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Day of Reckoning??

God's timing is just SOOOOOO amazing:- 8-)
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From http://www.crosswalk.com

February 17

The curse of modern Christianity

For reading & meditation:Ephesians 4:25-32
"' and do not give the devil a foothold." (v.27)


There is a price to pay for our desire to grab at easy answers and that price is "trivialisation". Trivialisation is the acceptance of explanations that ignore the difficult questions of life in order to experience relief from confusion. I have no hesitation in saying that this is a curse of the modern Church.

One way trivialisation reveals itself is in the acceptance, by so many, of the view that the major cause of Christians' problems is demonic activity.

Demonic activity can be a cause of problems (especially in those who have dabbled in the occult) but it is not the chief cause.

The New Testament teaches us the importance of spiritual warfare, but it has much more to say about the influence of our carnal nature on the rise and development of problems.

In the early days of my ministry, when people came to me with problems I would frequently engage in the practice of rebuking the devil, and those prayers often brought great relief. But the mistake I made was not to sit down with the people who came to me and deal with the beneath-the-surface problems which had given Satan a foothold in their lives.

By making it appear that Satan was the only problem I trivialised the issue. It's a lot easier (and less confusing) to sit down with a person and "take authority" over Satan than it is to think through together the tough and perplexing issues that lie beneath the surface, and then work towards giving some Biblical perspectives.

But that is demanded of us if we are to help each other towards maturity.

Prayer:

O Father, forgive us for the ways in which we trivialise Your truth in order to avoid facing the tough issues. It feels good to replace confusion with certainty, but help us to be sure that the certainty is Your certainty. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:

Ephesians 4:25-32; Hebrews 5:14

Ephesians 4:25-32 (New International Version)

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
26"In your anger do not sin"[a]: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27and do not give the devil a foothold.
28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Footnotes:

Ephesians 4:26 Psalm 4:4


Hebrews 5:14 (New International Version)

14But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.



1. What are we to add to our faith?
2. What was Paul's admonition to the Corinthians?
 
Also in God's perfect timing:-


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excellence and Purpose


Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings
exactly like the pattern I will show you. (NIV)
Exodus 25:9


God instructed Moses to construct the tabernacle, a
center for worship and a place where the Israelites
could focus on the presence of the Lord. God gave
Moses specifications down to the smallest detail.


Nothing was left up to Moses' discretion. God gave
the people the opportunity to participate in its
construction by giving an offering of the needed
materials, including rare and beautiful fabrics as
well as precious metals.



Moses told the people, "From what you have, take an
offering for the LORD. Everyone who is willing is to
bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and
bronze (Exodus 35:5). . .and everyone who was
willing and whose heart moved him came and brought
an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of
Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred
garments (Exodus 35:21). . .



Then Moses summoned
Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom
the LORD had given ability and who was willing to
come and do the work. (Exodus 36:2). . . The people
brought more than enough for doing the work . .



Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word
throughout the camp: "No man or woman is to make
anything else as an offering for the sanctuary." And
so the people were restrained from bringing more,
because what they already had was more than enough
to do all the work (Exodus 36:6-7)



Then the LORD said to Moses: "Set up the tabernacle,
the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first
month (Exodus 40:1-2). . .



Then Moses set up the
courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up
the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so
Moses finished the work.



Then the cloud covered the
Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled
the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the Tent of
Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and
the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.


In all
the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud
lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set
out; but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set
out-- until the day it lifted.


So the cloud of the
LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in
the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of
Israel during all their travels. (Exodus
40:33-38)



"All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of
purpose." --John Gardner in The Pursuit of
Excellence

Written by Marji "Mike" Kruger



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Tent of Meeting



The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man
speaks with his friend. (NIV) Exodus 33:11



The setting: Moses has led the people of Israel out
of enslavement in Egypt. God supernaturally made His
presence known to the people in a number of ways.



Perhaps the most dramatic encounter happened at the
foot of Mt. Sinai. . . On the morning of the third
day there was thunder and lightning, with a thick
cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet
blast. Everyone in the camp trembled.



Then Moses led
the people out of the camp to meet with God, and
they stood at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai
was covered with smoke, because the LORD descended
on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like
smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled
violently, and the sound of the trumpet grew louder
and louder.



Then Moses spoke and the voice of God
answered him. The LORD descended to the top of Mount
Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain.
So Moses went up (NIV) Exodus 19:16-20



Moses understood the importance of receiving God's
guidance in leading the people. And he met regularly
with God. . .



Now Moses used to take a tent and
pitch it outside the camp some distance away,
calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone inquiring
of the LORD would go to the tent of meeting outside
the camp.



And whenever Moses went out to the tent,
all the people rose and stood at the entrances to
their tents, watching Moses until he entered the
tent.



As Moses went into the tent, the pillar of
cloud would come down and stay at the entrance,
while the LORD spoke with Moses. Whenever the people
saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to
the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the
entrance to his tent.



The LORD would speak to Moses
face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. (NIV)
Exodus 33:7-11



How often do you meet with God?

When was the last
time that you had a heart to heart chat with God? Do
you have a regular appointment with Him?

or is it an
occasional encounter?

Are you receiving His guidance
for living your life?

or are you trying to do it on
your own?


Where is your "tent of meeting"? that
special place where you and God communicate.



If your "tent" has been left without a visit for
awhile, why not start a new habit today? Meet God
and allow Him to "speak" to you as His friend!


Written by Marji "Mike" Kruger



For more on a relationship with God. . .

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=h8j5v7bab.0.ggg ... 4027&ts=S0
229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anchorlife.org%2Fhtml%2Fwhy_bother.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Today's Read through the Bible Passage



Saturday's Reading: Psalm 44 & Exodus
39-40

Sunday's Reading: Catch Up Day!!!!


The Read through the
Bible reading calendar

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=h8j5v7bab.0.hgg ... 229&p=http
%3A%2F%2Fanchorlife.org%2Fcgi-bin%2Fcalendar%2Fcalendar.cgi



Read the passage online...

http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=h8j5v7bab.0.ua8 ... noobab.402
7&ts=S0229&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anchoryourlife.com%2Fcourses%2Freadthroughbible%2Ffebrd.htm
 
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