Your Divine Counselor - 2 Chronicles 10:16

"And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David. So all Israel went to their tents." The reign of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, is marked by the division of Israel into the northern kingdom (Israel) and the southern kingdom (Judah). The division of the kingdom was the direct result of Rehoboam listening to the wrong people and following their bad advice. When Rehoboam became king, the people of Israel gathered before Rehoboam and asked him to lessen the use of forced labor. Rehoboam first conferred with the elders, the older men who were Solomon's advisors, and then with the young men who were his friends and contemporaries. The older men advised Rehoboam to lighten the service of the people but the young men advised Rehoboam to increase the service of the people. Rehoboam, "forsaking the counsel of the old men" (vs. 13), threatened his subjects "according to the counsel of the young men" saying he would increase their forced labor even more than what Solomon, his father, required. As a result of Rehoboam's poor decision-making, all the people of the northern tribes renounced allegiance to Rehoboam according to the saying of vs. 16. So be careful not only about the the spiritual counsel you choose to follow, but also about who is giving the counsel. The Holy Spirit is the One you should seek for spiritual advice--He is your Divine Counselor. "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" (John 14:26). "When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13).

When the Righteous Die and the Wicked Live - Ezekiel 33:18-19

"When the righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. And when the wicked turns from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this." This warning spoken by God through the prophet Ezekiel hardly seems fair. The formerly righteous person dies while the formerly wicked person lives! God explains His position on this matter in vs. 13-16. If a righteous person trusts in his own righteousness, which causes him to act unjustly, then none of his righteous acts matter and he is responsible for the injustice he has inflicted and he shall die. But if a wicked person repents and turns from her sin and begins to do what is just and right, then she shall live. God's redemption is always tempered by divine justice. What matters is Who you trust in--yourself or God. The self-righteous person really only trusts in himself, not God. The penitent person no longer trusts in herself, but God. What matters in the end is what was the transforming effect of God's redemption on your life? In fact, it is a matter of life or death!

If My People Pray - 2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." After the temple was built and dedicated, the glory of the Lord filled the temple (vs. 1–3) and God appeared to Solomon and told him that He had heard Solomon's prayer (vs. 12–22). God's answer to Solomon's prayer was a message of repentance and restoration. God's purpose above all is to forgive his people and heal their land when they repent of their evil ways. This verse describes the process of individual and collective repentance: humble oneself, ask God for forgiveness and mercy, and turn away from sin and unrighteousness. When God's people truly repent, then He will “heal their land,” which includes not only deliverance from drought and pestilence but the restoration of people to their right relationship with God. Be assured that God hears you and will restore you into fellowship with Him when you repent and turn away from your sin and unbelief.

The Most Powerful Words Ever Spoken - John 11:25-26

"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” Word came to Jesus while He was on the other side of the Jordan River that his good friend Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was very ill. By the time Jesus reached Bethany where Lazarus lived, Lazarus had already died and his body placed in a tomb where it had been for four days. Martha, one of the sisters of Lazarus, came to meet Jesus as He approached the tomb where Lazarus was buried. Martha told Jesus that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had been there before he actually died. To Jesus, it made no difference when the miracle occurred. Both a miracle of healing before physical death or a miracle of resurrection after the physical death of the Lazarus made no difference to Him because in Him and His Words were the power both to heal and resurrect people and give them eternal life. Jesus said that in Him is resurrection and eternal life. If you believe in Him you can live forever! In this simple yet powerful promise can be found the gift of eternal life. All you have to do is believe in Him and the death of your physical body will one day be transformed into eternal life.

The Door to Eternal Life - John 10:10

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." Jesus used the metaphor of a sheepfold and a shepherd to tell a beautiful story in John 10:1-18 of how God desires to care for and protect His people. A sheepfold was a courtyard bordered by a stone wall in which one or more families kept their sheep for protection. A sheepfold had a gate that was sometimes guarded by a “gatekeeper” (v. 3), someone hired to stand watch or even the shepherd himself. Jesus likened Himself to the shepherd who entered the sheepfold by its door or gate to lead his sheep out to find pasture. His sheep followed him because they recognized the sound of the voice of their shepherd, the same way a family pet knows the voice of its master. When the Jews did not understand what Jesus meant, He revised the meanings behind the metaphor. In the second version of the story Jesus identified Himself as the "door" (vs. 7) or gate of the sheepfold (as well as the shepherd) and no one comes in or goes out without His authorization. So whoever enters the correct way by the gate is saved from evil (the "thieves and robbers" of vs. 1 and 8 who break in the sheepfold) and enabled to go in and out to find pasture. Then Jesus contrasts His purpose for the sheep in the sheepfold (people) with that of the evil one. While the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy people, Jesus wants people to have life in all its fullness, abundant life, eternal life. The point of the story is clear: the devil wants to destroy you, but God wants you to live eternally!

The Joy of Giving - 1 Chronicles 29:9

"Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly." In preparation for building the temple, King David accumulated precious metals and stones and wood for its construction. In addition to all the materials he accumulated as King, he gave a substantial amount of gold and silver from his personal wealth. Then he asked the leaders of Israel what they would give. They also gave a substantial amount of precious metal and stones from their personal wealth to help pay the costs of the temple construction. After these gifts were given the Israelites were joyful because everyone had willingly given without being commanded. They gave freely to the Lord and the result was that it made them happy! David acknowledged that what they gave was only what God had given them in the first place: "For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you" (vs. 14). Giving to God is not a burden but an expression of our worship of Him. When done willingly and freely with a whole heart, giving makes you happy! But always remember that when you give to God you are really just giving back to God what He has blessed you with in the first place.

Planners and Builders of the Kingdom - I Chronicles 28

King David assembled all the military, civic, and religious leaders of Israel and declared that God had revealed to him that not him but his son Solomon would build the temple. David had formulated comprehensive plans to build the temple because "he had it in his heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord" (vs. 2). Because God wanted Solomon rather than David to buid the temple, David turned the plans and preparations over to Solomon, his son, who would be the one to build the temple. David gave Solomon “the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord,” (vs 12). David said that God had made it clear to him “in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan” (vs 19). God inspires us in different ways by His Spirit to do His work. Some develop plans; some construct the buildings or implement the programs. So he who plans and she who builds are both are doing the work of the Lord. Whether your role in God's Kingdom is planner or builder, let the Holy Spirit give you inspiration for using the abilities God has given you to advance His Kingdom!