2 Chronicles 7:11-22

"...These I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations." 

Isaiah 56:7 (NIV) 

God's design, God's purpose for the temple is clear: PRAYER. Why did He command that a sanctuary be built? Why did He give His Spirit to the craftsmen? Why did He make His people go to the efforts of building and maintaining and then attending the temple? Why would He want humans to build a shadow of the true temple in heaven? Why would He even have a temple in heaven? God desires PRAYER. 

God makes it clear to Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7, that the temple is the place where He will watch and listen and be ready to act when His people repent and pray. Isaiah saw an even clearer picture of God's intent, for Isaiah realized that the temple was a house of prayer for all nations, not just Israel. What about us in this age of grace? Do we understand that we are the temple of the Holy God (1 Cor 3:16)? Do we understand that we are to be His house of prayer? It is an amazing truth that as soon as the sun starts to rise, prayers from God's people rise towards Him. In this age of grace, with Christians all over the world, in every time zone, there is 24/7 prayer. Will we join this concert of prayer today? Will we fulfill God's purposes for His earthly temple? 

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2 Samuel 22

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came to His ears." 

2 Samuel 22:7 (NIV)

David desired to build a temple in Jerusalem, yet this verse shows us that he knew that the true temple of God is not on this earth. He wasn't allowed to build the temple, and yet the LORD heard him from His temple and He moved heaven and earth to rescue David and give him victory. 

David already knew what Hebrews 8 teaches us, that the tabernacle/template was only a shadow of the real temple in heaven. David danced when the Ark of the Covenant entered the City of David. He made plans for the temple. He stored up materials for its construction. He wrote songs and organized musicians. David poured energy, time and money into the earthly structure that the LORD had promised to consecrate by His Holy Presence, and yet David knew that the true dwelling place of God is in His temple in heaven. 

Friend, we don't worship a God made by our imaginations, contained in an earthly building that rots away. Our God is above everything and everybody else. He sits enthroned in the heavens far above all gods. Yet He sits in His heavenly temple, in the place where mere mortals can access Him; a place of meeting, a place of worship, a place where His grace meets our needs as we call out to Him. How can it be that a human voice can reach the ear of God who is higher than the heavens? GRACE my friend. GRACE! 

"He is Everything to Me", The Imperials, via YouTube

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Psalm 84

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage." 

Psalm 84:5 (NIV)

The ancient Israelites were commanded (Dt. 16:16) to appear three times a year before the LORD at the tabernacle/temple. This required great effort on their part as they traveled with their family with food, clothing, and animals for sacrifices. They traveled by foot over land that was the opposite of flat and they would be away from their homes for a week or more. It is easy to understand why some of they just didn't bother. In our day, many of us find loading the kids into a minivan and going to a church for 3 hours too much to handle. If we lived in their day, would any of us ever go to the temple? This seems to be the point of the verse after all; the blessing is for those whose hearts are set on the sacred journey. If you didn't really want to do it, after you a while you wouldn't. You wouldn't expend the energy; you wouldn't give up the time.  You wouldn't spend your money and you would come up with a myriad of excuses - sorry, I mean reasons. 

In this age of grace, our Lord told us that we don't have to worship on Mt Zion, but that we must worship in spirit and in truth (Jn 4). But our hearts still must be set on this sacred journey or we will not put the energy, time, money and sacrifice into seeking God, His kingdom, and His Presence in our lives in 2013. 

So friend, the question before us today is the question of heart: is my heart set on the pilgrimage, on the sacred journey towards my God? Change my heart this day my Lord. Draw me to Yourself. Lead me from strength to strength. 

"Road to Zion", Petra, via YouTube

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Acts 7:44-60

 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." 

2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)

The temple was lovely and beautiful (Psalm 84:1) because a lovely and beautiful God dwelt inside it. So it is with us in this age of grace; it is not our physical characteristics that make us lovely, it is the Presence of a beautiful God within us. God does not dwell in a temple made by human hands, but He does dwell in bodies created by Himself inside mother's wombs and recreated by Himself by the washing and rebirth of the Spirit (Titus 3:5). 

We are jars of clay; we come from the dust of the earth and we return to the dust of the earth. We are changeable and molded easily by outside pressure. We are used for several purposes throughout our short lives, some noble purposes are some not. Yet God, in His grace and wisdom chose to put the Treasure that is Himself inside these jars of clay. 

I think of Gideon and the torches his men carried with clay jars over the torch (Judg. 7). At the right time, they broke their jars and blew their trumpets and the LORD brought about a great victory. This is the method we are to use today. We are to break our jar of clay, for we are to die to ourselves and the more we break ourselves and reduce ourselves, the greater the light of the Treasure within us will shine. The light shone the brightest in Stephen as his clay jar was destroyed by his enemies. May we decrease and God increase in our lives this day. 

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1 Kings 6

"How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty!" 

Psalm 84:1 (NIV)

This temple was beautiful. We have no picture, only descriptions, but the descriptions of the stonework, the cedar work, the gold laid over all the cedar, the doors with their gold hinges and the bronze work, all speak of a wonderful building. Unlike our present day method of bringing leftovers for the church to use, only the best of materials were used. This was not a church building - no it was the temple of the Living God, the place where God would put His presence; where He would live among His people, so only the best materials and the best craftsmen would do! But when you gaze around at the beauty of all creation, you realize that the temple was just a shack to God. You begin to realize the depth of the love that the God who created the universe, the Master Builder, the Craftsman had for His people, that He would live in a shack built by human hands. When you think about the audacity of building a structure out of materials that waste away for the Eternal, Invisible, Immortal God, you begin to understand the sense of blessing that David and Solomon had and you then to understand Psalm 84:1. It was not the physical properties of the temple that made it lovely, rather it was the Presence of a beautiful God. 

"Better is One Day", Matt Redman, via YouTube

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Luke 4:1-13

"...But Eleazar stood his ground and struck down the Philistines till his hand grew tired and froze to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day." 

2 Samuel 23:10a (NIV) 

We want to take new ground. We want to add to the kingdom of God. We want to see God's kingdom advance in a mighty way that is obvious to all. Yet, we should never underestimate the importance of a DEFENSIVE STAND! The kingdom of God has come to our lives; will we take a stand and defend the border of the Lord's kingdom on this earth? 

Our Lord was on the defensive in the wilderness. He deprived Himself of food and water. He withdrew from all other people, creating an opportune time for the devil to temp Him. When the spiritual attack came, He stood His ground, resisted the devil with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and the devil left Him. 

In David's day, the enemy swarmed the border of the kingdom of God on this earth, and all the men retreated, except ONE. He stood his ground with his sword in his hand and the text tells us that the LORD won a great victory that day. 

Friend, do not underestimate the importance of the STAND in your life. Protecting your righteousness in Christ, standing strong against the enemy as he tempts us and tries to overthrow the kingdom of God in our lives; using the Bible to resist the devil. Great victories would be won for our Lord if each of us would only take a STAND! 

"The Stand", Hillsong United, via YouTube

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Hebrews 11:32 - 12:4

"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." 

Matthew 10:28, 29 (NIV)

 Many people serve Satan; they torture, rape and murder other people. This is what Satan loves. He was a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44). Our Lord is instructing his disciples not to be afraid of people like this who will threaten them and eventually kill all of them, except John. 

I have trouble envisioning not being afraid when faced with a murderer, but the Lord is not telling them not to be afraid. Rather, He is telling them to be afraid of God rather than Satan and his servants. There is a difference between our bodies and our souls. We know a lot about our bodies, less about our souls, yet our Lord knows about both. He knows that having your soul destroyed is way worse than anything that will happen to your body. Out of this instruction comes one of the most precious truths ever uttered by our Lord. 

May we be encouraged this day by the precious truth that nothing physical dies outside of the will and care of our heavenly Father.

"His Eye is on the Sparrow", Big Mama, via YouTube

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Revelation 12

"So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord." 

1 Corinthians 5:4,5 (NIV) 

How could an under shepherd of the Lord Jesus Christ hand a child of God over to the dragon described in Revelation 12? You say, "Well, he tells you how; come together in an assembly before the Lord and hand him over." That is the actual practical method, but my question is: "how could this possible be an act of love carried out by brothers and sisters who love this man in Christ?" The devil is our enemy; he deceives us and brings ruin and destruction into our lives and yet he does it in a sly and devious way, in such a way that we don't even realize what is going on. You may know brothers and sisters like this. They are deceived. Their actions are those of followers of Satan and this world, and yet their lips tell you they love God and follow Jesus. How can this be? Deception. The angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14) has deceived them. What they need more than anything else is to come to their senses. Just like the prodigal where it had to take the bottom, disaster before he realized that he was wrong and that he needed to be with his father. Paul is not concerned that Satan can destroy this man. Paul knows that those who are the Lords will always be the Lords. Paul desires that this man be brought to his senses and withdrawing spiritual protection from a person is the last act of love that brothers and sisters can give to someone who is deceived by the angel of light (this would be very hard to do). May we always listen to that still small voice. May we keep short accounts with our Lord. May the grace of God be powerful in our lives this day. 

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Luke 17:1-18

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV) 

What are you facing today? What is wrong in your world? What are your circumstances? Rejoicing, praying and giving thanks are easy to do when the good times roll. But in those times we call 'bad times',  it is hard to do our heavenly Father's will. Praying seems like a no brainer - only God can help us, so most of us will pray, though sometimes we get so angry with God that we stop praying altogether. Rejoicing in those times seems a stretch and even a little contrary to Romans 12:15 and Ecclesiastes 3:4, though we know that there is no contradiction in Scripture, rather it is our sin nature affecting our ability to receive the Word of God. But giving thanks should be possible, in light on all that God ha done for us in Christ. I can't find any biblical example of people thanking God for the trouble that is upon them (even Job, who said we must accept good and bad from God's hand, didn't thank Him for the trouble). After the trouble was over though, some, like Joseph, were able to see the good in the bad. God is not asking us to thank Him for the bad and evil things that are happening - NO. He is asking us to thank Him for the good that He has done for us in Christ Jesus. We have every spiritual blessing in Christ! Let us fix our eyes on Him and turn our minds toward what we have in Christ by thanking Him in our circumstance today. Giving thanks is an action not an attitude. Act now! 

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Isaiah 59:16 - 60:3

 

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you." 

Isaiah 60:1 (NIV) 

Isaiah is looking forward to a future time of blessing. In the book of Ephesians, Paul is looking back on the point of our salvation and says: "For you were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." (Eph. 5:8). These two verses describe the purpose of our salvation, which is to bring glory to God through our lives and words on this earth during the short time we are alive. Darkness covers the earth, and yet the LORD has shone His light in our hearts; He has appeared and darkness has fled. ARISE and SHINE for the Lord is within you. ARISE and SHINE for you are a child of the LIGHT! 

We use to teach the children a song called, "Arky Arky" - sort of a silly song but the chorus is gold: "Rise and shine, and give God the glory glory...children of the Lord". Will we rise up and shine with the light of the glory of God today? Practically speaking, this is will only happen if we on purpose surrender to the Holy Spirit daily; walk in step with Him, agreeing with Him as He leads us and speaks with us. Isaiah has told us that the LORD has put His Spirit within us, and then He tells us to ARISE and SHINE. The decision is ours. What will we do? May we decide to keep the light on. May we trim our lamps. May we decide to live a Spirit filled life today. 

"I'll Leave a Light On", Matt Maher, via YouTube

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Isaiah 59

"He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head; he put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak. According to what they have done, so will he repay wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes; he will repay the islands their due." 

Isaiah 59:17 (NIV)

Isaiah 59 reveals that the real enemy of the penitent people of God is sin. Iniquities, sin, offenses, injustice, unrighteousness, deceit, and evil paths destroy us and our families. God has acted against human enemies; He has delivered Israel from Egypt, and will deliver them from Babylon, and yet the real issue is within those who seek to follow God, who seek to live in His ways of holiness and righteousness - the real issue is SIN! Only God can deal with this issue. He could destroy everyone and everything, but in His grace and compassion, the LORD becomes a might Warrior. He protects Himself with righteousness and salvation, as He strides unto the earth. He dresses Himself in vengeance and zeal for His glory and for righteousness. He will wipe out sin and all who align themselves with sin. He will redeem all who repent of their sin and turn to Him for healing cleansing. Then in the most amazing conclusion to this prophecy, God Himself will not depart from those whom He has entered. They will be His forever and their mouths and their lives will declare the glory and wonder of the LORD. 

Here we are in 2013, inheritors of this great prophecy, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, servants of the Divine Warrior, possessors of the Spirit of God. Friend, does your life and your mouth declare praise to His glorious grace? Or are we this day defeated by sin? Jesus came to set us free to live in righteousness and salvation. May we repent and turn to our Divine Warrior for freedom from sin this day! 

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Psalm 111

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise." 

Psalm 111:10 (NIV) 

From the time I was 15 years old until I was 41, it was my practice to read a different chapter of Proverbs every morning as my starting point every day. One of the side effects of this exposure to Proverbs has been that I love to debate with my Christian friends on what the "fear" of the LORD is. In hindsight, that time would have been better spent discussing the evidences that we fear the LORD rather than trying to define an English word! This is how the wisdom literature approaches it. David, Solomon and others describe the actions of a person who fears the LORD and the fruit that they receive from their righteousness in their lives. They don't spend any time debating whether fear means respect or terror. This Psalm tells us that those who fear the LORD follow His precepts. They follow the spirit of the Law, not just the letter. They understand that what God tells us to do, the behaviours He instructs His children to follow, are for our good and will bring the fruit of righteousness in our lives. It is a matter of faith, really; the faith to believe in the character of God and the faith to trust Him and obey His instructions for our situation. A person who fears the LORD praises Him now for His instructions and will praise Him forever! For who is like our LORD who takes the time and expends the energy to make sure that His children receive the Words of life? He alone is to be praised. May we put the words of this blessed song into our hearts today: 

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way! 

While we do His good will, He abides with us still, 

And with all who will trust and obey. 

Trust and obey, for there's no other way 

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies, 

But His smile quickly drives it away; 

Not a doubt for a fear, not a sigh nor a tear, 

Can abide while we trust and obey. 

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, 

But our toil He doth richly repay; 

Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, 

But is blessed if we trust and obey. 

But we never can prove the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay; 

For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows, 

Are for them who will trust and obey. 

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet, 

Or we'll walk by His side in the way; 

What He says we will do, where He sends we will go; 

Never fear, only trust and obey. 

{Words: John Sammis, 1887. Music: Daniel Towner.}

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Matthew 7:21-29

"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I." 

Psalm 61:2

Oh friend, how are you this day? Is your soul longing for the salvation of the LORD? Are you longing for God to miraculously move into your situation and bring relief to you? Do your heart grow faint within you? David was there and his prayer was that the LORD would lead him to the rock that is higher than him. We can explain this away physically, by talking about warfare in David's age and the importance of a firm place to stand to wield his weapons and the importance of high ground in hand to hand combat. But if we stop there and don't think of the SPIRITUAL significance of the ROCK, we will have missed the life giving message of the Holy Spirit. 

David refers to the LORD as his rock 19 different times in the Psalms; the rock that is higher than David is a SPIRITUAL rock! Our Lord Jesus taught us that the SPIRITUAL rock is the place of obedience. If we obey His Words, we build on the rock. David is pleading that God would lead him into obedience, into the place, that center place of being in God's good, pleasing and perfect will. Circumstances and situations are all beyond our control, even beyond our understanding; but there is a place of safety in the midst of all that is wrong around us. That place is the place of obedience. That place is the rock that is higher than I. 

Oh Father, take us to the rock. Bring us by your strong hand into that place of safety. 

"Back to the Rock", Petra, via YouTube

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James 3:13-18

"But wisdom is proved right by all her children." 

Luke 7:35 (NIV) 

How many choices have you faced already this day? How many decisions have you made? How many were wise and how many were foolish? Our Lord tells us that wisdom will become obvious over time. James gives us the components of the test for heavenly wisdom: 

Was the choice pure? 

Did the choice come from a desire for true peace? 

Did I consider the other person's needs as I chose? 

Am I being submissive to my Lord in this choice? 

Did mercy play the dominant part in my choice? 

Were any of the fruits of the Spirit evident in my decision? 

Would I have treated another person differently? 

Did my words or actions line up with my heart? 

All of our choices and decisions fall into two categories: foolish or wise. There are no neutral categories. All of our choices and decisions bear fruit and only those made in heavenly wisdom will bear the fruit of righteousness. 

Dear Heavenly Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Glorious Father, please give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may know You better. May we live in step with Your Spirit this day. 

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Psalm 1

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." 

Exodus 20:12 (NIV)

Long life is universally desired. I wonder sometimes why we hold it up so high when our quality of life seems to diminish as we get older, but humans desire long life. It is presented in God's Word as a blessing from God bestowed upon those who live their lives in accordance with His Word, to the point that some of the Psalms wrestle with why God would allow wicked people to prosper and live long. Paul calls this 5th Commandment a promise; not a wise saying that "generally" comes true, BUT a PROMISE! That means that God Himself puts the full weight of His Name and His character behind it. 

Heathens teach karma; the Bible teaches that the One True God is not only the Creator of all things, but that He is the Sustainer of all things and is intimately involved with every detail of His creation. His plan for humans was that a man and a woman would join together in marriage; make love to each other and children would be born and fill the earth. How we treat our parents matters to God and He will bless those who honour their parents. May we choose to walk in the path of blessing today. 

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Matthew 15:1-13

"There are those who curse their fathers and do not bless their mothers; those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth..."

Proverbs 30:11, 12 (NIV)

Oh friend, may we not be included in "they"! There are people who curse their father and don't bless their mothers, but may the children of God not be in that group. We sometimes think that the 5th commandment is for children under the age of 18 and yet, we know that the 10 Commandments were given to adults, and that anyone under 20 years of age were held accountable by God in the rebellion in the wilderness.

Our Lord is speaking to adults in Matthew 15 and His Words ring true today. How do we as adults treat our parents? Do we play games with ourselves and pretend that we are pleasing before God, even as we neglect and shun our parents? It may be that there is a history of abuse and it may be that your parents are a destructive force in your life. The Lord will guide us and show us what to do, if we truly are serious in pleasing Him in this matter of honouring those whom He chose to give birth and life to us. May we please our Lord by blessing our moms and honouring our dads this day. 

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1 Peter 3:1-6

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." 

Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

A wife has tremendous power! Solomon is not speaking here of a woman carpenter. No; he is describing two different types of wives and the power they have on the families are a part of. The wife builds or destroys the family. We immediately raise objection to this and insist that the man take the primary responsibility for all issues in a family. Okay, that is correct. The Bible actually teaches that the man has the primary responsibility. It is easy to see that in the story of Adam and Eve, Eve was deceived but Adam was held responsible, but what is also correct is the tremendous amount of power that the woman of the house has in her hands. How she acts, how she speaks, the attitude that she has, either builds her family or destroys it. Consider Sarah; we think of Abram's faith and Sarah's laughter. The Holy Spirit tells us in Hebrews 11:11 that it was her faith that brought about the birth of Isaac. The Holy Spirit also tells us in Genesis 21 that God acted towards Sarah and kept His promise to Sarah. Consider Hagar; the abandoned single mother who through faith, (she called out to God and He answered her) saved her son and raised him to be a great leader. May Parkdale be filled with wise women! 

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Proverbs 5

"You ask, "Why?" It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant." 

Malachi 2:14 (NIV) 

The Lord brings the woman to the man. Our culture celebrates the false god, Cupid, but the One True God clearly claims responsibility for match making. For the reason He is the One who blesses the man with his wife, He is the also the One who is personally offended when a husband no longer desires the wife of his youth. This is not his young wife, but the wife he married when he was young. Years have passed; age has done its work and desire no longer stirs for this woman who is a direct gift from the One True God to the husband. 

We make a big mistake as husbands if we think that we can still be in a right relationship with God, even though we no longer love our wife the way we are supposed to. Malachi (2) and Peter (1 Pe. 3) both tell husbands that if we do not treat our wife as a special gift from God to us, God will not answer our prayers or help us in our lives. David made this mistake and Nathan told him that he had treated the Lord with contempt (2 Sam. 12). 

How many Christian husbands treat their wives with contempt - falsely believing in their own righteousness before God? Oh friend, may God answer the prayer of Proverbs 5 in our lives. May Parkdale be filled with husbands who thank God each day for His precious gift of them of their dear wife. 

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Genesis 2

"Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." 

Genesis 2:22 (NIV)

Before there was a government, there was marriage. In our world of tax laws and regulations, we cannot imagine a marriage without government, but marriage in its purest form is God bringing a woman to a man, and a man acknowledging his responsibility for the woman.

Our Lord taught us this when He said, "What God has brought together..." (Mark 10:9). Let us not go wild here and imagine that Adam and Eve were living together in sin, for there is no clear acknowledgment of God's authority in their relationship. Adam told Eve that she is now him, for his attitude was that she is part of his body.

Paul picks up on this truth in Ephesians 6 where he teaches husbands to love their wives as their own bodies. In this world of upside down and everything goes, it is so refreshing to look back on God's design and marvel at His creative genius in making humans both male and female and instituting marriage with sex as the basic building blocks of society.

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus - or so the book title goes. Yet men are from God and women are from God; completely different, yet equal in Christ. His plan is that those He puts into relationships live together as one. Oh friend, are you in the place that Adam and Eve were in? Are you in a marriage relationship, a relationship put together by God? Thank Him for His goodness and be the husband or wife that God wants you to be. 

 "My Only Love", Matt Maher (cover), via YouTube

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Ephesians 5

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." 

Colossians 5:4 (NIV) 

Wisdom is knowledge applied. It is the application of knowledge to specific situations in time and place. In our life as a child of God, it is where the rubber meets the road. Our Lord told us that living wisely is applying His Word in our lives (Matt 7:24). This application of our Lord's teaching, covers every area of our lives, from personal private time, to family time, to church time, to work time, and to the time that we spend with people who are not part of the kingdom of light. 

We know that we have a glorious inheritance, that we have the Spirit of Christ within us, the hope of glory. We know that these outsiders are in darkness without hope. How then should we apply this knowledge in our dealings with them? What does being wise look like? First of all it means that we should realize that opportunities are few. If we have a God-given opportunity to share the gospel, DO IT - for they need the Lord! 

Second, to that first priority is "Bless them - do not curse them" (Rom. 12:14). These people are already cursed, their destination is hell. Why should we curse them here in this life? Our Lord did not act that way; He was friendly with sinners. He liked them; He ate and drank with them, many of them never enter the kingdom of God. May our light shine in the darkness! 

"Go Light Your World", Kathy Troccoli, via YouTube

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Ephesians 6

"Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt." 

Proverbs 27:11 (NIV) 

When enemies mock and scorn us and treat us with contempt, nothing brings comfort to us like an adult child who is living wisely. Whether we we respond audibly to those foes, inside we think: "Well I can't be a complete failure - look at my daughter or look at my son. Look how they have turned out; they are good people who are doing well." A wise son or daughter brings joy to a parent, and brings an answer to contemptuous enemies - they bring glory. 

Our Heavenly Father has enemies, contemptuous enemies who scorn and mock His grace. They are all around us, laughing and mocking God and His Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Do we, by our actions, bring joy to the heart of God? Could God answer His enemies by pointing at us and saying, "Look at what my grace has done in the life of this child. Look at how they live their lives in wisdom and righteousness. Look how they build their lives on the words of my Son. They used to reflect Satan and now they reflect my Son." 

One of the many blessings that our Heavenly Father has given to us is JOY. May we as His loving children, give Him back the gift of JOY by living as wise children. 

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Colossians 1:1-14

"...Thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."

Colossians 1:12b, 13 (NIV)

There is a place where we will fellowship at a banquet table with a Holy God, His Son who is our Lord and all of His holy people together. It will be a place of peace, of righteousness, of health, of life and of love! We long to see it here now, right where we live, and the truth of the gospel is that we can have this wonderful fellowship right now, right here in a spiritual sense. We have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ, and yet we are still physically here on this earth surrounded by the kingdom of darkness. A place of war and murder, of deceit and malice, of jealousy and grasping, and a place of illness and death. This kingdom is run by the father of lies, a murderer from the beginning. He rules his kingdom through deceit as he whispers lies to the subjects of this dark place. Oh friend,  how the Father has blessed us by rescuing us from this kingdom and making us a part of His kingdom of light. May we live as children of the light this day.

"Road to Zion", Petra, via YouTube

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Isaiah 22:1-14

"You built a reservoir between the two walls for the water of the Old Pool, but you did not look to the One who made it, or have regard for the One who planned it long ago."

Isaiah 22:11 (NIV) 

This chapter of Isaiah describes a time of great trouble, a time of distress and threat. The LORD watches His people prepare for battle; they make plans, they store water, they replace their weapons, they get themselves ready, all of which is good and commendable, except that they didn’t look to their God, the ONE who planned this path for them. 

Many years ago, as I drove down a road towards a meeting where I would be signing an agreement, that would change my life and my family’s life for years, the Lord brought to my mind this question: “Have you asked me what I thought you should do?”. I had worked hard at this agreement, talked with wise friends and talked it through with my wise wife - I had done my research and yet I had not once asked the ONE who made it all and who made me, what He wanted me to do! I stopped my truck and repented right there, and asked Him to lead me. 

Friend, let us not make this mistake in our lives today. Let us look to the ONE and let us have regard for the ONE who planned what we are walking into long ago! What is it that we need to ask Him for guidance today?

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