Do you turn to God for direction so that you can do things right?

 25 May 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

1 Chronicles 14

1 Chronicles 15

1 Chronicles 16

John 9:24-41

For because you did not do it the first time, the LORD our God broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order (1 Chronicles 15:13). 

Do you turn to God for direction so that you can do things right?

David does not do so concerning the moving of the ark, and the consequence is fatal. God gives us His Word to bring Him glory through observing His ways. The Lord guides us to order and not chaos. Paul writes to a chaotic church, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). First Chronicles 15:13 refers to “the proper order” of worship. The Hebrew term for “proper order” occurs in the context of describing the plans and instructions for the Tabernacle (Exodus 35-40). It also occurs for the specifications of the Temple (1 Kings 6:38). Moreover, it emerges concerning the rearing of Samson (Judges 13:12). 

Employment Point: Consult the Lord through the Word and prayer to honor His ways.

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Reflections

“Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of God: “Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you deliver them into my hands?” The Lord answered him, “Go, I will deliver them into your hands.””

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭9‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Once more the Philistines raided the valley; so David inquired of God again, and God answered him, “Do not go directly after them, but circle around them and attack them in front of the poplar trees.”1 Chronicles‬ ‭14‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• such is the action the Lord wants all of us to take. To seek Him first and follow His commands. It is good in a sense we don’t have to worry about making the wrong decisions. We just need to follow.

1 Chronicles 16:1-36 are verses full of praises for the Lord as everyone rejoices that the Ark now sit in the city of David with people appointed to minister to the people. It is indeed a great day in rejoicing and praise! In between those lines, two verses stood out to me

“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• a reminder as before to keep seeking the Lord

“For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”1 Chronicles‬ ‭16‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• only the Lord deserves our praises. And here it further mentioned that all the gods of the nations are idols very specifically. There’s no need to second guess. There is only one Lord, both now and forever.

“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!””John‬ ‭9‬:‭24‬-‭25‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• Always speak about the truth. For the truth will also uphold itself to criticism or judgement from others. It is then that God be glorified. We cannot help if someone were to chose to reject the truth even though we speak of it. We can only pray for them that one day their ears may be open
• Each of us too, must be ready to give our testimonies when being called upon. 

“The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.””

‭‭John‬ ‭9‬:‭30‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• these are wise words coming out from the blind men. He experienced it himself how Jesus healed him and recognised the godly power that is with him. It was a miracle of the impossible and yet it happened through Jesus! He knew that this is definitely a godly man! Which is also why he stand and testify to all who knew him that he was born blind but now he sees! What a great testimony!

“Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.””John‬ ‭9‬:‭39‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• It is not the eyes that are blinded but the hearts that refused to see. He came into the world to bring about a change and also judgement. People who refused to believe will not be able to see and be blinded to the truth. But for all who believes, he brings with Him the good news and eternal life.

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The Good or The Best?

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

May 25

If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left. —Genesis 13:9

As soon as you begin to live the life of faith in God, fascinating and physically gratifying possibilities will open up before you. These things are yours by right, but if you are living the life of faith you will exercise your right to waive your rights, and let God make your choice for you. God sometimes allows you to get into a place of testing where your own welfare would be the appropriate thing to consider, if you were not living the life of faith. But if you are, you will joyfully waive your right and allow God to make your choice for you. This is the discipline God uses to transform the natural into the spiritual through obedience to His voice.

Whenever our right becomes the guiding factor of our lives, it dulls our spiritual insight. The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best. In this passage, it would seem that the wisest thing in the world for Abram to do would be to choose. It was his right, and the people around him would consider him to be a fool for not choosing.

Many of us do not continue to grow spiritually because we prefer to choose on the basis of our rights, instead of relying on God to make the choice for us. We have to learn to walk according to the standard which has its eyes focused on God. And God says to us, as He did to Abram, “…walk before Me…” (Genesis 17:1).

1 Chronicles 25-27; John 9:1-23

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

Seeing is never believing: we interpret what we see in the light of what we believe. Faith is confidence in God before you see God emerging; therefore the nature of faith is that it must be tried.

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Reflections

Genesis 13:9 talks about Abram giving Lot, his nephew, the opportunity to choose his share of land first. Lot naturally choose wherever land he thinks is prosperous and gave Abram the leftovers. It may appear unjust but because Abram gave up his right to choose, the Lord blessed him with what was surrendered, whereas Lot continued to Sodom.. you would know what happened there.

Sometimes surrendering or giving up are seen as an act of weakness, especially in the oriental context and Jesus challenge us exactly to that. Would surrendering always be a sign of weakness? Not really. If you can imagine, a husband not wanting to argue with the wife anymore, gives in to her request. It is not a sign of weakness but a sign of love and respect. He seeks harmony over being right. So what if he wins the argument and loses the wife in the end? Would that be worth it?

When our parents warn us of people we are hanging out with especially when we were younger, we tend not to listen and rebel against their wishes. We thought we were right and they were wrong. But we forgot we were at an age where we cannot really discern between right and wrong. So we went ahead, got into bad company and a lot of troubles that gave our parents a headache. But what did they do? They gave in eventually to our wishes because they know sometimes in life, we have to receive those hard knocks in life in order to learn. If we look back on those moments, it is our folly for not following their suggestions. 

Our Lord Jesus as our Abba Father has the same intention for us. He loves us, He knows who is out to harm us, He knows whatever that is going to happen. He knows the past, the present and the future. Who else can know more than Him? There is no one. There is only One Lord.

If we recognise the love of God for us, if we have the faith in the Lord, if we can submit our will into His hands in fullness, not holding back anything, He will be able to propel us much further than how we think we can by our own. Like I always say, it is never about us but all about Him. If we say thy will be done, then we will have to let Him and let be.

Let’s pray:

Heavenly Father, help us to come to You in meekness, in humble adoration and in awesome reverence of Your presence Lord. We recognise Your selfless love for us, we saw how You still love us despite our sins, our wretchedness, and anything that we did not even dare to face You with. Thank You Abba Father for Your grace, mercy, compassion and Your love for us all. You have given us hope when there is supposed to be death. Help us in our unbelief and soften our hearts O Lord. To turn to You and to surrender our will and our decision power into Your Mighty hands. We trust and have full confidence in You O LORD, that Your thoughts and Your ways are higher than ours. Let Your will be done and we relinquish all forms of control over the outcome of any situations in our lives. You are our LORD and master, we hereby submit to You, our bodies, our mind and our soul. May You take over and lead us from henceforth. In Jesus’s most Mighty Name we pray. Amen 🙏🏻