2 Chronicles 29, Ecclesiastes 5, Matthew 18:15-35

What God said to me – Everyone has something to say.  They want everyone to hear what they have to say and think and why they think it and what they know and why their way is the best and on and on.  Yet I admonish you in My word to be quick to hear and slow to speak.  You goal in your relationships should be to build one another up and to encourage one another and to meet needs as I reveal them to you.  You can’t do that by always talking – you need to listen also.  I mean really “listen” – not just with your ears, but with your heart and with your spirit.  When you do that, you will find that in their ranting, or babbling, or bragging, you’ll begin to sense a need or an area they need ministering to begin to become apparent and then you can seek My guidance as to how you should proceed.  Even in your relationship with Me, you should draw near to listen and not just to speak.  This is a lifelong conversation, not a monologue.  Listening to what I have to say is where you will experience peace and joy and learn who I truly am.

2 Chronicles 28, Ecclesiastes 4, Matthew 18:1-20

What God said to me – Your walk with Me is not just important – it is essential.  To walk in a manner worthy of your calling, this daily conversation is a vital part of your training and transformation into My image.  But fellowship with other believers is also an important and necessary part of your growth.  I never intended for you to walk with Me only, but I made you a part of a body, My church.  Just as a hand or an eye or a liver cannot survive and thrive outside the body, neither can you.  You need them and they need you in order for all to grow and minister as I intended.  Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes that a cord of three strands is not easily broken.   Think about that – a rope made with two strands wrapped around each other is easily pulled apart, but a rope with three strands woven together is difficult to pull apart.  In the same way, “I AM” the third strand in your relationships with other believers that binds you together.  When two or three are gathered in My name, “I AM” in their midst.

2 Chronicles 26-27, Ecclesiastes 3, Matthew 16:24-28 to 17

What God said to me – “I AM” a forgiving Father and “I AM” faithful to forgive My children and to cleanse them when they come to Me and repent and confess their sin.  However, while all sin is bad, there are some sins that have long term consequences and that will affect your life and witness as long as you live, even though I have forgiven you.  Look at King Uzziah.  He was a king in Judah who was strong and successful, and he did what was right in My sight.  But when he became so strong, he also became so proud in his heart that he publicly acted corruptly and violated My house and My law.  As a result, I struck him with leprosy in judgment and the consequences changed his whole life.  As a leper, he could no longer come into My house or even live among others side by side.  He was still king, but he lived in isolation.  So, learn from Uzziah’s story.  Walk with Me in humility and gratitude so that you don’t blatantly sin and be separated from others.  Blatant sin hinders your witness to them because they can’t separate who you are from what you’ve done, even when you have repented.  Walk in a manner worthy of you calling.  Be holy as “I AM” holy.