Daily Devotional for Tuesday October 20, 2020

The 91st Psalm....and...Haggai

(Haggai 1:3-11)

***DAILY PERSONAL PRAYER FOR YOU: Dear Lord, thank You for Your love and protection. As I go through the day, please continue to watch over and protect me from the evil and harm that is in this world. I look to You for my strength, for guidance, and for protection! In the name of Jesus...AMEN!

***THE DAILY LIVEPRAYER TV NUGGET: Please pray over these precious words from the 91st Psalm. They are for you, me, and all followers of Jesus Christ for this moment in time!!! 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my GOD, in whom I trust.” THIS IS WHAT GOD WILL DO: 3 Surely GOD, will save me from the Fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 GOD, will cover me with his feathers, and under his wings I will find refuge; his faithfulness will be my shield and rampart. 5 I will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at my side, ten thousand at my right hand, but it will not come near me. 8 I will only observe with my eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. THIS IS MY PART: 9 If I say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and I make the Most High my dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake me, no disaster will come near my tent. 11 For GOD, will command his angels concerning me to guard me in all my ways; 12 they will lift me up in their hands, so that I will not strike my foot against a stone. 13 I will tread on the lion and the cobra; I will trample the great lion and the serpent. THEN GOD SAYS: 14 “Because you love me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue you; I will protect you, because you acknowledge my name. 15 You will call on me, and I will answer you; I will be with you in trouble, I will deliver you and honor you. 16 With long life I will satisfy you and show you my salvation.”

*Don’t miss the Liveprayer TV program, airing “LIVE” every Monday thru Friday from 11pm EDT to Midnight! For details on viewing options for the Liveprayer TV program, “LIVE” or “On Demand,” go to: https://liveprayer.com/liveprayer-show-about.cfm

***Action steps: 1) Pray for the nation to turn back to the Lord every morning for at least 5 min. 2) Share the Gospel every day with at least 1 person you know is no saved. 3) Every day share something Biblical with everyone you know via email. 4) Every day encourage at least ONE PERSON you know about the responsibility we have to VOTE in November. 5) GET ONE PERSON YOU KNOW TO DO ACTION STEPS 1-4!!!

As I was reading the Bible the other night, I was reading the Book of Haggai and realized that people have never really changed even after all of these years. How much the people of God spoken about in the Book of Haggai were EXACTLY like the people of God today. Let me set the context for you. The year is 520 BC. King Darius, the Medo-Persian king allowed a remnant of the children of Israel to return to Jerusalem after being held in captivity for 70 years by the Babylonians so that they could rebuild the Temple.

However, the people of God were not as interested in rebuilding the house of God as they were in building their own houses. God spoke through His prophet, Haggai, to let them know that because of their selfishness, they were missing the blessings of God. That is what I want to share with you today. How because of our selfishness, we are living beneath God's blessings. How we become so focused on OUR LIFE, on OUR GOALS, on OUR DREAMS, on OUR DESIRES, we have forsaken the work of God and are missing His blessings.

There is not one person reading this today that doesn't want God's blessings in their life. Even those who don't believe there is a God, still want His blessings. The reality is, GOD WANTS TO BLESS YOU! Jesus said, "it is your Father's pleasure to give you the Kingdom." But just like there are natural laws that govern the earth, there are spiritual laws that govern the Kingdom of God. Let me give you the key to God's blessings. GOD CANNOT AND WILL NOT BLESS DISOBEDIENCE.

Let me say that one more time. GOD CANNOT AND WILL NOT BLESS DISOBEDIENCE. If you want God's blessings, the first thing that you must do is live in accordance with His Word. The Bible tells us that "to obey is better than sacrifice." God said, "Oh that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever." GOD'S BLESSINGS FLOW FROM OUR OBEDIENCE!!!

So let's go one step further and look at the very first commandment. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Most of us feel pretty safe that we obey this commandment. After all, we don't worship the sun, or the clouds, or a chair, or a tree. We don't have hundreds of gods that we pray to. But I want to tell you today that whenever you put yourself before God, you have literally taken Him off HIS throne and put yourself on it! You have said, "my will...not thy will be done."

How can we live in blatant disobedience to the very first commandment and still expect God to bless us? He can't, and He won't! That is why the Bible says, "you expected much, but see, it turned out to be little." If we truly want God's blessings, the first step is to put God back in His rightful place, on His throne as the Lord of our life and live in obedience to what He calls us to do each day.

I love you and care about you so much. Today's scripture really shows us how empty this life can be without God's blessings. It is no wonder why so many turn to drugs, alcohol, sex, food, money...anything to escape. It is frustrating to live without God's blessings. I am not talking so much about the material blessings as I am the SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS. Don't you realize that there is no amount of money to buy true peace, not enough gold in the world to buy real joy, not enough real estate on the planet to buy the abundant life that God has offered us. What price can you put on hope? This world is lost, hurting, and without hope because it is living without God and without His blessings.

I will be praying for you today to accept the same challenge that the prophet Haggai gave the children of Israel 2,500 years ago. Start rebuilding the house of God in your heart. Take the focus off of building YOUR HOUSE, and put it on building GOD'S HOUSE. Take the focus off of what YOU want to do, and put it on what God wants you to do. God wants to bless you abundantly so that you eat and are full, so that you drink and are never thirsty. God wants to bless YOU TODAY! Isn't it time to stop living beneath His blessings, and start receiving all of the blessings that HE has for your life?

In His love and service,

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Bill Keller