Legacy

September 17, 2020 – Debbie Graham
1 Kings 15:1-24; 2 Chronicles 13-16

Legacy

Focus Verses
1 Kings 15:3-4a “He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been. Nevertheless…”

Back and forth we go.  Good King; bad King.  Followed the Lord; did evil in the sight of the Lord. 

Not much is told about Abijah who succeeded his father Rehoboam, who was the first king of Judah, but we are told that in the three years he reigned, “he committed all the sins his father had done before him and his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God.”  We read in 1 Kings 15, “there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam, and Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David” (vs.7-8).

Abijah “committed all the sins his father had done…”  I love that we read in the following verse, “Nevertheless, for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong” (vs.4).  For David’s sake… because of his grandfather David, God gave him success as king.  Something to be said about the faith or our fathers.

Asa followed the Lord and did what was right in His sight.  He banished all perverted people and removed all idols his father had made.  He even removed his own grandmother Maachah as Queen because she had made an obscene image for the worship of Asherah!  He cut down the image and burned it.  It is said of Asa in 1 Kings 15:14, “Nevertheless Asa’s heart was loyal to the Lord all his days.”

Please do not let it be said of me that my heart was not fully devoted to the Lord like Abijah.  I want it said of me that, “she did what was right in the sight of the Lord” and “her heart was loyal to the Lord all her days” like Asa.  May the legacy I leave for my offspring be that of faith in the Lord and something that the Lord would be pleased with. 

How about you?  Are you following in the paths laid out for you by someone who did their own thing and did not submit to the Lord, or are you following in the path of what King David, a man after God’s own heart, patterned?  Are you removing all of the idols, everything that could draw you and your family away from our Lord, out of your lives?   What legacy are you leaving for generations to come?

Prayer

Lord God, please help me to always walk in Your ways and follow Your commands.  May I not get caught up in titles, things, or successes.  May my heart be fully devoted to You.  As David wrote in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  Help me to leave a legacy for my children and my children’s children that speaks of You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Praise the Lord!

September 7, 2020 - Debbie Graham

Psalm 134, 146-150

Praise the Lord!

Focus Verses

Psalm 134 “Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion!”

Psalm 146:1 “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!”

The passages I get to write about today are about blessing and giving praise to the Lord.  Psalm 134 begins with, “Behold, bless the Lord, …”  Psalms 146–150 all begin and end with the same three words.  “Praise the Lord!”  John Piper says, “Bless the Lord is almost synonymous with praise the Lord,”  and “Blessing the Lord means speaking well, singing well, using your lips and your mouth to say appropriate things about His greatness and goodness.”  King David has taught us so well how to praise the Lord. 

Though everything around us may be troublesome, David tells us in Psalm 146 how to be happy.  If we hope in the Lord who made heaven and earth, we will have freedom in Him.  He opens our eyes and raises us up.  It would do us well to recognize it is in Him that we can truly be happy and freely praise Him.  We read in Psalm 147 that “It is good to sing praises to our God, for it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (vs.1).  Praise is beautiful.  Who is it that should praise the Lord?

All of creation is to praise the Lord.  Psalm 148 tells us “Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens!” (vs.2-4), “Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars; beasts and all cattle; creeping things and flying fowl; kings of the earth and all peoples; princes and all judges of the earth; both young men and maidens; old men and children” (vs.7-12).  Wow!  I don’t know about you, but I have never truly realized the magnitude of this passage before.  The trees, mountains, hills, sea creatures, snow, clouds, wind, animals, and earth all are to praise the Lord along with all peoples!  

We praise the Lord because as His own, we are told that He takes pleasure in us and will(has) save(d) us.  “For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation (Psalm 149:4).  For this we should truly be joyful, sing aloud, and let His praises be in our mouths! (Psalm 149:5-6).

Psalm 150 sums it all up by telling us who to praise, where to praise, why to praise, and what to praise Him with.  We are to praise Him in His sanctuary, for His mighty acts and His greatness, with instruments, dancing, and with loud and clashing cymbals (boy do our drummers love that!).  Everything that has breath is to praise the Lord!  This passage says to praise the Lord 13 times in the 6 short verses! 

My brother Dan recently preached in one of his sermons that all of our faculties are to be used when praising the Lord.  We are to be fully engaged in active worship, lifting our praise to God by lifting our head, our hearts, and our hands.  Expressive and free worship as described in the Bible may make us uncomfortable.  He wondered if we were all blindfolded and we couldn’t see anyone, and they couldn’t see us, if we wouldn’t be more expressive and freer in our worship and praise to the Lord.  We are a people of praise and need to be doing that!  These passages help us to recognize who God is in our lives so we can praise Him with our whole being. 

I want to encourage all of us (looking in a mirror) when we gather together to join in corporate worship, to worship as if no one in the room is looking our way, leave the cares of the week at His feet, focus on Him who is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory, and sing our hearts out in reverent worship to Him!  Say it with me.  Praise the Lord!

Prayer

Father God, thank You for these passages in Your Word that explain to us how important it is to praise You.  Thank You for Your wonderful works.  Thank You that our praise is beautiful to You.  Please help us to implement Your praise into our everyday lives.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

New Wine~

August 26, 2020 – Debbie Graham
Proverbs 1-3


Focus Verses
Proverbs 3:9-10 “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.”

The TPT version says it this way.  "Glorify God with all your wealth, honoring Him with your very best, with every increase that comes to you. Then every dimension of your life will overflow with blessings from an uncontainable source of inner joy!"  

In all my adult life I have seen the goodness of the Lord in His caring for me.  I remember the late 80’s early 90’s while living with my best friend having pretty much nothing.  She was blessed to be able to eat breakfast and lunch at her work, and me at mine.  One day I was out of gas… How would I get to work?  Guess what came in the mail that very afternoon?  An unexpected check from my insurance company for $19 (gas was only $.97 a gallon), plenty of money to fill my gas tank!!  When things were tight when my boys were young and expenses came up, my family never opted to not tithe, and while our budget did not work on paper, our bills were always paid!  That is a testimony to the Lord!  My trust is in Him.  He doesn’t need my money.  “He owns the cattle on a thousand hills… For the world is Mine, and all its fullness” (Psalm 50:10-12).  It’s All His!  What an honor it is to give to the one who owns it all and gave His all!

We have a giving God.  He gave His one and only Son for us.  He is the ultimate example of giving.  We are made in His image.  His Word has many examples for us to give of our first fruits; to tithe 10% of all we make.  “’Bring all the tithes into the storehouse... ’Says the Lord of hosts” (Malachi 3:10).

I took the Financial Peace University class and was amazed to hear the statistic that Christians “tithe” is only 2.5% - 3% of their finances… which is not in fact a tithe because a tithe means 10%.  Stewardship is the job of supervising or taking care of something such as an organization or property.  God is trusting us to manage what He is so graciously allowing us to have.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).  God speaks a LOT about money in His Word.   We need to pay (no pun intended) attention to His words and be good stewards with His money!  Honor Him with the firstfruits… your very best… of your everything. 

During these past few months, it is possible life has been tough and finances are bleak (I know this is true of me).  Some might suggest that not tithing or giving as much is an option, so as to make ends meet.  Some may even say (I have heard them), that tithing is an Old Testament law and doesn’t apply to today.  Jesus said in Luke 24, “… ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures” (vs.44-45).  Everything that was written in the Law, by the prophets, and in the Psalms are to be fulfilled.  Now you may say that this is only talking about Jesus’ crucifixion, but it should show us that the Old and New Testament both apply for all time.  Jesus also said in Matthew 5, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (17-18). 

I encourage you to ask yourself, how am I doing?  Am I seeing the blessings of the Lord?  Are my vats overflowing with new wine?  Am I giving the best of my best back to Him who gives me everything I have?  The blessings are yours if you will be obedient! 

Prayer
Father God, thank You for the blessing that it is to give back to You.  Thank You that with my obedience comes blessings.  Please help me to always trust You and be faithful in giving the best of my best back to You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Awaken the Dawn

August 16, 2020 – Debbie Graham
Psalm 108-110

Focus Verses
Psalm 108:1-5 “O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and give praise, even with my glory. Awake, lute and harp! I will awaken the dawn. I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth;”

Have you ever gone to a sporting event?  Noticed how the crowd gets louder and louder as each person cheers for their favorite team or player?  It is infectious!  One person can begin a chant and in only a few moments the entire room/stadium is roaring.  The same should be true for worship!  Lift up your voice to the Lord with a shout of praise! 

David truly got worship.  In the psalm I am focusing on today, David proclaims his praise for the Lord.  He tells the instruments to wake up and even says that he will awaken the dawn with his praise to the Lord!  That’s pretty determined! 

Some of us have no reservations lifting up our praise for our favorite sports teams (especially our own children’s teams), engaging at secular concerts, and even shouting in our living rooms while watching something on tv… and yet, when we are at church we are somber, quiet, looking around the room at others rather than worshiping the Lord.  Not at all what God wants from us!  Psalm 66 tells us to “Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! (vs.1), and “Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard!” (vs.8).

His praise is to be heard by others.  We read in Luke’s gospel that the Pharisees told Jesus to rebuke His disciples when they were singing praises to Him and Jesus told them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40).  “Ain’t no rock gonna cry in my place!  As long as I’m alive I’ll glorify His Holy Name!” (LeMarquis Jefferson, Shout Praises Kids).

How are we with our worship?  Do we worship only when we are feeling it?  When our schedules are not slammed?  When the stars are aligned, and all is right in the world?  Friends, if we wait for all of that we are missing the mark!  Let us be steadfast (unwavering, faithful) to God, and let’s praise Him among the people.

Prayer
Father God, I will sing to You and give You praise for who You are.  Thank You for creating us with hearts to worship You.  May You “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and Your glory above all the earth;”  May my praise be like that of David and awaken the dawn.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

House of the Lord~

August 6, 2020 – Debbie Graham

Psalm 32, 51, 86, 122


Focus Verses
Psalm 122: 1-9 “I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together, where the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the Testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. For thrones are set there for judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. Peace be within your walls, prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brethren and companions, I will now say, “Peace be within you.” Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek your good.”

After being at home for church services, singing His praises, and meeting in online groups, I was certainly glad to be back in the house of the Lord!  Obviously, we can still study God’s Word, hear sound teaching, join in song, and communicate with others without going to a building, but there is something about uniting with fellow believers. 

While it is only a building, not being able to come together with the body of Christ has made me realize just how much it means when we express our love for Him together.  There are many verses in the Bible that say come let us worship the Lord.  Let us.  Together.  As a worship leader, it brings me great joy to hear the congregation lifting their voices to the Lord.  This often helps me enter into deeper worship to the Lord, knowing we are worshiping the One True God.

David knew of the joy of “giving thanks to the name of the Lord” and encouraged the Israelites to do so.  He also encouraged them to “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.”  Pray… so there would be peace within, they would prosper, there would be unity and harmony, security, community, and mostly that there would be freedom and fulfillment in joyful worship. 

We should follow the same example and pray for the peace in our church.  Pray for the leadership.  Pray that we would seek the Lord as David did as he led the people to lift their voices to the Lord.  See these examples of the earnest yearning to worship the Lord that David left for us.  “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning - yes, more than those who watch for the morning” (Psalm 130: 5-6).  “I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forevermore. For great is Your mercy toward me, and You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol” (Psalm 86:12-13).

I recently heard that worship is not first and foremost to have an encounter with God.  Rather, the first and foremost reason we worship is because He is worthy!  We need to reframe our mentality to that like David.  We then will express true joy and say “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go into the house of the Lord.’”

Prayer
Father God, thank You for teaching me more about what it means to worship You.  Thank You that as a body we have been able to gather corporately.  Give us a pure desire to pray for peace and Your will in our church.  Make my heart a house of the Lord.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Do The Things~

July 27, 2020 – Debbie Graham

2 Samuel 5:11-25; 2 Samuel 6:1-23; 1 Chronicles 13-16

Do The Things

Focus Verses

1 Samuel 5:12 “So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.”

1 Samuel 5:17-19 “Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold. The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim. So David inquired of the Lord, saying, ‘Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?’ And the Lord said to David, ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand.’”

There is so much in the four verses I have chosen to focus on today.  David went down to the stronghold.  A stronghold according to the online dictionary is “a place that has been fortified so as to protect it against attack.”  I have always seen myself as a runner.  Danger comes, I get out of dodge!  Looking at David, I might not have it all wrong!  The first action he took upon hearing the Philistines were coming was to get to safety.  An important thing to note is what we read in verse 12, “So David knew that the Lord had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel.”  David knew his calling and purpose.

If we know our calling and purpose and danger comes to threaten or attack, we need to act quickly and get to safety!  God’s purposes cannot be fulfilled in us if we are careless and do not protect what He has established.  David couldn’t have fulfilled his calling if he had been killed.  Another thing to take from this passage is the first thing David did after getting to safety… he inquired of the Lord. 

David sought the Lord for direction and what action he should take.  When we go to our stronghold, we shouldn’t run away terrified.  We should go knowing our calling and seek His next steps.  David expressed his desire in Psalm 27, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple.”  I love that David included inquiring in His temple in his desire for the Lord.  He didn’t only inquire though… he listened for an answer.

The following verses talk about listening.  We have to be silent to hear.  Psalm 62:1a says, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.”  “Be still, and know that I am God;” (Psalm 46:10a).  “A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel” (Proverbs 1:5).  In our being quiet and listening often comes our direction and next action steps.  God told David to go up.  When we hear our answer, we must follow what we have been told.

Verse 20 begins with the words, “So David went.”  The example we have from a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14) is go do the things that He has told us to do.  If God tells us to do something, then He will be the one working through us!  We need to trust Him to do what He says.  I love what Paul shares in these two passages.  “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).  “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).  Do the things!

Prayer

Father God, thank You for the examples that You give us in Your Word.  Thank You that You choose to work in me.  Help me to follow the steps of David, knowing my purpose, going to safety, inquiring of You, listening to You, and doing the things You say to do.  Help me not live in fear but run to You speedily and confidently knowing that it is You who works in me to will and to do for Your good pleasure.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

My Soul Longs~

July 17, 2020 
Psalm 43-45, 49, 84-85, 87

Focus Verses
Psalm 84:1-4 “How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young - even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah”

Have you ever gone through things in your life that don’t make sense, or are so out of control that you are just done with it all?  Given the last 5 months, I believe we all could say that we have been there!  Between the pandemic, social injustices, and political unrest, there have been many times that make me cry out to/for God as David did.  In the passages for today we hear David’s heart.  In Psalm 43 he asks for God to vindicate him, plead his cause, and send His light and truth to lead him.  He talks to himself, asking (and answering), “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God” (Psalm 43:5).

I go back and forth with my questions as David did (and answering myself at times too).  David asks When…?  Why…?  How long..?  “Why do You sleep O Lord? (44:23a).”  I ask when all of this will end.  How long will we have to endure this crazy mixed up time?  Will people ever see their need of You?

Like David, my whole being cries out to my only hope… the Lord.  “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (Psalm 84:2).  I have said so many times in the recent weeks, come quickly, Lord Jesus!  While I say and mean it, I am also reminded of the words of Paul “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).  If I am still here, my work is not yet finished.

Do you know your purpose?  David knew his.  His purpose was to trust and praise God and share his trust with others through actions and singing.  I know my purpose.  I will sing joyfully to the God of my salvation and invite others to join me in proclaiming His greatness!  I will share the reason for my hope. “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you…” (1 Peter 3:15a).

While I echo the words of David in the passage below, I know that I must continue to walk in His ways and trust Him.  I would much rather be in the house of my God than dwell here with all of the wickedness.  Until that glorious day comes, I will trust in Him and give thanks and praise His Holy Name.  “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!” (Psalm 84:10-12)

Prayer
Father God, thank You for being my dwelling place.  Thank You for being my strength, and hope.  May I readily share You with others.  Help me to walk uprightly and trust You… and help me to trust You more.  I am truly blessed.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.