Tag: Strength

103. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near”

1 Samuel 14:6   Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.” And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”

Zephaniah 2:3    Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.

Psalms 105:4     Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!

  Isaiah 55:6-7     “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Amos 5:4-6     For thus says the LORD to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;

Jeremiah 29:12-13    Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.  You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Hosea 10:12     Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

Going through life with nods toward living each day fully for Jesus Christ is not the same as seeking His presence and continue living with a desire to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey with all your heart, mind, and soul.  The battle within us to serve self-following after what the world offers or to serve Jesus Christ nothing new.  Serving self places Jesus 2nd and us first.  Where does self fit into to “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you”.  We seem to want “all these things” that the world has to offer more than the joy, peace, rest, power, might, hope, love found in seeking first the kingdom of God.

Be intentional in your commitment to serving Jesus.  Be committed to seeking and desiring Him more than things of this world.  Place Him first in your heart, mind, and soul.  Keep His word in your life each day with a desire to feed on it.  Drink in knowledge and understanding with the purpose of living in a manner worthy of Jesus Christ sacrifice.  Breath in the breath of the Holy Spirit into your mind and produce fruit that honors Jesus.  Nothing honors the sacrifice of Jesus more than a heart, mind, and soul that every moment of every day is thankful, repentant, humble, serving, following, and seeking to obey the word of God and quiet whispers of the Holy Spirit.

98. Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Deuteronomy 8:5  Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you. So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land,

Deuteronomy 8:17  Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish. Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Psalms 127:1-2   Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Psalms 33:16-18    The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.  The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.  Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,

Proverbs 21:30-31    No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

1 Corinthians 3:7     So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

1 Chronicles 28:20    Then David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the LORD God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD is finished.

1 Corinthians 3:9-15    For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.  According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.  For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.  Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—  each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.  If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

It is by God’s very hand that we live.  It is by His very blessings we have life.  In Him, we are made whole.  Apart from Him, we are chasing wind of every desire that is influenced upon our heart and mind.  If we don’t find hope, peace, and refuge in Him our daily foundation is built on something that will not stand.  In fact, it will fail us time and time again.  Finances, employment, and relationships, outside of God’s leading and provision are worthless, though they seem satisfying.

If our view of this world and what it has to offer comes from the world our heart and mind will be darkened and our ears will become deaf to His calling and our eyes will be blind to His leading.  If all we have to hope is what we can glean from this world we will go through life with a sad existence.  His word is the breath of life, water for our soul, food for our mind, and in His word we find purpose and meaning for today, tomorrow, and eternity.

Do you want satisfaction for your heart, mind, and soul?  Do you want to have meaning and purpose every day?  Do you want to honor and glorify Jesus Christ for His sacrifice on the cross?  Do you want to live in forgiveness or needing to be forgiven?

All of these questions can be answered faithfully in a life that is intentional in humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, worshipping, following, and obeying what is revealed in and through His word.  There is no better time to be intentional to stay in His seeking and desiring to be led by God.

84. We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself

Judges 2:22   When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”

But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”

So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace.

Genesis 22:14    So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”

Deuteronomy 32:36     For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone and there is none remaining, bond or free.

Exodus 17:15    And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The LORD Is My Banner,

Jeremiah 23:6     In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

John 1:14    And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Psalms 22:4-5     In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them.  To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

2 Corinthians 1:8-10    For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.  He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

I am not sure who wrote this but there is truth in it; “God, in the greatest difficulties, when all human assistance is vain, will make a suitable provision for the deliverance of those who trust in Him.” 

Many times we need to be at the end of ourselves before we turn it over to Jesus – before we fully trust in His sovereign power and control.  I wonder if we are just wired to go in our own strength fighting the burden and clawing trying to get over the hurdle until we realize it is futile and not within our strength, power, or wisdom to succeed.  We try and try and try but until we get to the place (sooner is better) where we place it in the hands of Jesus with full reliance and trust in Him will we see a peaceful end to it. 

Recognize early, what burden it is that you are fighting in and on your own power and turn it over to Jesus.    Learn to wait on the Lord and in all things honor and glorify Him.

72. I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you

Joshua 8:1   And the Lord said to Joshua, “Do not fear and do not be dismayed. Take all the fighting men with you, and arise, go up to Ai. See, I have given into your hand the king of Ai, and his people, his city, and his land.

Deuteronomy 1:21    See, the LORD your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not fear or be dismayed.’

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Isaiah 43:2     When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

Deuteronomy 7:18    you shall not be afraid of them but you shall remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt,

Matthew 8:26    And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.

Deuteronomy 31:8    It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Isaiah 12:2    “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

When we are not going through a trial or crisis of some sort it is easy to say “we will not fear,” “God is my strength,” “He is my stronghold,’ “I will not be afraid,” “He is with me.”  However it is when trials or troubles come our way that doubts, worries, anxiousness, fear, hopelessness, confusion,….. all or in part erode way our resolve to trust and rely in Jesus Christ. Faith seems to need trials and troubles in our life to be able to grow and become a strong foundation for service to God.  It is when we face these trials and troubles that we can work through all of those human thoughts of being able to handle this on our own, or in our own power and strength and come to realize that only when we, by faith/reliance/trust, place it in the hands of Jesus Christ does the burden and fear of what lies ahead goes away.  We realize and come to understand the verse “come unto me all who are heavy with burdens and I will give you rest”.

Know that being afraid and with fear of what lies ahead is a human response relying on human strength, wisdom, power, and understanding.  Likewise know that having peace that passes all understanding comes from a human choice to lay all of our cares, worries, and fears at the feet of Jesus – Faith-Trust-Reliance in Him who is able to do more than we ask and much more than we can imagine.

55. I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

Deuteronomy 28:15   “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out.

“The Lord will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me. The Lord will make the pestilence stick to you until he has consumed you off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. The Lord will strike you with wasting disease and with fever, inflammation and fiery heat, and with drought and with blight and with mildew. They shall pursue you until you perish. And the heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth under you shall be iron. The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.

Leviticus 26:14-46     “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments,  if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant,  then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.  I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you.  And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins,  and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze.  And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.  “Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins.

Lamentations 2:17     The LORD has done what he purposed; he has carried out his word, which he commanded long ago; he has thrown down without pity

Daniel 9:11-13    All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.  He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.

Malachi 2:2   If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

Romans 2:8-9     but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.  There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil,

I wonder if we take these curses as something that will happen to really wicked people and does not apply to those who are for the most part “Good”.  We tend to put people (others) into one box and we place ourselves in another.  Their box is the box of God’s wrath and anger and our box is the box of God’s mercy and grace.  My sin is under a blanket of love and theirs is under a thunderstorm of curses.

Complacency and neglect of God’s word lead to drifting away from Him, becoming lukewarm to Him, unable to know what is right and pure, blind to the ways of righteousness, deaf to God’s leading, and allows the way of the world to become a driving influence into your thoughts and actions.  The problem is you don’t even see it happening.  Like a frog in a pot that is slowing being heated up, it is boiled alive because it was unaware.

I think the worst place for a “believer” to be is in a place of neglect and complacency.  Busyness and cares of this life slowly carry them away from walking with God, listening to God, honoring God.  It is truly sad to see God’s word being taken for granted and not needed but for special troubling times.

God’s word says “Depart from Me for I never knew you” and “So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

There is no time like today to commit to being in His word and humbly serving, honoring, loving, following, and obeying God.  God’s word is life, hope, purpose, bread to the soul, water to the thirsty, music to the heart, air to the drowning, and understanding and knowledge to the soul.

42. Artificial Christianity

Deuteronomy 6:4   “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

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. You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

Deuteronomy 11:13   “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

Mark 12:30    And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Tozer said; “Artificial Christianity is a deeply human and spiritual loss to the heart and soul.”  It is a disease of the heart and soul that is satisfying a false belief that they are secure in this artificial state.  This artificiality actually becomes a means to feel good about self and gives no thought to the fact their heart and soul is far from God.

There is no urgency in the gospel, no urgency for the lost, no urgency of sin, no urgency of honoring, serving, following, and obeying God.  The artificialness of their life blinds them but not to the lost.  The lost see no difference in these pretenders and their artificial life.  Neglect and complacency are the norms for these artificial lives.

If there is no visible difference in the life of a Christian how are they to be a reflecting light of the gospel of Jesus Christ?  I heard a radio preacher say; “ too often Jesus is proclaimed as the Gospel of saving you from your problems.  This is a lie.  Jesus came to seek and save the lost.  Jesus came to save us from our Sin.  He dies on the cross to take our sin upon Himself and redeem those who would believe in His sacrifice for their sin.  Trusting Him for salvation is the means and message of the Gospel.

Artificial and worldly messages proclaiming Jesus came to save us from our problems is not proclaiming the gospel that leads to repentance, forgiveness, and eternal life.

God said to serve, honor, follow and obey with all our heart, mind, and soul.  This will only happen when we see our eternal state in light of our sin and sinful nature and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Do not be an artificial believer.  Run to Him and repent for not giving any thought to sin and His sacrifice.  Run to Him as one who is on the cliff of hell with no hope of escape but for the love, He demonstrated on the Cross.  Oh, that our heart, mind, and soul would grasp the love and sacrifice given for our sin and sinfulness.  Nowhere in the bible does it say If we confess our problems He is faithful and just to take away our problem.  No, it says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness..”

GOD, the Lord, is my strength

Exodus 15:2  The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him,

Psalms 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalms 27:1   The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Habakkuk 3:17-19     Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,  yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.  GOD, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places

Psalms 59:17     O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Jeremiah 31:33   I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Jeremiah 32:38    And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

We never have to go a problem or trial on our own.  God is there always.  Nothing can happen to us that God is not present, aware, or in control of.  “I take refuge” – when trials come,  “My strong hold” – when life situations are hard.  “My deliverer” – when I am overwhelmed. “My Rock” – when bad things are all around.  “My salvation” – when sin knocks at my heart.  “My Fortress” – when my earthly strength is gone.  “My strength” – when I feel weak. “My shield” – when being attacked with Satan’s lies.

We all face trails and uncertainty in our lives.  They come on us with and without warning.  It would be nice to have advanced notice but that is never going to happen.  However, we have God, we are His children, we are His people, and He has given us precious promises for us to have hope and trust in.

In hope and trust we find joy and peace.  When our heart, soul, and mind seek and desire God, trials that come our way can be faced with rejoicing and praising God.

Being truly thankful to God for whatever comes our way is something that must be cultivated in both peaceful times and hard times.  If we are not seeking and desiring God in peaceful times, it will be very difficult to cultivate rejoicing in hard times.  Commit to having Him present in and throughout all aspects of your day.  Seek to hear Him speak to your heart and mind.  Learn to see His hand at work in everyday life.  Keep your ears and eyes open for His leading.

In quietness and in trust shall be your strength

Exodus 14:14   The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.  ”The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.

Isaiah 30:15    For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”

Deuteronomy 20:4    for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

Joshua 23:10    One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.

2 Chronicles 20:17    You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the LORD will be with you.”

“In quietness and in trust shall be your strength”.  How many times are we  not quiet?  How many times do we try to do it in our own strength?  Far to many I fear.  We say God is my rock and my shield, but could it be that we say things that are not faithed out in our lives?   There is nothing like a Red Sea before us and a killing army pressing in on behind us to push the faith button.  Why does it take such drastic measures to move us into complete trust in God?  Why does it have to come down to the impossible, no way out type of a situation, before we acknowledge His awesome and mighty power over the situation?

Could it be we are not that close to God in our everyday lives?  Oh, we may spend time reading a devotional, but did anything come of it that day?  Were we looking and expecting anything new to be revealed to us?  Was there a change in the way we acted throughout the day? Do you ever seem to have a hard time fitting God into your day?

Just think how much time you could spend with God if you conscious and intentional wanted/desired to be taught, held, protected, led, fed, strengthened, encouraged, forgiven, and loved by God – all the time.   Everything you experienced throughout the day would have the light and shadow of God over it. 

What if we consciously and intentionally chose to humbly serve, honor, glorify, worship, follow and obey God all throughout the day.  Every action would then have purpose beyond self or just being a task.  

Having God present all the time takes a heart and mind consciously and intentionally wanting/desiring to see His hand at work, to hear His whispers of leading, teaching, guiding, encouraging, strengthening, testing, empowering, throughout the day….. it is a change of heart, mind and soul to intentionally and purposely wanting God present in every moment and aspect of our day.  

Choose this day to begin being purposefully, consciously and intentionally wanting God with you, to teach you, lead you, encourage you, help you, love you, forgive you, and strengthen you.  You will continually grow in awareness of His presence, able to see His hand at work,  able to hear His whispers of guidance and you will continually grow in humbly serving, honoring, glorifying, worshiping, praising, following and obeying Him.

2. The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people

Genesis 41:29  There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt,  but after them there will arise seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt.

1 Samuel 5:6    The hand of the LORD was heavy against the people of Ashdod, and he terrified and afflicted them with tumors, both Ashdod and its territory.

Isaiah 24:20    The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it,

Exodus 9:3   behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks.

Psalms 32:4    For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

Acts 13:11    And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.

Isaiah 5:7-30     For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry!  Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, and you are made to dwell alone in the midst of the land.  The LORD of hosts has sworn in my hearing: “Surely many houses shall be desolate, large and beautiful houses, without inhabitant.  For ten acres of vineyard shall yield but one bath, and a homer of seed shall yield but an ephah.”  Woe to those who rise early in the morning, that they may run after strong drink, who tarry late into the evening as wine inflames them!  They have lyre and harp, tambourine and flute and wine at their feasts, but they do not regard the deeds of the LORD, or see the work of his hands.  Therefore my people go into exile for lack of knowledge; their honored men go hungry, and their multitude is parched with thirst.  Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite and opened its mouth beyond measure, and the nobility of Jerusalem and her multitude will go down, her revelers and he who exults in her.  Man is humbled, and each one is brought low, and the eyes of the haughty are brought low.  But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.  Then shall the lambs graze as in their pasture, and nomads shall eat among the ruins of the rich.  Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, who draw sin as with cart ropes,  who say: “Let him be quick, let him speed his work that we may see it; let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw near, and let it come, that we may know it!”  Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight!  Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine, and valiant men in mixing strong drink,  who acquit the guilty for a bribe, and deprive the innocent of his right!  Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.  Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people, and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them, and the mountains quaked; and their corpses were as refuse in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger has not turned away, and his hand is stretched out still.  He will raise a signal for nations far away, and whistle for them from the ends of the earth; and behold, quickly, speedily they come!  None is weary, none stumbles, none slumbers or sleeps, not a waistband is loose, not a sandal strap broken;  their arrows are sharp, all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs seem like flint, and their wheels like the whirlwind.  Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.  They will growl over it on that day, like the growling of the sea. And if one looks to the land, behold, darkness and distress; and the light is darkened by its clouds.

Is their a living God, sovereign over all, who judges mankind and at times places His mighty hand heavily upon them?  Is there a living God that sees all thoughts and intents and actions of mankind?  Is there a living God that warns man?  Yes there is and it is not good to turn deaf ear to His warnings.  We easily claim His blessings and promises but rarely think of His warnings and discipline.  His warnings are out of love to keep us from doing harm to our soul and that which does not honor and glorify Him.  Pride, lust, greed and placing something other than God first in our life are all warned against.  When warnings are not taken to heart, or the heart and ears are hardened to not hear His warnings, and repentance and returning to Him is desired, the hand of God will be upon us.

This side of eternity it is a good thing to have the hand of God upon us and lovingly trying to turn us away from our wrong paths in life.  It is a very sad and dreadful day when we pass from this life into eternity without taking heed to His warnings.

Tomorrow I will start to post excerpts from a sermon Johnathan Edwards gave  July 8, 1741; “In the hands of an angry God”