Maranatha Grace Church

Brothers and Sisters,

⁵ At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

⁷ “Now, Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. ⁸ Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. ⁹ So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

¹⁰ The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. (1 Kings 3)

If the Lord were to say to you, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you, ” what would you ask?

Please read 1 Kings 3 - 5. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

The leaders, spiritual or political, need to be aware that their actions have big ramification on the people that they lead. Many churches suffer because of the action of their pastors, many nations suffer because of the actions of their presidents and prime ministers. Therefore, we must be careful about the person that we choose to lead us. .

¹⁴ David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁵ So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. ¹⁶ When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the  shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.” (2 Smauel 24)

Please read 2 Samuel 24 - 1 Kings 2. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you! 

Brothers and Sisters,

Nahum 1:8 "The Lord is good,  a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him"

² He said: 

“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
³     my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield^[j] and the horn^[k] of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
    from violent people you save me. (2 Samuel 22)

Please read 2 Samuel 19 - 23. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Are you upset when people talk badly about you? You can learn a lesson from David, of the calm way he reacted when Shimei was cursing at him. When people mistreat you, God becomes very protective of you. 

⁹ Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head.”¹⁰ But the king said, “What does this have to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah? If he is cursing because the Lord said to him, ‘Curse David,’ who can ask, ‘Why do you do this?’”  ¹² It may be that the Lord will look upon my misery and restore to me his covenant blessing instead of his curse today.” (2 Samuel 16)

Please read 2 Samuel 16 - 18. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

²⁵ Then the king said to Zadok, “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the Lord’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. ²⁶ But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him.” (2 Samuel 15)

We surrender completely to the will of God not because of a lack of faith but because we trust God who loves us. God always keep his promises. 

Please read 2 Samuel 13 - 15. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Please read 2 Samuel 10 - 12. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Some of the people reading with us get frustrated that I don't change our Bible Reading Challenge to gear it toward encouraging the people with Scripture verses to booster their faith in order to  weather this coronavirus crisis. I have been praying very earnestly for our brothers and sisters for divine protection against the coronavirus, and I am convinced that all of our brothers and sisters will pass this crisis safely and untouched.  However,  I don't see the point of focusing on the coronavirus in our Bible Reading Challenge. People pick and choose their favorite Bible verses, I think this is a great mistake. First,  "Everything in the Scriptures is God's Word" (2 Timothy 3:16).  Second, what you focus on you magnify. We need to focus on God in our troubles, like Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord."  Keep thinking about God, and keep talking about God will get you out of all your troubles. 

Please read 2 Samuel 7 - 9. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

P.S. Please consider giving an offering of any amount to Maranatha Grace Church by:

1- CashApp, the name  $MGC986

2- PayPal, go to https://maranathagracechurch.com and  click on Donate

3- Mail a check or money order to:

Maranatha Grace Church 

P/O Box 295

Uniondale, NY 11553

Brothers and Sisters,

Your situation can change in an instant in the presence of the Lord. The ark was in the house of Obed-Edom  for only three months, then the Lord poured out his blessings on Obed-Edom and all his household. In the New Testament we don't have the physical ark of the Lord, but we do have the Spirit of the Lord living in us. If we  create an atmosphere conducive to the manifestation of the the Spirit in our lives and in our household,  blessings will follow. 

 ¹¹ The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.

¹² Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. (2 Samuel 6)

Please read 2 Samuel 4 - 6. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

P.S. Please consider giving an offering of any amount to Maranatha Grace Church by:

1- CashApp, the name  $MGC986

2- PayPal, go to https://maranathagracechurch.com and  click on Donate

3- Mail a check or money order to:

Maranatha Grace Church 

P/O Box 295

Uniondale, NY 11553

Brothers and Sisters, 

¹⁵ Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. ¹⁶ For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’” (2 Samuel 1)

That young man got caught in a lie  that caused his death. In 1 Samuel 31:4 we read that Saul killed himself, but in 2 Samuel 1:10 the young man, either to please David or to get a reward from David, declared that he had killed Saul. We may not die as this young man died, but how many times have we  pronounced lies about ourselves? The word of God says that we are strong (Joel 3:10), but we keep declaring that we are weak, the world of God says that we are rich (2 Corinthians 9:8), but we insist that we are poor. Our own mouth testified against us. What we need to do instead  is to declare the truth about ourselves, the truth about our righteousness in Christ, the truth about our healing in Christ, and the truth about our blessings in Christ. 

Please read 1 Samuel 31 - 2 Samuel 3. And Listen. 

May the Lord richly bless you!

P.S. Please consider giving an offering of any amount to Maranatha Grace Church by:

1- CashApp, the name  $MGC986

2- PayPal, go to https://maranathagracechurch.com and  click on Donate

3- Mail a check or money order to:

Maranatha Grace Church 

P/O Box 295

Uniondale, NY 11553

Brothers and Sisters,

If you are currently working, please prayerfully consider to give an offering to Maranatha Grace Church because we cannot meet together. You can download the App on your smart phone to send your offerings.The church's Cash App name is $MGC986. 

It is always dangerous to join the enemy camp even for a short time. David became tired and discouraged by the constant attempts of Saul to kill him, so he made a tactical decision to join the Philistines, The Philisitnes were the enemies of God's people, the Israelites. There, he was forced to compromise his godly principles. And in oder to survive, he started to behave like a common bandit.

⁸ Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these peoples had lived in the land extending to Shur and Egypt.) ⁹ Whenever David attacked an area, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but took sheep and cattle, donkeys and camels, and clothes. Then he returned to Achish. (1 Samuel 27)

Be wary of discouragement in your walk with your the Lord. 

Please read 1 Samuel 27 - 29. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Would you protect the life of someone who really wants to kill you? Saul wanted to kill David, but David one key concept of leadership, by elevating a leader you elevate yourself. "⁵ Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. ⁶ He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” ⁷ With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way." (! Samuel 24)

Please read 1 Samuel 24 - 26. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Is God still speaking nowadays? The answer is a strong yes, but we may not be in the proper disposition to hear God's voice. When David was fleeing from Saul, he made the decision to go to Achish king of Gath without consulting the Lord. That decision almost cost him his life. He learned his lesson fast, and we saw him afterwards at maint occasion inquiring of the Lord before he made a major decision. God was willing to help him as he is willing to help us.

Please read 1 Samuel 21 - 23. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Please read 1 Samuel 18 - 20. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Leadership matters. The lives of Saul and David offer a good picture of what kind of leaders the Lord desires for his people. He is not looking for super-human, but he is looking for leaders with a heart for him, leaders who love him and who depend on him. 

Please read 1 Samuel 15 - 17. And Listen.

May the Lord richly bless you!

Brothers and Sisters,

Please read 1 Samuel 12 -14. And Listen.

For the latest news regarding our church, Maranatha Grace Church on-line activities during the coronavirus lockdown please go to the website and click on news, https://marnathagracechurch.org.  

May the Lord richly bless you!