Posted on by GWTU

Emmanuel: God With Us

As we enter a New Year, may God’s character, displayed through Jesus, (Emmanuel), be our focus. Psalm 145 helps us to accomplish this. Psalm 145 tells us that:

The LORD IS…
vs. 1KING
vs. 2PRAISEWORTHY
vs. 3GREAT
PRAISEWORTHY
vs. 4MIGHTY
vs. 5GLORIOUS
SPLENDID
MAJESTIC
WONDERFUL
vs. 6AWESOME
GREAT
vs. 7GOOD
RIGHTEOUS
vs. 8GRACIOUS
COMPASSIONATE
SLOW TO ANGER
MERCIFUL
vs. 9GOOD
MERCIFUL
vs. 10PRAISEWORTHY
vs. 11GLORIOUS KING
POWERFUL
vs. 12MIGHTY
GLORIOUS MAJESTIC KING
vs. 13ETERNAL KING
THE LORD….
vs. 14UPHOLDS
RAISES UP
vs. 15GIVES
vs. 16SATISFIES
THE LORD IS…
vs. 17RIGHTEOUS
GRACIOUS
vs. 18NEAR
THE LORD…
vs. 19FULFILLS
HEARS
SAVES
vs. 20is JUST:
PRESERVES all who love Him.
DESTROYS all the wicked.
“…Andvs. 21all flesh shall bless His holy name
Forever and ever.”
may this be our meditation and Praise.
Blessed and Peace-filled New year to you!
Posted on by GWTU

Is This Where We Are?

Wisdom shouts in the street,

She lifts her voice in the square;
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
At the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings;
“How long, O naïve ones, will you love simplicity?
And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing,
And fools hate knowledge?”
Proverbs 1:20-22 (NASB)

Will We Listen?

“Turn to my reproof,
Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.”
Proverbs 1:23 (NASB)

Or… Endure the Consequences

“Because I called, and you refused;
I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention;
And you neglected all my counsel,
And did not want my reproof;
…
“I will even laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your dread comes,
When your dread comes like a storm,
And your calamity comes on like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come on you.
…
“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me,
Because they hated knowledge,
And did not choose the fear of the LORD.
…
“They would not accept my counsel,
They spurned all my reproof.
So They shall eat of the fruit of their own way,
and be satiated with their own devices.”
Proverbs 1:24-31 (NASB)

…Of Waywardness and Complacency

“For the waywardness of the naïve shall kill them,
And the complacency of fools shall destroy them.”
Proverbs 1:32 (NASB)
 

Or… Experience Safety and Security

“But he who listens to me shall live securely,
And shall be at ease from the dread of evil.”
Proverbs 1:33 (NASB)

Will we listen?

“….IF MY PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES,
AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE, AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS,
THEN I WILL HEAR FROM Heaven, AND WILL FORGIVE Their SIN AND
HEAL THEIR LAND.”
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NJKV)
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And then, there was Moloch…

In my last post, I shared my perspective on three significant current events that seem to be repeating Biblical history.
A fourth, that is in the forefront of today’s news, so resembles the pagan god, Molech, (referred to in Leviticus 18:21 & 20:21; 1 Kings 11:7; 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 32:35; and Acts 7:43, to name a few), that it, too, deserves attention all its own. The deliberate taking of innocent lives, sadly, is not new.

SweetPublishing:FreeBibleimages.org.-02-RehoboamJeroboam.(Moloch)Several years ago, I shared my thoughts regarding the implications of abortion.  They go something like this:

Those affected by abortion include

  • The aborted child.
  • The hurting mother.
  • The often forgotten father.
  • Many un-informed grandparents.
  • The siblings, left without more siblings.
  • Un-informed aunts and uncles.
  • The friends, left without classmates, schoolmates, and new friends.
  • The future spouses, who find themselves alone.
  • Society as a whole, which is founded upon all of the above.

At that time, those troubling thoughts were of great concern. However, today, some five-plus years later, they take on an entirely new meaning, one which grieves further the hearts of most of us. For as in the days of Moloch, we have and are repeating activities that grieve the very heart of our Loving God and Heavenly Father. In the process, we destroy innocent and vulnerable lives, (if that is not more than enough), and, also, ourselves. “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a.

Lest we forget that we “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”, Romans 3:23, let us look at the latter part of Romans 6:23 above, “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

It’s time that we recognize that we need Him and need to ask His forgiveness. We are in need of a Savior, God’s Son, Jesus Christ, Who, while saving us from our sins, saves us from ourselves.

Dear merciful Lord, that is our prayer.

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The Great Flood; the Tower of Babel; Abraham’s Appeal for Sodom…. What do they have in common?

Years ago, I recall being incredibly impressed and moved when I learned that after thousands of years, the land of Israel became home, once again, to the Jewish people who had been dispersed throughout the world for centuries.  What spoke to me then even more deeply, was that not only was I living after this return to Israel, but also, that this return is a major fulfillment of Bible prophecy….part of significant prophecy set to precede the Lord’s return. (Ezekiel 39:27-29; Amos 9:13-15; Jeremiah 31.10; Ezekiel 37: 21; Matthew 24:32-34, to name a few).  Do we fit into the interpretation of “this generation” in Matt. 24:34?

Subsequently, I’ve become more and more attentive to happenings in our world, and have taken note of some of the phenomenal events occurring in our day.  Here are a few in random order:

  • Take for example, the Internet: the World Wide Web.  One of my first impressions of this game changing resource was its similarity to the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) – an attempt at a “one world language”…which is how I perceive the Internet today. (Fortunately, this tool can and is being used in God-glorifying ways.)

    FreeBibleimages.org.-04-TowerBabel

  • Also, as in the days of Noah (Genesis 6-9) we witness, today, first hand, the constant downgrading of man’s aspirations and behavior. The end of that story tells us what happened then.

    FreeBibleimages.org.-13-NoahArk

  • And more recently, the lifestyle of man in Sodom and Gomorrah recorded in Genesis 18-19, (about which heavy-hearted Abraham pleaded with God), has now been sanctioned by the leaders of the free world. See this Biblical story’s outcome (Genesis 19).

    FreeBibleimages.org.-17-Abraham-Strangers

The point that stands out to me is that the time span between each of these Bible stories was many years before the next.  And each of the events in the stories was harshly judged by God.  The astonishing part, to me, is that today all three of the events are being repeated simultaneously!  That gets my attention!

Our God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). If He judged mankind then in Biblical days, can we not only expect that He will do the same again?  If that be true, then what do we do?

The wisest response is to make sure we are right with God, which is simple to do, if you haven’t done so already:

  • Simply talk to God and admit that you have sinned, and ask Him to forgive you for your sins. (Roman 3:23).  He is willing to forgive our sins.

  • Ask Jesus to come into your heart, believing that He died for you. (John 3:16-17).  God proved His love when He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to die on the cross for the sins of each and every one of us, thus taking on the penalty that was due us.

  • Ask Jesus to be the Lord of your new life, (2 Corinthians 5:17), and to fill you with the Holy Spirit to help you live a life that honors Him. In doing so, you will find the life that God designed and planned for you.

As you begin your new life with Jesus, read about Him in the Bible.  A good place to start is in the book of John.  Also, seek out a church that believes the Bible is God’s Word, and join them in worshipping Him.