We know that there are many names for God in the Hebrew text of scripture. All of them are wonderful, and each of them highlights a divine truth of His character. One of them is El Qanna; Jealous God.
In our culture, being jealous can bring to mind a negative association, that of weak insecurity, or selfishness. But in the heavenly sense, it is a benevolent term, illustrating devotion and the strength of a love that is boundless in pursuing the object of its desire. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, “Your Lord is very jealous of your love, O believer. Did He choose you? He cannot bear that you should choose another.”
Let’s take a moment to examine our hearts today. Any goal, anything, or any aspiration that stands above our Lord is unfaithfulness on our part. Realizing this, I am driven with joy back to my First Love, the One who paid the highest price to set me free and win my heart. We are His bride, Church, let’s be true to Him!
Jeff Deal
There are a few words in Greek for being poor, but the word used here doesn’t just describe someone who is having trouble paying bills or who is barely getting by financially, but instead it is someone who is destitute or helpless.
There are many today that consider themselves to be spiritual people. They go to church a few times a year, they meditate or pray, or believe in a higher power, so they are spiritual. Unfortunately, that kind of spirituality is fleshly and worldly and leaves the individual with a false sense of security. They think that they are spiritually wealthy, but their spirituality won’t overcome this world.
But to be “poor in spirit” means that we realize that we are spiritual paupers with no hope of seeing the “Kingdom of God” without God’s help. And as we come to Jesus and receive from Him His Spirit, ours is the “Kingdom of God.” Now the Kingdom of God isn’t Heaven, though that is ours as well, but we receive the Kingdom of God in our hearts, as new creations with new life in Christ and as children of the King.
So there must be emptiness before there can be fullness, and poverty of spirit precedes riches, grace, and blessings in the Kingdom of God.
Pastor Doug Hardin
Worship of the Lord is something wonderful and if you go through the Psalms, you can find many songs praising the Lord. The above is one of the many Psalms that David wrote and what really sticks out to me is what David is calling us all to. Notice he isn’t saying that only he will magnify and exalt God, but rather we should be doing this corporately. I encourage you today to join with your brothers and sisters in Christ and magnify and exalt Jesus’ name as great this day! When the saints worship God together, the world sees how wonderful He is.
Blessings,
Pastor Sean Boehm
Jacob finally meets his brother after some 20 or so years. He continued to devise plans up to the last moment and yet, after all that, when Esau saw him, he ran right to his brother and gave him a hug.
There are a couple of points here. One, the most important thing Jacob did was when he prayed in the last chapter. God worked everything out for him, making the fear he had useless. Fear usually is.
Second, we tend to think others’ attitudes towards us are worse than they really are. Can I tell you an ugly truth? Most people aren’t thinking about you at all. They have their own lives to live and are focused on that.
How much time do we spend worrying when we could spend time worshiping? Corrie ten Boom said, “Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” Give your worries to God and live today for Him!
Casting my cares upon Him,
Pastor Ron Kitchell
A military campaign must fulfill two objectives. The first is to conquer and subdue the enemy. The second is to occupy the disputed territory. The occupation is considered the more difficult task. In a foreign land surrounded by the enemy, without support you can be quickly overrun and driven out.
Our spiritual battle is similar. Jesus has conquered sin and death (Romans 5:21) but we must occupy until He comes again. In this war, we are more than conquerors. Jesus has won the victory and the Holy Spirit now occupies us. We are surrounded by the enemy but we are not alone. We will never lose our support for He will never leave nor forsake us. We live in hostile territory but be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world.
Occupying till He comes,
Pastor Rod Harris
The message and imagery here are pretty self-evident. We picture someone sitting quietly with maybe some crackers and cheese as opposed to a crowded room with a huge spread, louder chatter, and mayhem everywhere. The point that Solomon is making in this proverb is also straightforward. There is a real benefit and peace that comes with simplicity. I think we all know the more stuff we have and the more we focus on that stuff, the crazier things get. So take time today and go somewhere simple and in that place of quietness, “Be still and know that He is God.”
In the beauty of simplicity,
Pastor Gerard Deleeuw
If you needed yet another verse to convince you of God’s great love and concern for your life, add this one to your list of memory verses. Every wandering or misery we encounter in this life, every tear that we have shed, every heartbreak and sadness we have faced, God records them all. Not one of them is wasted or goes unnoticed by our heavenly Father. He keeps good records and is more than a little concerned for your day-to-day life. Remind yourself of that today when you are faced with hardships or setbacks. God is watching, not just with interest but with a compassionate heart! He will work all things together for good, be assured of that.
Always on His mind,
Pastor Jack Abeelen
I think we have all said, especially in our youth, “I swear to God.” We said this as a way to validate whatever just came out of our mouth to ensure our hearers we are telling the truth or will follow through with whatever we committed ourselves to.
When looking at the above verse, I guess this has been a practice that has lasted most of history. Apparently, even God Himself validated his promises. But as we read this Scripture, He couldn’t swear to anything outside of Himself because there was nothing greater than Himself to swear to. That is why to this day, we still say, “I swear to God” because there is no authority, no higher power, nor worthy witness than God Himself. When we say we “swear to God,” we mean what we are saying we have God to answer to!
Well, just like God’s promise to Abraham, His promises to us are backed up by this same principle. God will have to answer to Himself only for the promises or claims He makes and because we know that God is perfect in love, power, and knowledge, He cannot fail Himself. If God can’t fail Himself, that means He can never fail us.
His promises are the real deal, “I swear to God!”
Pastor Jason Witt
This Beatitude brings to mind a picture of an active intermediary between two people that are at enmity. Perhaps angry words had been spoken and there is tension in the air. Then another person who loves them both, takes the risk of causing a bigger blow up, reaching out to pursue peace and reconciliation between them. He helps them see how they have hurt each other and encourages each of them to take responsibility for their own mistakes. Furthermore, he pleads with them to ask forgiveness and give forgiveness. He is a peacemaker.
Peacemakers are courageous because they cannot stand at the sidelines and watch people they love hurt each other. They have to take action—bold loving action—to intervene and keep the situation from escalating into evil bitterness. They run the risk of being misunderstood, being seen as judgmental, and of causing more pain. But they see the greater risks at stake: broken relationships.
Peacemakers are blessed—happy and contented—because they are aware of how lost and without hope they were before God lavishly forgave them. They are grateful for the peace made possible by the infinitely valuable sacrifice of Jesus. They are willing to make sacrifices themselves to heal relationships—and they are blessed.
Tom Day
James, writing this letter to believers, is making the point that faith without works is dead and he shows it by using the demons as an example. The demons believe that there is a God but that belief in God does not help because it’s not a real faith and it is shown by their lack of works that go along with it. You can’t see one’s faith, so it is best demonstrated by their works.
I had a friend that would always tell me “I have faith, I have faith. I believe there is a God and I believe in Jesus Christ.” That’s all well and all, but it was hard to believe they had a real faith because I was not able to see their works. It’s important that our faith lines up with our works. That’s what James is trying to drive home to us today. Without our works, it’s hard for our faith to shine through. Demonstrate your faith by your works.
I’ll show you my faith by my works.
Joshua Navarro
