Category: obedience

Posted on

Why Me Lord?

Ezekiel 1 – 3 Ezekiel found himself celebrating his 30th birthday in Babylon having been recruited by Nebuchadnezzar’s squad of thugs. So goes the birthday! No more being a priest because there is no more temple, no more Jerusalem. Just when life couldn’t get any lower, God steps in and says I am calling you to be my prophet/watchman to your people. God revealed His glory and Ezekiel fell on his face in adoration. Yet when God laid out his plan, filled him with His Spirit, fed him the Word, like Moses, Ezekiel says “why me?”

ezekiel 1 to 3 why me

We fall into the same pattern. God reveals His glory and we are in awe. But then reality steps in and God says I want you to “go and make disciples”–beginning at home.  You know the people, you know the language. After traveling over 900 miles with this crew, Ezekiel knew their behavior, attitude, and grumbling. No wonder Ezekiel said, “why me?” No wonder Moses said, “why me?” No wonder we say the exact same words because familiarity breeds contempt. We know their shortcomings. We know their attitudes. We know that they didn’t listen before so why would they listen now?

Do you say “why me?” when God calls you to a ministry? If God fills you with His Spirit, feeds you with His Word, you are ready. Welcome to the Watchman on the Wall Club.

Picture:  © Marek Uliasz – Dreamstime.com

 

Posted on

Fight or Surrender

Jeremiah 50 to 52 The book of Jeremiah is long and there are some pointed lessons to learn and they come through the tale of two kings; Zedekiah and Jehoiachin.

Jeremiah 52 fight or surrender.2ajpg

Both had the privilege of having Jeremiah speak the words of God to them and both had sought the advice of him as the Babylonians were crouching at their doorstep. Both were placed in the position of leadership yet failed because of their wickedness. One believed Jeremiah, surrendered and saved his family. The other rejected and lost his family and the royal household. Both ended up in a Babylonian prison yet one was released after 37 yrs. to sit at the king’s table. The other would die in his bronze chains and in blindness remembering the faces of his children as they were slaughtered. Neither would have a descendant to take their place on the throne.

What is our take away from these two men and their end? When we ask God what to do and He tells us, we have a choice; we can keep fighting God or surrender. God says surrender your life to me and you will have everlasting life but often we say we can save ourselves. I can fix myself. I can…I can…etc. etc. etc. Yet, Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.”

Surrender to God and be saved; reject and enter a Christ-less eternity.

 

Posted on

One Door, One Decision

Jermiah 21 decision2a

Jeremiah 21:8  The phrase great minds think alike is often used when one or another come up with the same thought. Moses, Joshua, Elijah and Jeremiah thought alike, talked alike, and wrote alike in many ways. Listen to their words:

Jeremiah: ‘I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death.[Jer 21]

Moses: Today I invoke heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life. [Deut 30]

Joshua: Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve [Josh 24]

Elijah: How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if  Baal, follow him. [1Kings 18]

The people were at a crossroads. They could choose God’s way or the world’s way. Moses said: It is in your mouth and in your mind so that you can do it. [Deut 30:14]

But men do not like rules; they can delay or choose their own way. Jesus said; For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.

Choose God and life or Baal and death. What will you choose?

Posted on

It isn’t rocket science!

Jeremiah 6 Heeding Instructions

jeremiah 6b choos= the right path.2a

Ezekiel was told to pay attention, watch closely, and listen carefully and Jeremiah echoed those words! He reminded them that they were standing at the crossroads and must decide; God’s way or the world’s way. He also reminded them that the ways of their forefathers who chose the ‘good way’ or the ‘right way,’ they were now calling old fashioned. Like many even today the glitz and glamor outweigh the prudent and wise ways of God.

The nation was standing at the crossroads of life. They must consider their path—there is the narrow way that leads to God or the wide path that leads to destruction. A funny but true story of a prophet teaches that principle.

Balaam refused to listen to his donkey that had been empowered by God to speak. Balaam was both deaf and blind to the wisdom of the donkey until the angel opened his eyes when the donkey was in a narrow place with nowhere to turn. This story illustrates that if we fail to follow God’s way we may too find ourselves in a narrow place with nowhere to turn. Jeremiah is saying to his people and to us: Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and follow it.

Smart advice: Don’t be stubborn like the prophet but choose God’s way.  Remember the words of Proverbs: The one who wanders from the way of wisdom will end up in the company of the departed.

Posted on

Seek God while He may be found…

Job 35-37 We have been following Job and his friends as they respond to his suffering. The young Elihu continues to wax eloquently and finally near the end he poses a question that has been asked for centuries: whom or what do you seek when you are in distress. The world seeks to find help in themselves or other avenues but often leaves God out of the equation. Sometimes they never seek God…read to the end…. It is disheartening when that happens but again we present the truth but the results lay in the hand of the receiver and God.

job 35a

Elihu says it really doesn’t matter, God is God and He is not at all bothered about whether we do good or bad. At that, we want to stop and say “whoa!” Not affected? Doesn’t care? What presumption! Elihu is wrong on both accounts and we need look no further than Ezekiel chapter 20 and you get a very different picture. There the elders come to Ezekiel inquiring about life and wanting to know when this exile will end. What they got must have been a deafening wake-up call. God answers their inquiry with this: “I will not allow you to inquire of Me.”  God was definitely affected.  He told Ezekiel that when men leave God out of the equation He is grieved and broken-hearted—especially when He has called you. Rejecting God has serious consequences and without Him, you are bereft as a boat without a sail.

Elihu is right about one thing: Storms come that we may seek His face and His understanding. He is also right in his description about God: He is all of splendor and more. We cannot attain to Him. God is God and man is man.

The question is will you seek Him or will you be like my neighbor who said, I never needed God in all of my life and I don’t need him now—as he breathed his last.  I thought it was hard enough to hear my grandmother say that but then when my neighbor said that my heart felt like it had been run over with a bulldozer. Men choose their destiny…don’t ever forget that. When you need God don’t be like these two examples. Seek Him while He may be found!

Posted on

A Legacy

Parents play a key role in the lives of their children. The impact is generational and profound. What will you leave your child/children? Although my parents were fairly committed to church-going it was my SS teachers that impacted me the most. You may be the same. I was also in Pioneer Girls who challenged me to learn verses. I don’t remember where or when I memorized Psalm 119:105 but it was the first verse I memorized and has held true all of my life even as I am now in my “senior” years. You too may have learned a verse that has held true all your life as I did. Psalm 78 reminds us that we are to pass on to the next generation God’s Word and the principles of godly living.

2chron 17 Jehoshaphat2a

2Chron 17-19 “A Historical Record.”  Asa may have not been the perfect king but it seems he did one thing right; he raised a godly son who took his place. While each of us is responsible for our own spiritual path and our choice to follow God or not but our parents have much to do with our path. Jehoshaphat seems to have chosen this path directly or indirectly because his father at some point lived a righteous life, for the most part. The scriptures don’t tell us about Jehoshaphat’s heart so we have to look at his fruit. “a tree is known by its fruit.”[Matt 12]

Jehoshaphat was known for: fortifying his kingdom, cleansing the land of idolatry, and sending out priests and Levites to teach the people throughout his kingdom. Because of this the land was free of war and was blessed by God.

We are again reminded of these verses: “Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”[Prov 22:6] and “We will tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts, about his strength and the amazing things he has done… so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them.” [Ps 78]

To whom are you passing on your legacy? 

Posted on

A Parent’s Prayer

What do you pray for your child or if you don’t have a child yet what should your prayer be?

1chron 29 willing heart2a

1Chron 29:19  How many times have you stopped and read the obituaries of others who have died? They offer a glimpse into the life of their accomplishments both materially and physically. But, how many times have you read one with a prayer for those who will now take up the mantle and carry on? King David did just that so that we might have an example.

Vs 19: Make/Give/Grant my son Solomon a willing heart. David had planned, prepared and wanted to build the Temple. Now David relinquishes the crown to Solomon praying that God would give him a willing heart not just to build the Temple but a willing heart of obedience to all that God had commanded.

Is that your prayer for your child/children? They can spend their lives adding to their bank accounts but what of their spiritual accounts? David had prepared the blueprints but the most important blueprint was this:  “tell the next generation about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts.” But all the telling does little unless the heart is willing and it begins early on when we take time to teach our children and speak of these acts as you sit, walk, and all other times in between.

Take time today to read Deut 6, Psalm 78 and then pray that your child/children have a willing heart of obedience.

 

 

 

Posted on

Missing a Golden Opportunity

2kings 18 to 20 god tests our heart2a2Kings 18 – 20  If truth be known, boasting comes rather easily to us. The prophet Jeremiah said this:

“If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things,” says the Lord”

Let’s see if Hezekiah passed that test and then check ourselves as well.

It seems that no matter how good, how powerful, how majestic God is, men vacillate between being faithful and unfaithful. An enemy surfaces and men capitulate and surrender failing to realize that God can and will drive them out. So it was with Hezekiah first time around. He saw the kingdom of Israel right next door surrender and taken captive to the land of Assyria yet he did not learn from that error of judgment. Instead when faced with the same scenario, used bribery instead of prayer. Having been successful, Assyria escalated the demand expecting the same result but this time Hezekiah submitted not to him but to God. God routed the enemy and peace returned because Hezekiah turned to God. If only we would learn the first time around.

Next Hezekiah is sick unto death and he prays for healing and God restores him to full health. But, then another enemy, Babylon comes knocking. Hezekiah misses an opportunity to share the power of God. Instead, Hezekiah shares his wealth. The Chronicle writer notes that God left Hezekiah alone when they came to “test what was in his heart.” Hezekiah missed a golden opportunity to share the power of God to heal.  It wasn’t his wealth that made him whole but God!

How many golden opportunities have we missed?  

Today, stop, use every opportunity to share Christ.  

Posted on

The Next Generation Needs YOU!

2Kings 15 to 17  & Prov 1:4 “Fathers Listen Up”

2kings 15 to 17 and prov 1 pay attention2aA godly family does not just happen; it takes work. If we look back we see the failures of fathers like Eli, Samuel-a prophet yet had ungodly sons; David who did not confront sin and Solomon as wise but did not practice application.  Now in this set of chapters we see men who were given the privilege of raising sons and future kings yet failed miserably. It is heartbreaking as you read king after king fails to raise godly leaders of their homes; the nation and the church. It is into that heartbreaking scene we read these words “they did not pay attention.” And again they worshiped the Lord “AND” at the same time served idols.

So the question before us is how can that cycle be broken?  Men, (women too) here’s our challenge straight from Proverbs. If a man (or woman too) wants to know how to raise godly children who will be leaders, you must start at the foundational level. The book of Proverbs is given to impart shrewdness to the morally naïve; a discerning plan to the young person. Shrewdness is that quality that means you are sagacious; having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgment. Discernment is the ability to judge well especially with a view of obtaining spiritual guidance and understanding.

How does one accomplish this? By reading, meditating and practicing what the Word of God says. It is not too late. We must be training up the next generation and it starts with us.

May it not be said of us that we “didn’t pay attention.”

 

Posted on

Earthly Stones vs Living Stones

1Kings 5  David had laid the foundation of friendship with Hiram of Tyre and Solomon reaped the reward.

Eccl 4:9 “Two people are better than one because they can reap more benefit from their labor”

In Exodus, we saw how the people gave willingly to build the Tabernacle. David willingly had accumulated wealth but it took Solomon to complete the dream. Hiram willingly shared from his wealth to assist Solomon all because David had laid the foundation of a lasting companionship.

Solomon built the Temple for not just the Israelites but for the nations of the world. In Exodus, it was only the Israelites that built but the Temple was built along with the Gentiles. And both were to be places of worship to the glory of God.

God desired that the Temple be built but also that the construction itself be recorded that we might honor and glorify Him. This speaks of our lives under His leadership. He continuously records our lives and one day we will stand before him to hear of our deeds. Will they be of wood, hay and stubble or gold, silver and precious stones?

The Temple was built from stones from under the earth; we are the living stones building the church. “you yourselves, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood and to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” [1Pet 2]

1kings 5 1pet 2 livngstones2a

Optimized by Optimole