Tag: Lord

Praise and pray to the Lord alongside Solomon

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn Devotionals1 Comment

After Solomon built the temple to the Lord, he prayed the following prayer of dedication. I as I read the text this morning, his prayer struck me. As you read through it, notice:

  • How he calls upon the Lord to act in regard to God’s own character, how He has revealed Himself throughout Scripture.
  • The promises he asks the Lord to keep.
  • The care of the Lord for His people and the foreigner.
  • How he calls his people to follow the Lord and how we likewise should follow the Lord.

1 Kings 8:22–61 (ESV)

22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, 23 and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; 24 you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. 25 Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ 26 Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, 39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may fear you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

41 “Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for your name’s sake 42 (for they shall hear of your great name and your mighty hand, and of your outstretched arm), when he comes and prays toward this house, 43 hear in heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name.

44 “If your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way you shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city that you have chosen and the house that I have built for your name, 45 then hear in heaven their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause.

46 “If they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you are angry with them and give them to an enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near, 47 yet if they turn their heart in the land to which they have been carried captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors, saying, ‘We have sinned and have acted perversely and wickedly,’ 48 if they repent with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, who carried them captive, and pray to you toward their land, which you gave to their fathers, the city that you have chosen, and the house that I have built for your name, 49 then hear in heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their plea, and maintain their cause 50 and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions that they have committed against you, and grant them compassion in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them 51 (for they are your people, and your heritage, which you brought out of Egypt, from the midst of the iron furnace). 52 Let your eyes be open to the plea of your servant and to the plea of your people Israel, giving ear to them whenever they call to you. 53 For you separated them from among all the peoples of the earth to be your heritage, as you declared through Moses your servant, when you brought our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God.”

54 Now as Solomon finished offering all this prayer and plea to the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, where he had knelt with hands outstretched toward heaven. 55 And he stood and blessed all the assembly of Israel with a loud voice, saying, 56 “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant. 57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, 58 that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers. 59 Let these words of mine, with which I have pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires, 60 that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. 61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.”

God alone is your Deliverer who deserves your exclusive worship

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”” (1 Sa 7:3)

To worship the Lord is to forsake the worship of other gods. The Lord tells us in Exodus 20 that He is the One who provides redemption (Exodus 20:2). No other god saved the Israelites from slavery and bondage in Egypt. It was Yahweh alone who freed and saved them from continued bondage and certain death. 

Since God alone provides redemption, we are not to worship any other gods (Exodus 20:3). We are to exclusively worship the Lord. He will not compete for our affections. He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). Jealous for His own glory because it is His glory that provides us with joy. 

Worship involves giving our whole life to the Lord, not just an hour or two once a week during a worship service. Worship means exclusively looking to the Lord for wisdom and direction. It involves us giving our entire life to the Lord. 

Indeed, He alone is worthy of our worship because He redeems us from slavery and death as well. The slavery of sin and the eternal punishment of death. Through Christ a New Exodus occurs. We are led out of bondage to the promised land of an eternal kingdom with Christ as our God and King. 

Today, if you are to worship the Lord, don’t let anything stand between you and God. Don’t allow any other gods to steal your affections. Don’t allow any idols to come between you and God. Don’t put your trust and hope in earthly things such as wealth, status, career, pleasure, sports, and even family. Yes, even good things can be idols –those things that come between us and God. Instead, turn to the Lord alone, giving Him exclusive worship. For He alone is your Deliverer!

The Glory of the Lord and hope for sinners

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

“The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped.” (Ex 34:6–8)

We are all seeking hope. We want to believe something good will come of our lives, the world in which we live, and the world we leave to our children and grandchildren. We hope the future holds the answer to our questions, and the fulfillment of promises we believe to be true about the world in which we live. However, the hope the world holds onto is unknown hope. In other words, we don’t know if it will happen, but we hope it will. 

In contrast to worldly hope, there is a hope that is known, that is sure and present. It is the hope the Lord provides. On the heels of the golden calf episode in Exodus, Moses asks the Lord to show him His glory. The Lord agrees. He tells Moses He will pass by him while proclaiming His name. As well as He agrees to show Moses His back but not His face, because no man can see the face of God and live. 

The name God uses in His discourse is LORD – Yahweh. He proclaims Himself to be a God of mercy, patience, steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiveness and justice. 

These attributes about God represent God’s glory. They show the greatness and weightiness of God. 

His attributes, His glory, comforts the sinner because forgiveness is possible, due His mercy, grace, slowness to anger, steadfast love and faithful. While God is a God of justice, He is also willing to forgive those who repent of their sin. We have time to repent because God is long suffering with us. The moment we transgress His commands, we deserve to be destroyed, but we are not. Instead we are allowed to continue living. God’s long suffering doesn’t mean God is a pushover. He will punish sin. He will continue to visit His wrath on mankind until they repent. Our God is a God of justice. But His justice is tempered by His love, grace, mercy, and long-suffering. God is not out to get you. He is not waiting for you to mess up so He can fire His wrath in your direction. He is a gracious and merciful God. A God in which we can place our hope. Hope because we know He will not change. What He promises will happen. 

If you are searching for hope, quit searching in the world. Turn to the God of the Bible, the Lord, Yahweh. In Him we find hope because in Him we find life. We find a relationship and provision. 

Turn to the Lord, submit your life to Him, He cares for you.

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

At the end of the book of revelation we read these encouraging yet unbelievable words:

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.” (Revelation 21:3)

The gods of other nations are always distant. They don’t have time for humans. Human’s are second class in their mind, servants who were created through various means for their own pleasure and use. Gods don’t typically come to take up residence with their creation, just as kings typically don’t take up residence with their people. No, they live in a castle distanced and protected from the people.

The God of Israel, the God of the Scriptures, does not distance Himself from man. We are the pinnacle of His creation, created in His image to reign and rule on His behalf (Genesis 1-2). He placed the first humans in the garden in Eden to work and keep it on His behalf. They were to serve as little “k” kings, reigning and ruling over all creation. They, however, didn’t recognize their privileged place and sinned against the Lord. You can read about in Genesis 3. Their sin plunged the whole world into a corrupted state.

God did not give up. He went on a rescue mission for His people, even sending His own Son to die in their place as a means to bring His people back into fellowship with Him and so He could tabernacle among us once again. Here, at the end of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, we see God doing just that. He brings His kingdom, described as a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1), so that He can live among us once again. 

We don’t become His slaves, instead we are His children who live a blessed life. A return to Eden, if you will, takes place when God’s holy city drops out of the sky. The promise in verse 4 is amazing, awe and hope inspiring: 

Revelation 21:4 reads,

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

What an amazing God we serve! A God who actually cares for His people. Don’t turn to the counterfeit gods of the world who cannot and will not deliver on their promises. They do not care for you, nor will they provide you what they say they will. Only heartache and death results from following the gods of the world. But life and peace is the result of following the Lord our God. 

Turn to the Lord, submit your life to Him, He cares for you. 

Your Works are Not Good Enough

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

Your Works are not Good Enough

“And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.”

(Re 20:13)

A time is coming when all will stand before the throne of Jesus. Judgment will occur. Those who are found wanting will be thrown into the lake of fire. Not a hopeful picture for us because judgment is based on our own actions. Yes, everything you have ever done will be judged. Every thought and action will testify against you at the judgment. 

You might be thinking, “That is ok. I have done more good than bad. I should be ok” While you might have lived a good life, your good works mean nothing to God. God is holy and we are not. Every action we undertake, no matter how good it is, does not earn us favor with a holy, perfect God. In reality, even our best works are not good enough. They are counted as filthy rags before the throne of God.

“We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

(Is 64:6)

The only way we can hope to escape the judgment seat of Christ is if our name has been written in the book of life.

“And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

(Re 20:15)

The only one’s who have their names written in the book of life are those who have turned to Jesus, who have repented of their unbelief and have exercised faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf. Only those who have turned from living in rebellion to God to admit and live as if He is King of all creation, will find entrance into the heavenly kingdom. 

Do you believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Or are you hoping your good works will gain you entrance into heaven? My prayer for you is that you believe in former and not the latter. 

Is Jesus Your King?

On By Dr. Casey LewisIn DevotionalsLeave a comment

All those who come to Christ must step off our thrones, repent of our sins, and humble ourselves before the Lord.

We might not think of it like this, but before we come to Jesus, we each sit on a throne. The throne we sit on is that of our own heart. We may not think of it like that, but that is how it is — we live as if we are the big “K” king. If that is true, turning to the Lord requires we give up our position as king and allow the Lord to be our King. Which means we must step down from our throne and allow the Lord to sit on it.

Not only must we allow the Lord to sit on the throne of our lives, but if we claim to be Christian, we must strive to live like Christ. To be like Christ we have to turn from the sinful lifestyle we lived before we turned to Jesus. If we don’t, we prove we haven’t really heard God’s Word, that’s because hearing God’s Word changes hearts. It changes our desires and affections. When we truly hear God’s Word, we will repent and turn from our evil and violent ways. We won’t want to operate like we once did. Instead of seeking to elevate ourselves, we will work to please and make Jesus’ name famous.

We can claim to be Christians all day long, but if our lives don’t back that claim up, are we really Christians?
Have we really turned to Christ? Let me challenge you to ask yourself these questions if you claim to be a Christian:

  • Have you stepped off the throne of your heart?
  • Are you allowing God to be the King of your life?
  • Or are you still trying to operate as the big “K” king?
  • Have you seen a noticeable change in your desires and actions since professing Christ as your Lord and Savior?

Those who believe in and profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior, not only believe He died for their sins, but they also believe He is their Lord, their King — the One who has the right to direct their lives.