April 18: Seven Simple Steps to Serenity

1 Chron. 26:12-29:22, 23:1

1 Chronicles 28:9-10

The Message (MSG)

^9-10 “And you, Solomon my son, get to know well your father’s God; serve him with a whole heart and eager mind, for God examines every heart and sees through every motive. If you seek him, he’ll make sure you find him, but if you abandon him, he’ll leave you for good. Look sharp now! God has chosen you to build his holy house. Be brave, determined! And do it!”

This is wise advice for each one of us. And for our children!
This is the Christian walk in a nutshell! 

1 Chronicles 29:1-20

The Message (MSG)

They Get Ready to Build

29 ^1-5 Then David the king addressed the congregation: “My son Solomon was singled out and chosen by God to do this. But he’s young and untested and the work is huge—this is not just a place for people to meet each other, but a house for God to meet us. I’ve done my best to get everything together for building this house for my God, all the materials necessary: gold, silver, bronze, iron, lumber, precious and varicolored stones, and building stones—vast stockpiles. Furthermore, because my heart is in this, in addition to and beyond what I have gathered, I’m turning over my personal fortune of gold and silver for making this place of worship for my God: 3,000 talents (about 113 tons) of gold—all from Ophir, the best—and 7,000 talents (214 tons) of silver for covering the walls of the buildings, and for the gold and silver work by craftsmen and artisans.

“And now, how about you? Who among you is ready and willing to join in the giving?”
^6-8 Ready and willing, the heads of families, leaders of the tribes of Israel, commanders and captains in the army, stewards of the king’s affairs, stepped forward and gave willingly. They gave 5,000 talents (188 tons) and 10,000 darics (185 pounds) of gold, 10,000 talents of silver (377 tons), 18,000 talents of bronze (679 tons), and 100,000 talents (3,775 tons) of iron. Anyone who had precious jewels put them in the treasury for the building of The Temple of God in the custody of Jehiel the Gershonite.
⁹ And the people were full of a sense of celebration—all that giving! And all given willingly, freely! King David was exuberant.
^10-13 David blessed God in full view of the entire congregation:

Blessed are you, God of Israel, our father
    from of old and forever.
To you, O God, belong the greatness and the might,
    the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendor;
Yes! Everything in heaven, everything on earth;
    the kingdom all yours! You’ve raised yourself high over all.
Riches and glory come from you,
    you’re ruler over all;
You hold strength and power in the palm of your hand
    to build up and strengthen all.
And here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to you,
    praising your splendid Name.

^14-19 “But me—who am I, and who are these my people, that we should presume to be giving something to you? Everything comes from you; all we’re doing is giving back what we’ve been given from your generous hand. As far as you’re concerned, we’re homeless, shiftless wanderers like our ancestors, our lives mere shadows, hardly anything to us. God, our God, all these materials—these piles of stuff for building a house of worship for you, honoring your Holy Name—it all came from you! It was all yours in the first place! I know, dear God, that you care nothing for the surface—you want us, our true selves—and so I have given from the heart, honestly and happily. And now see all these people doing the same, giving freely, willingly—what a joy! O God, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep this generous spirit alive forever in these people always, keep their hearts set firmly in you. And give my son Solomon an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what you command, live by your directions and counsel, and carry through with building The Temple for which I have provided.”

²⁰ David then addressed the congregation: “Bless God, your God!” And they did it, blessed God, the God of their ancestors, and worshiped reverently in the presence of God and the king.

I'm enjoying reading about happy events. Instead of war, killing and rape. Just saying...

This is what the Christian walk is about! Joyous giving of ourselves! Sacrificial giving. Not just money and things. But our time and our abilities as well! I'm not talking about only to the church, although this is a part of giving for sure! As we see in this scripture passage. I'm talking about whenever you see a human with a need and you are able to help with your time, talent, money or things. Maybe all they need is a Bible Study, which involves our time. Freely give what we have been freely given!

Happiness is simple. 1. Cast your cares on the Lord, for He cares for you. (Ps. 55:22, 1 Peter 5:7) 2. Freely forgive. Even when you don't receive an apology. Over and over. As many times as it takes. 3. Constantly cleanse your heart. Don't harbor bitterness towards God or man. (Has God taken a loved one from you? This is so hard to understand! Talk to Him about it. Pour everything out over and over. Don't harbor bitterness towards God. Lay it down at the foot of the cross. No, I don't understand your pain, but my turn will come. Death comes to all of us.) 4. Be honest with yourself. (Our heart is deceitful and desperately wicked! Jer. 17:9) Sometimes we say we have forgiven but we have an annoying, icky feeling in our heart. Give the icky feeling to God. As many times as it takes until its gone. If it comes back, just give it to God again. As many times as it takes. It's like the discipline of lifting weights. Not exactly fun while you're doing it (over and over, every day), but afterwards, your body thanks you! Over and over! Your heart will thank you as well! There's nothing like the peace of mind when your heart is clean! There's nothing like the squeaky clean feeling you will have after crying and sobbing at the foot of the Cross. (Wash me Lord and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7) 5. Freely give! Of everything God has given you! Even your precious time. You will be rewarded over and over. In order to feel love, freely give love away! It comes back over and over and over. 6. Linger. Chillax! (I never use this word lol) Don't rush through your time with God, while your mind is far away. Fully embrace every moment in His presence. Fully engage in His word. Rise earlier so you're not rushed. Linger with your loved ones. Focus your eyes on their eyes. This may be your last few moments with them. You don't know the future. Cherish every moment of this day God has given you. 7. Take everything up a notch. Maybe you are missing a key ingredient in your happiness project. Spend more time in prayer, more time getting to know yourself, give more, love more, sacrifice more. Why not? You have nothing to lose and everything to gain! 

"Dear God, Wow! You have really spoken to and through me today! I am humbled and awed at what happens when a regular person opens up her heart and starts searching and typing. I feel very convicted right now. I must take Your words to MY heart and change the way I'm living my life. I can rush through my chores, that's okay. But I must stop rushing through relationships. My relationship with You and also my relationship with my family, loved ones, and the beautiful souls you have placed in my path! Change me, O God. I want to savor every second of each day You've given me. I give You the glory and honor for what You are doing in me and through me. In Your precious name, Jesus. AMEN."