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Week Two: Breaking Ground Day 10: Foundation Stones
April 5, 2016
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"Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of
unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes
and showers righteousness upon you."
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MORNING MEDITATION
Glean the Word:
2 Samuel 7:1-16
Glimpse of Glory: "The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His kingdom will never end." (Luke 1:32b, 33)
From the moment the Lord began the work of Creation, He purposed that the world He created would become the chosen piece of property for building His house - the prime piece of real estate in all the universe. When our Creator finished excavating His parcel of land - placing the mountains in their proper position for the most majestic views, meticulously laying out the landcaping to capture the most beautiful colors and fragrances, setting up the irrigation system so that His work would continue to be fruitful and thrive, and implementing many other wonderful details that would point to the work of a Master Craftsman - He then entrusted the care of His land into the hands of a landlord and his wife, while He went about His work making sure they had everything they needed for a peaceful and fruitful life. "In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will roll them up like a robe; like a garment they will be changed. But You remain the same, and Your years will never end" (Hebrews 1:10b-12). From the very beginning of His building project, God laid out a masterful plan, and every phase of His grand project has been unfolding as He has purposed and planned. "For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything" (Hebrews 3:4). Despite the challenges in the human resources department, with all the problems His workers create because they fail to listen, show up late, or don't show up for work at all - His grand design has progressed right on schedule and will be completed at the proper time! "...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6b). "The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
God has raised up faithful foreman to carry out His plans and to instruct the building crew. From out of an empty file drawer of applicants, God found His first leader in faithful Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:1-15); and then He promoted Moses from Pharaoh's palace to lead His chosen people to the promise land (Exodus 3:1-17); later He chose a shepherd working in the fields - David, a man after His own heart - who would lead the people as king, and, through His reign and offspring, provide a beautiful rendering of what the completed project would look like and eventually be. "Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever" (2 Samuel 7:16). God's promise to David pointed to the finished work of His glorious plan - Jesus Christ, the Savior, whose reign would never end. Our Creator is the Sovereign Lord who has created all things and is upholding all things by His Word, and by His sovereign power He will fulfill every detail of His perfect plan. Let us join, without ceasing, with the prayers of the many faithful saints who have gone before us, as they fervently prayed for the fulfillment of God's incredible, magnificent, and eternal kingdom plan: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
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AFTERNOON DEVOTION
Glean the Word: Acts 13:17-41
Gift of Grace: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; love and faithfulness go before You." (Psalm 89:14)
God chose Israel to be the channel through whom He would bless the whole world with His Word and His Son, Jesus Christ. God laid the foundation of His plans with Abraham and then further expanded and built upon them with David. "...I will make an everlasting covenant with you, My faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples" (Isaiah 55:3b,4). God selected Israel to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. "I have found David son of Jesse a man after My own heart; he will do everything I want him to do. From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as He promised...We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers He has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus" (Acts 13:22b-23, 32-33a). The Lord's plans have unfolded just as He has purposed them from the beginning. Not one word He has promised has failed (Numbers 23:19). The world was created, and a people where chosen and preserved, so that through them the Savior could be born into this world. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came from David's family, just as was promised. He suffered and died, was buried, and arose again, and He now sits on the eternal throne in heaven as our faithful intercessor.
God has laid a strong foundation upon which all His other plans have been built. "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). Sadly, God's chosen people, Israel, neglected the role they had been given as builders on God's construction crew, and they rejected the One that had been sent to complete the glorious work. "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Matthew 21:42). Praise God His work cannot be thwarted by the scheming and best laid plans of man. "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19:21). The Lord's blueprint was simply handed to a new crew, for a little while, who, armed with His power, would carry on His plans. "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (v. 43). Israel may have stumbled over the stone that is Christ Jesus, but that precious stone became the chief cornerstone of a new and glorious building that is "marvelous in our eyes." "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are becoming built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit" (Ephesians 2:19-22). Let us not think for a moment that God's original promise to Israel is a plan that was tossed aside, or that the church that was birthed has taken their place - we are simply a part of His glorious plan - and the building of the one new man made from the two will eventually be completed (Ephesians 2:14-18). The Lord is still working from that original set of blueprints as the final phase of His building plan is unfolding before our eyes. May we, the church, the Body of Christ, be found faithful with the plans that have been entrusted to our care, and diligently seek God everyday in His Word and in prayer, so that we will be able to carry out the details of His plan with the utmost of urgency and care! "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain" (Psalm 127:1).
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EVENING PRAYER
Glean the Word: Psalm 118
Fruit of Repentance: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptable with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:28-29)
This evening our prayer focus will be on Jesus our Rock and our firm foundation (click on the image below for our evening prayer).
"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:3-6).
Click on the image below to draw close to the fire
and experience the warmth, love and light of Christ
as we come boldly before the Throne of Grace and
join our hearts together in prayer:
HARVEST The Kingdom of God Copyright © 2009, 2016 Traci A. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.
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