Today I was looking for a scripture that I was going to share about inward beauty, and in looking for it, the Lord directed me into a U-turn to another scripture that I think needs to be said to all, and it is found in Colossians 2:8.
"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ".
Our eyes as a country need to be set on God, and not on man. Our eyes need to be set on the grace and atonement for everyone through the blood of Jesus, not on the election of a black man, to try to right the wrongs of the past in our country.
I never tippy toe around the issues that I feel strongly about, and I'm sure not going to start now!
The world's principles, which is mentioned in this passage, haven't seem to do too much for our country, as we have followed it's principles and now stand in the greatest economic downfall of our time. Lawyers, bail outs and a liberal congress cannot better ourselves as a nation, but as it says in II Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land".
That's the only answer for our country, and the only LOGICAL answer, in my opinion. Man's solutions have failed us, and it's time to turn this country back to it's Judeo Christian principles it was founded on.
And I'll stand on this soapbox til Jesus comes if I have to, and NOT apologize for it!
Showing posts with label Repentance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Repentance. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Friday, December 5, 2008
Amen, Lord
Happy Friday!
Yesterday's passage in Jeremiah 11 ended with Jeremiah saying, "Amen, Lord". That's something we should say, no matter what the Lord asks of us. The word Amen can be translated to "So Be It". No questions, no hesitations, just "Amen, Lord".
Today's verses are 6 - 11 : "The Lord said to me, ' Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; "Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, ' Obey me'.
But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep".
Then the Lord said to me, ' There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the Lord says: ' I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them'".
I read on a dear friend's blog, a prayer by Reverend Billy Graham, read by his daughter on the CBS Morning Show on Thanksgiving Day this year. What I love about Billy Graham is that he boldly proclaims the gospel without EVER sugar coating it, and I think he nailed this right on the head about our country and the sins we have given way to. I thought it fit in very well with all that we've been reading and studying in Jeremiah, and how the people of Israel had fallen into the sins of their forefathers.
“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen.”As families gather for the holiday, please remember there is no reason to have a holiday called Thanksgiving unless there is Someone to thank.Thanks to God and Jesus Christ His Son for all the blessings on our fair land".
Pray for our nation, and that we not only see our sin, but that "we, his people, who are called by His name, will humble themselves and pray and seek his face and turn from our wicked ways, THEN He will hear from Heaven and will forgive our sin and will heal our land". II Chronicles 7: 14
"AMEN, LORD".
Have a blessed Friday...
Janelle
Yesterday's passage in Jeremiah 11 ended with Jeremiah saying, "Amen, Lord". That's something we should say, no matter what the Lord asks of us. The word Amen can be translated to "So Be It". No questions, no hesitations, just "Amen, Lord".
Today's verses are 6 - 11 : "The Lord said to me, ' Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; "Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. From the time I brought your forefathers up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, ' Obey me'.
But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep".
Then the Lord said to me, ' There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. They have returned to the sins of their forefathers, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the Lord says: ' I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them'".
I read on a dear friend's blog, a prayer by Reverend Billy Graham, read by his daughter on the CBS Morning Show on Thanksgiving Day this year. What I love about Billy Graham is that he boldly proclaims the gospel without EVER sugar coating it, and I think he nailed this right on the head about our country and the sins we have given way to. I thought it fit in very well with all that we've been reading and studying in Jeremiah, and how the people of Israel had fallen into the sins of their forefathers.
“Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, ‘Woe to those who call evil good,’ but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.Search us, oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Amen.”As families gather for the holiday, please remember there is no reason to have a holiday called Thanksgiving unless there is Someone to thank.Thanks to God and Jesus Christ His Son for all the blessings on our fair land".
Pray for our nation, and that we not only see our sin, but that "we, his people, who are called by His name, will humble themselves and pray and seek his face and turn from our wicked ways, THEN He will hear from Heaven and will forgive our sin and will heal our land". II Chronicles 7: 14
"AMEN, LORD".
Have a blessed Friday...
Janelle
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Cleansing of Our Hearts
As the Lord speaks to Jeremiah in chapter 9, it only deepens the sadness and sorrow for his people in Judea and Jerusalem. He must've been totally exhausted much of the time, from his intense weeping for these people. It shows to me, that his heart was as the heart of God - he had a real love for the people, and wanted so badly for them to turn their hearts back to the Lord.
Today's verses are 10 -16 - where the Lord continues to outline the coming events to the land and of it's people.
"I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the desert pastures. They are desolate and untraveled and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds of the air have fled and the animals are gone.
'I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there. What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
The Lord said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them. Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them".
God was about to scatter the Jews, leaving their own land desolate. They had defiled their land by their constant sin and rebellion, and it seems to me that the Lord was doing a purging and cleansing of everything, so he could later bring it back to what he intended it to be - a place of worship to Him.
The Lord does this within our hearts - his Holy Spirit shows us our sin, and brings us to a place where it can be purged and cleansed, making it a pure place of worship of our Lord. When we feel the conviction of sin, it is best if we act on it immediately with a repentant heart. We don't want our hearts to become cold and hard towards the Lord, which can and does happen when one continues to ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It puts a wedge in our relationship to the Lord and makes us spiritually stagnant. Jeremiah's people had gotten to that stagnant place, and we have seen, and will continue to see what will come of them because of it.
Everytime there is a hard lesson speaking of the judgment of God, I battle Satan 's little imps about posting this on my blog; I get this sense of "you don't want to post more of that, do you? People will quit reading your blog and they get tired of hearing about God's judgment."
It's then that I know I MUST keep going, because to not point out that there are consequences of sin, would be for me to disobey the Lord in sharing what He is telling me, and fall into the trap of listening to and obeying the voices of darkness.
Our world has become a place where this generation is coddled, and taught that to speak of things like sin and judgment, could cause injury to one's self esteem. It's pride at it's best - and the author of that sin was thrown from Heaven because of his pride. He was and is egotistic, and has deceived our world into the same mindset.
People are hungry for answers, and the world tells them things that tickle their ears, in order to bring about peace. For those of us who are Christians, we know that this "tickling of the ears" benefits no one, and that the "peace" that is so often promised in order to keep rioting from breaking loose, is a false sense of peace.
I will not attempt to "tickle the ears" of anyone. I have been called to teach straight from God's word, and at times his word has to point out sin, if we want to be freed from it.
Ask the Lord to show you places in your heart that are in need of his purging.
Psalm 51 is a psalm of David, after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. He came to a place of knowing his need to repent and be forgiven by the Lord. Let this be our prayer for ourselves today.
"Have mercy on me O God,
according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, and you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me".
This psalm goes on for several more verses, and I hope you will read it in its entirety.
Let today be the day that we all say, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me".
Today's verses are 10 -16 - where the Lord continues to outline the coming events to the land and of it's people.
"I will weep and wail for the mountains and take up a lament concerning the desert pastures. They are desolate and untraveled and the lowing of cattle is not heard. The birds of the air have fled and the animals are gone.
'I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there. What man is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?
The Lord said, "It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their fathers taught them. Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have destroyed them".
God was about to scatter the Jews, leaving their own land desolate. They had defiled their land by their constant sin and rebellion, and it seems to me that the Lord was doing a purging and cleansing of everything, so he could later bring it back to what he intended it to be - a place of worship to Him.
The Lord does this within our hearts - his Holy Spirit shows us our sin, and brings us to a place where it can be purged and cleansed, making it a pure place of worship of our Lord. When we feel the conviction of sin, it is best if we act on it immediately with a repentant heart. We don't want our hearts to become cold and hard towards the Lord, which can and does happen when one continues to ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It puts a wedge in our relationship to the Lord and makes us spiritually stagnant. Jeremiah's people had gotten to that stagnant place, and we have seen, and will continue to see what will come of them because of it.
Everytime there is a hard lesson speaking of the judgment of God, I battle Satan 's little imps about posting this on my blog; I get this sense of "you don't want to post more of that, do you? People will quit reading your blog and they get tired of hearing about God's judgment."
It's then that I know I MUST keep going, because to not point out that there are consequences of sin, would be for me to disobey the Lord in sharing what He is telling me, and fall into the trap of listening to and obeying the voices of darkness.
Our world has become a place where this generation is coddled, and taught that to speak of things like sin and judgment, could cause injury to one's self esteem. It's pride at it's best - and the author of that sin was thrown from Heaven because of his pride. He was and is egotistic, and has deceived our world into the same mindset.
People are hungry for answers, and the world tells them things that tickle their ears, in order to bring about peace. For those of us who are Christians, we know that this "tickling of the ears" benefits no one, and that the "peace" that is so often promised in order to keep rioting from breaking loose, is a false sense of peace.
I will not attempt to "tickle the ears" of anyone. I have been called to teach straight from God's word, and at times his word has to point out sin, if we want to be freed from it.
Ask the Lord to show you places in your heart that are in need of his purging.
Psalm 51 is a psalm of David, after his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. He came to a place of knowing his need to repent and be forgiven by the Lord. Let this be our prayer for ourselves today.
"Have mercy on me O God,
according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away all my iniquities and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, and you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness, let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me".
This psalm goes on for several more verses, and I hope you will read it in its entirety.
Let today be the day that we all say, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me".
Saturday, November 22, 2008
A Heart of Intercession
Good Saturday Morning! It's cold here in FL this morning; only in the mid 30's! It sure does wake one up to go out on the porch to have coffee, and that crisp air hit one in the face!
I start on Chapter 9 of Jeremiah this morning, and we see even further, why Jeremiah was referred to as the Weeping Prophet.
9: 1 - 3" Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep all day and night for the slain of my people. Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
'They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies. It is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me', declares the Lord."
We see Jeremiah mourning for his people, and weeping for them, much like Jesus did over Jerusalem when he was in the Garden praying and interceding for them, prior to his crucifixion.
They both knew the glory and the blessings of following the Lord, and both knew the oncoming sorrow of separation from the Lord, for the unrepentant sins.
We too, should have a heart for those who are lost; and make ourselves available to the calling of The Holy Spirit, to be a witness of God's love and grace through Christ Jesus.
I pray that I would strive more, to have a heart for intercession.
Have a blessed day!
Janelle
I start on Chapter 9 of Jeremiah this morning, and we see even further, why Jeremiah was referred to as the Weeping Prophet.
9: 1 - 3" Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep all day and night for the slain of my people. Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travelers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them; for they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people.
'They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies. It is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me', declares the Lord."
We see Jeremiah mourning for his people, and weeping for them, much like Jesus did over Jerusalem when he was in the Garden praying and interceding for them, prior to his crucifixion.
They both knew the glory and the blessings of following the Lord, and both knew the oncoming sorrow of separation from the Lord, for the unrepentant sins.
We too, should have a heart for those who are lost; and make ourselves available to the calling of The Holy Spirit, to be a witness of God's love and grace through Christ Jesus.
I pray that I would strive more, to have a heart for intercession.
Have a blessed day!
Janelle
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Deception of the People
Continuing in Jeremiah 8: 4-9, The Lord is speaking to Jeremiah and telling him what to say to the people.
"Say to them, ' This is what the Lord says: "When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, ' What have I done?' Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
How can you say, 'We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord', when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have"?
The same question is prevalent for us today - why do people turn away, and refuse to return to the foundations given to us by the Lord?
Our society has become unrepentant for the multitudes of sins that are condoned in our country; everyone seems to have the attitude of "do whatever feels right to you".
The Lord says that even the birds follow their instincts put into them in order to survive, but the people behave unnaturally towards him. He has put within each one of us, a spiritual void that only He can fulfill. Men and women go off on so many rabbit trails, chasing after "stuff" and man-made methods of finding "peace"; they try all the religions of the world, in search of one that will "tickle thier ears" and make them feel good about themselves; religions void of any message of sin, one's need for a savior, and repentance. They will try anything but the only way to fill that spiritual void, and that is going to the Lord and accepting his gift of salvation found only in Jesus.
This passage also is the first place in the Bible where the scribes are mentioned as a professional class. They were the leaders of their time; they governed the people, much like our elected politicians govern us. The people then knew there were laws of God laid out for them, but they chose to follow the direction of "the lying pen of the scribes". I compare this to how the foundations laid our in our Constitution, by our forefathers seeking God's direction for our country, being overturned by a new generation of people who we label as the "far left liberal", wanting to change portions of our Constitution, and pacify entities such as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and others who have no regard for the Lord, or his statutes. They say that to follow the things that were originally penned, are now passe, close-minded, and not practical for our current society. They are a strong force, and have deceieved many into following right along with their self-serving agendas. I'll repeat what the Lord said in verse 9 - "Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?"
It also says that the "wisdom" of these lying scribes will bring them shame, and that they will be dismayed and trapped.
Seems to me that the problems we face with our economy can be traced back to the leaders we have in Congress, having no oversight on the institutions that have brought us to this place of financial turmoil. They took advantage of the system, and now we all are paying the price of their greed and ill business practices. We now see our country put to shame, dismayed, and trapped because of the actions of those who have had their own interests put above the best interests of the people they are supposed to be leading.
We as believers, are called to pray for those who are in authority over us; to pray that they seek the wisdom and direction of the Lord. He tells us in II Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land".
I have been praying that all during the election process here, and will continue to pray that for our country and our leaders. The heathen aren't going to be on their knees seeking God for his blessings on our country - it's up to those of us who call ourselves the Children of God, to stand in the gap and sincerely pray for our leaders and our country.
"Say to them, ' This is what the Lord says: "When men fall down, do they not get up? When a man turns away, does he not return? Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, ' What have I done?' Each pursues his own course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
How can you say, 'We are wise, for we have the law of the Lord', when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have"?
The same question is prevalent for us today - why do people turn away, and refuse to return to the foundations given to us by the Lord?
Our society has become unrepentant for the multitudes of sins that are condoned in our country; everyone seems to have the attitude of "do whatever feels right to you".
The Lord says that even the birds follow their instincts put into them in order to survive, but the people behave unnaturally towards him. He has put within each one of us, a spiritual void that only He can fulfill. Men and women go off on so many rabbit trails, chasing after "stuff" and man-made methods of finding "peace"; they try all the religions of the world, in search of one that will "tickle thier ears" and make them feel good about themselves; religions void of any message of sin, one's need for a savior, and repentance. They will try anything but the only way to fill that spiritual void, and that is going to the Lord and accepting his gift of salvation found only in Jesus.
This passage also is the first place in the Bible where the scribes are mentioned as a professional class. They were the leaders of their time; they governed the people, much like our elected politicians govern us. The people then knew there were laws of God laid out for them, but they chose to follow the direction of "the lying pen of the scribes". I compare this to how the foundations laid our in our Constitution, by our forefathers seeking God's direction for our country, being overturned by a new generation of people who we label as the "far left liberal", wanting to change portions of our Constitution, and pacify entities such as the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and others who have no regard for the Lord, or his statutes. They say that to follow the things that were originally penned, are now passe, close-minded, and not practical for our current society. They are a strong force, and have deceieved many into following right along with their self-serving agendas. I'll repeat what the Lord said in verse 9 - "Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?"
It also says that the "wisdom" of these lying scribes will bring them shame, and that they will be dismayed and trapped.
Seems to me that the problems we face with our economy can be traced back to the leaders we have in Congress, having no oversight on the institutions that have brought us to this place of financial turmoil. They took advantage of the system, and now we all are paying the price of their greed and ill business practices. We now see our country put to shame, dismayed, and trapped because of the actions of those who have had their own interests put above the best interests of the people they are supposed to be leading.
We as believers, are called to pray for those who are in authority over us; to pray that they seek the wisdom and direction of the Lord. He tells us in II Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land".
I have been praying that all during the election process here, and will continue to pray that for our country and our leaders. The heathen aren't going to be on their knees seeking God for his blessings on our country - it's up to those of us who call ourselves the Children of God, to stand in the gap and sincerely pray for our leaders and our country.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Knowing About God vs. Knowing God
I didn't understand at first why the Lord wanted me to do a study in Jeremiah and post it on my blog, but with each day, I'm seeing more and more as to why He directed me to do so.
I'm still reeling from the links I blogged late yesterday afternoon, showing how violent radicals are on the attack towards Christians, for standing up for what they believe in. I hear from the far left liberals that everyone should be free to express themselves, then usually find that it means you're free to express your beliefs until they disagree with their views. Sounds like a double standard to me.
Back to Jeremiah 7: 9-13, where the Lord is exposing the sin and hypocrisy of his people who want to walk the fence and to "pick and choose" which laws of God and which words of God they want to apply in their lives. It just does NOT work that way, folks. If you are a believer, then you believe the entire Bible, and know that God put every word in there for our benefit. PERIOD.
7:9-13 - "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, says the Lord. Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dewlling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer".
Are you aware that Baal was the god whom children were sacrificed to? Are you aware that parents would throw their living children into furnaces, in offerings to Baal? And while they were commiting these murders, they still called themselves the children of God, and would still go to the temple to "worship" the one True God, Jehovah. Do you see how this is no different than what we witness in our modern society today? No, we don't hear of people throwing thier children into furnaces, but we do hear of children who have been aborted, being thrown into garbage cans, while they are still living after the attempts to abort them. We do have many who call themselves believers who fully support abortion, and I call it what it is - MURDER.
We hear more and more how children have been murdered by their own parents, who have gone over the edge. There are so many of these things happening over the past few years, that it would take me days to list them all.
The Lord tells us in today's passage, that "I've been watching". Don't think for a minute that anything escapes his knowing; and what He sees happening in our worldwide society is greiving his Holy Spirit.
The end of today's passage shows us how the Lord plead over and over again with his people to listen to him, but they didn't. He tried calling out to them to save them, but they didn't answer.
I'm sure if you've ever been to church and the altar call is given at the end of the service, opening the invitation to receive Christ as Lord, that at some point or another, you have felt God calling to you- pulling at your heart to receive him. Did you take his invitation and make his Only Son Jesus, the Lord of your life? Have you continued to go to church all your life, singing all the hymns, following along in the Bible, and learned all about God, yet never answered his intimate call to your heart?
Knowing about God, and knowing God are two different things. He desires a close and personal relationship with each of us, and today he is again pleading with you to accept his invitation into his family.
I'm still reeling from the links I blogged late yesterday afternoon, showing how violent radicals are on the attack towards Christians, for standing up for what they believe in. I hear from the far left liberals that everyone should be free to express themselves, then usually find that it means you're free to express your beliefs until they disagree with their views. Sounds like a double standard to me.
Back to Jeremiah 7: 9-13, where the Lord is exposing the sin and hypocrisy of his people who want to walk the fence and to "pick and choose" which laws of God and which words of God they want to apply in their lives. It just does NOT work that way, folks. If you are a believer, then you believe the entire Bible, and know that God put every word in there for our benefit. PERIOD.
7:9-13 - "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe" - safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching, says the Lord. Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dewlling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer".
Are you aware that Baal was the god whom children were sacrificed to? Are you aware that parents would throw their living children into furnaces, in offerings to Baal? And while they were commiting these murders, they still called themselves the children of God, and would still go to the temple to "worship" the one True God, Jehovah. Do you see how this is no different than what we witness in our modern society today? No, we don't hear of people throwing thier children into furnaces, but we do hear of children who have been aborted, being thrown into garbage cans, while they are still living after the attempts to abort them. We do have many who call themselves believers who fully support abortion, and I call it what it is - MURDER.
We hear more and more how children have been murdered by their own parents, who have gone over the edge. There are so many of these things happening over the past few years, that it would take me days to list them all.
The Lord tells us in today's passage, that "I've been watching". Don't think for a minute that anything escapes his knowing; and what He sees happening in our worldwide society is greiving his Holy Spirit.
The end of today's passage shows us how the Lord plead over and over again with his people to listen to him, but they didn't. He tried calling out to them to save them, but they didn't answer.
I'm sure if you've ever been to church and the altar call is given at the end of the service, opening the invitation to receive Christ as Lord, that at some point or another, you have felt God calling to you- pulling at your heart to receive him. Did you take his invitation and make his Only Son Jesus, the Lord of your life? Have you continued to go to church all your life, singing all the hymns, following along in the Bible, and learned all about God, yet never answered his intimate call to your heart?
Knowing about God, and knowing God are two different things. He desires a close and personal relationship with each of us, and today he is again pleading with you to accept his invitation into his family.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Refined by Fire
Well it's another Monday morning, which means I have my usual grocery shopping, laundry and vacuuming up all the tumbleweeds from Luk Luk, then hopefully getting in some sewing later on.
I'm back to finish up the 6th chapter of Jeremiah 6: 22-30 - " This is what the Lord says: 'Look, an army is coming from the land of the north, a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.' We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing, as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. ' I have made you a tester of metals and my people are ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them".
The invaders that is spoken of in this passage are the Babylonians. Today, we would call them Iraqis. They were fierce people, and great in number.
With all the pleadings to the people to repent; all the warnings of the judgements to come, should they not repent, had no affect on them whatsoever. They are likened to ore - the dross left after silver has been put through the fire.
When we are put through the fire of life's trials, we should come out stronger and more able to be used by the Lord. Proverbs 25:4 says "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith".
Do you how a silversmith can tell that the silver he is working with is pure and ready to be made into something beautiful? He holds it up and when he sees his own reflection, it's ready. That's exactly how it is with the Lord - he tests us and allows trials and situations to happen in our lives that aren't always pleasant - we feel like we're in the fire - but we should REJOICE in our tests and trials, because the Lord is making us into something beautiful - something that reflects His image to the world.
In these trials we go through, our sin is going to be exposed, and we need to allow the Lord to cleanse us and purge them from us. The whole process should bring us to a place of repentance; ready to go and do the work and the will of our Father.
Let us not be dross - worthless and hardened towards the Lord; let us desire to be refined silver - a beautiful reflection of the Lord Jesus, in this evil and Godless world we live in.
Janelle
I'm back to finish up the 6th chapter of Jeremiah 6: 22-30 - " This is what the Lord says: 'Look, an army is coming from the land of the north, a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like the roaring sea as they ride on their horses; they come like men in battle formation to attack you, O Daughter of Zion.' We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor. Do not go out to the fields or walk on the roads, for the enemy has a sword, and there is terror on every side. O my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing, as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us. ' I have made you a tester of metals and my people are ore, that you may observe and test their ways. They are all hardened rebels, going about to slander. They are bronze and iron; they act corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely to burn away the lead with fire, but the refining goes on in vain; the wicked are not purged out. They are called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them".
The invaders that is spoken of in this passage are the Babylonians. Today, we would call them Iraqis. They were fierce people, and great in number.
With all the pleadings to the people to repent; all the warnings of the judgements to come, should they not repent, had no affect on them whatsoever. They are likened to ore - the dross left after silver has been put through the fire.
When we are put through the fire of life's trials, we should come out stronger and more able to be used by the Lord. Proverbs 25:4 says "Remove the dross from the silver, and out comes material for the silversmith".
Do you how a silversmith can tell that the silver he is working with is pure and ready to be made into something beautiful? He holds it up and when he sees his own reflection, it's ready. That's exactly how it is with the Lord - he tests us and allows trials and situations to happen in our lives that aren't always pleasant - we feel like we're in the fire - but we should REJOICE in our tests and trials, because the Lord is making us into something beautiful - something that reflects His image to the world.
In these trials we go through, our sin is going to be exposed, and we need to allow the Lord to cleanse us and purge them from us. The whole process should bring us to a place of repentance; ready to go and do the work and the will of our Father.
Let us not be dross - worthless and hardened towards the Lord; let us desire to be refined silver - a beautiful reflection of the Lord Jesus, in this evil and Godless world we live in.
Janelle
Friday, November 7, 2008
Receiving God's Mercy
Good Friday Morning! This week sure went by quickly, and I need to wind up the week with a little more study of Jeremiah.
Chapter 6: 19 - 21 - " Hear O Earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words, and have rejected my laws. What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me. Therefore this is what the Lord says: "I will put obstacles before this people. Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish".
The book of Micah, found near the end of the Old Testament tells us in 6:8 "He has shown you O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God".
That's the message in today's passage from Jeremiah. God doesn't want our sacrifices - unless they are done with the right attitude of heart towards him, they are done in vain. He wants us to walk with him and to represent him to others on this earth.
In Psalm 51, King David had realized his sin with Bathsheba, and poured out his heart in repentance to God and he says in verse 17: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise".
Let us all come to the altar of the Lord today with a broken and contrite heart. Let us humble ourselves to him and receive his mercy - not continue in sin and receive the wages of them, which it says in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".
That death is spiritual death - complete and total seperation from God forever. And at times, continual sin can lead to an early physical death as well.
Choose the gift of life from the Lord, through Christ Jesus. He will renew your life, renew your spirit, and renew your heart from the past wounds that have kept you apart from him.
Have a blessed Friday!
Janelle
Chapter 6: 19 - 21 - " Hear O Earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words, and have rejected my laws. What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me. Therefore this is what the Lord says: "I will put obstacles before this people. Fathers and sons alike will stumble over them; neighbors and friends will perish".
The book of Micah, found near the end of the Old Testament tells us in 6:8 "He has shown you O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you. To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly before your God".
That's the message in today's passage from Jeremiah. God doesn't want our sacrifices - unless they are done with the right attitude of heart towards him, they are done in vain. He wants us to walk with him and to represent him to others on this earth.
In Psalm 51, King David had realized his sin with Bathsheba, and poured out his heart in repentance to God and he says in verse 17: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise".
Let us all come to the altar of the Lord today with a broken and contrite heart. Let us humble ourselves to him and receive his mercy - not continue in sin and receive the wages of them, which it says in Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord".
That death is spiritual death - complete and total seperation from God forever. And at times, continual sin can lead to an early physical death as well.
Choose the gift of life from the Lord, through Christ Jesus. He will renew your life, renew your spirit, and renew your heart from the past wounds that have kept you apart from him.
Have a blessed Friday!
Janelle
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Seeking God's Wisdom and Direction
It's hard to believe it's November already, and in just three short days, our country will elect a new President!
I pray our country will seek God's wisdom in making their decisions as to all the candidates running for the various offices on all levels - local, state and national. This is the time that we all need to make our voices heard on the issues that regard morality, more than anything else. It seems most of the people's attention is focused on the economy, which is vital to any country, but we need to get back to the Judeo-Christian principles that our founding fathers laid out, with the guidance and wisdom of God.
Which leads me directly back into Jeremiah 6: 6 - 8. God is bringing judgement on the people who once sought him for his guidance and wisdom, and who have now forsaken him.
"This is what the Lord Almighty says, 'Cut down the trees and build seige ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me. Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it'".
Is that the kind of judgement that awaits our land, should we continue to turn further and further away from God?
Again, I leave you with this passage from II Chronicles 7: 14 - "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land".
I pray our country will seek God's wisdom in making their decisions as to all the candidates running for the various offices on all levels - local, state and national. This is the time that we all need to make our voices heard on the issues that regard morality, more than anything else. It seems most of the people's attention is focused on the economy, which is vital to any country, but we need to get back to the Judeo-Christian principles that our founding fathers laid out, with the guidance and wisdom of God.
Which leads me directly back into Jeremiah 6: 6 - 8. God is bringing judgement on the people who once sought him for his guidance and wisdom, and who have now forsaken him.
"This is what the Lord Almighty says, 'Cut down the trees and build seige ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; it is filled with oppression. As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness. Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are ever before me. Take warning, O Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it'".
Is that the kind of judgement that awaits our land, should we continue to turn further and further away from God?
Again, I leave you with this passage from II Chronicles 7: 14 - "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land".
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
But What Will You Do in the End?
Back to finish up the 5th chapter of Jeremiah, where God continues to detail why he is going to bring judgement on the sins of the people, who had once followed him.
Jeremiah 5:26 - 31:
"Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have become fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?, declares the Lord. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?"
There are many in our news today who sound just like what was just described by the Lord. He says in verses 27 - 28, "the rich and powerful have grown fat and sleek, and their evil deeds have no limits; they do not plead the case of the fatherless". Well that sounds like many who are on the far left political side of things, and how they gloat in their power and wealth, and give no thought whatsoever to the fatherless - to me, that could mean all those innocent babies who are butchered in abortion clinics.
We also hear men like Reverend Wright, Luis Farrakand, and the Catholic priest (whose name I can't remember), who spoke in Rev. Wright's church, who spew hate, division, and prejudice. These men are in positions of leadership and authority, but to whom? Who do they answer to, and who are they accountable to?
The last verse states that "and my people love it this way". How terribly sad, that many who say they are Christians, accept this behavior of all mentioned above, and sit back idly as though they were deaf and dumb.
This political circus will come to an end in six days, and whomever gets elected into the office of President of the United States, only does so because the Lord has allowed it to come to pass in order to fulfill his will, and his purposes.
I fear the judgement our country could possibly face, should we decide to allow those who portray all the sin that we've covered thus far in the book of Jeremiah, to take office and lead this country further and further away from the morals and laws of The Lord God Almighty.
He has been so good and so merciful to our great country for so many years, but this grace and mercy will not last forever - sin always brings judgement.
The main question today is what I titled this blog - "But what will you do in the end"? Will you be vocal in your faith? Will you dare to stand up and speak up about what's right and wrong, even though our society has developed a system where there no longer seems to be right or wrong?
What will you do in the end? Will you trust Jesus with your life, and know that in the end, your eternal life will be spent in Heaven, or will you choose to deny Jesus, and spend your eternal life in the fires of Hell? It's a choice that the Lord gives to each of us - He doesn't send anyone to Hell. II Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance".
We are never guaranteed tomorrow, so make today the day that you make the right choice - choose the path of repentance, and give your heart to the Lord. He can and will give you a whole new life, and will be with you through all the ups and downs, twists and turns that life hands us daily. And in the end, we will be with him in Glory, forever without end.
Jeremiah 5:26 - 31:
"Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait like men who snare birds and like those who set traps to catch men. Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have become fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor. Should I not punish them for this?, declares the Lord. Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?"
There are many in our news today who sound just like what was just described by the Lord. He says in verses 27 - 28, "the rich and powerful have grown fat and sleek, and their evil deeds have no limits; they do not plead the case of the fatherless". Well that sounds like many who are on the far left political side of things, and how they gloat in their power and wealth, and give no thought whatsoever to the fatherless - to me, that could mean all those innocent babies who are butchered in abortion clinics.
We also hear men like Reverend Wright, Luis Farrakand, and the Catholic priest (whose name I can't remember), who spoke in Rev. Wright's church, who spew hate, division, and prejudice. These men are in positions of leadership and authority, but to whom? Who do they answer to, and who are they accountable to?
The last verse states that "and my people love it this way". How terribly sad, that many who say they are Christians, accept this behavior of all mentioned above, and sit back idly as though they were deaf and dumb.
This political circus will come to an end in six days, and whomever gets elected into the office of President of the United States, only does so because the Lord has allowed it to come to pass in order to fulfill his will, and his purposes.
I fear the judgement our country could possibly face, should we decide to allow those who portray all the sin that we've covered thus far in the book of Jeremiah, to take office and lead this country further and further away from the morals and laws of The Lord God Almighty.
He has been so good and so merciful to our great country for so many years, but this grace and mercy will not last forever - sin always brings judgement.
The main question today is what I titled this blog - "But what will you do in the end"? Will you be vocal in your faith? Will you dare to stand up and speak up about what's right and wrong, even though our society has developed a system where there no longer seems to be right or wrong?
What will you do in the end? Will you trust Jesus with your life, and know that in the end, your eternal life will be spent in Heaven, or will you choose to deny Jesus, and spend your eternal life in the fires of Hell? It's a choice that the Lord gives to each of us - He doesn't send anyone to Hell. II Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting ANYONE to perish, but EVERYONE to come to repentance".
We are never guaranteed tomorrow, so make today the day that you make the right choice - choose the path of repentance, and give your heart to the Lord. He can and will give you a whole new life, and will be with you through all the ups and downs, twists and turns that life hands us daily. And in the end, we will be with him in Glory, forever without end.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Falling Away from The Lord
Monday Monday......It's a little chilly here today, but it feels good for a change!
I've been trying to get up earlier, which is not my favorite thing to do, but I have so many things to do each day, and don't want to waste one precious minute of the life the Lord has given me.
Today I continue in Jeremiah 5: 20 - 25. We see here, the power of the Lord Almighty, and he says:
"Announce this to the house of Jacob and procliam it in Judah: Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. Should you fear me?, declares the Lord. Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest".
This reminds me of the parable of what we all know as "The Prodigal Son", spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 15. It was the message delivered yesterday in church, and it was focusing on the things people do that cause them to fall away from the Lord, as the son did, who demanded his inheritance early.
The first thing that causes that falling away, as we see in Jeremiah, and can see in our own lives, and the lives of others, is:
I've been trying to get up earlier, which is not my favorite thing to do, but I have so many things to do each day, and don't want to waste one precious minute of the life the Lord has given me.
Today I continue in Jeremiah 5: 20 - 25. We see here, the power of the Lord Almighty, and he says:
"Announce this to the house of Jacob and procliam it in Judah: Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. Should you fear me?, declares the Lord. Should you not tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away. They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives autumn and spring rains in season, who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest".
This reminds me of the parable of what we all know as "The Prodigal Son", spoken by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke 15. It was the message delivered yesterday in church, and it was focusing on the things people do that cause them to fall away from the Lord, as the son did, who demanded his inheritance early.
The first thing that causes that falling away, as we see in Jeremiah, and can see in our own lives, and the lives of others, is:
- Living out shameless self-interest - the prodigal son wanted to live his own life, and get his inheritance early, so he could "do his own thing". He would have gotten this inheritance when his father passed away, because of the way the Hebrew law was written, but his demanding it early, leads to his state of mind in reason #2(Luke 15:12)
- Considering God dead - he was in fact, telling his father that he was dead in his eyes, by wanting what was his before the appropriate time. (Luke 15:12) When we don't allow God in our lives, to guide us and be Lord, we are in effect, acting is if he were dead. That's what he was saying to his people in Jeremiah - their sinful behavior and selfish attitudes, caused them to act as though God didn't exist.
- Filling yourself with temporary pleasure - Just as the children of God in the passage from Jeremiah, the Prodigal, and many people today - there is a "squandering of wealth and wild living"(Luke 15:13). The world is developing more and more the mindset of, "you are in control of your life and have the power to make it what you want - do your own thing - live out your pleasures". There is a void in our hearts that God puts there at our creation, and HE is the only thing that can fill that void. We try to substitute many "things" to satisfy our fleshly wants and needs, but after awhile, they too become mundane.
- Refusing to acknowledge need - we've been reading how the children of God in the passages from Jeremiah, kept getting further and further away from their dependence on God; seeking out false gods and pagan activities. In the story of the Prodigal, it says in (Luke 15:14), "After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need". So he'd been living his life as HE wanted, not thinking of the future, and he found himself in a place that so many find themselves in today. Our whole economic system in the USA, and now across the world, is in dire danger because of the "squandering" of money.
- Trying to fix your own life - Oh I think we have all been in this situation at one time or another, and God tries to show us, by letting circumstances get tough at times, that we cannot do this on our own. (Luke 15:15) says:"So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs". Oh now to a Jew, there is nothing lower than pigs, and to get to the place in your life to where that's the only option you have......that's what we call nowdays, "beneath the layer of scum". And our lives can get to that point if we continue to live our lives with our self-interest, acting as though God doesn't exist, searching for "things" that will fill the void we feel, failing to acknowledge our need for God to lead us, we've tried to fix it on our own - we end up just like the people of Judah, and The Prodigal Son - destitute, alone and "living among pigs".
- Finding cheap substitutes for God - Jeremiah was told to go to the people and tell them that their lives were going to be judged because of their sin, and their lack of faith or devotion to the Lord, who had taken their fathers out of bondage in Egypt, and brought them to The Promised Land. They sought other gods, and lived selfishly, ending up in the hands of the enemy. (Luke 15:16) says: "He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything". He was to the point of wanting to fill his physical needs with the leftover slop from the pigs, but all those who had befriended him when he was out "partying and squandering his wealth with wild living", had all disappeared.
So is the way of the world now - there are so many who are wandering around lost and destitute - who might have even been raised in the church, and know the Word of God, but have decided to stray from that in search of a life they think will be better if they can just manage it themselves.
I know in my own life, I was the preacher's kid - in church everytime the door opened, had memorized large portions of the Bible - walked the aisle to get saved - got baptised - got involved in the youth group and went to camps. I left home the day after I graduated high school at the young age of 17, and church wasn't so important anymore - I was "free" to do my own thing; I lived life just like the Prodigal did - partying, spending what little money I had on things that brought me temporary pleasure - and I felt very alone. The Lord got my attention, when on July 26, 1979, I was in the office of Dr. Pedro Diaz- Borden, and he smiled when he told me that I was going to be having my first child in a few months. I knew I couldn't raise a child in the atmosphere I'd been living in - I was now responsible for another life; a life inside me, and soon to be in the world.
God got my attention in a good way, but sometimes we get so out of touch with the Lord, and so rebellious in our lives, that He has to allow things not so pleasant to occur, to point us the "way back home".
If you've found yourself in this situation - the Father is waiting with open arms, for you to come home to Him.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Why God Allows Things
Oh it's a wonderful rainy day here in Central FL today - a much needed change from the hot sticky weather, and I'm sure my yard is loving it!
I wasn't sure if I'd get to blog today or not, as my computer was messed up this morning, due to an error I made last night, and thank the Good Lord that the IT guy who works on the computers where Bill works, was able to come over and get the problem fixed for me first thing!
I'm back to Jeremiah 5: 15 - 19: " O house of Israel, declares the Lord, I am bringing a distant nation against you - an ancient and enduring nation, a peoplewhose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. They will devour your harvests and food, de/vour your sons and daughters; they will devour your clocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not destroy you completely. And when the people ask, 'Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?', you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own".
Verse 15 of this passage was a quote from Deuteronomy 28:49, where the foreigners the Lord was referring to were from Babylon, which just happens to be in what we know today as Iraq! There are many who say that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, but the books of prophecy refer back to a time when Babylon will once again be the hub of terror and tribulation in the world.
The Lord did promise them in both passages, that even though he would allow a foreign nation to come in and destroy them, and force them into slavery to them, that he would not ultimately destroy them.
We are all familiar with the history of the Jews all throughout time - how they are called God's chosen people, and how they have suffered and endured so many times of torture and slavery, and Hitler did his best to destroy them from the face of the earth. In today's time, we have the leader of Iran, Achmadinejad, who has made it clear that he thinks in the same way as Hitler did - and God help our country, should we ever turn our backs on Israel.
I think it's odd that in the last part of today's passage, that it says the people will ask, "Why has the Lord our God done this to us"? It seems that the only time some people want to bring God into their lives and the situations they are in, is when those situations are bad, and they bring God into it by blaming him. They say from one side of their mouths, "The Lord our God", then out of the other side, they blame him for their woes, instead of realizing they brought it on themselves because of their sin.
Do you know people today that have that same mentality towards God? Do you yourself have that mentality?
I pray that you will allow God's Holy Spirit to pierce your heart, and allow you to come to a place of repentance. God allows circumstances both good and bad in our lives, in order that we may come to realize our need of Him. His main objective is to bring us into his family - he wants to show you that he is your loving Father.
Enjoy the day the Lord has given you - look around and see all the many blessings he puts in your life daily.
I wasn't sure if I'd get to blog today or not, as my computer was messed up this morning, due to an error I made last night, and thank the Good Lord that the IT guy who works on the computers where Bill works, was able to come over and get the problem fixed for me first thing!
I'm back to Jeremiah 5: 15 - 19: " O house of Israel, declares the Lord, I am bringing a distant nation against you - an ancient and enduring nation, a peoplewhose language you do not know, whose speech you do not understand. Their quivers are like an open grave; all of them are mighty warriors. They will devour your harvests and food, de/vour your sons and daughters; they will devour your clocks and herds, devour your vines and fig trees. With the sword they will destroy the fortified cities in which you trust. Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I will not destroy you completely. And when the people ask, 'Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?', you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own".
Verse 15 of this passage was a quote from Deuteronomy 28:49, where the foreigners the Lord was referring to were from Babylon, which just happens to be in what we know today as Iraq! There are many who say that Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, but the books of prophecy refer back to a time when Babylon will once again be the hub of terror and tribulation in the world.
The Lord did promise them in both passages, that even though he would allow a foreign nation to come in and destroy them, and force them into slavery to them, that he would not ultimately destroy them.
We are all familiar with the history of the Jews all throughout time - how they are called God's chosen people, and how they have suffered and endured so many times of torture and slavery, and Hitler did his best to destroy them from the face of the earth. In today's time, we have the leader of Iran, Achmadinejad, who has made it clear that he thinks in the same way as Hitler did - and God help our country, should we ever turn our backs on Israel.
I think it's odd that in the last part of today's passage, that it says the people will ask, "Why has the Lord our God done this to us"? It seems that the only time some people want to bring God into their lives and the situations they are in, is when those situations are bad, and they bring God into it by blaming him. They say from one side of their mouths, "The Lord our God", then out of the other side, they blame him for their woes, instead of realizing they brought it on themselves because of their sin.
Do you know people today that have that same mentality towards God? Do you yourself have that mentality?
I pray that you will allow God's Holy Spirit to pierce your heart, and allow you to come to a place of repentance. God allows circumstances both good and bad in our lives, in order that we may come to realize our need of Him. His main objective is to bring us into his family - he wants to show you that he is your loving Father.
Enjoy the day the Lord has given you - look around and see all the many blessings he puts in your life daily.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Challenge of Jeremiah
Today, I'm back to the study of Jeremiah, and am beginning chapter 5: 1 - 2.
This is the Lord speaking to Jeremiah, and he says: "'Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the trugh, I will forgive this city.' Although they say, ' As surely as the Lord lives,' still they are swearly falsely".
This isn't the only time in scripture that the Lord asks one of his faithful servants to try to find one righteous person, so he can withhold judgement from the people. He asked Lot to do that in Sodom and Gomorrah, he sent Jonah to preach repentance and the coming judgement on the people of Nineveh.
We can't sugar coat or whitewash the gospel - we are to witness with the same boldness and confidence in the Lord that Jesus did, and we have to remember that we also have to do that with a spirit of love. Let those who you witness to, see that it's the love of God that is pleading for repentance, because he doesn't want anyone to perish. (II Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance".)
You see, if He didn't love us so much, he wouldn't continue to plead with us to come to him for love, forgiveness, and freedom from the bondages that hold us. He wants to give each of us a life with joy, even in the midst of life's daily trials. He wants to show you that he's a loving Father, a faithful friend, and a constant source of strength.
This is the Lord speaking to Jeremiah, and he says: "'Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem, look around and consider, search through her squares. If you can find but one person who deals honestly and seeks the trugh, I will forgive this city.' Although they say, ' As surely as the Lord lives,' still they are swearly falsely".
This isn't the only time in scripture that the Lord asks one of his faithful servants to try to find one righteous person, so he can withhold judgement from the people. He asked Lot to do that in Sodom and Gomorrah, he sent Jonah to preach repentance and the coming judgement on the people of Nineveh.
We can't sugar coat or whitewash the gospel - we are to witness with the same boldness and confidence in the Lord that Jesus did, and we have to remember that we also have to do that with a spirit of love. Let those who you witness to, see that it's the love of God that is pleading for repentance, because he doesn't want anyone to perish. (II Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance".)
You see, if He didn't love us so much, he wouldn't continue to plead with us to come to him for love, forgiveness, and freedom from the bondages that hold us. He wants to give each of us a life with joy, even in the midst of life's daily trials. He wants to show you that he's a loving Father, a faithful friend, and a constant source of strength.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Devastation
We continue on in the fourth chapter of Jeremiah. In today's verses, he is in anguish over the devastation that has occured because of the judgement of God for the sins of the people.
19 - 26: " Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good. I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger".
Many people kind of skip over passages like this in the Old Testament, because they don't see how passages like this can relate to us in our present day. Again, I tell you that the Lord has given us all these tales of history for us to learn by.
Jeremiah says that the devastation was so vast, that the earth seemed to be in its original state. We see in Genesis 1:2, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep". How scary that must have been for him to see what was once a beautiful land, be turned into this condition.
How do you see our world today? Do you look around and see as Jeremiah did, the continuing and increasing evil? Does it grieve your heart, as it does mine, to see the conduct of people getting more selfish, more hard in heart?
The Lord allowed the invasion of the enemy in order to bring his people to repentance. He continues to do this throughout time, for the same purpose.
Jesus tells us in the Gospels, and then in the Revelation of John, that we as believers, are to be ready in an instant, for his calling home of the church, which is referred to as the "Rapture". (I Thessalonians 4: 16 - 18 says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage each other with these words.) Another passage that speaks of this snatching away of the church is found in (I Corinthians 15: 51 - 52: "Listen, for I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep(die), but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.)
The world will suddenly be missing millions of people, and many will know what has happened, because they have either heard it in church at some point, but never took the step to receive God's gift of salvation, or they have heard it from those who were believers, trying to witness to them. All of a sudden, it doesn't sound so silly as it did before when they heard it, and they will grieve in heart because they missed their chance. There will be many who have no explantion of what occured, and there will be all kinds of excuses and reasons that will be broadcast around the world.
For those who are not believers at the time of the Rapture, they will still have the chance to get redemption from the Lord during the Tribulation, but they will not have it easy here. They will live in a time when one has to take the mark of the beast in order to buy and sell - they will be martyrs, some being be-headed for their faith in Jesus.
After this occurs, the world will go into what is called "The Tribulation", which will last for a period of 7 years. The judgements during that time will be horrific, much like those we just read in Jeremiah today. There will be plagues, famine, and death all around. This is the time when the Anti-Christ and his false prophet will deceive the world into a false sense of peace, before they show their true colors, and wreak havoc, and evil everywhere.
My reason for telling you this, is so you can make sure you get yourself right with the Lord, and don't have to be around for that time of evil. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus while you have time! All you have to do is confess to him, that you know you are a sinner, and need a Savior. Confess that you trust God in that Jesus was God in the flesh, who came to earth and lived a sinless life, was crucifed and resurrected after three days. He will take over from there, and renew your life.
If you have a Bible, read the books of the Prophets, along with Paul's letters, and the book of Revelation. Ask God to open your eyes and your heart for understanding of the prophecies.
I would also suggest reading a series of fictional books based on this subject, called, "Left Behind". There are 13 books, written by Tim LaHaye, and are a good and easy read, telling the story of what it could be like here on earth after the Rapture of the Church.
With each day, I feel more and more, the urgency to tell everyone about Jesus, and his love for us, and how to recieve his gift of Salvation. I pray for other believers to have the same conviction in their hearts - to reach out to those who are lost, and tell them how to find the One Way, the ONLY way, to God, which is through Christ Jesus. (John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.")
Shalom,
Janelle
19 - 26: " Oh, my anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the agony of my heart! My heart pounds within me, I cannot keep silent. For I have heard the sound of the trumpet; I have heard the battle cry. Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment. How long must I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet? My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good. I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the Lord, before his fierce anger".
Many people kind of skip over passages like this in the Old Testament, because they don't see how passages like this can relate to us in our present day. Again, I tell you that the Lord has given us all these tales of history for us to learn by.
Jeremiah says that the devastation was so vast, that the earth seemed to be in its original state. We see in Genesis 1:2, "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep". How scary that must have been for him to see what was once a beautiful land, be turned into this condition.
How do you see our world today? Do you look around and see as Jeremiah did, the continuing and increasing evil? Does it grieve your heart, as it does mine, to see the conduct of people getting more selfish, more hard in heart?
The Lord allowed the invasion of the enemy in order to bring his people to repentance. He continues to do this throughout time, for the same purpose.
Jesus tells us in the Gospels, and then in the Revelation of John, that we as believers, are to be ready in an instant, for his calling home of the church, which is referred to as the "Rapture". (I Thessalonians 4: 16 - 18 says, "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encourage each other with these words.) Another passage that speaks of this snatching away of the church is found in (I Corinthians 15: 51 - 52: "Listen, for I tell you a mystery: we will not all sleep(die), but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.)
The world will suddenly be missing millions of people, and many will know what has happened, because they have either heard it in church at some point, but never took the step to receive God's gift of salvation, or they have heard it from those who were believers, trying to witness to them. All of a sudden, it doesn't sound so silly as it did before when they heard it, and they will grieve in heart because they missed their chance. There will be many who have no explantion of what occured, and there will be all kinds of excuses and reasons that will be broadcast around the world.
For those who are not believers at the time of the Rapture, they will still have the chance to get redemption from the Lord during the Tribulation, but they will not have it easy here. They will live in a time when one has to take the mark of the beast in order to buy and sell - they will be martyrs, some being be-headed for their faith in Jesus.
After this occurs, the world will go into what is called "The Tribulation", which will last for a period of 7 years. The judgements during that time will be horrific, much like those we just read in Jeremiah today. There will be plagues, famine, and death all around. This is the time when the Anti-Christ and his false prophet will deceive the world into a false sense of peace, before they show their true colors, and wreak havoc, and evil everywhere.
My reason for telling you this, is so you can make sure you get yourself right with the Lord, and don't have to be around for that time of evil. Put your trust in the Lord Jesus while you have time! All you have to do is confess to him, that you know you are a sinner, and need a Savior. Confess that you trust God in that Jesus was God in the flesh, who came to earth and lived a sinless life, was crucifed and resurrected after three days. He will take over from there, and renew your life.
If you have a Bible, read the books of the Prophets, along with Paul's letters, and the book of Revelation. Ask God to open your eyes and your heart for understanding of the prophecies.
I would also suggest reading a series of fictional books based on this subject, called, "Left Behind". There are 13 books, written by Tim LaHaye, and are a good and easy read, telling the story of what it could be like here on earth after the Rapture of the Church.
With each day, I feel more and more, the urgency to tell everyone about Jesus, and his love for us, and how to recieve his gift of Salvation. I pray for other believers to have the same conviction in their hearts - to reach out to those who are lost, and tell them how to find the One Way, the ONLY way, to God, which is through Christ Jesus. (John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.")
Shalom,
Janelle
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Cleansing of the Heart
I sometimes find it hard to try to teach passages when it comes to judgement that is inevitable, but as I've told my husband, it does no one any good to go to a church where they preach "feel good" sermons instead of ones that bring conviction and repentance, so why would I practice something contrary to that here in my blog? With that said, I continue on in the 4th chapter of Jeremiah, where we have seen the prophecies of judgement against the people of God for their sin. Remember that as believers, we are no different than these people of God in the Old Testament, commonly referred to as Israel. We aren't immune to sin - we are all sinners, but we have the Lord to turn to for forgiveness and guidance into His path and His plan for our lives, just as they did. It's a choice that everyone has to make for themselves though. We are accountable for ourselves, but also as a people.
Verses 14 - 18: "O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim. Tell this to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem. A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah. They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord. Your own conduct and actions, have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!"
I know what many are saying - "That sure doesn't sound like a loving God to me". Oh but He is! He had given them so many chances to repent - as he does us. His mercy and grace extends far beyond what any of us or them deserved. If you think about it - every day that you wake up, you are automatically blessed by the Lord. He has given you another day to enjoy and to build the relationship with him that he so desires. He surrounds us with the beauty of his creations, and most are so busy and caught up with the things of this world, the cares of this world - that they don't take the time to see the little things and be thankful for them.
II Peter 3: 9 tells us "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
That is his plead with us today - repent and let our hearts be washed, as he said to his people in verse 14 of today's passage.
I close with Psalm 51, written by David, after he realized the depth of his sin with Bathsheba. This is what the Lord desires from each of us - to come to him to be washed from our sins.
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinfrom from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me down from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar."
Verses 14 - 18: "O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts? A voice is announcing from Dan, proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim. Tell this to the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem. A besieging army is coming from a distant land, raising a war cry against the cities of Judah. They surround her like men guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me, declares the Lord. Your own conduct and actions, have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces to the heart!"
I know what many are saying - "That sure doesn't sound like a loving God to me". Oh but He is! He had given them so many chances to repent - as he does us. His mercy and grace extends far beyond what any of us or them deserved. If you think about it - every day that you wake up, you are automatically blessed by the Lord. He has given you another day to enjoy and to build the relationship with him that he so desires. He surrounds us with the beauty of his creations, and most are so busy and caught up with the things of this world, the cares of this world - that they don't take the time to see the little things and be thankful for them.
II Peter 3: 9 tells us "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
That is his plead with us today - repent and let our hearts be washed, as he said to his people in verse 14 of today's passage.
I close with Psalm 51, written by David, after he realized the depth of his sin with Bathsheba. This is what the Lord desires from each of us - to come to him to be washed from our sins.
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
Wash away my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinfrom from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me down from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar."
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
A Roaring Lion
In today's passage from Jeremiah, the enemy who is about to attack Judah is compared to a lion. This brings to mind another verse found in the New Testament, I Peter 5: 8 - 9: " Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, stand firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings".
Today's passage is a prophecy of the invasion of Babylon, which by the way, is in what we know today as Iraq.
"A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the firece anger of the Lord has not turned away from us. ' In that day', declares the Lord, ' the kings and officials will lose heart, and the priest will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled".
The Lord told them to put on sackcloth - that was a sign of repentance, and that's what he keeps trying to tell us over and over again. I can't stress enough, the importance of taking God at his Word, and that our greatest need in this country is to repent. We saw firsthand on 9/11/01, how a great enemy sought out to "lay waste" to our land, and if anyone thinks that he isn't still over there calculating his next plan of attack, I would dare to say that you have your head in the sand.
Just as the people of God in Judah were warned about the attack that was to come upon them because of their continual sin, so are we warned all throughout the scriptures, about the consequences of sin. Ignorance is not going to be a valid excuse when one stands before the Lord in that final day.
It's no accident that Satan, the enemy, is referred to as a roaring lion in both of these texts. Jesus told us that "Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy".
Today's passage is a prophecy of the invasion of Babylon, which by the way, is in what we know today as Iraq.
"A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant. So put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the firece anger of the Lord has not turned away from us. ' In that day', declares the Lord, ' the kings and officials will lose heart, and the priest will be horrified, and the prophets will be appalled".
The Lord told them to put on sackcloth - that was a sign of repentance, and that's what he keeps trying to tell us over and over again. I can't stress enough, the importance of taking God at his Word, and that our greatest need in this country is to repent. We saw firsthand on 9/11/01, how a great enemy sought out to "lay waste" to our land, and if anyone thinks that he isn't still over there calculating his next plan of attack, I would dare to say that you have your head in the sand.
Just as the people of God in Judah were warned about the attack that was to come upon them because of their continual sin, so are we warned all throughout the scriptures, about the consequences of sin. Ignorance is not going to be a valid excuse when one stands before the Lord in that final day.
It's no accident that Satan, the enemy, is referred to as a roaring lion in both of these texts. Jesus told us that "Satan has come to steal, kill and destroy".
Here's the good news! Jesus told us in John 16: 33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world!". I pray today that you will seek this peace of Jesus that he speaks about - it's a peace that lives in our hearts, that gives us hope for our future with Him. Get to know God through his Word, and get before him to find out what his will is for your life. As he said in the opening passage from I Peter, we need to stay alert and have on the armour of God ( Ephesians 6), so that we have the right equipment to fight this spiritual battle with.
Monday, October 13, 2008
IF and THEN
I hope everyone had a good weekend, and got to spend time with those you love, doing what you love!
I am back in Jeremiah, starting on chapter 4 today. Just like a parent setting limits and conditions on their children, that's what we see God doing in these first few verses...I call them, "If and Then". Verses 1 - 2 say:
" IF you will return O Israel, return to me, declares the Lord. IF you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and IF in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the Lord lives', THEN the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory".
We can't expect the Lord to bless us if we continually turn our backs on him, and try to live our lives without Him being in the center of them. He made us with a void in our hearts that only He can fill, and he tells us in these first two verses the easy way to get through life and it's challenges and trials.
I pray that today will bring each of us closer to the Lord - that we will all allow him to be more involved in our lives, and that we will hear the voice of His Spirit as He leads us. Times are hard, and they aren't going to get any better - the Bible is very clear that in the last days, that sin and darkness will increase, and it is vital that we, as the "light of the world", shine brightly.
Revelation 22: 20 - 21 "He who testifies to these things say, "Yes, I am coming soon". Amen, Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen".
I am back in Jeremiah, starting on chapter 4 today. Just like a parent setting limits and conditions on their children, that's what we see God doing in these first few verses...I call them, "If and Then". Verses 1 - 2 say:
" IF you will return O Israel, return to me, declares the Lord. IF you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray, and IF in a truthful, just and righteous way you swear, 'As surely as the Lord lives', THEN the nations will be blessed by him and in him they will glory".
We can't expect the Lord to bless us if we continually turn our backs on him, and try to live our lives without Him being in the center of them. He made us with a void in our hearts that only He can fill, and he tells us in these first two verses the easy way to get through life and it's challenges and trials.
I pray that today will bring each of us closer to the Lord - that we will all allow him to be more involved in our lives, and that we will hear the voice of His Spirit as He leads us. Times are hard, and they aren't going to get any better - the Bible is very clear that in the last days, that sin and darkness will increase, and it is vital that we, as the "light of the world", shine brightly.
Revelation 22: 20 - 21 "He who testifies to these things say, "Yes, I am coming soon". Amen, Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen".
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
A Call to Repentence
I'm focusing on verses 12 - 14 of the third chapter of Jeremiah today. We've read how Israel and Judah both turned away from the Lord and followed pagan gods - the Lord compared them to prostitutes.
In today's passage, we hear the Lord call out to his children as their loving Father; the same way he calls out to us today.
"Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, declares the Lord. I will not be angry with forever. Only acknowledge your guilt - you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods, under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me. Return, faithless people, declares the Lord, for I am your husband."
The whole reason for the Lord creating each one of us is to have fellowship and a relationship with us - how awesome is that! He cries out to us to come to him and for us to put aside all the "things" we follow after to try to fill the voids in our lives that only He can fill.
In verse 14, as well as the following verse from Isaiah, the Lord compares our relationship to him as that of husband and wife. A relationship that brings two into one - holy in nature.
He says in Isaiah 54:5, "For your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is his name - the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit - a wife who married young, only to be rejected, says your God."
How loving and merciful is our God - how amazing it is to me that he desires such intimate relationship with each one of us!
Today he is waiting for you to answer his call to come to him - he is standing at the door of your heart with open arms, to love you, to forgive you, to strengthen you and protect you. He can and will make your life new - once we come to him, all our sins are forgiven and then forgotten; he says in Psalm 103: 8 - 13, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is to the west, so far has he removed our trangressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him."
I pray that those who don't know him in this way, will call out to him today, to establish the relationship that he so desires. If you are a believer, and you've fallen away from that relationship, he is still there, and waiting for you to return your heart to him.
Have a blessed Wednesday - pray for our leaders, our soldiers, and our country.
Janelle
In today's passage, we hear the Lord call out to his children as their loving Father; the same way he calls out to us today.
"Return, faithless Israel, declares the Lord. I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful, declares the Lord. I will not be angry with forever. Only acknowledge your guilt - you have rebelled against the Lord your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods, under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me. Return, faithless people, declares the Lord, for I am your husband."
The whole reason for the Lord creating each one of us is to have fellowship and a relationship with us - how awesome is that! He cries out to us to come to him and for us to put aside all the "things" we follow after to try to fill the voids in our lives that only He can fill.
In verse 14, as well as the following verse from Isaiah, the Lord compares our relationship to him as that of husband and wife. A relationship that brings two into one - holy in nature.
He says in Isaiah 54:5, "For your Maker is your husband - the Lord Almighty is his name - the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife deserted and distressed in spirit - a wife who married young, only to be rejected, says your God."
How loving and merciful is our God - how amazing it is to me that he desires such intimate relationship with each one of us!
Today he is waiting for you to answer his call to come to him - he is standing at the door of your heart with open arms, to love you, to forgive you, to strengthen you and protect you. He can and will make your life new - once we come to him, all our sins are forgiven and then forgotten; he says in Psalm 103: 8 - 13, "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is to the west, so far has he removed our trangressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him."
I pray that those who don't know him in this way, will call out to him today, to establish the relationship that he so desires. If you are a believer, and you've fallen away from that relationship, he is still there, and waiting for you to return your heart to him.
Have a blessed Wednesday - pray for our leaders, our soldiers, and our country.
Janelle
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Lifeblood of the Innocent
I continue on in chapter 2 of Jeremiah, verses 31 - 35. Again, we will see the Lord asking questions of his people, and then his rebuke of them.
"You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: 'Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam; we will come to you no more"? Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, ' I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgement on you because you say, ' I have not sinned'."
I am so proud to be an American, but I am also so ashamed of the way we have allowed elected officials who have no room for God or his laws and standards, to take control. Our country sounds just like the statements made above. Unlike our forefathers who founded this great nation we live in, we have forgotten God, and in some cases, just outright removed him. We do have the lifeblood of the innocent on our "clothes" as its referred to in those verses - we sat back silently while laws were made to enable doctors to murder innocent babies in the womb. As it says, "we didn't even catch them breaking in". I thought doctors took an oathe to protect and save lives? Again, we say the same statements made above, "I am innocent; he is not angry with me".
How prideful our nation has become. The scriptures say in Proverbs 16:18: "Pride comes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall". We will be judged by God for our sin, when all He is wanting us to do is repent - confess our sins, and come to him for his forgiveness and mercy.
We have probably the most important of elections about to occur here in a matter of weeks. I pray that people will sincerely seek God for his wisdom as to who to cast the vote for. We need our country to get back to its roots of Judeo-Christian principles, and to remove those from office who have an agenda to replace morals with "tolerance" and "political correctness".
We as believers in this great country, need to wake up, stand up, and let our voices be heard. No longer can we sit back quietly while those who seek to remove God completely, slide in yet more laws to do just that.
"You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: 'Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam; we will come to you no more"? Does a maiden forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. How skilled you are at pursuing love! Even the worst of women can learn from your ways. On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor, though you did not catch them breaking in. Yet in spite of all this you say, ' I am innocent; he is not angry with me.' But I will pass judgement on you because you say, ' I have not sinned'."
I am so proud to be an American, but I am also so ashamed of the way we have allowed elected officials who have no room for God or his laws and standards, to take control. Our country sounds just like the statements made above. Unlike our forefathers who founded this great nation we live in, we have forgotten God, and in some cases, just outright removed him. We do have the lifeblood of the innocent on our "clothes" as its referred to in those verses - we sat back silently while laws were made to enable doctors to murder innocent babies in the womb. As it says, "we didn't even catch them breaking in". I thought doctors took an oathe to protect and save lives? Again, we say the same statements made above, "I am innocent; he is not angry with me".
How prideful our nation has become. The scriptures say in Proverbs 16:18: "Pride comes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall". We will be judged by God for our sin, when all He is wanting us to do is repent - confess our sins, and come to him for his forgiveness and mercy.
We have probably the most important of elections about to occur here in a matter of weeks. I pray that people will sincerely seek God for his wisdom as to who to cast the vote for. We need our country to get back to its roots of Judeo-Christian principles, and to remove those from office who have an agenda to replace morals with "tolerance" and "political correctness".
We as believers in this great country, need to wake up, stand up, and let our voices be heard. No longer can we sit back quietly while those who seek to remove God completely, slide in yet more laws to do just that.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Unrepentant Hearts
Yesterday I left off in verse 21 of the second chapter of Jeremiah, and I'll pick up at verse 22 today and go through 28. The previous verses told how the Israelites had gone astray from the Lord, and we saw how he asked them, "What fault did you find in me that you strayed so far"?
Today's verses say: "Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me", declares the Sovereign Lord. How can you say, 'I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals'? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving - in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said,"It's no use! I love foreign gods and I must go after them". As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced - they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, "You are my father, andto stone, You gave me birth". They ahve turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble they say, "Come and save us"! Where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble. For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah".
Let's disect this to where you can see its relevance to our lives today.
Compare verse 22 - "Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me".
Compare that to Psalm 51: 1 - 4, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge".
The difference there is in the Psalm, David had sinned by his adultery with Bathsheba, and was repentant of it. He acknowledged his sin and was asking God to cleanse him. In the verse from Jeremiah, Israel is unrepentant - they are trying to cleanse and redeem themselves, which is futile.
I see more of the unrepentant attitude like Israelites in Judah, in our country than a repentant heart as David had when he realized his sin. We have become a nation that has become so easy to embrace the ideology of being "politcally correct", that we have allowed things that once were seen as sin, to become normal and acceptable. We have been bombarded by Hollywood in just about every tv show and every movie, to include adultery, homosexuality, crude language, and rebellious children. It has jaded so many, that they think it's ok, and that its just how things are, and they accept it. God says those things are sin! We don't teach children that it's SIN to have sex outside of marriage - we hand out condoms in the schools, and in their "health" classes, they are taught now that there are other kinds of parents than just mommy and daddy, and that if they are going to have sex, use protection. Oh and if they get "caught up in the moment" and don't use protection, it's ok - you can drive down to the local slaughter house and get rid of that baby, and they don't even have to notify your parents that you're there! We are a nation of unwed mothers with deadbeat fathers - we are a nation of women who think that "choosing" to have an abortion is a right that they should have, and have no consideration of the rights of that unborn child. We have the sin in our country of greed and idolatry of material things, and look where that's gotten us now - we have a free market that has now collapsed.
Does anyone think God doesn't see these things? Does anyone think he isn't going to judge our nation for these sins? Does anyone think that the appalling doctrines of "follow your own path to your own God", as Oprah Winfrey preaches; "gay couples should have the right to marry", that even some of the churches accept and support, and the doctrines preached by the political left wing liberals are going to go unnoticed and unanswered by God?
The answer to that is found in verses 27b - 28: "They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us'! Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble. For you have as many gods as you have towns".
I'm not here to pacify those who see my stance on these issues as radical and passe. The Lord says in the book of Revelation, "I know your words and your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm, I am about to spit you out of my mouth"! I do NOT want to be considered a "lukewarm" Christian - I am here to show what God's word has to say to each one of us about sin, our need to realize that we are sinners, our need to have a Savior. Unlike the theologies of Oprah and many like her - there is only ONE path to God, and that is through His ONLY son - Jesus. He said, "I am THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life - no one comes to the Father, but through ME".
Today's verses say: "Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me", declares the Sovereign Lord. How can you say, 'I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals'? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving - in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said,"It's no use! I love foreign gods and I must go after them". As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced - they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood, "You are my father, andto stone, You gave me birth". They ahve turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble they say, "Come and save us"! Where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble. For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah".
Let's disect this to where you can see its relevance to our lives today.
Compare verse 22 - "Although you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me".
Compare that to Psalm 51: 1 - 4, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge".
The difference there is in the Psalm, David had sinned by his adultery with Bathsheba, and was repentant of it. He acknowledged his sin and was asking God to cleanse him. In the verse from Jeremiah, Israel is unrepentant - they are trying to cleanse and redeem themselves, which is futile.
I see more of the unrepentant attitude like Israelites in Judah, in our country than a repentant heart as David had when he realized his sin. We have become a nation that has become so easy to embrace the ideology of being "politcally correct", that we have allowed things that once were seen as sin, to become normal and acceptable. We have been bombarded by Hollywood in just about every tv show and every movie, to include adultery, homosexuality, crude language, and rebellious children. It has jaded so many, that they think it's ok, and that its just how things are, and they accept it. God says those things are sin! We don't teach children that it's SIN to have sex outside of marriage - we hand out condoms in the schools, and in their "health" classes, they are taught now that there are other kinds of parents than just mommy and daddy, and that if they are going to have sex, use protection. Oh and if they get "caught up in the moment" and don't use protection, it's ok - you can drive down to the local slaughter house and get rid of that baby, and they don't even have to notify your parents that you're there! We are a nation of unwed mothers with deadbeat fathers - we are a nation of women who think that "choosing" to have an abortion is a right that they should have, and have no consideration of the rights of that unborn child. We have the sin in our country of greed and idolatry of material things, and look where that's gotten us now - we have a free market that has now collapsed.
Does anyone think God doesn't see these things? Does anyone think he isn't going to judge our nation for these sins? Does anyone think that the appalling doctrines of "follow your own path to your own God", as Oprah Winfrey preaches; "gay couples should have the right to marry", that even some of the churches accept and support, and the doctrines preached by the political left wing liberals are going to go unnoticed and unanswered by God?
The answer to that is found in verses 27b - 28: "They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say, 'Come and save us'! Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble. For you have as many gods as you have towns".
I'm not here to pacify those who see my stance on these issues as radical and passe. The Lord says in the book of Revelation, "I know your words and your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish you were one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm, I am about to spit you out of my mouth"! I do NOT want to be considered a "lukewarm" Christian - I am here to show what God's word has to say to each one of us about sin, our need to realize that we are sinners, our need to have a Savior. Unlike the theologies of Oprah and many like her - there is only ONE path to God, and that is through His ONLY son - Jesus. He said, "I am THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life - no one comes to the Father, but through ME".
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