August 09 - 14, 2010

Monday August 09, 2010
What You Do Can Bring Reward
Read Ps 62:12

God rewards us for our faithfulness to His word is true. Faith in Him brings rewards. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, when God told him to. God was so pleased with him for obeying Him, He put a ram in the bush and Isaac’s life was spared. Obedience brings rewards. God offered Solomon anything he wanted because He was pleased with him. Solomon asked only for wisdom to rule his kingdom. God was pleased with Solomon’s unselfishness. He rewarded Solomon with great wisdom and great wealth. Unselfishness brings God’s rewards. Because of their faith in Him, Jesus rewarded many people with healing. These are just a few examples of what you can do to be rewarded. Other rewards are peace of mind, joy and prosperity.

We live in a nation that says it really does not pay to do right, but God says otherwise. God’s Word says that whatever we sow we will reap. When our nation stood in awe of God we were one of the most if not the most prosperous nation in the world. We have allowed wrong thinking and wrong actions to prevail in our nation and as a result we have seen a slump in our economy and our influence over other countries slide. We as Christians must take a stand and stand for what is right if we want to see our nation back on top.

Point of Prayer: Father, forgive us of our lack of faithfulness and for our disbelief, give us the courage to stand for what is right and true. Father help us to be a shining example of who you are and what you want this nation to be. Amen.

What are things that we as Christians do to make a difference in our land?


Tuesday August 10, 2010
Look Ahead For Your Reward
Read Heb 11:26-27

Yesterday is gone and over with. Today is here for a brief time. Tomorrow is before us and holds a lot of promise. Don’t look too yesterday for rewards. They aren’t there. Look for rewards to come today and tomorrow. But first, God tells us to seek Him and His righteousness, and then His rewards will be added to you. Don’t concentrate on the rewards. Keep your eyes on Jesus and seek to know Him first. Rewards come second. God is a rewarder to those who choose to seek Him first. He is good and eager to reward His children when they are loving Him and seeking His will for their lives.

All too often we get caught up in daydreaming for riches and a better life and there is nothing wrong with wanting a little more and a better life, the problem comes when we become fixated on riches and a better life than having our focus on the true rewarder. We are so busy running after riches and trying to buy things that we think may satisfy us that we miss the only one who can truly satisfy our every need. As a nation we have stopped seeking God in all we do and have become self-reliant. We have relied on ourselves to deal with world situations and frankly we have mess on our hands. We have attempted to solve problems on what we think and we have not sought God for direction. Without Direction from God we are the blind leading the blind and we will not be able to find the reward that God has in store.

Point of Prayer: Father, help us as individuals and as a nation too place our focus back on you and to seek you in every aspect of our decision making, Father help us to stop seeking un satisfying things and too seek after you the rewarder and satisfier. Amen.

Seek God first and the rewards will come. Are you seeking to know God’s will for your life?


Wednesday August 11, 2010
Justice + Faithfulness = Reward
Read Isa 61:8

Recently, throughout our country, there were protest marches against what some see as an injustice. Many were marching and demanding equal justice now. I do not know all the facts surrounding this case and offer no judgment of this outcry. However, it does seem that equal justice in our day is more about what a person perceives, feels or thinks is equal justice (man’s relative justice) and less about God’s absolute justice. It should not surprise us that in today’s world of relativism, humanism, secularism, and even spiritualism, in which man is placed at the center of the universe, most people do not truly want equal justice for all; they want justice for themselves or their cause, whatever it might be. Consequently, people see things differently, even when faced with the same set of facts. Simply, they see it through their prism, based on a variety of factors such as one’s culture, religion, race, sex, world view or life experiences, to name a few.

It is very interesting that during the recent marches, I never heard a cry for righteousness. In fact, in our modern day of enlightenment, the word righteousness is almost never used, except perhaps by some Christians. In our everyday language, especially what comes through the news media, righteousness is a forgotten word, and yet, righteousness is the only way to true and equal justice. We could say that righteousness is what defines justice. It is the moral foundation for justice.

Although righteousness is not talked about nor demanded much in our day, it appears that deep within the heart of man there is a longing for true righteousness and justice, and a knowing that only God can satisfy this longing. And yet, many reject God’s way, preferring to do what is right in their own eyes and not in the eyes of God.

Our God is the God of justice. He loves righteousness and justice. He hates sin but He always loves the person who sins. God is a faithful God to His children, and He desires for His children to be faithful to Him. When the God of justice sees faithfulness in His children, then justice defends and provides for His children. These are wonderful rewards.

Can you name some other rewards that come from being faithful to God?


Thursday August 12, 2010
God’s Gift Produces Joy
Read Eccl 5:19-20; Proverbs 13:21

God is the giver of good gifts. He wants us to enjoy all the things He gives us. Some of the things He gives His children are wealth and prosperity. He also gives us good health so we can enjoy His gifts. In return, He expects us to accept ourselves for who we are and who He created us to be in Him. He also expects us to be happy and full of joy over the work He has for us to do. No one can truly know real joy until he accepts God’s will for his life and walks in it.

After looking at the way things are on this earth, here's what I've decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that's about it. That's the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what's given and delighting in the work. It's God's gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It's useless to brood over how long we might live( The Message Bible). Make the most of what God gives you.

Do you want to know true joy from God?


Friday August 13, 2010
God’s Blessings Will Overtake You!
Read Deut 28:1-3

You can’t out give God. Don’t even try! You can read in Deuteronomy 28 about the blessings you will receive from God if you obey Him and follow His commands. In Matthew 5, Jesus promises us more blessings if we will walk in His ways. God cannot lie, so if He promises us blessings if we do the things He ask of us, then the blessings will surely come. He said not only would we be blessed but His blessings would overtake us! That means the blessings God sends to us will catch up with us and come upon us suddenly.

God’s promises are not contingent on the state of the U.S. economy! I am not sure if you need to hear this, but I have days when I need a gentle reminder. As Christians we are children of God and are not limited by the circumstances around us. We have God’s promises that He is going to provide for us, no matter what it looks like. Our job is to simply believe. As Bono put it in Walk On, “(it) has to be believed to be seen.” We all would love to be able to see things manifest and then believe them, but remember what Jesus said to Thomas? Jesus said to him, “Is it because you have seen me that you have believed? How blessed are those who have never seen me and yet have believed!”

God’s economy is strong and God’s blessings will overtake you!


The Weekender August 14 - 15, 2010
Who Is Your Reward?
Read Gen 15:1

The greatest reward a Christian can ever have is God Himself. He is our reward. When we have God, we have everything. God is also our rewarder. Hebrews tells us that God is a rewarder to those people who diligently seek Him. (Those who choose to seek Him). Hannah trusted God for a son. She was rewarded with Samuel and many more children. Mary believed what the angel, Gabriel, told her and she was rewarded with being the mother of God’s only son, Jesus. A woman who had suffered a sickness for many years knew that if she touched the hem of Jesus clothes, she would be healed. She was and Jesus told her that it was her faith that brought about her healing. God is a loving and generous God. He rewards faith in His children. Put your faith and trust in the great “I AM” for everything you need.

When you read the gospels of Jesus, you will find that all who came to Him for healing were healed because of their faith in Him. Faith brought about their healing! Choose today to put your faith and your trust in Jesus.

God is our reward; if we have God we have everything. God is the one who gives us all our enjoyment. If we give reverence to God, Respect His Laws and boundaries, take responsibility and walk in relationship with Him and our fellow man we can expect the reward.