June 12, 2023
  Daily Reading – 1 Chron. 1-2 / John 16:1-15

 

 GOD’S WORD:

1 Chronicles 1:1-4 Adam, Sheth, Enosh, Kenan, Mahalaleel, Jered, Henoch, Methuselah, Lamech, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Today, DNA testing is a big thing. People buy DNA test kits for themselves, for family members, and for friends as gifts. Some tests are bought by friends and neighbors to see if they might be related. Occasionally these results are uneventful for people who have a good idea of their family history. However, many times the results are kind of surprising. Finding out that you are not of the nationality you thought you were. These tests have led to people finding long lost siblings who were adopted as youth to different families. The tests have been used by legal authorities to track down and arrest criminals who have been hiding in plain sight. Some tests have even led to medical findings in a family’s history that have saved people’s lives. Clearly, these tests have been helpful. Here is a question for you today. Without those tests, or the aid of an Internet site, how far back could you accurately track your family’s history?

 

        Long before any of these DNA tests, or ancestry tracking sights were available, family heritage and blood lines were important to the children of Israel. They kept meticulous records. It was important for land distribution when they came back home after their captivity. It was important in tracing the ancestry of Christ, as His birth fulfilled the prophecy of being of the family of David, of Judah, of Abraham, and of Adam. Before “Ancestry.com,” there was “Ancestry.God.” 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        God’s Word is true, and traceable. It is one thing to make a claim, quite another to back it up. The archaeological, historical, and ancestral accuracy astounds some people. However, when you tell the truth, it should not be surprising when it proves to be true.

Does it surprise you?

 

 

 June 10 & 11, 2023
 June 10 – Daily Reading – 2 Kings 25 / John 15 
 June 11 – NO READING

 

 GOD’S WORD:

2 Kings 25:26 And all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid of the Chaldees.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        “Do your own thing.” “Be your own person.” “Live how you want to live.” This is often the cry of the young that often believe freedom is living by no rules but their own. Sadly however, in the process they mess up their own life and often the lives of others who follow them. Eventually finding out that we all must live by some rules. A train can go anywhere it likes if it stays on the tracks. Once it takes a dirt road, it and its passengers are in trouble. God set up guidelines for us to follow to enjoy life as He designed and desires for us. When we go our own way, there is an internal turmoil which causes confusion.

 

        The Children of Israel cried to God for deliverance from Egypt. God sent Moses to lead them out. On the journey to the Promised Land, they rebelled against God. When they did, God chastened them and left them to wander forty years in the desert. However, God showed Himself to them in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. When they came to the rivers that hindered them, God opened a way to cross on dry ground. When they came to armies mightier than them, God fought for them and delivered them. Yet, when they were given the land that God had promised, they began to forget God. There was an internal turmoil among the tribes. Then, evil kings led them away from God and they were taken off the land. Where did they end up? Back in Egypt where they began. Internal turmoil causes confusion. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Prov. 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Christ did not come to bring death. John 10:10 says, “…I am come that they might have life, and that… more abundantly.” 

 

What will you choose?

 

THE WEEK IN REVIEW:

        If we will follow, God will always lead us back to Himself. In Him we can place Inescapable Trust as seen in:

  ● Influencing Tomorrows
  ● Inevitable Truth
  ● Invincible Testament
  ● Inviting Trouble
  ● Intended Treasures
  ● Internal Turmoil

        We know that God never makes mistakes. He is always right. He has the future in His hands. In Him there is an Inescapable Trust we can all rest in.

       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 12, 2023	1 Chron. 1-2	John 16:1-15
June 13, 2023	1 Chron. 3-5	John 16:16-33
June 14, 2023	1 Chron. 6-7	John 17
June 15, 2023	1 Chron. 8-9	John 18:1-18
June 16, 2023	1 Chron. 10-11	John 18:19-40
June 17, 2023	1 Chron. 12-14	John 19:1-30
June 18, 2023	No Passages Assigned

Inescapable Trust

 

  June 9, 2023
  Daily Reading – 2 Kings 23-24 / John 14

 

 GOD’S WORD:

2 Kings 24:13 And he carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Something that way too many people put off until it is too late is writing a will. In many places it can be as simple as a signed piece of paper, listing your belongings, and who you intend to be the recipient of those items. People often think there will be just a little more time to get that done. Or some folks feel they have nothing of value really to worry about. The problem is, if you do not specify who gets what, even the littlest things can become the center of great contention among family members left behind. It is very likely your belongings, no matter how many or few they may be, will mean something to someone someday. However, if we leave no will, these treasures may be seized, and families could forfeit them all.

 

        Back in the book of Exodus, God instructed Moses on all the items He desired the Children of Israel to create and place in His tabernacle. Some of the most valuable items they brought out of the desert into the promised land were those items God intended for them to have. When Solomon built the spectacular temple to worship God in, he replicated in gold many of these items meant for the worship of the one true God. God intended for Israel to have these treasures. However, he warned them in 1 Kings 9:6-9 that if they did not stay faithful to Him and use them in worship of Him correctly, they would lose it all. These intended treasures were not really treasured, until they were gone. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        God has given to us the treasure of His Gospel. Still many Christians today, often forget what a blessed treasure it is. God intended this treasure to be shared. Luke 12:34 says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 

 

Will you share in God’s Treasures?

 

 

  June 8, 2023
  Daily Reading – 2 Kings 20-22 / John 13:18-38

 

 GOD’S WORD:

2 Kings 21:9 But they hearkened not: and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than did the nations whom the LORD destroyed before the children of Israel.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Trouble seems to always be waiting right around the corner. Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of other people’s troubles. While it is good to help someone, we must be mindful not to get ourselves into the same trouble we are trying to help them out of. Too often we invite trouble into our lives. In the Disney movie, The Lion King, Mufasa, the father lion tells his son; “I am only brave when I have to be. Being brave does not mean you go looking for trouble.” There is always trouble out there, that does not mean we must go look for it. Jesus warned of trouble in Matthew 6:34 when He said, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Someone once said, “Do not trouble trouble until trouble troubles you.” That is just a clever way of saying, if you see trouble, run the other way. Stay away from trouble. 

 

        Hezekiah was a King who worshipped God. His son, Manasseh, who followed him as King of Judah, must have seen his dad’s faith in God. He knew of the captivity of Israel for not obeying God. He knew his dad destroyed the false gods, yet he rebuilt them. Even the Children of Israel around him had to know this was not right. Yet his sinful heart decided to do things his own way. Doing so is just inviting trouble. When you invite trouble in, trouble always accepts the invitation. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        Some troubles of life cannot be avoided. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “…In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Jesus did not say there would be no trouble, just that he is bigger than you biggest trouble.

 

Will you trust Him?

 

 

  June 7, 2023
  Daily Reading – 2 Kings 18-19 / John 13:1-17

 

 GOD’S WORD:

2 Kings 19:32 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

 

 GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

        Imagine if you will that you were watching a football game, the score was something like 28 to 7, there were three minutes left in the game and it has been the most boring non-eventful game ever. So, you turn it off and go to bed. Only to wake up in the morning to headlines of how the losing team pulled off some miracle plays and won the game, 35-28 in overtime. You get to school or work and that is all everyone is talking about, and you missed it. The lack of faith in the losing team to pull out a win caused you to miss, possibly, the greatest ending to a football game in a lifetime. What even makes it worse, is the guy who is in your face telling you, “I knew they could win; I told you, right, I told you they would win.”

 

        After reading the preceding chapters of how God allows Israel to be taken off the promised land for their sinfulness, it may be easy to imagine the next few chapters will tell how Judah was taken captive also. However, 2 King 18 says King Hezekiah loved the Lord and did that which was right before Him. Still, when we get to chapter 19, the outlook is not good. They are surrounded by the Assyrian forces and overpowered. The cities around them have been taken. Yet, God sends an invincible testament. God says the Assyrians will not take this city. How is that going to happen? Vs 34 says; “For I will defend the city, to save it.” Never underestimate our Invincible God. 

 

 GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

        It may seem at times that the world around you is crashing in. Like there is three minutes left in the game of life and you are losing. Remember, with God on your side, the game is never over. His power is invincible, and His testament is sure.

 

Will you trust God to help you today?