Forever Blessed...

SCRIPTURE

2 Samuel 7:18-29 (NRSV)

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."


ADVENT DEVOTION

Oh what a beautiful prayer!

Doesn't it inspire you to want to fall on your face right now and begin to praise the Lord, our God, who has done such marvelous things for us?

No matter what challenges you may be facing, God is with you. God is for you. And God has a good plan for your life, not to harm you, but to give you a future and a hope.

If you are living, breathing, and enjoying Internet access, you can certainly count yourself abundantly blessed.

During this Advent Season, I have been challenging all of us not to count the costs, but to count our blessings. This is because I have learned that you notice what you are looking for. Who hasn't had an experience like buying a blue van only to discover countless blue vans on the road, or expecting a baby and then noticing pregnant women everywhere?

This phenomenon has taught me that we notice what we are looking for. So, look for your blessings! Count them one by one...

Pray like David, "And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."

As you are counting, dear ones, don't forget to count on our Jesus! Jesus is the greatest gift that any of us has ever received. The Love revealed to us in Christ Jesus is simply amazing! When you meditate on God's love, it will take your breath away!

Because of Jesus, we can look with glad anticipation to the second coming of Christ in glory! We do not fear that great day because God's words are true and we have been promised blessing forever...

May you experience the great peace that comes with noticing your blessings and grounding yourself in the Love of God revealed to us in Christ Jesus!

Peace...


PRAYER

Dear Lord, help me to meditate on my many blessings and on the precious gift of Jesus in my life. Amen.

Blessed Forever!

SCRIPTURE

2 Samuel 7:18-29 (NRSV)
The flowering of David's line

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, "Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. Who is like your people, like Israel? Is there another nation on earth whose God went to redeem it as a people, and to make a name for himself, doing great and awesome things for them, by driving out before his people nations and their gods? And you established your people Israel for yourself to be your people forever; and you, O Lord, became their God. And now, O Lord God, as for the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, confirm it forever; do as you have promised. Thus your name will be magnified forever in the saying, 'The Lord of hosts is God over Israel'; and the house of your servant David will be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made this revelation to your servant, saying, 'I will build you a house'; therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant; now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you; for you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever."



DEVOTION

How I absolutely love David’s prayer! It is so full of praise, worship, adoration, humility, and Truth.

It tickles me to hear David say, “You are Great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you.”

Hallelujah!

Indeed there is no God like our God! David said, “O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true!”

God is a promise keeper and God did not lie when God promised to establish David’s throne forever and ever. For one Christmas morning the King of Kings entered the world, wrapped in humility and swaddling cloth. As he grew into a man he became a miracle worker turning water into wine, feeding the hungry multitudes, walking on water, healing the sick, and raising the dead. As if that wasn’t enough Love ultimately gave this King to die on an old rugged cross to save humanity from our sin and gift us with eternal life. This King’s name is JESUS!

I am so glad that King Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected on the third day, just like he promised. Now, David’s descendant sits on an eternal throne—king forever!

In this Advent season, I am waiting with baited breath to celebrate the return of our beloved King! As we pray, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come!,” we remember Jesus’ first coming and anticipate his second in glory!

David said, “For you, O Lord, God have spoken…and with your blessing…your servant [is] blessed forever!”

Now, ain’ta that good news?!


Won’t you pray with me?

O Lord, God, you are great, awesome, good, kind, caring, merciful, gracious, and mighty to save! How I love you and praise you for you have established Jesus as King—forever and ever, amen. Thank you for giving Jesus to die on the cross, to forgive me of my sin, and gift me with eternal life. Your love is so amazing; I pledge to share it with everyone I meet. I pray this in Jesus’ Name, Amen.



THE INVITATION

If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @
http://aintathatgoodnews.blogspot.com/2009/03/come-to-jesus.html




ANNOUNCEMENT

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