SECRETS TO SUCCESS
Part 3

“If you seek Him, He will be found by you,
but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever”
(1 Chronicles 28:9 HCSB).

6. NEVER GIVE UP SEEKING GOD

We learn this principle for success from two kings of Judah, Asa and Uzziah. Both began seeking God, but sadly their lives ended tragically.

Asa began his reign over Judah with great gusto. He did that which was good and right in the sight of the Lord. He stood strong against evil. He smashed down the altars of the strange gods, chopped down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and incense altars. And he commanded the people to seek the LORD God. And because they sought God with all their hearts, He gave them rest.

 In 2 Chronicles 14:4 Asa told the people: “Because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.”

He also trained a great army of 580,000 who were all brave warriors. But in this time of peace and blessing a huge army of one million men and 300 chariots came against them from Ethiopia. They were outnumbered. What would they do? Asa was in the habit of seeking the Lord so he cried out to God: “Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God: let not man prevail against thee” (2 Chronicles 14:11).

God heard his cry and smote the Ethiopians and they fled before Judah. All because he sought the Lord.

God wanted Asa to keep seeking Him so it would become a habit in his life. After this victory, He sent a prophet to him with the word of the Lord: “Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him;; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you: but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.:”

At that time Asa and the all the people “entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart and sought him with their whole desire: and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about.”

What a wonderful revival! But . . . after Asa had been reigning for 36 years, he became complacent and stopped seeking the Lord with all his heart. The king of Basha came against him and instead of crying out to the Lord as he did with the Ethiopian army, he contacted the king of Syria (a foreign king) to help him!

Another prophet of the Lord came to Asa and said: “Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. . . . Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”

Then Asa became “diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great. Yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians.” (2 Chronicles 16:12).

What a sad ending to a man who began seeking the Lord with his whole heart. This story is a great warning to us all that we must continue seeking the Lord. We must never give up until the day we die.

Psalm 105:4: “Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” The NET translation says: “Seek the LORD and the strength he gives! Seek his presence continually.”

You can read the full story of Asa in 2 Chronicles, chapters 14 – 16.

Next week we’ll find out what happened to Uzziah.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I want to seek your face daily. And I want to keep seeking your presence in my life until the day I see you face to face. Please keep tugging at me if ever I move away from Your presence. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

We are a family who seek God’s presence daily.

SECRETS TO SUCCESS
Part 2

“Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them,
that ye may prosper in all that ye do”
(Deuteronomy 29:9).

3. OBEY GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

We go back to God’s words to Joshua and find a third principle for success.

Joshua 1:7, 8: “Only be thou strong and very courageous that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.”

The word to Solomon in 1 Chronicles 22:11, 12 says: “Keep the law of the LORD thy God. Then shalt thou prosper.”

God did not write His law and His commandments for a joke. He wrote them for us to obey. He wrote them for us to know how to walk our daily lives. The amazing thing is that He promises that when we obey His words that He will bless us in whatever we do and wherever we go. You can’t get a better promise than that! Look at these promises:

Deuteronomy 29:9: “that you may prosper in all that you do.”

Joshua 1:7: “that you may prosper wherever you go.”

1 Kings 2:3: “that you may prosper in all that you do, and wherever you turn.”

2 Kings 18:6, 7: “(Hezekiah) kept his commandments . . . he prospered wherever he went.”

Could you want for anything more for you and your children? To prosper in whatever you do and wherever you go? It all hinges on your obeying God’s words.

4. DELIGHT IN GOD’S WORD

Psalm 1:2, 3: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf shall not wither and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

God looks for those who not only read His word, who not only obey it, but who delight in His Word. That means we don’t read God’s Word as a duty, but because it’s our pleasure. We desire it. We long after it. We are famished in our souls if we don’t eat from it every day.

If we delight in it, we will make it top priority to read it daily. To read it to our children daily. We will never put our family Bible reading aside for other things.

5. CLEAVE TO THE LORD

2 Kings 18:6 says: “(Hezekiah) clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth.”

To cleave to the Lord means to stick to Him, to be joined to him, to follow hard after him. It’s the same word that’s used for cleaving in our marriage. We become one with Him.

How close is your relationship with the Father? Is He part of everything you do and say? Do you include Him in everything in your life, even the mundane duties of each day? Everything you do will prosper when you cleave to Him.

More next week.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father God, fill me with such a longing for Your Word. Please help me as the mother of the home to do everything in my power to establish our daily Bible readings together as a family. I know that this is the greatest foundation for my children to prosper in the plan You have for their lives. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’d rather be rich in God’s Word than rich in this world’s goods.

SECRETS TO SUCCESS
Part 1

“’As for Me, this is My covenant with them,’ says the LORD:
‘My Spirit who is on you, and My words that I have put in your mouth,
will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouth of your children,
or from the mouth of your children’s children,
from now on and forever,’ says the LORD.”
(Isaiah 59:21 HCSB).

Does God want us to prosper? Yes. And He shows us the principles.

I found three different Hebrew words for the word success and prosper.

1. Tsalach meaning “to press forward, to break out.”
2. Sakal meaning “to have good success, to be wise, intelligent, have intellectual comprehension, to act in a prosperous manner, skill, understanding, and insight.
3. Shalah meaning “to be successful.’

I know it’s your desire to prosper in life. Even more, you long for your children to prosper. Let’s look at the principles God gives us to live a successful life.

1.    MEDITATE IN GOD’S WORD DAY AND NIGHT

Joshua 1:8: “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt MEDITATE THEREIN DAY AND NIGHT, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous (tsalach), and then thou shalt have good success (sakal).” Both Hebrew words are used here.

Our immediate thought about prospering is to send our children to college to get a degree so they are prepared to prosper in life. But God gives us a different plan. He tells us to meditate in His Word day and night. God’s Word should be our life. Our daily guide. Our counsellors for every question and need we have. Our wisdom and knowledge rather than the humanistic wisdom of this world.

Hosea 8:12 says: “I have written to him the GREAT things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.” God has given to us His great and amazing Word, filled with the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And yet to many Christians today His Word is a strange thing. It’s unrelated to their lives. They are not familiar with it. Many young people know more about the latest movies and actors than they do of God’s word.

The other evening we had some boys from a Christian family around our table. As we enjoyed Family Devotions together at the end of our evening meal, my husband began to read John 3:16 and asked the boys to finish the Scripture. To our chagrin, they did not even know it! And they came from a “Christian” home. And one was a teenager. How can God’s Word be strange to someone growing up in a Christian home?

How much time do you and your children spend in God’s Word?

2.    KEEP GOD’S WORDS IN YOUR MOUTHS

Joshua 1:8: “This book of the law SHALL NOT DEPART OUT OF THY MOUTH . . . for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

When will you have good success? When God’s Word is IN YOUR MOUTH. Not only in your heart but in your mouth! In your mouth, ready to speak out at any time and in any situation.

What about your children? Do you really want them to be successful in life? Then begin NOW to get Gods Word into their mouths. Read it together. Talk about it together. Memorize it together.

When you and your children have God’s word in your hearts and in your mouths, you are on the way to success. God always prospers His Word. Therefore, when you speak His Word from your mouth, that Word of God you speak will prosper in the situation or person into which you speak.

Isaiah 55:11 states: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall ACCOMPLISH that which I please, and it shall PROSPER in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Did you read the Scripture at the top? Can I ask you to read Isaiah 59:21 again? These words are a mandate from God for parents. Take hold of them for you and your family. Put them into practice.

Continuing next week.

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, I confess before You that You precious Word has not been preeminent in our home life. Please give to me, my husband, and our children a renewed love for Your Word. Help us to be faithful to get into our hearts and into our mouths. We want Your Word to be the most preeminent treasure in our home. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

God’s Word is going to be the foremost and most celebrated, distinguished, eminent, grandest, greatest, highest, important, matchless, outstanding, predominant, unrivaled, unequaled, and incomparable feature in our home!

P.S. Do you want to be inspired about getting God’s Word into your children. I would encourage you to read TEN Ps IN A POD.

TEN P’S IN A POD

A Million-Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family

By Arnold Pent III

This book is one of my favorites. It has always been a challenge to me of the impact of reading God’s Word to our children. The author of this book wrote it when he was 21 years old and it is still popular today. Recently my husband I enjoyed meeting this wonderful couple in our home and he testified of not only the impact of the Word in his own life as a young person but in the following generations. This habit is now continuing with his grandchildren.

It is the story of the million-mile journey of Arnold Pent, Jr. and his wife and eight children as they travelled through US and Canada together. The father preached along the way. But no matter where they were, or whoever they stayed with, they never gave up their practice of daily Bible reading and memorization.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/10PsBook

WHAT DO PEOPLE SAY?

“TEN P’S IN A POD should be required reading. I still count it among one of the handful of most important books I have ever read.” 

~ Andrée Seu Peterson, World Magazine Columnist

“Your book is a breath of fresh air.”

“In a society where the Bible is rarely read, even in Christian homes, this book should be necessary (but enjoyable) reading for EVERY Christian family.

 “How this husband and wife were able to take a family of eight children across both the United States and Canada throughout the 1950s and early 1960s in various old cars is a story worth reading.” 

—

This book is also available on Audio.

TEN P’S IN A POD AUDIO CD BOOK

A Million Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family

Read by the author.

Join a family of ten on a million-mile journey of evangelism, home education, and discipleship. Journaling his family’s travels, experiences, and ministry, Arnold Pent III (the third of eight children) first published this story in 1965 at the age of 21. You’ll learn of his father’s commitment to family Bible reading, Scripture memory, and singing together, as well as enjoy all the antics one might expect from piling eight children into two old cars and hitting the road to take the gospel message anywhere they found a group willing to listen.

Gather the family around and hear the story read by the author himself (now 75) and enjoy this heart-warming story. You and your family will be inspired.

Also contains music and Scripture recitations from the Pent Family Archives. Seven discs.

Go to: https://tinyurl.com/10PsAudioBook

What do people say?

“We have so enjoyed your print book and the audio version that we play several times a year in the car.” 

—

“My husband and I listened to your book with our children during a road trip from South Carolina to Maine. Then on our way from Maine to Ohio, we listened to it again. The last CD we listened to three times, repeating track 13 eight times.”

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO CLEAVE?
Part 4

“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.”
(Song of Songs 6:3).

Today we look at the last three Hebrews words used for “cleave.”

8. ABIDE/STAY CLOSE HERE

We find these words in the book of Ruth. Let’s read in Ruth 2:8, 33 (HCSB): “Then Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Listen, my daughter. Don’t go and gather grain in another field, and don’t leave this one, but STAY HERE CLOSE (dabaq) . . . Ruth STAYED CLOSE (dabaq) . . .“

God’s Word is not an ordinary book. Every line is alive with the power of God. Every story of a Bible character is not only a story about their lives but written for our example. 1 Corinthians 10:11 says: “Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.”

Although the above words were spoken directly to Ruth, I believe God also speaks His word to every mother through this Scripture. He says to us: “Don’t go and glean in another field. I have given you your field in which to glean. It is my perfect and best will for you.  Don’t leave it. Stay close.”

If God has given you children, then this is the field He has given to you. He doesn’t give you children to give to someone else to look after. He gives them to you to love, nurture, train, and prepare for the future and for eternity.

Ruth could have looked over at other fields and thought, “Oh, there is so much more to glean over there, but now I am stuck here.” Instead, she submitted to Boaz’ words and ultimately received incredible blessings. She was blessed to marry Boaz. She became the great-grandmother of King David and in the Messianic line of the birth of Jesus.

These words also speak into our marriages because it is the same word that is used to describe marriage. God wants you to stay close to your husband. He doesn’t want you to look at any other man. If you are tempted, resist these destructive thoughts in the power of the name of Jesus. Stay close to your husband. Don’t compare your marriage with another marriage. This is your marriage and it will be different and special to you and your husband.

You can have the greatest marriage as you make it the greatest marriage. But you need to work in your field of marriage.

9. KEEP

Numbers 36:7, 9, 12 speak about keeping to our own inheritance. God wants you to keep to your own marriage. He wants you to find your sustenance, satisfaction, delight, and inheritance in your own marriage.

Read Proverbs 5:15-20 which is an allegory of private property versus common property and this Scripture reveals that marriage is private property. Verse 15 and 17  (AMP) say: “Drink water from your own cistern (of a pure marriage relationship) and fresh running water from your own well . . . Confine Yourself to your own wife. Let your children be yours alone, and not the children of strengthens with you.”

Our wedding vows also use the word “keep.”

“Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband to live together after God’s ordinance in the Holy Estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all other keep thee only unto him as long as you both shall live?”

We covenant to keep ourselves only for our husband.

10. JOINED

We find this word in the description about the leviathan in Job 41:15-17 (HCSB): “His pride is in his rows of scales, CLOSELY SEALED TOGETHER (dabaq). One scale is so close to another that no air can pass between them. “ They are joined so closely that they cannot be separated.

When Jesus was on earth, He took Genesis 2:14 to a higher level. When answering the Pharisees about marriage, He said in Matthew 19:4, 5 (            HCSB): “’Haven’t’ you read,’ He replied, ‘that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,’ and He also said: ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh.’”

Jesus not only confirmed God’s original words but elevated them to a greater level: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not sperate.’”

This means they are to be glued together, never to come apart. We are to be glued together so that we make it difficult for anything or anyone to pull us apart.

My grandson said to me recently, “Nana, they call a husband and wife a couple. But doesn’t God say they are one?

“Yes, you are absolutely correct,” I replied.

Maybe, rather than saying, “Look at that lovely couple walking along,” we should say, “What a lovely “oneness” walking together.”

PRAYER:

“Dear Father, please help me to remember that my husband and I are not two but one. You want us to be one—physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Pease help me to create this oneness together. Amen.”

AFFIRMATION:

I’m keeping my own vineyard and my own marriage.