Author: Daryl Pint

Saved by Grace, living by faith

53.k. Wilderness – 17.q. “For the day of their calamity is at hand”

 

Deu 32:35  Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’

Psalms 94:1   O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!

 Nahum 1:2    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.

 Nahum 1:6     Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

 Romans 12:19    Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

 Hebrews 10:30     For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

 Psalms 73:17-19   until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.  Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.  How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!

 Proverbs 4:19    The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

 Jeremiah 13:16    Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light he turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness.

 1 Peter 2:8    and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

 2 Peter 2:3     And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

 Isaiah 30:12-13    Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, “Because you despise this word and trust in oppression and perverseness and rely on them,  therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;

 Habakkuk 2:3    For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.

 2 Peter 3:8-10     But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

The Lord will never disgrace the throne of his glory. It is great wisdom, and will help much to the return of sinners to God, seriously to consider their latter end, or the future state. It is here meant particularly of what God foretold by Moses, about this people in the latter days; but it may be applied generally. Oh that men would consider the happiness they will lose, and the misery they will certainly plunge into, if they go on in their trespasses! What will be in the end thereof? Jer 5:31. For the Lord will in due time bring down the enemies of the church, in displeasure against their wickedness. When sinners deem themselves most secure, they suddenly fall into destruction. (Henry)

It is my office to punish sin, and therefore as I know their sins, so I will assuredly punish them. Their feet shall slide; they who now think they stand fast and unmovable, they shall fall into utter destruction. In due time; though not so soon as some may expect it, yet in that time when it shall be most proper and seasonable, when they have filled up the measure of their sins (Brown)

We read these verses and see the coming of God’s vengeance on those who reject and deny Him and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We might even have thoughts of cheering on the coming of this event. Yet when I read these verses I can only humbly bow my head and reverently say; “Thank you, Lord Jesus”. The verses describe the exact punishment I deserved prior to God exposing my Sin and revealing His Son to me. It is not as though I was on a mindful journey seeking to find redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. No, I was content in my sin and my life apart from God. God, in His love, mercy, and grace, exposed me to Himself through a painful event that opened my eyes to Him and the need for redemption. 

I look back at how the couple across the street invited my wife and I to come to listen to an evangelist on a Thursday night, and how the words of this man spoke deep into my soul, and with utter clarity I was given a clear understanding of the need for redemption, salvation, and forgiveness. God orchestrated it all. Not only that, but the couple across the street were well-grounded and strong believers who continually explained more and more of the bible to us. 

I grasp glimpses of understanding God’s vengeance and His grace, mercy, and love. These always bring me to the same place in my thoughts; “Thank you, Lord Jesus”!

 

53.j. Wilderness – 17.p. “Yhere is no rock like our God”

 

 

Deu 32:31  For their rock is not as our Rock; our enemies are by themselves.

 Numbers 23:8   How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

 1 Samuel 2:2    “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

  Jeremiah 40:3   The LORD has brought it about, and has done as he said. Because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, this thing has come upon you.

 Daniel 2:47   The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries

 Daniel 3:29    Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.”

 Daniel 6:26-27    I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end.  He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

Firm foundation: the solid eternity of the rock on which we can build. Refuge: ‘refuge from the storm’; ‘my rock and my fortress and my high tower.’ 

Every man’s experience shows him that there is no such refuge anywhere else. We do not assert that every man consciously comes to that conclusion. All we say is that he would do so if he rightly pondered the facts. The history of every life is a history of disappointment. Take these particulars just stated and ask yourselves: What does experience say as to the possibility of our possessing such blessings apart from God? There is no need for us to exaggerate, for the naked reality is sad enough. If God is not our best Good, we have no solid good. Every other ‘rock’ crumbles into sand. 

Every man’s own nature tells him that God is his true Rock.

 Again I say that here I do not appeal to the surface of our consciousness, nor to men who have sophisticated themselves, nor to people who have sinned themselves, into hardness, but to the voice of the inner man which speaks in the depths of each man’s being. There is the cry of Want: the manifest want of the soul for God. There is the voice of Reason. There is the voice of Conscience.

Yet many of us will not take God for our Rock.

Surely it is a most extraordinary thing that men should be ‘judges,’ being convinced in their deepest consciousness that God is the only Foundation and Refuge, and yet that the conviction should have absolutely no influence on their conduct. (MacLaren)

God is certainly ever-present and a rock and refuge for those who are His children. Disobedient, complacent, neglectful, unappreciative, deaf, blind, self-reliant, self-worthy, lovers of self, proud, greedy, jealous, etc… as we may be, He has reached out to us and sent His Son to redeem us for His own purpose, pleasure, and plans. How are we to act in light of His blessings? How are we to think and speak? How are we to honor God the creator of all there is? By continually renewing our minds through His word and intentionally desiring to live to honor and glorify Him.

With the election 2 weeks away

 

 

2Ch 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Proverbs 28:13     Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Isaiah 55:6-7    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  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 63:19    We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

Psalms 79:6    Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!

Jeremiah 10:25    Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

Acts 14:16    In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

Ezekiel 18:27-30    Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.  Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?  “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.

2 Chronicles 33:12-13    And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.  He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

Leviticus 26:40-41     “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,  so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,

James 4:9-10     Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

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,

Deuteronomy 4:29-30    But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

Deuteronomy 30:1-6     “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,  and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,  then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

2 Chronicles 6:30    then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,

2 Chronicles 6:39    then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.

Isaiah 65:1    I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.

There is much to say concerning the voices shouting out various claims, lies, boasts, slander, division, promises, blame, anger, hatred, etc….. in news outlets, social media, podcasts, and the radio.

Sports, movie, and music celebrities are shouting their election opinions.  They live in a world none of us have access to. Their wealth comes from those who watch them perform and for some reason, they have a very high and elevated opinion of themselves. Their opinions are not based on Godly wisdom or honor of Jesus Christ. No, their opinion is based on worldly and fleshly pursuits of money and fame. Most live with no regard for God.   

News outlets, radio shows, and various podcasts all proclaim value in their opinions and views on the candidates. They distort what is being said, openly lie, misinform, and make predictions about the future of our country based on one or the other candidates. They promote division, anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and give no thought to God. I am amazed at how many people buy into this garbage. People on both sides buy into what these people are saying. They watch and listen to these various agents of Satan and then form like-minded worldly views based on what they have heard or read.

Both sides claim they will bring some form of justice and prosperity and peace to their base all the while bashing the other side. I hear family and friends who say things that are just regurgitated views from the Satan tools speaking. these are not the views of someone who is thinking with a clear bible-focused, God-honoring, God-glorifying, God-trusting, God-reliant, God-obeying, and God-following mind.

What is it that people seek after? Peace, joy, kindness, hope, love, gentleness, justice, prosperity, and fruit of their labors.  Void of God’s Word people will seek to find these in their elected president and congress, both federal and state. They believe with the right person or party in office all of these will manifest in this country, state, and their lives. Imagine the foolishness of believing any candidate can bring about what they desperately seek.

It is hard for me to understand how Christians can be so misled, and misinformed, and not see the worldly (satan) influences at work. Scripture is very clear. God will not honor or bless a country that does not honor and glorify Him alone. When you take this one step deeper, He will not honor or bless a person who does not honor and glorify Him. Hanging hopes on candidates for that which only God can provide is not God-honoring or God-glorifying.

What if God’s plans were to allow the continued moral decline in our country and allow those who reject Him to experience the fullness of their rejection? What if God’s plans were to test the faith of Christians in and through this moral decline? What if God’s plans were to take us to a place of despair where our eyes would look up for the return of Jesus? What if God’s plans were to bring about a revival through this moral decline? What if God’s plans were to open the eyes of the lost to the foolishness of their ways?

I must confess that I get caught up in what is being said and proclaimed and promised in various News outlets. Praise be to God, He has sent His Holy Spirit to discern these wayward thoughts and keep my eyes focused on Him. We do well to confess our wayward focus, repent of it, and open our hearts and minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit in God-honoring and God-glorifying praise, worship, trust, reliance, and obedience. Nothing this world has to offer can compare to the love, grace, and mercy of God and the blessings of knowing the forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Whatever God’s plans are, they are right, true, and just, and will bring about His plans and purposes.

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

Every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.

–Matthew 12:36

James 3:8 says, “No one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison.” Some people misapply that verse and decide there’s no point in trying to control their speech. No, James was simply reminding us that it’s hard to handle our speech–we will wrestle with it until the day we die. Yet as difficult as it is, James 1:26 says if we don’t bridle our tongues, then our religion is worthless. So how do we go about controlling our speech?  Practical principles for taming the tongue.

Number one: realize that you are accountable for your words. Did you know that one day you and I will give an account for every word we have ever spoken? Does that strike terror in your heart as it does mine? In Matthew 12:36, Jesus said, “Every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.” Somehow God is going to retrieve all the words we’ve said, and we are going to be judged by those words. That realization is a strong motivation to control what we say.

Number two: memorize and meditate on Scripture concerning your speech. If you have difficulty controlling your speech, I encourage you to commit these verses to memory. Just thinking about them will be a great encouragement to you.

  • “The one who guards his mouth preserves his life; the one who opens wide his lips comes to ruin” (Proverbs 13:3).

  • “Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 29:20).

  • “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).

Number three: refuse to give a bad report about anyone you have not personally confronted. In Matthew 18:15, Jesus said, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” If you’re really concerned about a fellow Christian, don’t talk to your prayer group or anybody else about it; instead, confront that person privately with the hope of redemption. Make a commitment today not to say anything negative about somebody you have not personally talked to.

53.i. Wilderness – 17.o. “So the anger of the LORD was kindled”

 

 

Deu 32:30  How could one have chased a thousand, and two have put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had given them up?

 Leviticus 26:8     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.

 Joshua 23:10    One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.

 1 Samuel 14:15-17     And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

 2 Chronicles 24:24   Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, the LORD delivered into their hand a very great army, because Judah had forsaken the LORD, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.

 Isaiah 30:17    A thousand shall flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you shall flee, till you are left like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain, like a signal on a hill.

 Judges 2:14    So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers

How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight,…. This is said for the conviction of the Pagan Romans of their folly in behaving strangely, attributing to their gods what belonged to the true God; for since the Jews were more numerous than they, both in Judea, in the times of Titus Vespasian, when the country was subdued by him; and in other parts of the world, in the times of Adrian, when the Jews rose up in vast numbers, greatly superior to the Romans, and yet were conquered; which, allowing the phrase to be hyperbolical, was like one to a thousand, and two to ten thousand: now since this was what was promised to the Jews in case of obedience, that they should in this manner chase their enemies, Leviticus 26:8; it cannot be accounted for that they should in like manner be chased by their enemies, as threatened Isaiah 30:17, except their rock had sold them, and the Lord had shut them up; that is, unless the Lord, who was their rock and fortress, and in whom they should have trusted as such, had forsaken them, and given them up into their enemies’ hands. (Gill)

One chase a thousand…two put ten thousand to flight: This was the opposite of the blessing God promised to an obedient Israel (Leviticus 26:8). God would not fight for a disobedient Israel. When Israel was unfaithful to their covenant with Yahweh, He would give them to their enemies, who would bring bitter defeat to Israel. (Guzik)

It is a sad event to become blind and deaf to the things of God and become disobedient to Him thereby falling under His curse rather than His blessings. Neglect and complacency of His Word produce fruit that is filled with bitterness, poison, and venom in our souls. What if God was withholding His anger and fury right now? Would knowing it is justly deserved prompt us to hunger and thirst for His Word to become obedient followers, trusting and relying on Him?

53.h. Wilderness – 17.n. “Oh, that my people would listen to me”

 

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

 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!

 Psalms 81:13    Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!

 Psalms 107:15     Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!

 Psalms 107:43   Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.

 Isaiah 48:18-19   Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;  your offspring would have been like the sand, and your descendants like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from before me.”

 Hosea 14:9    Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

 Luke 19:41-42     And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,  saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Amos 8:11.  “The days are coming,” declares the Sovereign LORD, “when I will send a famine through the land— not a famine of food or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD.“

 Matthew 9:36    When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

 Romans 11:7-10    What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,  as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”  And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”

The idolatry and rebellions of Israel deserved, and the justice of God seemed to demand, that they should be rooted out. But He spared Israel, and continues them still to be living witnesses of the truth of the Bible, and to silence unbelievers. They are preserved for wise and holy purposes and the prophecies give us some idea what those purposes are. The Lord will never disgrace the throne of his glory. It is great wisdom, and will help much to the return of sinners to God, seriously to consider their latter end, or the future state. It is here meant particularly of what God foretold by Moses, about this people in the latter days; but it may be applied generally. Oh that men would consider the happiness they will lose, and the misery they will certainly plunge into, if they go on in their trespasses! What will be in the end thereof? Jer 5:31. For the Lord will in due time bring down the enemies of the church, in displeasure against their wickedness. When sinners deem themselves most secure, they suddenly fall into destruction. And God’s time to appear for the deliverance of his people, is when things are at the worst with them. But those who trust to any rock but God, will find it fail them when they most need it. The rejection of the Messiah by the Jewish nation, is the continuance of their ancient idolatry, apostacy, and rebellion. They shall be brought to humble themselves before the Lord, to repent of their sins, and to trust in their long-rejected Mediator for salvation. Then he will deliver them, and make their prosperity great. (Henry)

I sometimes wonder if we continue in sin because we are ignorant of God’s Word, lack the desire to study and know it, have less desire to apply it, and have deluded our hearts with worldly wisdom to the point where we are void of the wisdom, truth, promises, warnings, hope, blessings, refuge, strength, and encouragement it proclaims. We know more about worldly stuff than we know about the Word of God. How is Jesus Christ honored and glorified in this? How are we to know if our feet are on the path to righteousness? How are we to know right from wrong, good from bad, and truth from false if the Word of God is not in our hearts and minds? How can we be ever-growing and maturing in our understanding and knowledge of God’s grace, mercy, and love apart from His Word? How are we to live so that Jesus Christ is honored and glorified in all of our thoughts, words, and actions if the desire of our hearts and minds is on worldly pursuits and blind to the things of God?

How is the Holy Spirit to speak into our lives if our ears are deaf? How are we to see things of God if our eyes are blind? How do we understand the signs of the times? How are we to recognize sin?  How are we to know that we need to repent? How are we to be light to the lost? How are we to be the salt of the earth?  Will people be curious about Jesus by the way you live and treat others? 

We make time in our day for many things, things we deem important and need to do. We make time for things that are not so important but these things occupy much of our time in mindless consumption. (TV, Social Media, News outlets, Sports) We pursue things that are important to us. We also allow our minds to be consumed by the unimportant. It seems as if we gravitate toward the worldly and away from things of God. “Oh, that my people would listen to me”

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

 

A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.

–Proverbs 16:28

Putting Christ first in your life means transforming your actions, attitudes, and affections to those of Jesus Christ–and that includes learning to speak like Jesus would speak. Paul gave us some insights on how to do that. In Colossians 3:8, he said we are to lay aside slander.

What is slander? To slander is to openly speak negatively about another person. In the Bible, slander is not about the truthfulness of the statement but the intent of the statement. For example, in the Old Testament, one of the Hebrew words translated as “slander” sometimes means a bad report. Joseph gave his father a “bad report” about his brothers in Genesis 37:2. He was telling the truth, but it was with the intent of hurting his brothers.

Why does the Bible warn against slander? First of all, slander is divisive. Proverbs 16:28 says, “A perverse man spreads strife, and a slanderer separates intimate friends.” Nothing will divide friends, families, and churches more than public, negative communication.

Second, slander requires making judgments about other people that we are not qualified to make. When you openly criticize another person, you are saying, “I am the judge, jury, and executioner of this person’s reputation. They deserve to have their reputation destroyed.” But no human can make that judgment. James 4:11–12 says, “Do not speak against one another, brethren. . . . There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?” The kind of judgment James was talking about here is a pharisaical judgment, meant to elevate your own righteousness and denigrate another person’s reputation. It’s a final condemnation against that person, saying they are beyond redemption. But only God can make that kind of judgment.

Third, slander causes irreparable damage. There’s an old folktale about a young man who went to a monk and said, “I have sinned by telling slanderous tales. What should I do?” The monk said, “Go and place a feather on every doorstep in town.” The young man did so; then he returned and asked what he should do next. The monk said, “Retrieve all the feathers.” The young man said, “That’s impossible! The wind has blown them away.” The monk replied, “So it is with slanderous words–they are impossible to retrieve.” That’s the main problem with slander: it is impossible to take back the damage that is done. If we’re going to become like Christ, we have to lay aside slander.

53.g. Wilderness – 17.m. “For this is a people without discernment”

 

 

Deu 32:28  “For they are a nation void of counsel, and there is no understanding in them.

 Job 28:28     And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’”

 Psalms 81:12    So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

 Proverbs 1:7     The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

 Isaiah 27:11    For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.

 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.”

 Jeremiah 8:9     The wise men shall be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and taken; behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, so what wisdom is in them?

 Hosea 4:6     My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge,

 Matthew 13:14-15     Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”  For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

 1 Corinthians 3:19   For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.

Void of counsel; that have not wisdom to direct themselves, nor discretion to desire and receive counsel from others, but rashly and madly go on in those courses which will certainly ruin them. (Poole)

Where does the counsel for our soul come from? How do we grab hold of wise counsel? What is wise counsel? Who do we get this counsel from? God’s Word. It is here where we find true wisdom and counsel for our souls, hearts, and minds, and how we should think, speak, and act.

The problem is that very little time is given to God’s Word. For many, it is seen as the Word of God but it is seldom studied. Oh, it might be searched for a nugget of hope or a promise, but it is not studied for the wisdom it contains and how that might be applied in everyday life. Far too often worldly wisdom consumes the hearts and minds of those who should know better.  Many times you will hear someone say, “I think” when they should be able to say, “God’s Word says”.

Wisdom of the world fills the souls of those void of God’s Word. There is no want for it, searching for it, or desiring to apply it. 

Much of the wisdom expressed by many is garnered from social media, media outlets, and culturally accepted views. Think about it. Should there be any confusion about abortion? And this whole gay pride and tolerance foolishness is mind-numbing. We should know right from wrong based on wisdom from God’s Word. Just because someone can twist and confuse the Word of God to adopt worldly and cultural norms does not make it right. 

We do well to seek wisdom from above and pray for understanding so that in all thoughts, words, and actions Jesus Christ is honored and glorified.

With the Election 3 weeks away

 

 

2Ch 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Proverbs 28:13     Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Isaiah 55:6-7    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  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 63:19    We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

Psalms 79:6    Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!

Jeremiah 10:25    Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

Acts 14:16    In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

Ezekiel 18:27-30    Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.  Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?  “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.

2 Chronicles 33:12-13    And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.  He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

Leviticus 26:40-41     “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,  so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,

James 4:9-10     Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

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,

Deuteronomy 4:29-30    But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

Deuteronomy 30:1-6     “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,  and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,  then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

2 Chronicles 6:30    then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,

2 Chronicles 6:39    then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.

Isaiah 65:1    I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.

There is much to say concerning the voices shouting out various claims, lies, boasts, slander, division, promises, blame, anger, hatred, etc….. in news outlets, social media, podcasts, and the radio.

Sports, movie, and music celebrities are shouting their election opinions.  They live in a world none of us have access to. Their wealth comes from those who watch them perform and for some reason, they have a very high and elevated opinion of themselves. Their opinions are not based on Godly wisdom or honor of Jesus Christ. No, their opinion is based on worldly and fleshly pursuits of money and fame. Most live with no regard for God.   

News outlets, radio shows, and various podcasts all proclaim value in their opinions and views on the candidates. They distort what is being said, openly lie, misinform, and make predictions about the future of our country based on one or the other candidates. They promote division, anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and give no thought to God. I am amazed at how many people buy into this garbage. People on both sides buy into what these people are saying. They watch and listen to these various agents of Satan and then form like-minded worldly views based on what they have heard or read.

Both sides claim they will bring some form of justice and prosperity and peace to their base all the while bashing the other side. I hear family and friends who say things that are just regurgitated views from the Satan tools speaking. these are not the views of someone who is thinking with a clear bible-focused, God-honoring, God-glorifying, God-trusting, God-reliant, God-obeying, and God-following mind.

What is it that people seek after? Peace, joy, kindness, hope, love, gentleness, justice, prosperity, and fruit of their labors.  Void of God’s Word people will seek to find these in their elected president and congress, both federal and state. They believe with the right person or party in office all of these will manifest in this country, state, and their lives. Imagine the foolishness of believing any candidate can bring about what they desperately seek.

It is hard for me to understand how Christians can be so misled, and misinformed, and not see the worldly (satan) influences at work. Scripture is very clear. God will not honor or bless a country that does not honor and glorify Him alone. When you take this one step deeper, He will not honor or bless a person who does not honor and glorify Him. Hanging hopes on candidates for that which only God can provide is not God-honoring or God-glorifying.

What if God’s plans were to allow the continued moral decline in our country and allow those who reject Him to experience the fullness of their rejection? What if God’s plans were to test the faith of Christians in and through this moral decline? What if God’s plans were to take us to a place of despair where our eyes would look up for the return of Jesus? What if God’s plans were to bring about a revival through this moral decline? What if God’s plans were to open the eyes of the lost to the foolishness of their ways?

I must confess that I get caught up in what is being said and proclaimed and promised in various News outlets. Praise be to God, He has sent His Holy Spirit to discern these wayward thoughts and keep my eyes focused on Him. We do well to confess our wayward focus, repent of it, and open our hearts and minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit in God-honoring and God-glorifying praise, worship, trust, reliance, and obedience. Nothing this world has to offer can compare to the love, grace, and mercy of God and the blessings of knowing the forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Whatever God’s plans are, they are right, true, and just, and will bring about His plans and purposes.

Jack Hibbs – Devotion

 

 

Contrary to what many in our land cannot, will not, and fanatically refuse to admit, Christianity has always informed what it means to be an American.

Our first president, George Washington, set the standard and tone of America—a nation under God. Washington’s prayer journal from April 30, 1789, reads: “O most glorious God, direct my thoughts, words, and work, wash away my sin in the immaculate blood of the Lamb, and purge my heart by Thy Holy Spirit, daily frame me more and more into the likeness of Thy Son Jesus Christ whom You gave to die for me and hast given me the assurance of my salvation.”

We are a nation of individuals whose roots spread around the world. We might hail from Italy, Argentina, or Africa, but by taking this nation as our own, we agree to unite as Americans around the understanding and vision of equality and liberty found in the Bible.

 

In the early 1900’s President Theodore Roosevelt agreed, “In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is first predicated upon the person’s becoming, in every facet, an American. There can be no divided allegiance here.”

 

United we can stand, but a divided America is sure to fall. May we again be one nation under God with liberty and justice for all.