Thursday, September 12, 2013, 4:37 a.m. – the Lord woke me with this song:
Do You Love Me? /
An Original Work / July 24, 2013
Do you love Me now?
Will you seek My face?
I have given you
My love and My grace.
Will you walk with Me
Ev’rywhere I lead?
Will you find in Me
All of what you need?
Won’t you meet with Me
Down upon your knees?
Will you obey Me,
And do what I please?
Will you hear My voice
Speaking now to you?
I am couns’ling you
To abide in truth.
I have died for you;
Taken all your sins –
Crucified with Me,
You have been
forgiv’n.
I have set you free
From your slavery,
So that you can now
Live in victory.
Speak, Lord, your words to my
heart. I read Jeremiah 48 (NIV): http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2048&version=NIV
This
is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
“Woe
to Nebo, for it will be ruined.
Kiriathaim will be disgraced and captured;
the stronghold will be disgraced and
shattered.
2
Moab will be praised no more;
in Heshbon people will plot her downfall:
‘Come, let us put an end to that nation.’
You,
the people of Madmen, will also be silenced;
the sword will pursue you…
Yesterday the Lord Jesus gave me a writing called “The Sword of Damocles.” The passage for
the day was Jeremiah 47. The picture was of a sword of divine judgment hanging
over the heads of our government here in the USA, and by a mere thread, and of
a president who abandons his people and who looks the other way while we are
destroyed as a nation.
It is fitting, though, because I believe that has truly been
the story of his presidency and of his global presence around the world. He
serves the rich, elite and powerful people of this world who are the ones who
really rule over the kings and kingdoms of this earth, with regard to human
rule, that is. He has done their bidding in bringing about the destruction of
other nations throughout the globe, while he has lied to and has deceived his
own people. I believe he is our “King Saul” for whom the people clamored. He is
an enemy of God and of God’s people, the church, and I believe he has handed America
over to the enemy, as well.
7
Since you trust in your deeds and riches,
you too will be taken captive,
and
Chemosh will go into exile,
together with his priests and officials…
11
“Moab has been at rest from youth,
like wine left on its dregs,
not
poured from one jar to another—
she has not gone into exile.
So
she tastes as she did,
and her aroma is unchanged.
12
But days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when
I will send men who pour from pitchers,
and they will pour her out;
they
will empty her pitchers
and smash her jars…
This, I believe, is a picture of America, as a nation,
though it is certainly not indicative of all who dwell here. We are a rich and
powerful nation filled with indulgences of every kind imaginable, and available
at our fingertips in our own homes, too, or everywhere we go now via smart
phones, tablets/IPads and the like. Many believe we are a nation blessed by God
and therefore untouchable. How wrong they are! We have so, so much! Even the
poorest of our poor are rich in comparison to the poor of the world. Even many
of our poor have Satellite TV, Netflix and smart phones, tablets and personal
computers with Wi-Fi while they collect food stamps. We are an entertainment
crazed society that is nursed upon the breasts of TV, the internet, social
media and the government-controlled news. We spend and spend and go further and
further into debt because we have to have things we really can’t afford. Even
the church has gotten caught up in this vicious cycle of craving what is
material and of feeding the desires of the flesh through entertainment and
gimmicks to attract people.
We are prosperous for sure, but at what cost? Sensual lust;
the cravings for more and more of what this entertainment craved society has to
offer us; an obsession with fun; a thirst for power and control over the people
of the world; a gullible mindset of those nursed on TV who shut their eyes to
what is really going on in the world; a moral decline; an acceptance or a
tolerance of what God calls evil and sinful; placating sin; and a false grace
absent of the cross, etc. - all characterize our nation (i.e. they describe our
“taste”- character). Political corruption from the top to the bottom; loss of
the fear of God; a dilution of the gospel of Jesus Christ; blind ignorance of
truth; hardness of hearts; infidelity to God and to one another; disregard for
God’s commandments; a denial of his promises of judgment; following mankind and
humanistic philosophy instead of following God and his word; seared
consciences; double-mindedness; nearsightedness and blindness; and stupidity – all
characterize our “taste,” i.e. our national character. And, because we have not
had to go through the hardships of other nations, we have not turned from our
evil ways.
16
“The fall of Moab is at hand;
her calamity will come quickly…
18
“Come down from your glory
and sit on the parched ground,
you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon,
for
the one who destroys Moab
will come up against you
and ruin your fortified cities…
26
“Make her drunk,
for she has defied the Lord.
Let
Moab wallow in her vomit;
let her be an object of ridicule…
29
“We have heard of Moab’s pride—
how great is her arrogance!—
of
her insolence, her pride, her conceit
and the haughtiness of her heart.
30
I know her insolence but it is futile,”
declares
the Lord,
“and her boasts accomplish nothing…
42
Moab will be destroyed as a nation
because she defied the Lord…
That pretty much says it (See Revelation 17:1-19:5). We are
a nation who has placed our trust in our wealth, in our government, in our
national heritage, in our military, in our institutional churches, in our
church leaders, in our own resources, and in our own strength and human wisdom
and intellect. We have trusted in our own government and military to protect us
from harm, and many have bought into their lies and deceptions. We think we are
safe, and we think we are blessed by God and therefore we will not face
judgment. We wave our flags and we worship our government via hand over heart
in pledge (vow) of loyalty, devotion and fidelity to an evil government. Therefore
we do not recognize when they are lying to us and when all that comes from
their mouths is deception upon deception. Therefore, we will go down with them.
And, all shall be taken away from us.
Yet, there is a good purpose in it all. Our God is a very
jealous God, i.e. he loves us so, so much that he desires only what is best for
us, i.e. that we be in fellowship with him, walking in his grace, his truth and
his love, putting on our spiritual armor daily with which to fight off Satan’s
evil attacks against us, and dying daily to our flesh and to the sin that once
enslaved us.
He has sent us message after message via his word, via his
Spirit and via his human instruments (his messengers), and yet we, as a nation,
have not listened, and we have not turned from our wicked ways and called on
our God in repentance and obedience. Our smell and our taste – our fleshly character
and the stench of sin – have not been purged out of our lives, and so God will
pour us out, and he will bring this judgment upon us so that we might be
revived, and so that many will be saved before the day of his return when we,
if we have not trusted in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, will have no
more opportunities, and the door will be shut to his heaven. So make the
decision today to make Jesus the number one priority of your life, and let him
be the satisfaction for all your needs.
I’d Rather Have Jesus
/ Rhea F. Miller / Joel A. Erickson
I’d rather have Jesus
than silver or gold;
I’d rather be His than
have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus
than houses or lands;
I’d rather be led by
His nail-pierced hand.
Than to be the king of
a vast domain
And be held in sin’s
dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus
than anything
This world affords
today.
I’d rather have Jesus
than men’s applause;
I’d rather be faithful
to His dear cause;
I’d rather have Jesus
than worldwide fame;
I’d rather be true to
His holy name.
He’s fairer than
lilies of rarest bloom;
He’s sweeter than
honey from out the comb;
He’s all that my
hungering spirit needs;
I’d rather have Jesus
and let Him lead.
No comments:
Post a Comment