One Mind and One Accord

We always hear Acts 2:1 quoted when people talk about seeing a great move of God. I noticed something that never really registered when I’ve read it in the past as I read the Bible this morning.

2 Chron 5:13-14

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.

It’s nothing we haven’t heard but if we could somehow get the leaders in worship to be as one.  It would be amazing to have the glory of God so strong in a service like these verses talk about.  Since it’s the same God, we CAN have it but somehow we need to get the leaders as one.  In this instance, it doesn’t say the people were as one but the leaders.  If we as leaders can get our eyes/minds off what the people in the pews are doing and concentrate on being one with the leaders in praise and worship the rest will fall into place.  God will respond as he did with Solomon and his worship leaders.  God, help us to get to a place where we lead as one, drawing the people in the pew into that special place with You!

Breaking Family Traditions

The latter part of II Samuel 23 begins to list the mighty men that were with David. These are the men who hid in the caves with him when he fled from Saul. These are the ones who pledged their lives and vowed to protect him no matter what happened. As I read this chapter this morning, I noticed one of them men listed was the son of Ahithophel. Ahithophel was the counselor to Absalom during his “mutiny” against his dad, King David. It appears Ahithophel’s son did not follow him because he is still listed a few chapters after the death of Ahithophel as a mighty man of David.

As I read this account of history, it seemed obvious to me that the purpose of this information is to let ud know we don’t have to follow the path our parents choose. There are times parents choose a wrong path. As children of God, we need to follow the scripture which tells us we are to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. We must be careful not to blindly follow our family members down a path that leads away from God. It is important for us to know the scripture and learn to pray for ourselves without relying on our parents to keep us on the right path.

No matter what path a parent may choose, this account found in II Samuel helps us know we can continue to follow what is right. A song I heard says, “Hold on to what you know is right, hold on to what you know is right, weeping may endure for a night but joy is coming with the morning light…” Another old song I remember my dad singing when I was just a child, “It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ. One glimpse of His dear face, all sorrows will erase, so bravely run this race till we see Christ.” And then Nancy Grandquist wrote a song, “It’s gonna be worth it all, it’s gonna be worth it all, it’s gonna be worth it all some beautiful happy day. It’s gonna be worth every long mile, every heartache and every trial. It’s gonna be worth it all some beautiful happy day!”

Let me pray about that….

To some the phrase “let me pray about that” may seem to be a way to postpone a decision. Many troubles have come because people have NOT prayed about things to ask God for His guidance. How many difficult places are because we did not ask counsel of God?

In Joshua chapter 9 we can see an example of what can happen when we don’t ask God for His direction. The men of Gibeon, which was a mere three days journey from where the Children of Israel were camped, came as if they had traveled from a long way off. Joshua and the princes (overseers) of the congregation listened to their story and accepted what the men of Gibeon said without question. In Joshua 9:14 the scripture specifically states they did not ask counsel of God. The treaty made with Gibeon caused the Children of Israel to be in a tough predicament. The commandment from the Lord was to kill all the inhabitants of the land.  Another commandment given to them was not to break a vow that was made. One commandment was going to be broken.  Either they would have to not kill ALL the inhabitants or they would have to break the vow they made with Gibeon.

How many times do we put ourselves in a similar situation because we fail to ask counsel of God? No decision is too small to ask God to give us guidance. I’ve prayed about which car to buy and when I felt uneasy about purchasing a particular vehicle I didn’t buy it only to find out later the person who did buy it spent a few thousand fixing it. I prayed about where I should call home when the time came to move and God opened doors I would never have dreamed when I followed His leading.

Don’t let the phrase “let me pray about that” be just a way to put off making a decision. Really pray about decisions and watch as God leads you higher and deeper in Him!

Crossing Jordan

When the Children of Israel crossed the Jordan River, the descendants of the people who crossed the Red Sea experienced the same miracle. The waters were rolled back and they walked through the midst on dry ground. God removed the obstacle of the water out of the way. He paved them a path to cross over; however, when they got to the other side, they had to fight to take over the land. God chose not to remove the inhabitants of the land.

In reading the crossing of the Jordan in the book of Joshua, I thought about various doors I have watched God open. We sometimes think when we go through a door then face opposition that maybe we should not have gone through that door. We begin to question if maybe we pushed too hard to get through the door or if we begged God too much to open it. From reading Joshua, just because we face opposition after walking through that open door, it does not mean we took a wrong turn somewhere. First of all, God allows the battles to help strengthen us. If we could understand that the battles come to make us strong but it’s up to us to continue fighting, we might look at our trials in a different manner. It’s being able to trust God in spite of circumstances that proves our faith. True faith is continuing to trust and believe even when the outcome is not what we want.

The Children of Israel won their first battle after crossing the Jordan River but lost the second battle. Had God changed? No! The sin of one member of one tribe of the Children of Israel affected the entire congregation. You think your sin affects no one but yourself? That’s what Achan thought and look what happened. Achan’s disregard for instruction from the man of God regarding the first battle cost 36 men their lives in the second battle. All for 1 garment, 200 shekels of silver  (about 76.1 ounces) and gold weighing 50 shekels (about 19 ounces). The silver and gold at today’s prices would total about $32,511.90. Achan was willing to take a chance that Joshua was not following the plan of God for a little more than $32,500. He was willing to risk harm to his family as well as other members of the congregation.

Apostolic Lighthouse Pentecostal Church of Nacogdoches has crossed a Jordan River where God rolled back the rivers to allow us to cross. We must not let our desire for things of the world cause our entire family to be destroyed as in the incident with Achan.  He didn’t really take much. A few articles of clothing and a little money. The problem was God had already instructed the entire congregation of people that they were not to take of the spoil from Jericho. God used the man of God Joshua to give this instruction. Maybe Achan thought Joshua didn’t really hear from God. Maybe he thought God didn’t really mean it the way Joshua said. Maybe Achan didn’t trust Joshua because of some past experience. We don’t know what thoughts might have been in the mind of Achan. What we do know is Joshua had evidently delivered the message just the way God intended and Achan’s disobedience cost him not only his own life but cost his family their lives.

Having crossed over Jordan, I want to be more diligent to be obedient to the man of God. Yes, he is just as human as I am but God has chosen to use him to shepherd the flock I am part of. I don’t want my sin to be the cause of losing any battle we will face as a congregation.