THE REQUEST OF GOD YOU HAVE Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great? —II Chronicles 1:10 At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you… So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? —I Kings 3:5, 9             You have probably heard the fable about the genie offering three wishes to be granted.…

GIVE THANKS AND PRAISE TO GOD! David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. —I…

NO NEED TO FEAR DEATH! Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” —John 11:25-27             You fear death? If you know Jesus you shouldn’t fear death! — “Now since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity, so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death, that is, the…

  PRAISE AND THANK OUR LORD IN THE MORNING! And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the LORD, and likewise at evening, —I Chronicles 23:30             This morning, what are you thanking our Lord for?   This morning, what are you praising our Lord for?             I praise You that You are the Sovereign over all creation and do all things well. I praise You that You give life and breath to every living creature. I praise You that You are Perfect. I praise You that You are Holy. I praise You that You are Righteous. I praise You that You are sinless. I praise You that You…

SIN’S DESTRUCTIVE IMPACT So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. —I Chronicles 21:14             David commanded Joab and the commanders of the army to number the fighting men. This was something David was not supposed to do— “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing (I Chronicles” (21:8). They had already counted all the fighting men except from the tribe of Levi and Benjamin. The number came to 1,570,000. For this disobedience the nation would experience the “sword of the Lord” by three days of pestilence.            …

NO OTHER GOD! There is none like you, O LORD, and there is no God besides you. —I Chronicles 17:20 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see. They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. —Psalm 135:15-18 See now that I myself am he! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of…

JESUS TAKES BLINDNESS AWAY! One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” —John 9:35-39             Consider having been born blind and then instantly…

LISTEN TO JESUS! The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more…

DEATH’S HOUR WILL COME So they were seeking to arrest him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his hour had not yet come. —John 7:30             God knows the length of our days (Psalm 39:4).   He knows when we will draw our last breath. We will not die without His determinate time (Deuteronomy 34:5; Luke 12:20). So it was with Jesus. He would not died on the cross until the predetermined time of God (Acts 2:23). But then there would come a time when “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father” (John 13:1).             So…

ALL FOR GOD’S GLORY So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. —John 7:16-18             Jesus came representing His Father who had sent Him. He was looking to do His Father’s will and not His own (Luke 22:42).   Those who wanted to do God’s will would know…