II Timothy 1:7 - "Days of Elijah"

I woke up with the song Days of Elijah going through my mind. This song is a song of hope for me. Elijah, Moses, Ezekiel, David...they were all great men of the Old Testament who stood up for God. They had days of feeling isolated yet they never gave up living as God desired of them. They all lived under the Old Covenant but we live under the New Covenant.  The thing that is the same under both Covenants is we need to practice righteous living. We need to live with the right attitude in our spirit. The 'right' way is God's way. We do not have to fear anything because He is with us. We will have times of persecution but we cannot give into the evil one. Instead we need to stand firm in our faith. We must live out a II Timothy 1:7 type of life where we allow God to lead and direct every step, every decision we make. We are living in 'tough' days but God is greater than anything that comes our way.

These are the days of great trials
Of famine and darkness and sword
Still we are the voice in the desert crying
Prepare ye the way of the Lord!

We cannot allow 'tough' times to pull us away from the Lord. Instead we must take our faith and trust deeper in Him. He desires us to live holy lives. He desires us to love with His love. He desires to see us stand up for Him. Whether our 'tough' times are things we are dealing with such as cancer, death of a loved one, financial issues, etc. or if they are things such as weather that has devastated a part of the world, politics, etc. we must stay close to Him. We must allow Him to work in and through us through the 'good' and the 'bad' times of life. I love the part of this song about David. 

And these are the days of Your servant, David
Rebuilding the temple of praise

Woo hoo! God desires our praises as individuals and as corporate bodies of believers. He desires for praises to flow from our mouths, especially to non-believers. The desire of His heart is for His children to worship Him 24/7. Is that possible? Absolutely! When you are sold out in your spirit to Him, it is easy to worship Him. As He leads and directs your day, it is easy to have praises flow from your lips. How? By living in His presence. By allowing Him total control of all aspects of life. We no longer live as those in the time of Moses where only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies once a year. The veil was torn and we have free access to His presence at all time. Woo hoo! This song is one of hope through the declaration of Christ's return. There are days where I am so tired of all going on not only in my little world but in the entire world. It is in those days I cry out to God for His return to come sooner than later. Then He reminds me I still have work to do on this earth. I am grateful for the way He encourages me to keep on keepin' on!

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for this song this morning that encourages me greatly to live a life of holiness! Thank You for the reminders that You are with me! Thank You for the hope that comes from this song! Thank You for the many people who have showed me the example of how to live a life for You! Father, cleanse me so You can fill me. May You be my words, actions, and attitude today in a new, different way. May You be greater than the 'junk' that comes my way. Lord, go before Doc today as he see the oncologist and then has chemo. I pray for Your strength for him. I also pray for: Rhonda with her appointment; a family with grave concerns over their daughters way of life; Kim as she continues to recover from surgery; Dale with the stem cell transplant; June and her family with the loss of Karl; my friend who continues to seek employment; another friend with marital issues; and so many others who are on my heart today. Lord, may You be greater than the things life has brought them. May they seek You in a new, different way today. Thank You Jesus for being My Hope! Amen.