Which Way Will You Turn?

"The warriors of Ephraim, though fully armed, turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came."  (Psalm 78:9-- NLT)

 

They were "fully armed," but they "turned their backs."  This has been a description of post World War 2 America.  Dr. Spock's book on child rearing came out in 1946, the year the first baby boomers were born.  He was the "Oprah" of his day.  The generation who fought and "defeated the greatest war machine since Alexander the Great," became wimps and took the words of a humanist over the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  Their children turned to Elvis, the Beatles, drugs, and Eastern religions rather than the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  In the face of world aggression, this "Spock generation" burned draft cards and fled to Canada.  "The warriors" of World War 2 produced a generation of "warriors" who "turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came."  Verse 10 reveals the reason for a "fully armed" culture which "turned their backs"----- "They did not keep God's covenant, and they refused to live by his law." 

 

There are times in life when we are all faced with the option of turning our backs.  But if we walk in our Law-Word, Jesus Christ, and run this race "with our eyes fixed on Jesus," it will not be said of us, "They turned their backs and fled when the day of battle came."  We will face the enemy.  We will overcome.  We will conquer.  It is just simply time to get a mind of your own submitted to "the mind of Christ!"  Stop the incessant "confession" of religious gurus and talk show hosts, and confess the Word of God, Jesus Christ.  Meditate on Him/Them "day and night."  When you do, you will be a fulfillment of James 5:20-- "He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins."

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, I reaffirm my rejection of the trendy religionists and commentators, and I reaffirm my acceptance of You and Your Word.  Amen.   

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Whom Do You "Consider"

"Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble."  (Psalm 41:1)

 

General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker did a good job yesterday in the hearings.  We saw a fair number of "demonstrators" in the halls, wackos mostly, but there were a few supporters.  I thought, "You can protest here, because they are doing their job over there."  The President takes an oath to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."  Has America lost this "oath?" 

 

Yesterday, during a prayer time right across from the Supreme Court Building, a young person said that they had been talking to a pacifist, and wondered what to say to them.  I told him about Bohnhoeffer and my great grandfather, men who were pacifists, but when they saw the poor being mistreated and murdered, they realized that they could not just stand by and do nothing.  Every war in which America has been involved has been, "he who considers the poor," the British, the Russians, Germans, Koreans, Vietnamese, Iraqis, etc.  The problem with pacifists is that they tend to just "consider" themselves.

 

Who and what are you considering and defending today, just yourself, your family, your business?  That's O. K., but there are more to be considered.  "Blessed is he who considers the poor," not just the physically impoverished, but the politically, morally, and spiritually impoverished.

 

Oh, Father, in Jesus' Name, help me to "consider the poor" by doing something.  Amen. 

 

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Are You Following Orders?

  "In the same way, the Lord gave orders (directed) that those who preach the Good News should be supported by those who benefit from it."  (1 Corinthians 9:14--NLT)

 

Do you benefit "from it?"  My life, now, and in the life to come depends on this lifesaving Gospel of Jesus Christ.  So does yours.  Remember when you were lost, headed to the fires of Hell, and that person led you to Jesus?  And what about all of those "Fivefold" ministries who have fed and sustained you in pastoral care, teaching, and represented you in the nations over the years?  Are you supporting such "benefit?" 

 

In a factory-assembly line-"workers" (which usually means people with dirt under their finger nails and calloused hands) culture, people who do not earn their living "by the sweat of your brow" are not really considered workers; hence, they don't deserve the money they receive.  I can still remember the uproar in the labor unions at Iacocca's receiving an $800,000 bonus.  To me it was a small price to pay for the man who saved Chrysler----------------------------------- and all those labor union jobs! 

 

Just watch the money trail in your life, and you will discover what your values are, and what you really value.  Don't follow the "worship," the praying, the Bible reading, or "my ministry" trail.  That trail many times can reveal just your preferences, not your convictions.  Isn't it, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also?!?"  And could we dare say, "Where your heart is, there your treasure is?!?" 

 

Be encouraged-- the next time you pay your tithes and offerings, remember that you are obeying our Lord Jesus Christ, Who "gave the orders that those who preach the Gospel should be supported by those who benefit from it." 

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, Holy Spirit, show me my true values today.  Amen. 

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News and Commentary:        www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

Devotional Archive:               http://apfdevotionals.blogspot.com

 

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Fire, Hammer, Rock, Everlasting Love, Lovingkindness-- I Need All

"'Is not My word like a fire?' says the LORD, 'And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?...Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.'" (Jeremiah 23:29; 31:3)

 

Both texts are from the same prophet, the same Bible, the same Jesus.  Some people like devotionals that are all affirming, feel good, and "smooth things;" some just like "tell-it-like-it-is," fire and brimstone.  Well, perhaps I could accommodate, but that is not the Bible.  The Word of the Lord is all of the above--- and more.  He is a Good, Wise, Wonderful Father. 

 

Yesterday a friend of mine sent me a video of Oprah, which referred to her new "church."  It is some program where apparently she just rants on about how there are no absolutes, no "one way" with Jesus, or just anything which comes to her goddess mind.  Her audience went from 300,000 to over 2,000,000 between programs.  The formula for success in today's world is: Just please as many people as you can, have a pleasing personality, provide that which is in demand, flatter man's independence and rebellion against Jesus Christ, and, voila!--------- 2,000,000 worshippers.  I'll stay with the "formula" for pleasing God: Submission to the ABSOLUTE reign and Word of our Father, Jesus Christ.

 

If you and I are in Jesus and He in us, if His Word is in us and we in His Word, we will be kept from the Oprah's and the charlatan ministries in life, and, I might add, our own.  If Jesus, not Oprah, anyone, nor anything else is your God, you will walk in the "whole counsel of God,"-------------------the "fire," the "hammer," the "rock," the "everlasting love" and "lovingkindness," and, the ABSOLUTE, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," of Jesus Christ. With this I will try to accommodate.

 

Father, in Jesus' Name, keep releasing Your "whole counsel" in my life.  I need You, everything You Are and Give.  Amen. 

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Preaching Schedule with the CCE Congregation:  April 19 & 20

News and Commentary:    www.antipasprayerforce.blogspot.com

 

 

 

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