June 2023

  June 20, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 17-19 / John 20

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 17:5 For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Over the years I have had people get upset with others who used the church building for other functions. I do understand their concerns at times. This building, known as the church house, is special and not like just any other building. This place has been set apart for the worship of the Lord and is special. However, we must remember, this is simply a building made with sticks and bricks. While it is true, God is omnipresent, meaning everywhere at once, God does not inhabit this building standing empty of its people, any more than He would dwell in the train station downtown. God has never been consumed with the idea of dwelling in structures. He has always been much more interested in dwelling where man is.

 

        In 1 Chronicles 17:5 God conveys this truth to King David. He said, “For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.” God did present Himself in the tabernacles, and later in the temples built, as a central place to worship Him. Yet, at the same time, we find God present in the battles Israel fought, dealing with the people when they would sin, and speaking to the prophet Nathan in 1 Chronicles 17:3 at home during the night. While God may present Himself to man at various places, God has always desired to be where man is, not in a box.

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Today, God dwells in the soul of every child of God. If we are in the Church House, God is there. Also, when we are in our own house, this selfsame God is there. What a comfort to know He is ever present in our lives.

 

Since God dwells where man is, where are you taking Him?

 

 

  June 19, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 15-16 / John 19:31-42

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 16:36 Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever. And all the people said, Amen, and praised the LORD.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        People file into church, fellowship with their friends, find a seat and get ready for Sunday morning worship. The choir or special music sing and people shout “AMEN.” The morning prayer is finished, and people agree with “AMEN.” The pastor then delivers the message that God has laid upon his heart for the day and spread throughout the sermon you hear people say “AMEN.” Yet, when Sunday night and Wednesday night services role around, you look around, and see that the same “AMEN” folk are nowhere to be seen. What does AMEN mean to them anyway?

        The Children of Israel in today’s verse shout, “AMEN, and praised the Lord.” Yet, as we read on, we will see that this great nation really did not mean AMEN at all. You see, the word AMEN means; “So be it,” or “Truly.” It is a word of agreement with what has been said before it. Israel had just said that they agreed with the statement, “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever.” For ever and ever? That did not happen. In fact, God removed them from the promised land for not being faithful. In Revelation 3:14 it says, “And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;” Jesus is referred to as “AMEN,” meaning the trustworthy one. Our AMENS should mean the same. That we are trustworthy to the Lord in what we agree with.. 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        It is easy to get caught up in a moment and not think about what we are saying. Sometimes we get in the habit and say words without even thinking. Yet when we say AMEN, it really ought to mean something. So be it, truly, or trustworthy.

Do we really mean AMEN when we say it?

 June 17 & 18, 2023
 June 17 – Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 12-14 / John 19:1-30
 June 18 – NO READING

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 14:12 And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Have you seen some of the new artificial plants today. I mean, you must get really close, and sometimes even touch them to find out if they are real or fake. There are a lot of really good imitations of things today that will fool you. There are imitation security cameras that are not real but have blinking red lights on them to look real. Merchant in the food industry display imitation food items that look real but are made of non-perishable materials. Some imitations are even better than the original. There is a fabric called Faux leather that many times looks and feels very much like real leather. However, it is a breathable fabric that does not get hot or cold as the temperature changes and is said to outlast leather for wear.

 

        Sometimes imitations may be better than the original, but not when it applies to God. In 1 Chronicles 14:12 it says, “And when they had left their gods there, David gave a commandment, and they were burned with fire.” It should have been obvious that these were artificial, fake gods. For one thing it says they left their gods behind. Who wants a god that can be left behind? Then, just as obvious is the fact that these artificial gods they left behind, also forsook them as they ran off. It is just as well. These phonies obviously did them no good when faced with the one real true GOD. These are obviously artificial gods. The sad truth is, later they ran back to them again.  

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        I like what it says in Hebrews 13:5 about our God when it says, “…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” I cannot run away from Him, and He has promised not to ever leave me. That is my God.

 

Doesn’t that just bring peace to your heart to know?

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

        When given a choice in life, it is said you have alternatives. However, when it comes to a Savior and Lord, the one true God is our ONLY ALTERNATIVE. As we saw this week in:

 ● Original Ancestry.God
 ● Orderly Accounting
 ● Ordained Arrangement
 ● Outright Amazing
 ● Obtaining Answers
 ● Obviously Artificial

      The one Creator God is truly our ONLY ALTERNATIVE in life. Choosing anything else as your god, is having no god at all.

       Enjoy today with your church and hear what God has prepared in the heart of His man for you this week.

   See you tomorrow.  

 

 SUNDAYS:

       Today we suggest you read and study whatever the Lord has laid on your Pastors heart. Whatever scripture he uses for today’s messages were given to him by God for your specific needs.

June 19, 2023	1 Chron. 15-16	John 19:31-42
June 20, 2023	1 Chron. 17-19	John 20
June 21, 2023	1 Chron. 20-22	John 21
June 22, 2023	1 Chron. 23-25	Acts 1
June 23, 2023	1 Chron. 26-27	Acts 2:1-36
June 24, 2023	1 Chron. 28-29	Acts 2:37-47
June 25, 2023	No Passages Assigned

Only Alternative

 

  June 16, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 10-11 / John 18:19-40

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        In grade school we would have to raise our hand if we had a question, or if the teacher asked a question, and we knew the answer. Even today at times while preaching, I will see someone raise their hand and wonder, “do they have a question?” I remember one time in school raising my hand to ask a question. When the teacher called on me and I asked the question, her answer was, “young man, it is evident you did not read your lesson. Had you read your lesson you would have known that the answer to that question is in the book.” She was right, I had not read my lesson.

 

        Our verse today says that Saul died for his sinfulness against the Lord. It even is more specific when it says, “even against the word of the LORD.” Being King, it was required that he would have read and known the laws of God recorded for all of Israel by Moses. It was not that he did not read the lesson as I had not done. It was that he read the scrolls and then did what he wanted, rather than what God had said. He even went one step further. Not only did he not obey what God had already said, he also did not seek God’s advice when he was in trouble. Instead he did exactly what God had commanded they not do. The answer he received was in the lesson he had read. God had warned, if they disobeyed His law, there was a price to pay. It may not be the answer he wanted, but he did obtain the answer. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        The Bible contains many lessons for our lives that we would do well to read. We cannot blame God when we obtain an answer we do not like if we failed to read the lessons. Just like my teacher said, the answers are in the book!

 

Are we reading and heeding God’s lessons for life?

 

 

  June 15, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 8-9 / John 18:1-18

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 9:1 So all Israel were reckoned by genealogies; and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgression.

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        I have a few things in storage that belonged to my parents. When my mother passed away my sister and I went through all her belongings and kept a few things of our parents that each of us wanted. It was amazing to see some of the things my mom had kept over the years. Being an adopted child, who later in life found her birth mother, she had things from both her adopted family, and her birth mother’s family. Sometimes, when going through her old pictures, I did not know which family was which. She also had notes written to her simply signed, mom. I did not know which mom had written them. She knew, but she took that information with her when she passed.

        While reading 1 Chronicles 9:1, you must admit, keeping all those records, for all those years, was outright amazing. It may be difficult to read the first eight chapters of this book, but you do realize, not everyone’s name who ever lived is written in these few chapters. (I heard a collective sigh and amen right there.) Yet, it is amazing these records survived all those years. Someone maintained them when the kingdoms divided. Then each of these kingdoms, taken at two different times, to two different regions, also preserved the records. Amazing? Actually, God did that. Ps. 12:6a & 7 says, “The words of the LORD are pure…” “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.“ 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        God’s Word is accurate. We can rely on not just the genealogies being correct, but every single word written in the Bible as true. To have the literal Word of God preserved and in our hands is, “Outright Amazing.”

Do we cherish this Bible like we ought to?