the land

Captives Hear the LORD’S Word

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Captives may hear the good news of God’s word, but will they believe and do the will of God? That is the question for myself as well as you the reader. The following is a promise from GOD, of their return to Him, and they to their land of promise as well.

Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
“Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus saith the Lord GOD; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.’ Therefore say, ‘Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even gather you from the people, and assemble you out of the countries where ye have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.’  And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: that they may walk in My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads,” saith the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 11:14-21

Note that the LORD says, “I will be to them a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.”

The LORD God is our shelter, our comfort, our strength; a very present help in our time of need; no matter what situation we are in in life.

There is only hope for salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ who died on the cross, was buried, and He rose again. He is returning soon. Be ready by calling on His name.

A Promise Of Almighty God

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he came out of Padanaram, and blessed him.  And God said unto him, “Thy name is Jacob: thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name:” and He called his name Israel.  And God said unto him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed after thee will I give the land.”  And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.
Genesis 35:9-13

The Branch of Righteousness

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our Righteousness.

Jeremiah 33:14-16

Prayer for January 2, 2021

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.” Proverbs 2:21

“And going on from thence, He saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them. And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.” Matthew 4:21-22

Our Father and God, Creator of heaven, earth and all that is; even the seen and the unseen. You have made all things and without You there was nothing made that was made. In You is Life, and the Life is the Light of men.

You have made the land and the air we breath and we are not thankful for Your multitude of blessings. You have given us life and we see human life as cheap and steal, kill and destroy; whether physically or by word and words of hate. Heal our sin sick land.

May we who know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior yield to His Spirit and His words for us in this world. May we put away pride and arrogance which are two abominations You hate. Let us turn away  from hateful name calling, and speak the truth in love.

May we as Christians, like the sons of Zebedee leave all and follow Jesus, doing  His will, which is doing the will of  You, the Father.

May we with passion look expectantly toward that new land You have promised those who know You; but may we with even more passion look forward to living a life that will bring honor and glory to Your name; and seeing You face to face. Amen.

Not Forsaken

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of Hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.

Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; He will render unto her a recompence.” Jeremiah 51:5-6 (KJB)

Though the land, the people of Israel and Judah had sinned greatly against the LORD of Hosts His grace is sufficient to bring them back. More than sufficient to judge those who had treated them so viciously and vilely.

The LORD calls for them, during the time of His visitation upon Babylon to flee. “Come out of her My people” (Revelation 18:4).

Christian of 2019 and beyond; God does not forsake His people.  The reason for the captivity of Judah and Israel is due to their forsaking God.  Christian let us never think that God who is Holy, Righteous, and Just will overlook our sin. NO! He will still hold us accountable for our forsaking Him.

We can rest assured by the cross and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, His burial, and resurrection that our sins are forgiven, yet there is discipline, chastisement for sin.  If you are without the chastisement of the Lord, you are not His.

Rest and grow in His grace.

Let Us Now Fear the LORD Our God

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

“Neither say they in their heart, ‘Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in His season: He reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest. Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

For among My people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and My people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” Jeremiah 5:24-31 (KJB)

From  F. B. Meyer…

“Diogenes, the cynic, was discovered one day in Athens in broad daylight, lantern in hand, looking for something. When someone remonstrated with him, he said that he needed all the light possible to enable him to find an honest man. Something like that is in the prophet’s thought. God was prepared to spare Jerusalem on lower terms than even Sodom, and yet He was driven to destroy her. Both poor and rich had alike “broken the yoke and burst the bonds.” The description of the onset of the Chaldeans is very graphic. They settle down upon the land as a flock of locusts, but still the Chosen People refuse to connect their punishment with their sin. It never occurred to the Chosen People that the failure of the rain, the withering of their crops, and the assault of their foes, were all connected with their sin. There is nothing unusual in this obtuseness for as we read the history of our own times, men are equally inapt at connecting national disaster with national sin.

How good it would be if the national cry of today were that of Jer_5:24 : Let us now fear before the Lord our God! Notice the delightful metaphor of Jer_5:22. When God would stay the wild ocean wave a barrier of sand will suffice. The martyrs were as sand grains but wild persecutions were quenched by their heroic patience.” F. B. Meyer’s THROUGH THE BIBLE DAY BY DAY titled “Widespread Corruption”

And with these words I say Amen.  “Let us now fear the LORD our God”. Begins by humbling ourselves at the cross of Jesus Christ.

 

Trust the LORD and Be Prepared

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

This is a post I shared on August 10, 2013, and it was titled “The Making of The Preacher”…

The call of the prophet was one of separation. It was one for Jeremiah that would separate him from his family, due to the message he would be proclaiming, it would even keep him from marriage. There were times he would even feel that God had forsaken Him. We will see these things as we progress through this wonderful prophecy which our LORD God has given us.

The passage of the prophet for today is chapter one, verses 17-19;

“Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.” Jeremiah 1:17-19 (KJV).

The idea of “girding up the loins” is the idea of getting one’s self ready for the task at hand. You might say of a preacher called by God, “Get yourself ready to do My bidding”. As Paul spoke to Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV). Jeremiah was called to preach the Word of the Lord and he must be prepared. He must know that calling is sure, because there were going to come times in his ministry where that would be all that he had.

“Arise”, get up and get going, the time is short. “Speak to them all that I command thee”. There can be no changing of the message to soften the impact. It must be spoken as God has given it. It is sad to say and to think, but there are many preachers, who are pastors of churches and preach (if you can call it that) messages that are watered down versions of the truth, thus not the truth, but lies. They would rather be popular with their people. Popular with the people unpopular with God. Which would we be? God says to the prophet, “Be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them”.

If we as preachers neglect to preach Jesus; His death on the cross; His burial; His bodily resurrection; and His promise… “I will come again” then we fail to preach the Word of God.  That is the essence of all of Scripture.

The prophet is called to stand, to be strong. God tells Jeremiah, “I have made you this day a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests , and against the people of the land.” This is God’s promise to Jeremiah of God’s protection from harm. Even when the judgment comes on the land, even though the people, the kings, the princes, and the priests turn against him Jeremiah is promised protection. His life will be kept and preserved. Someone has said, “The man of God in the will of God is immortal, until God is through with him”. That is a profound statement. Of course the one who made that statement must have been speaking of this temporal life we live here on earth, because with Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are immortal anyway.

The promise of God for protection would be a mighty force in the faithfulness of Jeremiah. The promise is a mighty power in our lives as well. To think that his own family, friends, king, princes, and others would try to harm him, even try to kill him, and he having the promise of God’s protection and keeping. “They shall fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you.” Would you rather have the friendship of the world, or the protection and power of God on your life? Think about it. You cannot have both, if you are going to be a preacher of God’s Word.