Deuteronomy 1:2-3 (NLT) Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by the way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say.
vs6.-7a- When we were at Mount Sinai the Lord our God said to us, "You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on.
These verses always make me laugh, and they make me think! To me it is just casually stated and I probably read it several times until 1 day years ago when the light went on in my little mind and I stopped and thought, 11 day journey....taking 40 years. What went wrong there? It wasn't the distance between the two places that took 40 years, rather I believe it was the distance of their heart from the heart of God. Therefore, God had to take them on a journey that would take 40 years. He was transforming them.
When we have a wandering heart, we might find that we end up on a journey that we didn't anticipate. Our Heavenly Father loves us too much to just let us wander around. He will let us wander around, all the while revealing Himself to us- preparing us to live a life of obedience to Him.
Sometimes a 40 year journey is God preparing us for something greater. While my human mind can't comprehend it, I know that some of the best lessons and character building come out of struggle.
If you are in a journey today, I would encourage you to snuggle up to God. Go to Him and ask Him to expose any hidden sins in your life that may be holding you back, costing you time. If He doesn't reveal anything to you, then trust Him in this wilderness journey He has you on. He is with you and the day will come when He will say........You have stayed at this mountain long enough, it is time to break camp and move on....Look, I am giving all this land to you. Go in and occupy it!
Have you ever started to read a book and become tempted to turn to the back page to see how it ends? Or, have you ever talked to someone about a certain movie you want to see and they've already seen it so they begin to tell you how the story ends?
That just tends to ruin it for me- after all I know how it will turn out in the end. However, I want to take a moment to talk about the ending to a story in which the star of the show is Jesus Christ.
There is a lot of unrest in the world right now. Earthquakes, riots, a crumbling economy and the threats of evil dictators that would love nothing more than for America to go up in a cloud of smoke. If those were the only peices of news I had I would be pretty depressed and afraid right now. Surely none of those situations have a good ending.....or do they?
In the Old Testament books of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, we read about how the stage will be set for the return of our Lord. Just about every player involved in these riots will play a part of ushering in the end of time as we know it. Then in the New Testament Jesus gives some advice about the signs of the times- referring to them as birth pains. The setting of the scene for the antichrist to appear and deceive those who are left behind seems to be coming together at a fairly fast speed. Does this mean that we can predict the date the Lord will return- absolutely not. However, Jesus does say when you see these things happening, LOOK UP FOR YOUR REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH!
But, good news for those who have accepted Christ as their Savior! This is a battle in which the victor(s) have already been named. Yep, I've read the back of the Book and we WIN!!
Let me share with you from Revelation 22:3-5 (but I recommend the entire chapter!) "No longer will there be a curse upon anything, for the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him. And they will see His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. And there will be no night there-no need for lamps or sun-for the Lord God will shine on them. And they shall reign forever and ever,
Oh, by the way....while I'm on the subject- let me take a moment to inform you and remind Satan of his future. For I read the back of the Book and he doesn't win- Hallelujah!
Revelation 20:10- Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
I do not know what these days will bring for America and Christians. But this I know, the one who kills the body cannot kill the soul! For the ransomed child of God we know that we are ultimately safe and secure in the hands of our Father and when we draw our last breath we won't leave home, we will go home!
If you are not sure that you will spend eternity then don't wait another moment. Click on my side bar of "do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?" If you are a true child of the King then hang on and be spreading the Gospel for Matthew 24:37-39 says "When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah's day. In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered the boat. People didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes"
Ephesians 4:20-24- But that isn't what you learned about Christ. Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life that is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.
Colossians 3: 9-10-Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
Paul is giving us instruction here to put off our old nature and put on our new nature. When we became Christians, we were given a new nature. Until we enter glory we will always war with 2 natures even though we are Christians. We struggle with our old nature, which gravitates toward sin and disobedience and we have the new nature, given to us when we are saved. It is the nature that resembles Christ and walks in obedience to Him.
Paul is clear on this- we must make a conscience decision which nature we choose to wear. When I go to my closet each morning to get dressed, I may stand in there for a few minutes deciding what to wear. I may base my decision on what to wear according to many things....such as, the temperature outside, the comfort of one outfit over another, what is in style and so on. I then make a decision and put on the outfit.
Each morning when we awake, we need to enter our prayer closet and make a decision to put on our new nature. This will not always be easy. Certainly there are times when our old nature would be easier, "more comfortable" because it doesn't require submission to the Holy Spirit. Our old nature is certainly more stylish and in fashion in this world we live in. We might be tempted to choose our old nature because we will "fit in" with everyone else.
But, the more time we spend with the Lord, the more we will desire to please Him and walk in our new nature. It is a nature that continues to conform us into his image. Our old nature will no longer feel so comfortable as the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us- our old nature will feel like those jeans in the back of our closet that we no longer fit into!
One thing is certain- it is a decision we must make. I see it this way- would I get up in the morning and just not think about getting dressed? Would I just blow it off and decide to go to work in my pajamas? No! It is the same here. It's not something I can think about later. Remember, procrastination is one of the devil's tools. It is not something I can just not think about at all. Satan will definitely take advantage of that and we will find ourselves in a mess. It is something I must do every morning just like going to my closet to choose clothes to wear for the day.I encourage you to begin each morning in your prayer closet with the Lord. While you are there, put on your new nature. Submit to the Holy Spirit and ask for His help. Your old nature will raise its ugly head every now and then- but don't put it back on. You will find that your new nature may not be in style- so what, wear it anyway, you will find that it will call you to make choices between right and wrong- that's ok, keep it on. The Lord is in the process of conforming us to His image. He is the tailor of your new nature and He is the best tailor there is. He will make little changes here and there. Allow Him to do so. You will one day stand before Him and hear Him say "well done, my child" Can you think of anything better than that? Let me know how it goes!
As a little child, did you ever play the game "hide and seek". I would go stand in a corner and start counting down from 30...this would give time for my playmates to hide. As the numbers got lower, they knew they had less time and then the final warning was "ready or not, here I come!"
Jesus is by no means playing hide and seek with us. He longs for everyone to know Him as their Savior. Because of this, He laid out certain signs of the times....what things would look like prior to His return. Today it is as if I hear Jesus about ready to shout "ready or not, here I come!"
Biblical prophecy is one of the most concrete evidences that proves the Bible to be true. If you study prophecy, you will read in the Bible what you will see in the newspapers the next day! The turmoil in Egypt and its effect on the rest of the middle east is something to take very seriously. Not just for the sake of our future here in America but even greater, the eternal destiny of our souls! Israel is in a very interesting situation and America's response to Israel will also be very telling. The Middle East is the epicenter of Biblical prophecy. no man knows that date or the hour that Jesus will return but the labor pains spoken of in the Bible are getting stronger and closer together, signaling a soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My friend, IF YOU DO NOT KNOW JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR PLEASE CLICK ON MY TAB ABOUT HOW YOU CAN KNOW HIM! YOU DO NOT HAVE TIME TO PROCRASTINATE. I BELIEVE WITH ALL MY HEART THAT THE LORD COULD RETURN AT ANY TIME...THE STAGE IS SET AND THE CURTAIN IS ABOUT READY TO GO UP.
Colossians 4:5- Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. (NLT)
If you read the newspaper or watch the news, you will see that the events of these days line up with the "last days" we read about in the Bible. I really don't think we have much longer before we will find ourselves raptured by Christ Jesus and finally say goodbye to this life and hello to an eternal life with Jesus and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
That is going to be an exciting time for believers! Faith will become sight!
It is going to be a terrifying time for those who rejected the message of salvation. Can you imagine what will most likely be going through their mind....perhaps they will replay the many times they mocked or rejected the message, perhaps they will look back on the times they procrastinated and said...."I'll ask Jesus into my life some day but I'm not ready yet....perhaps they will try to run and hide, but it will be too late. Hope will be absent from the hearts of those left behind.
Who do you know who needs to hear about Jesus and His salvation message. Who needs to know that not only will Jesus give eternal life in heaven but He will help them and walk with them while they are walking on this earth.
We commanded to make the most of every opportunity. This comes right on the heels of "live wisely among those who are not believers".
Every day look for those opportunities God gives us to share the salvation message. Pray for more opportunities and you will receive them. They are there!! The Lord is not willing that any should perish. Therefore, I know He gives us opportunities to witness about Him.
God has given me a craving for evangelism and I can tell you this....once you start doing it, you can't stop!
II Chronicles 20 contains a fascinating war story and a heap of lessons....let's give close attention to this story.
The chapter starts out that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon and others come up against King Jehoshaphat to war against him. King Jehoshaphat is a good King, a Godly King. When King J. heard this he feared, but in his fear he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
the Living Bible reads like this vs 3. And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
vs 4 we read that the multitudes in the city and even the surrounding cities came to participate in this prayer and fasting.
King J. stands in the midst of the people and begins to pray this: "O Lord God of our fathers, are not thou God in heaven? and rules not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Are not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever? And they dwelt therein and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name saying, if, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgement, pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house and in thy presence for thy name is in this house, and cry unto thee in our affliction and thou thou will hear and help.
Jump to vs 12 which says, " O Our God, wilt thou not judge them, for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do but our eyes are upon thee."
The Lord keeps His promise and replies "The Lord saith unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours but God's. vs17-Take your places stand quietly and see the incredible rescue operation God will perform for you. Don't be afraid or discouraged, Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you.
That is a story that will give you chills- but the most amazing battle plan has yet to be laid out by God...let's go to vs 21 to read this: King J determined that there should be a choir leading the march, clothed in sanctified garments and singing the song "His Loving Kindness is Forever" as they walked along praising and thanking the Lord. And the moment they began to sing and to praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to begin fighting among themselves and they destroyed each other! Not one single enemy escaped that day! I encourage you to read the rest of this story. But I want us to talk about this part of the story.
Since the 9/11 attacks almost 10 years ago, we have been engaged in a war. We don't have to be the soldier facing it first hand to have some idea of the terror of war. Not only do you risk being killed by enemy fire, you also risk being captured by the enemy and tortured without mercy!
There is another war that Christians have always faced and that is the war between darkness and light, good and evil, God and Satan. Satan is merciless and he will endure in battle for the souls of the lost and for the joy of the saints until the day he is finally bound and cast into hell- HALLELUJAH!
In our frail humanness, we have fears.....so did King J! The question is what are we doing with the fear? Are we hanging on to, handing it the victory? Or, are we, like King J, taking it to the Lord. Are we setting ourselves to seek the Lord through prayer and fasting and enlisting others in this time of seeking the Lord. King J made a choice, prayer and fasting was not the last thing he did when all hope was lost. It was the first thing he did, for he knew without it he had no hope. He did not wait for his mental and physical strength to be drained before he sought God. He clearly understood he had no strength except the strength that would come from God!
During this time of prayer he did something that I believe is powerful. He remembered the times when God brought the victory time and again. He spoke out the faithfulness of God in the past and since God never changes, King J knew that faithfulness would still remain in the same way and no less than it did for those in the past who experienced it.
When Satan comes at us with his lies about our Heavenly Father and His ability and promise to care for His children, we need to remind ourselves and the devil that God's faithfulness has yet to fail even one of His prized possessions. Satan is a liar!!!
King J heard from God and he was obedient to God even when the battle plan did not make sense to the human mind. This is the part of the story that just causes me to laugh every time and just stand in awe of our God. God put the choir in front of the soldiers. This choir was to lead the soldiers into battle singing praises to the Lord.
Let's think about this....as we were preparing for war after 9/11 can you imagine a 5 star general, an expert on war tactics coming to the table, sitting down with the President and the other generals and advisers with the battle plan of placing a choir on the front lines!?! What do you think would be the expressions on the faces of others in the room....they probably would think it was some kind of joke.
As strange as the battle plan sounded, King J did just that and we read what happened. God confused the enemies to the point that they turned on each other and killed one another. Not one escaped alive!
Lessons learned:
1.) When we are fearful, we need to take it to the Lord even to the point of fasting and seek His wisdom in our situation.
2.) We need to enlist a trusted friend (s) to join us in this time of seeking God
3.) We should look back on the past faithfulness of God in the lives of others and in our own life, and
proclaim that the same God who delivered in the past will deliver again. We must know that the battle belongs to the Lord because He is our Father and we are His children. This is a promise from our Father!
4.) We must acknowledge our weakness and His strength and focus our eyes on Him not on what is going on around us. As King J said "Neither know we what to do but our eyes are fixed on You"
5.) We must follow the battle plan that God lays out even when we can't humanly understand it.-
6.) We must enter the battle praising the Lord....listen to this song written quite a while ago- it says it best
To God be the glory
