Posts filed under ‘israel’
Job’s Enlightenment
When we suffer because of our relationship with Christ, we are to consider ourselves blessed. This is extremely difficult for most of us because we continue to harbor the erroneous idea that if God is for us, then He will bless us and that is often seen in material blessings. The upshot of Job is that our blessings that count the most are the ones procured in the spiritual realm. These are the ones that moth, rust, or thief cannot take away. Satan is often allowed by God to “sift” us but only for God’s purposes.
Job’s Problems
Once again, God gives Satan permission to actually harm Job in his person. This points one more time to God’s absolute sovereignty over all Creation. Satan can do nothing to you or me unless God allows it. This is such an important point that we actually need to spend time contemplating its ramifications. There is another point that you are possibly thinking about as well and we will do our best to answer it. The question, “Why does God allow this type of evil to come to a person in the first place, especially when that person is apparently completely dedicated to God?” That question has an answer and it is brought out in the book of Job. It does not come right to the point though, but stretches out over the course of the 42 chapters contained within it.
It’s Really About Obedience, Pt 2
King Asa took what the prophet told him and became even more encouraged to do the right thing as far as God was concerned! He went even further and gained strength from Azariah’s words so that he had the courage to rid the land of idols. Then the next few verses tell us that Asa offered many offerings to the Lord. Because of this, all of Judah rejoiced and gained new strength to renew their covenant with the Lord.
It’s Really About Obedience, Pt 1
I’m inclined to think that this happened to Rehoboam during his third year of ruling. He began possibly to pat himself on the back. Things were going very well. He was using wisdom to make good decisions. His sons were helping him rule throughout Judah. Look at all the blessings coming into Judah as well! So maybe Rehoboam began to relax his standards where God was concerned. All of a sudden, he’s simply doing his own thing and ignoring God’s rule. The people of Judah saw that it was no longer important to their king, so they adopted the same attitude. This is a lesson for us Christians as well. People “read” our lives and they wind up making judgments about God based on what they see in us.
Should Christians Fear God?
Christians who do not have a very healthy, reverential fear of God do not understand who God is and the power that He wields. He brought this world into Creation out of nothing (ex nihilo). Everything that we see, we enjoy, we benefit from, God made. He did so for His own glory, not ours.
We must put ourselves in our proper place and understand things from God’s perspective. He made us for Himself. God has every right to expect people – especially Christians – to live for Him, to bring glory to Him. Think of how many people go through this life never recognizing God and their actual purpose for being here? It’s scary to consider. How often are we Christians guilty of adopting a laissez-faire attitude where God is concerned? Paul would warn us that this ought not to be.
Nathan Was Wrong, Then He Was Right
Nathan did not deliberately lie to David about building God’s house. He honestly thought that it was a great idea and said so. It was along the lines of someone encouraging someone else to do something that sounded like a great idea at the time. Should Nathan have known better? Yes, but if we read the text carefully, he was simply telling David that God would bless him (David) if that was God’s will. After God actually spoke to Nathan, revealing His will, Nathan went back to David and clarified things perfectly.
Are ETs Actually Demons Masquerading as Aliens?
The fact that these aliens are so well-versed in New Age thought would normally give them away, except for the fact that so many people are steeped in some form of New Age thought in the first place. Because of this, the words, dictates, and teachings of many of these ETs through human encounters tend to verify what many humans already believe; that there is no “one” God, but that we – as human beings – are gods but just haven’t fully realized it yet. They are here to teach and encourage us to keep pushing for that actualization.
Prophets Without Honor
The immediate problem of course is that if God is anointing people for the offices of prophet and apostle, then it also assumes that God is not yet done writing His Word. When prophets of old spoke, they either spoke the directly revealed Words of God or they were liars. Liars, according to the Mosaic Law, were to be taken outside the camp and stoned to death. Seems harsh. Why was this to be the punishment? Simply because if a person said they spoke the very words of God but were in fact, speaking falsehoods, that tended to come back on God Himself. The people didn’t necessarily say, “Oh, that man is a liar.” Instead, they would be inclined to say, “God must have changed His mind.”
King Saul vs King David – Lessons in Character & Integrity
Instead of thinking we are better than Saul (or David), we need to examine ourselves so that we are guarded against problems that attack every Christian. We also cannot rest on the fact that the Holy Spirit lives within us sealing us unto the day of redemption. We need look no further than the Corinthians to know that though they “prophesied” and spoke in “tongues,” they were extremely carnal, selfish, and lacked integrity and godly character.
1 Samuel 15 To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice
Is that sad or what? Imagine being Saul and hearing those words. Tragic. However, we need to read those words and also take them to our own hearts. We think that because we do things that are sacrificial, God is pleased. Ultimately, God wants our obedience. Samuel says “to obey is better than sacrifice…” This means to obey from the heart. We are to do all that the Lord requires of us. This is essentially what we are promising to do when we become Christians in the first place. God wants our obedience and He wants to see it from our hearts, doesn’t He? We all know this is true, but it is difficult to follow through at times.
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