WHO WILL WARN THEM?

Ezek 3:18-19
18 When I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. NIV
** How horrible it is for us to know good from evil and we see multitudes living in their wickedness headed to hell for eternity and we don’t even warn them. God is calling us to warn the people living in wickedness to come out of their wickedness and live in righteousness. It doesn’t matter if they do it or not, what matters is that we did what we were told of the Holy Spirit. When I stand before my master and best friend Jesus Christ, I want Him to say to me “well done thou good and faithful servant.” How about you?

TRUSTING IN HIM

Jer 39:18
18 "For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me," declares the LORD.'" NASU
** God is faithful! Those who trust in Him will have their own lives in return for their faithful trust in Him. I know I must learn over and over how to trust in God. That is why often I pray prov. 3:5 over my life…. “I trust in the Lord with all my heart and I choose not to lean on my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge Him and I know that He will direct my paths. I choose not to be wise in my own eyes and I fear God and shun evil and I know that this will bring health to my whole body and nourishment to my bones.” I must rely on His word for there is no other hope other than God’s words to us. All kinds of stuff and garbage will come to us and try to knock us off our beliefs and our foundations but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint……teach me Lord to wait and help my unbelief.

NO MATTER WHAT

Hab 3:17-19
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
19 The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds' feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.
For the choir director, on my stringed instruments.
NASU
** No matter what….. what I get from Him does not determine how I praise or serve Him. My source of happiness must not depend on receiving but on giving. Only when I truly serve will I truly receive. This is a real “test me” verse. What am I really in this for? Is it just to be blessed and get my way or is it because I’ve found true happiness and fulfillment in serving an awesome God.

FAMILY REJECTION

John 7:3-5
3 Therefore His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 "For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." 5 For not even His brothers were believing in Him. NASU
** It’s pretty sad that His very own brothers wanted Him dead. Why? Because they thought He was crazy. AND they didn’t believe in Him. It must have been a real eye opener to have been living with the son of God…. I wonder if Jesus acted or did anything that gave Him away around His family? It’s always hard to do ministry around people that have known you for your whole life. This is why it’s good for people to move to a whole new location when they decide to go into ministry because then they don’t have the comments and doubts from all the relatives and family.

STORMS ON THE HORIZON

As a pastor I see over and over again people who choose to walk their own way and follow after sin instead of righteousness. I also see that after they choose this very dangerous path that it’s not long before they begin to reap the consequences of that path. (it’s amazing how fast sin’s seeds sprout and grow into these ugly plants). My whole life has been dedicated to following God and doing what I believed thru scripture what He wanted me to do and to raise my children in the way that His word taught me to. Yet in this past year I have found that you can’t make decisions for your children or anyone else for that matter. No matter how hard you try and how diligent you work at it, everyone has to make a choice in everything that comes their way. My heard is broken and I don’t know what to do. If it were not for the passion God has given me for my church, I would run as far away as I possibly could to get away from the reaping of sin that has raised it’s head in my family. On wrong decision leads to another so that it will cover up the past wrong decision. I’ve seen it over and over in the lives of people in my congregation and people in other pastor’s congregations but now it is in my very home. Now because of sin, I will not be able to enjoy the benefits of my adult children as I once thought I was going to do. I feel pressed in on all sides and I don’t know what to do. There are a million decisions that I have to make and I don’t know if I can even make one of them right. This is where my faith must stand strong. I must depend upon my savior and friend Jesus to walk with me thru this dark valley. My heart aches and I feel like I have had a death in the family and I dread going to the funeral. I’ve looked into eyes that once was full of life and vision and passion to do God’s will only to now find them dull and empty with only hopelessness blaring out at me saying in a loud voice “YOU HAVE FAILED AS A FATHER AND AS A PASTOR!” When will I find relief from this pain and hurt I feel inside of me? But I hear a voice inside of me that has been with me my whole life. It’s the voice of the Holy Spirit that whispers in a small voice: “Trust in the Lord with your whole heart and lean not upon your own understanding.” Yes! this voice has ever been faithful to me and has never left me nor forsook me. This voice is the voice that calls out in the middle of the night “Jesus love me this I know. For the bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak but He is strong. Yes Jesus loves me. Yes Jesus loves me. Yes Jesus loves me. The bible tells me so.” I trust in you Lord…… NO MATTER WHAT!

TIME TO TURN FROM SIN

2 Chron 34:18-21
18 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, "Hilkiah the priest gave me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 21 "Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD which is poured out on us because our fathers have not observed the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book." NASU
** Oh how I wish that we all would be effected as much as this king when we read the bible. How often we just decide that we will do things our own way and turn away from the word of God to follow what we thing is best. I’ve seen over and over again, people who do things against the word of God or against godly advice and it seems that there is no consequences to their actions. But God is a just God and He will not allow us to go unpunished because of His love for us and also for us to be an example in our discipline to others. When we fall, we must pay for the act of sin thru our rebellion and thru our selfishness. Even if Jesus died for all our sins, there is still a price to pay….. no one gets off…. No one. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor or whatever status you have, you will still need to pay the price of reaping what you sowed. I am amazed at the king making the decision to straighten out before it was too late. He could have questioned authority and said “I am the king, no one tells me what to do.” But he didn’t. He submitted to the word of God and saved himself and his kingdom of people. Because everyone knows that when you sin others suffer….. right?

AMAZING FORGIVENESS

2 Chron 33:10-13
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the LORD brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. 13 And when he prayed to him, the LORD was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD is God. NIV
** Ok, so is this what it’s going to take to get you back to God? Hooks in noses? I find it amazing that God forgives such evil men after all they’ve done. Even though this story is evil, I find hope knowing that if God forgave Manasseh He will forgive me when I fall. Hopefully I will repent BEFORE I get a hook in my nose….. Yep!