yield – Praying Pint

51.d. Wilderness – 15.j. “It is holy to the LORD.”

Deu 14:22  “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.

Deuteronomy 12:6    and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.

Deuteronomy 26:12-15    “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled,  then you shall say before the LORD your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them.

Leviticus 27:30-33  “Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.

The purpose of tithing; to build an honor and reverence for God. The paraphrase in the Living Bible puts it plainly: The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives. (Guzik)

The whole appointment evidently was against the covetousness, distrust, and selfishness of the human heart. It promoted friendliness, liberality, and cheerfulness, and raised a fund for the relief of the poor. They were taught that their worldly portion was most comfortably enjoyed, when shared with their brethren who were in want. If we thus serve God, and do good with what we have, it is promised that the Lord our God will bless us in all the works of our land. The blessing of God is all to our outward prosperity; and without that blessing, the work of our hands will bring nothing to pass. The blessing descends upon the working hand. Expect not that God should bless thee in thy idleness and love of ease. And it descends upon the giving hand. He who thus scatters, certainly increases; and to be free and generous in the support of religion, and any good work, is the surest and safest way of thriving. (Henry)

The sacrificial meals were to be held before the Lord, in the place where He caused His name to dwell (see at Deuteronomy 12:5), that Israel might learn to fear Jehovah its God always; not, however, as Schultz supposes, that by the confession of its dependence upon Him it might accustom itself more and more to the feeling of dependence. For the fear of the Lord is not merely a feeling of dependence upon Him, but also includes the notion of divine blessedness, which is the predominant idea here, as the sacrificial meals were to furnish the occasion and object of the rejoicing before the Lord. The true meaning therefore is, that Israel might rejoice with holy reverence in the fellowship of its God. (Keil)

Giving is important, tithing is commanded, and generosity is blessed. I must admit, at times, I am discouraged by all of the requests for money by mega church outreach radio ministries. They use worldly marketing ideas. They offer, “for free”, a book or booklet for a donation, they want you to join their purpose, they want to have your support. Don’t get me wrong, many of these ministries have outreaches that give food and shelter, protect the sanctity of life, and disaster relief. This is good. However, what would happen if people of the local church tithed and gave offerings to their local church and ministries for outreach. I would think there would be more local growth and outreach.

Some of the ministries ask support for the sermons and teaching that is broadcast on radio. I find few that preach the whole Word of God. They preach / teach in nice comfortable shallow concepts that make a person comfortable rather than convicted of sin. This is their approach; Are you hurting – God, Are you troubled – God, Are you having marital problems – God, Are you having financial problems – God, Are you needing a miracle – God, Are you having problems at work – God, … These are all about you and what you can get from God. Where is the Teaching / Preaching about sin? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that convicts a soul to repentance? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that dives into the holiness of God? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that rightly explains God’s wrath, anger, judgment……? Where is the Preaching / Teaching that declares Sin?

Far too many pastors / teachers preach about what you can comfortably “get” and speak in comforting words that neither convict or lead a person to evaluate themselves in light of the holiness of God past the Gospel of Jesus Christ and eternal life.

Far too many “Christians” are lukewarm and shallow because of this. Far too much of the world and its pleasures and what it deems important are finding ways into the church. Why??? Studying God’s Word is neglected. Why??? Far too many Christians go to church to listen to a sermon and there is no studying in their lives apart from this. Why??? Far too many Christians are confused about worldly events and cultural norms. Why??? Far too many Christians feel they are “being” Christ-like because they listen to Christian music channels all day. Why??? Why has the Christian life taken on a “look” that resembles exactly what the lost are doing???

Could it be that there is only focus on what you can get as blessings from God and never challenging the heart, mind, and soul to reflect on the holiness of God and the sinfulness of sin? When is the last time you were convicted by God’s Word and repented? When was the last time you actually studied God’s Word to learn how you might honor and glorify Jesus Christ?

If we are not studying and preachers and teachers are not proclaiming more than comfortable messages, how are we ever to grow in knowledge and understanding of sin and the holiness of God that leads us to repentance? How is the heart to be searched and the thoughts examined if God’s Word is not being used as the light into them?

The Christian life is not about checking the box to giving, attending church, listening to Christian music, etc… it is bout growing in the understanding and knowledge of God so that in every thought, word, and deed Jesus Christ is honored and glorified. Growing requires effort, steadfastness, commitment, faith, patience, determination, and purpose. There is no way to gain this understanding and knowledge through osmosis or neglect or complacency.

Paul said it like this; though you ought to be teachers by now, you are in need of being taught.

34.d. “Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!”

Matthew 18:8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.

Deuteronomy 13:6-8   “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known,  some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other,  you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him.

Ezekiel 18:31    Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die

Romans 13:12   The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9    in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

Revelation 20:15    And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8   But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

There are significant problems in taking these words as literal instruction instead of conveying an attitude. The problem is not only from the obvious physical harm that one might bring upon themselves, but more so in the problem that bodily mutilation does not go far enough in controlling sin. We need to be transformed from the inside out. Some people only keep from sin if it is easy or convenient to do it. Jesus warns us that we must be willing to sacrifice in fighting against sin, that nothing is worse than facing the wrath of a righteous God. It really is better to sacrifice in the battle against sin now than to face the punishment of eternity later. If I cut off my right hand, I can still sin with my left. If my left eye is gouged out, my right eye can still sin – and if all such members are gone, I can still sin in my heart and mind. God calls us to a far more radical transformation than any sort of bodily mutilation can address.

The meaning is, it is better to go to heaven without enjoying the things that caused us to sin than to enjoy them here and then be lost. The sense in all these instances is the same. Worldly attachments, friendships, and employments of any kind, that cannot be pursued without leading us into sin, be they ever so dear to us, must be abandoned, (Barnes)

It is more than implied in these scriptures that however strong the temptation(s), we are to abandon them with all urgency for everlasting eternal torment awaits those who do not. How many are lured away by a single look and allow thoughts of lust, hate, anger, or greed penetrate and reside in their hearts and minds, searing them, as it were, with a red-hot iron and forever leaving a scar on their soul, that, left unattended, will continue to fester and ooze more corrupt thoughts and actions into their life?

There is no honor or glory given to Jesus Christ when any temptation is allowed room in our hearts and minds.

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.

190. “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them”

2 Kings 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Leviticus 26:3-13 “If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Your threshing shall last to the time of the grape harvest, and the grape harvest shall last to the time for sowing. And you shall eat your bread to the full and dwell in your land securely. I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land. You shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall chase ten thousand, and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword. I will turn to you and make you fruitful and multiply you and will confirm my covenant with you. You shall eat old store long kept, and you shall clear out the old to make way for the new. I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves. And I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Jeremiah 17:20-27 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

Hezekiah reigned 25 years as King and did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He destroyed all of the idols and put God first. He brought the people back to God. He was a leader who led the people in worship of God by what he said and the actions he took against anything that was a substitute/replacement for God. He did what was right in the eyes of God by humbly serving, honoring, following, trusting, relying upon, and obeying God.

However, his son did not. He replaced everything that Hezekiah removed that was an abomination to God. He led the people for 55 years down paths away from God and to the place where it says they were “doing more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed” Can you imagine it? In one generation Hezekiah brought the people back to God and in one generation his son led them astray.

We can not assume the people too are not to blame as well. They willingly followed. “Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.” We need to be mindful of how we view things in and around us and have God’s word richly dwelling deep within our heart, mind, and soul so that we can discern what is right and acceptable according to it rather than what is acceptable to the world.

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.