Following God

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Esther 3:8 Out To Destroy

Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other people’s, and they do not keep the king’s laws. Therefore it is not fitting for the king to let them remain.” Esther 3:8

Criminals are often unwanted in any nation or city. People desire to have them removed for safety. In order for someone to be considered a criminal, one must have broken some rule that was made by the authorities. Some laws are made to specifically target certain people in order to remove them.

Haman, a leader in the kingdom, had told the king that certain people, the Israelites, were not following his commands and must be removed.

The world has the belief that anyone can do anything that they like as long as it does not harm anyone else. This sets a standard of not really having any standard to go by. Anything goes with no real set of rules.

In the exact opposite, believers hold to God’s standard. His standard is a set of rules that does not change from person to person or from time to time, they are eternal and universal.

Believers who fully follow the commands of God will take a stand against sin and will often take a stand against sinful rules of the land. The world will see this as hate and make more rules to criminalize believers and get them removed from society.

Every believer must also be aware that the world is out to destroy them no matter what it takes. Lies and deception will be used to remove the believer from society. Every believer must be willing to follow God at all costs and trust that He is in control.

No matter where you live there are going to be some people who do not like believers. Some of those will strive to have you silenced or removed if you are talking about Jesus and standing up for God’s ways of living.

Put your trust in God and hold on to Him for strength and wisdom in moving forward in His ways. Do not fear those of the world who are out to destroy you, God is greater than they are. Continue to walk in ways and to tell the world of His ways and about Jesus.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will know how God wants you to live; that you will live different than the sinful ways of the world; that you will point all people to Jesus and God’s ways of living; and that God will give you strength when people hate you.

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2 Chronicles 24:4 Restore God’s Temple

Some time later Joash decided to restore the temple of the Lord. 2 Chronicles 24:4

Restoring old things is a passion for some people. Some will take old vehicles or old homes and work to make them like new again. Depending upon how damaged an item is, will depend upon how much work it takes to get it restored.

Once the item is restored like new, it can bring about great joy to the one who did it and to others around. Many can enjoy seeing something that is looking and being like it is supposed to be.

Joash had become king of Judah and decided to restore the temple of God that had been neglected.

The temple of God that Joash had chosen to restore was a physical temple that was where God had chosen to make Himself known. It was to be the center of the lives of the Israelites, the place where they could find out God’s will and give Him praise. It was where they could offer sacrifices for their sins.

Once God destroyed the nation of Israel, the physical temple was destroyed. After Jesus came, believers would become the new temple of God, each and every individual.

Sometimes believers choose to step away from God and walk a life of sin. They allow sinful practices to come into their lives, destroying the temple of God. In the same way that the original temple was able to be restored, believers can be restored.

Repentance and a change of heart that turns back to God is restoring the new temple of God, turning away from sinful practices that crept in. It is choosing to obey God’s commands and do His will in every area of one’s life. It is worshipping and serving God with one’s life.

As a believer, you are a temple of God. Your whole life should be fully dedicated to God for His use and glory.

You may have allowed some sinful habits to slip into your life, defiling the temple of God. Although this may have occurred, God is ready and willing to help you get restored as His holy temple.

Make the choice to repent of your sins and turn back to God. He will forgive you and fill you with His presence. You can be the holy temple of God that God had purposed for you to be in this fallen world.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will be the holy and consecrated temple of the Lord; that you repent of any sins against God; that you will live to do God’s will; and that you will worship and honor God with all that you say, think and do

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2 Chronicles 17:3-4 Who Are You Consulting?

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. 2 Chronicles 17:3-4

Regardless of where a person lives in the world, there are thousands of people and places to get advice on how to do nearly anything and everything desired. People will go to others, the internet and books to get advice on how to deal with some situation or just how to really live life.

God was with Jehoshaphat because he followed and obeyed God, rather than seeking the Baals as Israel was doing.

The world is filled with information on how to do anything that a person may ever want to do. While some of this information may be neutral and good, often it may not always be the way God wants something done. It is easy for someone to run to the ways of the world to get guidance, since everyone is doing it.

However, the world, under Satan’s control, is seeking to steal, kill and destroy, rather than build up and give life.

God’s ways are not the ways of man and often do not make sense in the eyes of a person. He sees and knows things that cannot be known by any person; thus, He is able to decide a course of action that is best no matter how it looks.

Instead of seeking the Baals of this fallen world, believers must be willing to seek God’s direction in life and then obey what He commands. If one does not obey what God says, then it does no good to seek His directions. Both seeking and obeying must occur in the life of a believer to gain His favor and presence in one’s life.

Every day you will be bombarded with the ways of the world. Do not allow yourself to follow the fallen ways of this fallen world. The world is not out to build you up and give you life, but to steal from you, kill you and destroy you in whatever way possible.

Go to God for your every need. He will guide you and direct you upon the path you must take. The Holy Spirit is with you to help you know what God desires of you in every situation in your life.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will consult God first in every situation in your life; that you will know God’s directions and obey them; and that God will give you strength to turn from the wicked ways of this world.

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2 Kings 18:6 Not Stopping

He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. 2 Kings 18:6

People like to follow all different kinds of people. There are singers, actors, politicians, authors, speakers, sports players and many others that people will follow closely. Most will follow because they like something about the person, while others follow to learn from that person.

Over time many will stop following various people. Their interests and desires change or the person they follow change or sometimes stop doing what they were doing.

Hezekiah had become king of Judah and he held on to the Lord and would not stop following Him, obeying all of His commands.

It is easy for a person to begin to follow God, but it is a serious challenge to continue to follow God. From the moment a person chooses to follow God, the world begins to strive to stop him.

Distractions arise on a regular basis to get a person off course of following God with all of his heart, soul, mind and strength. Sometimes things can look better or easier to follow, than following God.

Many have taken their eyes off of God and began to follow the ways of the world, rather than God’s ways. The things and people of this world will fade away and fail over time. Disappointment and failure will occur when one stops following God.

Instead of getting distracted and led astray, every believer must hold fast to God, dedicating his entire life to following God in every area of his life. God will never change, fade away or fail the believer. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Those who do not stop following God will one day step into eternity with God.

As a believer you had made a choice to begin to follow God. The world is going to try and stop you and get you to follow the world’s ways of doing things. Do not allow yourself to get distracted and pulled away from following God with all of your life.

Hold on to all that God says, knowing He will guide you with perfect love. God will never fail you nor leave you. You can trust Him with every area of your life. In the end you will get the joy of spending eternity with God in heaven.

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will hold fast to the teachings of God; that you will never stop following God; that God will give you strength to resist the distractions of this world; and that you will find satisfaction and joy in following God.

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1 Kings 15:26 Whose Ways Do You Follow?

He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the ways of his father and committing the same sin his father had caused Israel to commit. 1 Kings 15:26

Everyone learns from someone. What they learn is determined by who they learn it from. Usually, one of the greatest influences on a person’s life is the father. Unless an outside influence affects them, sons will very often grow up with a lot of the same characteristics of their father, whether good or bad, right or wrong and whether they really want it or not.

When Jeroboam died, his son, Nadab, became king of Judah. He did the same evil in the eyes of the Lord as Jeroboam had done and caused Israel to commit sin.

As the physical father and other people can have a great influence in the life of person, it does not need to be this way. The world will only follow what it can see and understand, often this leads into sin and greater sin. The earthly fathers are sinners and may not be following God with all of their heart or none of their heart at all.

Once a person becomes a believer and a follower of Jesus, he must focus on following God with all of his heart, mind, soul and strength. God should be the greatest influence in one’s life that rises above everyone and everything else in this fallen world. The earthly father may have some good characteristics but may still lead down the wrong pathway.

God the ultimate best Father will lead in a way that leads to life, eternal life. There will never be a leading into sin and death. Believers must follow God’s ways above any other person’s ways, even the physical father, to be kept from living in sinful ways.

Your physical father may have had a great influence on you or may not have, just as someone else may have had influence upon you. Do not allow those influences to pull you away from God and His ways of living.

Put all of your focus and trust in God, not in the things, people and ways of this world. Learn His ways of living, because they are perfect and will lead to eternal life, not death.

Without God’s Spirit leading you, you will turn to sin and evil, bringing about death.

Whose ways are you following?

Today I pray that you will know Jesus as your Lord and Savior; that you will follow the ways of God with all of your life; that you will know how God wants you to live your life; that you will allow God’s Spirit to guide you in life; and that you will live a holy and righteous life before God and man.