Tag: bow

42.a. “Let My People Go” – 10. Promise of Death of all Firstborn of Egypt

 

Exodus 11:1  The LORD said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.  Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry.”  And the LORD gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. So Moses said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt,  and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.  There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has never been, nor ever will be again.   But not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’  And all these your servants shall come down to me and bow down to me, saying, ‘Get out, you and all the people who follow you.’ And after that I will go out.” And he went out from Pharaoh in hot anger.  Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”  Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, and the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land. 

Deuteronomy 4:34   Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

 Job 27:16-17   Though he heap up silver like dust, and pile up clothing like clay,  he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it, and the innocent will divide the silver.

 Psalms 24:1  The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein,

 Psalms 105:37   Then he brought out Israel with silver and gold, and there was none among his tribes who stumbled.

 Proverbs 13:22   A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

 Job 34:20    In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty are taken away by no human hand.

 Isaiah 42:13    The LORD goes out like a mighty man, like a man of war he stirs up his zeal; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes.

 Psalms 105:36    He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.

 Psalms 135:8   He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and of beast;

 Proverbs 21:13    Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.

 Revelation 6:16-17   calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

Despite the great calamity to come, God would grant the Egyptians the ability to see the situation as it really was: the fault of their own Pharaoh, not the fault of Moses or the children of Israel. Here for the fourth time we are told that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 9:12, 10:20, 10:27, and 11:10). Yet God never hardened Pharaoh’s heart until he first hardened it against the LORD and His people (Exodus 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, and 9:7). (Guzik)

 “The Lord hath put a difference between those who are his people and those who are not. There are many distinctions among men which will one day be blotted out; but permit me to remind you at the outset that this is an eternal distinction.” (Spurgeon)

Much could be said about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart and passages that show it to be of himself and passages that show it to be of God.  A person can be tempted to say that it is not fair, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  But, clearly, Pharaoh hardened his own heart first.  He did have free will to choose and he chose to defy God and the signs and wonders performed in His name. Let this be a warning and witness to all – a hardened heart does not start out like stone. No, it is soft and pliable but with continual and repeated intentional choosing to defy God, deny God, things of God, God’s creation, and God’s Word (written and proclaimed) the heart becomes harder and harder and harder.  At some point, there is no possible softening. This is known to God. 

God knows the beginning from the end. He knows who is His and who is not.  He knows this before any person is born. There is nothing that happens on earth that would be a surprise to God, where He would say; “I did not see that happening”.  God knows the beginning from the end.  Every last bit of it. He knows the thoughts and intents of every single person born before they are born. He knows the hairs on the heads of every last person. He knows the beginning from the end. He knows who will honor and glorify Him. He knows who will repent. He knows who will believe. He knows who will abide in faith. He knows who will obey. He knows who will not. He knows who will be ushered into heaven and who will find eternity in Hell. He knows the sin(s) every man will commit before it is even a thought in their mind. Nothing is hidden from Him.  He knows the beginning from the end.  

Who is the man that they dare say to the Creator of all there is, “I am not at fault, You made me like this.” Each person is given knowledge of God in their innermost being and this knowledge is added to by the wonders of creation. No man is with an excuse when they stand before their Creator. It is by free will they choose to deny the One and only True God.  They make images of wood and stone and bow down and worship the craft of their hands, or they deny any God at all.  They harden their hearts day after day until the hardness is complete. They will never repent or believe in God and His redemption. They reject God’s Word, His grace, love, and mercy. They reject Jesus Christ’s sacrifice, salvation, and forgiveness. They reject eternal life and freely choose eternity in Hell, though they are warned 1,000 times.  

While I write this I am humbled beyond words for I was once like these, without a care, without a need of God, without giving thought or concern to eternity, sin, death, heaven, hell, judgment, forgiveness, etc…. And yet, God, in His great mercy and love, softened my heart, opened my eyes and ears, and showed me my sin and the need for redemption, salvation, repentance, and forgiveness. I lived a life of no concern for God or things of God, and yet He pursued me, He kept knocking at the door of my heart, and at the right moment, He got my attention. At the right moment, a neighbor across the street (Rich) asked my wife and me to attend an evangelical meeting at the church they attended.  It was at this meeting Thursday, March 22nd, 1979 my sin, God’s holiness, and my need for repentance and a savior were revealed deep within my heart and mind. I know there was nothing deserving within me of this grace and mercy – trust me I know. However, God’s great love brought me to the point of believing or rejecting. As I say this it is not as though I could have rejected it.  I don’t really know how to explain it.  The message preached and my need so revealed that there was no way I could say no to the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

I don’t know how many times I reject God and things of God throughout my life up to the point of being saved. God does and I am sure it was a lot. God’s grace, mercy, and love are deep and wide. And yet, they have boundaries. These boundaries include “Faith and Repentance” (trust, obedience, reliance, honor, and glory to Jesus Christ). Good intentions, wishing, hoping, denying, rejecting, self-reliance, etc… all fall short of these boundaries of God’s grace, mercy, and love. 

Oh, that all of you would see the sinfulness of sin, the Holiness of God, and the need for repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ.

39.n. “God will be with you”

 

 

Genesis 48:21  Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. Moreover, I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

One portion above your brothers: This referred to Joseph being father of two tribes, while each of his brothers only fathered one each.

Which I took from the hand of the Amorite: Apparently, while still in Canaan, Jacob battled for control of a portion of land from the Amorites, and he deeded the land to Joseph and his descendants. The descendants of Joseph would take this land some 400 years later.

God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers: This completed a wonderful work regarding Jacob’s recognition of God’s presence in his life.

· I am with you (Genesis 28:15): God gives the young believer every possible assurance of His presence and grace.

· I will be with you (Genesis 31:3): God expects the growing believer to trust He will be with him, even when he only has the promise of His presence.

· God… has been with me (Genesis 31:5): God gives a glorious testimony to the mature believer, able to say how God has been with him, even when he hasn’t felt His presence in the way he wished.

· God will be with you (Genesis 48:21): God gives the mature believer the opportunity to encourage others with the promise of God’s presence.

(Guzik)

32.o. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”

 

Matthew 11:28  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 Isaiah 45:22-25  “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’  “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

 Isaiah 55:1-3  “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  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, my steadfast, sure love for David.

 Micah 6:6-8   “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

 Isaiah 66:2     All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

 Isaiah 1:4  Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

 Isaiah 28:12     to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear.

What would you pay to have everlasting rest for your soul? What would you do to have it? Where would you go to find it? 

We get many invitations in life to “come” go to something, a new job, sporting event, family gathering, preacher, politician, professor, teacher, etc….. many of these invitations are for a few who have been selected or by some other means been identified as worthy of the invitation.  We get invited to some events but there is a cost associated with the invite. There are barriers at the event that prohibit people who try to coming in but do not have proof that they paid the cost of admission. Sometimes we get invitations to “free events” but there is pleading, intimidation, pressure, arm-twisting, and coercion that certainly indicate this is not a free event. Sometimes we get invited to an event that promises something big and spectacular but falls way short of delivering it and we feel cheated because what we expected was not obtained. 

Here is an invitation to all, which if it did not come from God would seem foolish. Who could ever invite “all”?  “Come to me”, does not indicate any barrier on who can come. It is an open invitation to come. 

Some look at this invitation and say it is foolish, there is no God and this is just some attempt to get followers to follow a meaningless promise. Others reject it because there is no way they want someone else paying their way into heaven or they want to pay part of it themselves. They want to earn it on their own. Others reject it because they see no need for it. Others reject it because they have taken the invitation by someone else and followed after its promises. Whatever the reason people reject or do not yoke up with Christ there is no rest for their souls now or for eternity. 

In the invitation from Jesus, there is a yoke (bond, attachment) that unites the invitee with the inviter. “Take this yoke upon you and learn from me” the yoke and its burden (faith, believing, trusting, relying, following, obeying) is not burdensome but is light and gives rest to your soul. This yoking and learning from and about Jesus gives us discernment between worldly and heavenly. Through this yoking and learning and discernment, we find rest for our soul. The invitation and the promise of rest for your soul are without any cost. Jesus paid all the costs and has invited all people to join Him in eternal life – heaven. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life. Find rest for your soul in and through Jesus Christ. He invites you without cost.

16.d. “This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly and unspiritual.”

Philippians 2:4  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,  so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Romans 13:13     Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

1 Peter 2:1-2    So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation

James 3:14-16     But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.  This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.

2 Corinthians 12:20     For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

Unity is the goal, “Like-minded”, “having the same love”, “one purpose”, “On mind”.  What comes in-between members, families, and churches that cause a lack of unity.  The list is long. Pride, envy, jealousy, greed, selfish-ambition, quarreling, slander, conceit, hostility, anger, etc…… are all present in the worldly realm and should not be present in the church.  When we were born again we became new creatures, a new creation.  During our growth from an infant believer into a mature believer, we will encounter these worldly attributes in ourselves as well as others.  The Holy Spirit will bring these to light within us as we continue to grow in our walk with the Lord.  I don’t care how mature you are, there is always going to be something the Holy Spirit will bring to light in your life that is not in line with honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.  We need to be mindful of worldly influences.  We need to be able to identify that which is of this world and at odds with living godly lives.  The church is made up of Christians both new and old to the faith.  Learning to live in harmony with one another requires each of us to ensure we are seeking unity and not being influenced by how the world thinks we should react to certain situations, comments, people, etc…. When we stay in God’s Word we will find peace, comfort, and strength to identify and keep out worldly influences.  Don’t you wonder how many divisions have taken place just because of pride, anger, gossip, slander, conceit, greed, jealousy, selfish-ambition, and envy?  Ask God to reveal what He sees in your heart so that you can confidently know you are living your life full of the Spirit and honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do.

11.s. “The scatterer has come up against you.”

Nahum 2:1   The scatterer has come up against you. Man the ramparts; watch the road; dress for battle; collect all your strength. For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches.

Jeremiah 51:20-23    “You are my hammer and weapon of war: with you I break nations in pieces; with you I destroy kingdoms;  with you I break in pieces the horse and his rider; with you I break in pieces the chariot and the charioteer;  with you I break in pieces man and woman; with you I break in pieces the old man and the youth; with you I break in pieces the young man and the young woman;  with you I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; with you I break in pieces the farmer and his team; with you I break in pieces governors and commanders.

2 Chronicles 25:8     But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? For God has power to help or to cast down.”

Jeremiah 46:9    Advance, O horses, and rage, O chariots! Let the warriors go out: men of Cush and Put who handle the shield, men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow. That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes.

Nahum proclaims the “Scatterer has come”.  God’s coming destruction of Nineveh was the inevitable justice of God.  It was not for the redemption of His people that was primary but the vindication and honor of God. History records numerous times where God has redeemed His people from Israel hating and God-defying nations.  If we look at this it seems as though as one head of the beast of this world is lopped off another reappears.  We see this in Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and other lesser nations of strength, power, and defiance of God and His people.  Prophecies in Daniel and Revelation speak of these major world powers and their destruction, yet another is coming.  There are many nations right now that defy God and His people, but Revelation speaks of “Babylon the Great” and it will be the last world power to arise and defy God and try to destroy His people.

The “Scatterer” has come against you!  Man your battle station, increase your watch, at to your security, get ready for battle, and summon all of your strength.  In this we see God giving clear warning that His justice is coming and calling out to the defiers to prepare for battle against Him.  They don’t stand a chance but their hearts and minds are confident from believing the lies of the Prince of this world, Satan.  They have relied in, trusted in, and believed in their own self-power, strength, and might. Their hearts and minds are hardened.  Self-sufficiency and self-reliance have totally replaced and need for or thought of the Creator of all there is, God.  We need to be mindful of the lies from Satan and not allow any self-sufficiency and self-reliance to take root in our hearts and minds.

11.c. “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.”

Micah 6:6  “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 19:16     And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

Luke 10:25    And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

Acts 2:37     Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Romans 10:2-3   For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

The question has been asked for centuries one way or another.  How can I stand before God?  How can I inherit eternal life?  What shall we do? These questions are asked by those who are lost.  Some of them want to know how to be right with God and others want to challenge the answer with no intent of needing or wanting to be right with God.  This question will be asked by searching-souls continuously until the judgement seat of Jesus Christ and His return.  It is more than just asking the question, isn’t it?  It is what we do after we have been given the answer.  If we humble ourselves and surrender our self-centeredness and self-reliance to the message of grace, mercy, and hope through the gospel of Jesus Christ we find peace, rest, and joy flooding our souls.   Repentance and turning away from these self-seeking ways and trusting in the promise of forgiveness frees us from the burden of carrying our past and sin in our own power.  Humble surrender, by faith, to the redeeming work of Jesus Christ on the cross enables our eyes to our hearts, minds, and souls be opened to forgiveness and the hope of eternity with Jesus Christ forever.

6.s. And I looked, and behold, a white horse!

Revelation 6:1   Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a white horse! And its rider had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering, and to conquer.

The rider on this white horse is not to be confused with Jesus Christ in chapter 19.  This rider is released with the removal of the first seal.  This rider is given might (bow) and power (crown).  He will come out waging war (conquering) and will win those wars and battles (and to conquer).  This is a time on earth when the tribulation will start and will continue in increasing measure until the return of Jesus Christ.

The White horse given to this rider seems to indicate that he will have the ability to deceive people and make them think he is something more than what he is, an agent of Jesus Christ’s judgment on the earth and to those who have rejected salvation through His sacrifice.

When we talk of Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy, and love (“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever should believe in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life”) many don’t give enough thought to this and what it means to believe.  Believing means; clinging too, relying on, and trusting in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their sins.  They give little to the thought of their sin and need for salvation but rather just on the gift of everlasting life.  With this thought, they truly do not see the fullness of their sin and because of this, they do not fully see a need to cling too, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ.  “Wide is the path that leads to hell and narrow is the door that leads to everlasting life”.  Those that are remaining on earth during the time of this first seal being released will be those who flat out deny the need of Jesus Christ and as well those who do not deny the need but have not given their whole heart, mind, and soul to cling too, rely on, and trust in Him.  Many are going to find their place on earth during this time without hope, without peace, without rest and it will only get worse. There is no better time than right now to make an intentional choice to fully believe in Jesus Christ, confess you are a sinner, lost and without hope, repent and turn away from sinful ways, and cling too, rely on, and trust in Jesus Christ with your whole heart, mind, and soul.

106. Warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice.

1 Samuel 15:22  “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.

Psalms 51:16-17     For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Proverbs 21:3    To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Isaiah 1:17    learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

Jeremiah 7:22-23     For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.  But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Hosea 6:6    For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Micah 6:6-8     “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Ecclesiastes 5:1      Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil.

Jeremiah 11:7    For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice.

God is clear about obedience. Obey My voice, I desire steadfast love and knowledge of God, love justice, love kindness, walk humbly with God, draw near, guard your steps, broken spirit and contrite heart.  He says obedience is far and above sacrifice.  So how do we know if we are being obedient?????  This is a good question to ask and a good question to answer.

To understand how to be obedient we should know how God speaks into our life.  He speaks through His word.  Hebrews 4:12; “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” He gives the Holy Spirit to indwell those who believe in, trust in, cling to, and rely on Jesus Christ. John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” And He speaks through what He has shown and continues to show us Romans 1:19  “For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

His word brought our heart and mind to the place of knowing sin, repentance, and forgiveness so that may know we have been saved from the judgment of sin and have been given eternal life through Jesus Christ.  This is given to all who believe and is rightly called being born again.  Born not of flesh and blood but of God.  John 1:13 “who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”   

The first step of obedience has 4 parts, first is belief,  second confessing sin, third is repentance, fourth is trusting in/relying on/clinging to Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross. This initial act of obedience led to a new birth and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

A life of obedience is a desire/choice to listen, a desire/choice to follow, a desire/choice to act/obey.  There is little chance of obedience when there is little desire for His word in your life.  There is little chance of being influenced and directed by the indwelling Holy Spirit when there is little desire for His word in your life.  We cannot honor Jesus Christ without desiring to be obedient.  Without His word and a deep desire to know, understand, and humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Him we deceive ourselves into thinking we are obedient.  His word is to be the bread of life, living water, and the air that we breathe.  I fear our society/culture has influenced us to the point we cannot see that we are starving, dehydrating, suffocating, and either dead or close enough to being dead that the depth of His word has no place in our heart, mind, and soul, and the understanding of obedience has been diluted to non-existence.

An obedient life must have a continual daily desire to be in, listen too, and act on His word for the sole purpose of humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, following, and obeying Jesus Christ.  Live obediently. Seek and desire His word each day with a heart seeking to honor Him.

77. They do not know me, declares the LORD.

Joshua 23:6   “Be very strong; be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.

Proverbs 4:26-27     Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure.  Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Deuteronomy 5:32    You shall be careful therefore to do as the LORD your God has commanded you. You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

1 Corinthians 16:13     Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

Ephesians 6:10-19     Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Jeremiah 9:3     They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the LORD.

Be strong, stand firm, ponder your path, do not swerve left or right, put on the whole armor of God, do not turn aside, hold fast, and be watchful – these are all words of warning and encouragement. We would not have words encouraging us to be strong, stand firm, hold fast, and our on the whole armor of God if there was not going to be something to fight against.  We are to stand firm against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  They are very real and you do not have to look very hard to find their cunning and deceptive work in the lives of people.

We are not to allow ourselves to be drawn in, influenced, and enticed by our culture and the dark forces that lead it.  We are to be watchful and stand firm in faith to God.  Just because our culture tolerates (in the name of being progressive) pornography is called adult entertainment, abortion is called women’s right to choose, LBGTQ is alternative lifestyles,  does not make it right or progressive or in line with serving God.  Be watchful.  If God’s word is not ever present in our daily lives how are we to see these dark forces at work in our world.  If God’s word is not daily present in our lives how are we to know right from wrong when our culture has adopted and called right that which is wrong.  If God’s word is not daily present how are we to know false from the truth? I saw this quote yesterday and thought it appropriate for today.  “And gradually though, no one remembers exactly how it happened, the unthinkable becomes tolerable, and then acceptable, and then legal, and then applaudable.” 

We will not be able to stand before God and plead we did not know.  The very fact that we choose to neglect and become complacent with His word condemns us because we chose to ignore.  Do not spend another day blindly following a world heading straight to hell.  Pick up His word and intentionally choose to spend time in it with all your heart, mind, and soul with the purpose of humbly serving, honoring, trusting, following, and obeying God.