THE CENSUS – 1 CHRONICLES 21

David was a shepherd boy, son of Jesse, in Ancient Bethlehem. 
He knew hardship.  He knew danger.  He was courageous.
God called him to be King of Israel. 
The Lord said David was a man after his own heart. 
 
David became a great leader.
He was also a great sinner. 
Just like us, his sin led him to brokenness and desperation. 
He cried out to God, the census was a great sin, forgive me. 
 
God forgave him but his sin had tragic consequences.
The Death Angel killed 70,000 Israelis. 
David and his officials repented.
God stopped the angel from destroying Jerusalem. 
 
Overly proud of all his victories, David was seduced to sin.
His sin, pride, arrogance, “I did it my way.”
For a short while David forgot the victories belonged to God.
It deeply offended the Father, and His wrath responded. 
 
Pride, arrogance, is a despicable sin. 
The Lord hates it and will move against it. 
We think it is okay to sway with the world. 
It is a great stumbling block for our growth. 
 
We belong to God and He belongs to us. 
He loves us desperately and always seeks our best good. 
“Come He says and sit with me and I will guide your steps.
I bring life and light for living.”
 
Ah but when we are winning, we drift.
Often recounting OUR victory, we forget it was the Lord’s victory. 
Arrogance blooms, we lose our focus and direction. 
The future dims, we sin, and the Lord calls us to account. 
 
Repent quickly-don’t hit bottom-plead with the Lord, help me. 
Our sinfulness is why Paul said work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 
It’s our arrogance that trips us every time. 
We don’t hear the Lord but keep on moving. 
 
In our minds we think “this is the way, walk in it.”
Finally, after a while we recognize we have wobbled away from God.
Lord, please forgive me.  He does but there are consequences. 
Have we killed 70,000 Israelites?  Probably not but we have hurt something. 
 
Thanks be to the Lord, we recover.
Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes only a few days.
We hurt.  We are embarrassed. We feel like dirt. 
But we stay the course and reunite with the Father in fellowship. 
 
 
Clay Corvin
May 13, 2023
Northport, Alabama

David was a shepherd boy, son of Jesse, in Ancient Bethlehem. 
He knew hardship.  He knew danger.  He was courageous.
God called him to be King of Israel. 
The Lord said David was a man after his own heart. 
 
David became a great leader.
He was also a great sinner. 
Just like us, his sin led him to brokenness and desperation. 
He cried out to God, the census was a great sin, forgive me. 
 
God forgave him but his sin had tragic consequences.
The Death Angel killed 70,000 Israelis. 
David and his officials repented.
God stopped the angel from destroying Jerusalem. 
 
Overly proud of all his victories, David was seduced to sin.
His sin, pride, arrogance, “I did it my way.”
For a short while David forgot the victories belonged to God.
It deeply offended the Father, and His wrath responded. 
 
Pride, arrogance, is a despicable sin. 
The Lord hates it and will move against it. 
We think it is okay to sway with the world. 
It is a great stumbling block for our growth. 
 
We belong to God and He belongs to us. 
He loves us desperately and always seeks our best good. 
“Come He says and sit with me and I will guide your steps.
I bring life and light for living.”
 
Ah but when we are winning, we drift.
Often recounting OUR victory, we forget it was the Lord’s victory. 
Arrogance blooms, we lose our focus and direction. 
The future dims, we sin, and the Lord calls us to account. 
 
Repent quickly-don’t hit bottom-plead with the Lord, help me. 
Our sinfulness is why Paul said work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 
It’s our arrogance that trips us every time. 
We don’t hear the Lord but keep on moving. 
 
In our minds we think “this is the way, walk in it.”
Finally, after a while we recognize we have wobbled away from God.
Lord, please forgive me.  He does but there are consequences. 
Have we killed 70,000 Israelites?  Probably not but we have hurt something. 
 
Thanks be to the Lord, we recover.
Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes only a few days.
We hurt.  We are embarrassed. We feel like dirt. 
But we stay the course and reunite with the Father in fellowship. 
 
 
Clay Corvin
May 13, 2023
Northport, Alabama
 
 
 

We think about a lot of stuff.
Most of our thinking is worrying, denying or negative.
We don’t believe in ourselves.  
We don’t believe that the Lord is going to take care of us.
How do we change. 

Start by thinking about the Lord. 
Learn to meditate on His law.
His law says that we are to love Him with all of our heart and mind.
And to love our neighbor as ourselves.  
Loving others is hard to do.  

We make excuses for ourselves.
We forgive ourselves for unforgivable things.We deny forgiveness to others over minutiae.
Mostly for things we quickly forgive self.  
Also, how can I love others if I don’t love myself?

Then, how do I change?
Begin with the Lord in prayer.
Follow His lead for repentance.
Follow His lead for healing.
Love yourself, more and more day by day.

Then how do I change?
Think about the Lord-His goodness, His majesty, His greatness.
Count your blessings.  Name them, write them and thank the Lord for them.
Praise the Lord, praise His name, praise his greatness.  
Understand how much He loves you.  

Then how do I change?
Daily in prayer, seek His guidance.
What do I do today Lord?
Who must I forgive?  
Holy Spirit, help me walk my talk, help me change.

Then how do I change?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Believe in Him, His presence and concern for you everyday.  
Repent, praise and love.  Do that again each day.
The Holy Spirit will change your ways.  

Clay Corvin 
May 1, 2023

Believe God.

Believe that He wants to be with you,

So much that He sent His Only Son to die for you,

To pay the price of your sin, ransom you,

So that you could believe in Him, 

Trust Him that He has cleansed you.

Being with Him is His desire for you,

And you are honored and privileged to be in His Presence.  

Clay Corvin

April 24, 2023

Not facts or fancy that put us here.
Before the world began,
In time before time,
God spoke, He created,
And He knew us.
 
We are not a mistake.
Not a happenstance.
As difficult or hard as it may seem,
God knows everything,
And He created us-me, you. 
 
It’s no cruelty of fate,
That you came here,
Your parents given a gift,
A precious gift,
For them to shelter, and raise.
 
That so many fail,
Is not a surprise,
Generation upon generation,
Crying, dying, desperate.
God is good and He created us good. 
 
Yes, sin is a cause.
People hate, are evil and cold,
They want nothing to do with love,
And yet they themselves are searching for love,
But love isn’t something we acquire, it is a gift. 
 
Bold living is our call.
Caring for others our strength.
Growth and love we give away,
And in the giving we prosper.
It’s God’s way, He set things up for us to care.
 
We ask for His love and forgiveness.
In Jesus Christ we find everything we are looking for,
And life and peace and joy!
We find in caring our gift.
A gift from God to us.
 
Clay Corvin
February 24, 2023
 

SPOKEN – 2 TIM. 1:7 – “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.”
 
God has spoken, He cares for you.
Your enemies will wring their hands in shame.
God is not missing.
He is here, carrying you in His arms each day.
He is not missing.
His hand protects you, preparing a future for you.
 
Your enemies will regret,
Going against God.
He is in control.
He knows the future now.
He prepares you for each fight.
He is on your side.
 
He says: watch and wait.
I am with you, stand firm and do not fear.
He gives wisdom and courage.
Our life is in His hands, He is always with us.
What can the world do to me?  Nothing.
His Good News: You belong to me.
 
Clay Corvin 1/30/23

 
The Gospel is the Good News.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
Died for our sins and rose again by the power of God,
Eternally triumphant over His enemies.
 
There is therefore, no condemnation for those who believe,
But only everlasting joy, life like God’s life.
That’s the Gospel.
Salvation is a gift from God and we can add nothing to it.
 
It is God’s Gospel. 
God made the first move.
There was nothing we could do to reach God.
Instead God reached down to us and offered us the free gift of life in Jesus. 
 
Jesus is our redeemer.
Jesus delivers us from death to life. 
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
There is no other way to the Father. 
 
The Father sent Jesus,
His only son, to the earth.
It was the only way,
And it was entirely God the Father’s doing. 
 
Everything we know about the Gospel comes from God.
The truth of the Gospel does not depend on the church.  It does not depend on us,
It does not depend on any denomination.  It is from God. 
We base what we say on the authority of God’s Word. 
 
Jesus was fully God and fully man.
He perfectly obeyed God’s law.
He perfectly fulfilled God’s will. 
He died in our place.  He was our substitute and paid the price of our sin.
 
He rose from the dead on the third day.
He was seen by over 500 people.
He ascended into heaven to sit at the right had of the Father.
He didn’t leave us alone, He sent the Holy Spirit, our comforter. 
 
Therefore, we trust in Jesus alone for our salvation.
It is complete in Him.
We renounce self-trust, works, and admit our sinfulness.
We confess our need and cry out to Jesus to save us from our sins. 
 
Clay Corvin 12/4/2022

 
More than three hundred times Jesus, the Messiah,
Is foretold in the Old Testament. 
Jesus, Himself, identifies many of these,
By His quotes in the New Testament. 
 
No vagary in the Bible about the coming Messiah.
Genesis to Revelation is the story of God redeeming mankind.
Jesus is the only way to the Father.
He is the Messiah.  He is coming back.
 
Read the Bible.
Read it daily, searching for God’s guidance of your day.
Along the way God will bring His prophecies to your attention.
It will be a great encouragement. 
 
The Messiah would be resurrected from the dead. 
He came forth from the grave on the third day.
 
The Messiah would bring a new covenant.
It was His own blood, given for us, redeeming us from our sin.
 
He would be forsaken, and pierced,
But He would be vindicated by the power of God. 
 
Rescued by His Father from the grave,
Jesus paid the price for our sin, and His blood gives us His righteousness. 
 
The Messiah would be crucified.
They would divide his cloths by casting lots and hurl insults at Him.
 
He was rejected by His own people.
The religious leaders were the ones who would lead the rejection.
 
The Messiah would bring Good News to the poor, heal the sick, raise the dead.
He was the Good News-God come to His Creation-mankind. 
 
So many more prophecies.  Such great detail.
God’s instruction book makes sure we don’t miss the Christ-the Messiah.
 
And yet so many don’t believe in Jesus. 
Don’t miss the Good News. 
God knew you before you were born.
The Good News is that God loves you and has provided a way for you to become family. 
 
Clay Corvin – December 21, 2022
 

SECOND LAW (DEUTERONOMY) –
 
Faith comes by hearing.  Hearing by the Word of God.
We live by God’s rule.  His love.  We yearn to be like Him. 
Moses knew Him-face to face.  God said they were friends.
Desperately I desire to be a friend of God.  Deuteronomy explains HOW.
 
GOD loves man.  He created us from the dust and breathed His spirit into us.
He chose us and makes us Holy.  Calling us to Himself for life.
We obey Him because He loves us.  We desire to be with Him.
Our limitations are huge.  Our wisdom is small.  God will lead us.
 
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy the most of any of the New Testament writers. 
They all focus on loving God and keeping His commandments. 
That is Deuteronomy.  It is our life blood that pulls us to God.
Moses laws seek to explain how desperately we need God.  Every moment. 
 
“If you love me, Keep my commandments.”
Search the book for God’s wisdom.  Search the book for God’s love.
Note how special you are.  You are the beloved of God. 
God is very direct about His requirements for us to be in a relationship with Him. 
 
It’s always God’s way or man’s way.  Our default is arrogance and doing it our way.
God says that is the road to destruction.  All of us like sheep are led astray. 
Following God is life.  Following self is death.
We live by faith.  We grow by God’s direction and wisdom.  Knowledge is not wisdom. 
 
Every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God is wisdom.
God isn’t looking for a tutor.  He wants us to be a member of His family. 
Only God, the infinite God can reveal Himself to you. 
Thinking about God is foolish if you aren’t directed by God. 
 
God is the center of everything.  He is first.  He is perfect.  Remember His rules.
We are not the center of the universe.  We can be a child of God but that is a choice. 
Jesus is calling us to Himself.  He would that no one die.  Come to Christ.  Jesus loves you. 
Every step you take, every move you make is either towards God or always from God. 
 
Live.  Follow Jesus.  He saves us from death.  He gives us life.
Remember.  Don’t forget.  Let Christ rule in your life.
Read God’s Word.  Remember God’s love.  He gives the rules of life.
Follow God.  He loves you.  He is leading you home.
 
Clay Corvin
New Orleans, LA 70126
March 6, 2022
 
 
 
 

JESUS BEGAN TO DO AND TEACH – ACTS 1:1-2

Jesus spoke to us-God speaking to mankind.
His Words gave us direction from the God,
Authority, understanding and a grasp of our need.
He called us to repentance for our sin.
We turn to Him, by faith, and receive new life.
Life like God’s life.

Jesus called us to share the Good News.
God is providing salvation in Jesus’ name.
Jesus paid the price to save us from our sin.
The Father raised Him from the dead,
Seating Him at His right hand with all power.
Jesus is God’s everything, He is Lord, Lord of all.

Christ calls us to go to all the world.
Go and tell everyone that we can be free from sin.
Believe in Jesus, He is the only way to the Father.
Christ graces us with forgiveness of our sin.
Bestows us with the Holy Spirit.
Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.

Clay Corvin
August 31, 2022