We continue to meditate on the wealth that is being stored up for us, and continue to meditate on the blessings which God has graciously bestowed upon us, which we are enjoying, right now.
I can’t help but think, and this is being totally “human,” about taking the time and effort to do something for someone, or give someone something to bless them … and, they don’t appear to be grateful. Maybe they don’t even say “Thank you.” How does that make us feel?
Another note of strong honestly to add: When we give someone something, and they don’t even acknowledge it, don’t even tell us thanks … How exited are we to do anything else for them? I think you get the idea. I know … I know … when we do something for Jesus’ sake, even if it is to just give a drink of water to someone in His name … we are not doing it for the person receiving the gift, but we are doing it to honor Jesus …
And, our reward doesn’t come from the person we are blessing … it comes from Jesus …
However … let us always be grateful for what Jesus has already done for us … what we already have, which He has given us … and … please … let Him know we are grateful! Last chapter, I mentioned that I had the verses on prayer from Mark 11:23-24 taped up directly in front of me on my desk. Just to the left of that paper, I have this hand-written on a post-it note:
“The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.”
Psalm 126:3
I am glad … I want Him to know it, too, and I don’t mean this selfishly, but yes, I do want Him to continue to bless me … And, you, too.
I also try to read all I can about the promises of God contained in the Bible. About how He has blessed others, knowing that He is still capable of blessing one more person!!! Or … a whole group of people!!! Of course, I will always encourage you to read the Psalms, but don’t stop there! I just studied that there are over 1,000 prophecies in the Bible. The study was to show that a “prophesy” means a promise which God made about something that would happen in the future. Over 1,000 promises! It was written that the chances of just 17 of those promises coming to pass is one out of 450 billion x 1 billion x 1 trillion! That’s way over my head, math-wise, but I do know this: Not a single one of God’s promises has failed! Not a one! So … won’t you trust His promises today?
I’m always concerned about what we “fill our head” with, and about who we “hang with,” basically what or who we allow to influence our thinking. Remember that if something influences our mind … it influences our life … and, it influences our future … and, the future of those around us … those in our lives whom we have influence with …
Why not fill our minds … meaning fill our lives … with the promises of God? I write and I write about how it is ok to remind God of His promises … He wants you to remind Him! Remember … it’s not so that He won’t forget … He doesn’t want you to forget!
Let’s see … if you want to be successful … just find out what successful people did, and “do what they do/did, think like they do/did” … Even people who don’t know much about the Bible know that Solomon is considered the wisest man who ever lived.
I encourage you to read King Solomon’s prayer from 1 Kings, chapter 8.
Solomon was the son of King David, and, from his deathbed, here is part of King David’s charge (command) to Solomon, written in 1 Kings, chapter 2. David’s first command was for Solomon to “be thou strong therefore, and show thyself a man” (verse 2). Kids today … grownups today … “everyone” today seems to have an idea of how to “show themselves a man.” This seems to be such a big issue at a time when “he disrespected me!” is such a huge call to violence …
Let’s see … David is considered to be the greatest King ever in history … the young man he is speaking with, on his deathbed, giving instructions on how to “be a man,” would become the wisest man who ever lived … Looking for “secrets of success?” Fathers out there wanting to know how explain to their sons how to “show themselves a man?”
Here it is … in big, bold letters, men: “… 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 … that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest … That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel” (verses 3-4).
I’ll say it: There were men that would come, who would “sit on the throne of Israel.” What happened? When these men stopped “showing themselves as men” as in the example given by King David to Solomon … the blessings of God, simply put, stopped … and God was forced into performing His Word … the promises of what would happen if these men kept His commands … and, what would happen if they didn’t.
Period.
Man repeatedly rejected the promises of God … not realizing-even that their unbelief-would also “kick in” the fulfillment of the promises of God. And, when the nation of Israel rejected Jesus … a direct descendent of King David, who had done more than anyone who ever lived to “show himself a man,” when He was rejected … Sadly, it set the stage for even more promises to be fulfilled …
Let’s repeat: “If you want to be successful … just find out what successful people did, and do what they do/did, think like they do/did” … Got it!
Not only was Solomon considered the wisest man who ever lived … he is also regarded as the richest man who ever lived … Got it!
So, when King Solomon dedicated the Temple … here is part of what he prayed: “Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel … And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart … so that (only if) thy children take heed to their way … have respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication … to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee today … Blessed be the Lord … there hath not failed one word of all his good promise … The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers …That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and there is none else … On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed (thanked) the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had done …”
So, now we know what a successful son must do … a successful leader must do … a successful nation must do … in order for a son to continue to be successful … in order for a leader to continue to be successful … and, in order for a nation to continue to be successful …
Got it!
Blessings,
Richard. Vincent. Rose.
pastorappreciationblog.com 