What is the Key to Finding Blessing? 2 Kings 23, 19,20

Some things are keeping us from knowing God's blessing. One of the most important is the easiest, and the hardest- but the most necessary.

“’Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace, your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’ So, they took her answer back to the king.” 2 Kings 23:19,20 NIV

BACKGROUND
The scriptures were lost and forgotten, but workmen refurbishing the Temple found them. The king’s secretary read it to King Josiah, who mourned for his sin and that of the people; he ripped his robes, wept, and sought the Lord.

THE KING
We cannot experience much, if any of God's blessings, without humility, and here we see an example, for "He humbled himself before the Lord." There was outward evidence of inward response when he wept and tore his robes. This came from deep in his heart. This was not an accident; it was a decision to be humble. King Josiah had a responsive heart; he must have accepted God's word and believed it. He had the correct reaction to God's word, not resentful, angry, or bitter. King Josiah took God's word then God's word took King Josiah.

US
What if we were like King Josiah? It is a wonder that we do not weep over our sins and the sins of our loved ones. We need to be responsive to God's Word inside and out. Being humble is hard, it is to say that someone is better than me. Humility says, “You are right, I am wrong.” It is hard to bend our will to the other person, or in the case of sin, to bend to God.

HUMILITY
Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride is the attitude that I am more valued than the other person or even God. Pride was Satin’s chef sin, (Isaiah 14:13-15), it has no place in the Christian’s character profile.

POWER OF HUMILITY
Humility can be a powerful lifestyle. Especially since this Bible passage and so many others show how God cherishes and rewards humility. Let us walk humbly with God, with humble, repentant hearts, and may we pray that God creates in us responsive hearts.

(c) Adron (c) 9/4/13

Does God Give a Second Chance?

Sooner or later everyone feels they have failed- they have failed friends, family, and even God. Is there ever a second chance to get it right and to really fulfill our purpose?

"And the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give to you."  Jonah 3:1-2, NIV.

SUMMARY
Jonah was commanded by God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance, but the people of Nineveh were the enemy of Jonah's people, so he took a boat going in the opposite direction. A fierce storm threatened to sink the ship and he told the sailors to toss him overboard since it was God's judgment on him. In the sea God sent a great fish to swallow him; while in the fish, Jonah repents and worships the Lord. After three days the fish spews Jonah out on a beach, and there the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time.

REBELLION
Jonah had a clear instruction from the Lord. It was simple, "Go this way and say this thing." In the book of Jonah, his nationalistic pride is revealed as the reason he didn't to obey God; he ran in the other direction rather than preach the message to his enemies. In other words, God said go right and he went left.

REPENTANCE
Jonah's prayer of repentance is one of the most elegant and poetic chapters in the Bible,
     * He confesses his sin.
     * He avows his submission to God.
     * He declares God right.
     * He affirms his faith in God.
     * He declares in faith that he will worship God at his temple.

RESTORATION
After the fish vomits Jonah out on the beach God's word comes to Jonah a second time. It is the same commission; his opportunity is not lost, the task is still his; he is to go to Nineveh and proclaim the message.

God gave him the second chance even though he rebelled, fled, became the companion of unbelievers, even telling the sailors to throw him overboard. It is hard to find anybody who went more wrong; yet after he turns from his rebellion and seeks God he is recommissioned as a prophet. He was the prophet Jesus honored by identifying himself with more than once.*

For Jonah God was the God of the second chance; He is the same God today and offers a second chance to any who are willing to turn to him.

Matthew 12:40. Matthew 16:4.

© Adron 7/1/13

How Can You Tell If Someone Is From God 3 John 11

Our world is full of wickedness. We want to do good but how do we get away from the evil around us to be a positive influence?

"Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God, anyone who does what is evil has not seen God." 3 John: 11.

IS THIS A COMMAND FROM THE BIBLE?
It begins with the command, "Do not imitate..." A command is an imperative which must be followed. This command is simple, but we must still pay attention to it. Clearly, we can choose to "not do" evil and resolve to do "good;" we must not live reactionary lives where we act without weighing Gods opinion.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO IMITATE?
To imitate is to reproduce the actions of another in yourself. A student learns how to play the piano by watching the teacher put their fingers here and there and moves them so; the student then repeats all those movements and creates the same sound. With practice, the teacher's actions become the students. It is the same when we imitate evil or imitate good, we become what we imitate. We must make doing good daily practice and avoid reproducing the actions that God does not approve of.

RESOLVE
There are thousands of opportunities to "imitate evil" every day, so there are thousands of opportunities to "do good." Opportunities like a saying a kind word, a smile, a gift, a donation, a minute spent in prayer, a hug, or a warm handshake, a little note, or a helping hand. We tend to slip into doing evil, but must resolve to do "good." It takes effort and concentration and awareness.

IS GOOD FROM GOD?
Only God is good, "Anyone who does what is good is from God." Evil is not true of God's people. We should pray for God to show us the good to do and look for it. We must not let our gaze rest on evil, but fill our vision with good- with God.

WARNING
The acid test is that "Anyone who does evil has not seen God." Do we make a habit of doing evil? If we do it maybe we have never come to God in faith in the saving work of his son on the cross, and our salvation is in doubt.

Resolved to take this verse to heart and really refuse to "do evil but what is good?"

To learn more about finding a personal relationship with God then follow this link to my other blog.\

(c)Adron Dozat 5/11/11

How To Start A Personal Revival. Matthew 3:2

We often feel that our spiritual life is drying up and we are in a time of regression. We want revival but are unsure what to do or how to start.

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven, is near.” Matthew 3:1, 2. NIV.

CONTEXT
The beginning of Jesus' ministry to the lost world began with John the Baptist's simple but hard message: “Repent.” If we want to receive the ministry of God’s Spirit in our lives, we must lay the foundation of repentance.

SIN
No matter who we are, we have sins in our lives. We may be the smartest or most talented but there is some sin to deal with. Even in the empty uncultured place like the desert, the message of repentance was necessary. You are never too high or too low that you do not need to examine your life to see if you need to repent of something.

REPENTANCE
Repentance covers a lot of things and it is sad that today we have reduced it down to some trite truisms like repentance is going the other way. Yes, it is but that is only the beginning. Today, we say repentance is “Changing our mind,” but we think it is only like a decision between two candy bars and we change our mind between the two.

• It means we must see the wrong that we do that offends God and cease to do it.
• It is humble.
• It is a statement that God is right.

Pray For A Personal Revival

• It is to cherish sin no more.
• It is an openness to the correction of The Lord.
• It ends our previous way of thinking.
• It does not happen without God.

SEEK
If we do not repent, we are not prepared for the further work of God in our lives. The big problem
is we live in a time when good is bad and evil is good, so we no longer know what we need to repent of. We need God to tell us what we do that offends him. Ask God to show us our sins so we may take action and not do them anymore.

Pray and ask God to show you your sin, and ask him to give you the will and the power of the Holy Spirit to change.


To learn more about how to come to God, please see my other post. CLICK HERE.

(c) Adron 3/18/11

The Ancient Prophet Warns America. Isaiah 6:9-10.

We have gospel TV, radio, Bible bookstores in every community, innumerable religious organizations for good, and churches on every corner, but has it helped us gain God’s blessing as a nation? Or do they, in fact, draw us away from the truth and toward judgment?

“He said, ‘Go and tell this people: “Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving. 10. Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.’” Isaiah 6:9-10. NIV.

BACKGROUND
These verses are from the passages where Isaiah receives his prophetic commission. He is told the people will hear but not hear, see but not see, and so they will not repent and forfeit healing. This judgment and warning apply to us today just as much- if not more- than in the days of ancient Israel. We see so much Gospel on TV, Internet and radio, we have bibles in most homes, and many of us can quote a few verses, we have churches on every corner but still, we are blind, calloused, and dull to righteousness and truth.

WARNING
Isaiah exposed their hardened hearts, and his words warn us that we, too, have calloused hearts and must beware. God says, “Go ahead be hardened to me, and deaf to my voice, and blind to my truth; go ahead. I will let you go all the way.”

TURN
They were warned, "Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." The action God asked of them was that they turn, they were going one way God said, 'Turn around and come back to me."

The opportunity was there but neglected. They chose to not see, to not hear, and to not turn. Their nation was destroyed, and they were taken as slaves and deported. We must not make their mistake.

Only the Lord can rescue us from blindness and judgment. May we pray for the Lord to open our eyes, ears, and hearts. May we see our sins and return and repent.

Your Friend

Adron

My Prayer For Our Nation.

Holy God, surely You are the God
Of all righteousness and truth.
Unbind our iron-wrapped eyes
To see our wrongs against Your love.
Clean our ears of the black crud
That blocks us from hearing Your word.
Demolition of our concrete hearts
And transplant tender organs.
Give us clear eyes that see Your truth.
Open our ears to hear Your words.
Grant us hearts that pump gentle love.
Take our dirty hands and turn us,
And place us on Your humble path.
May we soon enjoy Your healing,
And again, share the bright blessings
That flow from your gentle, sure hand.

(c) Adron 7/4/10

The Overlooked Sermon of Jesus. Matthew 4:17, NIV

We love Jesus' teaching on the Sermon on the Mount. We love his words of kindness and wisdom. We are OK with the teaching of Jesus but we ignore his preaching. What did Jesus preach?

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Matthew 4:17, NIV.

PREACHING
Preaching is different than teaching. If we reject the preaching of Jesus we will not “GET” the teaching of Jesus. Respond to the preaching first then you will be ready to be blessed by the teaching.

REPENT
We don’t like the word “Repent.” It is abused and used to manipulate others, when we hear it we cringe; but when Jesus says “repent” he is speaking in love. The message to repent is the beginning, for after Jesus preached "repent" then people were ready to hear his call to follow.

When we repent we:

     * Examine ourselves to determine our failure to measure up to God’s standard.
     * Decide to act.
     * Admit our failings, to ourselves, others, and God.
     * Resolve in earnest to turn away from our wrongdoings.
     * Set things right.
     * Conform to the purposes of God.
     * Become ready us to hear the Spirit teach us.

We must “keep short accounts with God,” which means don’t wait till later to confess our sins but as soon as we are aware confess and turn away from them.

A LIFESTYLE
Repentance is more than a prayer of confession. It must be a lifestyle. If we consistently turn from the things that are wrong, hold us down, and things that offend we will be living happier lives. A lifestyle of repentance will lead to healed relationships, inner peace, fewer apologies, and more advancement.

BLESSINGS
Why repent? We repent because “The kingdom of heaven is near." Blessings are at hand, and repentance makes us ready for them.

Begin the practice of repentance. Pray and wait on the Lord to show you what you need to turn from. It is not fun but it will lead to blessing, renewal, and joy.

To learn more about how to have a relationship with Jesus see my other blog.

(c) Adron 2/5/10

How to Get Ready for God. Matthew 3: 1,2,

Many people are trying to find God but do not have the right beginnings, but what are the right beginnings?

“In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 3: 1, 2, NIV.

GOD'S TIMETABLE
This verse starts with God’s time, it says, “In those days.” This is a statement of fact but it tells us a lot. There is a time set aside for preparation, and often we see it only in hindsight. John came to make the nation ready, the thing that the nation needed was to turn from sin.

THE DESERT
The “Desert” is often a place where God deals with people; it is a bare place free from distractions. We need to get in “Desert Mode,” and live more simply, so we can focus on God, without TV, hobbies, and entertainment; a place for time in prayer, Bible reading, worshiping, meditation on God’s word, and fellowship in a good church. We can’t go to the desert but we can live the “Desert Mode” wherever we are.

JOHN'S MESSAGE
John the Baptist came "preaching." His message was clear and simple. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” The word, “repent,” means to turn around, or turn away, usually from sin. The gospel story begins with “repent.” It was preparatory, and it still is today. If you want God to do something mighty, if you want His blessings, or see His hand at work in it starts with me making a decision to “repent.”

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
A kingdom is a place ruled by a king. Not all church-going or religious people are part of God's kingdom. It is a kingdom that must be entered and its king is someone who must be known.

OUR MESSAGE
First, we must hear the message ourselves and live lives of repentance, and then warn others to become ready for God's kingdom by turning from their wrongdoings and serve the King of Kings.

To learn more about how to enter God's kingdom see my other blog.

(c) Adron 1/22/10