Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please once again take the time to take in a video of the group Hillsong singing I Surrender proclaiming our need to surrender all to God and to yield all that we have and all that we are to His glory.
Highlight Passage 2nd Chronicles 17: 5-6 [NKJV] …
5 Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honor in abundance. 6 And his heart took delight in the ways of the Lord; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.
… Obedience to God’s ways provides contentment and God’s favor.
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Highlight Context - 2nd Chronicles 17: 1-11 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jehoshaphat ruled God’s people with obedience and honor and was rewarded with great wisdom and wealth.
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Reference Passage #1 - 2nd Chronicles 20: 32 [NKJV] …
32 And he [Jehoshaphat] walked in the way of his father Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the Lord.
… As King Jehoshaphat was obedient to his father’s ways, honoring God in all he did.
Reference Passage #2 - Ecclesiastes 2: 11 [NKJV] …
11 Then I looked on all the works of my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun.
… Solomon had not lived in obedience to his own - God given - directives in the book of Proverbs; and see what it got him.
Reference Passages #3-5 - Luke 12: 16-21, 16: 19-31. 18: 25 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… The dangers and warnings from God’s word on yielding the lure of the flesh in the love of money.
Reference Passage #6 - Philippians 4: 11-13 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK ...
… The key to real contentment is obedience and surrender
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Lawrence Darmani, used a story of a wealthy man who came to the revelation of how to live as a wealthy Christian.
Darmani writes: A successful Christian businessman shared his story with us at church. He was candid about his struggles with faith and abundant wealth. He declared, “Wealth scares me!” … He quoted Jesus’ statement, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God” (Luke 18:25). He cited Luke 16:19-31 about the rich man and Lazarus and how in this story it was the rich man who went to hell. The parable of the “rich fool” (Luke 12:16-21) disturbed him.
All of the Scriptures from Luke’s gospel account are linked above for any reader here today. And they all do warn as to the dangers of letting “the love of money” become one’s ruler, rather than living in obedience to God’s ways and His word, as Jehoshaphat learned and applied when he became King of God’s people. And you can read about how this king honored God by implementing all his father, Asa, had taught him; and Jehoshaphat’s obedience to God opened up God’s treasure chest of grace and blessing for the young king and God’s people [see highlight passages above].
The Apostle Paul also wrote his testimony of discovering how to be contented as a Christian. To the Philippians (see Phil. 4: 11-13) he told all that the secret to Godly contentment was in our surrender to God’s ways … not matter whether we have much or little. So, avoiding all that Solomon discovered and wrote about in his account of foolishness in Ecclesiastes [see passage above], we must avoid living for self and surrender all we are and all we have to living for God.
I’m dealing with my own conviction in this lesson today. You must deal with yours.
My Prayer Today: Oh, my Lord, … Give me Your contentment, which can only come in my surrender to You. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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