Quick Note – Don’t Procrastinate when It Comes to the Work of God

2 Kings 12:4-8 – 4 Jehoash said to the priests, “All the money of the holy things that is brought into the house of the Lord, the money for which each man is assessed—the money from the assessment of persons—and the money that a man’s heart prompts him to bring into the house of the Lord, 5 let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered.” 6 But by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, the priests had made no repairs on the house. 7 Therefore King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the other priests and said to them, “Why are you not repairing the house? Now therefore take no more money from your donors, but hand it over for the repair of the house.” 8 So the priests agreed that they should take no more money from the people, and that they should not repair the house.

Most times when I write one of these quick notes, they aren’t very quick.  They actually are quite long and drawn out.  But today, something was pressing on me as I read my daily devotionals, and I wanted to share it without writing much more than necessary.  The reason for this is because what I read today directly applied to what I am doing now by writing this blog entry. 

In the passage today, Jehoash, the king of Judah, had asked the priests and Levites to use the money taken as a tax from the people to rebuild the Lord’s house.  The Temple, the place of worship to the Lord, had gone into disarray due to the previous kings and queen who did not serve God.  So the priests and Levites were given the simple job of repairing the parts of the Temple that needed to be fixed.  But rather than doing the work quickly, the priests did not make the repairs.  They kept sitting around and doing nothing instead.  In 2 Chronicles 24, which recounts the same incident, it sounds as if the priests and Levites didn’t even collect the money.  They did not do the work of God given to them when they had the opportunity.  So when Jehoash realized this, he rebuked the priests and gave the job to someone else. 

We as Christians and disciple of Jesus Christ are often prompted by God to do something for His kingdom.  Sometimes it is to share a devotional you read with a friend.  Sometimes it is to directly speak to someone about the Gospel.  Sometimes it is to pray for a loved one or even an enemy.  It could be to provide a meal for someone hungry, to drive a person who is in lack of transportation, and to even write a quick blog post to encourage fellow Christians to do the work of God.  When God gives us a job, we should not tarry and wait and procrastinate.  Rather we should quickly do the job, He has given us to do, lest that job be given to someone else.  I don’t know why God wanted me to write this blog post today, at this time, when I feel like I’m in a rush to do other things.  But nevertheless, He has a reason and that may be to prompt you to do something He’s been asking you to do as well. 

Quick Note – 1 Chronicles 15:13 – Seek God Properly

1 Chronicles 15:13 – “Because you did not carry it the first time, the Lord our God broke out against us, because we did not seek him according to the rule.”

After David became king of Israel, he wanted to bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem, establishing it as the place of worship and symbolizing that Israel would seek God again.  At the time, it was located at Kiriath-Jearim, so he gathered the people of Israel together to transport the Ark with praise and celebration.  Unfortunately, this joyous occasion quickly became a time of sorrow, when Uzzah, one of the people transporting the Ark, stretched out his hand to steady the Ark, when the cart in which the Ark was sitting stumbled.  Although Uzzah was trying to do a good thing by making sure that the Ark wouldn’t fall over, it was forbidden to touch the Ark of God, for it was holy.  Uzzah was immediately struck down by God for breaking this command and died.  This brought fear into David’s heart, who then chose to leave the Ark in the town they had just reached, instead of bringing it all the way to Jerusalem. 

A few months later, after hearing about how the house of Obed-Edom, where the Ark was located now, was being blessed by God, David decided to try to transport the Ark of God again.  But this time rather than using a cart with oxen, he called the priests and the Levites to come and carry the Ark of God.  This may seem like a weird request and practically unreasonable, but according to the Law, this was the way it was supposed to be transported in the first place.  The Levitical priests were the only people who were allowed to touch the holy things of God, meaning they were the ones that were supposed to carry the Ark.  David now remembering that law, decided to follow the rule and seek God in the proper manner, because he knew that the first time they tried, they did not seek God according to the rule and were punished for it.  David knew the importance of seeking God in the proper manner.

In this day and age, we are told that there are many ways to get to heaven.  We are told that all religions are the same and equal and that all paths lead to God.  But this teaching is completely wrong.  According to the Bible, there is only one way to know God and that is to receive His Son Jesus Christ into your heart and life.  Acts 4:11-12 states, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.  And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  There are no other ways to know God.  There are no other ways to be saved from hell.  There are no other ways to receive the Holy Spirit into your life.  There is no way by which you can do enough good works to earn your salvation.  The only way was provided for us through the death of Jesus Christ His Son.  The Bible tells us that we must turn to Christ, repenting of our sin and trusting in Him as our Lord and Savior to be saved.  Jesus Christ is the only way, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one can come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).  So do not be deceived by this world.  If you are seeking peace with God, then the only way to find it is to humble yourself at the cross.  Seek God today according to the rule.    

*The way to receive Christ into your life is to simply place your trust in Him.  You must admit that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior, for the penalty of your sins is death.  You must believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died to pay the penalty for your sins on that cross.  And finally, you must confess Him as your Lord and Savior, placing your faith and trust that He will save you.  There is no magic formula or special prayer, all you must do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you will be saved (Romans 10:13). 

Quick Note – Judges 16:15-22 – God, the Source of Strength

Judges 16:15-22 – 15 And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” 16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. 17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. 19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him. 20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the Lord had left him. 21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison. 22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

Most of us know the story of Samson, the super strong judge appointed by God to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.  Samson was born as a Nazarite, so he was supposed to keep three major rules – 1) Not to drink or eat of the vine (grapes), 2) Not to be unclean by going near the dead, and 3) Not to shave his head.  Samson though had a tendency to break the rules of God.  At one point, he killed a lion and after some time, found honey in its carcass and ate of it, breaking the rule about going near the dead.  Although it doesn’t say in the Bible, whether he drank wine or ate grapes, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.  And in our passage today, we find that his hair was eventually cut by none other than his lover Delilah.  But today, I don’t want to spend time harping on how bad Samson was or how he made so many mistakes in his life, because who am I to cast the first stone, being that I sin against God often as well?  What I want us to focus on is where Samson found his strength. 

Many people think that the strength of Samson came from his hair, and when his hair was cut his strength was cut off, but that was not the source of Samson’s strength.  Many people think that if it wasn’t his hair, it must have been from his Nazarite vow, and because he had broken it by cutting his hair and interacting with things that were unclean, then that was why he lost his strength, but that was not the source of his strength either.  Samson knew exactly where his strength came from and we find it here in vs. 17 and then in vs. 20.  Unlike the times before, when Samson mocked Delilah and told her that if he were tied with new ropes or new bowstrings or his hair was wrapped into the web of a spinning loom, he would become weak, when Samson told Delilah this final time that if his hair was cut, he would become weak, he added a phrase.  He said that his strength would leave him.  And in vs. 20, we find out what, or better yet who, left him – the Lord.  Samson’s strength ultimately came from the Lord.  God was the source of his strength.  And because of his sin, because of his breaking his vows, because of his pride, God left Samson, and he became weak and was captured by the Philistines. 

We as Christians must remember that the source of our strength is not our knowledge of the Word of God.  Our source of strength is not the skills we’ve developed in the ministry.  Our source of strength isn’t our actions, our friends, our pastors and teachers.  Our source of strength is none of these things.  Our source of strength ultimately is God.  This means that if we want to be successful spiritually, then we must make sure that our relationship with Him is right and uninterrupted all the time.  Samson allowed lust and sin to break his relationship with God, and we must be wary not to allow any type of sin to do that to us.  We must be careful to keep our hearts pure and our relationship with him clear, so that we can always be in communion and communication with Him.  Let us make sure that we are always connected to our strength – our God. 

Quick Note – Ephesians 6:16-17 – The Shield and Sword against Temptation

Ephesians 6:16-17 – “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God…”

Temptation is something we all deal with constantly.  It comes at us in many different ways each and every day.  For some, temptation may be in the form of food, because we have a problem with gluttony.  For others, temptation may be in the form of pornography, because we have a problem with lust.  And for others, temptation can be to think of oneself more highly than he or she ought to, because of a problem with pride.  Temptation is always around us in this world.  And as Christians and disciples of Jesus Christ, we need to resist these temptations and gain the victory over sin.  

Fortunately, we have a great example of a person who was able to overcome temptation from which we can learn from – our Lord Jesus Christ.  Matthew 4:1-11 recounts Jesus’ time in the wilderness, when the Devil came and tried to tempt Him.  Satan would use verses from the Scripture out of context to try to get Jesus to sin.  First, he tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread trying to making Jesus doubt God’s faithfulness in providing for His physical needs.  Yet Jesus resisted and responded with Scripture by saying, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”  Second, Satan tempted Jesus Christ to test God’s faithfulness to protect His children, asking Him to jump from the temple to see if God would really rescue Him from death.  Jesus resisted this temptation and responded with Scripture again by saying, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”  Finally, Satan tempted Jesus Christ to worship him and promised if Jesus did, he would give him all the kingdoms and power in the world, trying to get Jesus Christ to test God’s faithfulness to keep His promise to eventually put the whole world under the dominion of His Son.  Yet Jesus Christ resisted the temptation again and responded by saying, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.”  In all of these cases, Jesus overcame the temptation by quoting Scripture and placing His faith and trust in God.  

We can definitely learn from Christ’s example to quote Scripture.  But I think we can also learn something more than that, because not only did Jesus quote verses from the Bible, He trusted God and His Word each time He quoted it.  He trusted that man would not live by bread alone but on the words from the mouth of God, not succumbing to his hunger. He trusted in God to be faithful in protecting Him and would not need to be tested, resisting Satan’s attempt to test God. He trusted that God the Father had control of this whole world and would one day place all kingdoms under His feet, choosing to worship God alone. Jesus Christ had faith.  So not only did He quote Scripture, He trusted it and obeyed it.  Faith was His shield to extinguish the potency of every temptation that Satan threw at Him.

Every temptation seems to root itself back in a problem with faith.  When we give into the temptation to lust after someone or something, there is a lack of faith in God to provide us a husband or wife or what is best for us. When we give into the temptation to lie, cheat, or steal to gain a promotion or more money, we are showing a lack of faith in God to provide for our daily needs.  When we give in to the temptation to lose our temper in anger, we are showing a lack of faith in God to handle and control the situation as necessary, thinking that we can take control by acting more powerful. When we get down to it, temptations at their roots try to get us to question our faith in God. That is why when Paul in Ephesians 6 talks about defending against the flaming darts of the Devil (temptations), he tells us to use the Shield of Faith.  It is the way we protect against temptation, extinguishing its strength. When we have faith in God to do what is best for us, the strength of temptation is gone. We can then fight back with the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, remembering Scriptures that tell us that God is faithful.  Faith to shield us and God’s Word to fight back.  Faith as our defense, and God’s Word as our offense. Jesus Christ used the same exact tools – Faith in God to defend and God’s Word to fight back.  

The next time we face temptation let us stand strong using the Shield of Faith and the Sword of the Spirit to fight back the Devil.  And don’t forget the many other tools in the armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:13-20 that can be used as well.  

Quick Note – Isaiah 9:6 – Our God in the Messiah

Isaiah 9:6 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Being that December is just a week and a half a way, Christmas music is beginning to play everywhere.  You can hear it on the radio, in the grocery store, and for some of you, even at your workplace.  Some people may get annoyed with listening to this much Christmas music, but at least for the first three weeks or so, I usually enjoy the songs (outside of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You and Toto’s Africa and Bruce Springsteen’s Santa Clause Is Coming to Town).  One piece of music that you don’t hear often on the radio but is associated with Christmas time though is Handel’s Messiah.  This famous oratorio is often performed by choirs and orchestras during this season.  You may say that you have never heard of this composition, but once I name a few of the songs and you listen to them, I am certain that you will have heard some of them before.  Famous pieces that came from the Messiah include the Hallelujah chorus, For unto Us a Child Is Born, and All We like Sheep Have Gone Astray.  Interestingly, many of the lyrics to the songs from the Messiah were pulled directly from the Bible, specifically the book of Isaiah.  For example, the song For unto Us a Child Is Born comes directly from our passage today in Isaiah 9:6, which prophesied the coming of the Messiah, which would rule the nations as a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  Today, we will take a short look at each one of these descriptions/names of our Lord Jesus Christ and how they so aptly describe our God.  (Because Jesus Christ the Son, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit are all three persons in one God.  All attributes of one apply to the other, because they are all one God.  This is the concept of the Trinity.  Although I cannot explain how this works, this is fact and is how we will talk about them in our passage today.  God is in reference to all three Persons, because they are all one God.)

Wonderful Counselor – Our God is the Wonderful Counselor.  In the King James Version (KJV) version of the Bible, this word is separated from the word Counselor with a comma, indicating that these are two different names.  But based on the structure of the other names in this passage as well as other translations of the Bible, it seems like the word wonderful here is more like an adjective for Christ’s position as the Counselor.  Our God is the Wonderful Counselor to all who seek Him.  He promises to guide and lead us like a Shepherd (John 10:14), to light our way with His Word (Psalm 119:105), and to provide us wisdom if we seek it (James 1:5).  What more the counsel He gives us is not of this world, but is extraordinary, which is what the word wonderful means.  Our God provides us guidance and counsel beyond anything this world has to offer.  Although His ways are not our ways and His thoughts not our thoughts, because He is a wise Counselor, we can trust Him to constantly lead us in the way that is best for us.  Let us trust the counsel, guidance, teaching, and commandments of the Lord. 

Mighty God – Our God is the Mighty God.  Unlike the idols of the ancient world, which cannot hear, see, or respond to our prayers, our God is all-powerful – omnipotent.  He is mighty, and no person or thing can compare to Him.  He created the world with just a few words.  He parted the Red Sea and made the Israelites walk on dry land as if it only took a breath from His mouth.  He controlled the weather, making the sun to stand still and hail to rain down from the sky as Joshua fought the Canaanites.  He commanded a giant fish to rescue Jonah from the depths of the sea and also ravens to feed His prophet Elijah during a famine.  He calmed the storm in the Sea of Galilee with a simple command, caused the blind to see, made the lame to walk again, and even raised the dead.  Our Lord and God Jesus Christ is an almighty God that has no comparison.  He is the only God, for there is no other God but Him.  When we might feel afraid due to the troubles and difficulties that may come into our lives, we can trust that our God is powerful enough to handle those situations. 

Everlasting Father – Our God is the Everlasting Father.  Everlasting means that there is no end; it continues and goes on and on and on, longer and farther than the Energizer bunny.  From the beginning of time to the end of the universe, our God has always been there.  He is everlasting.  This is a hard concept for a human mind to grasp, because we think in terms of years and centuries, but God is outside of time, for He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End.  And in all of that time, He has been a Father to His children – to us.  A good father is one that loves and takes care of his children.  He watches over their well-being, makes sure the best is always provided for them, and protects them from things that can bring harm.  A good father will also discipline his child when he or she does wrong but at the same time show mercy and grace, looking to restore rather than to condemn.  Our God is that type of Father to us.  He has been a kind and loving Father since He created man in the beginning and will continue to be that gracious and merciful Father when this world has been destroyed.  We know that He is that loving Father, because He gave us His Son.  When we feel lost and alone, fearful and worried, we can trust that our God is a good Father that is waiting to pick us up and hold us in His mighty arms. 

The Prince of Peace – Our God is the Prince of Peace.  When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, they introduced sin into the world.  From that point forward, every man and woman born would be separated from God, due to our sinful nature.  This sin created a division and brokenness in our relationship with God.  Because of this separation, we were left without peace, for we always had to fear death, to fear the upcoming judgment, and to fear God, whose righteous wrath would one day come upon us.  There was no peace in our hearts only fear.  But when Jesus Christ came to this earth and died on the cross for our sins, He wiped that slate clean.  Our sins were taken away and covered by His blood, so that those who receive Him as Lord and Savior would be considered righteous before God.  From that point forward, we could have peace with God.  This is why Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace, for He is the one and only person who can ultimately bring peace into our lives.  All the brokenness, the enmity, the discord brought by our sin was eliminated by His sacrifice.  He brought peace between God and man.  Additionally, He brought about peace between all mankind, for those who received Him no matter whether Jew or Greek, male or female, rich or poor would be joined into one family in the body of Christ.  Jesus Christ is our Prince of Peace.  When we feel guilt or fear, we can rest on the peace of Christ’s promise that we are now right with Him. 

This beautiful verse is a reminder of how we have such a great God.  He is the Wonderful Counselor, guiding our lives.  He is the Mighty God, working miracles in our lives each day.  He is the Everlasting Father, showing His love to us when He gave us His Son.  He is the Prince of Peace, restoring our relationship with Him.  No matter what trials or difficulties you face today, remember who our God is and find comfort in Him.