Tag: Lord

Troubled

Psalm 3:1-5

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, “There is no salvation for him in God.”

But You, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill.

I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.”

In this text we read of a story of Absalom, David’s son who has rebelled against God and his own father to overthrow David on his throne in Jerusalem. Terrified as David was, David knew who to call in this troubled time. Even those of David’s closest friends would too forsake him and join the ranks of his son. Many thought that David was to far gone for God’s salvation but little do they know that the presence of trouble doesn’t prove the absence of God.

The presence of trouble doesn’t prove the absence of God.

God is the lifter of not only our heads but everything that involves life. He wants to lift our attitude, our hope, our hearts, our minds, our burdens, our feeble hands and most of all our burdens.

When you feel troubled, who do you call? Your spouse? Your pastor? Maybe a close friend? But remember who the lifter of our souls are and that is the Lord.

He is waiting for you, to call out to Him. He will always answer.

Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Through it All

2020. From here on we will think of 2020 as a bad dream, a nightmare, a year of setbacks and unforeseen challenges, but it’s not over yet. For me it was a year of issues one after the other, especially my health. Looking back I couldn’t imagine not having the Lord by my side. The hope I had, the joy I’ve had after a fearful night. Through it all it has strengthened me.

The Israelites was in a similar situation – setbacks. In exodus 13:17 we read that God could’ve led the Israelites a different route, an easier route. But He chose a route that had an obstacle that would be placed between their enemies and the Promised land. the Red Sea.

We can only imagine the fear and uncertainty they were facing at that moment. Their enemy, the Egyptians, were closing in on them from behind. The Red Sea, an immovable obstacle, was before them. They had no other options.

But God.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, He split the Red Sea. He decimated their enemy before their very eyes. And on the other side they rejoiced. Moses wrote a song of celebration and God gave strength to His people.

Do you believe God can part the Sea that’s in front of you? All He is wanting you to do is just stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Wait and see what He is going to do next. He will get you through it, He will see you through it and He will guide you through!

Who Will You Choose?

IN THIS CHAPTER, BEFORE JOSHUA’S PASSING, HE CALLS FOR ALL THE ELDERS, JUDGES, & LEADERS. HE BEGINS TO REMIND THEM OF THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. HE REMINDS THEM OF EGYPT,  PAST BATTLES THAT GOD GAVE THEM VICTORY OVER. THE MANNA THAT WAS GIVEN EVERYDAY IN THE WILDERNESS. 

14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” — Joshua 24:14-15

We have choices everyday. What to wear, what to eat that day. But everyday we make a conscience decision to choose Him in everything.

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

ii. Joshua could make this statement because he had lived a life that continuously chose to serve the LORD.

· Joshua chose to fight against the Amalekites – choosing when it might cost everything.

· Joshua chose to reject the golden calf – choosing when the flesh might be satisfied.

· Joshua chose to serve the Lord by serving Moses – choosing a humble place.

· Joshua chose to believe God’s promise about the Promised Land – choosing against the majority.

· Joshua chose to recognize the leadership of the Captain of the LORD’s army – choosing surrender to God.

· Joshua chose to take leadership of Israel and lead them into the land – choosing faith instead of unbelief.

iii. God gives us choice. God is a choosing God; we are made in His image. He wants us to also choose.

————————————————————————————————————–

So who will you choose?

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. — Matthew 6:24

Your Ways – His Ways

I’m 29; hard-headed and very impatient. I like doing things my way and expect it to happen when I want it to happen. This Isn’t how God works and how He does things. While being a Christian for 15 years I still struggle with that thought. He says in His word ” For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

In everything we do, we have to believe by faith. Faith is what activates the impossible, it is the delivery system of God. And without it, no man can please God.

Where are you at with your walk with Christ? Are you like me who is impatient and wants things done instantly? Your not alone. We must do 1 thing and it’s this. Put Him first in all things and trust Him with your life. Don’t waver according to popular opinion or what your eyes see, look into the realm of His spirit. How? By faith.

He is the way, trust in Him and He will show you the way!

cropped-cropped-g.jpg

What Faith is: A Response to Revelation

what faith is

Noah’s faith: Part 1 of 7

 The Lord was grieved with mankind. ” The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.”

The human race from the very beginning after the instance of what Adam and Eve had partaken of in the garden, sin entered the human race, non erasable, non removable, never to be the perfect example of what God had intended to be. This shows the catastrophic results of how sin effects God, that He would “blot out man whom I have created.”

“God’s sorrow at man, and the grief in His heart, are striking. This does not
mean that creation was out of control, nor does it mean that God hoped for
something better but was unable to achieve it. God knew all along that this was
how things would turn out, but our text tells us loud and clear that as God sees
His plan for the ages unfold, it affects Him. God is not unfeeling in the face
of human sin and rebellion.” – enduringwordmedia.com

_______________________________________________________________

“But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord”

“While God commanded all the earth to be cleansed of this pollution, He found one
man with whom to begin again: Noah, who found grace in
the eyes of the Lord.
Noah didn’t earn grace; he found it. No one earns grace, but we
can all find it.” – enduringwordmedia.com

Faith: A Response to Revelation

We know that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom.10:17), but there are few more striking examples of what that means than Noah, Out of the blue he was told about a cataclysmic flood and he believed God. He was informed that the end of all flesh was at hand, and he believed that, too. Told to build an ark the length of one and a half football fields and to fill it with animals because all the animals would be destroyed, he believed it! And when he was invited by the Lord to “Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation” (Gen 7:1) he took what must have been a very difficult step out of all that was a familiar and understandable into a situation which was incomprehensible except to the eye of faith.

def. Revelation – a surprising and previously unknown fact; the making known of a secret or the unknown.

God in all of His glorious wonder has the unknown that we look ahead in our lives and try to figure out already figured out, He has the blueprints, all we have to do is follow and obey what seems to be difficult tasks that He has set out before us, but His word will never return void neither will He leave you forsake you, He will surely see you through.

be ready stay

Act Justly. Love Mercy. Walk Humbly

act-justly

What are God’s 3 requirements for you?

ACT JUSTLY. LOVE MERCY. WALK HUMBLY.

Can it be this simple?

ACT JUSTLY.
(Your personal morality is drawn from God’s Word)

– Justly means the act of God declaring men free from guilt and acceptable to Him and counting them righteousness.

Let’s begin in Micah 6

1  “Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.”

3“O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.”

5 “O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD.”

6 “With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?

7  “Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

8  “He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:1-8 ESV)

God is reminding His people how blessed they are. After asking for the facts – why they were so constantly opposed to Him and His way of life, which was really to their best good, God gave His side of the story.

1. I brought you up out of Egypt.

2. I redeemed you from the house of slavery and hard bondage.

3. I sent Moses. Aaron, and Miriam before you to bring you into this wonderful land.

4. I protected you from the curses of Balaam and suffered him not to harm you.

5. I gave you a true revelation of Myself and My way of life. I made it clear that I do not require costly sacrifices to atone for my sin.

6. I did not require your firstborn for forgiveness of your sins, nor any fruit of your body for the sin of your soul.

7. I showed you the righteous principles of life what is good;  and all I require is for you to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before Me.

8. I revealed My laws and penalties so that you could know them and the One who has meted out punishment.

9. I cannot but demand just weights and measures, and hold every man accountable for his sins, punishing you with sickness, desolation, war, and calamity because of them.

10. You keep the statues of Omri and the works of Ahab, and walk in their wicked counsels instead of obeying Me and My laws.

We may think at times that we are giving up too much to live for Christ, really?

I am not going to list the pros and cons of living for Christ because there is no pros and cons to debate which life is better; the sinful life or the Godly life. We all know the punishment for sin is death, how can you debate over that? Not possible. While some people try to negotiate with God, why they want that sin in their life; is no excuse.

Those who are in Christ are justified by a righteous, holy God. We each are held accountable for our actions and deserve the outcome by what we have done.

LOVE MERCY.
(Show the same patience and forgiveness to the fools and sinners around you that God has shown to you.)

– Mercy, what better way of explaining mercy than someone who can forgive another by what act they had done.

As we read in Micah, God is having a controversy with Isreal. Micah in similar fashion to other prophets such as Hosea and Amos, proclaims a message of judgement to a people persistently pursuing evil.  He presents his three oracles, or cycles, of doom and hope as if he were in a courtroom.

Micha’s concern can be summarized in what God wants to see in His people: Justice and equity tempered with mercy and compassion as the result of a humble and obedient relationship with the Lord.

~ His kindness leads us to repentance.

WALK HUMBLY.
(Everything good in your life is God’s gift of love to you.)

It is a state of mind well pleasing to God; it preserves the soul in  tranquility and makes us patient under trials Biblically speaking, humility is  the opposite of pride.

A humbled life can lead to so many more opportunities in God than one can think. How can one learn without being humbled? How can one lean in the direction of God without being humble? And how can one have the right kind of relationship with God without being humble?

Being humble is key to breaking strongholds in your life as well. My years of preaching at an AA clinic; i would see this all the time, those who had pride and did not want to do anything with God, all they talked about was the rules. Their hearts would be hardened each time that they turned away the opportunity to be set free. Having this kind of attitude and pride is dangerous in a life of a Christian. We must be humble in all that we do.

6 Things God does not require in coming before Him and being accepted by Him.

1. Bowing self before Him.
2. Coming with burnt offering’s
3. Bringing thousand’s of animals to Him.
4. Offering Him 10,000 rivers of oil (v7)
5. Giving the firstborn for transgression.
6. Giving the fruit of the body for the sin of the soul.

3 Things God does require.

1. Every man to do justly.

2. To love mercy

3. To walk humble before Him

Does He ask too much from us? by living in Him, no. It’s the least we can do!

G