Christian Living

When Blessings Become A Curse

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But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.  They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they Him to anger.  They sacrificed unto devils, not to God; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.  Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
Deuteronomy 32:15-18

Jeshurun named above is a pet name for Israel, and it means, “Uprightness,”  and in this Song of Moses, we see God’s verdict against Israel.  In their wilderness journeys they continued to see the mighty hand of God.

They were not thankful for the provision, for His presence, neither for His power.   When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments from the LORD, they were making a golden calf to worship rather than God.

In their departure from the LORD God they worshiped by offering sacrifice to demons.  I wonder how they could do such a thing?  When you turn your back on God that is what will become of you,  You will worship at the altar of comfort, or the altar of pleasure, or the altar of wealth; maybe the altar of power, or the altar of privilege.

God had greatly blessed the people called Jeshurun with the law of God, and is salvation, and deliverance from Egypt; seeing the great power of the Almighty God against the demon gods of Egypt.  Yet they forsook their Rock (the Rock is Christ Jesus 1 Corinthians 10:4), and worshiped demons.  When they departed from the LORD, their blessings became curses against them.  Thus this song is partly a warning of what was to come if they were not faithful in their worshiping the LORD alone, having no other gods in their lives.

As Christians in today’s world; O how we need to beware of the drawing powers of darkness, causing our blessings to become curses.  Let us not trust in our blessings but only in the LORD through the Lord Jesus Christ who gave His life on a cross to pay our sin debt that we owed to Him.  He died on the cross, was buried, and He rose again from the grave and walked out of that grave alive forever more.  Worship the Blessor not the blessing.

Christian Soldiers, Fear Not

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When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.  And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, and shall say unto them, “Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for the LORD your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”
Deuteronomy 20:1-4

As a Christian we are soldiers of the Lord, and there is not a time when we are not at war.  We however fight a different kind of warfare.  It is not in or of the flesh, but a spiritual battle (2 Corinthians 10:4-6); and we are to fight first of all to be personally holy and pure before God.

There are times when we may get fearful of something, or someone, and get all stressed out about it. There are  times I do anyway, and I have found that when I am that way, that I have allowed something to get between the Lord and myself.  When I realize it, that is when I pray, and turn it over to Him.

There are in this world many things that cause us fear, and mostly it is of things we can do nothing about, and it sometimes something that is future, whether there is going to be an economical collapse  or whether our nation will go to war or not.

Christian, let’s face it.  We are in a battle against the enemies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and the leader of those against Him is known as Satan, or the devil.  The devil is a real being, a fallen, and defeated angel of darkness, who as a roaring lion goes about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).  Know this; that roaring lion lost his teeth on the day Jesus died on the cross, and the resurrection seals the security of the saints in Christ Jesus.

Trust in the Lord, and fear not, Christian Soldier.

The Compassionate GOD

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When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger: I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.  And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.  And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.  But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto His voice;  (for the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which He sware unto them.
Deuteronomy 4:25-31

Deuteronomy is the writings of Moses before the wilderness sojourners are crossing into the Promised Land.  They are near to the very place they will be crossing.  Moses is reminding them of their covenant with the LORD God.  That covenant includes  their keeping His statutes and obeying His commandments.

Now Moses is telling them that after many years, they will start falling away, turning their backs on the LORD, and making their own gods.

Then. Moses warns them that they will be scattered among the nations, losing their land of milk and honey; and doing so they will be serving the gods of stone, wood which neither hear, see, smell, or hear – meaning of course that they are without life giving power.

That word from God is fulfilled many times in the beginning of there years before they had a king, and afterwards as well.

God tells them, “But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him, if thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.”  When they come to the place they realize that they need the LORD, then they seek for Him with all their heart and soul – that is their whole being –  then He will hear them, and deliver them.

According to our text today. “The LORD your God is a merciful God,” that we all can see He is by the many times He has redeemed Israel, and taken her back to Himself.

This is indicative of the loving, merciful, and gracious character of God seen in His sending His Son Jesus Christ into a dark world of sin, and death; to die on a cross for the sins of the world.

Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God is the essence of love, mercy, and grace.  He had to be perfect, without spot or blemish.   He was, He is, and forever shall be the Lord and Savior of all who will come to Him, believing Him.

When Blood Defiles The Land

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Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.  Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.  And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.  So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.  Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.
Numbers 35:30-34

God is grieved by the bloodshed that was happening in the world back thousands of years ago; and He is still grieved by it.  We are talking about premeditated murder, not accidental or self defense.

The Ten Commandments has the sixth commandment,  “You shall not kill (murder).”

Now, the verses above tells us that God is telling them what to do with the murderer, “He shall surely be put to death.”  This commandment is in the category of “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Should I ask?  Who among us wants to be murdered?  I would dare to say, “Not a one of us,”  therefore we ought to love the way we would want to be loved.

The one who murders defiles the land, and there is no cleansing of the land, except by the death of the one who has murdered the innocent.

Jesus Christ was hanged on a cross, unjustly, He was guilty of none of the charges brought against Him.  This was a murder of the worst sort.  But Jesus did this, offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin.  We should have been the ones who hanged there, and died a slow and miserable death; but Jesus did, then He was buried in a borrowed stone tomb, and He rose again.

Our sin debt- your sin debt was paid in full;

Our sins were carried away, and cast as far away from  us as far as east is from west;

With our sins forgiven, we must repent and receive this marvelous gift of God’s grace, and we receive eternal life.  His resurrection is our assurance that we will be forever with Him.

A Troubling Prophet

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And when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.  And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel abiding in his tents according to their tribes; and the spirit of God came upon him.  And he took up his parable, and said,

“Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:   ‘He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:  How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel!
“As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river’s side, as the trees of lign aloes which the LORD hath planted, and as cedar trees beside the waters.  He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows.  He couched, he lay down as a lion, and as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee.”

Numbers 24:1-9

The words spoken  by the false prophet Balaam were spoken after he had tried to curse the people of God who were over one million in numbers of all the people.  They frightened Balak who was king of the Moabites a the time, and Balak heard of the man named Balaam, who, when he said  something, it came about as he said.

Balaam was a man for hire.  He could curse a group of people, and would for a price.  However, the poem of song he writes above sounds as though he believes God will not allow him to curse Israel.  When the matter is all said and done there are 24,000 people are slain due to the mingling of Moabites with Israel.

Phineas, a grandson of Aaron, has the Spirit of the LORD upon him, and with the zeal of God, runs with a spear into the tent of an Israelite man, who has entered with a Medianite woman, and ran them through together.  This stopped the plague which came upon the due to their lustful actions (Numbers 25)

It would seem that Balaam is the cause of the mingling, because he told Balak where their weakness was, and Balak took note; and thus Balaam got his reward from Balak.  He would not, and will not ever be blessed by receiving reward from the LORD.  Even for the words which he spoke above; neither will he be remembered or blessed for the words spoken in verses 15 through 24 of this same chapter.

They are actually a curse to him.  He knew who God was and is, yet he refused to love Him.  Yet his bed has been made, and in that bed he remains; guilty as a false prophet.

Where do you stand with the LORD God?  Do you know and believe that God is?  If you do; have you called on the name of His Son Jesus Christ for salvation from sin, and death?

Jesus Christ came to earth as the Incarnation of God to die for our  sins, by becoming sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.  Jesus died on a cross, was buried, and He rose again the third day.  I you call on Him, He will hear you and deliver you.

A Psalm of Moses

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For a little less than a month now I have been reading through the Bible.  This time I am reading the Christian Standard Bible, and it is the DAY BY DAY Chronological Bible published by Holman Bible Publishers,  For my reading today, and every day,  I have been reading three days reading at a time.  That is so I can get through the Book before the end of 2025.

I am sharing this with you to let you know why I am sharing the following Psalm from the book of Psalms.  It is because it is most likely the chronological position it should be in the reading of the Book of Numbers 6 through 13; and there was Psalm 90; then I read Numbers 14 through 16; and there was Psalm 95,  Psalm 90 is called a Song of Moses; and Psalm 95 is not, but many  believe it to have been by Moses as well. I will have no other commentary on Psalm 90 for this post.

Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.  Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou art God.
Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, “Return, ye children of men.” For a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.  In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.  For we are consumed by Thine anger, and by Thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance.  For all our days are passed away in Thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Who knoweth the power of Thine anger? Even according to Thy fear, so is Thy wrath.
So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.  Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants. O satisfy us early with Thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein Thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children.  And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.

Psalm 90:1-17

Remember the Covenant

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If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against Me, and that also they have walked contrary unto Me; and that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:  then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.  The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised My judgments, and because their soul abhorred My statutes.  And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.  But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 26:40-45

In reading chapter 26 of the book of Leviticus we see God’s word telling His people that He will be their Guide, Provider, Protector,  God and Savior.

The LORD also tell them that there is judgment against their iniquities.  God does and always will  remember His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God desires to be your God, who is the LORD.  It is only through faith in God’s only begotten Son that can be any cleansing, or forgiveness of sin.  Jesus is His name, and Christ is His Title.

They Should Have Known Better

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The Priests of Israel had just been completed, and the glory of God had been seen, and the people awed by His glory.  Now something tragic happens.  Two of God’s priests, two of the sons of Aaron do something that God did not tell them to do.

And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He commanded them not.  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.  Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying,
“I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.”
And Aaron held his peace.
Leviticus 10:1-3

Nadab and Abihu offered “Strange fire before the LORD.”  They had entered the tabernacle with this offering, with a fire they had not taken from the altar at gate, but from some other source. It was not consecrated fire.  It was of their own doing; and of their undoing.

There are things we are told to do; and their are things we are told not to do.  We generally do not want anyone telling us we cannot do something; or telling us to do something. God is faithful to Himself, and His word.  So we can be confident that He will be faithful to us as well.

The two sons of Aaron made a fire to take into the tabernacle, and they had not been told by God to do so.  Have we, as Christians done some things that on the outward appearance look like a good thing?  If it is practical it must be okay. “Right?” I am going to let the Holy Spirit and the word of God guide you into what those things might be.

“I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified.”  The word from God after the death of the two die in the tabernacle.  God is His own defender of His Glory and His  holiness.  We must remember this as we worship God in our times of personal, and our churches times of worship.

We worship the God who has made the heavens and the earth, and everything in the universe.  The seen and the unseen were all made by Him through His Son Jesus who has been with Him through eternity.  Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).  We must know that, and be obedient to Him, and very respective of His glory and holiness.

Nadab and Abihu should have known better than to offer something strange, unwanted by God; and so should every believer in Jesus Christ.

When the Cloud is Taken Up

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Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.  And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:  but if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.  For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
Exodus 40:34-38

After the tabernacle was consecrated for service of the priesthood.  The glory and presence of the LORD filled the tabernacle, and even Moses could not enter.

Now this cloud is a  demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s work in guiding the children of God through the wilderness.  Just as Moses and Israel depended on the LORD’S cloud by day and fire by night; even so the Christian depends on the Holy Spirit for guidance, understanding, wisdom and knowledge.

As Christians, through faith in Jesus Christ, and His finished work on the cross we have received the baptism of the Spirit, so we can be filled with the Spirit, which is walking with God, doing His will.

The Commandments Of The LORD

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And God spake all these words, saying,
“I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.
“Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
“Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
“Thou shalt not kill.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.
“Thou shalt not steal.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.”
Exodus 20:1-17

It can be stated in two shorter “Laws”.  In the words of Jesus, ” And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”  And Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:’ this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ There is none other commandment greater than these.’ “  Mark 12:28-31

In The Press

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And Moses said unto the people, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
And the LORD said unto Moses, “Wherefore criest thou unto Me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.  And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get Me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.  And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten Me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
Exodus 14:13-18

The Israelite people had been freed from bondage in Egypt,  They had made it to the Red Sea, when they looked and saw their former captors on the chase after them, and it was not for recapture.  The Egyptians had a heart for killing them all.

The people of Israel, many of them, when they saw the Egypt’s army hot on their trail, they were frightened.  Moses tells them “Do not fear, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD.

Please note what God says to Moses, it sounds something like this, “What are you doing standing here?  Tell the people to move forward, stretch out your staff over the sea, and it will divide, and the people will go over on dry ground.”

The King of Egypt, the Pharaoh was not an honest, trust worthy man. He could not be trusted. He thought he was god, and was worshiped by the Egyptian people.  The LORD God Almighty had proven that he was not god, but only a man.

The people of Israel had found themselves in a press, or it you will, a stressful situation.  When they saw the large army coming after them they saw no way out.  The LORD provided a way where there seemed to be no way.

God is the Righteous, Holy and Just Lord of creation.  He cannot tolerate sin, and He will not even look upon it.  How then, can we please Him?  We cannot, but One did.  Humanity is in a press concerning our relationship with God.  God sent His Son to  live a life without sin, an obedient Son who had a strong relationship with God His Father.

The press of sin can defeated now by one calling on the name of the One who died on the cross for our sins, having become sin for us, that we would become the Righteousness of God.

Is the press of sin weighing on you today.  Today is the day to move toward Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God. He is the way, and there is no other.

When The Test Is Over

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And it was so, that after the LORD had spoken these words unto Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of Me the thing that is right, as My servant Job hath.  Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and My servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of Me the thing which is right, like My servant Job.”  So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the LORD commanded them: the LORD also accepted Job.  And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.  Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold.

Job 42:7-11

When God had tested Job, He saw some fault with Job, but Job submitted to the Lord, and did what the Lord commanded him to do. That one thing was to pray for his three friends – Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.

Job had spoken rightly in the things concerning his relationship with God, though Job had received something he did not expect, and that was seeing  God – “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee.   Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes”  (Job 42:5-6). Job came through this test a better man.

The three friends heard from God as well, and God was wrathful toward them, and to get right with God they each had to offer burnt offerings of seven bullocks and seven rams, “and the LORD turned the captivity when he prayed for his friends.  There must have been some bitterness between the three friends. Some of the things they each had said would have been hurtful. The three friends were saying by their sacrifice of the burnt offerings, that they were  seeking Job’s forgiveness, and Job showed his forgiveness by praying for forgiveness for their sins against himself, and against God.

God blesses Job for his faithfulness by giving him twice as much as he had had before the test began, and he had many friends to come and to comfort and encourage him.

There is forgiveness for all who will come to God the only way there is; and that is through the cross of Jesus Christ. Confess that you are a sinner and that  Jesus is your Lord, and believe that He was raised from the dead, and you will be saved.

Defense

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If I rejoiced at the destruction of him that hated me, or lifted up myself when evil found him: neither have I suffered my mouth to sin by wishing a curse to his soul. If the men of my tabernacle said not, “Oh that we had of his flesh! we cannot be satisfied.” The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.  If I covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:  did I fear a great multitude, or did the contempt of families terrify me, that I kept silence, and went not out of the door?
Job 31:29-34

Job is reminding God of his life, and how he has helped people, and that he has not ever wished evil  or curse on  an enemy.  Neither should the one’s who are in Christ Jesus.

No Mediator?

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We are in the book of Job today. I am reading three days reading from the DAY BY DAY CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE and I read the first thirteen chapters of Job.

Recapping what has taken place in these thirteen chapters; Job, a very wealth, and godly, righteous man by God’s declaration, not mine, has lost all the wealth he had. Not only did he lose that, but he lost his ten children to a great whirl wind.  Then he lost the support of his wife.

He has had three good friends to come visit him, to comfort and encourage him.  They do not speak for some time. My thought of that is they should have gone home.  The names of Job’s friends are Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Job is the first to speak, and they could not help but answer back. In one of Job’s speeches he says the following, speaking of God…

For He is not a man, as I am, that I should answer Him, and we should come together in judgment.  Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.  Let Him take His rod away from me, and let not His fear terrify me:  then would I speak, and not fear Him; but it is not so with me.
Job 9:32-35

Job is most likely feeling forsaken by God.  Abandoned, left to figure these things out for himself.  Yet, never opens His mouth in cursing the LORD.  He says “Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay His hand on us.”  At that point in time there was a Mediator with God, but He was not known by them; because in First Timothy of the New Testament, the Bible says: “There is one God, and there is one Mediator between God and men; the Man Christ Jesus”  (1 Timothy 2:5-6).  Jesus Christ who has always been, and has become man in the flesh, without sin had to die on the cross for the sins of the world, becoming sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God.

Job so ached to be able to speak to God, but God was not speaking to Him.  The following thought or saying that is quite true; “The teacher is always silent during the test” is a good reminder of why God seems far away.  It is a test for our growing faith and love for Christ and the Father and Spirit  of God.

I do have great confidence in my Mediator who stands before me and the Father in my stead, and in yours too when you have called on the name of the LORD to save you He hears, and forgives you and calls you His child.

A Father with His Sons

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Jacob/Israel was in Egypt with all of his family, and he knows that he is about to die from this world. So, he calls all twelve of his sons and tells them how they have lived, and will be known by how they have lived.

I share here today only what Jacob said of Joseph:

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:  The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)  Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:  The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Genesis 49:22-26

Most of chapter forty nine is given to Jacob’s words concerning each son.  Jacob saw the character of each son, but Joseph’s character is above them all.

Sometimes it seems  that people do not care about character; their own, or anyone else’s.  Character is who you are when you think no one is watching – what you do, and what you say, even what you think.

We all have character, and it matters what kind of character you are. You either have a godly character, on an ungodly character. The godly character is in touch with God through the devoted reading, being read by, and study of God’s word – the Bible; and putting the word to work in our lives. They desire that Jesus Christ will be seen at work in their lives.

We see godly character in Joseph when he is alone with Potiphar’s wife, and she tries to seduce him, and he tells her that he would not only be sinning against her husband who has trust for him, and for her; but even worse  he  would be sinning against God.

The person with ungodly character would say something like, I am pure” and then turn around and go to bed with a prostitute when no one was around. Maybe some other thing as well.  An ungodly character would also tell you one thing, and some else something different, about the same thing.

How can we have a godly character?  The first way is to come to Jesus Christ in faith, confessing Him as Lord, and believing in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved.  Then as a newborn Christian you get into the word of God, searching the word daily.  Start reading the Scriptures first in the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and I think, beginning with the Gospel of John.

The Psalmist wrote, “Your word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”  Psalm 119;11 and verse 9 of that Psalm says, “How shall a young man cleanse his way?  By taking heed according to Your word.”  That is the way to growing godly character.

Will you begin today building godly character by calling on the name of Jesus Christ the Son of the Living God?

The Dreams

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And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.  These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.  Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.  And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.  And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.  And he said unto them, “Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.”  And his brethren said to him, “Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?” And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.  And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.” And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, “What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?”
Genesis 37:1-10

Here in the latter part of Genesis we begin to learn about Jacob’s son by Rachel. He is a special son to Jacob, and God is using Him to accomplish His purposes.

Joseph is a shadow of the Lord Jesus Christ; in that he was hated by his brethren.  He was sold for 20 pieces of silver – Jesus was sold by Judas for 30 pieces of silver.

Joseph spent most of his life in Egypt, with several of those years as a slave in Potiphars house; then when  he is falsely accused he is put in prison.

One of the things that has become clear to me in the reading of the story of Joseph is that the sovereign hand of God is very much at work.

Do you know that there are no surprised by any thing that happens in this world, in this nation or through out the whole world; neither is he surprised by anything in your or mine.

He directs the affairs of kings and queens, of presidents, and prime ministers, and even dictators, or despots.  He sets up kingdoms and He pulls them down with  a word.  So, if and since God is Sovereign over all things; why would He be surprised by anything we do.  This is a statement not a question.

Let us who are of God, that is Christian live as Christ Jesus would have us to live, being faithful to God and His word, sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all who are perishing in their sin,  and lead them into the light.

Jesus Christ was hated by His own people, rejected by His brethren, and He was crucified on an old wooden cross dying for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again.  He is one day going to return. How will He find you?  Are you ready for Him to come?  Will He find you in His favor? Or will He find you in sinful behavior?

The Birthright

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And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.  And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison: but Rebekah loved Jacob.  And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field, and he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, “Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint:” therefore was his name called Edom.  And Jacob said, “Sell me this day thy birthright.”  And Esau said, “Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”  And Jacob said, “Swear to me this day;” and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob.  Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 25:27-34

Within the inspired word of God, “Birthright” was what was to be given to the firstborn son within a family.  When the father and mother had departed from this life the elder son or the one who had received the birthright, received all that went with it.  He would become the head of the family, receive most of any wealth the family may have, and if his mother was still living it was his responsibility to care for her and see to it that she had all that she needed.  It was an honor, a blessing, and a great responsibility.

We see in our text for today, looking at Esau and Jacob, that Esau did not think too much of his birthright,  and Jacob (the heel catcher) knew its worth, and desired to have it; he got it.

We are told that “Esau despised his birthright” in verse 34.  When Isaac, their father had called Esau to go hunting and prepare him a meal, then he would receive the blessing as the elder son, it appears that he wanted the blessing.  However he had sold the birthright for a bowl of pottage, bread and lentils, because he felt himself near death.

Esau is used as an example of how we need not  be.  For example:we

“Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”  Hebrews 12:16

We are also told about Esau:

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. Hebrews 11:20

When Esau had returned to Isaac for the blessing, and found out what his brother Jacob had done He sought, with tears, for the blessing. He received a  blessing, but not the blessing of the first born. Because he had despised the birthright.

As a Christian we have a birthright given to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. We are “joint heirs” with the only begotten Son of God’ and all that is His is ours, to be received when we see  Him in glory (Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29; Titus 3:7).

When we are born again through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ that is when become joint-heirs with Christ, and that includes the suffering with Him (Romans 8:17), and includes being glorified with Him.

Admit that you are a sinner, that you have sinned, Confess Jesus as your Lord. Believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. You will be saved, and be an heir with Jesus Christ.

While The Earth Remains

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I started reading through the DAY BY DAY CHRONOLOGICAL BIBLE reading three days each reading to read it through before the end of this year.  It is the Christian Standard Bible.  I will be using the KJV on The Fire and Hammer.

And God spake unto Noah, saying, “Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons’ wives with thee.  Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.”  And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him: every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.  And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.  And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, “I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.  While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.
Genesis 8:15-22

The greatest, most drastic disaster, that has ever taken place on earth was the flood, and we have this covenant from God that He will never destroy the earth with a flood.

There are  lot of doomsday prognosticators who have been telling us that we have a thing called global warming; now climate change, and trying to scare people into submission to  governments, and science (falsely so called). Is there climate change? If you lived in southwest Missouri, you know there is. It changes every day. It has changed every day of my life.

The climate has changed every day since the flood, from which God delivered only eight  people and many, many animals.  If the climate is changing it is in the hands of the Almighty God. There is a time coming when there will be cataclysmic earth events, which are  God’s judgment upon the earth lovers, rather than lovers of God (Revelation 7  –  20).  God made this world and everything in it; including you and me; all of humanity since Adam and Eve.  He is sovereign over all that there is. He is the All Powerful, All Knowing, All Present God, who never changes, and His word  never changes.

Do not fear the doomsday reports that humans are destroying the earth.  We do not have the ability to destroy it. We have God’s promise in the verses above, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”  God created this earth to go on for a very long time until He gives us a new earth and a new  heaven.  He also created humanity to  live forever.

Adam lost that in the garden when he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Since that time there has been death, destruction, decay. Through Christ Jesus the Second Adam there is eternal life. The Second Adam lived a sinless  life which qualified Him to be the sacrifice for all who would believe in Him (1 Corinthians 15:45-49).

The first man, Adam brought sin and death into this world. The Second Man, Christ Jesus brought peace, and life eternal into the world for those who will come to Him.  He died the cross for you and me.  He was buried. He rose up from the grave, and is alive forever more. Confess to Him that you are a sinner, confess Him as Lord, and believe in His resurrection, and you shall be saved (Romans 10:9-10).

The Song They Sing

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And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.  And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.  And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and marvellous are Thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made manifest.”

And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:  and the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.  And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.
Revelation 15:1-8

That is the Song of Moses, and the Lamb. That is the One called, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). Jesus Christ is called “the Lamb of God,” because He came to die on a cross for the sins of the world, and all  who believe in Him, believing in His death, burial, and resurrection shall be saved unto eternal life.

Those who will believe Him will be delivered from the wrath to come. Will you call on His name in faith? Will you face the wrath of Almighty God? That is your choices.

Around The Heavenly Throne

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After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, “Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.”  And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.  And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.  And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.  And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.  And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.  And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.  And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying,

“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

And when those beasts give glory and honour and thanks to Him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation 4:1-11

An Ascription Of Praise To God

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Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
Jude 1:24-25

Jude has written a short and powerful epistle,  including the very old words of Enoch, who was the seventh from Adam, the second coming of Jesus Christ. Words of encouragement for those who will believe, and trust the LORD God.

These last two verses of Jude are called a Doxology, A song of praise to the Most High God.  He is the One capable of keeping us from falling. He is the One who will present us faultless in the presence of His glory,  It is with much joy to the only all wise God our Savior.  To Him be all glory majesty, dominion and power now and forever more.  All praise and glory be to God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

They That Do the Will of God Lives Forever

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Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
1 John 2:15-17

Jesus tells  us “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” Now we read verses from God’s infallible word which seems to contradict the verse of John 3:16. There is no contradiction, but rather a meaning of the word, “world.”

God did love His creation, so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.

On the other hand the evil that is done in this world God hates, just as much as He loves what He created, He hates the evil. Why? Because He is Holy. He is Righteous. He is Just, and cannot look on iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13). Therefore those whom He redeems receive His grace of deliverance from sin and death, have also received His Spirit into our lives, and causes us to love what/whom God loves, and hate what He hates.

One of His own cannot love the evil, and wickedness going on in the world. If you love the world’s lust of the  flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life you are, in fact the enemy of God.  When you love God and hate the evil you are a friend of God.

You have a choice to make.  You have two choices to choose from.  Will you choose the path of vile evil and wickedness of this world?  Will you follow the way of Christ Jesus, and eternal life? Jesus died for us?

Turn from the world, to Jesus Christ, confessing with your mouth the Lord Jesus,  and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10), and you will have eternal life.

No Private Interpretations

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For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.  For He received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to Him from the Excellent Glory, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”  And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount.  We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation.  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
2 Peter 1:16- 21

The Good Works

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For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Titus 2:11-14

In the second chapter of Ephesians, the Apostle Paul, by the Holy Spirit tell us,

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.   Ephesians 2:8-10

So we receive grace to believe God, and we trust Him to justify us through faith in His finished work on the cross, where He took our place for the judgment we rightly deserve.

In our text for today from Titus we  see that as we wait for the blessed hope; which I believe is the rapture of the Church (the Body of Christ;) and the glorious appearing of the great God, and our Savior Jesus Christ. The glorious appearing is the second coming of Jesus Christ when He returns to earth as the prophet  Zechariah says in chapter fourteen.

In the text of Paul’s writing to pastor Titus we are told how as those who are believers are waiting for these great events to take place we are to live soberly or sound mind, righteously, and godly in this present world we live  in. If it was so of Paul’s day; it seems to be even as so, or more so in this present evil world. Remember the light of Christ shines brighter in the darkness, and grace is greater than our sin.

Christ Jesus gave Himself for us that we might be redeemed from all our iniquities. When we are redeemed from all our iniquities, then we have a changed heart, and new desires. We have desires that honor and glorify Him and are zealous to do good works.

If you have never called on the name of the Lord Jesus for His redeeming grace, because of His death on the cross, His burial,  and resurrection.  I plead with you to do so today. Do not wait another minute, or it could be too late.

Persuaded and Committed

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Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
2 Timothy 1:8-12

These verses, at least a couple of them are familiar to many Christians; the last one especially.

Being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ should cause us to be on guard of our slips and falls in faith. It happens to the strongest, and to those who are weak.

This is not the first time Paul says, “I am not ashamed..” He says it very clearly in Romans 1:16. Let us not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us be fully persuaded, and committed to faithfully serving Him and others in His name.

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.
2 Timothy 1:8-12

Is Jesus able to keep us? He most certainly is.  Who else has that ability to keep us?  If you are persuaded and committed to Him.  He will keep you in His gracious hands.