Today I'm reading in the book of Micah, which can be found near the end of the Old Testament. Micah was a prophet, and his name meant, "Who is like Yahweh"? Yahweh meaning: the sacred name of God; the self-existent one.
Micah answers the question of "what does God want or expect from me"? He says in Chapter 6: 8, " He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require from you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God".
What does it mean to act justly? Isaiah tells us in chapter 1:17 : "Learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow".
Jeremiah also tells us in chapter 22:3: "This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of his oppressor, the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the alien, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place".
The last part of Micah's answer to us says that we are to walk humbly with our God. Back to the book of Isaiah, chapter 57:15, God himself tells us through Isaiah, how he lives right here with us, exactly where we are, if we choose to let him be Lord of our lives: "For this is what the high and lofty One says - he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ' I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite'.
Again we see a reference to the holy and sacred God, Yahweh. And to think that He wants to be a part of our life - to have daily communion with us and walk through our lives here with us - it is astounding if you just sit back and think about it! He will teach us to act justly; he will give us mercy and show us how to give mercy to others; and he will walk with us, guiding our way.
I pray that I become more merciful - to extend to others, mercy instead of judgement - to make a difference in the life of someone who is oppressed and alone.
As we begin another week, I pray too, that you will ask Yahweh - the holy God - to walk with you and teach you to be a humble servant.
Blessings - Janelle
Showing posts with label humility. Show all posts
Showing posts with label humility. Show all posts
Monday, January 12, 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
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Staying Humble Before the Lord
I'm going to finish up chapter 10 of Jeremiah today. It covers quite a few verses, and it's the reaction of Jeremiah to the destruction of Judea and Jerusalem, and is spoken in the language of the Nomads.
10: 19 - 25 - "Woe to me because of my injury! My would is incurable! Yes, I said to myself, 'This is my sickness, and I must endure it. My tent is destroyed; all its ropes are snapped. My sons are gone from me and are no more; no one is left now to pitch my tent or to set up my shelter. The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.
Listen! The report is coming - a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals.
I know Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me Lord, but only with justice - not in your anger, lest your reduce me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland'".
The reference to the shepherds is to the leaders of the nation, who were responsible for the calamity. We commonly refer to pastors in our day as "shepherds", and the church's congregations to the "flock". We too, have seen how some in this position in recent years have misled many people. Look back to the late 1970's, at how Jim Jones deceived so many people into believing the misguided teachings that brought them all to their death. He had put himself over these people as a false messiah, and although he used scripture in his teachings, he took them out of context and used them for his advantage and hunger for power and control over them.
We have seen others since, who were well known in the religious arena, who let greed enter their hearts and brought them down, as well as their ministries. This brought a lot of spiritual dysfunction and emotional hurt to those who had so faithfully given to their ministries, only to find out they too had been duped.
We need to pray for our pastors, evangelists and missionaries. They are held in high accountability to the Lord for the calling on their lives to reach out to the lost. I believe that Satan throws more temptations at them, so he can destroy not only them and their ministry, but cause it to have an adverse affect on the lost who these people are trying to reach, causing them to stay lost and without the desire to come to know the Lord as their savior.
We have seen in Jeremiah, where pride, selfishness and greed were the downfall of the nations, and look around - you can see it in our world today as well.
We need to re-read verse verse 23 where Jeremiah says, "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps". That's what each of us needs to remember; that we need to turn to God daily, for his direction for our life. He has the perfect plan for us, and when we go about our day without taking the time to talk to him and read his word to find what his will for us is; trying to walk through life on our own, that's when we find ourselves in the midst of trials and upheavals that we've gotten ourselves into by our own pride and stubborness.
I close with this passage from James 4 that gives us the cure for sin: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Greive and mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up".
Have a blessed Wednesday................Janelle
10: 19 - 25 - "Woe to me because of my injury! My would is incurable! Yes, I said to myself, 'This is my sickness, and I must endure it. My tent is destroyed; all its ropes are snapped. My sons are gone from me and are no more; no one is left now to pitch my tent or to set up my shelter. The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.
Listen! The report is coming - a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals.
I know Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me Lord, but only with justice - not in your anger, lest your reduce me to nothing. Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the peoples who do not call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and destroyed his homeland'".
The reference to the shepherds is to the leaders of the nation, who were responsible for the calamity. We commonly refer to pastors in our day as "shepherds", and the church's congregations to the "flock". We too, have seen how some in this position in recent years have misled many people. Look back to the late 1970's, at how Jim Jones deceived so many people into believing the misguided teachings that brought them all to their death. He had put himself over these people as a false messiah, and although he used scripture in his teachings, he took them out of context and used them for his advantage and hunger for power and control over them.
We have seen others since, who were well known in the religious arena, who let greed enter their hearts and brought them down, as well as their ministries. This brought a lot of spiritual dysfunction and emotional hurt to those who had so faithfully given to their ministries, only to find out they too had been duped.
We need to pray for our pastors, evangelists and missionaries. They are held in high accountability to the Lord for the calling on their lives to reach out to the lost. I believe that Satan throws more temptations at them, so he can destroy not only them and their ministry, but cause it to have an adverse affect on the lost who these people are trying to reach, causing them to stay lost and without the desire to come to know the Lord as their savior.
We have seen in Jeremiah, where pride, selfishness and greed were the downfall of the nations, and look around - you can see it in our world today as well.
We need to re-read verse verse 23 where Jeremiah says, "I know, O Lord, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps". That's what each of us needs to remember; that we need to turn to God daily, for his direction for our life. He has the perfect plan for us, and when we go about our day without taking the time to talk to him and read his word to find what his will for us is; trying to walk through life on our own, that's when we find ourselves in the midst of trials and upheavals that we've gotten ourselves into by our own pride and stubborness.
I close with this passage from James 4 that gives us the cure for sin: "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Greive and mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up".
Have a blessed Wednesday................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 1, 2008
One Nation Under God
One Nation Under God is a phrase used in our pledge of allegiance that has strong meaning to it, but it has been challenged in the courts of our country by those who don't believe.
Today's passage in Jeremiah 1: 7 - 13 speaks of the nation of Israel, who were and are still God's chosen people. Yesterday I spoke about how they rebelled, and how we have also found ourselves "in the wilderness" and rebelled in our own ways too. There are always consequences to rebellion, and that is what the Lord was telling Jeremiah to tell the nation.
These verses are the Lord speaking.
"I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, ' Where is the Lord'. Those who deal with the law did not know me, and the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. Therefore I bring charges against you again, declares the Lord. And I will bring charges against your children's children. Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: Has a nation ever changed its gods? ( Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appaled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror, declares the Lord. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns - broken cisterns that cannot hold water".
In verse 8 it refers to the priests and leaders who rebelled against God. It is translated to mean that the ones in authority, those who led the people, led the way to apostasy. Sound familiar? Have we not seen this very thing in our own country? We have many who are in public office, and even those who are leaders of great churches and denominations who would rather be "politically correct" than to follow the laws and morals of our Lord.
In verse 11 the Lord asks, "Has a nation ever changed its gods?(Yet they are not gods at all)."
Our great nation seems to have fallen into this - the outrage of one athiest woman led to prayer being taken out of our schools; now we have others of like mind as she, who demand that "In God We Trust" be taken off our currency, and also "One Nation Under God" to be removed from our pledge of allegiance.
We are guilty of forsaking God, the only true source of living water, and are seeing Him replaced by "broken cisterns" - false ideologies and morals that are abominations to him.
I pray that our nation would realize its sin and repent. Again I go back to the verse 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 will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land".
Now is the time for us believers to make our voices be heard! We need to be on our knees praying for our country and its leaders, both those in political office, and those who are leaders in our churches. We need to pray that they will do exactly what God asks us to do in that verse, otherwise we can expect to reap the consequences of our nations sins.
Janelle
Today's passage in Jeremiah 1: 7 - 13 speaks of the nation of Israel, who were and are still God's chosen people. Yesterday I spoke about how they rebelled, and how we have also found ourselves "in the wilderness" and rebelled in our own ways too. There are always consequences to rebellion, and that is what the Lord was telling Jeremiah to tell the nation.
These verses are the Lord speaking.
"I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, ' Where is the Lord'. Those who deal with the law did not know me, and the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. Therefore I bring charges against you again, declares the Lord. And I will bring charges against your children's children. Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: Has a nation ever changed its gods? ( Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appaled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror, declares the Lord. My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns - broken cisterns that cannot hold water".
In verse 8 it refers to the priests and leaders who rebelled against God. It is translated to mean that the ones in authority, those who led the people, led the way to apostasy. Sound familiar? Have we not seen this very thing in our own country? We have many who are in public office, and even those who are leaders of great churches and denominations who would rather be "politically correct" than to follow the laws and morals of our Lord.
In verse 11 the Lord asks, "Has a nation ever changed its gods?(Yet they are not gods at all)."
Our great nation seems to have fallen into this - the outrage of one athiest woman led to prayer being taken out of our schools; now we have others of like mind as she, who demand that "In God We Trust" be taken off our currency, and also "One Nation Under God" to be removed from our pledge of allegiance.
We are guilty of forsaking God, the only true source of living water, and are seeing Him replaced by "broken cisterns" - false ideologies and morals that are abominations to him.
I pray that our nation would realize its sin and repent. Again I go back to the verse 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 will I hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land".
Now is the time for us believers to make our voices be heard! We need to be on our knees praying for our country and its leaders, both those in political office, and those who are leaders in our churches. We need to pray that they will do exactly what God asks us to do in that verse, otherwise we can expect to reap the consequences of our nations sins.
Janelle
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
If My People
There has been a verse in my head and heart that has been resonating for a while now, and I think it's very appropriate at this time in the United States, with our election drawing near.
It's from the Old Testament, the book of 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".
Our forefathers founded this country on Judeo-Christian principles, so in regard to that, I think where this verse says, "My people", could be applied to those of us who are believers in this great country, and I think we have strayed from them in so many of the laws and practices that our country has now ruled as "legal" and as "rights".
I think abortion is one of my top issues out of all the many important issues in our country. We allow millions of babies to be murdered each year. Who are we as the creation, to tell the Creator who "WE" think should live or die?
One political party says that women should have the "right" to choose whether the child inside of her lives or dies, and I say to them, what about the rights of that child? They can't speak up for themselves, so I, along with many others, try to speak out FOR them. In doing so, we are labled as being ignorant and passe in our thoughts. We are told that "times are a changin", and in my opinion, that doesn't mean it's GOOD - some changes are, but in this case, I just don't see ANY good in it at all.
I have many friends who are in the opposite party that I am, and we disagree on some of the issues, and on some of the candidates and their qualifications. I pray that those things we disagree on don't invade our friendships to the degree that it's harmful to them...
Have a great Tuesday
Janelle
It's from the Old Testament, the book of 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".
Our forefathers founded this country on Judeo-Christian principles, so in regard to that, I think where this verse says, "My people", could be applied to those of us who are believers in this great country, and I think we have strayed from them in so many of the laws and practices that our country has now ruled as "legal" and as "rights".
I think abortion is one of my top issues out of all the many important issues in our country. We allow millions of babies to be murdered each year. Who are we as the creation, to tell the Creator who "WE" think should live or die?
One political party says that women should have the "right" to choose whether the child inside of her lives or dies, and I say to them, what about the rights of that child? They can't speak up for themselves, so I, along with many others, try to speak out FOR them. In doing so, we are labled as being ignorant and passe in our thoughts. We are told that "times are a changin", and in my opinion, that doesn't mean it's GOOD - some changes are, but in this case, I just don't see ANY good in it at all.
I have many friends who are in the opposite party that I am, and we disagree on some of the issues, and on some of the candidates and their qualifications. I pray that those things we disagree on don't invade our friendships to the degree that it's harmful to them...
Have a great Tuesday
Janelle
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
The Cure
Yesterday I wrote about the causes and consequences of Worldliness, and today I'll cover James 4: 7 - 10 that speaks about the cure.
"Submit yourselves then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up".
First things first - we are to submit ourselves to God. Until we do that, we don't have the power of his Holy Spirit to take on the second step - resisting the devil. He will knock you back down every time unless you fight him with God's power. Remember, "greater is He that is within you, than he who is in the world". Satan is NOT to be feared - he wants us all to believe that, but that's a lie, which Jesus said Satan is the father of. Once a soul is saved; bought by the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in that soul, and all the power of God is available; it's up to each person to draw from that power.
The next thing we are to do is to wash our hands - in other words - repent, and turn away from the world and it's standards. Grieve and mourn for those caught up in its system and its ways.
Lastly, we are to humble ourselves before God. I have a wonderful memory involving that verse. It was made into a song in the 1980's, and here's how it played out - a memory and a lesson from God I'll never forget.
When my kids were little, we were living in a nice neighborhood, in a home we'd built just a few years prior to this one Sunday afternoon. We put them in their car seats, and decided we were going to go look at some new homes in one of the upscale neighborhoods - you know, the kind of place where everyone wants that to be their address. Well Dude was always a good sleeper, and just about as soon as we'd start off on a drive, he'd fall asleep and stay asleep until we would get back home and take him out of the car.
As we were driving through this neighborhood called "Heathrow", which is up on the north end of Orlando, we were "ooohing and aaahhing" over some really nice houses and were talking about how we could really see ourselves living there, blah blah blah..... There was no need for us to be looking at any other houses or neighborhoods; the one we were in was new, it was nice, and the kids had a lot of friends there.
As we were leaving Heathrow, Dude, who had been sound asleep, popped up, and out of that little 3 year old's mouth came the song from that last verse of today's passage. "Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord"...then he was back sound to sleep immediately! Well - we looked at each other and we knew that the Lord had just shown us how we were letting pride and the desires of the world take priority in our lives. It was an eye opening experience for sure!
We headed back home, sorrowful for letting "things" get hold of us, but also thankful that God would use our sleeping toddler to show us our sin. If it had've been someone we knew telling us that we were being prideful, we probably would've brushed them off and thought they were just jealous, but it was the innocence of a child, and that child using God's word in song, that was the tool of showing us our sin so we could repent.
Today, let us all humble ourselves before God, and to put our priorities in order. There's an acronym that shows us just how to do that - JOY - Jesus, Others, You.
Blessings,
Janelle
"Submit yourselves then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up".
First things first - we are to submit ourselves to God. Until we do that, we don't have the power of his Holy Spirit to take on the second step - resisting the devil. He will knock you back down every time unless you fight him with God's power. Remember, "greater is He that is within you, than he who is in the world". Satan is NOT to be feared - he wants us all to believe that, but that's a lie, which Jesus said Satan is the father of. Once a soul is saved; bought by the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to live in that soul, and all the power of God is available; it's up to each person to draw from that power.
The next thing we are to do is to wash our hands - in other words - repent, and turn away from the world and it's standards. Grieve and mourn for those caught up in its system and its ways.
Lastly, we are to humble ourselves before God. I have a wonderful memory involving that verse. It was made into a song in the 1980's, and here's how it played out - a memory and a lesson from God I'll never forget.
When my kids were little, we were living in a nice neighborhood, in a home we'd built just a few years prior to this one Sunday afternoon. We put them in their car seats, and decided we were going to go look at some new homes in one of the upscale neighborhoods - you know, the kind of place where everyone wants that to be their address. Well Dude was always a good sleeper, and just about as soon as we'd start off on a drive, he'd fall asleep and stay asleep until we would get back home and take him out of the car.
As we were driving through this neighborhood called "Heathrow", which is up on the north end of Orlando, we were "ooohing and aaahhing" over some really nice houses and were talking about how we could really see ourselves living there, blah blah blah..... There was no need for us to be looking at any other houses or neighborhoods; the one we were in was new, it was nice, and the kids had a lot of friends there.
As we were leaving Heathrow, Dude, who had been sound asleep, popped up, and out of that little 3 year old's mouth came the song from that last verse of today's passage. "Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord"...then he was back sound to sleep immediately! Well - we looked at each other and we knew that the Lord had just shown us how we were letting pride and the desires of the world take priority in our lives. It was an eye opening experience for sure!
We headed back home, sorrowful for letting "things" get hold of us, but also thankful that God would use our sleeping toddler to show us our sin. If it had've been someone we knew telling us that we were being prideful, we probably would've brushed them off and thought they were just jealous, but it was the innocence of a child, and that child using God's word in song, that was the tool of showing us our sin so we could repent.
Today, let us all humble ourselves before God, and to put our priorities in order. There's an acronym that shows us just how to do that - JOY - Jesus, Others, You.
Blessings,
Janelle
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
True Wisdom
We can all go back through the annals of history and cite those who we would or could call "wise". Let's see how the Bible defines true wisdom, and see how those who have made the history books compare to God's standards.
James 3: 13 - 18 says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but it is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness".
I think in these times, especially here in America, where we are deciding who to put into the office of President of the USA, we need to look at the candidates with this standard which God has laid down concerning wisdom. Our President surely needs to have wisdom to lead our country, and my prayer is that the person who is elected will be humble and will daily seek God for His wisdom and guidance.
We have heard the masses here in the USA sing, "God Bless America", and at the same time, we see where many are trying to take God's name out of our pledge of allegiance; removal of "In God We Trust" off our money, and allow things like abortion to be legal, when God has clearly said that murder is a sin.
If we truly want God to bless America, we need to adhere to what he 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 the wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land".
We can't expect God to heal our land - to bless us with freedom and safety, if we allow laws and practices that go against everything that is holy - everything that is against his perfect will and perfect order.
Janelle
James 3: 13 - 18 says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven, but it is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness".
I think in these times, especially here in America, where we are deciding who to put into the office of President of the USA, we need to look at the candidates with this standard which God has laid down concerning wisdom. Our President surely needs to have wisdom to lead our country, and my prayer is that the person who is elected will be humble and will daily seek God for His wisdom and guidance.
We have heard the masses here in the USA sing, "God Bless America", and at the same time, we see where many are trying to take God's name out of our pledge of allegiance; removal of "In God We Trust" off our money, and allow things like abortion to be legal, when God has clearly said that murder is a sin.
If we truly want God to bless America, we need to adhere to what he 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 the wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land".
We can't expect God to heal our land - to bless us with freedom and safety, if we allow laws and practices that go against everything that is holy - everything that is against his perfect will and perfect order.
Janelle
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Humility
Today my reading is from the second chapter of Philippians, verses 3 - 8.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross".
In verse 6, where it says, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped", could be translated as "did not think this was something to be exploited to His own advantage".
As Christian believers, we need to be examples of Jesus - to be humble and put others and their needs before our own.
If the Lord is telling you to go to someone who isn't your favorite person in the world, and to do something for them, DO IT! Your human nature will fight against you in this, but the Lord is wanting your obedience, and to make you become more and more like Jesus.
Every day brings us opportunities to be a servant of the Lord - to hear Him say to us, "GO", and for us to learn to be obedient to his voice. In doing so, we are truly being examples of Jesus, and will receive His blessings, just as he received the Father's blessings.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!
Janelle
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross".
In verse 6, where it says, "did not consider equality with God something to be grasped", could be translated as "did not think this was something to be exploited to His own advantage".
As Christian believers, we need to be examples of Jesus - to be humble and put others and their needs before our own.
If the Lord is telling you to go to someone who isn't your favorite person in the world, and to do something for them, DO IT! Your human nature will fight against you in this, but the Lord is wanting your obedience, and to make you become more and more like Jesus.
Every day brings us opportunities to be a servant of the Lord - to hear Him say to us, "GO", and for us to learn to be obedient to his voice. In doing so, we are truly being examples of Jesus, and will receive His blessings, just as he received the Father's blessings.
Have a wonderful and safe holiday weekend!
Janelle
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