I have been feeling a little despondent lately. It seems like the trials of this world are getting next to me. Too many ups and downs. Trying to figure out how to stop getting down and how to stay up more.
I am reminded of a traditional church hymn that says that God is faithful. Some of you might sing this song in your home church. The song is entitled Great Is Thy Faithfulness. This song really speaks to my spirit.
The first stanza goes like this:
"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not.
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
You know, God never changes, His position stays the same. We change our position often and move away from God, but God never moves away from us.
I guess I get low or down, when I change my position and move away from God.
1 Corinthians 1:9 tells me that, "God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, is faithful." This should be adequate enough, huh?
It is easy to fall out of fellowship with God when we get caught up in our own l problems and forgetting to let go of our problems and trust God.
I noticed that when I take my eyes off of Jesus and on to myself, I start doubting that God is faithful.
I know that God does not love me less today just because I may have step away today. The song says "thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not."
God's love is based on Himself. He is love. His love for me has nothing to do with me. That means I can depend on His love because it is based on Him.
We know that when we confess our sinfulness, admitting that we "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God, He is faithful and will forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians that "the very God of peace will santify you wholly, and that is His faithfulness, not ours, but the Lord is faithful to those who He calls.
I am thankful that He called me into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord!
Thought for Today: God won't let us down. Pick yourself up!
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Twisting the Word of God
The Evangelist, Billy Graham, has an interesting column in our local paper today and I am quoting some from it.
Many people twist the words of the Bible.
I had an interesting conversation with my son in law about this same subject.
He wondered how a person could know whose interpretation of the word of God was correct when so many people had their own interpretation.
I don't know if I had the right answer for him, but one thing I do know that God is light and when you are walking in the light, the Holy Spirit will guide you to the correct interpretation of the Bible.
You must study the Word of God to understand it. The truths of the Bible will be revealed to you with help of the Holy Spirit.
Many people twist the words of the Bible to suit their own needs. Often people try to make the Bible say things that it doesn't really say, according to Mr. Graham. However, they can only do this because they have a tendency to look at just a small part of it and ignore the rest.
One woman wrote about her friend, who told her that the Bible even said "there was no God. What actual happened was that her friend only read part of the scripture which states in Psalm 14:1 which says "the fool says in his heart, there is no God."
Many people do this because if they had read the entire verse, they would not be able to twist the words to fit their needs.
Perhaps had the lady read the entire verse she would understood that only a fool believes there is no God. Evidence of God is all around us!
Some people twist the Bible to make it say what they want it to say, not what it really says. Another reason for doing this is people don't want to believe what the Bible clearly teaches: that we all are sinners and short of the glory of God. WE need Christ to cleanse us from our sins.
If a person were to admit they need Jesus, then that person would have to yield their life to Jesus Christ, and in the lady's case, she didn't want to do it obviously.
It is easy to find fault or to twist the Word of God because if ever gave our life to Christ, we would be new creatures, doing the will of God.
Praying that God is blessing you and that you are sharing your blessing with others.
Thought for Today: The Word of God was designed to help the people of God have the right interpretation. Yield to the Master!
Many people twist the words of the Bible.
I had an interesting conversation with my son in law about this same subject.
He wondered how a person could know whose interpretation of the word of God was correct when so many people had their own interpretation.
I don't know if I had the right answer for him, but one thing I do know that God is light and when you are walking in the light, the Holy Spirit will guide you to the correct interpretation of the Bible.
You must study the Word of God to understand it. The truths of the Bible will be revealed to you with help of the Holy Spirit.
Many people twist the words of the Bible to suit their own needs. Often people try to make the Bible say things that it doesn't really say, according to Mr. Graham. However, they can only do this because they have a tendency to look at just a small part of it and ignore the rest.
One woman wrote about her friend, who told her that the Bible even said "there was no God. What actual happened was that her friend only read part of the scripture which states in Psalm 14:1 which says "the fool says in his heart, there is no God."
Many people do this because if they had read the entire verse, they would not be able to twist the words to fit their needs.
Perhaps had the lady read the entire verse she would understood that only a fool believes there is no God. Evidence of God is all around us!
Some people twist the Bible to make it say what they want it to say, not what it really says. Another reason for doing this is people don't want to believe what the Bible clearly teaches: that we all are sinners and short of the glory of God. WE need Christ to cleanse us from our sins.
If a person were to admit they need Jesus, then that person would have to yield their life to Jesus Christ, and in the lady's case, she didn't want to do it obviously.
It is easy to find fault or to twist the Word of God because if ever gave our life to Christ, we would be new creatures, doing the will of God.
Praying that God is blessing you and that you are sharing your blessing with others.
Thought for Today: The Word of God was designed to help the people of God have the right interpretation. Yield to the Master!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A Time To Endure Trials
The Lord molds His children in proportion to their willingness to be shaped for divinely appointed work.
The only evidence of a sovereign, loving God was that we consistently prospered even during times of trouble.
We can look at the life of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers and eventually became the second highest ranking official next to the Pharaoh of Egypt. How does one go from being a free man to a slave, to being jailed and then being the Prime Minister? God placed these circumstances on Joseph in order to save his chosen people, the Israelites. Had God not molded Joseph through all these periods of slavery and confinement, he may have missed the opportunities God had for him and for God's chosen people. (Genesis, chapters 30-45)
We too have to forsake our human pride because pride can lead us to our downfall. In Joseph's case, his brothers were extremely jealous of him because of a dream he had. They did not appreciate their father's favoritism towards Joseph. His brothers did not like what they believed to be Joseph's arrogance. Even in slavery and in prison, Joseph humbled himself before His God, having faith and trusting that God would eventually deliver him. Faith is the most important thing.
We cannot rely on our strength to get us through tough times. Human pride is a potent force that must be uprooted before we can be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Asking God to carry you through a situation or trial, may appear as a weakness, but relying on your own strength is an admission that you can do it without God's help.
I think also of three young men mentioned in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3. They held very prominent positions within the Babylonian government. All three young men refused to bow down to an image of gold they King had made, and they were condemned to a fiery death by fire. But God intervened and spared their lives. What I learned new was that God was in that fire with them! I had never recognized this before.
King Nebuchadnezzar had thrown them into a heated furnace, heated seven times hotter than usual had them tied up, and thrown in the furnace with all their clothes on. The King's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who threw the three men into the fire
Suddenly the King looked up and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw in the first?' (Daniel 3:24) They agreed with the King. The King then said, "Look, I see four men walking around in the first, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." There was God right in the midst of the fire!
King Nebuchadnezzar than approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" They came out of the fire and the fire had not harmed their bodies or their clothes or hair and no smell of fire was on them. (v.26)
The Most High God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego honored His servants by protecting them. They refused to submit to golden images and even though they had lost their prominent positions and the prestige that goes with it, their God was still with them. In the fire. God is with us also as we go through our sufferings, trials, lost of jobs, lost of prestige. The one thing to remember is He is in the first with us.
We are just going through, it will not last forever. He is preparing us for something greater, something divine, something for which he will receive the glory, not man.
The stories of both Joseph and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego continue to be favorites of mine because God has brought me through many trials and tribulations. For that, I am thankful. Trials strengthen us. We know we are not alone in our trials. God is always in the midst and he wants the glory for helping us get through our trials.
Thought for Today: Thank God that He is in the fire with you! You are not alone.
The only evidence of a sovereign, loving God was that we consistently prospered even during times of trouble.
We can look at the life of Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers and eventually became the second highest ranking official next to the Pharaoh of Egypt. How does one go from being a free man to a slave, to being jailed and then being the Prime Minister? God placed these circumstances on Joseph in order to save his chosen people, the Israelites. Had God not molded Joseph through all these periods of slavery and confinement, he may have missed the opportunities God had for him and for God's chosen people. (Genesis, chapters 30-45)
We too have to forsake our human pride because pride can lead us to our downfall. In Joseph's case, his brothers were extremely jealous of him because of a dream he had. They did not appreciate their father's favoritism towards Joseph. His brothers did not like what they believed to be Joseph's arrogance. Even in slavery and in prison, Joseph humbled himself before His God, having faith and trusting that God would eventually deliver him. Faith is the most important thing.
We cannot rely on our strength to get us through tough times. Human pride is a potent force that must be uprooted before we can be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Asking God to carry you through a situation or trial, may appear as a weakness, but relying on your own strength is an admission that you can do it without God's help.
I think also of three young men mentioned in the book of Daniel, Chapter 3. They held very prominent positions within the Babylonian government. All three young men refused to bow down to an image of gold they King had made, and they were condemned to a fiery death by fire. But God intervened and spared their lives. What I learned new was that God was in that fire with them! I had never recognized this before.
King Nebuchadnezzar had thrown them into a heated furnace, heated seven times hotter than usual had them tied up, and thrown in the furnace with all their clothes on. The King's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who threw the three men into the fire
Suddenly the King looked up and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw in the first?' (Daniel 3:24) They agreed with the King. The King then said, "Look, I see four men walking around in the first, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." There was God right in the midst of the fire!
King Nebuchadnezzar than approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" They came out of the fire and the fire had not harmed their bodies or their clothes or hair and no smell of fire was on them. (v.26)
The Most High God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego honored His servants by protecting them. They refused to submit to golden images and even though they had lost their prominent positions and the prestige that goes with it, their God was still with them. In the fire. God is with us also as we go through our sufferings, trials, lost of jobs, lost of prestige. The one thing to remember is He is in the first with us.
We are just going through, it will not last forever. He is preparing us for something greater, something divine, something for which he will receive the glory, not man.
The stories of both Joseph and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego continue to be favorites of mine because God has brought me through many trials and tribulations. For that, I am thankful. Trials strengthen us. We know we are not alone in our trials. God is always in the midst and he wants the glory for helping us get through our trials.
Thought for Today: Thank God that He is in the fire with you! You are not alone.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Heaven Is Our Home
1 John 4:15-17 says,
"All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the
day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus
here in this world."
Thought for Today: Heaven is our home. Live like you are going there.
"All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and all who live in love, live in God, and God lives in them.
And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the
day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus
here in this world."
Thought for Today: Heaven is our home. Live like you are going there.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Timing Is Important
Lesson Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
Verse 1 states"There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven."
My commentary says that timing is important. Why is timing important? The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God's perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent God's timing.
We want what we want when we want it. We don't want to wait on anyone, we don't wait on God. We don't like to pray and seek God's advice. We just want to do it our way, on our timing.
There is a problem with this because it can lead to despair, we can become despondent. It can lead to rebellion and rebellion causes us a problem with God; it shows we don't trust God. We move without seeking God's advice first. Bad decision, bad choices.
One of the hardest things I have had to learn is patience. I am still learning it and I guess God is wondering what is wrong with that woman! Doesn't she get it? I am in charge! I have struggled with patience the majority of my life but I continue to pray and ask God for help in this area. In His time, He will help me overcome this problem with patience.
In the book of James 5:16b, it says that the"earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." Persistent, righteous, power, wonderful results. Key words to which we must pay attention. We must keep asking; we must come to God with clean hearts, we receive power when we come this way and when we do, we get wonderful results.
King Solomon in writing the book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything. You must read Chapter 3:1-8, it is rather long and I won't recite all the verses here, but I do encourage you to read them, as it will put everything in perspective.
I am reminded by reading these verses that "every day regardless of the weather or circumstances of our life is a gift from God to be used for His glory." So when we glorify God in our living, we learn to wait on His timing, His guidance, and His direction.
Author Ron Ash puts it like this: "We are where we need to be and learning what we need to learn. Stay the course because the things we experience today will lead us to where God needs us to be tomorrow." So don't begin your day as usual. Begin your day with prayer so God can guide and direct you to where He needs you the most.
Scripture says, "The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path." (Psalm 119:105) This would not be in the Bible if God wanted us to guide ourselves.
In every season, there is a reason to rejoice and an opportunity to do good. Challenge yourselves to rejoice and do good and then to do them both.
The Christian's most powerful resource is communion with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we think. Some people use prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails. This approach is backward. Prayer should come first because God's power is infinitely greater than ours and especially so because God encourages us to pray.
Thought for Today: Keep praying, God's listening. His timing is always perfect.
Verse 1 states"There is a time for everything, and a season for every purpose under heaven."
My commentary says that timing is important. Why is timing important? The secret to peace with God is to discover, accept, and appreciate God's perfect timing. The danger is to doubt or resent God's timing.
We want what we want when we want it. We don't want to wait on anyone, we don't wait on God. We don't like to pray and seek God's advice. We just want to do it our way, on our timing.
There is a problem with this because it can lead to despair, we can become despondent. It can lead to rebellion and rebellion causes us a problem with God; it shows we don't trust God. We move without seeking God's advice first. Bad decision, bad choices.
One of the hardest things I have had to learn is patience. I am still learning it and I guess God is wondering what is wrong with that woman! Doesn't she get it? I am in charge! I have struggled with patience the majority of my life but I continue to pray and ask God for help in this area. In His time, He will help me overcome this problem with patience.
In the book of James 5:16b, it says that the"earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." Persistent, righteous, power, wonderful results. Key words to which we must pay attention. We must keep asking; we must come to God with clean hearts, we receive power when we come this way and when we do, we get wonderful results.
King Solomon in writing the book of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for everything. You must read Chapter 3:1-8, it is rather long and I won't recite all the verses here, but I do encourage you to read them, as it will put everything in perspective.
I am reminded by reading these verses that "every day regardless of the weather or circumstances of our life is a gift from God to be used for His glory." So when we glorify God in our living, we learn to wait on His timing, His guidance, and His direction.
Author Ron Ash puts it like this: "We are where we need to be and learning what we need to learn. Stay the course because the things we experience today will lead us to where God needs us to be tomorrow." So don't begin your day as usual. Begin your day with prayer so God can guide and direct you to where He needs you the most.
Scripture says, "The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path." (Psalm 119:105) This would not be in the Bible if God wanted us to guide ourselves.
In every season, there is a reason to rejoice and an opportunity to do good. Challenge yourselves to rejoice and do good and then to do them both.
The Christian's most powerful resource is communion with God through prayer. The results are often greater than we think. Some people use prayer as a last resort to be tried when all else fails. This approach is backward. Prayer should come first because God's power is infinitely greater than ours and especially so because God encourages us to pray.
Thought for Today: Keep praying, God's listening. His timing is always perfect.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Second Commandment
Lesson: Matthew 22:34-40
In the book of Matthew 22 the Pharisees are attempting to trick Jesus and discredit him as a person. So they send a lawyer, one who is suppose to be knowledgeable in the law given by Moses and the prophets.
Verse 34 states that "But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together". Verse 35 says" that one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying", Verse 36, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"
What is interesting is Jesus response.
Verse 37 states that "Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Verse 38 says, This is the first and great commandment. Verse 39 , "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Verse 40 concludes with "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
The lawyer knew or should have known this.
Jesus cited the Jewish confession of faith found in Deuteronomy 6:5, the principle under girding all the specific commands. All those of the Jewish faith were taught early by their mothers, or family, or temple teachers so they would be well acquainted with the law and the prophets.
To love God with all one's mind is to use all reasoning and reflection to bring glory to Him.
We want to receive all the glory, not God. How can we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind? The majority of religions claim that God is universal and that we all believe in the same thing. Not true. We all don't believe the same thing. Christians believe that God sent His only Son in the flesh to die for our sins. We don't worship animals or have animal sacrifices. Christ was the human sacrifice and his death and resurrection redeemed us before His Father, God.
Then Jesus gave the second commandment which in Verse 39 commands us to "love thy neighbour as thyself."
This is the commandment that is so difficult for every religion, even Christianity. We don't want to give up our seat or our pew in church to a stranger or even to each other. How does that show love for our neighbor?
The second command was to be fulfilled in respect to other Jews. But Jesus applied it to all mankind. The command to love one's neighbor is like the command to love God in more than one way.
First, it requires love, as the first commandment does. And the love demanded for our neighbor is just as exacting as our love for God, for we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do not need to be reminded to love ourselves. That comes naturally but to expend the same wholehearted care and concern on our neighbor is a herculean task. It takes effort and it is what God desires of us!
This points out a second connection between the two commands: we cannot adequately fulfill the second one without fulfilling the first.
God demonstrated love even to His enemies. We, as children of God, are to prove ourselves as His children, and are expectged to do the same thing. The world is in the predicament it is in today because of hatred not love of their neighbors. Those who claim to love God and hate their neighbor are liars and are not friends of God. So how can we all believe in the same God who is universal to all mankind?
How can one love the invisible God, yet hate His visible image-bearer? (1 John 4:20)
Indeed, anyone who recognizes that love for God and neighbor is the essence of what God requires is not far from the kingdom. Only a heart that is transformed by God's grace can possibly recognized such love.
Thought for Today: Pray that all mankind might come to love his neighbor so that we can truly be at peace with one another.
In the book of Matthew 22 the Pharisees are attempting to trick Jesus and discredit him as a person. So they send a lawyer, one who is suppose to be knowledgeable in the law given by Moses and the prophets.
Verse 34 states that "But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together". Verse 35 says" that one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him and saying", Verse 36, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?"
What is interesting is Jesus response.
Verse 37 states that "Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Verse 38 says, This is the first and great commandment. Verse 39 , "And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Verse 40 concludes with "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
The lawyer knew or should have known this.
Jesus cited the Jewish confession of faith found in Deuteronomy 6:5, the principle under girding all the specific commands. All those of the Jewish faith were taught early by their mothers, or family, or temple teachers so they would be well acquainted with the law and the prophets.
To love God with all one's mind is to use all reasoning and reflection to bring glory to Him.
We want to receive all the glory, not God. How can we love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind? The majority of religions claim that God is universal and that we all believe in the same thing. Not true. We all don't believe the same thing. Christians believe that God sent His only Son in the flesh to die for our sins. We don't worship animals or have animal sacrifices. Christ was the human sacrifice and his death and resurrection redeemed us before His Father, God.
Then Jesus gave the second commandment which in Verse 39 commands us to "love thy neighbour as thyself."
This is the commandment that is so difficult for every religion, even Christianity. We don't want to give up our seat or our pew in church to a stranger or even to each other. How does that show love for our neighbor?
The second command was to be fulfilled in respect to other Jews. But Jesus applied it to all mankind. The command to love one's neighbor is like the command to love God in more than one way.
First, it requires love, as the first commandment does. And the love demanded for our neighbor is just as exacting as our love for God, for we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do not need to be reminded to love ourselves. That comes naturally but to expend the same wholehearted care and concern on our neighbor is a herculean task. It takes effort and it is what God desires of us!
This points out a second connection between the two commands: we cannot adequately fulfill the second one without fulfilling the first.
God demonstrated love even to His enemies. We, as children of God, are to prove ourselves as His children, and are expectged to do the same thing. The world is in the predicament it is in today because of hatred not love of their neighbors. Those who claim to love God and hate their neighbor are liars and are not friends of God. So how can we all believe in the same God who is universal to all mankind?
How can one love the invisible God, yet hate His visible image-bearer? (1 John 4:20)
Indeed, anyone who recognizes that love for God and neighbor is the essence of what God requires is not far from the kingdom. Only a heart that is transformed by God's grace can possibly recognized such love.
Thought for Today: Pray that all mankind might come to love his neighbor so that we can truly be at peace with one another.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Importance of Entering the Temple of the Lord
I am always amazed how much I learn every time I enter the House of the Lord.
I am away from my church home but I make it a point to visit a church where I am currently living. The benefits of going to church are greater than I can express but let me try to share with you what I recently learned. The sermon I heard was on the importance of attending church. Oddly, I had missed a couple of Sundays and this sermon is what I needed to hear on that day.
One of the reasons many people do not attend church is that they are too hurried. They don't have time to attend church service; it is not important to fellowship with other Christians. Maybe they are not Christians; maybe they have a different belief. At any rate, they are just too busy doing their own thing.
The Pastor of the church I attended preached from the book of Isaiah.
The book of Isaiah, Chapters 36 and 37 tells the story about the Assyrian king threatening the Jewish king. King Hezekiah is now the reigning king of Judah and Jerusalem. The Assyrian King is threatening to cut off the water supply in Judah and Jerusalem and he is telling King Hezekiah to just turn over the city and country to him. King Hezekiah is one of the few good kings that has been reigning over a portion of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel is split between two kings at this point in the history of the Jewish people. The leadership of Judah is being threatened; King Hezekiah has been humiliated before his own people; he has been insulted by this foreign king; the Jewish people are frightened because of the threats made towards their King. The Lord told King Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah not to be afraid of the threats of the Assyrian King.
In Chapter 37, verse 1 it says: "when King Hezekiah heard this (the report from his officers), he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord."
When you are at the end of your wits and you can't find a solution to your problem or problems, you had better go into the temple of the Lord! Why is that?
1) You need to dwell in the God's presence. You need a time out to get your thoughts together.
2) You need to be lifted out of your situation into the presence of God.
3) You need to get a different perspective of yourself and your problem. God can
fix your life.
4) You need a dose of supernatural power. Power that man does not possess. God
can open doors.
You don't have to tear off your clothes and put on sackcloth like King Hezekiah did, as this was a custom that the Jewish people did to demonstrate their grief over a situation or a predicament, but you need to reverence your God in a time of trouble! All you need to do is enter the temple of the Lord and be in the presence of the Lord.
King Hezekiah knew from whom his strength came and he knew that God was on his side. The Word of God assures all believers that God will never leave or forsake them.
Chapter 37:36 says, "then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!" Now, how awesome is that?
God would defend Jerusalem for the sake of His honor. Assyria had not only insulted King Hezekiah but had also insulted God. What Jerusalem could not possibly do, God would do for them. God is prepared to do the impossible if we trust Him enough to ask.
Thought for Today: God can do the impossible; we need a fresh perspective and we need to enter the temple of the living God.
I am away from my church home but I make it a point to visit a church where I am currently living. The benefits of going to church are greater than I can express but let me try to share with you what I recently learned. The sermon I heard was on the importance of attending church. Oddly, I had missed a couple of Sundays and this sermon is what I needed to hear on that day.
One of the reasons many people do not attend church is that they are too hurried. They don't have time to attend church service; it is not important to fellowship with other Christians. Maybe they are not Christians; maybe they have a different belief. At any rate, they are just too busy doing their own thing.
The Pastor of the church I attended preached from the book of Isaiah.
The book of Isaiah, Chapters 36 and 37 tells the story about the Assyrian king threatening the Jewish king. King Hezekiah is now the reigning king of Judah and Jerusalem. The Assyrian King is threatening to cut off the water supply in Judah and Jerusalem and he is telling King Hezekiah to just turn over the city and country to him. King Hezekiah is one of the few good kings that has been reigning over a portion of Israel, Judah and Jerusalem. The kingdom of Israel is split between two kings at this point in the history of the Jewish people. The leadership of Judah is being threatened; King Hezekiah has been humiliated before his own people; he has been insulted by this foreign king; the Jewish people are frightened because of the threats made towards their King. The Lord told King Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah not to be afraid of the threats of the Assyrian King.
In Chapter 37, verse 1 it says: "when King Hezekiah heard this (the report from his officers), he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord."
When you are at the end of your wits and you can't find a solution to your problem or problems, you had better go into the temple of the Lord! Why is that?
1) You need to dwell in the God's presence. You need a time out to get your thoughts together.
2) You need to be lifted out of your situation into the presence of God.
3) You need to get a different perspective of yourself and your problem. God can
fix your life.
4) You need a dose of supernatural power. Power that man does not possess. God
can open doors.
You don't have to tear off your clothes and put on sackcloth like King Hezekiah did, as this was a custom that the Jewish people did to demonstrate their grief over a situation or a predicament, but you need to reverence your God in a time of trouble! All you need to do is enter the temple of the Lord and be in the presence of the Lord.
King Hezekiah knew from whom his strength came and he knew that God was on his side. The Word of God assures all believers that God will never leave or forsake them.
Chapter 37:36 says, "then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!" Now, how awesome is that?
God would defend Jerusalem for the sake of His honor. Assyria had not only insulted King Hezekiah but had also insulted God. What Jerusalem could not possibly do, God would do for them. God is prepared to do the impossible if we trust Him enough to ask.
Thought for Today: God can do the impossible; we need a fresh perspective and we need to enter the temple of the living God.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)