Brilliance From A Father

 May 15
 Daily Reading – 1 Kings 1-2 / John 4:1-39

GOD SAID:

1 Kings 2:3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      Imagine if you will, that your life is coming to an end. You have one last chance to boil all of life’s wisdom down into on short statement. What you say may not only impact your immediate family after you’re gone, but generations of people. What words of wisdom will you give to those you leave behind. Will it be about managing their finances? Could it be advice on maintaining good relationships? This must be your best, your most brilliant advice. What are you going to say?

     David has come to the end of his life. He is passing the kingdom to his son, Solomon. He needs to give him advice that will serve him well as a father, husband, a leader, and man of God. What has David learned, and what will he share? He gives Solomon these few things to do. David says; “walk in his ways,” which simply means, Follow God’s Lead. Let God direct your life. Next was; “keep his statutes,” or in other words, Keep God’s Appointments. God has set up some things a man should do, do them. He also said to keep; “his commandments,” which is simply to, Obey God’s Rules. A person needs order in life and God has set that up for us if we’ll just obey Him. David also shared that he should trust in; ”his judgments”. Which is obvious, Trust God’s Judgments, as He’s never wrong. Finally believe; “his testimonies.” Listen to God’s Word, and learn from the past. David says if you will do these things, you will have a great life. Brilliant words from a father.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

    This is still brilliant advice for all of us to follow today. We should Follow God’s Lead, Keep God’s Appointments, Obey God’s Rules, Trust God’s Judgments, and Listen to God’s Word. What a blessed life we might have if we followed David’s advice.

Does this sound like brilliant advice?

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Bringing Back Faith

 May 14
 Daily Reading – 2 Samuel 23-24 / John 3

GOD SAID:

2 Samuel 24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

     We all know the bible says that Satan is a liar. In John 8:44 it says; “Ye are of your father the devil, …When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” Yet time and again we fall for his deceptions. For a sermon illustrated I sat a chair on the platform and asked people to come up one at a time to sit on it. The first two people I called up were rather large folks. I whispered to them, “Please just sit down, then stand up, and go back to your seat, but don’t say a word.” They both did as I had asked. The last person I called on was a tiny little lady. To her I whispered, “This chair is broken, be careful when you sit, it may break.” I then asked her to have a seat. She looked at me and shook her head “NO!” I said why not? She said, “you just told me this chair is broken.” Even though she had watched two other large people sit in this chair, the lie that it was broken kept her from trusting it. Satan lies to us tells us not to trust in Gods power and authority. Even after we’ve seen how He works in others’ lives, we often fall for Satan’s lies.

    David’s sin in numbering Israel was his departure from faith in God’s ability to protect him. Instead, he wanted to know how many men he had to fight for him. When he realized what he had done, he accepted it as sin. God offers David a choice of punishments. David wisely says, I will put my faith back in God and His mercies.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

     Everyone has at some time departed from fully trusting God. We try to do things on our own instead of relying on God’s power. The good news is, He’s still a loving and merciful God. If we will ask for forgiveness, we can bring faith back into our life.

Are you trusting God as you should?

 

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Believing In Forgiveness

 May 1
 Daily Reading – 2 Samuel 21-22 / John 2

GOD SAID:

2 Samuel 22:21-22 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

     YOU SAID YOU FORGAVE ME! Boy did those words cut like a knife. I remember hearing them from a person I was having a heated discussing with. I felt they were in the wrong and was simply trying to prove my point. To do so, I brought up a time in their past when they’d done something very similar. Back then, they had said they were sorry, and I said, “I FORGIVE YOU.” However, here I was bringing it up again just to prove a point, and they called me on it. Did I really forgive them or were those just words. Was I holding onto some memory like a weapon just waiting to unleash it on them the next time they messed up. I learned two things that day. If you say you forgive someone, really forgive them. Also, don’t use those words unless you mean them. Words, especially your own, can really be hurtful.

    In David’s song to the Lord he says in 2 Samuel 22:21-22 “The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness: according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.” How could David say that? He had sinned! Some of his big ones are written in scripture for everyone to read about. I think maybe David’s peace of heart came from the fact that he actually believed God when God said he was forgiven. How freeing to know that God means it when he says; “I FORGIVE YOU.”

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

  Do we believe God’s word? In Hebrews 10:17 it says; “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” If we really ask for forgiveness and mean it, I believe God really offers that forgiveness, and I know He means it.

Is there a past sin Satan torments you with?

 

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

LIHW  |   DEVOTIONS  |   SALE ITEMS

Dumping God’s Wishes

 May 11 & 12
 May 11 – Daily Reading – 2 Samuel 19-20 / John 1:35-51
 May 12 – NO Daily Reading

GOD SAID:

2 Samuel 20:2 So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

1.     I’ve heard several phrases for the idea that some people never learn. Such as, “Some people never learn, no matter how hard you whack them in the head.” Another one was, “You can’t keep calling it a mistake, after you’ve made the same mistake three or more times.” Then there was, “You can’t fix cuckoo, not even with duct tape.” Well, you might think any of these phrases would fit the Children of Israel when reading 2 Samuel 20:2 “So every man of Israel went up from after David, and followed Sheba the son of Bichri: but the men of Judah clave unto their king, from Jordan even to Jerusalem.“
   
   
   I had an Evangelist friend who use to say people who acted as Israel does here were “as confused as a termite in a yo yo.” It would seem that he is right. Absalom sets himself up as ruler, and off they go following Absalom. That is until Absalom dies. Then they turn back to David, God’s choice to be king. Several who had positioned themselves against David during Absalom’s revolt, came back to David in chapter 19, begging David to forgive them. Shimei who had cursed David and hurled stones at him said, please forgive me, and David did. Mephibosheth, seeking after David’s forgiveness for his departure, blamed it on his servants. Yet as soon as Sheba comes along and sets himself up above David, off they go again following Sheba. You would think they would learn that dumping God’s wishes, never ends well. 

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      Before we are too hard on the Children of Israel, we might want to examine our own selves. How many times have we had to go back to God seeking his forgiveness for our own folly? How wonderful to know that our God is merciful when we truly repent.

Do your desires match God’s?

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: God Is Central To It All

    Whether we put God in the center of our life or not, He’s always the Central Figure in All of Life. This week we saw:

● Doing Things God’s Way
● Delighting In God’s Will
● Daily In God’s Word
● Discord In God’s Work
● Deserved God’s Witness
● Dumping God’s Wishes

      What a joy to know that God is in the center of all we are and do. Consciously make God the Central Part of all you do, and watch Him bless your life.

SUNDAY’S:

        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

May 13, 2019	2 Samuel 21-22	John 2
May 14, 2019	2 Samuel 23-24	John 3
May 15, 2019	1 Kings 1-2	John 4:1-39
May 16, 2019	1 Kings 3-5	John 4:40-54
May 17, 2019	1 Kings 6-7	John 5:1-27
May 18, 2019	1 Kings 8	John 5:28-47
May 19, 2019	No Passages Assigned

Even today, Jesus stand Central
in our lives between God and man.

1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator
between God and men,
the man Christ Jesus; 

Living In His Word Ministries
            “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12

Deserved God’s Witness

 May 10
 Daily Reading – 2 Samuel 16-18 / John 1:1-34

GOD SAID:

2 Samuel 16:11 And David said to Abishai, and to all his servants, Behold, my son, which came forth of my bowels, seeketh my life: how much more now may this Benjamite do it? let him alone, and let him curse; for the LORD hath bidden him. 

GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:

      During my childhood I received a number of punishments for my misbehavior. I was sent to my room, stood in a corner, scolded, and spanked. Most of the time, I deserved everything that I received. I was reprimanded for things that I actually had done. However, there were those rare occasions when I received a punishment for something I’d not done. Because of past conduct, it was presumed that I deserved the punishment. The opposite was also true. There were things I had done for which I had also not been punished. I never said, “hey, by the way, I was naughty today, could you please give me a spanking?” Nope, those words never came out of my mouth.

      In today’s Passage we find David being scolded by one of Saul’s relatives. He accused David of being a man Belial, meaning a wicked, evil person. He asserted that David was guilty of the blood of Saul and therefore God had taken away his throne and given it to Absalom. We know that none of that was true. David would not so much as lay a hand on Saul while he was king. David’s accuser, Shimei, was spewing anger over wrongs he conceived to have been done. Abishai want to kill him for his constant accusations and attacks. Yet David said, leave him alone. Although David knew he had not done what Shimei had said, his conscience reminded him of things he had done. David saw this as God’s witness to his past, and decided I deserve this.

GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:

      Is life fair? It often doesn’t seem so. It may even seem that at times Christians are dealing with trials that are not of our own doing. Yet, if we’re honest, when Jesus died for all our sin, now that wasn’t fair. In life overall, we’re getting much more than we deserve.

Is there a witness?

 

     
Living In His Word Ministries
    “Getting people into the Word of God…
                               … and the Word of God into people.”

Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12