June 1, 2013 "But God..."

Read Jonah 1 – 2 “But God, You’ll Save Them!” Jonah 1:1-3 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD. WHAT do you think? Isn’t it folly to “flee from the LORD”? How could anyone think that is possible, especially a prophet. Jonah has been around. He prophesied God would restore Israel’s boundaries, and it happened. Jonah has seen the LORD work. Yet, he runs away. As odd as it seems, that is exactly why he is running from God’s assignment. He knows full well that God is merciful and offers forgiveness when people repent and turn to the LORD. Jonah hates Ninevah, a city that has done great harm to Israel. He wants no part of “saving” Ninevah. So he goes the opposite way—literally. Tarshish is in modern day Spain. He wants to really get away! That’s often what we do when God says, “Come here.” We go “there” instead, don’t we? We prefer our own ways to listening to God’s ways. We pray for answers, but we don’t like it when God says, “Wait.” or “No.” or “You need to change, too.” Jonah wanted his own answers, his own way at his own time. But God would show Jonah how much he loved him, and even how much he loved Israel’s enemies. God is always about showing his love to you. Receive it and be glad. It’s True! God may be showing you to save someone you don’t like.    

May 31, 2013 Praying Praise

Read Habakkuk 3 Praying Praise Habakkuk 3:2-5 &19 Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. 3 God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. 4 His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. 5 Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps…19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights. WHAT causes you to pray? Stop for a minute and consider your answer. What came to mind? I believe that many of us are “trained” to answer that question with things that we or loved ones need. “I pray for a good day. I pray for my wife’s health. I pray for a job.” Certainly it is appropriate to pray these types of petitions, asking God to care for and restore certain areas of your life. But do you ever answer your reason for prayer with this: “I want to praise God and celebrate His majesty, to rejoice in His promise of salvation.” That is Habakkuk’s prayer. He is distressed over the sins of God’s people, and now he prays for these reasons: 1. He understands God’s sovereign power. 2. He loves God’s people. 3. He loves those who sin. 4. His hatred of sin. 5. His desire God will remove sin from the world. 6. His faith in God’s promises. Praising God, petitioning God for protection from evil and deliverance from sin are powerful prayer purposes. Jesus did that. Check out Matthew 6:9-13. It’s True! Prayer is for praise and petitions.

May 29, 2013 A Plea and a Promise

Read Habakkuk 1-2 A Plea and a Promise Hab 1:2-6 How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, “Violence!” but you do not save? 3 Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. 4 Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted. 5 “Look at the nations and watch — and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwelling places not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.” & 2:20 “But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.” DO YOU sometimes wonder in the course of your daily life, “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help?” It’s easy to ask, isn’t it, as you watch the world decay in sin? Verses 5-7 are just the beginning of God’s response to Habakkuk’s question, “How long, O Lord, must I cry for help?” God gives his prophet a litany of judgment and destruction that he, the Lord, will send upon his people who violently oppose God’s laws and truths. What must be the world’s response to God and his impending judgment? It is silence. As a disobedient child realizes his sin and is quiet, the world will become silent before God to acknowledge God’s power to rule. The world will become silent, prepared to pray to be saved from God’s wrath as you will see in chapter 3. It’s True! God’s coming in judgment again. Be silent and listen to His Word.

May 19, 2013 God the Lion

Read Hosea 13-14 God the Lion Hosea 13:4-9 “But I am the Lord your God, who brought you] out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. 5 I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. 6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. 7 So I will come upon them like a lion, like a leopard I will lurk by the path. 8 Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open. Like a lion I will devour them; a wild animal will tear them apart. 9 “You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against me, against your helper.” GOD tells his people he will act as a lion, leopard and bear to rip them open. Wow. The images of God as ferocious wild beasts that devour the flock echoes the covenant curses for disobedience found in such scripture as Leviticus 26:21-22 “If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. 22 I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.” Divine judgment is more than severe. It is horrible. It tears you apart from God. it leaves nothing behind. Judgment is final. What do you do? You must be passionate to tell your family, friends and others the way to salvation. Let them know of the way to life. Pray for them. Call on the name of the Loved that they might be saved. It’s worth every ounce of energy you have. It’s True! Sin is an awful thing, isn’t it? Salvation is an amazing grace, isn’t it?

May 28, 2013 Let God Judge

Read Obadiah Let God Judge Obadiah 1:10-12, 14-17 Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever. 11 On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them…14 You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble. 15 “The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done, it will be done to you; your deeds will return upon your own head. 16 Just as you drank on my holy hill, so all the nations will drink continually; they will drink and drink and be as if they had never been. 17 But on Mount Zion will be deliverance; it will be holy, and the house of Jacob will possess its inheritance. EDOM is a nation that comes from Esau. Esau was Jacob’s brother. They were sons of Isaac. Jacob stole Esau’s birthright and blessing from Esau. Except for a brief respite (see Gen 33), Esau and Jacob, and then their descendants the Hebrews and the Edomites were often at war. When Babylon and Assyria conquered Israel and Judah, Edom joined with the conquering nations to enslave and kill their “brothers”. But God uses Obadiah to pronounce judgment against Edom. It is a judgment that will annihilate them. Don’t mess with God’s chosen people. Are people persecuting you because you are a Christian? Do not judge them or revolt. Let God judge them in his time. You are to forgive and pray for your enemies. God will protect you and silence your enemies. That’s his authority and power. Let him do it. It’s True! Judgment is in God’s hands.

May 26, 2013 Stunning Silence

Read Amos 8 Stunning Silence Amos 8:1-3 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see, Amos?” he asked. “A basket of ripe fruit,” I answered. Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. 3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing. Many, many bodies — flung everywhere! Silence!” HAVE you ever disciplined a child? Likely you have in some context as a teacher, leader, parent or coach. What often happens? They speak back to you, don’t they? Or they say they’ll listen to you but then act as if the conversation never occurred. If you persist in the discipline, you might come to the point where you forcefully say, “Quiet!” You are done waiting for them to choose to obey. Now you are giving them no choice. They must obey or be punished. It’s judgment time. That is the context of this scripture. Amos tells the people there is a time when God will stop talking to them and start administering his righteous judgment on them. Silence comes as the time for talking is done and the time for action has come. This day did come for Israel. This day will come for the entire world. Revelation 8:1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. In the days of final judgment there will be silence in Heaven as all of God’s creation awaits his next move. Before he unleashes the 7 angels with their 7 trumpets of judgment, silence will come. And every living creature will breathlessly, fearfully await God’s great judgment on the world. The time of listening to God is now. Listen while he’s still talking to you. It’s True! Judgment’s silence is a fearful thing. Be prepared.

May 25, 2013 Complacency Kills

Read Amos 6-7 Complacency Kills Amos 6:1 Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!...3 You put off the evil day and bring near a reign of terror. 4 You lie on beds inlaid with ivory and lounge on your couches. You dine on choice lambs and fattened calves. 5 You strum away on your harps like David and improvise on musical instruments. 6 You drink wine by the bowlful and use the finest lotions, but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph. 7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile; your feasting and lounging will end. COMPLACENCY is an attribute of destruction. If you are complacent, you are feeling self-satisfied and content when you should be anything but satisfied and content. God uses Amos to decry Israel’s complacency. They have become rich by God’s hand; yet, they reject God. The wealthy subject the poor. They believe they are able to prosper without God. One day, though, he will exile them from his presence. Complacency is a huge threat to our nation, our family and our church. Our nation has been strong, but we feel we can ignore warning signs of economic destruction and moral decay. Complacency runs amok in our families. Children rule the households. Parents have little moral standing and no courage to be parents. Complacency wreaks havoc in our churches, too. God’s Word is received with no conviction and desire to trust His power to transform and lead our lives. We must awaken socially and spiritually to welcome God into our nation, into our church and into our families. We must transform complacency to conviction. If we do not, we, too, will become exiles, wondering, “What happened?” It’s True! Complacency kills, Christ reveals.