230th Week, I Chronicles Chapters 15-19 (Click on Title for Video Introduction)

 

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Monday, I Chronicles Chapter 15

I Chronicles 15

Verse 2

Delores Little

Verse 2:   Then David said, “No one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, because the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister before Him forever.”

THOUGHT

Once again David will bring the ark up to the City of David.  Remember the first time they did it wrong, and one man died by touching the ark.  Now David is doing it right, and what I notice is how many of the houses of Aaron and the Levites he assembled to do this.  Eight hundred and sixty-two of the relatives were appointed.  They not only carried the ark, but some were singers and musicians and some sacrificed the bulls and rams.  David wore a linden ephod and danced. This was a day to really be rejoicing unto the Lord. There were many commanders and many other important people alongside them.  Maybe God is showing us how we will rejoice when we go home to Him.  How should we be celebrating His life now?  

One thing we can do is pray.  Like the Lord’s Prayer says in Matt. 6:9-10, this, then, is how we should pray:  “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We are to know He is Our Father.  We have a line to Him in prayer.  We need to praise and thank Him and give Him the glory in everything we do.  Let it be done unto Him and not ourselves. “His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  We can feel Him so strong down here by what we do and say unto Him.  David got it.  He danced before Him and rejoiced with the people because they knew God was in the ark.  We know God is in us, and we are His temple now.  We can dance, raise our hands, and shout unto Him in praise and worship and rejoicing. Jesus has done it all for us.

PRAYER

Father, as we have entered into another year with You, forgive us and cleanse us daily.  Let us rejoice in all the good and bad in our lives.  Thank You that You will never leave or forsake us.  Bless all the Salt Shakers and lead them each day with new things set before them to do unto You.  Be our strength, and when we are weak, carry us through.  Bless us all, Lord Jesus.  In Your Name we pray. AMEN

Tuesday, I Chronicles Chapter 16

I Chronicles 16

Delores Little

THOUGHT

David has moved the ark into a tent.  Remember David was not to build God’s house because he was a man of war.  I love the Praise Psalm David committed to Asaph and his associates. I will use it today as our thought for it really does tell us how to live and work for our God.

“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His Holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice. Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles and the judgments He pronounced, O descendants of Israel His servant, O sons of Jacob, His chosen ones. He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth. He remembers His covenant forever, the Word He commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant He made Abraham, the oath He swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, to Israel as an everlasting covenant: To you I will give the land of Canaan as the position you will inherit. When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it, they wandered from nation to nation, from kingdom to another. He allowed no man to oppress them; for their sake He rebuked kings: “Do not touch My anointed ones; do My prophets no harm,” Sing to the Lord, all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; He is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy is His dwelling place. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength, ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name. Bring an offering and come before Him; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. Tremble before Him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!” Let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them! Then the trees of the forest will sing, for He comes to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to Your Holy Name, that we may glory in Your praise. Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “AMEN” and “PRAISE THE LORD.”

Notice David went back clear to Abraham and his family and shared how God took care of them.  David spoke of the false gods, and shared that God is the only true God. There is much in this song for us to look at and truly follow.

PRAYER

Father, we love You and ask You to forgive us when we fall so short of Your glory.  Open our eyes and minds and hearts to understand Your Word and follow what You are asking us to do so You will be glorified. Bless everyone this day with Your joy and peace and heal the ones who need healing. In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN

Wednesday, I Chronicles Chapter 17

I Chronicles 17

Delores Little

THOUGHT

This chapter is so full again. Nathan the prophet is given a word from God after he told David to go ahead and build God a house to dwell in.  Nathan had to let David know that the house would be built by one of his own sons, not himself.  

In verses 7-10 God tells how he has taken David from the pasture of flocks to become a ruler over Israel.  After those verses comes David’s prayer to God in verses 16-27.  Have we ever said words like David did in 16?  “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that You have brought me this far?”

I look back, and I see how far my Father has brought me in this lifetime. What He has given me just blows me away. I have not done anything great like lots of people have in our world for the Lord.  He used me as a wife, mother, grandma and now great grandma and as a friend to others and a prayer warrior. I have failed many times in the roles, but God is faithful with us all.

Some of you might think that it was easy for me to pray. My Mother had me learn the Lord’s Prayer when I was about 7 or 8.  I said it every night before bedtime, but not in front of people. It was a more quiet time with God. After I was born again, I had a friend tell me to learn to pray out loud.  I responded by saying, “No way!”  This lady very gently said, “Yes, you will.” It was hard at first, but got more comfortable each time I prayed with her. 

We called on one lady who had a 9 month stillborn, and she was having a hard time dealing with the grieving.  I said that we would not stay long but we would pray with her before we left.  When that time came, my friend said, “Go ahead, Delores.”  Oh My Gosh, I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me because I was so frightened.  It really was a rough going prayer, but I got it done.  Afterwards this lady opened up and shared her whole heart. God showed me right then that I didn’t have to pray with beautiful words or have a flowery prayer but one from the heart.  That experience showed me what prayer was all about.  

As you read David’s prayer, you can see his heart in it. He indeed was a mighty prayer warrior.

PRAYER

Father, thank You for showing us how to pray each day.  Move us into areas that might feel very uncomfortable for us.  You know just what needs to be said, and we thank You for using us.  In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN

Thursday, I Chronicles Chapter 18

I Chronicles 18

Delores Little

THOUGHT

David’s victories are included in this chapter.  The ending of verse 6 & 13 says, “The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.”  Through these victories he was given bronze, gold and silver, and he dedicated these articles to the Lord.  It was used in the temple building later.

At our church this year there were 8 different things that we could give our offerings to.  Everyone went beyond what was asked.  What a joy it was when we got word it had all come in. David may not have gotten to see the temple built, but he had a big part in getting the things needed for the construction of it.  If our hearts are in the right place, it is a thrill to give to others and see what comes forth from it.  To God be the Praise and Glory.

The chapter also shared about a lot of battles David was fighting in and how he won them all.  God was with him and gave him the victories. You know He does the same for us.  It means praying and listening to God through His Word as He speaks to us in our minds and hearts.

I was just sitting in church when this all came about.  God just spoke to me and said the amount I was to give to 6 of the offerings and what to do with the other 2.  It is more than I have ever given at one time in my whole life.  I obeyed God and knew it was the right thing to do.  We cannot out give Him.

PRAYER

Father, I do confess sometimes it is hard to thank You, but will as I know you are in control. This morning as I read a little devotion, it said this, “Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark. The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory.” I needed to hear that because many of my prayers are not answered yet and don’t know if I will live to see them answered.  So Father, thank You for what You are teaching us and walking us all through.  In Jesus Name. AMEN

Friday, I Chronicles Chapter 19

I Chronicles 19

Delores Little

THOUGHT

Today we see David doing a good thing by sending men to offer sympathy to Nahash’s son.  The nobles really opened up a hornet’s nest by what they did to David’s men.  A battle started, and it was the Ammonites who caused it.  It says in verse 18, “But they fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand of their charioteers and forty thousand of their foot soldiers.  He also killed Shophach, the commander of their army.”  Look at all the lives lost because of this one man being a foolish man.

How does this fit into our lives?  Have we been unkind to someone or more than one?  I have.  I have to confess when I was growing up and wasn’t a born again Christian, I could really hate some people and even gossip badly about them.  I was not a nice person as I look back.  Even after I became a Christian, I complained about a person who abused my friend.  I was praying one day and trying to learn this verse in Eph.4:30-32, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate, to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  The Holy Spirit spoke to me and said I was grieving Him.  I wondered how that could be.  He reminded me how I felt about my friend’s husband, and I had to truly repent.  I really had to try hard to just pray for God to help change him into a man of God.  He never did change and still has not. I do not hate him but feel sorry for him. Only God can change him.  He is remarried to someone else now, and I have no idea how he treats her.

Yes, I fall so short of God’s glory every day.  I hate that I fall short, but ask God to forgive me and help me be the light He wants me to be.  I cannot do it on my own. I need Him every second of each day.  If you have any battles give them to God, and He can do away with them for you.  Yes, like John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  Let everyone say, “PRAISE THE LORD”.

PRAYER

Father, forgive us each day and lead us in Your way and not ours. Heal all who are ill.  Comfort all who are grieving.  Be with our service people. Be with our churches to preach and teach us Your Word in all truth.  Bless everyone with safe travel to work in this weather we are having.  Help us keep our eyes on You all the time, even at our jobs. We pray for our President’s salvation and his family.  In Jesus Name we pray. AMEN