Gods battle plan - True worship

Scripture:
2 Chronicles 20
War with Surrounding Nations 1 After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites[a] declared war on Jehoshaphat. 2 Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army from Edom[b] is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea.[c] They are already at Hazazon-tamar.” (This was another name for En-gedi.)
3 Jehoshaphat was terrified by this news and begged the Lord for guidance. He also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. 4 So people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord’s help.
5 Jehoshaphat stood before the community of Judah and Jerusalem in front of the new courtyard at the Temple of the Lord. 6 He prayed, “O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! 7 O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people Israel arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple to honor your name. 9 They said, ‘Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war,[d] plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this Temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.’
10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You would not let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so they went around them and did not destroy them. 11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land, which you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.”
13 As all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, 14 the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph.
15 He said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. You will find them coming up through the ascent of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the Lord’s victory. He is with you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out against them tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!”
18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed low with his face to the ground. And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites from the clans of Kohath and Korah stood to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout.
20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
21 After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the Lord and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the Lord; his faithful love endures forever!”
22 At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped.
25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing,[e] and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! 26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing,[f] which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the Lord there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today.
27 Then all the men returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, overjoyed that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies. 28 They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets, and they proceeded to the Temple of the Lord.

Observation:
insurmountable odds. there was no way the people of the Lord could win. there was no way out. what could they possibly do? The Lord here tells the King three thing to do
1. March out
2. Take your positions
3. Stand still and watch
I find it funny here that there is not one battle strategy given here from the Lord. earlier in the passage the message was given that the battle belonged to the Lord and they need not worry.

Application:
There are times in my life when i want to take up battle stance. Some offencive stance. When I want to stand and fight. I want to fight with persuasive words or old methods. Only to find that I get tired, worn and faithless. I like here the counsil given by the Lord. to march out, take my rightful position and stand and watch. This I can do.

Prayer:
Lord remind me to fight your way. I grow more like you. I love you my Jesus

Simply obey

Scripture:
2 Kings 5:11 But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn't’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.
13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir,[c] if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” 14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child’s, and he was healed!

Observation:
Naaman was inches away from forfeiting his healing. God had instructed him to follow a simple order (go down and wash 7 times). The crazy part of this order is that seems too easy. for some reason obedience to what the Lord should not be as hard as we make it.

The inability to simply obey almost cost Naaman a healed life. How much more me? when has the Lord simply asked me to follow a simply order, (tithe, seek forgiveness, reconcile with someone, keep short accounts ...)?

Application:
I need to note well that the Lord will not give me the next thing until i have finished the last thing He asked me to do. I don't believe obedience was ever intended to be a difficult thing. I think God wanted us to see what needed to be done and do it.

Prayer:
Lord will you help me to simply obey? I don't want to walk away from a healing or a blessing because I think your requirements are silly. - I love you Jesus

Real Love

Scripture:
1Timothy 1:5 The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. 6 But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. 7 They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.

Observation:
Love that comes from a
1. pure heart
2. clear concience
3. genuine faith
the point here is very clear. Paul here, inspired by the Holy Spirit, tells us that "love" is the big issue. not emotional love that stems from a set of "feelings" rather, genuine, pure and thoughtful Love.

Application:
I want my love to flow from a decision in my brain. I want to "feel" as a result of my choice to do that which is loving.

Prayer:
Lord, teach me how to love. Even the unlovely. I want to love like you love. I want my life to filled with your Heart for that which moves your heart - I love you my Jesus

Devoted Prayer

Scripture:
Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.

Observation:
Devote yourselves. here the Lord asks us to make Prayer a priority of devotion in our lives. often times our prayer lives end up being a glorified "wish list" to santa. A devoted prayer life is one of commitment. Full of open communication with Lord. Speaking and listening.

Application:
I want to have a devoted prayer life. one that engages my mind and my heart. i want more than some sort of list that I bring befor the Lord on some simi-regular basis. I want a prayer life that is life to me.

Prayer:
Lord help me to develope a devoted prayer life. Fully engeged in heart. mind and spirit. I want to have open heart2heart love with you my master - I love you

The Gracious arm of the Lord

Scripture:
1 Kings 21:27 But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.
28 Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: 29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”

Observation:
i believe we can never fully understand the loving grace of the Lord. Ahab was a disobedient, spineless, leader ovet the people of God. His disobedience and fear of the his wife over the fear of the Lord, was clear for all to see. Still the loving gracious arm of the Lord reached down to cover the simple humility Ahab showed.

Application:
May i always remember to repent. I never want to leave my disobedience un repented. The truth is that the Grace of the Lord can cover my stupidity if I will only allow Him

Prayer:
Lord you are so mercyful. It is hard to fathom how gracious you are. Thank you for the example of Grace and forgivness you show. Will you help me to do the same. I love you my Jesus

What are you doing here?

Scripture:
1 Kings 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And a voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Observation:
What are you doing here Elijah? What a great question that the Lord poses to Elijah. the funny thing is that the Lord told him to go Mount Sinai. Someting tells me that the physical location was not what the Lord was asking him about. Something tells me that He was asking Elijah about where he was in his heart.
Elijah 40 daye earlier just killed 450 prophets of Baal, helped to restore Israel to a right relationship wit the Lord and still discoragement set in. I think Gods question was an attempt to help Elijah to smap out of the funk he found himself in. "What are you doing here?" I think this question is really asking "What is going on in your head my friend?"

Application:
When my head gets the best of me, either by spiritual warfare or just my flesh wandering off into a crazy depressed place, I want to ask "Lance what are you doing here?"

Prayer:
Lord, help me to always remember to keep my head. At every turn, the enemy wants to take me out. I always want to remember to ask "What am i doing here?" to help me snap out of the funk. I love you Lord