2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 16 – “Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah, who was from Jerusalem. ⁴ He did what the Lord approved, just as his father Amaziah had done. ⁵ He followed God during the lifetime of Zechariah, who taught him how to honor God. As long as he followed the Lord, God caused him to succeed… ¹⁶ But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God. He entered the Lord’s temple to offer incense on the incense altar.”

I spent a restless night, and as I awoke, I was drawn to the reality of 2 Chronicles 26, specifically about King Uzziah.   He became king at 16 and reigned for 52 years.   He followed the LORD, and (v.5) says, “As long as he followed the LORD, God caused him to succeed.”   He became famous and received much support. Life was good.    Then, in verse 16, we read, “But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him.”

I heard in my heart, “Pride is seldom a problem when we are weak, facing problems, and need help.”    Pride grows when we achieve victories and accomplishments, and think we did it ourselves.   Pride is dependent only on the self.   Humility depends on God. Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.  King Saul fell when he stopped seeing himself as small.   It is a repeated event in life, the Bible, and human history.

Pride is a spiritual cancer that blocks a true view of self, others, and God. It deceives the heart and mind, elevating the self to the center. It fills the heart with entitlement – I deserve it because of who I am. You owe me because… (insert anything there).

Spiritual victories can become seed beds for Pride.   Pride trusts the flesh and forgets the beginning.   Pridefulness is a painfully lonely life. It trusts no one, depends on no one, inordinately loves itself, and is selfish. Pride demands to be served; humility serves.

A heart filled with pride is spiritually blind, indifferent, hard, and harsh. It is intolerant and unfeeling of the needs of others. The self is the center, and it dethrones God in the heart.  Pride, human selfish Pride, will not inherit the kingdom.

It would behoove us to reread and meditate on the Beatitudes.   We have nothing we did not receive from God.   Therefore, it is not us but Him and His Grace. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Let’s be grateful and bold but not prideful and arrogant. Pride destroys, love and humility restore!

May your day be filled with His presence and, in humility, receive His matchless grace!

2 Chronicles 7:3 – “When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord’s splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!”

Today is May 3, 2025.    Time has extended far beyond what I thought possible in the late 60s and 70s.  I could not comprehend a new millennium, looking forward from the 2000s.    Yet we are here, and the signs of the times everywhere reveal the fulfillment of the biblical description of ‘The Last Days.’

This generation has not seen the FIRE of God.    Many of those who have are growing weary, and some are seeking to blend and assimilate into the modern culture that has infected the church.  What is the answer?

I believe it is prayer, total surrender, and persistence, but something more leaped off the page in 2 Chronicles 7:3. “When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the LORD’S splendor over the temple, they got down on their knees with their faces downward to the pavement.”

The awesome presence of God is needed today!   We don’t need more or new programs. We need the FIRE of God!   The conditions God identified to Solomon (vv. 12-15) are prevalent today.   The conditions of Noah’s day are visible today.   The conditions Paul, Peter, and James identified as characteristics of the Last Days are visible today.   What do we do? What did we need?

We need intercessory prayer, repentance, restoration, renewal, and revival that can only come through God’s FIRE!    We need the FIRE that purges out the dross.  We need the FIRE that awes!  We need the FIRE that transforms!   In verses 12-15, God gave the solution, the remedy, and the pathway to victory.

“IF…that’s the key, the catalyst or the entryway – IF my people…”   It is not a change by the unbelievers that sets the revival and restoration in motion; that is secondary.    It is God’s people, those who profess Him, who do several things: they humble themselves, not being humbled, but humbling themselves.   Then, in that state of humility, surrender with Prayer to God.  

• Praying with a Seeking Heart. 
• Seeking to please God. Seeking to manifest Christ in everything.
• Seeking to have the Living Christ manifest in every detail of life.

It’s not just praying a prayer but praying out of a particular condition that brings God’s result.   In that state, we are to repudiate (renounce, reject, and turn from) our sinful practices and our lack of diligence and commitment.   It is then that God gives His promise of forgiveness, healing, and restoration.   It is in that condition that we can expect the FIRE to fall.

In Acts 1, they were in one place, both physically and spiritually, actively praying and seeking God.   In Acts 2, the FIRE fell.   Without the FIRE, we will fluctuate between hot and cold, from enthusiastic to passive. Jesus promised to baptize us with the Holy Spirit and FIRE!

My heart is crying for the FIRE of God to be manifested today.  The world won’t change without God’s people experiencing the transforming FIRE of God.   We will not be viewed as different and have no real appeal to the troubled unless we have the FIRE of God.   The harvest won’t come unless we have the FIRE of God.   Devils won’t bow unless we have the FIRE; they don’t fear or respect religion; they fear the FIRE of God.

How do we get the FIRE?   Reread what I’ve written, and you will see the doorway.   Practice it, and you’ll experience the FIRE Falling from Heaven. In that state of being consumed by the FIRE, we will be transformed and become visible examples of John 14:12, walking in the Isaiah 61 anointing.   The world and the kingdom await the FIRE in us! Victory is ours!

Let this be a day of the FIRE of God manifest in our lives and world. Have a great day, and keep looking up; Jesus is coming soon!

2 Chronicles 1:7-12 – “That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Tell me what I should give you.” ⁸ Solomon replied to God, “You demonstrated great loyalty to my father David and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, Lord God, may your promise to my father David be realized, for you have made me king over a great nation as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Now give me wisdom and discernment so I can effectively lead this nation. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours.”  ¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Because you desire this, and did not ask for riches, wealth, and honor, or for vengeance on your enemies, and because you did not ask for long life, but requested wisdom and discernment so you can make judicial decisions for my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² you are granted wisdom and discernment. Furthermore I am giving you riches, wealth, and honor surpassing that of any king before or after you.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, the Word ‘Servant’ kept echoing in my heart and mind.  2 Chronicles 1:7-12 provides an example of the heart God desires in leaders and all people.  God came to Solomon in a dream, saying, “Tell me what I should give you.”   How would we have responded?   Solomon asked for wisdom and discernment to enable him to lead the nation.

God responded, saying, “Because you desire this, and did not ask for riches, wealth, and honor, or for vengeance on your enemies, and because you did not ask for long life, but requested wisdom and discernment so that you can make judicial decisions for My people I’m giving it to you AND MORE… I’m giving you what you didn’t ask for.”

The heart of a servant opens the windows of heaven for the one truly serving.   It is the heart of Jesus!   In Philippians 2:1-11, this servant’s heart is exemplified and illustrated.  Loving one another in unity is the heart of God.   Philippians 2:4, Paul tells them to let the servant’s heart be their dominant character trait.   He then emphasized using Jesus as the example in verse 5.

Our attitude toward others should be the same as Jesus’s toward us and the Father.   He emptied Himself.  (How we need to learn that arduous task.)  He served.  He humbled Himself in obedience.  (We will all humble ourselves or be humbled.)  As a result of His obedience, Jesus was exalted to the place that at His name, every knee will bow and confess that He is LORD!

The one with a servant’s heart will experience the presence, power, and provision of Jesus in ways that surpass human expectations.

Luke 6:38 is applicable here.  It applies to every aspect of life.   Service is giving.   “Give, and it shall be given to you.”   IT, that wonderful and terrible little word, holds the key to life.   The IT that we give is the IT that we live and receive.   It is the seed of our harvest and the key to the heart.   True servants of God (Doulos) live to give and give to live.  Their giving is an expression of their living.  It is not a chore but a source of joy.  The advancement and supply of others bring joy to their hearts.

Lord, grant us the heart of a Doulos today.  Let us know the joy of serving!  Thank you!  I encourage you to follow your heart today and rejoice in its Victory Day!

Have a fantastic day, and trust God to give you more than you ask and more than you expect!

Galatians 5:22-26 – “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control.  Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.”

Sometimes, I am challenged unexpectedly by the Spirit of God.   Today, as I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, I faced a challenge that demanded deep introspection and elicited repentance and resolve.

A passage quoted frequently by believers is Galatians 5:22-26.  “But the fruit (singular) of the Spirit (the fruit the Spirit produces) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

The challenge was, “Are these the characteristics of your life?”    It would be easy to superficially say YES or to justify deficiency, saying, “I’m trying, or I’m human.”  I knew better than to give such a casual response.

• Do I love ALL THE TIME?
• Am I joyful ALL THE TIME?
• Do I live in a constant state of peace ALL THE TIME?
• Am I ALWAYS patient?
• Do I manifest kindness ALL THE TIME?

What about goodness?  The Greek word translated as “goodness” in this verse is agathosune, which is defined as “uprightness of heart and life.”

Some examples of this would be:

• Confronting someone about a sin.
• Giving to the poor.
• Providing for one’s children.
• Visiting the sick.
• Volunteering to clean up after a storm.
• Praying for an enemy.

That is a small sampling of examples.   But what about faithfulness?  Is that an all-time characteristic of my daily walk?   Do I struggle with gentleness?  And a big one, self-control, is that evidenced in my attitude, words, and deeds?

Paul’s challenge or revelation to the Galatians is driven home in verse 24 – “NOW (present tense) those who belong to Christ HAVE (past tense) crucified the flesh WITH its passions AND desires.”   If I belong to Christ, then this is my state.  [Emphasis mine].  That is incredibly challenging.

In verse 25, he says, “IF we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit.” Being Spirit-led is not just receiving guidance about where to go and what to do; it is about every detail of life!   Paul urged them to live in a way that inspires others to live the same way.

Galatians 6:1 is intertwined in this life of the fruit of the Spirit.  We all have the capacity to become entrapped and sidetracked by the flesh.  Therefore, the life marked by the fruit of the Spirit always seeks restoration in gentleness, vividly remembering that we, too, could be in that failed condition.

If the fruit of the Spirit is the mark of my daily life, I can live in perfect peace and restore others.  In Galatians 6:6-10, Paul packages it and reminds us of the law of reciprocity (Reap what we sow, good or bad).

My cry is, “Lord, help me to ALWAYS exhibit, as the real fruit of my heart, the fruit of the Spirit ALL THE TIME, EVERY TIME!” Is that possible?   If it were not, it would not be in the Bible.  Galatians 5:16, “But I say, live by the Spirit, and you WILL NOT carry out the desires of the flesh.”

I am being challenged and facing my flaws.  What about you?  Let’s set our hearts to be those who always manifest and bear the fruit of the Spirit.  It will be our greatest evangelistic tool.  It will impact everyone and everything around us.

Let’s face our flaws and allow the Holy Spirit to transform us!