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Today is Thursday May 20, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of I Chronicles, chapters 27-29. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-may-20

Title: Bible Study: Be Strong And Do It
Much of the Book of I Chronicles focuses on doing the work of the Lord, God creates us for a purpose and calls us to do a job for Him and if it takes nearly a lifetime on earth to do it, He will keep on us until we realize what He wants us to do and do it. We should all be honored that God has called upon us to do a special task for Him, but many of us, and this can happen to even the strongest Christian, get caught up in circumstances and or every day stresses in life that can deafen us from hearing His call. It is times like these when we need to take a deep breath and realize that God is with us and wants to help us, He does not want us to try to handle things on our own. He is not punishing you, He is strengthening you and preparing you to do the task He called you to do.

King David was about to hand the reins over to Solomon, before he did he calls all of Israel's leaders and Solomon and gives full instructions from God on how to run the nation when he's gone. “And David assembled all the princes of Israel, the princes of the tribes, and the captains of the companies that ministered to the king by course, and the captains over the thousands, and captains over the hundreds, and the stewards over all the substance and possession of the king, and of his sons, with the officers, and with the mighty men, and with all the valiant men, unto Jerusalem.... Now therefore in the sight of all Israel the congregation of the LORD, and in the audience of our God, keep and seek for all the commandments of the LORD your God: that ye may possess this good land, and leave it for an inheritance for your children after you for ever. And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. Take heed now; for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary: be strong, and do it.” - I Chronicles 28:1,8-10. David told them how God had chosen Solomon to build His Temple and that their greatest concern should be to be obedient to all of God's commands. David also stressed to Solomon how important it was to serve God with a perfect heart. It is not easy doing the task that God calls you to do, you will face all sorts of obstacles as Satan tries to stop you, but you can not let that stop you. You have to be strong and just do it, running only prolongs it, but God will get you back in His will, no matter how long it takes. Moses ran from God and it took forty years to get him back in the will of God, Jonah ran from God and got swallowed up by a whale and stayed there for three days until he got back in the will of God.

God knows our hearts and intentions, if we are serving Him wholeheartedly He will always be with us, helping us, and giving us the power and strength to accomplish the task as well as overcome the obstacles we face in our walk of life. A person can be obedient and still miss out on the blessing of God by having a bad attitude or complaining about what God has asked them to do. Also, use God to achieve your own selfish goals and you will suffer, I have seen so many people use tragic situations to their advantage to make money off of people and say that it was a gift from God only to fall flat on their faces. After David's instructions, he offered one of the most inspiring prayers recorded in the Scripture, a prayer of thanksgiving, praise, and adoration, and God's great love. “Thine, O LORD is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.... I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.” - I Chronicles 29:11-14,17. David's heartfelt prayer is a reminder to all of us that prayer should be a time of praising and worshiping God with thanksgiving for who He is, as well as for what He has given us. As we recognize our total dependence upon God for everything, we will praise Him for His provision. When we neglect to praise the Lord daily, our worship often becomes a mere ritual. Every day, under every circumstance, in every thing we need to give thanks to the Lord. It is through praise and worship, especially through our roughest days that we do have the strength to do the task that God calls us to do.

We all have things in life that we do not want to or feel like doing, but they are things that need to be done, so we might as well as do them joyfully so we can get them done faster. Jesus said, “If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” John 15:10,11. When we do the work of the Lord we will find joy, in fact, you actually feel as though you have accomplished something great. And you did, you became strong and you did it. Praise God!

Enjoy the rest of your day/night, God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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