Not Forsaken

 Many a time we feel the Lord has left us in the lurch

We feel like Job

Then we look at ourselves and we say ‘no this is not the kind of thing that happened to Job. I was never in fullness to THAT extent. I'm just meant to suffer as I've chosen to be a Christian. Maybe I'm not good enough so God does not even consider my life’

In fact we always come up lower than the next unbelieving person

Our fortunes seem to be growing worse by the year and not better

When we started off on this journey, things were actually much better

There also comes a time when we wish for the past life

We become like the Israelites when they were out in the desert

Wishing for the past trails as we cannot yet see the light at the end of the tunnel

All around us seems to be much worse than where we're coming from

In fact, we are at a stage where we are saying  better the devil I know than the devil I don’t

STOP!

Do you with al your heart of hearts believe God has forsaken you?

He has promised to never leave you

And His promises He keeps

Be patient and know this more on top of His promise never to leave you

 

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalms 37:25

 

So let us stay on His path no matter how low the station in life we seem to be at. We will rise once again and we will never be that low.

The Revelation

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.

And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me,

It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”

 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Ecclesiaates 12

"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.

And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.

The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.

And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:

Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."

Being in the right place

This is one of those posts that you know you just have to make and relate to none other than yourself. In this case ME

 

"And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem." 2 Samuel 11:1

"But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD." 2 Samuel 11:27^b

 

The first time that the passage came up in discussion was on Saturday with a friend. I was not so sure on how the story began  I was clear on what David did about his desire for Bathsheba and also the major consequences of the action.

Then on Sunday for the evening service the story was about being in the right place and the same passage was the focus of the sermon. I knew then that I had to be wary of where I chose to go or how to decide on what to do.

So how did David end up in the mess that brought the hand of God upon him?

He tarried still in Jerusalem whilst the people went to war. As king, his place was at the battlefront leading his people.

But for some reason he stayed behind and chose to walk on the roof of his house.

When he stayed behind is when he gave in to sin and this one sin led to many more. When you look at the whole picture he broke four of the ten commandments.

Breaking four commandments just becoz of one thing which in when looked at seems to be minor

Next time when you choose not to do something that is your duty, ask yourself ‘am I in the right place at this time? Am I not in a place that will expose me to temptation that I may find myself succumbing to as I consider it minor?”

Be in the right place - always.

Their gods and my God

I was chaffed when the preacher went through the passage in the post before this.
It reminded me of Paul. He’s one person I’m growing to love as I read the Bible word by word.
Here Elijah showed the power of his God in broad daylight.
What got to me is the fundamentals that he addressed.
He asks why the people have two allegiances when it comes to their faith
That’s about being lukewarm
Where do we stand?
HE challenges the said gods to show their stuff
That’s the beauty of God
He will not let you down
He delivers as long as you stand by Him and put ALL your faith on HIM
Not some of it,
Not 90%
Not 99%
ALL 100% of it
Eh also shows the problem with the other said gods
They’re not omnipresent
In fact, they’re not omni-anything!
Another thing also comes out,
The way of worship or asking for your god to move for you
The prophets of baal had very vigorous ways of doing things and prayer
They had to do a lot of things in other for anything that they ask to be done for them
For my God all I have to do is ask and believe on Him
All that’s required is faith

1 Kings 18:21-40

"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD And with the stones he built an altar in came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.. And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there."

All things

To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you.
1 Corinthians 9:22-23