Simple Thoughts On Promises

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Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." (Genesis 37:5-7)

What if Joseph had kept his dreams to himself? Wouldn't his brothers have hated him? Sometimes people hate children of God for no fault of theirs. Jealousy is one of the root causes of hatred. The Bible is replete with many such instances right from the creation of Adam & Eve. Satan was jealous of the blessings that were being bestowed by God upon Adam and Eve. Look at Cain; he was jealous and hated his brother Abel because God accepted Abel's offering and not his.

And the stories go on and on...but the difference is made by the promise. And what God promises he fulfills despite the jealousies and the hatreds.

Joseph's dreams were God given and many things happened against their fulfillment but God saw to it that in the fullness of time, his time, they attained fulfillment.

Have you a promise given by God? And you are worried about all the hate that is coming against you. Remember Joesph and his dreams. Your's too will attain fulfillment in God's time.
As for now....Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall. (Psalm 55:22)
God bless you.

 

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'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - my great army that I sent among you. (Joel 2:25)

Joel's prophecy begins with the prophetic utterance of impending invasion of the land by different kinds of locusts destroying the produce of the land. It may also have indicated the invasions of the land by the Chaldeans.
"What the locust swarm has left the great locusts have eaten; what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten." (Joel 1:4)
"The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up ; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails." (Joel 1:10)

Then comes the summons from the Lord to the people of the land to fast and pray and repent of their sins.
'Even now,' declares the LORD, 'return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. (Joel 2:12, 13)

And the promises for repenting and living a life pleasing to the Lord are detailed from verses 19- 27 of Ch. 2.
The verse that we have here as the title verse is a part of these, in which God promises to give back what they have lost due to the locust invasions.
'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten - the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm - my great army that I sent among you. (Joel 2:25)

Whatever blessings you lost because of your rebellion and sin will also be returned by the Lord if you fast and pray and repent and live a life pleasing to God. He is a good God. He loves you. Live for him. He will restore you. Praise the Lord.

 

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"See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. (Exodus 23:20)

A promise given to the Israelites as they travelled towards Canaan; the land of promise. God was sending his angel ahead of the travelling Israelites to fight for them and protect them from their enemies, but there were instructions for them concerning the angel:
Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. (Exodus 23:21, 22)

"Pay attention, listen carefully to the angel and do all that God said"were the instructions. That was the Old Testament.

For us, as believers, God has given us his Holy Spirit to guide us till we enter eternity in heaven. The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, of whom Jesus said,
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.... (John 16:13)

We have to pay attention and listen carefully to the Holy Spirit and obey the Word of God as detailed in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit will teach us all things through the Word and he will remind us of everything that Jesus said and he will guide us into all truth.The Holy Spirit will guard us and guide us to the place that God has prepared for us.
The question is: Are we willing to obey him?
If yes, then we can be sure that he will surely finish the work that God has begun in us. Praise the Lord.

 

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My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (1 John 2:1)

What a blessing! You and me, when we sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
And sin comes so easily. Maybe not in deed, but in thought and in speech it is rampant in the lives of so many believer's. No wonder the Lord told Cain the all too familiar phrase- "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." (Genesis 4:7)

Why does sin crouch at our door? Why does it desire to have us?
Simply because satan is jealous and wants to steal the fellowship that we have with God and wants sin to be a stumbling block in our lives from receiving God's blessings.

But as God advised Cain--You must master sin. What happened though was the other way around--sin mastered Cain and he murdered his brother Abel.

Let us not let sin master us. The Bible advises us thus:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)

Sin can entangle us like a creeper entangles a good plant, but we must cry out to God to save us from such sins that entangles us. We have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Let us abide in him so that the following maybe fulfilled in our lives too.
And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. (1 John 2:28)

Confident and unashamed... Hope we can be found in such a state.
God bless.

 

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Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly. He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's. (2 Chronicles 20:14, 15)

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah was afraid because the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites had declared war on him. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. Jehoshaphat praised and glorified God and cried to him for help. That is when the above prophecy and promise were given to Jehoshaphat and the people in Judah.

More specific directions were given to the king:
Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'" (2 Chronicles 20:16, 17)

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. (2 Chronicles 20:20- 22)

The faithfulness of God was manifest again as he defeated the enemies of Judah. If you are being attacked by evil forces, cry out to God as Jehoshapat did. Never forget to praise and glorify God in the midst of the attack. Jesus will deliver you and you will glorify him again for his faithfulness. Praise the Lord.

 

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He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. (Psalm 113:7, 8)

Who would have wondered that the lives of the people mentioned below would change dramatically by the power of the one mentioned in the verses above. Yes, El Shaddai- The Almighty God did it and he can do it for you too.

So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe - the richly ornamented robe he was wearing - and they took him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. (Genesis 37:23, 24)

Yet having learned who Mordecai's people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes. When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. (Esther 3:6)(Esther 4:1)

So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Then Job took a piece of broken pottery and scraped himself with it as he sat among the ashes. (Job 2:7, 8)

The lives of Joseph, Mordecai and Job are just a few examples of what the Lord can do by his mighty power.

Read about their later lives after God delivered them by his mighty power.
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, "Make way !" Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:41-43)

Mordecai left the king's presence wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration. Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful. (Esther 8:15)(Esther 9:4)

After Job had prayed for his friends, the LORD made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before. The LORD blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first....(Job 42:10,12)

If you are down in the dumps today, there's hope for you 'coz the God of Joseph, Mordecai and Job is still alive. He says,
"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
He is still able to do great wonders. Praise the Lord.

 

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By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

This is a wonderful passage from Hebrews 11. What all would have gone through Abraham's mind when he had to travel 3 days to the land of Moriah and sacrifice his son there on one of the mountains will remain a mystery, unless of course we meet him some day and discuss it. Yet being acquainted with all the emotions that come to us humans, we can fairly assume that this was no menial task. The sorrow and anguish that must have burdened him must have been mighty. Perhaps there must have been quite a few "Why God?" that circulated in his mind while he travelled. Perhaps God would change his mind on the way. Perhaps this was just a bad dream.

No, but it was reality and he had to go through it. Isaac's innocent question must have broken his heart. It must have bled when Isaac asked,"Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" (Genesis 22:7)
Wonder how Abraham got the answer to that one. God must have put it in his heart I guess. Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. (Genesis 22:8)

Then came the heart rending part for Abraham. The Bible says,
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. (Genesis 22:9,10)

I wonder how this man past 100 in age would have held that knife without his hand quivering because he was about to give away what he and his wife had yearned for and received after waiting for 25 years. Perhaps he must have kept his eyes open to a bare minimum and would have wanted the whole affair to be over swiftly. How would he answer the questions of Sarah when he went back?

A 1000 questions and most of them without clear cut answers must have swirled through the old man's mind in the 3 days after he set out from home, but now was the decisive moment. He could make it or break it. And he did not falter.

As he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son, the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am," he replied. "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son." Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided." (Genesis 22:10-14)

Very true, what the writer of Hebrews says. Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
No human pats on the back for him, but heaven's recognition that he truly feared God. The Apostle Paul's interestingly arrives at this conclusion from his study of the life of Abraham.
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. (Romans 4:16)
Praise the Lord.

 

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And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. (Joshua 3:7)

There is a special "Today" for everyone of us who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ. A "Today" where God begins to exalt us for persevering and for being faithful to him.

That's what happened in the life of Joshua. Long years of being humble and faithful under the Lord's watchful eyes. In the shadow of a great leader for many years, yet not rebelling with others and trying to usurp authority. Not planning a coup to overthrow Moses, but waiting patiently for the Lord, fighting the battles that he was entrusted with and having faith that the God who called him was faithful and would be with him at all times.

The Bible says,
No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. (Psalm 75:6,7)

When God began to exalt Joshua, the Israelites truly realized that God was with Joshua as he was with Moses.

For Joshua, God often pronounced miracles and victories even before Joshua dealt with the problems. Here are a few examples:
Then the LORD said to Joshua, "See, I have delivered Jericho into your hands, along with its king and its fighting men. (Joshua 6:2)
The LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid of them(the five kings of the Amorites - the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon); I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you." (Joshua 10:8)

When God's time of exalting Joshua came, it truly could be seen by all. God exalts us in his ways and at his time. If we wait patiently and are faithful to him, we will experience the same..... in our work place, in the ministry or in any sphere of our lives.
Praise the Lord.

 

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"Honor your father and mother" - which is the first commandment with a promise - (Ephesians 6:2)

Not all children would approve of that, but the Word of God is Truth and it cannot be changed. As the verse states, it's the first commandment with a promise. What promise? This one:
"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. (Exodus 20:12)

Well, it's an Old Testament promise, but holds good because the Apostle Paul reiterates it while writing to the Ephesians. Writing to the Colossians, Paul gives this advice:
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. (Colossians 3:20)
Some children of believer's will find that hard to digest, but then it is the Word of God and it cannot be changed.
As children grow up and mature, their thinking and responding to situations may not match with the parent's thinking and things start going awry.
One clue to how far children should go in obeying parents is given in another exhortation that the Apostle gives to wives.
Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (Colossians 3:18)

As is fitting in the Lord. That's what is important. Anything that is not right according to the Word of God need not be obeyed or given into by a child. Of course, some children have no choice because of the strictness and unyielding nature of their parents. Nevertheless, obedience of children to their parents bring great blessings in their lives including the one mentioned in the title verse.

Are you a child? Do you obey your parents?
Are you a parent? Does your child/children obey you?
Ponder this for a moment. Find the reasons of why you don't/can't obey your parents or why your child/children don't obey you?
If both are living according to the Word, there will be a good relationship. If not, your heart needs a probing and things have to be set right. The sooner the better. God bless.

 

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Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:4)

The Apostle Peter starts the chapter talking about the faith that we have now as believer's. He calls it "precious faith."
Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: (2 Peter 1:1)

And then he talks about the nature of the promises given to those with the precious faith. As we read in the title verse-"very great and precious promises".

So we must not consider the promises given to us as believer's to be trivial. They are very great and precious. Through them we can participate in the divine nature thus escaping the corruption in the world. The Apostle states that the corruption in the world is due to evil desires.

If we do not hold fast to the promises, we don't partake of the divine nature and fall prey to evil desires of the world. This can either cause spiritual stagnation or destruction.

Many believer's are ineffective and unproductive because they care not to add certain qualities to the precious faith that they have received. Regarding this Peter elaborates:For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5-8)

O My! Is this so important? Read Peter's exhortation and conclusion:
Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:10, 11)

A rich welcome awaits us provided we obey these words of exhortation. May the Lord help us all to make our calling and election sure. God bless.

 

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"Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city," declares the LORD. (Isaiah 37:33,34)

King Hezekiah and the people of Judah were terrified because of the verbal insults, provocations and threats issued by Sennacherib, king of Assyria. Hezekiah tried to reassure his men that God would protect them, but the repeated threats weakened him. He cried out to the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz to enquire of the Lord as to what should be done.

Amongst the prophecies given by Isaiah were the words quoted in the title verse. The following was also said about the enemy king.
Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came. (Isaiah 37:29)

About King Hezekiah, the Lord had this to say,
"This will be the sign for you, O Hezekiah: "This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. (Isaiah 37:30)

And God fulfilled what he said. What he did was this:
Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning - there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. (Isaiah 37:36,37)

Jesus is powerful to deliver you from the enemy that is troubling you. Call out to him today. He will rise up and scatter the evil forces that are tormenting you and your family.

May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. As smoke is blown away by the wind, may you blow them away; as wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God. But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. (Psalm 68:1-3)

 

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Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24)

The prophet Isaiah prophesying about the Millenial reign of Christ gives this promise from God to his people living then. Of course there are many who do not believe in the Millenial reign of Christ after the second coming, but that's not the issue here.
The verse that we have above is so marvellous. Can the Lord answer us now in this way? Of course he can. He answered Eleazer's prayer for bringing a woman who was to be Isaac's wife.

Then he prayed, "O LORD, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says, 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' - let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this I will know that you have shown kindness to my master." Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor. (Genesis 24:12-15)

Notice the phrase "Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came..."

That was an instant answer to prayer. No waiting period. How great it would be if God answered all our prayers like that. But many a time we have to wait. Yet, we should be always in the "expectant attitude."
He can answer you before you finish praying. Even today.

So, let your prayers for immediate needs be with such faith that you expect God to do a miracle even while you are praying. God bless.

 

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Don't you know that the LORD, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendants forever by a covenant of salt? (2 Chronicles 13:5)

Holding on to the promises of God. That is of greatest importance in our lives. This chapter from the Bible concerns a war between Israel and Judah. Though they were one kingdom at the start, because of Solomon's disobedience, God partitioned the kingdom later on and different kings ruled Israel and Judah.

Here in this chapter, Abijah, grandson of Solomon is king of Judah and Jeroboam is king of Israel. Abijah and Jeroboam are at war. Jeroboam has an army of 8 lac soldiers and Abijah 4 lacs.

Despite the great difference in the strengths of the army, Abijah holds on to the promises of God and abides by the Law of Moses. Jeroboam meanwhile has instituted his own worship and priests.

Listen to what Abijah tells Jeroboam,
"And now you plan to resist the kingdom of the LORD, which is in the hands of David's descendants. You are indeed a vast army and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made to be your gods.
But didn't you drive out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and make priests of your own as the peoples of other lands do? Whoever comes to consecrate himself with a young bull and seven rams may become a priest of what are not gods. "As for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him. The priests who serve the LORD are sons of Aaron, and the Levites assist them. Every morning and evening they present burnt offerings and fragrant incense to the LORD. They set out the bread on the ceremonially clean table and light the lamps on the gold lampstand every evening. We are observing the requirements of the LORD our God. But you have forsaken him. God is with us; he is our leader. His priests with their trumpets will sound the battle cry against you. Men of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed." (2 Chronicles 13:8-12)

Abijah was confident though his army was only half the size of Jeroboam. Notable are the statements- God is with us; he is our leader. Men of Israel, do not fight against the LORD, the God of your fathers, for you will not succeed.

Meanwhile Jeroboam had sent troops around to the rear, so that while he was in front of Judah, the ambush was behind them. Judah turned and saw that they were being attacked at both front and rear. Then they cried out to the LORD. The priests blew their trumpets and the men of Judah raised the battle cry. At the sound of their battle cry, God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. The Israelites fled before Judah, and God delivered them into their hands.

There are Christians who are only name sake Christians. They are like Jeroboam. They have God's Word but don't live according to it. They have instituted their own ways of worship. They try to intimidate true believer's but they will never win because God will fight for his children like he did for Abijah in this war.

Are you holding onto the promises of God and living according to his Word? The enemy will not win. That's for sure.

 

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'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty." (Haggai 2:9)

Though all believer's are called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ and his kingdom, some are called to the ministry. The 5 fold ministry as detailed in Ephesians Ch. 4 is this:
It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (Ephesians 4:11, 12)

So what's your calling? And what are you doing about it?

Among the people who returned from the Babylonian exile were Joshua the high priest, Zerubabel the governor and the prophet Haggai..
The Israelites and the above mentioned leaders set about building their own houses after coming back from Babylon. They ignored building the temple of the Lord. Then the Lord spoke through Haggai the prophet that they should build the temple first.

Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of the people obeyed the voice of the LORD their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the LORD their God had sent him. And the people feared the LORD. So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God, (Haggai 1:12, 14)

Are you going about your own business ignoring the Lord's calling upon your life? Give God precedence and it will bring about a great change in your life. You will not suffer what the Israelites who came back from the exile suffered. This was what God had to tell them:
You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it." (Haggai 1:6)

When they obeyed the voice of the Lord and started building the temple of the Lord, this was the promise that God gave them,
'The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,' says the LORD Almighty. 'And in this place I will grant peace,' declares the LORD Almighty." (Haggai 2:9)

Zerubbabel, Joshua & Haggai obeyed God and did the Lord's bidding. Won't you?

 

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Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1, 2)

The people of this world consider the rich and the famous as blessed. But that is not true blessedness. If your transgressions are forgiven and your sins are covered, you are truly blessed. A person in whom God does not find any deceit is truly blessed.

Look at Nathanael. Nathanael is another name for Barthelomew, one of Jesus' 12 disciples.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." (John 1:47, 48)

How great if Jesus can say that about each one of us. Jesus plainly said that he did not see any deceit in this man. How wonderful. Nathanael was stunned. How could this man who was seeing him for the first time declare this? Jesus told him that he had seen him meditating on God's Word sitting in the shade of the fig tree.

God sees and knows everything about us. He knows exactly how much guile there is in each one of us. We cannot hide anything from him.
Look at this verse.
The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. (2 Kings 17:9)

Secretly...and that too against the Lord...How foolish. They were only deceiving themselves. Let it not be so in our lives and may the Lord help each one of us to be without deceit in our spirit. That will bring us a state of true blessedness. Praise the Lord.

 

[jeremiah7]

Simple Thoughts On Promises- 126

Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done. (Genesis 8:20, 21)

God's promise of not to destroy all living creatures again has stood the test of time and has been true to this day.
One family of 8 survived the flood because God found one man to be righteous in that generation. The Bible says, "Noah walked with God."

When everyone around is going astray don't take that as a clue that everything is lost. The Lord's eyes are on them whose hearts are committed to him.

The prophet Elijah thought that he was the only righteous man in all Israel. In his self righteous attitude he told God twice the following things:
"I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." (1 Kings 19:10)

God corrected him by telling him that:
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. (1 Kings 19:18)

Perhaps you may think that you are the only one left whose doctrines are all right. Good for you, but God has seen many more hearts that are living for him though their doctrines may not be perfect.

Come to think of it, all the 7 people in the ark besides Noah perhaps were not righteous as him, yet God did not forsake them. Your spouse or children or parents may not be as spiritual as you are, yet God doesn't condemn them. So have a heart that can accomodate those who are of the faith, but not as strong as you are.

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. (Romans 15:1)

Praise the Lord.

 

[Fembot]

Simple Thoughts On Promises- 125

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. (Psalm 32:1, 2)

The people of this world consider the rich and the famous as blessed. But that is not true blessedness. If your transgressions are forgiven and your sins are covered, you are truly blessed. A person in whom God does not find any deceit is truly blessed.

Look at Nathanael. Nathanael is another name for Barthelomew, one of Jesus' 12 disciples.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, "Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false." "How do you know me?" Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, "I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you." (John 1:47, 48)

How great if Jesus can say that about each one of us. Jesus plainly said that he did not see any deceit in this man. How wonderful. Nathanael was stunned. How could this man who was seeing him for the first time declare this? Jesus told him that he had seen him meditating on God's Word sitting in the shade of the fig tree.

God sees and knows everything about us. He knows exactly how much guile there is in each one of us. We cannot hide anything from him.
Look at this verse.
The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city they built themselves high places in all their towns. (2 Kings 17:9)

Secretly...and that too against the Lord...How foolish. They were only deceiving themselves. Let it not be so in our lives and may the Lord help each one of us to be without deceit in our spirit. That will bring us a state of true blessedness. Praise the Lord.

:amen

 

[jeremiah7]

Simple Thoughts On Promises- 127

"For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. (Isaiah 54:7)

Abandoned by all. Abandoned by God too. Whatever be the cause. It must have been a terrible experience. You must have wished to die but that too didn't happen. The pain and the gall. Job experienced it in his life. He lamented:
"Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say. Would he oppose me with great power? No, he would not press charges against me. There an upright man could present his case before him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge. "But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. (Job 23:2-10)

Experiencing the horrible torments in life, Job felt that God had abandoned him. Job wanted to argue with God. He wanted to know what God would answer him. The only problem was that he couldn't find God, neither in the east or in the west, nor in the north or in the south.

But God had not abandoned Job. He was always near; watching.
Are you in a desperate situation these days? Perhaps you feel like God has abandoned you. Take heart. God says, ""For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back. (Isaiah 54:7)

Israel felt abandoned by God because they were punished for their sins. They despaired. But God restored them in his time. God will restore you too. Be strong and courageous. God bless.

 

[jeremiah7]

Simple Thoughts On Promises- 128

They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings - and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." (Revelation 17:14)

The above is a prophecy regarding a future war between the Antichrist and his allies against Jesus. As John writes victory is sure because Jesus is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
Jesus is always the victor.
Satan thought he was winning a great victory when he got some men inspired by him to crucify Jesus. Alas, that was his greatest mistake.
The Bible says,
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:15)

When satan thought Jesus was losing while being crucified, he himself actually was being crushed. The prophecy of Genesis Ch.3 was being fulfilled.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (Genesis 3:15)

Regarding the Antichrist who will be satan's chief weapon in the Tribulation period, the Bible says,
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:8)

Finally will come the doom of satan as is outlined in Revelation Ch. 20.
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Praise God. Jesus is always the victor, now and forever. If you are a believer, here's a promise for you from Jesus himself:
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 3:21)

 

[jeremiah7]

Simple Thoughts On Promises- 129

And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? (Luke 18:7)

Do you feel God will keep putting you off all the time? Do you feel that your prayers are not going to be answered? Now, wait a moment. Read the above promise.
God says he will answer you because he is a just God.

The situation that you are facing now has been faced by many believers who cried out in their distresses to the Lord. Here are a few testimonies and pleas:
I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. (Psalm 6:6)
My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, "Where is your God?" (Psalm 42:3)
Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll - are they not in your record? (Psalm 56:8)

The good news of course is that:
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. (Psalm 126:5)

God says he will bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night.

When that happens, you can join in with the psalmist and say:
Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.
For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:7-9)