Praying Pint

 

I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another. –Isaiah 42:8

This week, we’re looking at four snapshots of sin in the life of Israel that demonstrate how God deals with His disobedient children. In Numbers 16, we see the second sin: rebellion. A man named Korah was tired of the leadership of Moses and Aaron. He and his followers said to them, in essence, “We’re all equal before God. Who gave you the right to tell us what to do?” How did God respond to this rebellion? Verses 31–32 say, “The ground that was under them split open; and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions.” The Bible says there is a harsh judgment for people who rebel against the spiritual authorities God has put in place. That does not mean we shouldn’t offer suggestions to our leaders or hold them accountable. But we are to let them do their job “with joy and not with grief” (Hebrews 13:17). God also has strict standards for leaders. We see this in the third sin in the Israelites’ journey: self-glorification. In Numbers 20, the Israelites had been in the wilderness for forty years, and they were complaining about water. So God told Moses, “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water” (v. 8). Moses took the rod and gathered the people. But then he said, “Shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” (v. 10). Who did Moses say would bring forth water? “We,” not God. Then Moses struck the rock a couple of times, and water poured out. Sure, Moses deviated from God’s instructions a little bit. Was that such a big deal? Yes. By striking the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded, Moses shifted the focus away from God and onto himself. God will have no part of that. He does not give away His glory. Look at God’s judgment against Moses and Aaron: “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them” (v. 12). Can you imagine the disappointment Moses must have felt? Because of his disobedience, he missed the fulfillment of God’s promise.  (Jeffress)

 

John 18:38  Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him.

“What is truth?” This was the question that Pontius Pilate asked Jesus in John 18:38. It’s such a pivotal, eternity-altering question that I have this page marked in my Bible so I can find it immediately.

Many believe that truth is relative—truth for you is not necessarily truth for me. For instance, if I believe the world is flat, that’s my truth. Questioning my truth would be considered intolerant and would infringe on my rights, at least according to today’s accepted norms. (By the way, I do believe the earth is round!)

However, the Bible has a lot to say about truth which directly contradicts much of what the world believes about the matter.

First, truth is not an idea or an opinion, but a Person.

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (John 14:6, ESV). All truth comes from God, because He personifies truth. As we delve into His Word and are attentive to the Holy Spirit, we can and should know The Truth.

Second, the truth won’t always be popular. Remember Jesus was the embodiment of truth and they hated and murdered Him. The truth can be offensive because it tells us what’s wrong with us.

Imagine going to the doctor and being told you have cancer. You may not like it—you can disagree and get angry—but it’s the truth, and ignoring it can lead to death.

In Galatians 4, Paul addresses the church in Galatia, to whom he had ministered previously. He confronts them with the fact that—though they claim to know God—they are embracing worldliness. He then says, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” (Galatians 4:16, ESV).

Paul was willing to stand up when he saw believers compromising, even if it brought conflict with those he considered friends.

Finally, why is it important to proclaim the truth as set forth in the Bible? Because the truth will set you free.

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31-32, ESV). Jesus goes on to say that those who are in sin are slaves to sin, but those who find hope in Him are released from that bondage. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, ESV).

What is Truth? Truth is Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. Truth is the Word of God, the Bible. Truth may not be popular, especially in our world today, but Truth will set you free … and not just for today, but for eternity! (Graham)

 

Exodus 34:6   The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

Romans 3:23   For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Jonah 3:10   When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

1 Thessalonians 1:9-10   For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Romans 5:9    Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:9   For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Ephesians 5:6    Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Psalm 2:12   Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

 

Deuteronomy 32:29   If they were wise, they would understand this; they would discern their latter end!

 

As I read these verses of the Wrath of God and who deserves this wrath, I am both in awe and wonder at how God’s love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ broke through into my heart, mind, and soul. I gave no thought to God or things of God. (For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God) Though I would know I was doing something wrong it did not bother me. My life was cast in Lies, cheating, stealing, cursing, lusting, envy, hating, pridefulness, boastfulness, unkindness, etc…..
I was able to shut down any part of my conscience that would shout out this is not right. I willing chose to follow my worldly heart in whatever pursuit it saw best for me. There was no love of or for God. There was no thought of God at all, that I can remember. If there was it was a very small spark. The reason I say this is because, somehow in the grace, mercy, and love of God, He opened my heart, mind, and soul to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I deserved His Wrath. I deserved: “And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right.”

 

Was I not this person? – YES

 

Did I not deserve God’s Wrath? – YES

Why are the eyes and ears of the soul opened to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and others are not?

 

How far does a person have to be away from God in their thoughts and actions to be given over and delivered over to a corrupt mind?

 

How can a person explain this mystery? (For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.)

 

Sometimes when I hear of things people saying and doing, I think they deserve God’s Wrath, and then, I think about how that was me before I was saved. I was giving no thought to God, and I relished in my sin(s). I said and did things that deserved the wrath of God. I had impure thoughts. I did impure things. I gave no thought to God. Yet, God did not deliver me over to a corrupt mind, He delivered me through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
I know who I was. I know the actions I took. I know how I thought. I know what I said. I know I had no remorse for what I thought, said, or did. I would brag of things I did and not get caught. I would say things that were unkind, mean, hurtful, slander, boastful, etc….. and give it no thought. I would curse using the name of Jesus. I would lie whenever it suited or benefited me. I lived to fill the lust of my heart and mind. I was not in the least bit concerned with God or His Wrath. I gave no thought to judgment, heaven or hell. I certainly did not give any thought to sin.

You would think there would have to be some sort of spark of conscience, some desire to do what’s right, some thought of God, some recognition of God, some thought of heaven, some thought of hell, something shouting or whispering within your conscience that you are living wrong with wrong thoughts, wrong words, wrong actions. I cannot remember any such thoughts. I was very comfortable in my way of life, following by own worldly and fleshly thoughts (sin).
So when I look at where I was and how I lived and how far away I was from any thinking about God and Things of God, and how in grace, mercy, and love He opened my heart, mind, and soul to not only see my sinfulness, the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, the need for repentance, the forgiveness of sin, and eternal life, and I read where He finds some who are deserving of being delivered over to a corrupt mind. I am not sure how a person could have been further away from God than I was, having no remorse or regret about how they were living.
I do not know how God determines when a person is delivered over to a corrupt mind, but I know there is hope of salvation for every single person while they still have breath. We have to acknowledge that we do not have the mind of God so we cannot make this judgment of deliverance over to a corrupt mind. We must, in grace, mercy, and love, proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, with hope that God will open their eyes and ears to the mystery of Jesus Christ, and use it in a person’s life like He did in us.
We can see and hear sinful things people do and are doing. Yet, there is still hope for them. There is no reason for us to doubt what God can do or how He could do it.
Too often I think we write off people as obviously unsavable. We see their actions and what they say, the wickedness they do, the depths of depravity they enjoy, and we shake our head and possibly think there is no hope for them, they are too far gone. How could they get this far gone and be able to hear the saving grace love of salvation through the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
The light of the Gospel can penetrate the darkest mind and soften the hardest heart. So, until the day of God’s Wrath comes, we must continue to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ while there is still time for these lost souls.

 

Isaiah 59:18   According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment.

Isaiah 59:2   But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

Psalm 7:11   God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

Revelation 15:1   Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.

Ezekiel 20:33   “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you.

Ezekiel 5:13   “Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the Lord—that I have spoken in my jealousy—when I spend my fury upon them.

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.’

Psalm 14:1   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.

 

Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Jeremiah 21:14   I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds, declares the Lord; I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is around her.”

Micah 5:15   And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.

Ezekiel 8:18   Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.”

Jeremiah 30:23   Behold the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked.

Ezekiel 21:17   I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the Lord have spoken.”

Ezekiel 13:13   Therefore thus says the Lord God: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end.

Jeremiah 21:5   I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath.

 

 

Romans 2:5   But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Colossians 3:6   On account of these the wrath of God is coming.

Revelation 19:15   From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Romans 2:8   But for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

2 Peter 2:9   Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,

Ephesians 2:3 Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

 

Romans 1:28-32     And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Nahum 1:2-3  The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

John 3:36    Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Hebrews 10:31   It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 12:29   For our God is a consuming fire.

 

 1Timothy 6:6-10    But godliness with contentment is great gain,  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all the “stuff” that the world tells us is essential to our happiness. The fancy new smartphones, the latest tech gadgets that will supposedly revolutionize the way we live, even bringing out a constant rotation of new home décor to make sure your living space reflects the latest trends. And to be honest, it’s not just physical things that we’re being sold. The world also tells us that we should have that perfect balance between work and home life, that we should only show our very best selves and hide anything that could be seen as imperfect. Or that we should all be hustling to be able to provide ourselves with the kind of life that everyone around us should envy.

It’s no wonder that so many of us are exhausted by the effort of it all. Especially when we know that the things that the world is telling us are so important, they don’t have any sort of eternal value. It will all end at some point. The gadgets will fail, the décor will go out of style, and the “rat race” you’re living in will never get you to where you think you should be. Instead, we should focus on the one thing guaranteed to last forever—our eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. What needs to change in your life this week to put your focus back on Jesus?  (Storm Watch)

 

 

1Peter 2:11  Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Romans 12:1     I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Romans 12:1    I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Ephesians 4:1     I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

1 Peter 4:2     so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

1 Peter 1:17     And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

Romans 8:13     For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

In his epistles, Peter calls believers “strangers and pilgrims,” a timeless reminder that resonates powerfully in our modern age. This concept of pilgrimage signifies a journey—a transition from one country to another, with the present world not being our true home. Instead, we are travelers, passing through, with our eyes set on a greater destination: the city whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10).

The Pilgrim’s Hallmark: Dwelling in Tents

The imagery of a tent, as seen in the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is rich with meaning. Though Abraham was promised Canaan, he dwelt in tents, signifying his recognition of the land as foreign and temporary. His heart was set on something more permanent—a city with foundations, designed by God Himself. This refusal to settle marks the pilgrim as someone always on the move, never rooted in temporal passing things.

Traveling Light: The Pilgrim’s Burden

Pilgrims must travel light. The journey is long and demands mobility; unnecessary baggage can only hinder progress. In spiritual terms, this means letting go of material possessions and earthly attachments that weigh us down. The call is to jettison anything that impedes our journey homeward, focusing instead on what is truly essential.

Distinctiveness in an Alien Land

Pilgrims are different from the settled inhabitants of the land through which they pass. Their lifestyle, habits, and even worship stand apart. For the Christian, this means resisting the urge to conform to the world’s standards and desires. Peter’s admonition to abstain from “fleshly lusts, which war against the soul” is a call to spiritual integrity. The pilgrim does not let his character be shaped by his environment; he is in the world but not of it.

Faithfulness in Hostile Territory

Passing through enemy territory, the pilgrim is careful not to fraternize with those opposed to his cause. To do so would betray the leader—Christ Himself. The world did not welcome Jesus; it gave Him a cross and a grave. For the Christian pilgrim, to seek the world’s approval is to betray the Lord. The cross has severed all ties to the world’s values and judgments. We do not crave its praise nor fear its condemnation.

The Hope That Sustains

What keeps the pilgrim going is the hope of reaching home. Every day’s march brings him closer to his final destination. The hardships and dangers along the way will be forgotten in the joy of arrival. This hope is not wishful thinking but a confident expectation rooted in God’s promises.

Conclusion

Peter’s reminder is as vital today as ever. In a world that tempts us to settle, accumulate, and conform, we must remember our identity as pilgrims. Our journey is marked by lightness, distinctiveness, faithfulness, and hope. Each step brings us closer to the city built by God, where we will finally be at home.