This nation was blessed at its founding because the people that were involved sought the direction of God. The earliest settlers came to these shores with the desire to worship God free from persecution. There are those today that would rewrite that history. The names and the dates would stay the same but the motives and desires would be omitted. The prayers that were prayed would be left out. There are those that would take God out of our fine history. As God is taken out His blessing also goes with Him. As God is being removed from our nation today so also is His blessing. People have tried to build without God’s blessing. In the end these efforts fail, like a house built upon the sand. The winds of adversity come, the storms of life come, and the house falls. Only that which is built upon the solid rock will stand. That Rock is Jesus.

A tragic time in the life of the nation Israel came after the reign of King Solomon. In 931 BC Rehoboam, the son of Solomon became King of the Israelites. Under King Solomon the nation enjoyed relative peace. God also granted great prosperity as Solomon followed after the way and will of the Almighty. King Solomon did not stay true to God. He married women from other nations and allowed his many wives to worship their gods. As Solomon strayed, God’s hand of blessing was being removed as a result. In order to keep the standard of living, taxes went up. By the time Solomon had died the burden was heavy upon the people. The decline of the nation had begun.

It was in this environment that Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, was to become king. The name Rehoboam has a meaning. It means “a people has enlarged.” To me this is significant. Rehoboam is at a critical point. He can seek God. He can yield to God’s ways. He can be a man after God’s own heart. If he does, I believe that God who rewards those that diligently seek Him, (Hebrews 11:16) will enlarge the people. If Rehoboam chooses to be God’s man the name that had been given him would rove to be prophetic. Rehoboam sadly did not seek the Lord. He did not seek God’s will. He did not seek God’s way. He took the advice of man rather than seeking the guidance of the Almighty, All Knowing God of the universe. How foolish, how tragic, when we turn from God. The true and living God is not only all powerful but He is also Love. (1 John 4:8) Being Love, we find that God’s motives are pure. He is faithful and true. (Revelation 21:5)

Oh that we would be of sound mind as we face the challenges of life. Oh that we would seek the council of the One with infinite wisdom and understanding (Isaiah 11:1-2) Oh the grief and heartache that would be avoided, if we would but turn to God. He longs to guide us. (1 Peter 2:25) He longs to guide you.

All of Israel gathered to meet with the new king of Israel. They asked of him to lighten their taxation. If he would do this they would follow him. (1 Kings 12:) Rehoboam had it in his hands to strengthen all of Israel. He chose to speak harshly to the people and promised to increase their burden. (1 Kings 12:11) Because of the foolishness of Rehoboam the nation of Israel was divided. Then of the twelve tribes of Israel separated themselves from the rule of Rehoboam. These ten tribes became known as the northern tribes and retained the name Israel. The tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained under Rehoboam and are often referred to as Judah. The northern tribes chose a man to be their king. His name was Jeroboam. This name, Jeroboam means “the people will contend.” Jeroboam did indeed lead the northern tribes to contend. They were contentious with the southern tribes and they were contentious with God. Jeroboam led the northern kingdom into idolatry. This idolatry would be on e of the sins that would bring destruction and finally captivity. Again it is so sad because God had reached out to Jeroboam. (1 Kings 11:38) “And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.”

Wow! What a word to receive from God! What a promise from the Almighty! Jeroboam however turned from that offer. He chose another path.

Placing our lives in the hands of God can be a scary thing. There can be feelings of uncertainty. Questions arise when we are asked to step out in faith.

Noah had a number of obstacles to overcome as he obeyed God’s command to build an ark. He had to put up with the chiding of those that would not yield to God.

Consider the mother of Moses and the emotions she must have felt as she put her tiny baby into a small ark and placed it into the river, (Exodus 2:3) watching as the small craft with its precious cargo floated away. What joy she must have experienced as the daughter of Pharaoh opened it and had compassion on the child.

Consider also that wayward prophet. He was thrown into the sea. (Jonah 1:15) The sailors that cast him into the raging water knew it was to a certain death. As Jonah was given to the sea it stopped its raging. The scripture tells us that he was swallowed up by a great fish.

Can you imagine the fear that would grip a person as they realize that they are being swallowed up by a great fish? Without this fish Jonah would have perished. Without the ark, despite the anxiety it may have caused the child, Moses would have been killed by the decree of Pharaoh. By the provision of God Moses became as a son in Pharaoh’s household. Despite the humiliation that Noah experienced, the ark that he was building became a vessel of salvation!

God has chosen to reach out to mankind through His Son Jesus Christ.

The cross of Jesus Christ is foolishness to man. “For the reaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it s the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

God is reaching out to you today. Jesus, the Son is desiring to be your Savior. The Holy Spirit of god is desiring to lead, guide and direct. Put the fear aside and any thing else that would keep you from Him. Receive Him right now by faith. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.” (John 1:12)

This story was taken from a Sunday morning message at the Open Bible Church July 2004, the same weekend that Lou and I felt the Lord saying to take The Well Ministries full-time. I asked Pastor Bob if I could share his message in The Well so he rewrote it for publication.

I believe that it is time that we take a look at another perspective. The Bible, Gods Word gives us quite a different view. Look with me at what the Apostle Paul writes to believers in Ephesians the fifth chapter, verses one and two: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.”

Paul urges the believers in Jesus Christ to be followers of God. I would like you to take that in for a moment. How is it that I can a follower of God? Come on, this is just between you and me. I’m not able, let alone being worthy of such a thing. The good news of the Gospel, however, is that my salvation is not based on my worthiness. It is based on the worthiness of Jesus. And once I have received Jesus as my Savior, following after God is not based upon my strength or my wisdom but I am able to draw upon the strength and wisdom of God. The Holy Spirit comes to live within the believer help, to guide, to encourage. Now when Paul tells us to be followers of God I am confident, not in myself but my confidence is in Christ. He is able.

Paul tells us to be followers of God, as dear children. I don’t know about you but that strikes me as an awesome thing. If Jesus had died for me and let me be His servant for all eternity that would have been more that I deserve. What I deserve is to be separated from God because of my sin. God is Holy! I’m so grateful that He has made a way to be with Him. That way is the cross. As the blood of Jesus was poured forth God was making a way for anyone that would come to Him through His Son. Receiving Jesus gives us the power to become the children of God. The Gospel of John says it this way in the first chapter twelfth verse: “But to as many as received Him (Jesus) to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.”

What does that do to the vale of life? Well as Jesus was willing to die for us, and we are called the children of God, I would say the valve of life is so high in God’s eyes that I cannot begin to put a price on it.

What do you think about it? God paid a price for you. Jesus suffered and died on your behalf. Have you received Him as your Savior and Lord? Won’t you pray today, even right now? Jesus forgive me of my sins. I believe that you are God. I believe that you died to pay for my sins. Come into my life; please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Amen

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.”

Somewhere along the line we bought into the lie of the devil that depending upon God is a form of weakness. Confessing our need for God’s help and guidance is looked down on by some. We do have needs that we are unable to meet, needs that only God can meet. We were created in such a way that our needs would lead us to God. Our quest for self-sufficiency is out of the will of God. God is the only one that can meet our needs. If we reject this, we are doomed to lives full of confusion, frustration and finally destruction.

If we will seek the Lord personally and as a nation, we will find peace, joy and love. God is willing to equip us with all that we need. Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

As we seek God let us be reminded of the words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:3-12. “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

In these previous words the world finds weakness. To the Christian they are a strength to live. The kind of strength we need as a nation.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray a prayer that speaks of our utter dependency on God in Matthew 6:9-13, “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near” Isaiah 55:6

For the Christian, our significance ought to be found in our relationship with God. I think that mostly it is something we don’t think about but that we do actively pursue. To feel like we are important is not a bad thing. I think that we are misguided in our finding significance. When we’re kids we want to be the smartest or the one that saves the baseball game with a home run. There’s nothing wrong with these things unless it is where we find significance as a person. If we have to be the best to count as a person we set ourselves up for disappointment. Enough of these disappointments and we start to question our worth as a human being. This self doubt brings on all kinds of unhealthy things such as depression and anger. Let’s look to Jesus our example. Many times Jesus pointed out His relationship with the Father. “I and the Father are one,” Jesus would say. Jesus could have pointed to the feeding of the five thousand or the healing of the sick but He delighted to point to His relationship with the Father. Jesus certainly did many good works but these works were done out of a love relationship with His Father.

Like Jesus we also need to look at who we are as a result of our relationship with God in Jesus the Christ. If we have received Jesus as our Savior we are the children of God. John 1:12 As far as value is concerned we have been bought with a price. That great price is the very blood of Jesus shed for us upon the cross. What about our works then? Oh let us excel in good works. But let us not find our value or our significance in these things. Let us work, let us serve the living God out of grateful hearts. Let us find our significance in our relationship with God.