Faith – Page 9 – Praying Pint

12.j. “For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind”

Zachariah 6:15 and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.”

Isaiah 58:10-14    if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.  And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.  And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in.  “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;  then you shall take delight in the LORD

Romans 16:26    but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—

2 Peter 1:5-10    For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge,  and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.

Do you ever wonder if you are giving you all to Jesus Christ? Are you being obedient? Are you desiring and seeking Him with all your heart, mind, and soul? Are your ears hungering to hear His Word? Are you totally surrendered to go where He says? Do what He asks? Is your life more about honoring self or Jesus? Are you more concerned about striving for self-gain than Jesus’s honor, glory, and kingdom? Are you listening and obedient? Are you diligent in obedience??????

We lose sight and focus when our lives are lived in compromise with the world and what it has to offer. Are we to expect God will bless us and our country when we neglect full surrender and humble honor and glory to Jesus Christ? Are we to expect God will bless us when we intentionally choose to be complacent in service to Him and being satisfied and content with what this world has to offer? Being diligent means there is a conscious choice to being zealous, dedicated, committed, driven, persistent, untiring, attentive, and tireless in our want to be obedient to Jesus Christ. The world will tell us that a casual nod toward things of God is enough. The world will tell us that is all we need to do to be in favor of God? God’s Word says to be faithful, serve Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, obedient, trusting, relying upon and in full surrendered to Him. Does this at all sound like something that can be taken lightly or that being lukewarm toward God is fulling His rightful honor, glory, worship, and praise? We are not going to be blessed as a person or a nation when our hearts and minds are being consumed by what this world has to offer. Take a close look at the state of the world and our nation right now. Fear, division, uncertainty, anxiousness, worry, hatred…… are the norm. God is not God of these things, Satan is. It seems as though he has captured the hearts and minds of millions of people and very few are seeing it for what it is, an attack on faith, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ. Do you think for one second that all of this just happens apart from the hand of God allowing it? God is allowing those with eyes to see and ears to hear demonic influences being spewed out through leaders and media outlets. When you see that which is wrong being applauded as being right, know that Satan is behind it and God is allowing it.

12.n. “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”

Zephaniah 1:1 The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah: Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord “I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea— and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.” “When I destroy all mankind on the face of the earth,” declares the Lord, “I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place, the very names of the idolatrous priests— those who bow down on the roofs to worship the starry host, those who bow down and swear by the Lord and who also swear by Molek, those who turn back from following the Lord and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”

Psalms 10:4    In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

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.

Jeremiah 2:17     Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the LORD your God, when he led you in the way?

Jeremiah 15:6     You have rejected me, declares the LORD; you keep going backward, so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you— I am weary of relenting.

Hebrews 10:38-39    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”  But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

2 Peter 2:21-22   For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.  What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Zephaniah was almost certainly born during the long, wicked reign of Manasseh, whose reign began 55 years before the start of Josiah’s reign. Josiah was a godly, young king who brought great revival and reform to Judah but Josiah reigned for 10 years before he led his great revival. Zephaniah was likely written in the years before the revival, and God used this prophecy to bring and further revival. Zephaniah didn’t waste any time getting to the point. Delivering the message of the LORD, he warned of harsh and complete judgment that would consume everything before the LORD. God addresses the royalty of Judah in a way they aren’t used to hearing. He tells them to “shut up” and listen to His pronouncement of judgment – a sacrifice of judgment made against a wicked nation. Our ability to proclaim our innocence when we are deep in sin is pretty amazing, but through it all God tells us to be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD. This warning came to a godly king during a time of reform. God warns Josiah and the whole royal community what will happen if they don’t follow through on their turning to God. (Enduring Word)

The bible is clear in its warnings of judgment and the reason for it. Why do we insist on our innocence and act as though we are not guilty? Why do we shun the true words of warning and cling to lies of self-assurance? Be silent and listen! We are born again, a new creation, adopted children of God. Our new birth requires food and water for growth. The food and water of this new birth is the bread of life and the living water of Jesus Christ. How often do we come to the table of Jesus Christ and eat and drink of Him and with Him? How is there growth without this bread of life and living water? There isn’t. There is only stagnation, withering, drying up, and weakness. Zephaniah, David, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Paul, Habakkuk, Solomon, Peter, James, John, and nearly all of the writers of the Word of God give the warning to neglect, complacency, being lukewarm, trueing away from fully committed to following, obeying, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, and trusting Jesus Christ. Our ability to proclaim innocence when we are clinging to and dancing with sin is a direct result of the intentional choice to live this way. Renew your commitment to Jesus Christ. The warnings are clear. Judgment is certain. It is close at hand.

12.d. “But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Habakkuk 2:4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

Daniel 4:37    Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Luke 18:14     For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Daniel 5:20-23     But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.

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 10:38    but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Pride and arrogance are very dangerous for the soul. They will blind you in darkness and shut out any light of the working of the Holy Spirit of God. Satan, the Prince of darkness reigns and is the king of darkness, dark-things, dark-thoughts, dark-actions, dark-words, dark-wants, dark-pleasure, hatred, anger, jealousy, coveting, pride, arrogance, immorality, neglect, complacency, fear, defiance, etc…. Our sinful nature seems to have a great deal of this darkness attached to our heart, mind, and soul. This darkness has an appetite for more and more and, once tasted, hungers for more. The Word of God brings light into the dark places of our soul and exposes all darkness. It is very possible and probable that we have darkness in some areas of our lives. How can this be? We neglect His Word which will expose this darkness. We have closed the door to our hearts, mind, and soul for some areas of our life. Through neglect of His Word our hunger and thirst for humbly serving, honoring, following, obeying, and trusting Him leaves areas in our life in darkness. We need to be very mindful of the fact that there is no neutral state in a Christian’s life. There is either growth or decay. When our lives are stagnating, darkness festers and want for the Word of God is not to be found. The shadow of darkness grows bigger and bigger as we slide further and further away from the light of God’s Word. It is hard to see the light of Jesus Christ when the only light you have in life is that of darkness. It is also impossible for those areas of our life, where we have chosen to keep in darkness, to ever change if we are not humbly submitting our hearts, minds, and souls to the life-changing Word of God. Be ever conscious of the sinful nature within you that wants to keep some areas of your life darkness. Our faith will never grow in darkness, it needs the Light of God’s Word. We do well to have a heart like David and this be an ever-present prayer on our heart. “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

11.y. “They will call upon my name, and I will answer them”

Psalm 17:3 You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words.

Psalms 66:10    For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried.

Zechariah 13:9     And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”

1 Peter 1:7     so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 4:4    For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.

Testing and refining come to every Christian. It comes in different forms and at various times in our lives. It can come physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and relationally. We lie in bed at night unable to sleep as the burden laid on our hearts and minds consumes our sleep. There are times we just can’t seem to handle anymore. William Gruanll said something like this, “Faith is a plant that grows more in the darkness than in the light”. When we cry out to God with the burdens weighing heavy on our soul, that is ok and right for us to acknowledge before Him. We acknowledge that it is beyond our strength and ability to handle it. Crying out to God is the one place our burdens will be lifted. Oh, we try and try to handle it on our own over and over again, but we end up at the same place we started – trying to carry a burden we were never intended to carry alone. Why do we cry out to God? God will answer! God has promised, “Come on to Me all who labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest.” “you will find rest for your souls.” But, there are times our path in life has taken a road/path that leads us away from God. There are many temptations that our sinful nature will grab on to that lead us in to being apart from God. In these times it is good for God to lay burdens on our hearts and minds so heavy that our souls find no peace. Maybe we will turn from our wayward path and turn back to Him. There are other times, in our lives, we are walking in the light of His Word and, best to our ability, humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, following, trusting, and obeying Him and still, a trial/burden lands deep into our hearts and minds. We lie awake at night and our heart aches and our mind mulls over and over again that which is giving us no peace or rest. It is in these times we cry out to God and thank Him for His promises. We acknowledge that we are helpless and lay our burdens at His feet, trusting, by faith, He will lift the burden and carry it for us. He has promised it and is more than capable to give us peace and rest over it. “Faith is a plant that grows more in the darkness than in the light”, water it with the Word of God, fertilize it with steadfast faith, and rejoice in the fruit it will produce. Quit trying to carry a burden we were never intended to carry alone.

d.e. ” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace”

1Corinthians 15:19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction evidence of things not seen.”

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

This was recently posted in Compelling Truth and very worthy of sharing with you.

We often talk about hope in a type of wishful sense: “I hope you have a nice day.” “Hope you have a relaxing vacation.” “I hope I get the job.” “I hope she says yes.” “I hope I get the promotion.” “I hope I don’t get sick.” There are many things we hope for in this life, some more probable to happen than others. However, the biblical concept of hope goes far beyond these earthly hopes. It is not mere wishful thinking, but something we have confidence will happen.

The Christian’s hope is grounded in the belief that there is more to life than what we can wish for in this world. The Christian hope is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and in God’s promise to resurrect all who believe in Jesus. It is the hope of forgiveness of sins. It is the hope of a heavenly home. It is the hope of a glorified body in which to live and the hope of a new earth on which to live. Most importantly, it is the hope to live in these new glorified bodies on a new earth in the very presence of God Himself for all eternity—eternal life and joy in the presence of God. This is the hope of all true believers. This Christian hope is not wishful thinking. We have been given promises by God Himself that Jesus Christ, whom He raised from the dead, will return again. We have been promised by God Himself that when Jesus returns, we who believe will be transformed into the perfect image and likeness of His Son. We have been promised that we who believe will be forgiven our sins because of the death of Christ and will inherit eternal life because of the righteousness and resurrection of Christ. The resurrection is no myth. It was a historical event witnessed by hundreds of people. Jesus Christ rose from the dead and appeared to His disciples and at least 500 other people. After forty days, Jesus ascended to heaven where He reigns at God’s right hand. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. In this we hope, and we have good reason to hope, for God has said it will be and God accomplishes everything He says. He has done so throughout history and will continue to do so in the future.

As further assurance, God has given His Holy Spirit to believers in Christ. The Holy Spirit testifies to our hearts, minds, and spirits that the promises of God are true. The Holy Spirit confirms the truth of God’s promises to us and assures us by His very presence in us that we belong to Christ. The Spirit confirms our adoption into God’s family and therefore assures us that our hoped-for inheritance is certain. In fact, the Holy Spirit is God’s pledge to us.

The Bible has much to say about hope, but this is what it says about our greatest hope. The ultimate Christian hope is that one day Christ will return and we who are looking forward to that return will go to be with Him forever. Because of Christ, we will triumph over sin, guilt, death, and hell itself. We will inherit eternal life to be enjoyed in the presence of our most loving and gracious God. We will even receive rewards for what we have done for Christ and we will reign with Him in a new world—a perfect world of love and righteousness. In this we hope and because God has promised it we know it will certainly happen. All God’s promises find their fulfillment in Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is our hope!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in.

10. “Do you believe this?”

1 Corinthians 15:12–19, “Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

1Timothy 4:10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Joh 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

The lyrics of this song capture hope, faith, trust, and reliance in Jesus Christ. In times likes these we need hope, faith, trust, and reliance.

My hope is built on nothing less, Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name, On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness hides His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace, In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil, On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand

His oath, His covenant, His blood, Support me in the whelming flood, When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay, On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand

When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, Faultless to stand before the throne, On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand

6.d. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says

Revelation 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

What defines a good church? One might include a definition with ministry to others, loyalty, love, patience, faith, and maturity. These would all be good for someone to say about a church corporately and as an individual within that church. The church is made up of individual people who have individual faith in Christ and to hear that corporately they are living out their faith in Jesus Christ in a way that honors Him is a testimony to their individual intentional choice(s). Thyatira was such a church but some had allowed false teaching to pull them into sexual immorality. Some had tolerated a false teacher and self-proclaimed prophetess. In this toleration, they were seduced into following her. Jesus declares they were given time to repent but they chose not too.

Do you ever wonder what each of us might be tolerating in our lives and walk with Jesus Christ? Do you ever wonder if you might be disregarding warnings from the Holy Spirit? Do you ever wonder if you have shut your ears to hear those whispers of repent, turn away, and confess? Do you ever wonder if your eyes have been blinded by cultural tolerances? Do you ever wonder if you have stepped over the line and don’t know it?

Each of us will do well to seek and desire to honor Jesus Christ. David put it like this; “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” When our heart’s desire is to be faithful and Jesus honoring, our ears and eyes being open to hear and see both what we should do and what we should not. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to your heart, mind, and soul.

173. It is not light thing

2 Kings 3:4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” Then he said, “By which way shall we march?” Jehoram answered, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”

So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, “Alas! The Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” Then one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.” And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No; it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab.” And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. But now bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones.” The next morning, about the time of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water.

Isaiah 49:6     he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 42:6     “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,

Isaiah 60:3   And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Luke 2:32   a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

John 1:4-9    In him was life, and the life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.  He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.  He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.  The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

Acts 26:18    to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

The miracles of God which seem hard are not for God. They are a light thing. Think about it. God created all there was from the voice of His mouth. Universes, galaxies, light, every living thing, and mankind. God creator, our Heavenly Father, our Redeemer Jesus Christ, and our helper the Holy Spirit, are all of God. It is a light thing for Him to do what we think impossible. It is not something we should think a light thing for us to honor Him, worship Him, glorify Him, follow Him, obey Him, rely on Him, and trust in Him. This is our purpose in life. What is not light for God should not be thought of light by us. Forgiveness, repentance, and humble service to Jesus Christ require us to see this as a BIG THING from God to us. Pray that God will open your heart and mind to the depth and width of His love demonstrated in and through Jesus Christ.

97. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days

1 Samuel 3:1 Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord in the presence of Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

1 Corinthians 12:6-11 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

Can you imagine what it would be like to to have the word of God almost not available? Days, weeks, and months would pass by without reading or hearing His word. Hebrews 4:12–13 says, “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.”

We know the Bible to be the true Word of God and seek to align our lives to what it says. We also have the indwelling Holy Spirit who is transforming us to be more like God. As we grow in our walk with Christ, we bear fruit. This fruit has an impact on those around us. As the Bible influences us, it influences society. Likewise, if the word of God is not active, desired, needed and intentional in our daily life, then the reverse happens. We are influenced by society rather than by the word of God. Somehow we seem to have come to an understanding of service to God to mean we attend church. It is not as though we thought about it and said: “this is what it means to serve, honor, follow, worship, and obey God.” More than likely busyness of life, technology, family, work…. all have taken their part into our lives, pushing out the word of God and by result our influence on family, friends, society.

The word of God will never influence the life of the person who spends no time in it. Is it possible we have chosen to only have enough of God’s word in our life to feel good but not enough of it to transform, lead, instruct, convict, and empower us to hear it speak to our heart and mind? Choosing to be in His word with desire to know and be known by God is an active and intentional choice. No one at the end of their life has said: “I spent too much time in God’s word and in service to Him.” Many have said I wish I had spent more time on the important (knowing and being known by God) and less on everything else that I thought important.

Daily commitment to time in God’s word is never a waste of time.

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.