God will not stand for apostasy…spiritual adultery with pagan gods…whatever that god or idol may look like in your world. For anything that comes between you and God…that causes you to wander away from God’s instruction…that makes you think you know more than God…that’s an idol.
Author: kezha1
A Christian mother, grandmother, and retired nurse living in Illinois. Called into a ministry of encouraging others to find their ultimate plan and purpose in life through Christ.
Psalm 73: 25-26 ” Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Elsewhere in Psalms it says, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.” For to lose all things is to gain Christ. Our well-being …both mentally, physically, and spiritually is in the Lord and Him alone. And even when our bodies grow old and weak, He’s our strength.
Psalm 73: 23-24 ” Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory.”
The Lord is always with me…during the good times as well as the bad. Even when I forget about Him…He’s still there. He’s as close as my next breath or my next heart beat. God’s right there to advise and show me His plan and purpose for my life. And when the waves of life come crashing down on me…I grasp onto His strong right hand…and hold on.
Psalm 73: 21-22 ” When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You.”
The Psalmist realized that anguish and despair changes us…that bitter suffering and grief makes us numb, irrational, and at times irresponsible for word or deed…even when addressing God. The Psalmist freely admitted that he was far from the person he usually was. And we, like the Lord, must remember then that grief effects everyone and that the same grace and mercy He extends, we must also.
Galatians 6:9 ” Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Or to paraphrase…Let us not become discouraged. When we become discouraged, it debilitates us and weakens our mind. We become exasperated at the sheer difficulty we face, and that can lead to depression. We shut down…and give up. But giving up is a decision we make…not the Lord’s will for our life.
Psalm 119: 130 ” The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
After speaking at a Ladies Breakfast yesterday, I reflected on what I had gleaned from the experience. Yes, I learn something every time I speak…for within all the preparation and presentation, the Lord speaks to me also. Insight into God’s word makes the simple wise, and I’m grasping after His truths daily. Insight into His heart is like a rose slowly unfolding its petals…becoming more beautiful and precious every day.
Romans 14: 10-12 ” You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written: ‘As surely as I live’, says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before Me; every tongue will confess to God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
We are casual to judge others. We become judge, jury, and executioner with a glance or comment…judging others more harshly than ourselves. But there will come a time when all our judging will cease…for the great Judgment Day will come and it will be God doing the judging. And at that moment…all will recognize and submit to His authority alone. For at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. (Philippians 2: 10-11)
Jeremiah 10:23 ” I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.”
If you want to see a disaster waiting to happen…watch people trying to run their own lives apart from God. Humans are nowhere smart enough to think they can rule and reign themselves…let alone everything else in the world. The very sage words of Proverbs 3:5-6 remain so true…”Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”
Matthew 5: 38-39 ” You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
Jesus was quoting Leviticus 24:20 where the law stated that as a man had injured someone, so he was to be injured. But then, Jesus turned that law completely upside down by advocating loving your enemy and not repaying evil with evil…of doing good to those who hate you, and turning the cheek.
Philippians 2: 14-16 ” Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.”
These verses aren’t asking you to go around singing all day, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…” But they are asking you to make a difference in the world and to not hide your faith. When you allow the love of Jesus to shine through you…people sense it…they know there’s something different about you…and they’re drawn to the light.
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