Thank you pastors for the work you are doing to minister to the people God has placed under your watch care. Sermon preparation is a challenge when you are trying to keep yourself untainted from the world which we serve in, and yet remember God is directing you to deliver His message to stained people who have lived in this world.

I read from 2 Chronicles 30 today. I am reading from the Christian Standard Version (CSV) and I found it fascinating, very informing, and enlightening about the role of a shepherd. First there were priests that were doing their work who were not committed to the LORD. They were just going through the motions. There was a call to come and be together to worship at the Temple. Some folks didn’t see a need. But there were many who responded (possibly because of a nagging wife) they came but their hearts were not in it. The king knew that and had the priests to pray over those who would rather be somewhere else and offered a special sacrifice for them as well as a prayer. Then there were those who were there and were excited that they finally got to come back together to worship corporately. Does that remind you of anything happening today?

I want to take a sentence or two and focus on the ones who were stained by the world and really weren’t there to grow in their love and passion for God and His Word. The king and priests recognized this and had a special prayer before the service begin to ask God’s blessings on each of them. These folks had not prepared themselves for worship and so the shepherd prayed over them. Verse 18 - “were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover, contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah had interceded for them saying, ‘May the good LORD provide atonement on behalf of whoever sets his heart on seeking God, the LORD, the God of his ancestors, even though not according to the purification rules of the sanctuary.’”

Not only do our pastor/shepherds prepare the message but they spend many hours praying over the people that God will send to worship Him each service. So thank you pastors for ALL you are doing to be faithful to our LORD. And that is why you are a blessing to us. Read this chapter from different versions and listen to the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you.

Good morning dear Sunday morning Saints. Glad we have a lovely day to worship and serve the LORD with gladness.  Question - Who has your ear? I mean who are you listening to? Or are you listening to anyone? Some feel they have all the answers and they do not need any advice from anyone. Is that you or do you know someone like that?

In my reading this morning from 2 Chronicles 10-11, I ran into such a character as this. Solomon had died and now his son step in to be king. The people came to him and asked him to lighten their load. He said, "I will get back to you in three days." During those three days he was wise enough to seek advice from others. First he went to the ELDERS and asked them what he should do, they told him to be kind and speak kind words to them and they would serve him for the rest of their lives. Sounded good to me. But not to him. I guess he didn’t respect or trust the advice of those seasoned saints. So he went to his running buddies--the young men he grew up with--and asked them what they thought. They told him to not let up but to make things harder. He listed to the youth of his day and did just that. What were the results of this? A riot and public protest. The people turned on him and the end results were he had to escape and run for his life.

Why did he not listen to those who were wise in their older age and have a kingdom of individuals that were willing to serve him for the rest of his life? Because he trusted in those who he grew up with and look what happened.

In leadership, I know that I do not know all the answers. I believe that two, three, four heads are better than my one. When we are facing a situation it is always better to gain counsel (brain storm) on the best way to handle a the situation. The council will bring more thoughts and understandings to the detail that maybe we would have never thought of. But the King trusted in his running buddies and that got him into some hot water.

God has a plan for us and, like the elders, told the king that if we be kind to others and speak kind words of instruction to them, we can turn away a bunch of wrath. It is true, our words can calm or cause chaos so we need to choose our words wisely. Maybe we need to choose our friends wisely as well. Have a blessed day and stay safe out there. Blessings

Good morning dearest believers. Nice to know you are up and at ’em this morning. Have you noticed that reading the Word of God is like reading the headlines of our news media these days. I love the Old Testament (except the names) and the historical facts that God has preserved for us there. This morning I was reading again from Second Chronicles. Read three chapters about three for kings. King R, King J, and King A who were so bent on having their own fame and fortune that they literally turned their back on God and started their own gods. The results was not very promising for them. When they got themselves in trouble, King R “humbled himself” and cried out to God. God stepped in and delivered him but he lost his freedom as well as his fortune. He became a servant to another king and his country. However, in these three chapters we find “along came Asa and turned the people back to the living God.” Peace and prosperity were there because their hearts were genuinely seeking and serving God. They praised God each day and did it just when things were tough on them. 

Humbled himself - Isn’t that what 2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us to do? We must humble ourselves and seek God’s face - not His hand - and then God can heal our land. All of the things going on today are proof in the pudding that we are not a humble people. We only want God to step in when we mess things up. King Asa led his life and his kingdom of people to put God first in everything they were doing. Not so they could get what they wanted but to live a life before God that was pleasing to Him. 

Our daily chore is to choose to honor and glorify God by the way we live, the way we treat others, and the way we talk. Our Christ-likeness should always be showing. The world is hurting and the world needs to see Jesus in us every moment of ever day. That is how we bless God and be His blessing to others.