Tag: Iniquity

18. Bow and Worship God

Exodus 34:8   And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

Exodus 4:33   And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Exodus 12:27   for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.Then the people of Israel went and did so; as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.

Nehemiah 8:6   And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “Amen, Amen,” lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

2 Chronicles 20:18    Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD.

2 Chronicles 29:30    And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the LORD with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

What in our lives brings us to a place where we bow and worship God?  We can see the people bowed and worshiped when they saw the mighty powerful and sovereign hand of God.  How many times does the mighty powerful and sovereign go unnoticed in our lives?  What is it we could be or are missing?

Beauty and wonder of creation

His word

His promises

Saved Lives

Changed lives

Repentant lives

Healed relationships

Peace and calm in chaos

Refuge in the storm

Protection and Safety in danger

Purpose and plans for our life

Holy Spirit leading, directing, convicting

Opening His word to understanding and knowledge of Him

Fruits of the Spirit

Joy

Love

Kindness

Generous heart

Humbleness

Glimpses of eternity

Steadfast love

Forgiveness

Encouragements

Strength for today, hope for tomorrow

Food, warmth, shelter, clothing, employment

Friends

Family

Children

Grandchildren

We have much to thank, bow and worship God for.

16. It depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Exodus 33:19     And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

Romans 9:15-18     For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

Psalms 65:4     Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Romans 2:4    Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Numbers 14:18    ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

To understand God’s grace requires the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom into God’s love, mercy, compassion, patience, kindness, and goodness.  How do we know of all of these attributes of God?  By spending time in His word.  In His word, we find wisdom and understanding of God’s great love for us.  We see His promises of blessings and judgments.  We see His power, might, and strength.  We see His anger toward sin, unbelief, and complacency.  We know of peace in times of uncertainty.  We know of His rest when burdens weigh us down.  We know of His great wonders.  We know His compassion for the lost. A million lifetimes in His word and we will still just scratch the surface of getting to know the depth and width of His love for us.

He chose us to be His children and joint heirs with Christ.  He chose us for more than a big moment decision once upon a time.  He chose us to live every small moment in the light of the big moment of belief.  We are never to become complacent or neglectful of His word.  The big moment decision is not the end.  It is the beginning of a lifetime of always seeking to honor, glorify, serve, hear, follow and obey.

12.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Exodus 32:30   The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the Lord; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin—but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” But the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book. But now go, lead the people to the place about which I have spoken to you; behold, my angel shall go before you. Nevertheless, in the day when I visit, I will visit their sin upon them.”

Then the Lord sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.

Ezekiel 18:4    Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.

Psalms 109:13-14     May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!  May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!

Revelation 13:8     and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain.

Revelation 20:12     And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Psalms 69:28    Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

These are some serious words of judgment for those who disregard God.  I was speaking with a seminary student recently and they made a comment that got me to thinking.  They said “Christianity today spells out our walk with God in the big moment choices, being born again and baptism, but our walk is more than a big moment choice.  It is a life of sacrifice of self for unity, for showing love, for being generous, for being kind, to allow ourselves to be wronged and forgive the act against us.

I wonder if preaching today speaks to the big moments and does not talk of the daily walk that humbly serves, honors, glorifies, follows, and obeys God over self and society pressures. You don’t have to look far to see the lives of those who claim the big moment choices but you see no fruit in their lives.  In fact, there is very little difference in their life from those who do not believe in God.  Fruit of the Spirit is cultivated over a lifetime of daily walking with God, daily spending time in His word, daily seeking to hear Him, daily desiring to be led by Him, daily wanting to honor and glorify Him, daily wanting sin in their life exposed so they can confess it and be forgiven, daily wanting to be used by Him, daily surrendering self-wants and desires, daily seeking to show the light of Jesus Christ into a dark world, daily looking for God moments with the lost, daily seeking to make disciples.

Every day is a choice of self or God. One leads to being blotted out and the other to eternal life.

10. They turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers

Exodus 32:7 And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

Genesis 6:11-12  Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.  And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.

Judges 2:19  But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

Hosea 9:9  They have deeply corrupted themselves as in the days of Gibeah: he will remember their iniquity; he will punish their sins.

Isaiah 24:5  The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant.

Isaiah 31:6  Turn to him from whom people have deeply revolted

Psalms 78:8  and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

The natural intent of our heart is rebellion, stubborn, unfaithful, corrupt, easily turned aside, stiff-necked, and not steadfast in serving God.  How are we to recognize the intent of the heart when the society/culture has put its stamp of approval on the very things that oppose God?  This makes it very hard to see it for what it is when there is nothing to counter their truth.

Think about it. Mainstream media is calling bi-sexual, homosexual, transgender lifestyles as being “Progressive”.  They call pornography “Adult Entertainment”.  They call abortion “Choice”.  They call God-fearing people as “Weak and Uninformed”.  They call creation “The Big Bang”.  They call faith “Wishing Upon A Star”.  They call God a “Myth”.  They call Jesus Christ a “Good Man”.  They call God, if He exists, “Unloving”.  They call hell a “Stick to get followers”.  They deny a “Final Judgement”.  They say the Bible is  “Man Made Stories”.  They say, because God does not exist, “Sin is not real”.  They say, if a god exists,  “All Religions Point to Him”.

It is very hard to recognize our sinful behavior if we do not believe, desire, seek, serve, follow, and obey God.  It is hard to obey God when there is no input of His word into our lives.  It is hard to confess sin when neglect and complacency replace daily time in His word.

Do you want to please God?  Commit to humbly serving Him.  Be intentional in daily time in His word.  Seek thoughts, words, and actions that which honors and glorifies Him.

4. His commandments are not burdensome

Exodus 20:1   And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Deuteronomy 5:29     Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

Jeremiah 32:39-40     I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.

Acts 2:39     For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

John 14:21    Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

1 John 5:3     For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

God spoke and said that we should have no gods before Him, a command for us to follow.  He spoke of more commands for a righteous and moral living.  We know these first commands as the 10 commandments.  Some call them the “do’s and don’ts”.  Prior to giving these commandments, He told Moses to get the people ready for He wanted the people to hear Him speak to Moses.  He set limits for how close the people could come.  The Israelites had just been told that God had chosen them for a treasured possession and they were to listen and obey Him.  The Israelites answered together saying “All the Lord has spoken we will do.”

God is now allowing the people to hear Him speak to Moses.  They had prepared themselves for three days and were to come to hear God speak to Moses.  When God came down to the mountain and it was covered in smoke, fire, and the whole mountain trembled.  He called Moses up to Him and spoke.  The Israelites were set at a distance away from the mountain but could certainly hear God speak.

And what do you think the people said when they heard God speak?  They trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.”

I wonder how many times we want others to speak to us rather than God.  Is it because we think we can distance ourselves from Him?  Do we think we are going to be less accountable?  Do we think it will be easier to discount this person rather than neglecting God?  Do we think serving, following, obeying is burdensome?

We should desire to be close to God, seek Him, listen to Him, trust Him, and obey Him.  Being close to Him is a choice just as being distant from Him.  Staying close requires faith, reliance, hope, and trust.  Being distant requires nothing and in return sees and hears nothing, leading us down a path of disruptive living.

Choose to be close.  Choose to hear.  Choose to listen. Choose to obey.

Refused to obey Him and thrust Him aside

Exodus 17:1   All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.” And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Psalms 95:8     do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

Hebrews 3:8-9     do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness,  where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years.

Exodus 34:9    And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

Deuteronomy 31:17    Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, ‘Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?’

Acts 7:37-39    This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’  This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.  Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,

“Is the Lord among us or not?” “Our fathers refused to obey Him, but thrust Him aside, and in their hearts, they turned to Egypt.”  The grumbling and doubting seem to be a pattern.  I don’t think it is any different now than it was back then.  Desiring, seeking, relying on, clinging to, and trusting in God is rejected at the heart, mind, and soul level.  We are not immune to this type of thinking, however, we can take these thoughts captive and cast them out as soon as they pop into our head.  We can choose not to thrust Him aside.  We can choose not to live like He does not exist.

How are we to do this?  We need to keep God’s word in our heart and mind.  We need to intentionally change our ways according to His word and how the Holy Spirit leads us.  We need to change our way of thinking about self first and desire to do whatever it is He has planned for us.  We need to change from the way we live for self and change to living for God, seeking Him, wanting to honor and obey Him.

Commit to reading His word each day.  Listen to what His word says to your heart and mind.  Talk to God often. Walk in faith, trusting Him and His precious promises.

Let him return to the LORD

Hosea 6:1     “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

James 5:11-16     Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.  Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Hosea 14:1     Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Isaiah 55:7    let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Isaiah 2:3     and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Lamentations 3:40-41     Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!  Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:

Job 5:18     For he wounds, but he binds up; he shatters, but his hands heal.

Psalms 30:7    By your favor, O LORD, you made my mountain stand strong; you hid your face; I was dismayed.

Lamentations 3:32-33    but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

There is always two sides to scripture.  One side is where we think we are and the other where we actually are.  Where we think we are is influenced by what feeds our understanding and knowledge of what it means to walk with God.  We may spend little time with God’s word, little time thinking about it, little time trying to understand it and applying it to our life, so little comes into our heart that it is as though we are blind to it and it has no impact in our life, so little is read that the whispers of God fall on deaf ears,  so little comes in that the worldly things we read and hear over shadow the wisdom found in His word.

It is sad isn’t it?  We have been given His word and it gets neglected and pushed to the back of our list of things to do rather than being food and water for our heart, mind, and soul.  We find we are too busy to find time.  Aren’t we the managers of our time?  Aren’t we the ones who allow what gets to occupy our time?

Of course we are.  We choose to be intentional about growing in what it means to humbly, serve, honor, worship, glorify, follow, and obey God.  We choose to make sure He has our heart, mind, and soul.  We choose to seek Him and His plans and purposes for our life.  We choose to hear Him speak into our life.  We choose to desire His searching of our heart, mind and soul.  We choose to place all of our trust in Him and His promises.  How can we trust in God when we spend so little time with Him?  How can we grown in service to Him if we neglect time with Him?  How can we run to Him when we push Him away day after day?

Run to Him

Return to Him

Lift up your hearts to Him

Confess your sins to Him

Be taught by Him

Pray to Him

Examine your ways in light of His word

Sing praise to Him

Examine your thoughts in light of His word

Remain steadfast to Him

Fallow Ground

Hosea 10:12  Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you. You have plowed iniquity; you have reaped injustice; you have eaten the fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your own way and in the multitude of your warriors,

Galatians 6:7-8     Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.  For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.

Psalms 33:16    The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

Psalms 52:7     “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”

Psalms 62:10     if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

Ecclesiastes 9:11    Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

Charles Finney had some very good thoughts fallow ground

The expression, “Break up your fallow ground” – break off all your evil habits; clear your hearts of weeds, in order that they may be prepared for the seed of righteousness. Land was allowed to lie fallow that it might become more fruitful; but when in this condition, it soon became overgrown with thorns and weeds. The cultivator of the soil was careful, to clear the field of weeds, before sowing seed in it. So says the prophet, “Break off your evil ways, repent of your sins, cease to do evil, and then the good seed of the word will have room to grow and bear fruit.”

Hosea addresses them as a nation of backsliders, but uses words that farmers and shepherds are familiar with. He rebukes them for their idolatry and sharply warns them of the impending judgments of God.

Fallow ground is ground which has once been tilled, but has gotten hard and now lies waste. It needs to be broken up and made soft again, before it is ready to receive seed. If you mean to break up the fallow ground of your heart, you must begin by looking at your heart – examine carefully the state of your mind and see where you are. Many people never even seem to think about doing this. They pay no attention to their own hearts, and never know whether they are doing well in their walk with the Lord or not – whether they are bearing fruit or are totally barren. Now you must draw off your attention from all other things and look into Self-examination now!

Self-examination consists of looking at your life, considering your motives and actions

Sins of omission (things you didn’t do that you should have).

Unthankfulness.  where you have received great blessings and favors from God for which you have never given thanks.  Lack of Love for God. Think how grieved and alarmed you’d be, if you suddenly realized a great lack of affection for you in your wife, husband, or children – if you saw that someone else had captured their hearts, thoughts, and time.  Neglect of the Bible. God’s Word was not a pleasure to you. Unbelief.  Not believing God’s promises – in essence calling Him a liar Lack of Prayer. Neglect of Fellowship. When you have allowed yourself to make small and foolish excuses.  Lack of Watchfulness Over Your Witness. Neglect of Family Duties.  Neglect to Watch Over Your Brethren.  Neglect to Watch Over Your Brethren.

Sins of commission (Things you choose to do without regard to God’s word)

Love of Love of Things and Possessions.   Vanity.  Envy.  Bitterness.  Gossip.  Lying.  Cheating.  Robbing God. (time, money, heart, mind, soul)  Hypocrisy.  Anger.

Without searching our heart, mind, and soul with earnest desire to honor and glorify God, there will be weeds and thorns.  Our fallow heart must be made soft again to be planted afresh and reap fruit that honors and glorifies God.

I will bring back the strayed

Psalms 119:176  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

Isaiah 53:6     All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Ezekiel 34:16    I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Matthew 18:12-13    What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?  And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

Luke 15:4-7     “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

John 10:16     And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

1 Peter 2:25     For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jeremiah 31:18    I have heard Ephraim grieving, ‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God.

Galatians 4:9     But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

Hosea 4:6     My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge

Do you find yourself lost and life’s trials weighing you down? The Psalmist came to the understanding that apart from God we wander and get lost in life.  Oh, we try to make sense of it but in the end we are just chasing one thing after another to fill the void of being apart from God.  Always seeking but never finding that which fulfills our soul.

 You will find the more time you spend in God’s word there is a continually new and ever increasing understanding need for God and your dependence upon Him.  Love for and dedication to the word of God does not make us more spiritually independent, but more spiritually dependent upon God.  The word of God leads us to salvation, repentance. understanding, deliverance, ability to worship God rightly,  power to live an upright life, and strength to persevere.

His word is a light onto our soul and a guide to our feet.  Through His word your are shown love, peace, joy, hope, faith, strength, and understanding.  Humbly serve Him today and you will find Him more than sufficient.

I will instruct you

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Psalms 119:133  Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Psalms 121:3   He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

Psalms 17:5     My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped.

1 Samuel 2:9    “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.

Psalms 19:13    Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

Romans 6:12-14     Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.  Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

Romans 7:23-24     but I see within me another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Sin, unchecked, will attempt to gain and hold dominion in our life. First it may be in a small or seemingly insignificant area, but that dominion will grow in size and strength until our spiritual life is in serious compromise. Many today want to direct their steps by something else, anything else other than the word of God.

· “Direct my steps by my feelings.”

· “Direct my steps by my lusts.”

· “Direct my steps by my friends.”

· “Direct my steps by my parents.”

· “Direct my steps by circumstances.”

· “Direct my steps by fate.”

· “Direct my steps by my comfort.”

The word of God is our light, path, knowledge and understanding, living water, and spiritual food.  Through His word we hear whispers of His voice leading, reproving, convicting, confirming, teaching, instructing, encouraging, and giving us hope, building our faith, peace, joy, love, and changing our passions and love for this world to a  Love of Him, and a heart desire to honor, glorify, worship, serve, follow and obey.   This is fueled by time in His word. Great and precious promises are given to us in His word.  These are given to us so that through them we will grow more in our faith and live more abundantly for His plan and purpose, not ours.  We do well to spend time in His word and not so much time in our own pursuit of satisfaction apart from it.