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"True Prosperity" by Gary Huff
2 Chronicles 31:1 After all this was over, all Isra’el who were there went out to the cities of Y’hudah and smashed the standing-stones, chopped down the sacred poles, and broke down the high places and altars throughout Y’hudah, Binyamin, Efrayim and M’nasheh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the people of Isra’el returned to their own cities, each to his own possession.
2 Hizkiyahu re-established the divisions of the cohanim and L’vi’im in accordance with the way the divisions had been before, with each man assigned his task, both the cohanim and the L’vi’im, for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to serve, to give thanks and to praise at the gates of Adonai’s camp. 3 He determined a portion of the king’s property to be given for the burnt offerings, that is, for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for burnt offerings on Shabbats, Rosh-Hodesh and the designated times, as prescribed by the Torah of Adonai. 4 He also ordered the people living in Yerushalayim to contribute the portion meant for the cohanim and L’vi’im, so that they would be submitting themselves to the Torah of Adonai. 5 As soon as the order was issued, the people of Isra’el gave in abundance from the firstfruits of the grain, wine, olive oil, honey and other agricultural produce; they brought the required tenth and more. 6 The people of Isra’el and Y’hudah living in the cities of Y’hudah also brought the required tenth of oxen and sheep and the required tenth of consecrated gifts that had been dedicated to Adonai their God, and piled them in heaps. 7 They began accumulating these heaps in the third month and completed them in the seventh month. 8 When Hizkiyahu and the leaders came and saw the heaps, they blessed Adonai and his people Isra’el. 9 When Hizkiyahu asked the cohanim and L’vi’im about the heaps, 10 ‘Azaryahu the chief cohen, from the house of Tzadok, answered him, “Ever since the people began bringing offerings into the house of Adonai, we have had enough to eat and plenty left over; for Adonai has blessed his people, and what is left over is this massive supply.”
20 This is what Hizkiyahu did throughout all Y’hudah. He accomplished things that were good, right and faithful before Adonai his God. 21 Every project that he undertook in order to seek his God, whether in the service of the house of God or in connection with the Torah and the mitzvot, he did with all his heart; and so he succeeded.
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I suspect almost everyone has done some task or duty halfheartedly at least once in their life. Perhaps it was in childhood when your parents asked you to clean your room. Rather than actually clean, you may have just pushed stuff into the closet or under the bed so that things would appear clean when, in actuality, they were not. The problem with the approach we might have taken as a child is that we are not really interested in a clean room; we just want to appease a request made by our parents. It leads to halfhearted obedience.
It’s possible to live a “quasi-Christian” life halfheartedly. You might be going through the motions because someone placed expectations on you and it is defining your life.
The true prospering of our lives begins when we walk not just in semi-obedience but with the totality of our heart toward God. When our hearts are so moved by God, in part for what He has done for us, we are willing to do whatever we can to please Him, and it actually becomes pleasing for us.
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Hymn for Today: "Rise Up, O Church of God" by William P. Merrill
1. Rise up, O Church of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and mind and soul and strength
To serve the King of kings.
2. Rise up, O Church of God!
His kingdom tarries long;
Bring in the day of brotherhood
And end the night of wrong.
3. Rise up, O sons of God!
The Church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task,
Rise up, and make her great!
4. Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod;
As foll'wers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O Church of God!
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Thought of the Day: Deuteronomy 6:5 and you are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, all your being and all your resources.
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Please Pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Jamaica.
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Please Pray: For the development of Christian leaders in Jamaica.
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