PREPARATION TO PROVISION
Isaiah 38

Orderliness is an evidence of preparation. When there is no preparation, expectation will not be in place. Without expectation, the kind of transformation that terminates challenges is nowhere to be found. Right from the time of Moses’ leadership of the children of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt to the time of Joshua’s leadership role, there was always order in place as commanded by God. God is a God of order and orderliness is always the evidence of preparation. With preparation provision cannot be denied. Violation of God’s command of orderliness is a way to gain a motion of untimely death. God is no respecter of man and when the command for orderliness is not in place, sickness, disease and untimely death becomes inevitable. Once in the days of King Hezekiah a life threatening sickness struck the life of Hezekiah. “…And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.’” (Isaiah 38:1) King Hezekiah knew where the problem was and responded without excuse. By virtue of his situation, he could not expect any recovery from God without going back and making adjustments and putting in order what had been in disorder. It is written that, “…Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.” (Isaiah 38: 2-3) As much as God will not over look the violation of His command so will He also be a merciful God that will not ignore but incline His ear to the crying of His children. God sent Isaiah back to King Hezekiah, “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years.” (Isaiah 38:5) Orderliness is important because it gives way to preservation and denies untimely death. Hezekiah’s situation is not an encouragement to intentional consistent violation of God’s command and thinking of going back for forgiveness and restoration. In truth, God is a God of forgiveness, but the word of God made us realized it that, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) Have you been ordering your steps in line with the word of God? Hezekiah put things in order by preparing himself with expectation for restoration. God responded with His goodness and mercy. Order your steps in line with the word of God. 

Prayer for today: Uphold my steps O Lord my God and my king. Let my foot steps not slip in Your paths.

ZEALOUSNESS 
Numbers 25

Jesus found businesses in the temple that were not of God. “And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.” (John 2:14) Jesus decided to clean the temple by kicking out all that did not represent God. The word of God made us realize that we are the temple of God. As a temple of God, what transpires in your temple and what needs to be cleansed? After kicking out all that needed to be kicked out of the temple, the disciples “…Remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.” (John 2:17).By virtue of the disciples’ response, it is evident that, until the zeal of God eats up a believer, then the possibility of having a clean temple is almost impossible. When there is zeal for God, He will move for us and have His place in our life. To be zealous for the temple of God will require a non-compromising stand in condemning and terminating every act that is not acceptable as God’s business but acceptable to the world. Once on the journey to the Promised Land, the children of Israel provoked the anger of the Lord by joining to Baal of Peor while they were facing the wrath of their sin, “…One of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting.” (Numbers 25:6) The point here is that, they had not gotten over the consequences of one sin when another one came up and added onto them. In response, “…Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel.” (Numbers 25:7-8) Phinehas action, provoked God and God spoke to Moses, “…Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal…” (Numbers 25:11) Phinehas could not sit back and compromise with wrong doing while the move of God was present. Phinehas went forward with a demonstration of his zealousness for God. As a result of Phinehas’ action, God responded to Phinehas’ zeal by speaking through Moses, “…Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; 13 and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God…’” (Numbers 25:12-13) God is the Rewarding Rewarder of those that seek Him with their all.

Prayer for today: Ask for His zeal to eat you up.

 Puzzle
Genesis 37

God’s calling is always like a puzzle that needs to be put together before it becomes a picture. When God called Abraham, the command to go and the blessing for going did not come with details. At the time of the calling, the challenges of temptation and confrontation were not laid out to Abraham. God commanded Abraham “…Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3). His calling is not without His backing! Has He called you and not backed you up? The challenges and temptations that come your way in answering the calling over your life are not evidence that He has withdrawn from seeing you through. When He calls, nothing counts but to answer fully with obedience. God will call regardless of position or age of the one called. Abraham was seventy-five when he responded to God’s calling. In His calling, neither old age nor young age can limit God from calling. The calling of God can be likened to attempting to put thousands of pieces of a puzzle together to become a complete picture. However, when in the process of putting the puzzle together and a piece is missing, the picture will never be complete. Joseph’s dream was validation of God’s divine agenda for his life. Joseph’s dream was a drawn out plan of God’s calling for his life. In the dream there was no indication of what and how the makeup of the picture would be. Twice he dreamt and twice he was rebuke because it was a puzzle to his family. When Joseph had the second dream, “…he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.” (Genesis 37:10-11)Joseph’s steps into the journey that he dreamt started at age seventeen and were not complete until he was thirty years of age. The journey was full of challenges and temptations. Indeed and in truth it was a puzzle that could not have become a complete picture if any of the pieces was misplaced. It is only you that knows the dream that you have had or the calling that He has placed upon your life. Focus on Him, He will see you through. Remember, the puzzle will not become a complete picture until all the pieces come together.

Prayer for today: Father, deliver me and preserve me as I move in the direction of your calling.

BEAUTY OR SHAME?
Psalm 90, 97

Which God are you serving? To serve God is to love God and loving Him is serving Him. Talking love is cheap and not enough but working love is real and complete. How do we love God? Deuteronomy made it clear, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) Evidently, to love God is to know God. Do you know if you know Him? 1 John 2:3-5, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Love God, serve Him and do not end up in shame. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 97:7 “Let all be put to shame who serve carved images, who boast of idols. Worship Him, all you gods.” Shame belongs to those who serve outside of the living God. Being put to shame or living in shame is not a life for the children of God. Shame is a direct result of failure, destruction, deprivation, degradation and every humiliating situation that one can think or imagine. The Psalmist was requesting that all be put to shame who serve carved images and who boast of idols. Serving outside of the One and Only Creator, the Most High God is not an option but a command. As shame belongs to those who are serving idols, so beauty is what belongs to those who are serving the Most High God. The Psalmist also pointed out in Psalm 90:17, “And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” The difference is clear. Beauty of God is blessing of God. When you serve Him in deed and in truth, His beauty will be the end result. It is clearly spelled out by the Psalmist that when the beauty of the Lord comes upon a believer, that believer is set to be established for His glory. How are you serving Him? It is one thing to claim serving Him and it is another thing to be serving Him in truth. The words of the Bible are neither fairy tale nor fiction. The purpose of the word is stated in 2Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” If you will be purposeful by taking the word of God as a living oracle, you will not end up in shame, but rather you will end up under the beauty of the Lord while overcoming the challenges that come your way.

Prayer for today: O Lord my God, I ask in Jesus name that you cause your word to have its rightful place in me.

UNLIMITED GOD
Esther 5-7

He alone is God. Isaiah described Him as, “…Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” (Isaiah 40:28-29) He is the mighty God that was, that is and that will be forever. Have you tried Him and see that He is not true? God is true to His word and His work testifies all about Him. Jeremiah testifies, “He has made the earth by His power; He has established the world by His wisdom, and stretched out the heaven by His understanding.” (Jeremiah 51:15) It is worthy to taste and see that the Lord is good. Have you tried Him and not have Him work on your behalf? God cannot fail and He will never fail.  Knowing about God will get man to nowhere and neither is it enough to know the true power in the Word of God.  However, to be known in the Word of God is the real deal. To be known is to be living the Word. Also, to be known in the word of God is to become one that is behaving the Word of God.  Those that work the works of God are those that believe in Him. The ones that believe in God are the ones that wait on Him. Isaiah 40: 31 states, “But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Amazingly, God is a great deliverer if you will trust in Him. Inside Harman’s plot was the attempt to terminate Mordecai but in the kindness of God there was a place for Mordecai to be honored. God is a faithful God. The end of the matter was that, Harman ended up in the wicked plan that was set for Mordecai because God that sees all could not sleep nor slumber. God has not forgotten you but He does have a time set for your situation if you can know it that He is beautiful for the situation. What else can we say about the Ancient of Days, the Great I Am the I Am? God has never lost any battle.  He is a Mighty Warrior. The God who made a dry land in the middle of the Red Sea for His children to pass through will not forsake you. The move of God’s hand is unlimited just as it was testified in Job 11:7-8, “…Can you find out the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than heaven- what can you do? Deeper than the Sheol- what can you know?” Indeed what can you do or what can you know but to give it all unto Him. Meditate on the question; it will eliminate your concerns.

Prayer for today: The grace that it takes to give it all unto You let it be added unto me O Lord.