WHAT IF?

There is an unusual wind blowing in the USA.  It is bringing uncertain sounds and whirling clouds and skies that are darkening.

My husband, Eric, and I were reading Ezekiel this morning.  The Prophet is with his people in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar when a stunning vision came upon him. The heavens opened and he saw visions of God. “The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest…”

The back story is that God’s people are in captivity in Babylon because of total rebellion.  Remember the first Commandment? “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart and soul and strength and might”? Then this Commandment: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”? Exodus 20. They did not obey. Ezekiel’s Book tells us why they were extracted from their homeland.

Ezekiel was sitting in his house in Babylon and the Elders of his people were sitting before him, and a message from the Lord came again. “And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

 

“Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger…” Ezekiel 8:16,17.

What if we are in danger here in the USA! What have we been up to? Walking away from the LORD:  the fear of the Lord, His goodness, His mercy, His love, His sacrifice for all mankind.  He was/is/forever will be the perfect, sinless sacrifice who died so we would not be helplessly doomed to hell.

We are privileged to know and accept the sacrifice of Jesus. “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other Name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12.

We can step up, Believers! We can seek out someone to testify to.  Let’s be part of bringing our Nation back to the Bible, to Jesus Christ.

This morning as I woke, my phone had these verses for me: 

“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.” Proverbs 14:34.

“Seek The LORD, all the meek of the earth who have done His justice; seek righteousness; seek meekness. It may be that you shall be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.” Zephaniah 2:3.

We will have no defense if we live superficially.  If we care not, if we live in ignorance of the LORD’S commands, if we don’t get serious with the Bible and learn to step up, speak up, live in happy obedience to the LORD, we deserve discipline in our beloved USA. But it is not too late.  We are still here and free to some extent, Covid-19 masks and all. 

DABBLING IN DANGEROUS STUFF

To live this life with a foot half in and half out of the world that dismisses our Creator is to live dangerously.  Naming your business with a heathen religion (“it’s cool”) is dangerous.  Giving credit to the “wisdom of the world” that denies “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Is dangerous.  Choosing to believe the “science of evolution” leads to denial of what is seen all around you.  From a blade of grass to the endless Heavens…“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…”  If you choose to you can have an outcome without the promises generously given by your Creator, Jesus.  He said, “And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:20

New morals, different kind of “family” or different kind of “marriage” or different kind of “sex or gender” dismisses the Bible as “the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7.  Take a hard look at the outcome: Lives that fail; empty souls.  Marijuana “edibles” will be a good excuse to become a drug addict.  Hard drugs are escape mechanisms for empty souls.  Alcohol and unbiblical sex are a way to avoid emptiness inside.    

Real Science knows a male or female even after long dead.  Forensic science discerns not only the sex but the culture of the person.  Male and female DNA never changes. Men are born with twice the muscle mass to women.  (I’m so glad I’m a woman! “Hubby, will you get the snake out of the garage?”)

What is “half in and half out” of being Christian? It’s a scheme.  It’s an agenda that leaves the Bible out. Anything that does not agree with the Bible cannot be true because the Creator wrote the Bible and created the heavens and the earth.  What agrees with the Bible and what does not? Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life…” which means the way to eternal heaven with the Father.  It also is the way to a life that always turns out to be successful in God’s sight. You must focus on Jesus and the Bible.  The Holy Spirit is always inside you, leading, comforting, giving words and wisdom.  This is the way to true Science. Christians are tuned in to truth.  Newton, Linnaeus, Copernicus, and many of the Founders of the United States of America believed in The Creation and The Bible.

When you are wholly and passionately into Scripture, seriously and with all your heart, you won’t be fooled or deceived.   As the Bible says, the Holy Spirit lives inside every believer: "But the Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said to you." John 14:26  

I’d take a second look at a “health” plan that recommends anything that is not natural, balanced, or takes a very long time to “get to the point” on the internet. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God; for it is written, 'He takes the wise in their own craftiness.'" I Corinthians 3:19

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." Proverbs 9:10

It’s down to this in the end:  with one life to invest, let’s do our best with all of the wisdom and truth we can find.  Get in, stay in Scripture with passion.  We know it is from our Creator, Jesus, and He made sure you and I would have it.

“WHAT SORT OUGHT YOU TO BE…”

 The future looks uncertain in this year, 2020.  Imagine this amazing statement by the Apostle Peter about the future, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. And the earth and the works in it will be burned up. … what sort ought you to be in holy behavior and godliness?” from 2 Peter 3.

When does this happen?  What sort of people are we to be then? How do we focus?  The events in our world are happening quickly.  But we can be found in peace: it will take focus on Jesus!

 

“Fear not” is the immediate word (and it has always been) to you as a believer in Jesus. “Do not fear; for I am with you; be not dismayed; for I am your God.  I will make you strong; yes, I will help you; yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41

 

What sort ought we to be?  Here is our sort:

 

Matthew 5

And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, 

Blessed are the poor in spirit! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are they that mourn! For they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek! For they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness! For they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful! For they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart! For they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called the sons of God. 

Blessed are they who have been persecuted for righteousness sake! For theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in Heaven is great. For so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

Focus on Jesus and Scripture and believe Him and live it.  Then the Holy Spirit will lead you and give you courage. Jesus said, ”When He the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you to all truth,” Aha! Truth. The truth in the Bible is dependable as God himself.

FORGET THE PAST, LOOK AHEAD

Red faced, embarrassed, I am tempted to look back and dwell on regrets that are hard to let go of.  Sometimes I just feel sad, wishing I had done differently. But I should quit that.. Once I agree with the Lord that I have sinned.  I am given permission to look ahead; "...forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before...". Look for the Light, "... this is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."  Philippians 3:13.; I John 1:5.

 If the failures, if the hurts and indignities laid on me by others (or even brought on all by myself) loom like a gathering storm, look forward. God is there. “A new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shines.” (I John 2:8). God will be in your future if you ask Him:  immediately, as soon as you repent and believe Him.

 Change your mind.  When a memory or fear threatens your peace, (they may come unbidden over and over), here is a powerful truth to put in its place. “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His Name’s sake.” 1 Jn 2:12

 This habit will change your state of mind: memorize and have ready to say to yourself, “Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  Peace will come to you. I have done this over and over. James 4:7,8.

 The Word of God is “alive and active” for every believer. (Hebrews 4:12)

ALL OF US ARE "ONE BLOOD" ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE

We are inundated with the idea that there are different races surrounding the globe. And the different skin colors indicate them. The going misinformation is that these people are innately different from each other.

The Bible, as it does, informs us.  “And He has made all nations of men of one blood to dwell on all the face of the earth…” Acts 17:26,27.

All people are “one blood” with no race identifiable.  “For the life of the flesh is in the blood.” Give a dying person a blood transfusion of the same blood type and the person has hope.  Donated blood never “looks” at skin color: it gives the dying person life. Leviticus 17:11.

God gave us, His highest creation, mankind, “one blood”.  We are not “races” of people with greater or lesser value.  Every person ever born comes from Adam and Eve and is created in the image of God.  Every doctrine in the Bible that gives us hope and comfort and the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our LORD, is for every person ever created:  all having the same intrinsic value: created in the image of God.

Even in the Law of Moses when the laws for servants were instituted, the differences in the lives and abilities of people were confronted.  A man who loses everything had hope. “And if your brother has become poor, and his hand has failed with you, then you shall help him; yes, even if he is a stranger or a tenant, so that he may live with you.” Leviticus 25:35.

The cure for America is the same as it has always been. “For all the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Galatians 5:14.

 

LET’S ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE

We accept the culture as is.  We are reluctant to challenge it.

Here is a thought I will throw out to you.  Unafraid of what you might discover, read the Bible every day.  In fact, a further thought:  read through the Bible over and over and over for the rest of your life.  We have only one Holy Bible, only one life.

You are living with the breath you are privileged to take in day by day, the heartbeat you hardly think about (unless it begins to cause trouble).  All of this brings life and thought and emotion and inspiration through the brain and the “spirit, soul and body”.  How does this work?  When scientists begin to try to understand and explain “inspiration” or “giftedness” or the “spirit” and “soul” as it is in combination with the body, they are at a loss.

Why?  We are created in the image of God, the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Christians are aware of the relationship of our inner being with Almighty God, Creator of the heavens and the earth.  He is also Creator of the person you are, the complete person.  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God.  All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1-3.

The simple challenge is this:  read and meditate on the Word.  The Word of God that lives and abides forever.  See what happens within your spirit and soul and body.  I promise you this: if you read through the Bible, you will begin to be intimate with your Creator, Jesus.  You will never be the same.

A caution: get a translation of the Bible (rather than an interpretation, which may or may not be God’s Word).  Just for a while, stop reading anything else, anybody else.  When you are listening to a teacher or preacher in the Church, ask yourself, “Does this person challenge me to draw near to the LORD?  Is it what I know the Holy Spirit says directly from Scripture?”

And then, stay in this mode until you experience the Teacher, the Comforter, the Helper: your Creator.

Jesus quoted from the Old Testament, “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." (Deuteronomy 8:3; Luke 4:4)

ON MY MIND FOR A LONG TIME...

For a long time, Isaiah 58 has given me concern.  Are we (am I) guilty of just pretending to seek God and obey Him? Or am I passionate to love and give Him my honest obedience? We want the most successful life here and now, given our gifts and opportunities.

Here is Isaiah 58 from The Modern King James Version.

Cry aloud, do not spare, lift up your voice like a ram's horn, and show My people their rebellion, and the house of Jacob their sins. 

Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and one who did not forget the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in drawing near to God. 

They say, Why have we fasted, and You do not see? Why have we afflicted our soul, and You take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and crush all your laborers. 

Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness; you shall not fast as you do today, to make your voice to be heard on high. 

Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast and a day pleasing to Jehovah? 

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed ones go free, and that you break every yoke? 

Is it not to break your bread to the hungry, and that you should bring home the wandering poor? When will you see the naked and cover him; and you will not hide yourself from your own flesh? 

Then shall your light break out as the dawn, and your health shall spring out quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather you. 

Then you shall call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am. If you take the yoke away from among you, the pointing of the finger, and speaking vanity; and if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. 

And Jehovah shall always guide you and satisfy your soul in dry places, and make your bones fat; and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. 

And those who come of you shall build the old ruins; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. 

If you turn your foot because of the Sabbath, from doing what you please on My holy days, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of Jehovah, honorable; and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in Jehovah; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed yourself with the inheritance of .Jacob your father. For the mouth of Jehovah has spoken. Isaiah 58:1 thru 14. 

The New Testament affirms this Old Testament chapter. “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, so that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4.

The promise to you and me when we seek Him sincerely: “Then shall your light break out as the dawn, and your health shall spring out quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of Jehovah shall gather you…you shall call, and Jehovah shall answer; you shall cry, and He shall say, Here I am.” Verses 8 and 9.