Whose kingdom are you building?
23 Apr 26
Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One
Readings:
2 Samuel 7
2 Samuel 8
2 Samuel 9
Luke 19:1-28
He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Colossians 1:13).
Whose kingdom are you building?
David reigns over a united Israel and desires to build a house for the “ark of God” (2 Samuel 7:2). The king’s idea will be brought to fruition, but under the reign of Solomon. Nathan relays the following shocking message to David: “Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house” (2 Samuel 7:10). Subsequently, the surprised king is informed that God will give him an eternal house, throne, and kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
Approximately one thousand years later, Gabriel tells Mary the virgin that her Son will fulfill the promise shared with David (Luke 1:30-33). As the Lord honors David for his desire to build the Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant, so God honors those who live for Him.
Employment Point: Build upon Christ’s eternal kingdom and your reward will last.
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Reflections
“King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued:”2 Samuel 8:11 NIV
- I think from what he had done and how much he really gave to the Lord, we can see he really loves God a lot, dedication all the whatever plunder that he have to Him
- Are we like this too? How much are we dedicating to the Lord?
“David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?””2 Samuel 9:1 NIV
- we see how much David’s heart is really full of love and the love of his neighbour. He really treated Saul and Jonathan as family. And that even now that they are gone, he didn’t have the thought that ok they are gone, my job is done. He went a step further to continue to show love and concern for their household.
- Father may You grant us this kind of love for our neighbours too and be willing to lean on You for advice
“He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.”
Luke 19:3-4 NIV
- Zacchaeus is a short guy but he did not let his stature determine his future. He found a way to see Jesus.
- Like Zacchaeus, we too should not be too concerned about our physical appearances, disabilities, etc. but to just seek God as is. He is not concerned about how we look for He looks at our heart.
““He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
Luke 19:26 NIV
- when the Lord grant us a calling, He provides and with it also comes responsibilities. We need to be good stewards of all things given to us, be it time, money, resources, etc. Let nothing go to waste.
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The Worship of Work
BY OSWALD CHAMBERS
April 23
For we are co-workers in God’s service. — 1 Corinthians 3:9
Beware of any work you do for God that allows you to avoid concentrating on him. A great many Christian workers worship their work. The one concern of a Christian worker should be concentration on God, and this will mean that all the facets of life—physical, mental, moral, and spiritual—are free. They are free with the freedom of a child—a worshipping child, not a wayward child. A worker without this solemn, ruling note of concentration on God is likely to be crushed by work, to have no delight in life, no margin of freedom in body, mind, or spirit. The nerves, mind, and heart become so crushingly burdened that God’s blessing cannot settle.
Yet the opposite is just as true. Once your concentration is fixed on God, all the facets of your life are free because they are under God’s dominion. There is no responsibility on you for your work. The only responsibility you have is to keep in living, constant touch with God, and to see that you allow nothing to interfere with your cooperation with him.
The freedom that follows sanctification is the freedom of the child. Once you are born again in the Spirit, you find that the things that used to keep your life pinned down are gone. But be careful to remember that you have been set free for one thing only: to be absolutely devoted to your co-Worker.
We have no right to judge where we should be placed in God’s service. We have no right to our preconceived ideas about what God is preparing us for. God engineers everything. Wherever he puts us, our one great aim is to pour out wholehearted devotion to him in that particular work.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD
The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ.
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Reflections
The worship of work-perhaps I can also rephrase it to be work as a form of worship.
Firstly what would worship mean to you? Would it just be singing hymns or worship songs? I think worship can mean a lot of things. However as a believer, according to Gotquestions, a biblical theology of worship bases its teaching on what the Bible alone says. Just as a biblical soteriology is based on the Bible’s overall teaching concerning salvation, a biblical theology of worship is based on the Bible’s overall teaching concerning the worship and adoration of God.
Having a biblical theology of worship is important. Not everything that is called “worship” is actually worship, a lesson learned in the very beginning: both Cain and Abel brought sacrifices to the Lord, but “the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor” (Genesis 4:4–5). What was Cain’s problem (besides jealousy, stubbornness, and murderous rage)? He lacked a proper theology of worship. Cain brought an unacceptable sacrifice to the Lord and demanded that the Lord be pleased.
Contrary to popular belief, worship does not begin and end with the singing portion of our church services. Worship is also not limited to bowing in reverence before God. To begin with, worship is determined by God Himself, not by our sincerity, pious feelings, or musical skill.
True biblical worship must be reverent (Hebrews 12:28). We must understand who is being worshiped. God is holy, just, perfect, powerful, loving, etc. We are sinners saved by grace coming before a holy God on the basis of our Redeemer. There is no room for pride in adoration (see Luke 18:9–14). Also, worship must be “in truth,” that is, our worship must be properly informed (John 4:24). Unless we have accurate knowledge of the God we worship, there is no worshiping in truth. Those who wish to worship biblically must worship God as He is revealed in Scripture. Unbiblical views of God must be rejected.
True worship is about God. We reverence and honor and adore Him, not simply because of what He does for us but for who He is.
A biblical theology of worship will result in worship that produces a change of heart. The worshiper will have an ever greater desire to love and obey the Lord. Worship and service go hand in hand; worship of God should propel us into greater obedience. Jesus said those who love Him will keep His commandments (John 14:15). If we say we love and worship Him, but do not obey Him, our worship is worthless.
A biblical theology of worship leads to the conviction that worship is a lifestyle, not a moment in time (see 1 Corinthians 10:31). Our lives are to be dedicated to the worship and service of God. Worship is to be more than a temporary, experience-oriented activity on Sunday, after which we revert to a “normal” life the rest of the week. True worship is constant, inner praise to the God of Scripture, expressed in prayer, in song, in service, in giving, and in living.
Let’s pray:
Father may You grant us a heart to worship You, not just by singing thanks and praises but out of our acts of service, a surrendered heart and a love of God. Bless us O Lord, to always seek You and place You in the center of our lives. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻
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