Nations – Page 5 – Praying Pint

7.g. Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”

Revelation 1:8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

Ezekiel 2:8 – 3:1 “But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you.” And when I looked, behold, a hand was stretched out to me, and behold, a scroll of a book was in it. And he spread it before me. And it had writing on the front and on the back, and there were written on it words of lamentation and mourning and woe. And he said to me, “Son of man, eat whatever you find here. Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.” So I opened my mouth, and he gave me this scroll to eat.And he said to me, “Son of man, feed your belly with this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it.” Then I ate it, and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey. And he said to me, “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them. For you are not sent to a people of foreign speech and a hard language, but to the house of Israel— not to many peoples of foreign speech and a hard language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely, if I sent you to such, they would listen to you. But the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, for they are not willing to listen to me: because all the house of Israel have a hard forehead and a stubborn heart. Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. Like emery harder than flint have I made your forehead. Fear them not, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house.” Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.” Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD from its place!” It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures as they touched one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, and the sound of a great earthquake. The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me.

John, like Ezekiel, was told to consume the message of God. This message was sweet to the taste but bitter to the stomach. When you think about it there is something sweet and bitter with God’s Word. Grace, mercy, and love – sweet, Wrath, anger, judgment – bitter. Do you ever wonder if today there is enough being taught and preached about the two of these? We here so much of the grace, mercy, and love without a full understanding of the need to preach the whole Gospel which also speaks of wrath, anger, and judgment. The Gospel that promises me redemption, forgiveness, salvation, life, hope, peace, rest, satisfaction and eternity in heaven also promises wrath, anger, judgment, unrest, confusion, anxiousness, fear, turmoil, dissatisfaction, discontentment, anguish, disappointment, regret, unhappiness, frustration, chaos, and eternity in Hell. How many have trusted in a shallow gospel of prosperity, health, and heaven with a single understanding of the benefits of coming to Christ? How is it they can know the need of forgiveness without knowing of sin and its consequences? How can they know the depth of the love of Jesus Christ if they do not know of the depth of His wrath, anger, and judgment against those who reject Him? Preaching and teaching and believing in a watered-down gospel does no one any good. The need to be saved can only be understood when we know what we are being saved from. Understanding and becoming aware that we deserve hell but have been given a choice of redemption through Jesus Christ is the beginning and all of the promises and blessings after this deepen our faith commitment post being saved (born again). The sweet and blessed redemption through the Love of Jesus Christ and the bitter consequences of the rejection of this Love must be proclaimed.

190. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them”

2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Jeremiah 17:20-27 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Hezekiah reigned 25 years as King and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He destroyed all of the idols and put God first. He brought the people back to God. He was a leader who led the people in worship of God by what he said and the actions he took against anything that was a substitute/replacement for God. He did what was right in the eyes of God by humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, relying upon, and obeying God.

However, his son did not. He replaced everything that Hezekiah removed that was an abomination to God. He led the people for 55 years down paths away from God and to the place where it says they were “doing more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed” Can you imagine it? In one generation Hezekiah brought the people back to God and in one generation his son led them astray.

We can not assume the people too are not to blame as well. They willingly followed. “Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.” We need to be mindful of how we view things in and around us and have God’s word richly dwelling deep within our heart, mind, and soul so that we can discern what is right and acceptable according to it rather than what is acceptable to the world.

124. “He catches the wise in their craftiness”

2 Samuel 13:1 Now Absalom, David’s son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar. And after a time Amnon, David’s son, loved her. And Amnon was so tormented that he made himself ill because of his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man. And he said to him, “O son of the king, why are you so haggard morning after morning? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.” Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’” So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill. And when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”

Jeremiah 4:22     “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”

Job 5:13    He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end

1 Corinthians 3:19  For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

James 3:15    This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

Psalms 9:15-16     The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.  The LORD has made himself known

Psalms 7:15   He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.

Pro 14:12  There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways, and a good man will be filled with the fruit of his ways.

This may refer to the blinding effects of passion and self-will; for these make a man think his own way best and most desirable. But it seems better to take it as a warning against following a perverted or uninstructed conscience. Conscience needs to be informed by God’s Word and ruled by God’s will to make it a safe guide. When properly regulated, it is able to pronounce a verdict upon contemplated action, and its verdict must always he obeyed. But warped by prejudice, weakened by disuse and disobedience, judicially blinded in punishment and in consequence of sin, it loses all power of moral judgment, and becomes inoperative of good; and then, as to the way that seemed at the moment right, the end thereof are the ways of death. The man is following a false light, and is led astray, and goes headlong to destruction.

Matthew Poole; There are some evil actions or courses which men may think to be lawful and good, either through gross and affected ignorance, or through partiality or self-flattery, or through want of necessary diligence in examining them by the rule of God’s will or word; all which are culpable causes of the mistake, and therefore do not excuse the error:

Gill; There is a way which seemeth right unto a man,…. As the way of sin and wickedness does, it promising much carnal pleasure and mirth; there is a great deal of company in it, it is a broad road, and is pleasant, and seems right, but it leads to destruction;

54. “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Deuteronomy 28:1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 11:13    “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul

Exodus 15:26    saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the LORD your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, your healer.”

Psalms 111:10    The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.

Isaiah 1:19     If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;

Isaiah 55:2-3    Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant

Luke 11:28     But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

Listen diligently to Me, willing and obedient, do what is right in His eyes, give ear to His commandments, serve Him with all your heart and soul. How can these words from scripture be taken any other way than how they are presented.

Listen diligently – is a choice to want to hear God speak into your heart, soul, mind, life.

Be willing and obedient – is a choice to act on what God is speaking into your life.

Doing what is right in His eyes – is a choice that actively searches God’s word with a desire to grow in understanding and knowledge so that your life honors and glorifies God.

Serve Him – is a choice that recognizes worldly stuff and self and chooses to serve Jesus Christ for His honor and glory.

It is all a choice of the heart, mind, and soul. Don’t be neglectful or complacent with choices of serving and honoring God.

Terror from God fell

Genesis 35:5 And as they journeyed, a terror from God fell upon the cities that were around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

Exodus 15:15-16    Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed; trembling seizes the leaders of Moab; all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.  Terror and dread fall upon them; because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone

Exodus 23:27    I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.

Exodus 34:24     For I will cast out nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one shall covet your land,

Deuteronomy 11:25     No one shall be able to stand against you. The LORD your God will lay the fear of you and the dread of you on all the land that you shall tread, as he promised you.

Joshua 2:9-11    and said to the men, “I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.  For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction.  And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.

Joshua 5:1     As soon as all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan for the people of Israel until they had crossed over, their hearts melted and there was no longer any spirit in them because of the people of Israel.

2 Chronicles 17:10     And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah, and they made no war against Jehoshaphat.

Psalms 14:5     There they are in great terror, for God is with the generation of the righteous.

When we are about God’s work, we are under special protection; God is with us, while we are with him; and if He be for us, who can be against us? God governs the world more by secret terrors on men’s minds than we are aware of.

Much of what we fear comes from our limiting of what we think God can do.No matter what we face, God is bigger. No matter how big the trial, God is stronger. No matter how dark it looks, God is brighter. No matter how chaotic is seems, God is peace. No matter what sin you have committed, God will forgive the repentant heart that believes in trusts in Christ.

Fully convinced

Genesis 17:15 And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.” Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Romans 4:19-20 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

Hebrews 11:11-19 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Faith is somewhat of a mystery. Scripture says it is the “substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” In this mystery we find salvation and forgiveness of sin. We find strength for today and hope for tomorrow. We experience peace when things around us are falling apart. We find joy in the midst of trials. We learn to lean not on our own understanding but through prayer we, by faith, let our requests be know to God. By faith we trust He will guide, direct, protect, and care for our needs. By faith we wake each day knowing He is in control and has a perfect plan and purpose for our day. By faith we acknowledge His unlimited steadfast love and control over all.

Claiming to be wise

Romans 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

1Corintians 1:20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

Job 12:24 He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth and makes them wander in a trackless waste.

Isaiah 44:25 who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,

1 Corinthians 3:19-20 For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

Psalms 33:10 The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

You alone are God. There is no other God but You. You are worth of all praise, honor, and glory forever. O God, keep the wisdom of man far from my heart. Open my eyes to your grace, mercy, love, wonders, power and strength. Keep my feet on the solid ground of your plans and purposes. Comfort my soul and do not allow the confusion of today make me lose sight of humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying You.

“Where is their God?”

Psalms 115:2 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”

Psalms 42:3 My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”

Exodus 32:12 Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.

Numbers 14:15-16 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’

2 Kings 19:10-19 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?’” Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD and spread it before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said: “O LORD, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now, O LORD our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O LORD, are God alone.”

People on the sidelines mock and challenge God. They look for reasons to prove He does not exist or able or capable to intercede in the affairs of man. Those who’s hear, mind, and soul desire to know, honor, serve, follow and obey, continually see the hand of God at work in their lives. He speaks into their life. He guides their thoughts and leads them through a journey of faith filled action. Our strength is in the LORD. He is my Hope and my salvation. He alone is God and is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine. Through His word we find peace and encouragement for each day.

Faith Praise

“giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Psalms 113:1 Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!

Psalms 103:20-21 Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word!

Psalms 134:1 Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!

Psalms 135:1-3 Praise the LORD! Praise the name of the LORD, give praise, O servants of the LORD, who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God! Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!

Psalms 145:10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you!

Revelation 19:5 And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”

Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Isaiah 40:25 To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.

Jeremiah 10:6 There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

Luke 1:52-53 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?

Being mindful of what God has done, is doing, and will do ought to bring praise to our lips and faith to our heart, mind and soul. God is in control and His plans and purposes for each of our lives. He gives us free will (choice) to humbly serve, listen intently to whispers of His leading, faithfully follow and obey and to be used by Him. Praise grows within our heart and mind as we yield more and more to Him. It is easy to praise Him in good times. In tougher times, when our heart is broken, relationships are stressed, and consequences of our sinful nature overbear us, praise seems to be buried deep and far way from our lips. Many times David has stated in the Psalms how his heart was broken, situations were over bearing, and his friends had abandoned him. In these Psalms he cried out with these burdens and yet finished with – Praise to God for who He is, for His love, for His power, for His might, for His salvation, and for His promises. This is where overbearing burdens of this life turn into “Faith Praise”. This is where the heart, soul and mind, in faith, fully trust, yield, and place whatever the situation is into God’s hand. There is no other place to find peace for our soul than fully in His care.

Reviving the soul

“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;”

“He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,”

Psalms 111:7 The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy;

Psalms 85:10 Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Psalms 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Psalms 98:3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Revelation 15:3-4 And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Psalms 119:160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.

When you think about the attributes of God expressed in these verses, isn’t your heart, mind, and soul lifted up? This is the God who reach out to you, revealed Himself to you, loved you so much that He sent Jesus to redeem you, and opened your heart and mind to His love, power, might, strength, joy, peace, grace, mercy, hope, and eternal life. Trust in Him is never a waste, hope in Him is never meaningless, faith in Him is never pointless, waiting for Him is never a sign of weakness, humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying is never in vain.