Tag: no king
Witnesses of Jesus equipped with power!
Scripture reading for April 14th: Judges 17-18, Psalm 21, Acts 1
Acts 1: 7-11 “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when He had said these things, as they were looking on, He was lifted up, and a cloud took Him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven.”
Jesus, the Risen King, had a last Word for His disciples before leaving them through supernatural ascension into heaven on a cloud of glory! This Word was an encouragement to these disciples not to fret about the times and seasons of God’s world-wide agenda. Their main focus was to witness to all the world the Good News of God’s love and grace through Jesus Christ. As Jesus reiterated His instructions, He was taken up to heaven in a cloud and two men in white robes confirmed that Jesus would be returning at some time in the future in the same way as He left them. Jesus was their King and they now must live in loving obedience to His commands.
Psalm 21:4-6 “He asked life of You; You gave it to him, length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him. For you make him most blessed forever; you make him glad with the joy of Your presence.”
Prayer: Father God, I am grateful to have a King Who is so loving and kind and caring for all the people of the world. I receive His command to be filled with power to be His witness in my home town and this region and to the ends of the earth. You have given me life eternal through salvation and given me the Holy Spirit, Your presence within me as I journey through this wilderness to my eternal home.
Judges 17:5-6 “And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Obeying our King!
Scripture reading for April 14th: Judges 17-18, Psalm 21, Acts 1
Key Scriptures: Acts 1:4-8 “And while staying with them, He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which He said, “you heard from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Jesus was always teaching His disciples, preparing them to take over the vision He had given them from the Father to reach the whole world through preaching and making disciples. After the resurrection, Jesus appeared a final time to instruct them to wait for the Promise of the Father–the Blessed Holy Spirit. They were looking for the full restoration of the kingdom but Jesus told them that was not their concern. They would need the power given by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses to the ends of the earth.
Faith Confession and prayer: My King, fill me afresh with the Holy Spirit today! I know You will come again, but I want to be about Your vision of reaching my Jerusalem and even the ends of the earth.
Judges 17:10 “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Psalm 21:13 “Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength! We will sing and praise Your power.”
Standing before Jesus!
Scripture reading for March 30th: Judges 17-20, Luke 21
Key Scriptures: Luke 21:33-36 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
Jesus told His disciples that prayer and watchfulness were necessities to survive the testing that would come upon the earth before His coming again. God’s people must live by faith in every Word He has said!
Judges 17:5-6 “And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest. In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for doing my own thing. Help me to live in faith by Your Word. Amen.
Break up the unplowed ground!
Scripture reading for September 9th: Hosea 9-11
“Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to see the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you. But you have planted wickedness, you have reaped evil, you have eaten the fruit of deception.” Hosea 10:12-13a
Hosea loved farming illustrations and so do I! I loved to plow ground when I was younger. We would often plow under red clover that was sowed along with the oats crop. Red clover would produce nitrogen that would make the corn grow better the next year. It would be a lush crop and then we would plow it under. The dirt turning over and the smell of that fresh soil was special. Usually a flock of seagulls would follow the plow to pick up worms and a chicken hawk would scout out scampering mice as they ran down the furrow. At night, coyotes and foxes would also come out and find rodents running in the furrows. You could see them in the tractor lights as you plowed each round.
Hosea’s illustration was not about plowing dirt, but about the soil of hearts that had grown hard and had not produced a crop in a long time. The ground had to be broken up to receive the seed in hope of a crop. The sowing had to change, too. Instead of wickedness, false promises, lawsuits and idolatry growing and making bad seed, the people needed to sow a crop of righteousness so they could reap a crop of unfailing love. (Hosea 10:4-5, 12)
God often takes the weeds of our lives and uses those bad seeds to become fertilizer for a good crop. For instance, if we were delivered from a life of drugs and drunkenness, we are able to minister to those who are bound by those habits. Someone else might have struggled with sexual temptations and upon breaking up their fallow ground, the old habits enable that person to minister to others who have similar strongholds. The plow has to be put to the hardened and overgrown ground to prepare it for the crop of righteousness.
Waiting for the harvest requires patience. Hosea encourages the people to seek the Lord until He comes and showers righteousness on them. We must ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking and knock and keep on knocking until the answer and crop comes. Prayer keeps an open line with the Lord and keeps us moving forward in hope and expectation.
In simple summary, we must keep our heart’s soil soft and teachable through brokenness. We must sow good seed of right living and make right choices to obey and follow God’s word and laws. As we sow righteous living, we will reap the fruit of His eternal and unfailing love. A broken and contrite heart, He will not despise! (Psalm 51:17)