never allow ourselves to forget. Indeed, I am prepared to go as far as to say that whatever I may feel at this moment, though I may feel that I am in a state of darkness and am utterly discouraged, my position is still safe, and I am secure because of these things that have been done in history outside of me and before I was ever born.
Thank God, I do not base my position on how I feel. Feelings are treacherous; they come and go, and what little control we have upon them! We have all had the following experience, have we not? We wake up one morning and find ourselves full of peace and joy and happiness. We have a marvelous day, we read our Bibles, we have freedom in prayer, and all is well. So we look forward to the next day being still more wonderful. But strangely enough, we find that when we wake up the next morning, we are lifeless and dull.
If you are going to base your whole position upon experience and feelings, you are going to be a very unhappy person, and your Christian life is going to be very unstable. But the answer is this marvelous plan of salvation. I must, of course, know that I am related to it—that is essential. But what I am arguing for is that if you want to enjoy these blessings and if you want to live this Christian life truly, you do so by looking at these things, by resting upon them, and by saying, if you like, in the words of a hymn:
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus name. Edward Mote

A Thought to Ponder: Thank God, I do not base my position on how I feel.
(From Saved in Eternity, pp. 83-84, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

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Hating Knowledge
“How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?” (Proverbs 1:22) 

This ancient question by the wise man Solomon was posed almost 3,000 years ago and is still relevant today. “How long?” he asked. How long will men continue to scoff at true knowledge? “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7). 

The answer to your question, Solomon, would have been 3,000 years at least! Peter prophesied “that there shall come in the last days scoffers . . . saying, Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Peter 3:3-4); and Paul said “that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be . . . boasters, proud, blasphemers. . . . Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:1-2, 7). 

Throughout history men have scorned the true knowledge of God and His creation. Peter says they “willingly are ignorant,” and Paul says they are “without excuse” (2 Peter 3:5; Romans 1:20), but they “delight in their scorning” nonetheless. 

It is remarkable that their hatred of God’s true knowledge is cloaked in a robe of scientism and evolutionary pseudo knowledge, that even deceives many professing Christians. “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22), despising the true wisdom and instruction of God’s Word. 

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20). Those who scorn God’s Word have no light of their own, despite their scientific pretensions. “Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction” (Proverbs 10:14). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)

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