Jabez

Chronicles 4:10 - And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thou hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

So many times when we discuss, teach or even pray this scripture, we concentrate on the "Bless me and enlarge my coast (or territory)."  What if God granted the request of Jabez not because he asked for the blessing, but because he asked that God would keep him from evil so that he would not cause pain.

As Christians, we can unkowingly or unconciously cause pain to others by allowing the enemy to influence our thoughts. We sometimes say things without thinking first of how it may sound to someone else as it comes out of our mouth. Psalm 141:3 " Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips."

Even Jesus, in the Lord's prayer, instructed us to pray for God to deliver from evil. If this is the motive of our heart when we pray the prayer of Jabez, then our hearts will be pure. God will bless the pure in heart and as we receive His blessings, our coast (territory) will be enlarged.

Thessalonians 2: 3-3 " But the Lord is faithful who shall stablish you and keep you from the evil one."

Lord, I pray, keep me from all evil, so that I may not cause pain to you or anyone else. Amen

                                                                 Donna Marie

The elephant

No circumstance is too large;  “ ... with God all things are possible” Matthew 19:26 

           

            A couple of years ago, I worked in a department that was short of  staff. The daily workload was overwhelming as the paperwork continued to come in. It piled endlessly in boxes covering much of the floor and desk space. With every task that was accomplished, several more took it’s place in line waiting to be performed. The small staff worked endlessly to meet work requests that seemed to never slow down. Then one day, there was a flood in the office that created even more work as everything had to be moved and cleaned and reorganized.

            I heard the manager ask, “How do you eat an elephant?  He then smiled and replied, “One bite at a time”  

            I thought of mine own elephant, which at the time was a large debt that overwhelmed me.  Two years later, I can see where it has been reduced and I have confidence that with God's help, I will see an end to it. No matter how large the elephant is or how overwhelming it may seem, God has promised that with Him, all things are possible, therefore we can have hope in Him for every situation.

PRAYER:  Lord,  help us to not be anxious when our circumstances become an oversized elephant, but to come to you in prayer and to be thankful that you are with us as we take each bite slowly devouring our situation. Help us to not give up, to not quit, to not lose hope, but to forget those things which are behind and to reach forward to those things which are ahead, remembering that all things are possible with you. Amen.

                                                                      Donna Marie



Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18-19: "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation."

All things have been created by and for God. He is who He is! If He had never created man, if He had never created the earth and vast solar systems, if He had never created angels or the heavens, He would still be who He is. All of His creations were created of Him, by Him and for Him. All things are of God.

Mankind is the only creation that was created in His image which caused a deep abiding love within Him. When God and man was separated by sin, God desired reconciliation, because of that love. When reconcilation failed through the law, God provided the ultimate sacrifice to reconcile man to Himself. He didn't just send Christ to do it for Him, He was Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself personally.

We have been reconciled to Him. The sacrifice is complete. The work has been done. It is finished! God does not impute, attribute or charge our sins or trespasses against us, because the sins have been dealt with at the cross.

20-21: " Now, then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

Paul is pleading with the Corinthians to be reconciled to God, though Christ. That is the ministry that has been given to us when we accept our own reconcilation through Grace. The word of reconciliation has been entrusted to us to tell all people that God wants to restore them to a relationship with Himself, because He created them and He loves them.

It is a promise of God that He will accept us, receive us with favor, provide for and protect us. He will give us eternal life with Him, but we must not forget that He is a Holy God. Reconcilation requires for us to receive Him and to accept to be reconciled. Reconciliation brings us into agreement or harmony with God as we dedicate our lives to Him through Christ and living righteously by His grace in Godly fear.

Donna Marie