Tag: behold you face

182. How long will you limp along?

2 Kings 17:24   And the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the people of Israel. And they took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. And at the beginning of their dwelling there, they did not fear the Lord. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. So the king of Assyria was told, “The nations that you have carried away and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the law of the god of the land. Therefore he has sent lions among them, and behold, they are killing them, because they do not know the law of the god of the land.” Then the king of Assyria commanded, “Send there one of the priests whom you carried away from there, and let him go and dwell there and teach them the law of the god of the land.” So one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and lived in Bethel and taught them how they should fear the Lord.

But every nation still made gods of its own and put them in the shrines of the high places that the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities in which they lived. The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, and the Avvites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in the fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. They also feared the Lord and appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.

To this day they do according to the former manner. They do not fear the Lord, and they do not follow the statutes or the rules or the law or the commandment that the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel. The Lord made a covenant with them and commanded them, “You shall not fear other gods or bow yourselves to them or serve them or sacrifice to them, but you shall fear the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt with great power and with an outstretched arm. You shall bow yourselves to him, and to him you shall sacrifice. And the statutes and the rules and the law and the commandment that he wrote for you, you shall always be careful to do. You shall not fear other gods, and you shall not forget the covenant that I have made with you. You shall not fear other gods, but you shall fear the Lord your God, and he will deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies.” However, they would not listen, but they did according to their former manner.

So these nations feared the Lord and also served their carved images. Their children did likewise, and their children’s children—as their fathers did, so they do to this day.

1 Kings 18:21    And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.

How close do we resemble “limping along between God’s word and what the world/culture/society approves”?  A heart and mind divided on how to worship, honor, follow, obey, and trust God will take paths in life that do none of these.  To honor, serve, follow, obey and trust God requires faith, an undivided faith.  It is a faith that does not look to luck, fortune, or fate but sees all things in and through God’s hands, God’s plans, and God’s purposes. Their faith is built on and continues to grow through their time in His word with seeking and desiring heart to know more and more of His holiness, grace, and mercy.

I fear we limp along in our walk with God because we share our time, thoughts, and actions with Him and what the world has to offer, committing to the one deemed most important at the time.  We can not have it both ways.  We either serve God with our whole heart, mind, and soul or we don’t.  There is no half or partial way that is recognized by God as sufficient.

Our Reason for Hope

“And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”

 

Psalms 17:15
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

Psalms 5:7
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Joshua 24:15
And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Psalms 119:111
Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

Job 19:26-27
And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,  whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!

2 Corinthians 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Revelation 7:16-17
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Revelation 21:3-4
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.  He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Job 14:12
so a man lies down and rises not again; till the heavens are no more he will not awake or be roused out of his sleep.

Isaiah 26:19
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Matthew 27:52-53
The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,  and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

1 John 3:2-3
Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.  And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

Philippians 3:21
who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself

Do you ever wonder about our bodies and what happens to them after death?  I recently saw a very interesting comment in Facebook “we are not going to get out of this life alive”.   I wonder if we know this but don’t really ever think about it.   God’s word says  Genesis: “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  And Ecclesiastes: “All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”  And again in Revelations: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  We need to be mindful of the fact that death of our our earthly body is not the end of our existence.  It is the beginning of our life apart from time and forevermore in eternity. There  is no second chance for a do over once time has ended for you’re on earth.  The decision made this side of eternity will determine if you will have life ever after with God in heaven or life forever in the lake of fire.  The “decision” to acknowledge  you are a sinner and separated from God.  “God so loved the world that He gave His only son that who so ever would believe in him would have everlasting life.”  The decision after acknowledging that your a sinner is to trust by faith in the saving redemptive work of Christ on the cross.  Everyone will give account – some to their own damnation and others into the loving arms of God.  I am saddened by how many people I know who care less about God, eternity, and eternal life.  God, open the eyes, heart, and mind of those who are neglecting You. Keep renewing our eyes, heart, and mind to Your awesome power, might, honor and glory so that we might worship you more and more.