Craig's Living H2O

December 31st - "Total Trust"

"Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities fo our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to Him."    2 Samuel 10:12

Wow! Facing death, Joab put all his trust in God's goodness and judgment, trusting that God knew what was best of for Joab and His people. This is truly confidence in God. As we end another year, and begin a new, may we strive with all that is within us to trust God completely and entirely.

"Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His Word. Just to rest upon His promise, just to know thus saith the Lord."

December 30th - "God's Recipe"

"Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn."    I Kings 2:3

The recipe for success for 2009: obedience to God's Word, walking in His ways and under His charge. This is a time-tested recipe that cannot fail. God is a covenant keeping God to those who walk before Him with all their heart.

 

"He said, "O LORD, the God of Israel,  there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath,  keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart."    1 Kings 8:23

December 29th - "End of the Year Exam"

"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD."    Lamentations 3:40

 

"A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."           

 1 Corinthians 11:28-32

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?”   2 Corinthians 13:5

As we find ourselves at the end of year, while facing the beginning of a new one, let's examine ourselves; perform a self-exam to see how we are doing in our spiritual walk with the Lord. Are you closer to Jesus now then you were in the beginning of this year? What steps can you take to draw nearer? Set goals and make a plan for your new year’s spiritual journey.

"It's a dream until you write it down, and then it's a goal."    Anonymous

BIG IDEA: If we exam ourselves, and set goals, we will be better followers of Christ.

December 28th - "He Hears Our Cries"

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears."    2 Samuel 22:7

Our cries never fall on deaf ears. Though it may seem that we are on our own, that heaven doesn't care, that God has left us; He is careful watching over us. Our heavenly Father hears and He answers the cry of those in distress. We may not understand why He delays and sometimes God doesn't make sense due to the limited knowledge we have; but know this today - He hears your cry. When we are thrown into the wine press, we all have a decision to make. Will we become bitter or sweet? That choice is ours alone to make. Will we choose to believe that God hears and cares, or will we abandon or faith and choose to believe that if there is a God, He doesn't care about us? Like Job, everything we have is subject to loss, everything except our faith. Our faith can only be taken from us if we allow it, if we abandon it. Job lost everything but his faith. Satan could not take that from him. Only Job could have abandoned it. If you lose your faith, you have lost it all. Like Job, hold on to your faith and don't let go. God hears. One day it will be worth it all. Hold on!

 

"The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters.  The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch.  Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job's daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years."    Job 42:12-17

December 27th - "Turn On the Light"

"For You are my lamp, O LORD; and the LORD illumines my darkness."

2 Samuel 22:29

Have you ever tried to walk down a dimly lit path? Have you ever wandered away from a campfire's glow to find your way to your tent? Life can leave us in the dark, but there is hope. The Light of the world has come to light our path. There is no greater Light that can illuminate our way. Jesus stands ready to help all those who will call upon Him in truth. His Word is our flashlight.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."     Psalm 119:105

December 26th - "God is in Control"

"Be strong, and let us show ourselves courageous for the sake of our people and for the cities of our God: and may the Lord do what is good in HIs sight."               2 Samuel 10:12

This is how we are to live (strong and courageous) with the knowledge that at the end of the day, the Lord is in control. As we diligently obey Him and walk in His truth, as we give our very best to succeed; then we can rest and say, "May the Lord do what is good in HIs sight." It is wonderful to live in such a way that we can rest knowing that we have purposed to do His will and the rest is up to Him.

 

"It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them."    Psalm 46:1-2

 

December 25th - "Redeemed"

 "On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity."    Zechariah 13:1

That day has come, Oh blessed Christmas morn! A Saviour has been born! A fountain has been opened to cleanse us from all our sins. This is "good news of great joy!" Oh let us remember what a blessed day this is when the history of mankind has been changed forever. Jesus, now the risen Lord of Lords and King of Kings, stands ready to cleanse and forgive all who will bow to His Lordship. Redeemed, what a glorious reality, I have been redeemed!

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."    Luke 2:10-12

December 24th - "God of Breakthroughs"

"So David came to Baal-perazim and defeated them there: and he said, "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthroughs of waters.'"    2 Samuel 5:20

This is to be our expectation because Christ has triumphed over all. Imagine a great waterfall and the tremendous force of the water as it rushes over the edge; then, make David's words your confession, "The Lord has broken through my enemies before me like the breakthroughs of waters." I have stood at the top of the mighty Niagara Falls and can think of nothing that could hold it back. Likewise, there is no one, no devil, or any circumstance that can hold back our Redeemer from our rescue.

"These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings." Revelation 17:14a

December 23rd - "Our Peace"

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times... He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace."          
Micah 5:2-5

Jesus is our peace. Not the economy, not our checking account, nor our savings; but Jesus, He is our peace. Don't let your peace be replaced by your concerns or worries. He has come, He has triumphed! This prophecy written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, is still in full force today, thousands of years later. Jesus never changes. Your circumstances are always changing so don't base your peace upon them. Let Jesus be your peace today. He is "standing shepherding His flock in the strength of the Lord." We "live securely" because of HIs strength and majesty. Oh Hallelujah! Our peace has come.

December 22nd - "Taking Dominion"

"A man came to meet us," they replied. "And he said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, "This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending men to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" ' "The king asked them, "What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this? "They replied, "He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite." Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!' " Elijah answered the captain, "If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!" Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men."    2 Kings 1:6-10

Heaven responded to Elijah's words, "If I am a man of God."  Elijah spoke words of faith on earth, and heaven made his words a reality. He spoke and believed, and it was done. Have you ever spoken these words, "If I be a man (or woman) of God, let ..." These words come out of those who are under God's authority and those who walk in His authority. This is the place that God wants us to walk in, enforcing His dominion into all the earth. We are here to "bind and to loose" God's will in the earth. Ask yourself today, "Is there any of heaven's power. heaven's authority, backing up my words?"

"Let the saints rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. May the praise of God be in their mouths and a double-edged sword in their hands, to inflict vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples, to bind their kings with fetters, their nobles with shackles of iron, to carry out the sentence written against them. This is the glory of all his saints. Praise the LORD."   

Psalm 149:5-9