Thursday, December 10, 2009
Does control increase glory
Think about it! Why does God sometimes prevent people from seeing him? In my reading of Luke 24 today it is clear that God controls our hearts and minds. In verse 16, "their eyes were prevented from recognizing him." In verse 31, "their eyes were opened." In verse 45, "He opened their minds to understand." Do you think that God's glory is increased when he sometimes prevents people from seeing Him?
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
The Source of Joy, Greatness, and Strength
Listen to the words of David's prayer in 1 Chonicles 29:10-20 - "Yours O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom. O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all."
If you truly examined your heart would you find your attitude and actions in life to be more centered on you than it is on the glory of God? In this story we learn from David, one of the greatest kings in the history of the world, what he learned - "everything comes from the Lord." How different was David's thinking about the stewardship of his talents and resources than ours. God put in David's heart a desire to build a house of worship for the Lord and David was eager and willing to give all of his talent, energy, and resources to accomplish this purpose. David recognized that his position of greatness was not his doing, but it was given to him as a gift from God.
Notice the attidude of David's heart and how that played out in his life. David did not focus on enlarging his own greatness. God had a greater purpose for David and this God planted in David's heart to do. Did you pick up the focus of David's energy? David's heart was fully engaged in releasing all he possessed to glorify God and in getting others to join him. So much so that David prayed that the Lord would preserve the heart of the people to be intent on completing the house for the Lord, that the Lord would direct their heart toward Himself, and that the Lord would give to Solomon, his son, the same passion and intention to keep the commandments of the Lord.
There is much to learn from this prayer of David? Read again 1 Chronicles 29:10-20 and think about your own heart attitude as you read it. It is a powerful lesson. We are all passionate about something - where is your passion directed. It is the Lord who is the source of all greatness and strength and it is He who directs the hearts of men and women to accomplish his purposes. You are in a very a powerful and satisfying position in life when your heart is passionate about fully engaging in what God has put on your heart to do for His glory. Joy comes when all your intentions are directed toward that purpose. And as you learned from David's pray your desire is that everyone else will experience that same joy and that the Lord would direct everyone's interest likewise.
I pray that God directs your heart to find his purpose for your life so that you can discover the joy of releasing all the talent and resources you have been given to glorify Him, our Lord.
If you truly examined your heart would you find your attitude and actions in life to be more centered on you than it is on the glory of God? In this story we learn from David, one of the greatest kings in the history of the world, what he learned - "everything comes from the Lord." How different was David's thinking about the stewardship of his talents and resources than ours. God put in David's heart a desire to build a house of worship for the Lord and David was eager and willing to give all of his talent, energy, and resources to accomplish this purpose. David recognized that his position of greatness was not his doing, but it was given to him as a gift from God.
Notice the attidude of David's heart and how that played out in his life. David did not focus on enlarging his own greatness. God had a greater purpose for David and this God planted in David's heart to do. Did you pick up the focus of David's energy? David's heart was fully engaged in releasing all he possessed to glorify God and in getting others to join him. So much so that David prayed that the Lord would preserve the heart of the people to be intent on completing the house for the Lord, that the Lord would direct their heart toward Himself, and that the Lord would give to Solomon, his son, the same passion and intention to keep the commandments of the Lord.
There is much to learn from this prayer of David? Read again 1 Chronicles 29:10-20 and think about your own heart attitude as you read it. It is a powerful lesson. We are all passionate about something - where is your passion directed. It is the Lord who is the source of all greatness and strength and it is He who directs the hearts of men and women to accomplish his purposes. You are in a very a powerful and satisfying position in life when your heart is passionate about fully engaging in what God has put on your heart to do for His glory. Joy comes when all your intentions are directed toward that purpose. And as you learned from David's pray your desire is that everyone else will experience that same joy and that the Lord would direct everyone's interest likewise.
I pray that God directs your heart to find his purpose for your life so that you can discover the joy of releasing all the talent and resources you have been given to glorify Him, our Lord.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)