Nehemiah 2:20
I answered them (Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab) by saying, "The God of Heaven will give us success. We His servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it."
In today's news are reports that the Arabs and the Palestinians are claiming rights in the same city of Jerusalem that Nehemiah was talking about so long ago in this passage. The Horonites, the Ammonites and the Arabs were three of the peoples that the kings of Babylon had conquered and carried out of their native lands to other conquered lands, to disperse all the national and political groups to divest them of any power against the conquering king. So these people had all been taken from their territories and settled in the land of Israel, as the Israelites were also scattered among the other nations.
So they had no historical claim to this piece of real estate, as they had been uprooted and carried there.
And they still have no historical rights to the land or in Jerusalem today. They are still just doing Satan's bidding against God's chosen people, and trying to keep God from fulfilling all His promises to them.
But no one can thwart God's purposes or derail His plans. God is the Almighty, and we all are His creation. Even Satan is His creation, and cannot go beyond what God allows (see Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6).
So as God's people today, Christians and Jews walk hand-in-hand, so to speak, in recognizing Israel's rights to the Land God gave to them so long ago. Because of their unfaithfulness to Him, He removed them from their Land, but now He has returned many of them, and Israel is again a Nation among the nations; and God is continuing to bring His people back out of all the Nations, and He is orchestrating the world powers to accomplish everything He has planned out before anything came to be.
Great is our God, and Great is His Majesty and Glory; Every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess His Reality.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Just Spoken Or Heartfelt?
Deuteronomy 5:28-29
And the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me (Moses), and the Lord said to me, "I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.
"O that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"
God appreciated that the people had said that they wanted Moses to tell them all the Law--all the commandments and precepts that God told Moses--that they would "hear and do it." They had good intentions. But God wants more than lip service and good intentions, and He wistfully lamented that He wanted them to "have such a heart in them" to realize God's power and authority over them and over the whole world, to actually do the things the Law proscribed. And He told them why: in order that, "it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"
God wants us to act and live our daily lives in a way that is in cooperation with the way He made things to run. So He gave us His rules for operating this Earth and our World in it. And when we recognize Who God is, and actually live our lives according to His ways and His desires for us, then things will "go well" with us, we will experience all the bounty of the Earth, and our families and relationships will go well, too.
The better we get to know God and His Word, then the better we will understand how everything He made works together, and how we can use all the bounty of this Earth for our benefit, we will love our families and friends and employers and employees and our neighbors as we love ourselves, and things will go well for us and for our children and their children, the way God planned it all out. And He will receive all the glory, all the credit.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me (Moses), and the Lord said to me, "I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken to you. They have done well in all that they have spoken.
"O that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"
God appreciated that the people had said that they wanted Moses to tell them all the Law--all the commandments and precepts that God told Moses--that they would "hear and do it." They had good intentions. But God wants more than lip service and good intentions, and He wistfully lamented that He wanted them to "have such a heart in them" to realize God's power and authority over them and over the whole world, to actually do the things the Law proscribed. And He told them why: in order that, "it may be well with them and with their sons forever!"
God wants us to act and live our daily lives in a way that is in cooperation with the way He made things to run. So He gave us His rules for operating this Earth and our World in it. And when we recognize Who God is, and actually live our lives according to His ways and His desires for us, then things will "go well" with us, we will experience all the bounty of the Earth, and our families and relationships will go well, too.
The better we get to know God and His Word, then the better we will understand how everything He made works together, and how we can use all the bounty of this Earth for our benefit, we will love our families and friends and employers and employees and our neighbors as we love ourselves, and things will go well for us and for our children and their children, the way God planned it all out. And He will receive all the glory, all the credit.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Monday, September 5, 2016
Imitators
I Thessalonians 1:6-8
You also became imitators of us and of the Lord ... so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth so that we have no need to say anything.
The Christians in Thessalonica had patterned their lives and thinking processes after Paul and his companions, as they in turn had imitated Christ, and that caused them to go forth with their love for God into other regions around them talking about the Word of the Lord. Their example of missionary fervor went before them even beyond where they actually went, prompting others to go from there to every other place also, so that Paul said that he and his companions didn't even need to say anything.
Is my faith toward God producing in me an imitation of Jesus, or am I still imitating the world around me, or other people who don't even know the Lord? And is my love for God prompting me to sound forth the Word of the Lord to all those whose life path crosses mine? How willing am I to go to where people have never yet heard of our God, to share His love with them?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
You also became imitators of us and of the Lord ... so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth so that we have no need to say anything.
The Christians in Thessalonica had patterned their lives and thinking processes after Paul and his companions, as they in turn had imitated Christ, and that caused them to go forth with their love for God into other regions around them talking about the Word of the Lord. Their example of missionary fervor went before them even beyond where they actually went, prompting others to go from there to every other place also, so that Paul said that he and his companions didn't even need to say anything.
Is my faith toward God producing in me an imitation of Jesus, or am I still imitating the world around me, or other people who don't even know the Lord? And is my love for God prompting me to sound forth the Word of the Lord to all those whose life path crosses mine? How willing am I to go to where people have never yet heard of our God, to share His love with them?
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Sunday, September 4, 2016
From A Curse To A Blessing
Zechariah 8
(Vs. 16-17) "These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the Lord.
All God wants us to do is to be honest, to see that our government is honest and judges render verdicts that are according to the just laws; and our personal attitudes toward one another are to want to encourage each other, not to play "tricks" on one another or to enjoy "getting the best of" someone else, for humor or for profit.
The Jews have been exiled to Babylon for 70 years, and King Cyrus has allowed them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Zechariah is in Babylon with the Jews, and He wants them to know how to conduct their lives as they return home, to the land God gave them.
(v. 13) "Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."
God is encouraging them as they return to Jerusalem. Just as the name of the Jews has been used as a curse, or they have been considered cursed by God; so they will be cleansed and saved, and their reputation will be turned around, and they will be considered blessed by God, and their name used in blessings.
(vs. 4-6) "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there. It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to Me?"
It may seem to be a wondrous thing for people to live to a "ripe old age" instead of dying in their prime of life, and for children to be safe enough to be allowed to play in the city streets without fear of any harm. But God just considers it to be the norm, when people are following His ways in their thinking processes and in their actions.
People today sometimes do attain to an advanced old age, but our city streets are not safe for children to be able to openly, freely play outdoors, or even to walk alone to the neighborhood park, like I remember from my own childhood. The moral climate of our modern society has degraded significantly over the last generation or two, which has infected every layer and sector of our civilization.
As God's church, we need to wake up to how evil and wicked people have stolen our children's and grandchildren's carefree freedoms of childhood, and do what each of us can do to restore honor and honesty and kindness in our own families and in our society in which we live. To do what each of us can do to affect our political and governmental leaders to govern righteously with true justice and appropriate mercy; to encourage the populace to be responsible to take care of our own selves and families without depending on others for sustenance, and to do our businesses with integrity and equity. As well as urging our pastors and other church leaders to seriously consider our God of Truth, and study His Word humbly and honestly, to teach their congregations how to love God, and how to consider others' needs to help, not considering the cost (love one another).
Jesus is coming soon. Pray that God would return our Nations to His righteousness before the end comes.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
(Vs. 16-17) "These are the things you are to do: speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgment in your courts; do not plot evil against each other, and do not love to swear falsely. I hate all this," declares the Lord.
All God wants us to do is to be honest, to see that our government is honest and judges render verdicts that are according to the just laws; and our personal attitudes toward one another are to want to encourage each other, not to play "tricks" on one another or to enjoy "getting the best of" someone else, for humor or for profit.
The Jews have been exiled to Babylon for 70 years, and King Cyrus has allowed them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple. Zechariah is in Babylon with the Jews, and He wants them to know how to conduct their lives as they return home, to the land God gave them.
(v. 13) "Just as you, Judah and Israel, have been a curse among the nations, so I will save you, and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid, but let your hands be strong."
God is encouraging them as they return to Jerusalem. Just as the name of the Jews has been used as a curse, or they have been considered cursed by God; so they will be cleansed and saved, and their reputation will be turned around, and they will be considered blessed by God, and their name used in blessings.
(vs. 4-6) "Once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each of them with cane in hand because of their age. The city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there. It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to Me?"
It may seem to be a wondrous thing for people to live to a "ripe old age" instead of dying in their prime of life, and for children to be safe enough to be allowed to play in the city streets without fear of any harm. But God just considers it to be the norm, when people are following His ways in their thinking processes and in their actions.
People today sometimes do attain to an advanced old age, but our city streets are not safe for children to be able to openly, freely play outdoors, or even to walk alone to the neighborhood park, like I remember from my own childhood. The moral climate of our modern society has degraded significantly over the last generation or two, which has infected every layer and sector of our civilization.
As God's church, we need to wake up to how evil and wicked people have stolen our children's and grandchildren's carefree freedoms of childhood, and do what each of us can do to restore honor and honesty and kindness in our own families and in our society in which we live. To do what each of us can do to affect our political and governmental leaders to govern righteously with true justice and appropriate mercy; to encourage the populace to be responsible to take care of our own selves and families without depending on others for sustenance, and to do our businesses with integrity and equity. As well as urging our pastors and other church leaders to seriously consider our God of Truth, and study His Word humbly and honestly, to teach their congregations how to love God, and how to consider others' needs to help, not considering the cost (love one another).
Jesus is coming soon. Pray that God would return our Nations to His righteousness before the end comes.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Saturday, September 3, 2016
Why God Is Jealous
Zechariah 8:2
This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion, I am burning with jealousy for her."
God will not give to any other god the glory and credit that is due Him. When God chose this people to be His own, and placed them in His most beautiful and productive land, so they could benefit from all the bounty of the wealth it would produce, He expected them to respond to His love for them by loving Him back. Instead, when their prosperity increased, they forgot all about God and gave the credit to the pagan gods of the peoples around and among them. That was stealing from God the honor and glory He deserves.
That's why He removed them from the land, to a far away foreign land. And, since the people had not observed the Sabbath Year to let the land rest every 7 years for 490 years, God had let them know that their exile would be the 70 years the land was to have to lie fallow. God was giving them a "clean slate" to start over with when they returned.
God loves what He has made. He wants us to pay attention to our world around us, and to be careful to follow the rules He has given us to guide our interactions with the Earth and with one another, and to give Him the credit for making it and designing it the way He has, so that we can enjoy its benefits, and He receives the glory.
Just love God, and love one another. That covers all His laws, the rules He told us to follow.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This is what the Lord Almighty says: "I am very jealous for Zion, I am burning with jealousy for her."
God will not give to any other god the glory and credit that is due Him. When God chose this people to be His own, and placed them in His most beautiful and productive land, so they could benefit from all the bounty of the wealth it would produce, He expected them to respond to His love for them by loving Him back. Instead, when their prosperity increased, they forgot all about God and gave the credit to the pagan gods of the peoples around and among them. That was stealing from God the honor and glory He deserves.
That's why He removed them from the land, to a far away foreign land. And, since the people had not observed the Sabbath Year to let the land rest every 7 years for 490 years, God had let them know that their exile would be the 70 years the land was to have to lie fallow. God was giving them a "clean slate" to start over with when they returned.
God loves what He has made. He wants us to pay attention to our world around us, and to be careful to follow the rules He has given us to guide our interactions with the Earth and with one another, and to give Him the credit for making it and designing it the way He has, so that we can enjoy its benefits, and He receives the glory.
Just love God, and love one another. That covers all His laws, the rules He told us to follow.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Friday, September 2, 2016
Obeying God's Natural And Moral Laws
Zechariah 7:11, 14
But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. ... This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.
This is why God sent Nebuchadnezzar to conquer them and carry them off of the land, to the land of Babylonia, to the ancient city of Babylon. Now that 70 years have passed, and Cyrus is the king, the Jews have been permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, but most of the Jews are still in Babylon, where Zechariah is. The people have just asked him to inquire of God whether they should continue to observe the feasts that they have all during this time of exile from their home, and Zechariah replies that they have not honored God by their doing these things, but only themselves, and reminds them that the reason their home has been destroyed is their own (or their ancestors') fault by refusing to listen to the earlier prophets.
God did not make that beautiful, fruitful land that "flowed with milk and honey" desolate; the people did. Government policies cause droughts and ruining of crops and land. By ignoring the rules and regulations of the Designer and Maker of the Earth, they ruined the good land and forfeited the benefits, the wealth it could provide.
That's what always happens to any people who will not follow the natural laws (based on the sciences) and moral laws (based on the Ten Commandments) that God designed for us to obey, so we could all enjoy the benefits of this Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. ... This is how they made the pleasant land desolate.
This is why God sent Nebuchadnezzar to conquer them and carry them off of the land, to the land of Babylonia, to the ancient city of Babylon. Now that 70 years have passed, and Cyrus is the king, the Jews have been permitted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, but most of the Jews are still in Babylon, where Zechariah is. The people have just asked him to inquire of God whether they should continue to observe the feasts that they have all during this time of exile from their home, and Zechariah replies that they have not honored God by their doing these things, but only themselves, and reminds them that the reason their home has been destroyed is their own (or their ancestors') fault by refusing to listen to the earlier prophets.
God did not make that beautiful, fruitful land that "flowed with milk and honey" desolate; the people did. Government policies cause droughts and ruining of crops and land. By ignoring the rules and regulations of the Designer and Maker of the Earth, they ruined the good land and forfeited the benefits, the wealth it could provide.
That's what always happens to any people who will not follow the natural laws (based on the sciences) and moral laws (based on the Ten Commandments) that God designed for us to obey, so we could all enjoy the benefits of this Earth.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Thursday, September 1, 2016
"All Flesh Will See It Together"
Isaiah 40:3-5
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; --
God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus and he quoted these verses, saying, in effect, that the mountains and valleys were in our hearts; that our pride and our discouragement must be dealt with to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus.
And the Book of Revelation tells us that the actual mountains and valleys on this Earth will be leveled by earthquakes and other cataclysmic events immediately preceding the coming of the Lord.
then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Then when Jesus appears, coming down through the clouds, is when all flesh will see it together, at the same time. The Church will be raptured while He is still in the clouds, and we will return with Him, in our Resurrection bodies, as His feet touch the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) and He wages and wins the Battle of Armageddon.
And the Jews all over the world will also see Him whom they have pierced, and realize that He really is their Messiah, and be saved. And since they weren't Resurrected with the Church, and they weren't fighting against Him in the Battle of Armageddon, then they will be the ones who enter into His 1000-year Kingdom in their human bodies. Since they already live all over the world, they will repopulate the world over that 1000 years.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
A voice is calling, "Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God. Let every valley be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; and let the rough ground become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley; --
God sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus and he quoted these verses, saying, in effect, that the mountains and valleys were in our hearts; that our pride and our discouragement must be dealt with to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus.
And the Book of Revelation tells us that the actual mountains and valleys on this Earth will be leveled by earthquakes and other cataclysmic events immediately preceding the coming of the Lord.
then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken."
Then when Jesus appears, coming down through the clouds, is when all flesh will see it together, at the same time. The Church will be raptured while He is still in the clouds, and we will return with Him, in our Resurrection bodies, as His feet touch the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4) and He wages and wins the Battle of Armageddon.
And the Jews all over the world will also see Him whom they have pierced, and realize that He really is their Messiah, and be saved. And since they weren't Resurrected with the Church, and they weren't fighting against Him in the Battle of Armageddon, then they will be the ones who enter into His 1000-year Kingdom in their human bodies. Since they already live all over the world, they will repopulate the world over that 1000 years.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
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