Tag: slowness

14.k. “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’’

John 1:6 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.

Malachi 3:1    “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

Acts 13:24    Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.

Matthew 11:10    This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

Acts 19:4    And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”

1 Timothy 2:4    who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9    The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

After Malachi, there was a famine. Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.  This famine lasted greater than 400 years and then there was John.  You have to know there were some Jewish people looking forward to this day.  They knew the scriptures that spoke of one coming to prepare the way.  They would be seeing every day as a new day closer to the coming of this messenger who was going to usher in the coming of the Lord.  And then all of a sudden there was John proclaiming repentance and the baptism of repentance. He was preparing the way for the new covenant, the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  He was not the light but was witness to the light.

When you give thought to this you start to lay the foundation of God’s Grace, Mercy, and Love in your heart. This foundation shows just how much God cares for every single person and how He not only sent a messenger to bear witness to the light but also to prepare the way for each of us to understand salvation and believe in Jesus Christ.  God’s plans and timing are perfect.  God’s plan was for a famine of hearing His Word, a messenger to prepare the way,  and to send His Son.  Whenever you might think God’s love is far off remember how He reached out to you and all of mankind through the messenger, John, and through the redeemer Jesus Christ.   

12.v. ” I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents”

Zephaniah 3:6  “I have destroyed nations; their strongholds are demolished. I have left their streets deserted, with no one passing through. Their cities are laid waste; they are deserted and empty. Of Jerusalem I thought, ‘Surely you will fear me and accept correction!’ Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed, nor all my punishments come upon her. But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did. Therefore wait for me,” declares the Lord, “for the day I will stand up to testify. I have decided to assemble the nations, to gather the kingdoms and to pour out my wrath on them— all my fierce anger. The whole world will be consumed by the fire of my jealous anger.

Isaiah 5:4     What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

Jeremiah 8:6    I have paid attention and listened, but they have not spoken rightly; no man relents of his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone turns to his own course,

Jeremiah 36:3    It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

Luke 19:42-44    saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.  For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

2 Peter 3:9    The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

God brought His justice to the nations around Judah, and it should have warned Judah what would happen if they rejected God. Instead of learning from the surrounding nations, they dedicated themselves to ungodliness all the more.  Being blind to things of God comes as a consequence of an intentional choice to neglect Him and His Word.  Hearts are somehow easily turned away from God.  Some blatantly, some casually, but they both defy and deny God.  One says surely there is no God and because of this I can do what I want without consequences.  The other says I am a good enough person and does not give any more thought to the consequences.  God shows His hand over nations, toppling them down and people are blind to the fact that it was at His hand they fell.  Rulers, Dictators, and Presidents have been removed from their lofty positions of wealth and power and yet people are still blind to the hand of God directing the course of nations and the paths of man.  When eyes are blinded to things of God, both the promises of blessings and judgments are lost from their vision.  When God is denied and defied eyes and ears are blind and deaf to Him, and yet there is still hope.  Perhaps their heart will soften and their eyes will open and their ears will hear of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  It happened for each of us who were once lost but now are found.  It is not as though we can claim any part of this as our effort other than to say somehow the Word of God pierced my heart and I fell on my knees and surrendered to Jesus Christ.  The scales were taken off the eyes to my heart and mind and I saw a glimpse of the Holiness of Jesus Christ and my sinfulness.  There was no personal effort in this as it was all of Jesus Christ and our believing, yielding, surrendering, repenting, turning away, and trusting.   Somehow there is given to man the free will choice to choose to surrender/yield to God or to defy and deny Him and His grace, mercy, and love.  We get to intentionally choose whom we serve, honor, glorify, follow, obey, and trust.  Sad to say but millions upon millions choose to serve self, honor self, glorify self, obey self, and trust in self.  This is an intentional choice.  Every single moment of every day we are given this choice to make – honor Jesus Christ or self,  glorify Jesus Christ or self, follow Jesus Christ or self, obey Jesus Christ or self, trust Jesus Christ or self, or rely on Jesus Christ or self.  We do well to ask God to show us each day to whom we have surrendered our lives, actions, and thoughts to, Jesus Christ or themself.