A Strong Foundation

King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: A Strong Foundation
Date: Thursday July 28, 2011
Chapters: Isaiah 39-40, Proverb 28, Psalm 48
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-july-28
Details of Today's Chapters: Hezekiah’s folly, the Babylonian captivity of Judah is foretold, the preaching of the Gospel, and glad tidings of the coming of Christ, the almighty power of God, the folly of idolatry, and disbelief.

Hello My Friend/Guest,

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” - I Corinthians 3:10-15.

No matter what we do in life if we build it upon the foundation of Christ it will prosper, to prosper means to favor, to render successful, to succeed. In other words, Christ will not only favor your efforts He will also make them successful. Now, every area of life, work, family, marriage, serving God, has it's difficulties and there will be times when we suffer loss, but as long as we built it upon the foundation of Christ our efforts will not go unnoticed and we will see the blessings and rewards of our faithfulness.

Hezekiah was a godly and wise man, he saw one miracle after an other because of his faith in God, which brought a lot of fame his way, nations all over the world wanted to come and pay tribute to him. However, through all the fame came a boastful attitude, which would prove problems for not him, but all of Judah.

“At that time Merodachbaladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah: for he had heard that he had been sick, and was recovered. And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour, and all that was found in his treasures: there was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not...Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD.” - Isaiah 39:1,2,5,6.

Several reasons why God called judgment upon Hezekiah comes to play, one being his pride, if we are not careful our pride can take over and leave us with a me, myself, and I attitude, notice it says that he showed them of his precious things. Second, Hezekiah erred in showing the outside world everything that he possessed, by showing them everything exposed all his secrets and gave Babylon an advantage to defeat them. We need to be careful when we become prosperous not to forget that it came from God, we are to acknowledge Him in everything, if we don't, we start losing sight of Him and all of a sudden God starts taking things away from that foundation. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths...Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” - Proverb 3:6,9,10.

Although God did foretell Judah's captivity to Babylon He did promise that it would not last. Amazingly, God will chastise His people, but after the chastisement He rewards us, only God can do that. We learn of the amazing coming of our Savior and His help in delivering us from our iniquities.

“Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it...Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” -Isaiah 40:2-5, 10,11.

Chastisement, whether coming from God or anyone else is given to teach us not to do that anymore, but often with chastisement comes knowledge, wisdom, strength, and morality. Above all chastisement from God brings us closer to Him and the promises that He made. Our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ promises us a pardon from all our iniquities. Thanks to Jesus we can look to God and are spotless, sinless, children of God. “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” - I Peter 1:18-21.

Jesus is our shepherd, at present, we can not come to Him, but He can always come to us, He reaches down His arm, grabs a hold of us and never lets go of us. When you build your life upon the foundation of Christ all your cares, worries, and sorrows become His and it is only through Him that you can truly find peace and prosperity as you let Him take your hand. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:30. Praise God!

Today's Prayer:
Jesus,
I know that things are not always going to be easy, but I also know that You are with me through every trial, circumstance, and even chastising. You are my Lord and Savior, when I build my life upon Your foundation I know I will find peace and prosperity. Lord, lead me and guide me, help me build every area of my life upon Your foundation. When things get crazy help me to never forget that You are always with me and will give rest to my burdened soul. I love you Lord and ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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