Tag: Prosperity

Heals the brokenhearted

“Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.”

“And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.”

“who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,”

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Malachi 4:2  But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts. “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

Psalms 85:9    Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.

Isaiah 66:1  Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?  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.

Jeremiah 17:14   Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

Hosea 6:1   “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

Jeremiah 33:6    Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.

We serve this God – “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.”  This is the God who’s hands have made and by which all things came to be.  God seeks those with a humble and contrite heart.  To these there are many blessings and promises given.  It seems like today we have so much information at our finger tips that we lose sight of God and trust rather in what we find on a google search.  Remember to put Him first and seek His guidance and direction.  Yes He surely can direct and lead us through all of our decisions, trials and troubles.  He is the mighty awesome powerful creator.

Proclaim good news

“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”

Psalms 72:1   Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!   May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!   Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!  May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!   May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!   May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!   In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!   May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!  May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight. Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day! May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field! May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

Luke 4:18   “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

Isaiah 41:17   When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

Ezekiel 34:16    I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.

Job 5:15  But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty.  So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth.

God of Knowledge

“ Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil.”

“knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.  They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

“Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.”

Malachi 2:17  You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

Psalms 95:9  when your fathers put me to the test and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.  For forty years I loathed that generation and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known my ways.”

Isaiah 1:14     Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

Isaiah 43:24     You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities.

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.

Ezekiel 16:43    Because you have not remembered the days of your youth, but have enraged me with all these things, therefore, behold, I have returned your deeds upon your head, declares the Lord GOD. Have you not committed lewdness in addition to all your abominations?

Psalms 73:3  For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.  Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.  Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.  They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.  Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.  And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

Zephaniah 1:12    At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’

Discerning the will of God is a life long process.  Each day we are led into new understanding of serving Him.   Each day we find new mercies and blessings given to us by the grace of God.  This we find when we have a heart desire to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey Him.  However if we do not we will find ourselves like many in the past who have become complacent and turned away from full commitment to Him.  These scriptures today explain the mind and thoughts of man.  You can see the application of the word of God and service to Him being diluted by complacency.  They do not even see that the path they are on is not God honoring.  Let each of us learn from this.  He will reward those who fully delight and desire to serve Him.

Fret Not, Envy Not

” Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God”

Psalms 37:1  Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.

Proverbs 19:3   When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD.

Proverbs 24:1  Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,

Proverbs 24:19  Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked,

Proverbs 3:31   Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways,

Psalms 73:3   For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

Proverbs 23:17  Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.

James 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

It is very easy to find ourself looking at others and being envious of what they have, how they live, and their apparent happiness.  This is not something new to man.  This is our rooted nature and is a battle with our christian walk.  It is not what we have but who we serve.  It is not the peace and comfort the world gives but the inner strength, hope, peace and joy we have trusting in the everlasting love, sovereignty, and power of our heavenly Father.  Looking at these temporary things of this world it is easy to loose focus and purpose serving God.  They will rob us of true peace and comfort which is only found in humble service, obedience, and desire to honor and glorify God.  We need to keep our eyes on the author and finisher of every thing created.  We need to encourage each other to remain focused, stay the course, and grow in our knowledge, understanding, faith and commitment to God.  Great words from an old hymn;

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”

Blessings this side of eternity

“But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD hears when I call to him.”

“For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

“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.”

Psalms 65:4  Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Psalms 33:12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

Psalms 84:4   Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!

Psalms 106:4  Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them,  that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.

Ephesians 1:4   even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

2 Thessalonians 2:13  But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.

Psalms 23:6    Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

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

Revelation 21:3  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.”

What does it mean to be blessed?  How are we blessed?  When are we blessed?  Who is blessed?  Why are they blessed?  It is easy to get confused with these questions even if we have knowledge and understanding of God’s word.  Part of the confusion comes with our thinking that being blessed will always mean wealth, comfort, health, lacking little, and not experiencing trials/issues.  From the fall of man we are told “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. 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.” Life is going to have emotional and physical pain associated with it but this does not mean we are not blessed.  Some of life’s pain comes from consequences of our actions and some from actions of others.  Our bodies, this side of eternity, are not immortal.   However this does not mean we are not blessed.  Life this side of eternity is but a vapor – here for a brief time and then gone.  God has given us many great and precious promises to navigate this side of eternity with hope, love, joy, rest, comfort, power, strength, and courage.  These are blessings freely given from and through God’s steadfast love.  They are given to those who seek, listen, follow, honor, humbly serve, obey, trust, rely on, believe in and love Him.  These blessings are but a glimpse of what eternity will be like with Him.  Often we are miss guided by the thoughts and culture of our time.  Our expectations this side of eternity are not in line with God’s word.  Our thoughts and focus lose sight of eternity.  To often we listen to those who give God no thought and/or we listen to those who water down God’s word.  To often we spend no time in His word for the purpose of knowing and understanding Him so that we can humbly serve and honor Him.  To often we neglect the very thing that can add meaning and purpose to our lives.  How true scriptures states: “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.”  Turn to God, not for what you can get but rather for who He is.  Spend time in His word and seeking Him and how to honor Him this side of eternity.  

 

False Hopes

“Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

Psalms 30:6  As for me, I said in my prosperity, “I shall never be moved.”

Isaiah 56:12  “Come,” they say, “let me get wine; let us fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure.”

Daniel 4:30   and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”

Luke 12:19  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’

Proverbs 27:1  Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

Luke 21:34  “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.

James 4:13-16  Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—  yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”  As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Ecclesiastes 2:1  I said in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself.” But behold, this also was vanity.

What cares of this life blind us to our soul purpose of humbly serving, honoring and glorifying God?  What is in this life that compares to the promise of eternity in heaven?  What does a life look like that cares not for self but rather seeks to know, understand and serve God?  Our length of life is but a vapor when compared to eternity.  Yet we find ourselves consumed with satisfying ourselves with what this world has to offer.  Our minds lose sight of God so easily.  We allow our minds to dwell on things temporary and day after day focus on what pleases us.  We jump on a worldly cause and listen to others who speak with passion about it, never giving thought to or about God.  We would do well to first seek God and how to humbly serve Him.  We would do well to keep focus on Him.  We worry, we boast, we seek self pleasure, and we consume our lives with chasing after that which pulls us further and further away from God.  How long will God pursue us with grace and mercy before He says ENOUGH and  allows His wrath loose.

Why is this Happening?

“If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,”

Judges 6:7
Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? ’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”
So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord and called it, The Lord Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites

Job 36:10
He opens their ears to instruction
and commands that they return from iniquity.
If they listen and serve him,
they complete their days in prosperity,
and their years in pleasantness.
But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword
and die without knowledge

Can you relate to Gideon asking the question “Please, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? ’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.”  Imagine the thoughts Gideon had running through his mind on multiple times.  He has heard about all of the wonderful deeds of God to past generations and wonders why God has forsaken them?  We to hear about what God has done for others.  We as well know what He has done for personally for ourselves.  And we ask why has God forsaken us – Why am I not blessed – Why am I in this time of trial …… There are a host of questions we can ask but the most important question we should ask is: “God will you search my heart and see if there is anything offensive hindering serving you. Lead me in paths of righteousness and doing what brings you honor and glory to you alone?”  Asking the right question first opens our heart, mind and soul to hearing God speak purpose into our lives.