Monday, August 25, 2008

BUILD ON THE ROCK


Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

The person who builds His life living out Matthew 5-7 the Sermon on the Mount is the one who is wise. I believe that every one of us will have wind, storms and floods coming against us. The storms and floods speak of trials that we all go through in life. But if we embrace the lifestyle that Jesus teaches us on the Sermon on the Mount we will prevail against those storms of life.

Matthew 7:25-26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

Those who hear His Word and do not do what He says are building upon a foundation of sand. When we don’t live out this reality we are building our lives on a foundation of sand. When great storms come against us, the question will be, “What foundation have we built our lives upon? Sand or Rock.

I pray that you and I will have the grace to live out the values of His Kingdom. Lord give us the grace to identify the areas of compromise in our own hearts, so that we can truly embrace YOUR values. All the riches of this life are nothing compared to You. I pray that my generation and I will live our lives only for the pleasures of GOD. YOUR Kingdom come Your will be done in our lives as it is in heaven in Jesus name. Amen!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

God is looking for a loyal heart

2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him."

When God looks across the whole earth there is one quality that God is looking for above all others. God is looking for Loyalty and once He finds a loyal heart He shows Himself strong and does incredible things on earth.

There are some words that when I hear them it moves my heart so deeply and loyalty is one of them. I have been meditating on this for a while now and praying that my heart will be fully loyal to Him. Loyalty is a quality that Heaven esteems and rewards.

When people are loyal to me I never forget. And when you are loyal to God in the midst of a dark hour of your soul, when you throw yourself upon His faithfulness in the midst of great pain, choosing to love Him with everything in you God never forgets it. Your loyalty to Him will carry through the generations.

David was a loyal man. A man after God's own heart. And because of his loyalty to God, his successive generations were blessed. There were times that God was inclined to judge the people because of their sins but then He would remember His covenant with David and relent...

Another great example of loyalty in the bible is Jonathan
1 Samuel 18:1,3-4 "Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt.

This is so powerful Jonathan knew that David was going to be the next King and not him and even knowing that he gave his heart to David to the point of risking his own life. "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life [literally, "his soul"] for his friend."
Jonathan saw the nobility that was in David and he gave everything that he had away. Jonathan's loyalty to David was never forgotten. After Jonathan's death David asks his servant if there were any heirs of Jonathan's and his servant informs him of Mephibosheth. David immediately called for him and received him as one of his own.
Jonathan demonstrated a loyalty to David that was so powerful that it still speaks to us today.

I truly believe that God is using this age to prepare us for the age to come. God is looking for hearts that will be loyal to Him and to His friends. Our loyalty here on earth is just a test for the life to come and the way we respond in this life will prepare us for the eternal city where the value of loyalty (perfect love) cannot be taken away.

Much love in Jesus,
kelry Green