Good morning! We have had one of the prettiest mornings in Southeast Georgia–there was actually a slight, and I do mean slight coolness in the air. A perfect way to begin the day.
I hope you had a fabulous weekend. We did! We got 2 of our grands on Saturday and they spent the night with us. We played in the pool till it rained, then we painted rocks. We ended the night with a couple of movies and some “Just Dance”. On Sunday we celebrated Ben and Zach’s birthdays. We had a bit of a Mexican Fiesta and hanging out with family.
Do you want to know what blew my mind yesterday?
It had nothing to do with family, Mexican food, or birthdays.
My mind was blown early in the morning when I was reading my Bible. Like 4:30 a.m. early because you can’t sleep early.
I have challenged myself to Read the Bible through in a year. Yes, this is something I’ve tried to do in the past and I can say I have successfully failed EVERY OTHER TIME. So when I began this past year I tried something a little different. I’m actually using the YouVersion Bible App. It tracks my progress and sends me little reminders if I forget. I can’t say that I haven’t gotten behind–because I have, but I can always get back on track and so far, I have managed to keep up with the plan.
My plan has a devotion, a portion of scriptures from either Psalm or Proverbs, an Old Testament part and a New Testament reading.
Yesterdays Mind Blowing Moment came when I was reading from 2 Chronicles 16. In this Chapter a seer named Hanani is telling King Asa why he was in trouble. Apparently, King Asa had relied on the Lord for his victory against the Ethiopians and the Libyans and had great success, but he later relied on the King of Syria during another encounter instead of the Lord and did not find success in that battle. In verse 9 it says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” ESV
Stop right there! Immediately–where did your mind go?
Did you think of other verses that talk about going “to and fro”?
In Job 1:7 “The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.”
AND
1 Peter 5:8 says, ” Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. “
I had never realized that there were parallel verses that used such similar wording to compare and contrast the Lord and Satan. Did you know this verse existed?
Let’s look at the differences between these verses. The eyes of the Lord are looking for those whose heart is blameless towards him so that He can give them strong support. Meaning we can rely on Him and trust in Him, and he will provide the strength we need to endure whatever comes our way.
Now look at the contrasting verses about Satan. It says He was out going to and fro on the earth and also it says that he is prowling around looking for someone to devour. The complete opposite of what God wants to do in our lives! God is looking for those to build up, give them strength, help them be successful in their tasks. While Satan is on the lookout for those that he can tear down, destroy their witness, and devour their faith and trust in Jesus.
While I had known about those verses in Job and Peter, and I know about the Lord’s omnipresence and omnipotence, I just had never realized there was a verse that so closely rebutted the schemes of Satan.
Can you say new– favorite–go to verse?
The Lord is looking for blameless hearts so that He can build them up and give them great strength in Him.
What does it mean to have a heart that is blameless towards God? A powerful example is Job. Job was a man with great integrity, he relied and trusted in the Lord, he loved his family, he was consistent with his faith walk, and he wanted to do good for others. I’d say this is a pretty good example to follow.
Lean into that today!
