Encouragement

This should encourage women.  When God created men and women they were both made in His image and likeness.  There are some women that come to mind like Eve, Naomi, Ruth, the Samaritan woman, Rahab, also Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalen and I almost forgot Deborah and there were others.  The Lord loved and used many women in His Word and all down through the ages.  Some people may think the Lord doesn’t love women as much as He does men but He chose to use many women to further His kingdom here on earth and not all these women were godly women when they had an encounter with Jesus.  Of course we know that all of them sinned and fell short of the glory of God, just like the men did, but the Lord still loved them.  Women were a vital part of Jesus’ ministry and were a blessing to Him.

Let’s look at Rahab’s life; she was a harlot who hid the spies that Joshua sent out to spy out the land of Jericho. The Lord in His great mercy could have destroyed her but He spared her and all her family.  

Now let’s look at Naomi, she had lost her husband and her two sons and thought she was afflicted of God.  She did experience very difficult times and wanted the people to call her Mara, for she said the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with her.  She seemed to think she was abandoned by God, but the Lord was always with her and He provided Ruth her daughter-in-law to provide for her, with the help of Boaz their kinsmen redeemer.  Read what the women said towards the end of Naomi’s life.  Read Ruth 4:13-17, “So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him. And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.”

Many believers go through difficulties and rough times and some think the Lord has abandoned them but Jesus said this in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

And what about Mary Magdalen, read what it says about her in Luke 8:1-2, “And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and shewing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils..”

Many women ministered to Him read verse 8:3, “And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.”

Esther was a lady that God used to save the Israelites in the Old Testament.  The Samaritan woman was a half breed and the Jews hated them and they hated the Jews in turn.  To get to Jerusalem the Jews would go all the way around Samaria when it was much shorter to go through there, but where do we find Jesus talking to the Samaritan woman?  He was at Jacob’s well in Samaria.  What is He doing there?  He is telling her everything she ever did, according to her, because He loves women and His enemies and sinners.  Read about what it said about how the disciples responded to what Jesus did and what the woman said when she went into town in John 4:27-30, “And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.”

I could go on and on but this shows how much Jesus loved women and He still loves them today and uses them in His work of furthering His kingdom.  The Lord loves you and He wants to change your lives like he did for all these women and He never makes a mistake.  So don’t get discouraged by what the media or the commercials say, believe God’s report and not man’s report that says you are not good enough or pretty enough or tall enough or smart enough or wealthy enough or any other negative thing.  The Lord loves you and if you will trust in Him and repent of your sins and ask Him to forgive you and be the Lord of your life, He will give you a sweet and gentle spirit and you will be so beautiful on the inside that it will show forth on the outside!!

I hope this has been a blessing for each one that reads this and I hope you have a super day!!  May the good lord bless you and yours!!  And don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!       

God’s Mercy

I was reading the Old Testament and I thought I would do a Tidbit on sinners and what God thinks of them and what He thinks about sin.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and when all that was created, God’s only begotten Son Jesus was there with Him and so was His Holy Spirit.

Then it says this in Genesis 1:28-31, “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

So this makes all people intrinsically valuable in His eyes.  God saw what He had done and it was good.  He was pleased with His creation.  At that time Adam and Eve were in a beautiful garden, it must have been something like the next thing to heaven, but not so beautiful.  This is the way I picture it anyway.  

When the Bible says that God made man in His image and likeness, we were made reflections of His glory and very special to Him but not exactly like Him because God is sinless, limitless, omniscient and the only true God and always will be.  When God created Adam and Eve He gave them a free will and, as far as I know, they had never sinned before that time, but their choice to disobey God brought a curse on all mankind called sin and it has done nothing but cause havoc and destruction on mankind ever since.

Because of that sinful act, God’s Word says this in Romans 3:9-10 and verse 23, “What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

This includes the whole human race.  Because of what Adam and Eve chose to do we inherited their sinful nature just like we inherit many different things from our parents; but this was a universal inheritance that affected our relationship with God and caused us to be separated from God just as it did Adam and Eve.  Sin brought destruction, fear, separation and spiritual death.   This is the sad news, but there is also good news, there is restoration and forgiveness through Jesus Christ.

Now let’s read some good news, read John 3:16-21, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

This sums up the whole gospel message; God so loved the world that He poured forth His mercy and grace on all human kind and made a way for each one to be redeemed through His Son, Jesus Christ, and He gave each of us a free will and a choice to repent and believe, or to reject His kind offer of redemption, the choice is ours.  Instead of God pouring His wrath out on all mankind, which we deserved, His wrath fell on His Son, Jesus.  Jesus suffered severely before His crucifixion, also while He was crucified, hanging on the cross for our sins in excruciating pain and misery, then he died and was buried.  For our sins, a man who had no sin became sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of Christ, if we would just receive His gift of grace.  This can happen because on the third day in the grave, Jesus rose again because the grave could not hold Him, so He became victorious over sin and death.

When we trust in Him, repent of our sins and ask Him to be our Lord and Savior, and believe, He will receive us and forgive us, if we are sincere.  Now the choice is yours, I pray you make the right one.  May God bless you and yours and may you have super day!!

Obedience

Obedience is very important to the Lord and it is mentioned in many places in God’s Word.  Sacrifices were also important, but obedience was even more important.  When you were to present a sacrifice, your intentions were very important also.  To obey is better than sacrifice is found in various places in the Word of God from the Old Testament to the New Testament.  It is found in Psalms and Proverbs, Isaiah and Jeremiah, also in Hosea and Micah, Matthew, Mark and Hebrews.  

This is so clearly seen in King Saul’s life when he was to destroy the Amalekites but didn’t obey.  This is what he was told to do read 1 Samuel 15:1-9, “Samuel also said unto Saul, ‘The Lord sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”

God had a good reason to want these people destroyed they were a threat to Israel and always would be plus they were idol worshipers and murderers that raided other nations and carried off their wealth and families.  They were a band of guerrilla terrorists that were corrupt and their idolatress relationships were detestable to the Lord and could become a snare to God’s people.  Besides all that, there would never be peace between these two tribes of people.  

Instead of obeying God this is what King Saul did, read verses 13-23 of that same chapter, “And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

In all this, God loved Saul but through his disobedience he would lose his kingship, but if he repented he would still have a relationship with God.  God always seeks the humble and contrite heart.  If we repent of our sin, and not just make excuses for them, and ask the Lord to forgive us He will be faithful to do it.  Read 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

God is a gracious, loving and forgiving God who is seeking our obedience and our willingness to honor and obey Him.  So, if there are some areas in your life where you need to repent of disobedience; repent and ask God to forgive you and to help you be obedient in the future.  Something to think about!  May you have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours with His peace love and joy.  PS don’t forget to thank and Praise the Lord!!      

My People Perish

We read in God’s Word that His people perished from lack of knowledge.  

 Read what it says in Hosea 4:1-6:

“Hear the word of the Lord,

You children of Israel,

For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy

Or knowledge of God in the land.

By swearing and lying,

Killing and stealing and committing adultery,

They break all restraint,

With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

Therefore the land will mourn;

And everyone who dwells there will waste away

With the beasts of the field

And the birds of the air;

Even the fish of the sea will be taken away.

“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another;

For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Therefore you shall stumble in the day;

The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night;

And I will destroy your mother.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.

Because you have rejected knowledge,

I also will reject you from being priest for Me;

Because you have forgotten the law of your God,

I also will forget your children.”

Hosea was speaking for God to the Jews at this time.  The priests were leading the people away from God but they were blaming others instead of themselves.  We often have the tendency to blame others and not take responsibility for our own sins.  I read that the priests liked it when the people sinned because when they brought their sacrifices the priests benefitted and the more the people sinned the more sacrifices they brought and when there were too many sacrifices they could sell them and benefit even more.

Now let’s go to Isaiah 5:11-16:

“Woe to those who rise early in the morning,

That they may follow intoxicating drink;

Who continue until night, till wine inflames them!

The harp and the strings,

The tambourine and flute,

And wine are in their feasts;

But they do not regard the work of the Lord,

Nor consider the operation of His hands.

Therefore my people have gone into captivity,

Because they have no knowledge;

Their honorable men are famished,

And their multitude dried up with thirst.

Therefore Sheol has enlarged itself

And opened its mouth beyond measure;

Their glory and their multitude and their pomp,

And he who is jubilant, shall descend into it.

People shall be brought down,

Each man shall be humbled,

And the eyes of the lofty shall be humbled.

But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment,

And God who is holy shall be hallowed in righteousness.”

Here we find another instance where the people lacked knowledge.  This took place when Israel was exiled to Assyria and Judea was exiled to Babylon.  These people brought judgment on themselves by turning away from God.  The same thing will happen to us if we turn away from God and follow our own desires.

Think about what is going on today, the commercialization of religion!  There are preachers teaching things that have no real substance.  Some never mention sin; they would rather call it mistakes, maybe so it won’t offend people.  They don’t mention Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection or the cross of Calvary, or the precious blood of Jesus that was shed for our sins, and the pain and anguish He suffered, but without these things there is no salvation, all they are doing is lulling people to sleep.  What about repentance and confession?  What is 1 John 1-9 in our Bible for?  Why did John the Baptist preach repentance and baptize people after they had repented of their sins and why did Jesus start His ministry with preaching repentance if it wasn’t important.

Think about King Josiah who became king when he was 8 years old and reigned 31 years in Jerusalem and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord.  In his day when he became king, the Book of the Law was lost.  While he ruled, he had the temple restored and in the process, Hilkiah the Priest found the Book of the Law.  When the king was about 26 years old, he started to make some really needed changes because now he had the Book of the Law.  Because King Josiah heard the Book of the Law he tore his clothes in an act of grief and then changed the course of the whole nation.

Today we also have the book of the law, called the Bible, the number one selling book in the world, although for many they are just collecting dust on shelves or somewhere in the house.  For many years, the Bible has been neglected far too often and many that have read it have misinterpreted it to fit their own desires and what they want it to say.  If it was important in the days of Josiah and was instrumental in changing the course of their whole nation, it is just as important for us today.  How many people are perishing today because of the lack of knowledge?  

Something to think about!  May you have a super day and may God bless you and yours!!  And if you haven’t today, try thanking and praising the Lord for He is worthy and He loves sincere praise.