Legacy

Hezekiah trusted in the Lord God of Israel; not one of the kings of Judah was like him, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not turn from following Him but kept the commandments the Lord had commanded Moses. 7 The Lord was with him, and wherever he went, he prospered.

2 Kings 18:5-7 (HCSB)

King Hezekiah had a reputation! It was a spiritual reputation. No other King of Judah was like him. He had a spiritual legacy that lasted the test of time. Honestly, I think we all want to have some kind of legacy, it is Human nature. We want what we do to having a lasting affect. We want our name to be remembered for something. Hezekiah was remembered for all the right reasons.

The Scripture tells us he held onto the Lord (he clung to Him), he followed God and he followed His word. He remained faithful to God and God was with him and prospered him.

Christ follower, what will your legacy be? Will you be remembered because you clung to the Lord, followed in His ways and obeyed His Word? There are so many poor examples to follow it is really good to see a good one.

What will your legacy be?

Obedience

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but [only] the one who does the will of My Father in heaven

Matt 7:21 (HCSB)

Jump In!

Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

2 Tim 1:6-7 (HCSB)

Seize the day! Serve the Lord!

Weakness

And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Cor 12:9 (NASB95)

Predestined

I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born. I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

Jer 1:5 (HCSB)

God is not a spur of the moment God. His direction for us are not on a whim. I am amazed as a pastor when I hear people say wow that message spoke to exactly what is happening in my life. I am wowed when I see how appropriate a sermon can be to someones situation. Now the amazing thing is that while some may think I am "preaching at them" the truth is that I plan my sermons out 6 months to a year ahead of the sermon date. God is truly an amazing God.

Now how does that all apply to you and me right now? Well God has called you. He has appointed you. He has a specific plan for you that He has "predestined" (don't get stuck on this word!) for you. Remember He is not a spur of the moment God. He is more than a sermon planning God. He is a God who has a plan for you as His follower in His Kingdom to impact His world. Jeremiah speaks of this and is wowed! Before you were formed in your mother's womb God knew you. He appointed you. He had a plan and purpose for you.

There are days we might loose sight of this but be reminded. What God is calling you too is not a whim but a predestined plan for your purpose and His glory. Serve Him today with all your heart!

What do you know?

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and wondrous things you do not know.

Jer 33:3 (HCSB)

We all face times when we wonder, "what next?" There seems to be an ever constant quest for the Christ follower to determine God's will. There are many things we could say about that quest. But Jeremiah 33.3 says this one thing. If you call you will find me. If you find me I will tell you wonderful things.

God is a good God! And while not every experience we encounter we would describe as good. A good God is still in control. He has a plan and if we trust Him we will experience wonderful truths. Again we may not always experience wonderful things but we will see wonderful truths that will guide us in this life.

Call! Find! See!

Vision

Where there is no vision , the people are unrestrained,

Prov 29:18 (NASB95)

We here people talk about vision all the time. In business, government and in church we here leaders talk about getting the vision. But what exactly is vision and where does it come from?

Without making this complex vision is simply finding the direction or focus and going there. What is it that we will do? It provides the direction and the pinpoint to focus our attention and energy on.

Where does it come from? For the Christ followers it comes from Christ. The word used here in proverbs for vision can also be translated revelation. While some will argue which word should be used I say yes. Both words are accurate. For followers of Christ they are one in the same. Vision should always come from God's revelation to us. It is His vision, His revelation that gives us direction and the pinpoint to focus our energy on. To often Christians (churches) decide what their vision will be. That is all wrong. We don't decide, God does. He gives the vision. He authors the revelation. God has a plan and He will reveal to us as we pray, fast, talk with other Christ followers. He gives it through His word. It will never contradict.

Willing renewal

For thus the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said,
"In repentance and rest you will be saved,
In quietness and trust is your strength."
But you were not willing,

Isaiah 30:15 (NASB95)

The requirements God gives us through the prophet Isaiah for renewal are so simple. He asks for repentance, rest, quietness and trust in His strength. God wants us to turn from our sinfulness to simply rest, to be quiet and to trust Him. The Christ follower should already be doing these things. But God says of His people in Isaiah they are not willing!

Are we willing? We often beg God to renew us. To give us peace and joy. To have a close walk with Him where we experience His presence. God says, "yes! I want that too." repent, rest, be quiet and trust me and I will give you all of that and more!

What will our response be? Will we be willing or will God say about us too, "you were not willing!"

God is in control: Obey Him

His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will rain snares ;
Fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup.

Psalms 11:4-6 (NASB95)

God sees and God tests. He evaluates our actions. He is examining our hearts and our actions. He is looking at the righteous and the wicked. God is in control and if we believe that then we need to obey Him. Sometimes God asks us to do things that the World and the wisdom of the World says just doesn't make sense. If we trust Him we will obey because He know better and He may just be testing to see whether we will follow Him or follow the world.

God is in Control: take refuge

In the LORD I take refuge;

Psalms 11:1 (NASB95)

Is God really in control? As a Christ follower most of us would give a hearty agreement. Absolutely God is in control. But if we really believe that our lives and our decisions should reflect that belief. The psalmist tells us since we believe He is in control take refuge in Him.

The lesson here is really simple. We need to stop trying to fight our own battles, figure out our own solutions and be our own man (or woman). We must trust Him and take refuge in Him. He wants to fight our battles. He wants to give us the solution to our problems. He wants us to be dependent on Him not independent of Him.

Trust Him and take refuge in Him today!

A Negative Faith

Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6 Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 "If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey. 9 "Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey . Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." 10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.

Num 14:5-10 (NASB95)

Our faith is a personal thing, right? NO! Our faith always impacts those around us positively or negatively. Faith is personal but it also has implications for those in relationship with us and those in the community of faith that we are a part of. When we disobey, when our faith goes negative it will impact others. Here we see the negative impact on their leaders (Moses and Aaron), on their peers (Caleb and Joshua) and even God. Truth is that our negative faith will eventually lead to negative consequences for us as well.

So often we don't realize that our lack of faith (or negative) does have impact on others not just us. Take time to reflect and see if perhaps your faith is negative and the implications that will have on others. May I encourage every Christ follower to repent of their negative faith for their sake and others!