Tag Archives: Israel

Woe! What a Shame!

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Television set for Wikipedia userbox icons, or...

Television set for Wikipedia userbox icons, or other things. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is a shame, the wickedness of man.  When the veil is torn apart and man stands before the Most High God every shame of man will be exposed.  Oh how they will wish they had spent their lives searching after the things of God.

But there is an even greater shame today.  There are a people who have been bought by the evil one.  They put themselves on the block to be bought, taught, and sold into slavery.  Who are these?  They are the ones who will tell a man of God that they have no time to better themselves in the things of God.  Yet these are the same ones who will spend 5 hours a day watching television.

It is to their great and utter ruin that they allow their precious days to pass like this in this place of testing.  They allow themselves to learn the items of wickedness to a fine honed edge.  But they spend no time learning about the things of God.

They have become pawns of wickedness.  They are traded and laughed at all day long by those who hold them in a trance of blindness.  “Buy this.  Act like this.  Desire this.  Endure this.  Teach your children this.  Embrace this life of useless wickedness, for I command you who waste your time here to learn from me.”  And they will indeed buy, act, desire, endure, teach and embrace every wicked and utter abomination set before them.

Woe to those who crave the things of this world and make no preparation for the coming visit from the Holy One of Israel!  Woe to them.  For they have set themselves apart for evil and made no attempt to please the One who made them.  Do they really think they will receive a rich welcome into His presence?

Family Matters

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Ahnenblatt Family Tree Example

Ahnenblatt Family Tree Example (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In speaking with the Lord about who I have become, by His Grace, He showed me something of great value.  I was frustrated by the limits of righteous behavior I found in myself.  While I thought of Enoch, the seventh from Adam, and how he pleased the Lord so that God took him.  He lived for 365 years on this earth.  And he did not taste death because he lived in such  a way as to please the Holy and living God.

I looked at my life and wondered at my own wickedness.  As the sadness of my utter failure came seeping in, the Lord spoke an idea to me that has helped greatly.  I will try to convey the understanding with as little words as possible.

There are 12 tribes of Israel.  And each tribe has its own clans.  A clan represents a collection of families who trace their history to a common origin.  While they belong to a certain tribe they are identified under certain sub segments of that tribe.

Then the Lord showed me something I had not considered.  The Gentiles, that is those who are not Jews by birth but who belong to the line of  people who do not have the direct blessing under Moses, are divided into clans also.  Let me explain.

There are men who were raised in families who have passed on a love for the things of the Lord.  There are families who have passed on the love for traditions of men.  There are families who promote certain levels of sin in their lives as if it is their right to chase after a limited amount of wickedness.  And then, there is my clan.  Those who have passed on a boundless wickedness to their children.

The Lord in His mercy will judge us from the stock we were raised in.  What were we taught as children that has remained undetected within our memories?  A man who was raised by holy parents (gentiles, none the less) will remember things holy.  A man who was abused sexually and driven from holy behavior since he was old enough to speak will not know how to perform for the Lord like the former family.

But here is the rub.  Have you excelled beyond your clan?  Are you striving to rid yourself of the horrible wickedness that was passed down to you?  This is where He helped me understand.  There is a certain peace involved in understanding these things.  His expectation for those of the lesser clans is not as intense as those who were raised to know better.

There is a whole lot more to say about this.  But I think, for the sake of readability, this is enough to convey the message.

A Prayer

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Praying Hands (Dürer)

Image via Wikipedia

Father in Heaven, Glory to You!  Beautiful is Your Holy Law.  And wonderful is Your Way.  All You are is marvelous to behold.  You uphold those who love you.  And You provoke us to love you by the Love You have shown in that You loved us before we loved You.

You have protected Your servant with a powerful and gentle hand.  When I was at the mercy of the blood drenched animals, You came to me to support me.  For this I give you all the praise my tiny soul can muster.  I thank you!

I have spoken to You about this.  And I said, “Oh Lord, if you will promise to provoke me to speak I will continue to speak for You till You open eternity upon me.”  Your reply was, “You have My promise.”  For these things I worship You with a full heart.  Honor is Yours.  Integrity was born by Your Holy name.

I place this message here so that You might receive the Glory due Your name:

I ask You, Living God of Israel, to open the door of ministry in this place.  Fling open the window of blessing that You, in Your Wisdom,  have kept shut.  I see the Love You offer.  I see it with eyes anew.  I see the strength You abundantly give.  And I know that I can trust Your protection forever.  By the magnificent name of Your Son Jesus, I present myself as a willing servant.   Teach me what to say.  Teach me what to do.  Teach me what humility is.  And I will embrace you with a great love forever.

All I ask, Lord, is that You save souls by Your work in this servant.  May Your Beautiful will be done forever!  Billions will praise You, for You are worthy of all praise forever!

WAR!

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All day long, we war against the desires of the flesh.  The world wars against the Lord we serve.  Therefore, they war against His people.  So we fight a war from within and without.  This will not be taken out of the way until the dirt covers the rotting doorway of this tent of flesh.  What shall be said of this plight we find ourselves in?

If we must war, then war with a vigorous health.  Bring Glory to the One who made you.  Bring that Glory with deeds born of the Holy Spirit which lives within you.  Crouch in the shadows of your soul and watch like a lion hungry for prey.  Seek out the sins of desire and devour them with a Holy strength.  Kill the desires of the flesh.  Do not make a room for them to live.  Though you close the door to that room, seal the door all around, allow no light to enter, nor build a window, those sins still live within you.  If you wish to win this war, you have to become violent toward anything that is not God within you.

If we must war, then war with the strength of a mighty one!   Remember how Israel was ordered to decimate the people living in the land they were to inherit.  And remember how we are urged to hate even clothing stained with sin.  If you want to win, then dig deep.

Consider a warrior’s scream.  Consider how it drives fear into the hearts of his enemies, and commits his entire being to the task at hand.  Death is embraced.  Fear is dispelled. Memories of a warm fire at home are forgotten.  What lies before him is his only concern.

Consider how he must prepare his mind, body, and soul to make that noise.  Before he screams, he fills his lungs with air.  Fill your heart with the Spirit of God.  Then when the air is released, his entire body is bent to the task.  Submit your mind, body, heart, and soul, to the will of God and vent His Holy Will within you.

Make war against sin with the might of a warrior of God.   To say we “struggle” against sin is not entirely accurate.  We WAR against sin!  You are not a victim!  You are called to FIGHT!  It is when we allow ourselves to become tired that we find ourselves losing the war.  But God did not give us a Spirit of timidity.  He gave us His Spirit which is pure, vital, powerful, never ending, never sleeping, faithful, and HOLY.

What say you?  Let’s dance the dance of the warrior!  Amen.

The Hope of Rahab

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Rahab and the Emissaries of Joshua

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As we live our lives under the rule of Jesus, we are brought from understanding to understanding.  We are always growing in our knowledge of the Love of God.  And everyone of us who are learning to love Him have a testimony to share.  For this reason I drop this tidbit of words for the sake of His Glory:

We hear of how we should strive with all our might to obey all His perfect commands.  And it is impossible to remove any of them from before us.  There is, however, the element of humanity and sin within us.  Though He sets us free from the necessity to obey the sinful nature, we all find ourselves engulfed in evil foolishness from time to time.  This is something the world can’t understand.  They will say, “How can the people of God act so lawless from time to time, yet speak of a life free from ungodly actions?”  This is something rather odd, I readily admit.  But I submit the following for consideration:

Rahab, the harlot, was promised salvation because of one action.  She gave save harbor and escape to the men of Israel when they came to spy on the land they were about to conquer.  The Lord said that she would not be forgotten for this action.  It was in the identification with His people that she warranted being counted among them.  Though most of us won’t risk our lives in defending the Gospel, it is important that we recognize that the Lord is just and will not forget our sacrifices, words, actions, and intentions regarding His Holy people.

I encourage you who strive against great odds.  Many of the Lord’s people come from horrible backgrounds.  And shedding some of those styles of living is extremely hard to do.  Many will never completely rid themselves of these hedious problems before they are in His presence.  But we should strive, above all else, to remember that the Lord is Love, compassion, forgiving, wise, and Holy.  It is the Lord who will be glorified on the day of His appearing.  Man will never receive the same level of glory as will the Lord.  So we rest in that confidence.   This is why we serve Him.

I hope this gives hope to those struggling against despair.  Keep that confidence you had at first.  It is Jesus who saves from first to last.

By His Grace.

The Faith of David

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Jewish scroll icon

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David, the second King of Israel, was a man of amazing understanding regarding the character of God.  David tumbled into sin as do we all.  He saw a woman, when he should have been with his men in the battlefield.  He called for her, and allowed his lust to carry through with temptation.  Upon her announcement of pregnancy, David had the woman’s husband killed.  I don’t state these things as an accusation toward David.  I state them to build an understanding of the severity of David’s sin.

The point is not what David did.  The point is what David did before God.  God told David the child would die and that bloodshed would not leave his family.  What did David do in response?  He appealed to God that God should change His mind regarding the punishment.  But when David saw that no change of mind would come, he rose, washed his face and went to have dinner.

We are told that there is no fear of punishment at the hands of God in those who love Him.  And I see no fear in David’s response.  David trusted the wisdom of the Most High God.  So it is in my own experience with God.  Yes, I have sinned before the face of the Lord.  But should that be the end of me?  Perhaps it should be the end of me.  But that’s not what God promises.  He says that we are sin, even our righteous acts are as filthy rags.  Groveling like a worm under the heat of the sun is not what God desires from His people.  God desires that we admit our state of affairs before Him, believe His promises, and rise up to serve.  What else can we do?  What else shall we think?  Can we conjure up some kind of sacrifice that will undo our sins?  No.

So swallow your pride, drop to your knees and confess to Him.  Accept His promise, and rise up forgiven.  Billions would call that hypocrisy.  God calls that The Faith.

 

by His Grace.