“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”- Galatians 5:22-23
Why is there no law against such things? Should there be? The answer- no. What purpose would such a law serve? Laws do serve purposes don't they? Otherwise why have them at all. A sin is a transgression of the law. The law exists to determine a standard of existence for those who have the possibility of choice. Given a choice there has to be something to choose between, a freedom to choose. It is no good to say you have a choice if the two choices are one and the same thing. There has to be a difference for a choice to matter. If there were only chocolate muffins on a plate I have no choice but to choose a chocolate muffin - if in fact I had to choose a muffin and had no choice but to choose one.
When man was created they were created with the possibility of choosing. It gave them a freedom from being mere creature with only the ability to follow one way and one way only.
Some say we should never have been allowed a choice at all.
Without it though we are merely stick figures, dolls to toy with, unable to truly love our Creator because there would be no other choice but to love Him. Forced love.
Some say you have to love family, but is it true? No. There are many people that don't love their family, in fact many that despise them. You don't have to. You should perhaps, under ideal circumstances but you don't have to. Some people say mothers have to love their babes, and yet they don't have to. Again, under ideal circumstances they will, but they don't have to, they are not forced to do so.
We understand the laws of our society exist to keep society functioning peacefully as possible.
The laws of God exist to reveal Him to us, to reveal His ways, His love.
Reading this-- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”- Galatians 5:22-23
We understand right away don't we?
Do we have a law against love? Joy? Peace? Longsuffering? Gentleness? Goodness? Faith? Meekness? Temperance?
No. None I know of. And who would ever seriously propose there should be laws against these things?
These things are the fruit of the Spirit.
If we have the Spirit indwelling in us as Jesus promised then the result of that indwelling - the fruit that grows- will be these *good* things, things there is no law against because they are God-ly things, they are right, they are just, they are wholesome.
Do you want to know if you have the Spirit dwelling in you, ask yourself how loving, how joyful, how peaceful, how longsuffering, how gentle, how good, how faithful, how meek, how temperate you are and there is some indication of the answer.
If you're like me you'll cringe knowing how far short of these marks we are. Maybe you're not like me and glory to God for that.
I read or heard once that the closer we get to the light the more dark corners the light shines into revealing the dust and the dirt, the hidden cobwebs. It's true. The indwelling of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit are such wonderful things, in fact they are points of light revealing the dust and dirt, the cobwebs and swampy dankness in our live and letting us know not to despair as some want to do (yes, it's very, very, very easy to despair) we see the dirt and how much easier can it get than to hide dirt rather than clean it up? Cover it up with the rug, push it under the bed, tuck it aside because it's easier and we don't have to look at it. That's just it...we don't want to see the darkness and dirtiness of our lives, so it's easier to keep the dirt hidden and be satisfied with the way we are because anything else means a struggle.
Am I advocating working for salvation? NO. I never do and never will. Salvation comes by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus who will give His Holy Spirit to us, the same Holy Spirit whose fruit are all those wonderful things we're talking about.
When the Holy Spirit reveals our shortcomings, our failings it's not so we hide from them and despair of ever being different, it's to encourage us to get closer ever closer to the One and Only person who can ever make us clean. The work we do is the effort we make to fall at the feet of Jesus and cling to Him, to His righteousness, His love.
Don't despair when the darkness and dirt in your life is revealed, we have to thank and praise God for allowing us to see our failings and recognize our need of Him.
May the Lord our God, our Savior, our Redeemer have mercy upon us all. May the Holy Spirit dwell with us and may the fruits of the indwelling be realized in us. When the darkness of our shortcomings rise up harshly let it be to remind us to cling tighter to the cross, to our Hope. The Holy Spirit will work within us, by the grace of God let us not try to push Him away and keep our darkness hidden but praise God now and always. May the Light shine ever brighter upon us leading us to the source of that Light, that Life, to Jesus.
By His Grace!
Amen
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Fear & Faith
Isaiah
{41:10} Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
FEAR NOT
Rev. {1:17}
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand upon me, saying unto me, FEAR NOT; I am the
first and the last: {1:18} I [am] he that liveth, and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death.
Acts {27:23} For there stood by me this
night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
{27:24} Saying, FEAR NOT, Paul; thou must be brought before
Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with
thee. {27:25} Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I
believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me
Luke {12:31} But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all
these things shall be added unto you. {12:32} FEAR NOT, little
flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.
Luke {12:7} But even the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. FEAR NOT therefore: ye
are of more value than many sparrows. {12:8} Also I say
unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him
shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
{12:9} But he that denieth me before men shall be denied
before the angels of God.
Luke {8:49} While he yet spake, there cometh one from the
ruler of the synagogue’s [house,] saying to him, Thy
daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. {8:50} But when
Jesus heard [it,] he answered him, saying, FEAR NOT: believe
only, and she shall be made whole.
Luke {5:10} And so [was] also James, and John, the sons of
Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said
unto Simon, FEAR NOT; from henceforth thou shalt catch men
Luke {2:10} And
the angel said unto them, FEAR NOT: for, behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke {1:30} And the angel said unto her, FEAR NOT, Mary: for thou
hast found favour with God.
Luke {1:12} And when
Zacharias saw [him,] he was troubled, and fear fell upon
him. {1:13} But the angel said unto him, FEAR NOT,
Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Matt. ]{28:5} And the angel answered
and said unto the women, FEAR NOT ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which was crucified. {28:6} He is not here: for
he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord
lay.
Matt. {10:28} And FEAR NOT them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell
Mal.{3:5} And I will come near to you to
judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,
and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and
against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the
widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger
[from his right,] and FEAR NOT me, saith the LORD of hosts.
{3:6} For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed
FEAR NOT
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Fear not.
For I am with thee.
Be not dismayed.
For I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee.
Yes.
I will help thee.
Yes.
I will uphold thee
with the right hand
of my righteousness.
Fear not.
We are a fearful people aren't we? Do we have reason to be? I think we do. We have a lot of reason to be fearful if we aren't with God. We have a whole lot of fear coming our way when we don't trust in God. It's one thing to say we trust Him, another thing to really mean we trust Him. As things get worse and worse it stands to reason people are fearful. We need to have faith in God, true faith that won't buckle under anything! Not a faith that says only believe when things are going our way. Not a faith that says we will not have to suffer. Not a faith that claims IF God truly were God all these bad things wouldn't happen. When Christians martyrs were being thrown to the lions and used in Roman games to be killed, when they were being torn asunder and their guts spilled, their bodies tortured they could have reason to fear don't you think? Fear not for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, I will help thee, I will uphold thee. Do you think they believed God then? If they had a real faith in God then they did. We don't like to assume they did because such thought scare us silly. We can't imagine being hunted and tortured. We fear the idea of being hunted and tortured and I'm not saying ANYONE should want these things, just that not wanting them to happen and being fearful of them are two different things.
As a Christian being thrown out into the arena at the Roman colliseum, hearing the roaring and snapping jaws of the starving lions, how could they not be scared? How? Maybe some where, but maybe they weren't.
We're a fearful society. I see it in the paper, on the computer news, headlines about people being afraid of the economy and its downfall and where it's all going.
Fear.
We live in a world where it's okay to have fears and even more okay to treat those fears with medication so we don't have to be so fearful, but calmed, chilled a bit so we aren't so uptight and such.
Fear.
I've lived with fear all my life, it's part of me and I say it's part of my make up, of who I am. I could no longer imagine having to get up and speak in front of a crowd without fear than I could imagine me bungee jumping without fear. The fear is real in me. I feel my hands going ice cold when I'm frightened and I just recently learned it's because the fear response is to run and the blood leaves my hands to go to my legs so I can run faster if necessary.
Fear.
Yes, I do want to run, to be away from the things that make me fearful.
I'm on very familiar terms with fear.
Where do fear and faith meet?
God would have us fear not, but trust in Him for all things...ALL things.
Easy to say- hard to do.
Faith my faith needs to grow- no, not in size necessary but in quality.
Having faith in God completely means trusting in Him completely and not in self at all.
Perhaps when I put away self, perhaps if I take my eyes OFF myself for a bit I would be able to see God more.
Lord I believe! Help thou my UNBELIEF!
Mark {9:24} And
straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with
tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
With tears of desperation, of hope Lord I plead with You by Your grace and mercy to help thou my unbelief!
I want to trust in Your words- 'Fear not'
Please Lord, we know that we need less of self and more of You. Help us! Save us! Know us!
In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior we thank you, we praise you now and forever!
Amen.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”- Romans 15:13
{41:10} Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
FEAR NOT
Rev. {1:17}
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand upon me, saying unto me, FEAR NOT; I am the
first and the last: {1:18} I [am] he that liveth, and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death.
Acts {27:23} For there stood by me this
night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
{27:24} Saying, FEAR NOT, Paul; thou must be brought before
Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with
thee. {27:25} Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I
believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me
Luke {12:31} But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all
these things shall be added unto you. {12:32} FEAR NOT, little
flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.
Luke {12:7} But even the very
hairs of your head are all numbered. FEAR NOT therefore: ye
are of more value than many sparrows. {12:8} Also I say
unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him
shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
{12:9} But he that denieth me before men shall be denied
before the angels of God.
Luke {8:49} While he yet spake, there cometh one from the
ruler of the synagogue’s [house,] saying to him, Thy
daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. {8:50} But when
Jesus heard [it,] he answered him, saying, FEAR NOT: believe
only, and she shall be made whole.
Luke {5:10} And so [was] also James, and John, the sons of
Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said
unto Simon, FEAR NOT; from henceforth thou shalt catch men
Luke {2:10} And
the angel said unto them, FEAR NOT: for, behold, I bring you
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
Luke {1:30} And the angel said unto her, FEAR NOT, Mary: for thou
hast found favour with God.
Luke {1:12} And when
Zacharias saw [him,] he was troubled, and fear fell upon
him. {1:13} But the angel said unto him, FEAR NOT,
Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth
shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
Matt. ]{28:5} And the angel answered
and said unto the women, FEAR NOT ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which was crucified. {28:6} He is not here: for
he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord
lay.
Matt. {10:28} And FEAR NOT them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is
able to destroy both soul and body in hell
Mal.{3:5} And I will come near to you to
judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers,
and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and
against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the
widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger
[from his right,] and FEAR NOT me, saith the LORD of hosts.
{3:6} For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons
of Jacob are not consumed
FEAR NOT
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Fear not.
For I am with thee.
Be not dismayed.
For I am thy God.
I will strengthen thee.
Yes.
I will help thee.
Yes.
I will uphold thee
with the right hand
of my righteousness.
Fear not.
We are a fearful people aren't we? Do we have reason to be? I think we do. We have a lot of reason to be fearful if we aren't with God. We have a whole lot of fear coming our way when we don't trust in God. It's one thing to say we trust Him, another thing to really mean we trust Him. As things get worse and worse it stands to reason people are fearful. We need to have faith in God, true faith that won't buckle under anything! Not a faith that says only believe when things are going our way. Not a faith that says we will not have to suffer. Not a faith that claims IF God truly were God all these bad things wouldn't happen. When Christians martyrs were being thrown to the lions and used in Roman games to be killed, when they were being torn asunder and their guts spilled, their bodies tortured they could have reason to fear don't you think? Fear not for I am with thee, be not dismayed for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee, I will help thee, I will uphold thee. Do you think they believed God then? If they had a real faith in God then they did. We don't like to assume they did because such thought scare us silly. We can't imagine being hunted and tortured. We fear the idea of being hunted and tortured and I'm not saying ANYONE should want these things, just that not wanting them to happen and being fearful of them are two different things.
As a Christian being thrown out into the arena at the Roman colliseum, hearing the roaring and snapping jaws of the starving lions, how could they not be scared? How? Maybe some where, but maybe they weren't.
We're a fearful society. I see it in the paper, on the computer news, headlines about people being afraid of the economy and its downfall and where it's all going.
Fear.
We live in a world where it's okay to have fears and even more okay to treat those fears with medication so we don't have to be so fearful, but calmed, chilled a bit so we aren't so uptight and such.
Fear.
I've lived with fear all my life, it's part of me and I say it's part of my make up, of who I am. I could no longer imagine having to get up and speak in front of a crowd without fear than I could imagine me bungee jumping without fear. The fear is real in me. I feel my hands going ice cold when I'm frightened and I just recently learned it's because the fear response is to run and the blood leaves my hands to go to my legs so I can run faster if necessary.
Fear.
Yes, I do want to run, to be away from the things that make me fearful.
I'm on very familiar terms with fear.
Where do fear and faith meet?
God would have us fear not, but trust in Him for all things...ALL things.
Easy to say- hard to do.
Faith my faith needs to grow- no, not in size necessary but in quality.
Having faith in God completely means trusting in Him completely and not in self at all.
Perhaps when I put away self, perhaps if I take my eyes OFF myself for a bit I would be able to see God more.
Lord I believe! Help thou my UNBELIEF!
Mark {9:24} And
straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with
tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
With tears of desperation, of hope Lord I plead with You by Your grace and mercy to help thou my unbelief!
I want to trust in Your words- 'Fear not'
Please Lord, we know that we need less of self and more of You. Help us! Save us! Know us!
In the name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior we thank you, we praise you now and forever!
Amen.
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”- Romans 15:13
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wait Upon the Lord
Isaiah
{40:12} Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
So amazing! Can any man measure the waters in the hollow of his hand? Can any man mete out heaven with the span of his hand? Can any man understand the dust of the earth in a measure? No way! No man can do any of that. Who can weigh the mountains in scales? No one! Who can weigh the hills in a balance? None.
No man, only God. Only our creator. Only the one who created the waters, the heavens, the dust, the mountains and hills.
{40:13} Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him?
None.
{40:14} With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
None.
{40:15} Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
A drop of a bucket, small dust- to God, to the One who created all things from great to small, we are a very little thing.
{40:16} And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
No offering is sufficent for the greatness of God, how can it be? How? His greatness is something we can't begin to truly fathom.
{40:17} All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
God doesn't seek anything for vanity, man think in terms of vanity, not God.
{40:18} To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
God is truly indescribable.
{40:19} The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
{40:20} He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.
{40:21} Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? {40:22} [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in
{40:23} That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
{40:24} Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
{40:25} To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
{40:26} Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things,] that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the
greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.
{40:27} Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
{40:28} Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
So amazing! The Creator of the ends of the earth, the everlasting God, the Lord! We cannot hope to understand, we just can't. We have to trust and believe in the Lord our Creator.
{40:29} He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
{40:30} Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall
{40:31} But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
They that wait upon the Lord!
Wait upon the Lord.
We wait upon You oh Lord our God, our Creator! We wait. By Your mercy and grace we wait.
We need to trust wholly in God.
Would you wait for something you had no hope in? No. You'd cease waiting. We can't stop waiting for our God in any sense of the word. God needs to be real in our lives, in our hearts. Here is a small paragraph from a C.S. Lewis book called Mere Christianity that is truly worthy of thinking on as we realize that our God, our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer would have us wait. The waiting process isn't something that will garner you Salvation. Salvation is through God alone, through the sacrifice and grace of Jesus Christ, God's Only Son. We have to live our lives but not with the hope of our actions giving us Salvation. Our hope is in Christ and as we live we need to remember to wait upon the Lord.
'People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, "If you keep a lot of rules I'll reward you, and if you don't I'll do the other thing." I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.' Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis
By the grace and mercy of God we live and have life everlasting.
Amen.
{40:12} Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
So amazing! Can any man measure the waters in the hollow of his hand? Can any man mete out heaven with the span of his hand? Can any man understand the dust of the earth in a measure? No way! No man can do any of that. Who can weigh the mountains in scales? No one! Who can weigh the hills in a balance? None.
No man, only God. Only our creator. Only the one who created the waters, the heavens, the dust, the mountains and hills.
{40:13} Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or [being] his counsellor hath taught him?
None.
{40:14} With whom took he counsel, and [who] instructed him, and taught him in the path of judgment, and taught him knowledge, and shewed to him the way of understanding?
None.
{40:15} Behold, the nations [are] as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
A drop of a bucket, small dust- to God, to the One who created all things from great to small, we are a very little thing.
{40:16} And Lebanon [is] not sufficient to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
No offering is sufficent for the greatness of God, how can it be? How? His greatness is something we can't begin to truly fathom.
{40:17} All nations before him [are] as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
God doesn't seek anything for vanity, man think in terms of vanity, not God.
{40:18} To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
God is truly indescribable.
{40:19} The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.
{40:20} He that [is] so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree [that] will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, [that] shall not be moved.
{40:21} Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? {40:22} [It is] he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof [are] as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in
{40:23} That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
{40:24} Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown: yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth: and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
{40:25} To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
{40:26} Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these [things,] that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the
greatness of his might, for that [he is] strong in power; not one faileth.
{40:27} Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
{40:28} Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, [that] the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? [there is] no searching of his understanding.
So amazing! The Creator of the ends of the earth, the everlasting God, the Lord! We cannot hope to understand, we just can't. We have to trust and believe in the Lord our Creator.
{40:29} He giveth power to the faint; and to [them that have] no might he increaseth strength.
{40:30} Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall
{40:31} But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew [their] strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; [and] they shall walk, and not faint.
They that wait upon the Lord!
Wait upon the Lord.
We wait upon You oh Lord our God, our Creator! We wait. By Your mercy and grace we wait.
We need to trust wholly in God.
Would you wait for something you had no hope in? No. You'd cease waiting. We can't stop waiting for our God in any sense of the word. God needs to be real in our lives, in our hearts. Here is a small paragraph from a C.S. Lewis book called Mere Christianity that is truly worthy of thinking on as we realize that our God, our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer would have us wait. The waiting process isn't something that will garner you Salvation. Salvation is through God alone, through the sacrifice and grace of Jesus Christ, God's Only Son. We have to live our lives but not with the hope of our actions giving us Salvation. Our hope is in Christ and as we live we need to remember to wait upon the Lord.
'People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, "If you keep a lot of rules I'll reward you, and if you don't I'll do the other thing." I do not think that is the best way of looking at it. I would much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.' Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis
By the grace and mercy of God we live and have life everlasting.
Amen.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Surely the people is grass
Isa.
{40:6} The voice said, Cry.
And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.
{40:7} The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
{40:8} The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
All flesh is grass
All the goodliness...as the flower of the field
The grass withereth
The flower fadeth
Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it
Surely the people is grass
Grass withereth
Flower fadeth
But the word of our God shall stand for ever
The Word of Our God
John {1:14} And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word of our God shall stand for ever.
We will fade, we will wither and pass away just as grass does. The Lord's spirit will blow upon us and we are no more and yet Jesus is forever and ever.
God's word is forever.
Creator and Creature.
The Creator made His creatures so that His creatures could live forever. The possibility existed within the man He created for life everlasting. Man forfieted this everlasting life when he chose to disobey the Creator and life everlasting was taken away, but the hope of life everlasting remained. The hope for life everlasting is found in Jesus, God's Son, our Creator's Son who sacrificed Himself for us to have this hope.
We have hope in the word of our God now and forever.
May God help us find this hope, seek this hope, claim this hope through the Holy Spirit, by the Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
Amen.
{40:6} The voice said, Cry.
And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.
{40:7} The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass.
{40:8} The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
All flesh is grass
All the goodliness...as the flower of the field
The grass withereth
The flower fadeth
Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it
Surely the people is grass
Grass withereth
Flower fadeth
But the word of our God shall stand for ever
The Word of Our God
John {1:14} And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Word of our God shall stand for ever.
We will fade, we will wither and pass away just as grass does. The Lord's spirit will blow upon us and we are no more and yet Jesus is forever and ever.
God's word is forever.
Creator and Creature.
The Creator made His creatures so that His creatures could live forever. The possibility existed within the man He created for life everlasting. Man forfieted this everlasting life when he chose to disobey the Creator and life everlasting was taken away, but the hope of life everlasting remained. The hope for life everlasting is found in Jesus, God's Son, our Creator's Son who sacrificed Himself for us to have this hope.
We have hope in the word of our God now and forever.
May God help us find this hope, seek this hope, claim this hope through the Holy Spirit, by the Grace and Mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!
Amen.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
More on Peace.
It's a bad person who stirs up discord and strife, isn't it? People that incite to riot, or begin fights and protests are not very popular. Though some may have just causes for which they are standing up and fighting, but if they stood up to riot or fight without any cause other than their own need to cause disturbance, it'd be this sort of person we're all for locking up in prison for a bit, aren't we?
We don't want discord. We don't want people attacking others. We have laws against such people, against such things. We have laws and we have people we've entrusted to keep the peace.
*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_officer
A law enforcement officer (also called peace officer), in North America, is any public-sector person charged with upholding the peace, mainly police officers, customs officers, correctional officers, probation officers, parole officers, auxiliary officers, and sheriffs or marshals and their deputies.
Modern legal codes use the term peace officer (or in some jurisdictions, law enforcement officer) to include every public-sector person vested by the legislating state with law-enforcement authority—traditionally, anyone "sworn, badged, and armable" but, basically, who can arrest, or refer such arrest for a criminal prosecution. Hence, city police officers, county sheriffs' deputies, and state troopers are usually vested with the same authority within a given jurisdiction.
Jurisdictions may restrict the powers granted to those who have "peace-officer status" instead of "police-officer status". For example, in New York, all New York State Court Officers,[1] as well as Court clerks,[2] assigned to the 1st and 2nd Judicial Departments are classified as peace officers who can carry a firearm both on and off duty.
*
Yes, we have people we've entrusted to keep the peace alright and we see them about us on a daily basis- just drive about a city and you'll more than likely see a police car of some sort.
We are very adamant about wanting peace in our lives. We want peace in the stores we go to shop at, the restaurants we go to eat at, the cinemas we watch movies at, the schools we send our children too or those of higher education we might even go to ourselves. We want peace all around us and when someone disturbs that peace they need to be taken to task for it and we have laws to make sure that they can be taken to task.
Privately in our own homes we desire peace don't we? Who actually wants to live in constant turmoil? Maybe there are some who have a warped sense of living who actually feel best when there is some sort of upset going on, but usually they're those who want attention and find bad attention is better than no attention at all.
As a general rule most people would rather get along with those about them than fight with them.
It's no wonder that there is such a huge push for World Peace, for an end to the discords between countries, between tribes, between all. We can't dispute that peace is something people should desire. We claim that God wants peace don't we?
It's true.
Who can imagine a God that wouldn't want peace?
The push for Peace is growing stronger and stronger and will continue to gain momentum and strength so that it will make it next to impossible for people to stand up and shout they don't want peace, it will make them appear to be troublemakers, dissidents, strangely abnormal and completely against the good of all mankind and their own people.
Are these people troublemakers? Are they strange and abnormal? Are they really against the good of mankind wanting fighting and not peace?
*
What does the Bible say about peace? What does Jesus say?
Matthew 10:34
34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Isn't that contradictory? Surely Jesus wants peace on earth! This has to be wrong, right? What about this...
Luke 12:51
51Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division.
He's saying no peace but division!? But...but...He is the Prince of Peace!
Isaiah {9:6} For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
See it says so right there. How can Jesus not want peace for the world? It's impossible- or is it?
Luke 19:38
38Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
Peace where? Heaven.
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
His peace, Jesus' peace, not the peace that the world can give. Yes, He is the Prince of Peace but it's a Heavenly peace, it's His peace.
John 16:33
33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
In Jesus we have peace. In the world tribulation. Yes, Jesus promotes peace in HIM, only in Him. That's not to say He wants us to fight and war with each other, but it is to say that He wants peace on His terms. Peace through Him. Not peace at all costs setting aside God's moral law to obtain a peace accord. Never did Jesus want that, never would he approve of peace by capitulation to other gods. No, our God has made it very clear that there will be NO other gods before Him. To create a peace accord with the world by given in to others that worship other gods is very, very wrong. Of course in many of our world governments today they have taken God out of it all and some never put Him in there to begin with so they will have a much easier time of just being able to say yes, to peace. Others will look for common ground and set aside the less common ground focusing on making things work with what they can agree upon.
Even now in the Mideast there is a lot of discord over the Peace they are trying to find. Is it because some refuse peace at all costs? That they stand by principles, by their religoius laws rather than give in? Maybe, maybe not. People are determined that there will be peace in the Middle East, peace in the world and on the surface that seems like a grand thing.
However, there is a danger, subtle and hidden for those who would worship world peace, they are really worshipping the beast but to tell people such a thing is to risk their wrath. Of course God wants us to have peace and love and all that so no one should say otherwise. Well, I'm saying otherwise. When peace is formed at the expense of belief the peace is a false peace. God will not and has not ever accepted other gods before Him. So while you say it's only good and right, it's only love and peace, you have to ask yourself if it's at the expense of compromising God. If we ignore that it is a compromise and shove aside the exacting God of truth we will be held accountable for our actions and all the supposed peace we've garnered in the world will mean nothing.
Romans 5:1
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:6
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Spiritually minded...peace.
Romans 10:15
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
The gospel of peace is salvation through Jesus! Peace in Jesus.
Romans 14:17
17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Peace...in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Joy and peace in believing! Believing in whom? Jesus through the power of the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians 14:33
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
God the author of peace.. God's peace!
2 Corinthians 13:11
11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Live in peace. Living in Jesus, the love of Jesus.
Galatians 5:22
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
The fruit of the Spirit is... peace. Christ's peace!
Ephesians 1:2
2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace from God!
Philippians 4:7
7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Peace of God passes all understanding.
Colossians 1:20
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Peace through the blood of his cross! Reconciling all things to himself.
Colossians 3:15
15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Peace of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
When they shall say peace and safety--- what, then destruction?!
People are saying peace and safety and they're saying it very loudly, and getting louder all the time.
Sudden destruction.
They shall not escape.
But all they were doing was touting peace.
No, they were touting peace and abandoning God in the process while claiming to be following His will.
God cannot be fooled. Man can and will be fooled but God will not be deceived. He knows what is happening, He's watching over it all.
2 Peter 1:2
2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord
Grace and peace multipled how? Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Not grace and peace by making nice with those who do not believe in God or Jesus Christ as their Savior.
As the world watches in wonder and a great peace descends brought about by satan transformed into an angel of light deceiving the whole world only those clinging to the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus will understand the deception.
Keep our eyes and our hearts open Lord please!
By Your Mercy and Grace we cling to You, Jesus!
You, who told us we have seen the Father when we've seen You, we know His ways are Your ways and Your ways His. You who did not come to destroy the commandments but to have them realized in Your perfection, it is You we cling tightly too and plead for forgiveness and ask for grace and mercy. It is Your peace we desire, not the peace that is in the world.
In your Love, in your Name!
Amen.
It's a bad person who stirs up discord and strife, isn't it? People that incite to riot, or begin fights and protests are not very popular. Though some may have just causes for which they are standing up and fighting, but if they stood up to riot or fight without any cause other than their own need to cause disturbance, it'd be this sort of person we're all for locking up in prison for a bit, aren't we?
We don't want discord. We don't want people attacking others. We have laws against such people, against such things. We have laws and we have people we've entrusted to keep the peace.
*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_enforcement_officer
A law enforcement officer (also called peace officer), in North America, is any public-sector person charged with upholding the peace, mainly police officers, customs officers, correctional officers, probation officers, parole officers, auxiliary officers, and sheriffs or marshals and their deputies.
Modern legal codes use the term peace officer (or in some jurisdictions, law enforcement officer) to include every public-sector person vested by the legislating state with law-enforcement authority—traditionally, anyone "sworn, badged, and armable" but, basically, who can arrest, or refer such arrest for a criminal prosecution. Hence, city police officers, county sheriffs' deputies, and state troopers are usually vested with the same authority within a given jurisdiction.
Jurisdictions may restrict the powers granted to those who have "peace-officer status" instead of "police-officer status". For example, in New York, all New York State Court Officers,[1] as well as Court clerks,[2] assigned to the 1st and 2nd Judicial Departments are classified as peace officers who can carry a firearm both on and off duty.
*
Yes, we have people we've entrusted to keep the peace alright and we see them about us on a daily basis- just drive about a city and you'll more than likely see a police car of some sort.
We are very adamant about wanting peace in our lives. We want peace in the stores we go to shop at, the restaurants we go to eat at, the cinemas we watch movies at, the schools we send our children too or those of higher education we might even go to ourselves. We want peace all around us and when someone disturbs that peace they need to be taken to task for it and we have laws to make sure that they can be taken to task.
Privately in our own homes we desire peace don't we? Who actually wants to live in constant turmoil? Maybe there are some who have a warped sense of living who actually feel best when there is some sort of upset going on, but usually they're those who want attention and find bad attention is better than no attention at all.
As a general rule most people would rather get along with those about them than fight with them.
It's no wonder that there is such a huge push for World Peace, for an end to the discords between countries, between tribes, between all. We can't dispute that peace is something people should desire. We claim that God wants peace don't we?
It's true.
Who can imagine a God that wouldn't want peace?
The push for Peace is growing stronger and stronger and will continue to gain momentum and strength so that it will make it next to impossible for people to stand up and shout they don't want peace, it will make them appear to be troublemakers, dissidents, strangely abnormal and completely against the good of all mankind and their own people.
Are these people troublemakers? Are they strange and abnormal? Are they really against the good of mankind wanting fighting and not peace?
*
What does the Bible say about peace? What does Jesus say?
Matthew 10:34
34Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Isn't that contradictory? Surely Jesus wants peace on earth! This has to be wrong, right? What about this...
Luke 12:51
51Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division.
He's saying no peace but division!? But...but...He is the Prince of Peace!
Isaiah {9:6} For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
See it says so right there. How can Jesus not want peace for the world? It's impossible- or is it?
Luke 19:38
38Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
Peace where? Heaven.
John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
His peace, Jesus' peace, not the peace that the world can give. Yes, He is the Prince of Peace but it's a Heavenly peace, it's His peace.
John 16:33
33These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
In Jesus we have peace. In the world tribulation. Yes, Jesus promotes peace in HIM, only in Him. That's not to say He wants us to fight and war with each other, but it is to say that He wants peace on His terms. Peace through Him. Not peace at all costs setting aside God's moral law to obtain a peace accord. Never did Jesus want that, never would he approve of peace by capitulation to other gods. No, our God has made it very clear that there will be NO other gods before Him. To create a peace accord with the world by given in to others that worship other gods is very, very wrong. Of course in many of our world governments today they have taken God out of it all and some never put Him in there to begin with so they will have a much easier time of just being able to say yes, to peace. Others will look for common ground and set aside the less common ground focusing on making things work with what they can agree upon.
Even now in the Mideast there is a lot of discord over the Peace they are trying to find. Is it because some refuse peace at all costs? That they stand by principles, by their religoius laws rather than give in? Maybe, maybe not. People are determined that there will be peace in the Middle East, peace in the world and on the surface that seems like a grand thing.
However, there is a danger, subtle and hidden for those who would worship world peace, they are really worshipping the beast but to tell people such a thing is to risk their wrath. Of course God wants us to have peace and love and all that so no one should say otherwise. Well, I'm saying otherwise. When peace is formed at the expense of belief the peace is a false peace. God will not and has not ever accepted other gods before Him. So while you say it's only good and right, it's only love and peace, you have to ask yourself if it's at the expense of compromising God. If we ignore that it is a compromise and shove aside the exacting God of truth we will be held accountable for our actions and all the supposed peace we've garnered in the world will mean nothing.
Romans 5:1
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ
Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:6
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Spiritually minded...peace.
Romans 10:15
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
The gospel of peace is salvation through Jesus! Peace in Jesus.
Romans 14:17
17For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Peace...in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Joy and peace in believing! Believing in whom? Jesus through the power of the Holy Ghost.
1 Corinthians 14:33
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
God the author of peace.. God's peace!
2 Corinthians 13:11
11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Live in peace. Living in Jesus, the love of Jesus.
Galatians 5:22
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.
The fruit of the Spirit is... peace. Christ's peace!
Ephesians 1:2
2Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Peace from God!
Philippians 4:7
7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Peace of God passes all understanding.
Colossians 1:20
20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Peace through the blood of his cross! Reconciling all things to himself.
Colossians 3:15
15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Peace of God.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
3For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
When they shall say peace and safety--- what, then destruction?!
People are saying peace and safety and they're saying it very loudly, and getting louder all the time.
Sudden destruction.
They shall not escape.
But all they were doing was touting peace.
No, they were touting peace and abandoning God in the process while claiming to be following His will.
God cannot be fooled. Man can and will be fooled but God will not be deceived. He knows what is happening, He's watching over it all.
2 Peter 1:2
2Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord
Grace and peace multipled how? Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Not grace and peace by making nice with those who do not believe in God or Jesus Christ as their Savior.
As the world watches in wonder and a great peace descends brought about by satan transformed into an angel of light deceiving the whole world only those clinging to the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus will understand the deception.
Keep our eyes and our hearts open Lord please!
By Your Mercy and Grace we cling to You, Jesus!
You, who told us we have seen the Father when we've seen You, we know His ways are Your ways and Your ways His. You who did not come to destroy the commandments but to have them realized in Your perfection, it is You we cling tightly too and plead for forgiveness and ask for grace and mercy. It is Your peace we desire, not the peace that is in the world.
In your Love, in your Name!
Amen.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Thou hast made heaven and earth
Isa. {37:16} O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest
between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou
alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made
heaven and earth. {37:17} Incline thine ear, O LORD, and
hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the
words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the
living God. {37:18} Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria
have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, {37:19}
And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no
gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone:
therefore they have destroyed them. {37:20} Now therefore,
O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the
kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD,
even thou only
Long ago as wars took place, kings going from place to place to conquer lands they could claim as theirs, the men of God prayed to Him knowing He alone could hear and help. God alone reigned.
Today for the most part in our so called civilized and modern world we don't have people warring to gain kingdoms. It's almost unthinkable to imagine France warring with England trying to gain control of England to make it part of France's kingdom (country). I can't imagine it anyway. France is France and will always be France, England is England and will always be England. Today the focus is more on World Peace- while retaining individuality in established countries. Biblically the *ten toes* are the last kingdoms before Christ's kingdom. Dan. 2 - the stone that was cut without hands destroyed the prophectic statue that depicted the reigning rulership though time. From Babylon right on down to a time when the kingdoms were divided- never to be reunited under one kingdom.
Back in the days when King Hezekiah was being threatened destruction by the Assyrians he prayed-
O Lord of hosts
God of Israel
that dwellest between the cherubims
thou art the God
even thou alone
of all the kingdoms of earth
thou hast made heaven and earth
Incline thine ear, O Lord
and hear
Open thine eyes, O Lord
and see
and hear all the words of Sennacherib
which reproach the living God
Of a truth
Lord
the kings of Assyira
have laid waste all the nations and their countries
And have cast their gods into the fire
for they were no gods
but the work of men's hands
wood and stone
therefore they have destroyed them.
Now therefore,
O LORD
our God
save us from his hand
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that thou art the LORD,
even thou only.
There is no man trying to overthrow my country, my state, my county, my neighborhood, none. I don't live in fear of being taken captive, I don't live in fear of the enemy and his army heading my way threatening to destroy my land, my family, my friends. Maybe our government has that fear and because of that fear they have to keep up a great military presence so that the enemies of our country are kept at bay. We live in a world where we have enemies but because of all sides having the potential to destroy everything there can be no out and out war without the realization the world itself will be destroyed. Before we let another country take us captive we would do our best to destroy them first. They call it the former cold war- a war not truly being fought outside of the build up of arms in space and elsewhere to declare destruction on whomever might decide t fight. We still have that war going on even if people have outwardly called a truce and are trying to be friendly with one another.
Bottom line, I don't truly live in fear of being taken captive of war taking place and my country and its people taken over by another.
Yet, with that fear mostly gone and as long as the weaponery of the various countries remain somewhat equal in destructive possibilities, we still have a battle to fight, one that isn't visible.
Maybe we can take comfort in the fact we don't live in the days where we need a king to pray to God to destroy an enemy coming to kill us, but the invisible enemy is alive and well and he's destroying many and he doesn't sleep, he doesn't rest, he works relentlessly. You can scoff if you want, you can ignore him entirely, you can even claim he's not real and doesn't exist, but he doesn't care- you don't have to believe in him, he believes in you.
We've so many fictional tales out there- movies, shows, books, making him seem harmless- keeping him on a fictional level- and it fits in great with his warfare.
Very few are crying out to God to save them from this very real threat.
We need to cry out to God.
O Lord of hosts God of Israel that dwellest between the cherubims thou art the God even thou alone of all the kingdoms of earth thou hast made heaven and earth Incline thine ear, O Lord and hear Open thine eyes, O Lord and see
Lord!
Maker of heaven and earth!
See, hear!
We need You Lord! We need you!
See the corruption, hear the horrific words against You!
The earth groans with the overwhelming denial of You.
The entire earth reeks of corruption.
The cry of the few is loud and pleads for You to hear among the screaming and shouting of the evildoers that would drown out any word to You that might arise.
Lord! Please! Please! Our anguish is nothing compared to Your heartache over the betrayal of Your people. You've done all You could do to save us, and so many don't want to be saved. You would draw us to you and yet they run away fast as they can to look after their own lives, thinking that of themselves they can exist, thinking of themselves they can excel, thinking they can save themselves and have no need at all of being saved.
Lord! Hear us Lord! We would run to You! We know that You and You alone, the Maker of Heaven and Earth! You Lord can save us, You alone keep us alive! Only in You are we anything at all, only in You!
Please Lord! Save us! We would be Yours, totally Yours!
By Your will and Grace, by Your Mercy, by Your Love.
Amen.
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”- 2 Peter 1:5-8
between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou
alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made
heaven and earth. {37:17} Incline thine ear, O LORD, and
hear; open thine eyes, O LORD, and see: and hear all the
words of Sennacherib, which hath sent to reproach the
living God. {37:18} Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria
have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, {37:19}
And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no
gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone:
therefore they have destroyed them. {37:20} Now therefore,
O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the
kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD,
even thou only
Long ago as wars took place, kings going from place to place to conquer lands they could claim as theirs, the men of God prayed to Him knowing He alone could hear and help. God alone reigned.
Today for the most part in our so called civilized and modern world we don't have people warring to gain kingdoms. It's almost unthinkable to imagine France warring with England trying to gain control of England to make it part of France's kingdom (country). I can't imagine it anyway. France is France and will always be France, England is England and will always be England. Today the focus is more on World Peace- while retaining individuality in established countries. Biblically the *ten toes* are the last kingdoms before Christ's kingdom. Dan. 2 - the stone that was cut without hands destroyed the prophectic statue that depicted the reigning rulership though time. From Babylon right on down to a time when the kingdoms were divided- never to be reunited under one kingdom.
Back in the days when King Hezekiah was being threatened destruction by the Assyrians he prayed-
O Lord of hosts
God of Israel
that dwellest between the cherubims
thou art the God
even thou alone
of all the kingdoms of earth
thou hast made heaven and earth
Incline thine ear, O Lord
and hear
Open thine eyes, O Lord
and see
and hear all the words of Sennacherib
which reproach the living God
Of a truth
Lord
the kings of Assyira
have laid waste all the nations and their countries
And have cast their gods into the fire
for they were no gods
but the work of men's hands
wood and stone
therefore they have destroyed them.
Now therefore,
O LORD
our God
save us from his hand
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that thou art the LORD,
even thou only.
There is no man trying to overthrow my country, my state, my county, my neighborhood, none. I don't live in fear of being taken captive, I don't live in fear of the enemy and his army heading my way threatening to destroy my land, my family, my friends. Maybe our government has that fear and because of that fear they have to keep up a great military presence so that the enemies of our country are kept at bay. We live in a world where we have enemies but because of all sides having the potential to destroy everything there can be no out and out war without the realization the world itself will be destroyed. Before we let another country take us captive we would do our best to destroy them first. They call it the former cold war- a war not truly being fought outside of the build up of arms in space and elsewhere to declare destruction on whomever might decide t fight. We still have that war going on even if people have outwardly called a truce and are trying to be friendly with one another.
Bottom line, I don't truly live in fear of being taken captive of war taking place and my country and its people taken over by another.
Yet, with that fear mostly gone and as long as the weaponery of the various countries remain somewhat equal in destructive possibilities, we still have a battle to fight, one that isn't visible.
Maybe we can take comfort in the fact we don't live in the days where we need a king to pray to God to destroy an enemy coming to kill us, but the invisible enemy is alive and well and he's destroying many and he doesn't sleep, he doesn't rest, he works relentlessly. You can scoff if you want, you can ignore him entirely, you can even claim he's not real and doesn't exist, but he doesn't care- you don't have to believe in him, he believes in you.
We've so many fictional tales out there- movies, shows, books, making him seem harmless- keeping him on a fictional level- and it fits in great with his warfare.
Very few are crying out to God to save them from this very real threat.
We need to cry out to God.
O Lord of hosts God of Israel that dwellest between the cherubims thou art the God even thou alone of all the kingdoms of earth thou hast made heaven and earth Incline thine ear, O Lord and hear Open thine eyes, O Lord and see
Lord!
Maker of heaven and earth!
See, hear!
We need You Lord! We need you!
See the corruption, hear the horrific words against You!
The earth groans with the overwhelming denial of You.
The entire earth reeks of corruption.
The cry of the few is loud and pleads for You to hear among the screaming and shouting of the evildoers that would drown out any word to You that might arise.
Lord! Please! Please! Our anguish is nothing compared to Your heartache over the betrayal of Your people. You've done all You could do to save us, and so many don't want to be saved. You would draw us to you and yet they run away fast as they can to look after their own lives, thinking that of themselves they can exist, thinking of themselves they can excel, thinking they can save themselves and have no need at all of being saved.
Lord! Hear us Lord! We would run to You! We know that You and You alone, the Maker of Heaven and Earth! You Lord can save us, You alone keep us alive! Only in You are we anything at all, only in You!
Please Lord! Save us! We would be Yours, totally Yours!
By Your will and Grace, by Your Mercy, by Your Love.
Amen.
“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”- 2 Peter 1:5-8
Friday, March 13, 2009
Blessed are we if we wait for Him.
Isaiah {30:1} Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin.
Isaiah {30:18} And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD [is] a God of judgment: blessed [are] all they that wait for him.
*
Take counsel. What good are those words if the source of your counsel is corrupt? Seriously. We tell people to get counseling all the time, that it helps and it can help. But what if we tell someone to get counseling and they choose a counselor that is abusive and only hurts them? Would they have a good experience with the counseling? No. The counseling could actually hurt them more than help. When counseling is taken it's recommended that a person know the reputation of the one they are going to get counseling from.
Isaiah {9:6} For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. {9:7} Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Jesus- Counsellor!
When we take counsel from any other than God in things pertaining to life everlasting that counsel labels us as rebellious. When we desire to be covered with anything but the Spirit of God we are only adding sin to sin. We need the Spirit of God and when we have the Spirit of God, when we are covered by the Holy Spirit we are protected by God. When we take counsel of God we are protected by God.
We are to see God in all ways.
We aren't to seek others, we aren't to get help from others, and no, I'm not saying we can't go to others with our problems or such but they should be secondary, not primary. God's counsel should be first. If was seek God first we have the protection that we need when we go to others seeking their help. God should always be first, always. The Holy Spirit should be totally covering us, totally surrounding us. When we allow other things, other people to control our lives then we take control from God where it belongs. Only God has our total well being in mind, even when we are chastened by Him.
*
The Lord waits- why? To be gracious. To have mercy upon us. Blessed are we if we wait for Him.
Think about it...
We want to yell and scream at God for taking too long as people suffer and yet it is pure graciousness, pure mercy on His part that He waits and blessed are we that wait for him. We have to wait on Him knowing that to do so will bless us beyond our imaginations.
May the Lord bless and keep us waiting for Him, keep us covered by His Holy Spirit, and may we seek counsel from the Lord first and foremost, by His will and by the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, Amen.
Isaiah {30:18} And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD [is] a God of judgment: blessed [are] all they that wait for him.
*
Take counsel. What good are those words if the source of your counsel is corrupt? Seriously. We tell people to get counseling all the time, that it helps and it can help. But what if we tell someone to get counseling and they choose a counselor that is abusive and only hurts them? Would they have a good experience with the counseling? No. The counseling could actually hurt them more than help. When counseling is taken it's recommended that a person know the reputation of the one they are going to get counseling from.
Isaiah {9:6} For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. {9:7} Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
Jesus- Counsellor!
When we take counsel from any other than God in things pertaining to life everlasting that counsel labels us as rebellious. When we desire to be covered with anything but the Spirit of God we are only adding sin to sin. We need the Spirit of God and when we have the Spirit of God, when we are covered by the Holy Spirit we are protected by God. When we take counsel of God we are protected by God.
We are to see God in all ways.
We aren't to seek others, we aren't to get help from others, and no, I'm not saying we can't go to others with our problems or such but they should be secondary, not primary. God's counsel should be first. If was seek God first we have the protection that we need when we go to others seeking their help. God should always be first, always. The Holy Spirit should be totally covering us, totally surrounding us. When we allow other things, other people to control our lives then we take control from God where it belongs. Only God has our total well being in mind, even when we are chastened by Him.
*
The Lord waits- why? To be gracious. To have mercy upon us. Blessed are we if we wait for Him.
Think about it...
We want to yell and scream at God for taking too long as people suffer and yet it is pure graciousness, pure mercy on His part that He waits and blessed are we that wait for him. We have to wait on Him knowing that to do so will bless us beyond our imaginations.
May the Lord bless and keep us waiting for Him, keep us covered by His Holy Spirit, and may we seek counsel from the Lord first and foremost, by His will and by the mercy and grace of our Lord and Savior, Amen.
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