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.

2 Chronicles 24-25, Ecclesiastes 2:12-26, Matthew 16

What God said to me – You’ve heard it said, “it’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts.”  Look at the thief on the cross – he lived in sin his entire life and was convicted and sentenced to die, but he cried out to Me in the end, and he was saved.  Now look at Judah’s King Joash – he was providentially saved when he was a baby and became heir to the throne when all the others in line had been murdered.  He was hidden in the temple and raised by a priest.  He did what was right in My sight as long as the priest was alive.  However, after Jehoiada, the priest, died, Joash abandoned Me and My temple, so I forsook him and executed judgment on him.  Then there was King Amaziah – he did what was right in My sight but not with his whole heart.  He served Me when it suited him, but he was more concerned about his glory than Mine and in the end, he was defeated and humiliated.  No matter where you are in your walk with Me or how long you’ve been Mine, make it your goal to finish well, to please Me, and to wholeheartedly do what is right in My sight.  Make your finish count!

2 Chronicles 22-23, Ecclesiastes 2:1-17, Matthew 15:21-39

What God said to me – Have you ever wondered how the disciples could have been so dense?  How didn’t they get it even when they had seen Me feed the five thousand with a few fish and loaves of bread and heal the lame and crippled and mute and blind and cast out demons?  Even though they had seen and experienced all of these things firsthand, when I told them that I wanted to feed another large crowd of people, they were at a loss as to how it could be done.  In the midst of the circumstance, they floundered.  Rather than connect the dots by looking back at their past experiences with Me, they were overwhelmed by their present dilemma.  Your walk with Me – this lifelong conversation – is a brick-by-brick building of your faith and growing you to maturity in your faith.  So, when you are faced with something that is seemingly impossible and you can’t see an answer or a way out, stop – quit looking at the circumstances and go back and look at all the times I have been faithful and how I answered your prayers.  Don’t look at the trial you are in but look to Me and trust that I will be faithful again.