Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 17:1-15. Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 17:11-14 (NIV) 
11  When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom.
12  He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.
13  I will be his father, and he will be my son. I will never take my love away from him, as I took it away from your predecessor.
14  I will set him over my house and my kingdom forever; his throne will be established forever.'”

On verses 1-15: David desires to build a house for God, a permanent venue where God’s people can worship Him regularly (v1).  Though Nathan the prophet is at first approving of this plan (v2), God gives Nathan a message for David that night, which is that, in fact, God wants to build a house for David (v10).  In particular God promises to make David’s name among the greatest men who ever lived (v8), to provide a safe and peaceful place for his countrymen the Israelites (v9) and to subdue David’s enemies (v10).  God says He will do this by raising up a son of David to succeed David (v11) and that this son of David would build a house for God.  Not only that, God promises that this son of David would have authority over God’s own house and God’s own kingdom, and that his kingdom will last forever (v14)!   What can we learn from this?

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 16:31-43.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 16:36 (NIV) 
36  Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the LORD.”

On verses 31-36:   David finishes his beautiful worship song and the people respond by saying “Amen”.  “Amen” means “it is true”.  When we say “Amen” in prayer or in response to preaching, three things happen: (1) you take personal ownership of what is being prayed or preached, and that strengthens your own faith; (2) you encourage the person who is speaking, building an atmosphere of faith and unity with that person and others who hear; and (3) you invite God to build His church in your midst, for God loves to work in an atmosphere of unity and faith.  In other words, each time you say “AMEN”, you get edified, your church gets unified, and God’s name gets glorified.  So be out loud and responsive to the prayers and preaching of others at church.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 16:7-18.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 16:19-22 (NIV) 
19  When they were but few in number, few indeed, and strangers in it,
20  they wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
21  He allowed no man to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings:
22  “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.”

On verses 19-22:  Here David recounts how God protected the nation of Israel, even from its humble beginnings.  What can we learn from this?  God is a protector.  If you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you have the most complete protection of any human being.  Because of Jesus Christ, you have protection from the wrath of God, protection from the enemy’s attacks, protection from any ultimate pain or harm, and protection for an awesome destiny.  For You have God Almighty on your side, who keeps you from harm and who has spoken the most complete word of protection over your life.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 16:7-18.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 16:7 (NIV) 
7  That day David first committed to Asaph and his associates this psalm of thanks to the LORD: 

On verses 7-18:  David wrote this song and instructed his worship band to lead it on the day that they brought the ark to Jerusalem (v7).  You can find part of it in Psalm 105. 
 
Want a simple and effective plan for drawing near to God and experiencing His joy and peace?  Take each of the following lines in David’s song and live it out.  Verses 8-18 give us 6 practical steps you can take to draw near to God today. 
 
For example:
 
1 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV) 
8  Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 

Hi GAMErs,
 
Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 15:25-16:6.  Let’s go!
 
1 Chronicles 15:25-28 (NIV) 
25  So David and the elders of Israel and the commanders of units of a thousand went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the house of Obed-Edom, with rejoicing. 
26  Because God had helped the Levites who were carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD, seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. 
27  Now David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as were all the Levites who were carrying the ark, and as were the singers, and Kenaniah, who was in charge of the singing of the choirs. David also wore a linen ephod. 
28  So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams’ horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.

On verses 26-28:  Here David leads all of Israel in welcoming the ark into Jerusalem with rejoicing (v25), sacrificing (v26), singing (v27), shouting (v28) and musical instruments (v28).  If that is the way God’s people in the Old Testament worshiped in God’s presence, how much more do we have reason to rejoice, sacrifice, sing, shout and play music in the presence of the Lord, who died for us, rose again and is alive today.