Two Sins

We can learn a lot about God by the way he dealt with his chosen people in Old Testament times. The children of Israel had many of the same problems we have in remaining faithful to the Heavenly Father. Most of the prophetic writings of the Old Testament not only give us glimpses of the coming Jesus, Messiah, but also let us see some very specific qualities of God that we might otherwise miss.

Jeremiah was the prophet chosen by God to proclaim messages which contained doom and destruction to the unfaithful, and messages which portrayed God as one who longed for his people to return to him, and seek his forgiveness for their disobedience.

We've looked at some of this before and noted Jeremiah's message from God to the people included the mentioning of the Israelites defiling the land, they followed after worthless idols, they did not seek God, and even their leaders, the teachers of the law, were in rebellion. 

Jeremiah 2 gives the message and the picture for Israel looks bleak. The people who had known of God's deliverance and his provision, were now turning their backs on God and practicing idolatry. God is so displeased with them he and lets them know about it.  He asks this question, "Has a nation ever changed its gods?" (Yet the gods they turn to are not really gods at all.)  We can sense the sorrow and sadness from the throne of God to the entirety of Israel.  And yet, through God's displeasure, he still wants to show his love and forgiveness to  every one of them. 

Through the sins of the people itemized to this point, we can understand why God expresses his displeasure. Further down in Jeremiah 2, God sums up the root of their problem.  Verse 13:

“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." Jeremiah 2:13

There are the two sins. They have forsaken God, the spring of living water, and they dug their own cisterns, that cannot hold water.  Both the Old and New Testaments have examples of the life giving source of spirituality illustrated by the provision of water. These people could have turned to God at any time and enjoyed an  awakening to the spiritual blessings from above.  Instead, he said they built their own cisterns that cannot hold water, a demonstration of their lack of trust and faith in God. 

Mankind still refuses to drink the water of life from God, the only sustaining source. We still like to call all the shots and make all the decisions.  We, like Israel in Jeremiah's day, need to learn the calamity that awaits when we choose our own way, our own abilities, our own strength.  The grace of God gives us the better perspective of knowing him, loving him, and following his direction. 

Come to the fountain, the source of the water of life, and drink from the spring of living water. 

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How Is Your Attitude?

Let's spend some time today considering these Bible verses on "attitude."   Perhaps you will find some others.  Read each one, then spend some time in prayer asking God to help you absorb the truth of each verse.   We will be discussing some of these verses in the blog next week.

Philippians 2:14-15 ESV  Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Philippians 4:8-9 ESV  Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Colossians 3:23 ESV  Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Philippians 2:14 ESV  Do all things without grumbling or questioning,

Colossians 3:10 ESV  And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Proverbs 17:22 ESV  A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Philippians 2:5 ESV  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.

May God bless your time of reading, study and prayer.

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A Letter From Peter

We have written before concerning Peter's first and second letters near the end of your New Testament. If you recall, Peter begins his second letter with words of encouragement about our personal growth in the new life we have in Jesus.  Today, open your Bible to 2 Peter 1, and see this chapter as divided in half, each half with three interesting points pertaining to your Christian life. 

  Notice, following his greetings, Peter encourages us to confirm our calling. 

1.  Reading verses 3-4, recognize the divine power of God that gives us everything we need to live for him.  God gives his promises for us to actually become a participant in his divine nature.

2.  Now read verses 5-9, having been reminded we have escaped the world's corruption, and are participating in God's divine nature, we are now encouraged to spiritual growth by adding to our faith goodness, and to goodness, knowledge, etc.  These are the very things necessary if we are to be successful in living for Jesus. These things keep us from falling. If we do not develop these attributes in our lives, it's as though we have forgotten we are a forgiven people. 

3.  When we read verses 10-11, Peter makes the encouragement for us to confirm our call and election. In so doing, we will never stumble, and we are granted a place in the Kingdom of God.

The second half of 2 Peter 1 has to do with the subject of prophecy, and especially the knowledge of prophecy as proof of God's workings. 

1.  Read verses 12-15, as Peter reminds his readers of things they already know, mainly because he knows he will not always be with them.  He wants to make sure when he departs, Christians will not forget the things he has taught. 

2.  Verses 16-18 provide some serious discussion about the authenticity of prophecy.  Peter says their teachings about the gospel were not man-made stories, but were actual events which Peter saw as an eyewitness.

3.  Ending with verses 19-21, Peter emphatically expresses that the prophetic messages are reliable and dependable.  They demand our attention and our faith.  Especially see what he has to say in the last two verses, "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."

Do you see the completeness with which Peter addresses believers?  Beginning with a reminder of who God is, followed by the method for us grow in our spirituality, we have the challenge before us to become the people of God, prepared for his Kingdom.  We have the proof of the eyewitnesses, and the prophets of old whose prophecies were fulfilled. 

Peter's message to you is simple. God did all of this because he loves you, and he desires to be in relationship with you.  Our prayer is also simple. "God you have done it before, continue to do it in us."

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Becoming Mature

From time to time I hear Christians make statements like, "I try to get involved and stay involved, I pray, I attend worship, and I am a daily Bible reader, yet I keep searching for that 'extra spark' that I see in the lives of other Christians.  They are the ones who seem more dedicated, more determined, and very often more successful in living their lives as true children of God."

For the most part, I want to tell people with these feelings there are a lot of us still in a maturing process, and we must understand there are others that may be more advanced in their Christian walk.  One message we all must understand is that God doesn't make "cookie cutter" Christians, meaning we aren't all just alike. 

All that being said, I confess to you I often share the sentiments of those in the first paragraph.  Above all,  I want to be more and more like Jesus, but there is a part of me that still seeks what they call the "extra spark."  I am depending on the suggestions of several blog writers to come up with the following list of things which should be beneficial to all of us who desire to keep growing in the Lord.  Perhaps there is something here that can help you and me.

1.  Spend some quality time with God regularly. This includes some intimate prayer time, but much more than that. It's a time when you can do some looking deep inside to find things that call for repentance and change. A time when you are so close to God you are comfortable sharing everything with him. 

2.  Develop a more intense love for people.  You already know some people are easy to love, some are not.  Biblical instruction is for us to love them all, even our enemies. Reaching even further than that, are you comfortable with the love you have for the homeless, or those of another race, or even those who may come to your country as a terrorist?  When you love those people, you will pray for them, and allow them to see your servant attitude, and share with them your story involving salvation from Jesus. 

3.  Become completely involved in worship.  No that doesn't mean you have to be a worship leader. It means that worship is the place where you as a Christian know you can meet God and share in fellowship with him.  Make those moments special.  Give yourself completely to singing the songs of praise, wrap in the truth of God's message, communicate your love for Jesus as you commune with the body of Christ.  These are special moments and it is important that you receive and give of yourself as you worship.

These are only three areas which can provide the extra spark. Maybe we will look at more in a later blog, but please, give these three a try.  In addition, think of things that may be lacking in your life, and visualize how much more enriched your Christian life would be if they became a reality for you. More than anything else, devote yourself to be a growing and maturing child of the King.  He died for you to be all that you can be. 

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Endurance

A Message From God

Psalm 36 begins with these words:

^" I have a message from God in my heart
    concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
There is no fear of God
    before their eyes."

David, the man after God's own heart, says from the very beginning of this psalm, "I have a message from God in my heart."   The verse continues and we learn David's heart message concerns the sinfulness of those who are wicked.  David has detected this by noticing they have no fear of God.

I'm going to agree with David on one part.  That's a message that needs to be preached.  Even our preachers today sometimes begin their Sunday morning sermons by confessing their message will be about something that has been weighing on their hearts.

Let's see what else was on David's heart.  If you read the next three  verses, there will be revealed he was taking on the entire forces of hell with this message from his heart.....and he was.

In switching gears, David then begins to educate us on the greatness of God.  Verses 5-9 show us attributes of God like justice, righteousness, preservation, refuge and abundance.  Needless to say, those people described in the section about wickedness and sin, needed to be taught about God's goodness and His grace.

Now notice verses 10-11:

Continue your love to those who know you,
    your righteousness to the upright in heart.
¹¹ May the foot of the proud not come against me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

Did you see that?  Apparently God is concerned also with the heart of David.  Davis is praying in verse 11, " Don't let this message to the people be accompanied by my attitude of pride and arrogance."  Further, "Lord, keep me from the wickedness which my heart's message is combating."

I am praying that God continues to work in this same way in the presentation of the gospel today. It's a message people need to hear, from someone who has a heart motivated by love toward those who hear it.  And not only that, there is a message for the messenger, too.  God wants us to know we are doing HIS work, and proclaiming HIS message.  How foolish for us to depreciate the power of that message by making it about us.

Lord, we yield our hearts to you, praying you will fill us with your Spirit, our words to you, and pray you will take control of our lips to speak your word, our lives to you, praying we will be directed in your ways.   Amen.

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I AM

Moses was instructed by God to go and make demands of Pharaoh to release the Israelites from their slavery. He tried to weasel out of the task and even asked God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?”  God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  Exodus 3:13-14

What kind of a name is that?  Whatever clan you are from, and whatever era in which you live or lived, that would be a strange name.  We are more accustomed to John and Jane Doe.  What can we come to know from the name God chose to reveal himself?

For one thing, the easiest answer to the question is that it means what it says.  There has never been a time nor will there ever be a time when God cannot say, "I AM."  Even when we have a wavering faith and our doubts try to control us, God still is God.  We can travel to the farthest corners of the world or even to the outer limits of space, God still is God.  We may live only a few years or lots of years and he remains God. 

The most important answer to our question about God's name comes from our relationship with him.  To be the child of I AM, makes you the recipient of his grace and forgiveness, and you will share in his eternal nature.  There really is something in a name.  I AM has sent me to tell you. 

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