Passage Jeremiah 13:23 Ampl.
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also can you do good who are accustomed and taught [even trained] to do evil.”
Do you think that we have practiced an evil for so long that it is impossible to do good?
Do you think rebellion or stubbornness is just so enjoyable and fulfilling that we do not want to do good?
Do you think we may have practiced telling lies for so long that it just comes so easy for us that we have no conscious thoughts of truth, or even a desire to tell truth? Rev. 22:13-17…”outside the gates will be whosoever loves and practices a lie.”
What about other habitual habits we have practiced and have no desire to give up? We justify them no matter what?
What about just doing good works so we don’t have to hear, face or deal with the Holy Spirit, or so we think? Is this like placing a beautiful ripe fruit in front of a statue and believing that we have satisfied the gods?
I hope you will read Jeremiah 13 and see how Jerusalem is personified as a woman and because of her shamelessness she will experience shame. The prophet says her skirts will be uncovered and her heels made bare.
I hope that each of us will pause, think, meditate and see if there are areas in our lives that are so dark that we believe them to be light. I see this often in ourselves when we try to justify our actions, and place the blame on another. Let us take the responsibility for our actions. If we are in fellowship with another practicing evil then we have to be as responsible for the evil as the one that is practicing the evil.
This reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve? Who was to blame?
A few things I can see clearly, God is God and He does not change. The beautiful leopard is beautiful with spots and cannot change its spots. The beautiful tones of our different skins being Ethiopian skin or others are not about change but the human heart must change, Well, is capable of change and should change if we desire change. Or, our shamelessness may become our shame.
thedailylily.com 
To try to answer these questions
‘Do you think that we have practiced an evil for so long that it is impossible to do good?’
Yes, according to Jeremiah above. ‘Practice makes perfect’ as the old saying goes and we can perfect evil behavior if we persist in doing it . Romans 2:5 says …”in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God who will render to each one according to their deeds.” Needles shared in Sara’s blog “Toss Me Aside”“…as we read Exodus 9, we see that we can only ignore God’s instruction for a while. He will harden our hearts .”
“Do you think rebellion or stubbornness is just so enjoyable and fulfilling that we do not want to do good?”
Yes. I think people become comfortable and familiar with the temporary high or pleasure of seeming control it gives them against authority. Heb 11:25 talks about our choosing the “passing pleasures of sin.”
“Do you think we may have practiced telling lies for so long that it just comes so easy for us that we have no conscious thoughts of truth, or even a desire to tell truth? Rev. 22:13-17…”outside the gates will be whosoever loves and practices a lie.”
Yes, eventually God gives you over to a reprobate or debased mind if you love and live a lie and’ worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.’ (Romans 1:28 and 25) When I looked up reprobate, one definition was sobering: “…foreordained to damnation.”
“What about other habitual habits we have practiced and have no desire to give up? We justify them no matter what?”
Yes. I think Needles shared clearly an excerpt with us on Sara’s Quote for the Day, March 2007:”…and destructive virus found in our personal operating system is the justification virus. As human beings, we have the tendency to justify our poor decisions by using excuses.”” Justifying it will keep us a slave to this evil. Only being bluntly frank and truthful will give us any hope of recovery.
“What about just doing good works so we don’t have to hear, face or deal with the Holy Spirit, or so we think? Is this like unto placing a beautiful ripe fruit in front of a statue and believing that we have satisfied the gods?”
Yes. It is idol worship (Rom 1:23, 25) …a form of stubborn denial to face yourself and your sins. I think if we even face this it may be a step toward recovery. Sara you said to take responsibility for our actions.
It is like unto the story of Adam and Eve? Who was to blame?
Both. Eve fell into deception enticed with the fruit. Adam didn’t have enter into the enticement and take it but he did. Facing mutual responsibility for a team failure may be a step toward true repentance.
After reading this blog, the scripture here came to my mind. Romans 7: 18-25 “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life- that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”
Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
God tells us in His Word that if we “resist the devil, he will flee from you”(James 4:7) And in verse 8 He said, “Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.” Verse 9 “Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy.” And verse 10 “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”
God help us to desire to change our hearts by doing what you ask, so that shamelessness does not exist in the heart of a believer.
Whatever our problem with our old nature and way of life, God has an antidote. The more we read the scripture and allow it to speak to us the more we see ourselves and the world in which we live. According to Peter we are sojourners on this earth. As believers in Jesus we are citizens of God’s kingdom. As citizens of God’s kingdom, God provides us with the instruments we need to live in his kingdom. Some of those instruments are the Bible, the Holy Spirit and fellow believers(the present body of Christ on the earth).
We can overcome all of the things in Sara’s questions when and if we really want. The big problem is at times we just don’t have the “want to”.
In addition to Gary’s Debi’s and Needles’ references, Paul writes in Romans 7:14, ” For we know the Law is spiritual, but I am carnal…sold under sin.” And this part speaks volumes to me….15″For that which I do, I understand not! For that which I WANT TO DO, That is what I DON’T do! BUT WHAT I HATE, THAT IS WHAT I DO!” FRUSTRATION FRUSTRATION!!!!
AH! But then the antidote which Gary speaks about….v.2 “O, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from this body of death (this spiritual albatross about my neck…this spiritually dead cadaver on my back)? I thank GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. So then, with the mind I serve the Law of God but with the flesh the law of sin.” NOW WHAT?
Well, look further on in Romans….(How great is God’s Word)…Rom.8:1…”Therefore their is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk NOT after the flesh but after the SPIRIT. For the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made me FREE from the LAW OF SIN & DEATH!!
There’s more….to be continued…..
Now, Sara cites Scriptures and asks questions that say to the effect..How MANY OF US ARE NOT WALKING AFTER THE SPIRIT?…that some of us have been walking in the flesh so long and deceiving ourselves into believing that we are spiritual when we are really carnal, fleshly, soulish. How can we tell? How can we I. D. ourselves? Paul tells us this further on in Romans 8:5, “For they that are after the flesh set their minds on things of the flesh and they who walk in the Spirit set their minds on the things of the HOLY SPIRIT.” That sounds easy enough to discern. If we are thinking constantly about acquisition of things, places, position; if we are thinking and plotting and planning continually and obsessing over worldly problems and trying to attain worldly standards; if the spiritual life is quickly set on the back burner at the least little episode that pops up; if our primary concern is that we are preoccupied in building our own little kingdoms/paneled houses/orchards and vineyards and not the KINGDOM of GOD….then….we might be considered fleshly, carnal Christians. God talked about the Israelites building their own paneled houses before they built the Tabernacle of the Living God.
So!! Now what? Paul says if you live after the flesh you shall die.. BUT IF YOU MORTIFY…put to death the deeds of the body, then you shall surely live.”
What shall we do? We “enjoy” so many worldly pleasures.
But Paul writes further that we don’t have to sin because God has given us the Spirit of Adoption and therefore we are heirs of the PROMISE of ALMIGHTY GOD that we do not have to be outside the gates, expressly because of the finished work and the blood of Christ on the Cross. So Paul says that if
we suffer with CHRIST….that is to sacrifice up the fleshly and worldly things so that in suffering the loss of these perishable things….practices, attitudes, lifestyles, then we shall be GLORIFIED with HIM! Jesus gave up His life and suffered and died for the glory of the PRIZE that was set before Him. Paul says that the little sufferings of this present time are not even worthy to be compared with
the glory that will be revealed in us when our obedience is fulfilled. So, Sara’s premise is a “shaking up” and a “wake up” call.
We hear the alarm sound and we are alarmed! Let us repent for the things that grieve THE HOLY SPIRIT and take advantage of this warning,(and as Sara teaches) face it, admit it, change it and ask for cleansing.
I do not want to be outside the gates where is weeping and gnashing of teeth!
Needles summed up the questions/answers so well. To me it says that nothing we do apart from fully trusting in His salvation and operating in obedience to His word will secure our salvation or change our hearts. He has made the full provision but as Gary and Sara concurred in their comments, we must desire it, really want it. Jude 3 says we must
“contend earnestly for the faith..” (earnest: intense or serious state of mind). Sara encouraged us to pause, think and meditate…so, being honest with our self, do we really want it? Or are we divided as Needles commented between God and the world. Matt 6:24 says we cannot serve both for we will love the one and hate the other. And Rev 3:16 tells that if we are not really wanting Him than we are lukewarm and that God will spew us out of His mouth.
But thank God for Sara’s Beautiful Leopard blog and these comments that make us aware and help us to look at ourselves if we will. That is the counsel in Rev 3:16-22 which answers the lukewarmness and helps us humble ourselves as Needles suggested. And Jesus says He is knocking at our hearts if we will let Him in and we will sit with Him without that shamelessness if we will overcome.
Spring is here! We that have yards begin our gardening looking for beautiful lawns, budding roses and season’s floral abundance. We see the lively colors, smell the fragrance of tea roses, and clip a clipping to enhance our gardens of truth.
As I read and think on the encouraging and inspiration writings all of you post here daily I see each of you gardening in truth. WOW! I am thinking, feeling and loving visiting your gardens as we walk together viewing the beauty of your floral plantings, squealing at the bugs, and questioning how to kill the bug viruses, and pulling a weed here and there. But, one thing always remains in my heart and mind and that is the flower- of -Joy because we have been together in the garden of Our King.
As the chorus goes, “Jesus, Jesus, there is just something about Your Name, Master, Savior like the fragrance after the rain.” Yes, He lingers with us and gives us just the fragrance we need for the day. Thank you Lilies for allowing me to visit your garden of truth.
MG, your sermon will wake one up and keep them up for sometime. When I read your script I get a visual picture of a rubber ball bouncing all over the place. My doggies love to chase tennis balls when I threw them here and there, they run for them and bring them back to me. When I, not they, grow weary of play I put them away for another day.
I am thinking maybe we think this is how the Holy Spirit works!
The Ethiopian northern leopard can change skin nor spots but God can -Gods word says with man it is impossible but with God all things are possible-and I remember the story in the old testament when Nebuchadnezzar was changed from a man to a beast–so I’m thinking God if the person wants in his heart to change He can with Gods help …but if we love them (the lies ) and practice them-out side we go…as for the habits with no desire to give up..if we love them more than God we are not worthy of God sooooo back to “Toss Me aside and I will toss you aside”…dj
Lord we can’t change the color of our skin or its appearance, but with You in charge and the desire for You to change us we can become a new creature. May we hear Your voice each day through Your word in scripture, through talking one on one with You, and with hearing the word from fellow believers. Here is a song which touches each of us as we go to him in prayer. Jesus we thank you!
In the Garden
John 20:18
Words by and Music by C. Austin Miles, 1868-1946
C. Austin Miles was asked to write a song to bring hope to the hopeless, rest for the weary, and downy pillows to dying. As a result as he sat in a dark room he visualized the garden in John 20:18. This song is second to the “Old Rugged Cross” in popularity.
In the Garden
Verse 1
I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses;
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear,
The Son of God discloses.
Chorus
And He walks with me, And He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.
Verse 2
He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet, The birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me,
Within my heart is ringing.
Verse 3
I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; Through the voice of woe,
His voice to me is calling.
Aa I reread Sara’s blog and comments related to the condition of the heart, it becomes more clear the extent to which we deceive ourselves…..that as she said we are in such darkness that “we believe them to be light”. If we won’t face our hearts and deal directly with the Holy Spirit, then are vision is dark and all we have left to do is to dance before the idols as in Exodus 32:19. Sara describes it above as placing fruit in front of the idol statue.
Carl Jung quotes: “Your vision becomes clear when you look inside your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
“..How MANY OF US ARE NOT WALKING AFTER THE SPIRIT?…that some of us have been walking in the flesh so long and deceiving ourselves into believing that we are spiritual when we are really carnal, fleshly, soulish.”
The above is a quote from MG’s comment above. I would like to suggest that we read and think about her comment and see if we can ID ourselves as MG has suggested. When we are operating with the spirit of passivity we probably can’t ID ourselves and need others to help.
I have come to understand when I hear a believer talk about how busy they are, or I find myself too busy, we usually are in spiritual passivity and that is where our flesh has taken over.
If we ID our tongue and see how many times we use someone else’s name or a thing, like our spouse, family, work, boss, long hours, vacation, etc. as an excuse for staying in the flesh and not the spirit we might be shocked.
We are in spiritual warfare. Needles told us this in her comment. The Apostle Paul told us this but we find it a battle and settle for passivity and we lose while we are deceived into thinking we have won.
Good Quote from Jung, Debi gave. “Your vision becomes clear when you look inside your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”
Let us awaken! John 14:31 “…Arise, let us go from here.”
Let God arise and let HIS enemies be scattered. Let us rise up with our GOD when HE arises and “go from here” (our stymied positions; our immobile lifestyles; our paralyzed thought processes; our aquisitional attitude) as Sara admonished, then His enemies and thus ours will be scattered. Who is the enemy? Passivity seems to be one, in what Sara said??? Who would have thought such a thing? Passivity?? Just “truckin'” along (what a dated expression) so I will use Sara’s “TROLLEYING” along just Feeling Groovey…a song in our 6th grade music book at school. “Hello lampost, whatcha doin’? I came to watch your flowers growing….got no promises to keep. Dootin’ and dootin’, Feeling Groovey’. Cool! This is an ENEMY? YEP! In the Gospel of Luke 12:18, the rich farmer stored up his goods for many years and decided in his heart to take his ease, eat, drink and be merry. But the Lord GOD says to him, “THOU FOOL! Tonight your life is required of you. He that lays up treasure for himself is not rich toward GOD.
Therefore take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or drink or put on.” Does that mean we are not to think at all about the necessities of life? Of course we need to look into these things and not to be a burden to others. BUT these should not be our obsessions, our main focus, occupy our every waking moment, idol makers!! The Bible tells us that God knows we need these things and HE will provide and show us how to provide for ourselves, send the ravens when needed and bring funds in, in the most amazing way, if we will seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. All these things will be added.”
1Cor.10:5 says to Set your heart upon the living GOD. TRAIN your mind to follow after HIM. Day after day, take every thought captive, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of GOD (that is the knowledge of the truth) and bringing into captivity our own thoughts as we become enlightened by the WORD OF GOD.
If we are focusing on the LIVING GOD every waking moment, we will not be taken captive by the enemy; we will be able to walk in the SPRIT and not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, every waking moment of every waking day. That’s how often the enemy comes against us. But if we will arise against him we will not only be the victors but we will rout the enemy for sure. And that enemy that we see today we shall see no more, forever,that is, if we are obedient to the WORD OF GOD>
Jeremiah 13:15-17 “LISTEN and PAY ATTENTION! DO NOT BE ARROGANT, for the Lord has spoken. 16 Give glory to the Lord your God BEFORE IT’S TO LATE. Acknowledge him BEFORE HE BRINGS DARKNESS upon you, causing you to stumble and fall on the dark mountains. For then, when you look for the light, you will find only terrible DARKNESS AND GLOOM. 17 And if you still refuse to listen, I will weep alone BECAUSE OF YOUR PRIDE. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile.”
As I was reading this verse I began to think about the questions Sara was asking. This verse is a warning against pride. God is warning us that we had better stop our foolish ways. We have practiced evil for so long that it’s impossible to do good. It seems like the moto “IF IT FEELS GOOD, DO IT”, is alive and well this day in time. We have been rebellious and stubborn. We have practiced lies and we can always blame someone else and justify all our short comings. I am like Needles when she stated ” I love God’s law with all my heart, but there is another power(sin) within me that is at war with my mind. We are all in a spiritual warfare. Satin is trying to take as many souls as he can. We know as Christians that we are not sin free but we are forgiven. Jesus was the only sin free man of God that has ever walked on this earth. Sin separates us from God. This is the reason Jesus had die. Jesus took sin away so that we can be forgiven. Jesus became our sin as he struggled to breath and the blood was pouring from his wounded body. Every time we lie, every time we are rebellious and stubborn, every time we practice evil and every time we blame others and justify our short comings we are driving that nail in Jesus’s wrist deeper. You and I hung our savior on the cross, not the high priest, but you and I. Our sin. Isaiah 53:3-6 “He was despised and rejected- a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his trouble were a punishment from God, a punishment for his sins! 5 But he was pierced for our REBELLION, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.” Jesus did this because of the other power(sin) that is at war with our minds. Jesus knew this is why he was born. He weep and prayed about this task he had to fulfill. He asked his father to take this cup from him but not his will but to let thy will be done. When he was hanging on the cross he cried out MY GOD, MY GOD WHY HAVE YOU ABANDONED ME? At this brief moment God and Jesus were separated, because Jesus became my sin. Sin is a separation from God. My sin hung my savior on that wooden cross and for a moment separated my savior from my God. Imagine the pain that Jesus must have felt as he was hanging on the cross with nails in his hands and feet gasping for every breathe. Lord please forgive me for my sins. Help me to avoid practicing evil, not to be rebellious and stubborn,not to lie and not to justify my short comings and blame others. Forgive me Jesus for hammering the nails in your wrist and feet.
Gensis 18:26 And the Lord replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom, I will spare the entire city for their sakes.” 28 And the Lord said,”I will not destroy it if I find forty-five righteous people there.” 29 And the Lord replied, ” I will not destroy it for the sake of the forty.”
30 And the Lord replied,”I will not destroy it if I find thirty.” 31 And the Lord replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.” 32 And the Lord replied, Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”
After Abraham and God’s conversation about Sodom and Gomorrah, only one righteous was found. Lot and his family was removed from the city and it was destroyed. Sin destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. Please forgive us Lord for our sinful ways.
I love Friday Night on The Daily Lily. Preaching and singing were going on. MG and Chickenfarmer decided Friday Night was the tine to preach. Reminded me of old Tent days. I wonder how many works of the enemy was stilled last night because of God’s Word going forth.
I want to look at two issues:
passive… accepting or allowing what happens or what others do, without active response or resistance:the women were portrayed as passive victims.
pride… a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired…
Would you not agree if you read all comments posted on this study and the scripture from Jeremiah we are studying we find passive and pride are sins of a kind.
How many times have you heard, well, this is what he/she said and I’m just going along? Yes, trolleying along just for the ride. I didn’t do anything wrong, I just went along. Read the scripture from Jeremiah that Chickenfarmer gives above and see the warning for this.
“…you are going to stumble and fall on the dark mountains. For then, when you look for the light, you will find only terrible DARKNESS AND GLOOM. And if you still refuse to listen, I, Jeremiah, will weep alone BECAUSE OF YOUR PRIDE. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the Lord’s flock will be led away into exile.”
Spend a little time and see how passivity brings about Pride and arrogance. (arrogance, having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities)
You can’t just enjoy the pleasures of life and tell yourself I was doing it to keep peace. For your peace has turned to passivity and passivity to pride. And arrogance is your pride and joy. Jesus has long gone.
Yes, chickenfarmer and MG’s preaching reminds me of Isaiah 58:1…”Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet (that’s the lilies trumpeting faith). Tell My people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sins.”
Sara you asked “Would you not agree if you read all comments posted on this study and the scripture from Jeremiah we are studying we find passive and pride our sins of a kind. ” I would say yes. To ignore and be passive or ‘trolley along’ as you say, to what God is doing and saying to do is pride. I John 2:15 tells us not to love the things in the world (that is being passive and proud). “If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.” That’s a trolley ride we better get off of.
I have been “crying” through the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 32. Crying because of MOSES! Crying over GOD’S FACE-TO-FACE friend, Moses! MOSES? He didn’t get to go into the Promised Land, after all that struggle of leadership, rejection by his family and the children of Israel, after all that intercession for a dubious people….he didn’t get to go in! He got to see it but he didn’t get to possess it. WHY? THE LORD GOD, JUST GOD, GOOD GOD says in verse 51, “Because you trespassed aginst ME among the people at the waters of BITTERNESS (Meribah)…you did not sanctify ME, Moses! You shall SEE the land of Promise but you shall not enter in.” Because He did not give GOD all the GLORY DUE HIM.
Heavenly days! What was it that really kept Moses, one of GOD’S greatest prophets and friend from Possessing the land? Just what we have been talking about in these lessons, PRIDE! It has me shaking im my boots, so to speak. I remember the Scripture that always puts the fear of GOD in me, (but probably NOT ENOUGH!!)….. Luke 13:26, when Jesus said , “Many will come to me in those days and start to say, ‘We have eaten and had drink in THY presence and You have taught in our streets & (CHURCHES??).’ But I (THE LORD) shall say, “DEPART FROM ME, I SAY, I KNOW YOU NOT, OR WHERE YOU CAME FROM. DEPART YOU WORKERS OF INIQUITY and be cast outside the gate where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth!”
If Moses was phsysically deprived of seeing the Promised Land beause of one great sin of pride, how much more are we, who have the shed blood of Jesus for our covering; the crucifixion, the resurrection, the HOLY SPIRIT, the angels, the WORD of GOD in 100 books scattered about our Christian households…How much more we, with tecahings galore, counselors at our disposal, a church on every “street” corner…computers that spew out dictionary and encyclopedic meanings of all the words from the HOLY Scriptures, Hebrew and Greek and Latin and the vernacular. How much more we, who can tell you PRECISELY what PRIDE is in everyone else but OURSELVES!
Eat, drink and be merry and don’t worry about anything else! Who cares if the guy next door is going to hell? PRIDE! SPIRITUAL LETHARGY! Complacency ! Passivity! ME?
OH GOD FORGIVE US!
What wonderful teachings from all the Daily Lilies. Truth has shed light on passivity/complacency,pride/arrogance, disobedience/rebelliousness. Lord please forgive us. May we not trolley along any longer in the same old way. May we look to you and stand and with stand against the enemy who would take us down. Yes, we didn’t rock the boat. We sat in the stadium of life with our mask on not daring to speak out for injustices taking place in the world, our communities, and our families, or the one next to us. We sat there thinking all is peaceful while the enemy snatched our children, our families, our neighbors, and our world. We sat there thinking we read the bible and know the scripture and so did the Pharisees. According to scripture it was all a pretense. No true love there just pride on display with all the other before mentioned atrocities in tow headed for the death row. God wants us in Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love. This means loving them, showing them Jesus way and fighting for their souls, which certainly has been done through this study. We need to stand and fight with our focus on Jesus when the devil would like us to sit and rock along with him. Awake, get up, put on the gloves and fight. Leave a legacy for your children not a pile of worldly things that will rot and decay. Leave a legacy that they can carry to their children, leave instructions and modeling of your own life on how to fight and walk rightly with the Lord Jesus. Leave a legacy of fighting to snatch others from demons who encamp in and around about them. Teach them that as they walk to (Phillippians 4 of the Message) celebrate God all day, every day, I mean, revel in him! Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape (their) worries into prayers, letting God know (their) concerns. Let them know that before (they) know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come…. Let them know that we Christians stand side by side and shoulder to shoulder so as none will fall. May their shoulders press in even more tightly as the battles of this life rage on. With leaving such a legacy may we therefore on the day we go to heaven stand before the Lord Jesus and say: 2Ti 4:7 I have fought a GOOD FIGHT , I have finished [my] course, I have kept the faith, as for NOW we Stand and Fight!
GOOD ONE, RENA! What you said about the world’s taking our kids over is so very true, while we, the church, go get our nails done, or go to DISNEY LAND for the umpteenth time. Even with the inappropriate, unholy, irreverent, distasteful, disrespectful misdirection that is being spewed over the airwaves, it seems that a worldly-oriented organization (that sponsored the whole ungodly mess in the first place) has come out to stand against this; (not the church, not the fervent Christians, not the evangelistics) but even the world can’t take it any more!
Where are we when it comes to standing for justice and Truth? Are we, the church, so politically correct that we are afraid of speaking of the TRUTH of the GOSPEL and of CHRIST? “Oh, don’t beat them over the head with the BIBLE or you will turn them away”, is often heard. Yeah! We don’t want their heads to be black and blue from the GOSPEL when they enter into everlasting fires! “Oh! Don’t push JESUS on them and always be talking about GOD because that will turn them off!” Right! And we want them “turned on” when they are cast into the pit of hell because they didn’t know and we didn’t tell them because we didn’t want to TURN THEM OFF! GUILTY as charged!!!!
I ask forgiveness for knowing and not doing. If we listen to Holy Spirit He will show us in each and every individual case how to approach those in a lost in dying world to whom HE sends us. Listen !! Listen !! Obey!!
Peace. I believe that Rena’s comment, “We sat there thinking all is peaceful while the enemy snatched our children, our families, our neighbors, and our world” and Sara’s “You can’t just enjoy the pleasures of life and tell yourself I was doing it to keep peace” both tell us of a dangerous ‘peace’. Sara said this peace had turned to passivity. From my understanding of Matt 10:34, Jesus said He didn’t come to bring this kind of peace to earth. He came to bring a sword. And His sword of the Spirit is active, alive and powerful and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart…His word (Heb 4:12). His sword “sets a man against his father, a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother in law”. I am examining my own heart in light of all the preaching above. I see it’s the sword of Truth to pick up and use in our conversations and actions. Rena and MG both pointed out examples.
There is a non-passive peace. It is Jesus. He said He is our peace because He reconciles us to God through what He did on the cross(Eph 2:14-17). He left us with a peace but it is not what the world is or thinks or does(John 14:27). Again, I think Sara’s statement really sends a sword into the heart so that Light can penetrate if we can receive and act on it. “You can’t just enjoy the pleasures of life and tell yourself I was doing it to keep peace. For your peace has turned to passivity and passivity to pride. And arrogance is your pride and joy. Jesus has long gone.” And I add for my own understanding, and has taken His peace with Him and what remains is doomed to destruction and a fall (Proverbs 16:18).
I agree with chickenfarmer’s prayer “Please forgive us Lord for our sinful ways.”
Sara said that Friday night we had decided to preach. You know that old saying by the beloved evangelist Bro. Heflin, as he would open his evangelistic tent meetings! “It’s Saturday night and anything can happen.” Well, with the LORD it can happen on Friday nights, also!
I Believe some of us think we are getting away with SOMETHING, some secret sin, some prideful habit, some sinful quirk…. if our Christian brothers and sisters don’t know about it or our pastor or our family haven’t discerned it. But in Psalm 50:15, the Lord God says, ” But unto the one who continues in his/her sins, what right do you have to do with ME, declaring My statues or speaking MY covenant upon your lips or in your mouth, seeing you HATE instruction and cast MY WORDS behind your back? When you consent to a lie or theivery or have been a partaker with adulterers…these things you are doing and have done and I had kept silence, Says the LORD. And so you think I AM ALTOGETHER LIKE YOU!! BUT I WILL REPROVE and REBUKE YOU and bring you to justice in all these things right before your very eyes. NOW CONSIDER THIS CAREFULLY lest I come and tear you to pieces and then who will there be to deliver you?? So Order your life aright and repent and turn from these wicked ways and I will show you, again, MY SALVATION.”
David says in the Psalms, “where can I go from Your Spirit? If I ascend into the Heavens, You are there. If I make my bed in hell, you will find me there.” There is nowhere to hide from the great and awesome LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. And to be presumptuous, that is to sin presumptuously is an even greater transgression because we do it knowingly and presume that GOD will “wink” at our secret sin. We are deceiving ourselves. “Am I not a God at hand and not a GOD from afar?Can any man hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill the Heaven and the earth? How long shall this be in the hearts of my people to prophesy lies, lies…. the deceit of their own hearts” Jer.23:23-26.
Luke writes of Paul’s discourse in ACTS 17 that God “winked” at ignorance before when men worshiped “they knew not what” but now HE commands all men everywhere to REPENT, because He has appointed a day of righteous judgment by the risen Lord Jesus Christ…” and we will all be judged. Those of us who continue to sin are very gutsy indeed! To know that we must stand before a righteous GOD and account for our transgressions when we could have turned from them, calling upon the Name of the Lord and HIS atoning blood…yet we challenge HIM…by seeing how far we can go, how far we can push the envelope. It’s like playing Russion roulette with GOD. ONE spin and you’re dead!!!
THE DANGERS OF THE LAST DAYS
2TIMOTHY 3:1-5 “1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will LOVE ONLY THEMSELVES AND THEIR MONEY. They will be BOASTFUL AND PROUD, scoffing at God, DISOBEDIENT TO THEIR PARENTS, AND UNGRATEFUL. They will CONSIDER NOTHING SACRED. 3 They will be UNLOVING AND UNFORGIVING; they will SLANDER OTHERS and have NO SELF CONTROL. They will be CRUEL AND HATE WHAT IS GOOD. 4 They will BETRAY THEIR FRIENDS, BE RECKLESS, BE PUFFED UP WITH PRIDE, AND LOVE PLEASURE RATHER THAN GOD. 5 They will ACT RELIGIOUS, but they will reject the power that could make them godly! STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE LIKE THAT!!!”
HOLD ON A MINUTE!!!! LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS!! COULD PAUL BE TALKING TO TIMOTHY ABOUT US????? Let me think about this. HUMM-LOVE THEMSELVES AND THEIR MONEY, BOASTFUL AND PROUD, DISOBEDIENT TO THEIR PARENTS, UNGRATEFUL, NOTHING SACRED, UNLOVING AND UNFORGIVING, SLANDER OTHERS, NO SELF CONTROL, CRUEL AND HATE GOOD, BETRAY FRIENDS, RECKLESS, PUFFED UP WITH PRIDE, LOVE PLEASURE RATHER THAN GOD. I think Paul’s talking about us. The world today. If you don’t believe me turn on your TV and watch the trash that comes on it for about ten minutes. We have lost God. America was founded on freedom of religion but they are telling our children that they can’t pray to Jesus in schools because this might OFFEND other religions. The bills I have in my bank account are in danger of losing IN GOD WE TRUST because we might offend someone or hurt their feelings. Hurt who??? The UNLOVING AND UNFORGIVING people of another god. Guess what. My God is not false, he is alive and well and he is a jealous GOD!!! Don’t tell my kids that they can’t pray to my Jesus who sacrificed his life for them. I’ll make sure to put them in a school where they can pray to Jesus and sing praise to his name. THAT’S MY RESPONSIBILITY. God gave me my children as a wonderful gift from him. I must teach them to love and honor him. That’s my duty. Don’t take IN GOD WE TRUST off of the money I work for. That is also a gift from my father. I think we better repent repent. Just like Jonah stated after he was spit up out of the fishes mouth on the beaches of Nineveh. REPENT REPENT STOP YOUR EVIL WAYS!!! We need to get on the ark with Noah before the flood comes. We need to stand up for what is right and be obedient even if we are thrown in the blazing furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. We need to be bold even if we are thrown in the Lions Den with Daniel. If we do this and we love our God and know that Jesus is the key to eternal life then we can walk into Heaven with Enoch. Now is the time. The Saturday night tent meeting has began. We need to stand up for our God and our families. Don’t let our children be taken by wolves waiting for them. They must know the truth. How can we teach our children the truth if we are not focus. We must stay FOCUS ON OUR LORD. Isaiah 53:6 “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.” We must stay focused. I did some research on sheep. I like to know what I’m compared to. Sheep are gregorious (they flock together), precocial(they have a high degree of independence at birth) and defenseless. They have a split upper lip so they can pick the preferred leaves from plants.
10 CHARACTERISTICS: 1. You can’t make sheep do something contrary to their nature. 2. Sheep are not sheepish. 3. The sheeps most manifest instinct is to flock. 4. The propensity of sheep is to follow other sheep. 5. Sheep are instinctively fearful. 6. Flocks seek light, and high ground. 7. Aggressiveness is an important of sheep behavior. 8. Sheep are very conservative; they like the familiar and resist change. 9. Sheep welcome the shepherd, especially during the birthing process. 10. Sheep are not very intelligent.
We are like sheep. We need to stay focused and not stray from our shepherd. So let my children pray and sing praises to my Lord Jesus Christ even if it offends someone. Rebuke these wolves waiting for our children. Stand up for what is right. BE OBEDIENT TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Chickenfarmer, your composition has put things in perspective for us just as Jeremiah did in his vivid word picture of the spots of a leopard and the skin of an Ethiopian.
The Prophet Isaiah told from his viewpoint the same story you just told us.
Passage Isaiah 53:6:”All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
verse 10…The Isaiah foretold and included the remedy for our dilema of being lost sheep.
vs. 10..”Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.”
Now Wendy’s quote from 2 Timothy…
“They will ACT RELIGIOUS, but they will reject the power that could make them godly! STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE LIKE THAT!!!”
Ok, my question…stay away from people like this? Is this the reason people run from us when they see us coming? Should we be watching our talk with no power?
This will surely send some of us to church today if we had thoughts of sleeping in on this rainy cold day.
Preach it CF! If more parents were like you then the children in our schools would not have JUST a MOMENT of SILENCE (thank GOD we do STILL have that) but they could pray together to Almighty God….little children entreating a LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER for guidance for the school day; for help in character building; for help in problems that occur during their school; for safety to and from school. How Wonderful!!! What a point of reference we would have as teachers….and not have to CLOAK it in innocuous verbiage when, as a teacher, I must reprimand, or counsel, or intervene in a situation. How wonderful to be able to tell them that Jesus loves them and wants the best for them and He has set up rules of conduct so that they can overcome and get to Heaven; that they don’t have to act that way to try to gain attention, etc. Jesus loves them. HOW REASSURING TO A LITTLE ONE if we could do that!!!
If the children do not know about a loving HEAVENLY CREATOR and FATHER, and JESUS HIS SON, then why would they (and this is the argument of some when confronted about some transgression they have committed in the school or classroom)
“Why NOT?”
I heard someone say right after they took prayer out of schools.. “that prayer was already out before the law took it out.”
The Old Testament gives instructions that we should have daily prayer at home with our family morning, noon, and night?
Maybe Daniel’s parents trained him this way because he prayed three times a day. You could assume from this that prayer was built in his life at an early age because it is unlikely that one would develop this habit after being taken into captivity.
The above comments warn again of the dangers of refusing God. I was reminded of heb 12:25,28…”see that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven…therefore let us have grace by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
And to Sara’s question: “…stay away from people like this? Is this the reason people run from us when they see us coming? Should we be watching our talk with no power?” Honestly facing it, I think it could be a reason people run from us… if our words are empty with no power or action or changed lives to back them up. If we live one way and talk another. Jude 16 says there are those who “murmer, complain and walk according to their own lusts AND mouth great swelling words flattering people to gain advantage…” Could this be the talk with no power?
Message Isaiah 53:10 “Still, it’s what God had in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life. And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.”
Let us rejoice Dad’s and Mom’s. God made and gave us a plan that we and our families could and would prosper through the work that God did through Jesus at Calvary. Life and more life. Thank You God, Eternal Life!
Let us ask ourselves questions from Gary’s comment. Are we praying with our families daily, three times a day at least in our homes? Dad’s are you leading the prayer in your home. Mom’s are you? Do we finish dinner and turn on the TV? Or do we turn the pages of our Bibles and teach our children the beauty of the stores given to us through ancient wisdom?
And about our money, how much did we spend on building God’s Kingdom from our last month’s paycheck compared to what we spent on recreation? Is R&R the only thing we have on our list when we get a break from work? Fancy cars, big screen TV’s, movies, restaurants, Disney, beach, etc. the place where out money goes with “In God we trust.” ( And, I have plenty of all the above I named).
Cast your vote on the poll on this page and you will see where you are spending your time. Our Heavenly Father loves for us to spend time with Him? Do we substitute sports for devotional and prayer time with our children and family members? Do we nag our spouse to do anything and everything but open the Bible and pray with us on a daily basis? Why are these things not important to some of us?
“…but they will reject the power that could make them godly! STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE LIKE THAT!!!”
Are we the Christian carriers of a contagious virus?
I, now and hereby, repent of all my sins. Dear God, please forgive me for any negligence that I have and had toward You and any that I have portrayed toward my family and my church family. I am writing and speaking on this blog for myself and pray that I will adjust any and all areas that I have spoken of and not living up to. I ask You, Holy Spirit for guidance, counsel ad comfort as I made any adjustment that will cause my life to be even more pleasing to The Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. And will help others to see Jesus in me. Let the Love of God shine through all of us at The Daily Lily, I pray.
True, Gary, the Word instructs us to pray daily with our families. In the “olden” days that was true. I remember as a child when we had the family rosary, as I had been brought up Catholic, and the family altar where we prayed in our living room after dinner… .. ..(at least for a while). But many of our students, now, know little if anything about God. If the children bring up something in the classroom about church, or temple, or Sunday School, etc, very few children raise their hands to tell about their going to Sunday School or church on Sundays. Less than one third, I would say. And that’s an exaggeration, really. Many have even said, “what’s Sunday School?”
So the children pledge to the school and to the community but for God…a moment of silence…….”IN HEAVEN…? FOR THE SPACE OF ABOUT ONE-HALF HOUR?” Help Lord.
I have been thinking about Gary’s statement. “PRAYER WAS ALREADY OUT OF THE SCHOOLS BEFORE THE LAW TOOK IT OUT”
2 Timothy 3:1-5 said that the people in the last days will find nothing sacred, they will be ungrateful and love pleasure more than God. If nothing is sacred than prayer in schools must not be sacred. If pleasure is more important than God, why pray at all. According to Paul the people in the last days don’t care what God has done for them because they are ungrateful. We had better wake up. Sodom and Gomorrah is right around the corner. We need to walk in faith and obedience and not stray away. We need to focus on Jesus even when our world is falling apart. We need to learn discipline and self-control. All things are possible if we believe in Jesus. We need to erase any doubt and fear from our life. BELIEVE IN JESUS. John 20:27 “Then he said to Thomas,”PUT YOUR FINGER HERE, AND LOOK AT MY HANDS. PUT YOUR HAND INTO THE WOUND IN MY SIDE. DON’T BE FAITHLESS ANY LONGER. BELIEVE!!!” John 20:29 “Then Jesus told him,”YOU BELIEVE BECAUSE YOU HAVE SEEN ME. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO BELIEVE WITHOUT SEEING ME.” We need to pray with the authority that Jesus has blessed us with. We need to have self control even when things around us are out of control. We need to have faith even when things seem hopeless. We need to stay on the path of Jesus even when the world tells us different. We need to believe even if we have doubt. We need to take our cross daily and follow Jesus. He’s the way, the only way. He will bring PEACE during the storms. He loves us and all he wants is us to love him back. Forgive us Lord. Help us to stay focused on you. I repent from my foolish ways. I repent for not being discipline and staying focused on you Lord. Please forgive me Jesus. I do love you, Jesus. Forgive me! God Bless these Daily Lilies and this awesome web page. May it touch souls all over the world.
This is indeed an awesome page..true we need to get WIDE awake….and to be pinpointed focused..not turning to the left or right…but it happens like Lots wife.. Jesus said it would happen as it was already mentioned they have become lovers of self…but also they don’t think Hes really coming back…and that hell is real…we should run to Gods Word cling to it and Do it and watch our words and make sure that there is the power of Gods life coming forth through those words and not death….I’m thinking also that this might go along with what Sara was saying about talk with no power..”life and death being in the tongue”?…Also for the things listed in Sara’s last response of questions …I too repent of all my sins..indeed as Gods word said there is coming a famine not of bread but of hearing the words of the Lord…and while His words may be heard I/we had better listen and not just listen but repeat out loud and live by them and truly teach others by being those living epistles…and teaching them as this web page and the Lilies on it are doing….and Lord may we indeed as Chickenfarmer said… we need to stay close to the Shepard……dj
More and more the Lord is telling His prophets and teachers and preachers in these last days that the people of GOD are in dire straits AND that the church, His people, are in deep trouble..that is in danger of reprobation and hellfires!!!!! BECAUSE WE KNOW BETTER!!!!! The Lord says to His church in Isaiah Chpt 1, ” I have nourished and brought you up and made you great and exalted, but YOU Have Rebelled against ME and broken away from ME. The ox knows his owner and the donkey her master’s crib but MY people do NOT understand nor do they recognize ME and give me Honor and glory due ME. Oh SINFUL NATION! Offspring of evildoers; sons who deal corruptly. You have forsaken and despised and shown contempt and provoked the Living God and have become utterly estranged and alienated from ME.”
Now this part of the Scriptures really is earth shaking!! The LORD says, “WHY SHOULD YOU BE PUNISHED AND STRICKEN ANYMORE SINCE IT BRINGS NO NO NO NO NO CORRECTION? YOU JUST REVOLT MORE AND MORE!!! THE WHOLE HEAD IS SICK AND THE WHOLE HEART IS FAINT, FEEBLE, SICK AND NAUSEATED!”(and I add, nauseating!!! Is this reprobate mind????
Listen to this part…. The Lord God continues….”When you come to appear before ME who requires of you that your unholy, soiled, filthy feet trample My church? Bring no more offerings of vanity, falsity, vainglory, lies and futility to me. OBEDIENCE IS BETTER THAN SACRIFICE. They are an abomination to ME. I cannot abide your initquitous profanation of MY CHurch.” Then He says,
“And so when YOU SPREAD FORTH YOUR HANDS BEFORE ME IN PRAYER, SEEKING HELP, IMPLORING THAT I ACT IN YOUR BEHALF…I WILL HIDE MY EYES FROM YOU…EVEN THOUGH YOU MAKE LONG PRAYERS, I WILL NOT HEAR YOU. YOUR HANDS ARE FULL OF BLOOD.”
If we don’t recognize this as a WAKE UP CALL, then we are of all men most miserable. We should just go ahead and eat, drink and be merry because that’s all we’ll ever have. And when this life is over, we’ll be big, fat puffed up corpses thrown into everlasting fires and eternal pain.
But wait! God in HIS infinite mercy tells us the “antidote” as Gary puts it. In v.16, He tells us to wash ourselves in the blood of the Lamb and make ourselves clean. He says to put away evil deeds and doings that HE sees us doing every single day. Learn to do right. Seek justice….give justice. Relieve the oppressed and do not oppress others and (SARA WILL LOVE THIS PART)”CORRECT THE OPPRESSOR”. HE says to defend the fatherless and the widows. HE IS TELLING US THAT WE HAVE TO DO IT. No one is going to do it for us….not our pastors, or parents, or super-spiritual Christian friends, or our spouses….BUT WE HAVE TO DO IT. We have to purpose in our hearts NOT TO SIN ANYMORE. Don’t put up with it another moment. Crucify that pleasure lovin’, self-surfeited, indolent, lethargic, good-time charlie, PASSIVE FLESHLY self!! We don’t seem to have the heart to deny ourselves ANYTHING when it comes to self discipline! “Come let us reason together. Though your sins be red as scarlet they shall be white as snow…IF IF IF you are willing and obedient…not just willing but DO IT…then you shall eat the good of the land. IF YOU WILL NOT DO IT >…IF I WILL NOT DO IT…the SWORD OF THE LORD WILL DEVOUR YOU AND ME for the MOUTH of the LORD has PROMISED THAT!” AND THAT’S a PROMISE!
He sets before us LIFE and DEATH. CHOOSE LIFE! There’s not much time left.
From the marvelous teachings on this blog I am beginning to see a pattern evolving. It’s NOT the big things…that are keeping the CHURCH bound up, inoperative and powerless. it’s the little things. It’s NOT because we are not going to CHINA and win a million souls; it’s NOT that we are not as effective as Billy Graham in winning souls; it’s NOT that we aren’t giving a million dollars to the ministries…BUT it IS that we don’t even consider giving some offering to an excellent work of GOd…that it never even crosses our minds to share SOME substance with KINGDOM WORK. It IS the cruel word that escapes from our lips in anger. It IS the hostile attitude toward a brother/sister who has offended our righteous selves; it IS a little BLACK LIE that we felt we NEEDED to tell to save our skin while we lose our soul; it IS the thoughtlessness and insensitivity to another’s plight which MUST NOT take precedence over OUR own plans and purposes; it IS choosing pleasure over prayer; it IS choosing to walk in deception so that we can fulfill the lust of the flesh. No! We may never build a HYLTON CHAPEL or “THE COVE” or TBN or CBN, but that won’t keep us out of HEAVEN It’s the little things. In KINGDOM economy, little things mean a lot!
It seems to me that both Chickenfarmer and MG are speaking loud and clear to focus, appropriate the finished work of Christ on the cross and move on in the Spirit to higher ground…exhortations to not stay entangled in sin. I read where Paul is preaching in Galations 5:16. “Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit aagainst the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions,heresies, envy, murders, drunkeness, revelries and the like; of which I tell you beforehand just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
MG what you wrote remined me of James 3:1-18 when you spoke of the “little things”….the scripture speaks about the tongue being a little thing…and how one should use it..and it speaks about how what is in your heart causes the words to come our of your mouth…wisdom like praying 3 a day being planted in your heart…reading the Word being planted in your heart…then maybe the “little thing” would be like the words of the Hymn “Little is Much when God is in it labor not for wealth or fame theres a crown and you can win it if you go in Jesus name”…. the key to it is you cant leave Jesus out…(please forgive me I do not know the author)…dj
Yes, DJ That’s IT!! The tongue is a little thing but it can
ignite and create a huge conflagration! It’s the LITTLE THINGS…the little rebellions, the little disobediences; not speaking to someone about Christ when we should; and saying stuff when we should keep our mouths quiet. It’s the little things that dot the pathway to Hades. Does Hades sound better than Hell? Well, then I will say HELL. When Jesus returns will HE find faith on the earth? Or will His beloved children for whom He suffered, bled and died have gone to another place throwing it up in HIS beautiful face, the salvation HE attained at the supreme price?
I am afraid for us. I don’t want to be decieved anymore.I repent of this foolishness. Like the apostle said, is that which began in the SPIRIT now be consummated in the flesh?
What are we doing?
In reading all the coments over and over the one thing comes to my mind. FREE WILL. As Christians we know we are siners but we can be forgiven. God gives us a choice. We can choose God’s will or we can choose our will. This is our choice to make. We can turn from our sinful ways and discipline ourselves to stay away from our old evil ways or we can lose focus on our Father and his will for our lives. John 21:3 “Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,”they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.” This was after Jesus had died on the cross. The disciples didn’t know what to do without Jesus with them so they went back to what they were comfortable with. They went back to their old life because it was easy for them. It’s what they knew. Now I’m not saying fishing is bad. I love to fish. I saying when Jesus was out of their sight, they went back to their old life. Instead of fishing for fish they should have been fishing for men, for souls. Is this not what we do? When Jesus is not in our sight, we don’t know what to do, so we go back to our old ways because this is what we know best. We don’t need to lose that focus. When we are saved we are new people with new ways of living. We are changed from the old self. We are not new people with old habits. When we are changed everyone who knows us should be able to tell without being told. We are fishers of men and women and children. Luke 23:39-43 “One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed,”So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself-and us too, while you are at it!” 40 But the other criminal protested,”Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” 43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” When I close my eyes I see three crosses on a hill top. The one in the middle is the door. This door will lead you to the cross on the right, which is an eternity of pardise. The only way you can unlock the middle door is with the key, Jesus Christ. The one who died on this door. Without the key, the door is locked and you must go to the cross on the left. This cross leads you to eternal suffering and pain. Three doors. Three crosses. What is our destiny. We have a free will, we can choose. Which cross will you carry? Which door will you enter? The choice is yours!!!!!
John 14; 6 says I am the way, the truth, and the life;….and John 10;9 says I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture….like you said..there is a choice..because Jesus said If any man enter…and once you enter there is a continual finding going on because it is eternal..the pasture is eternal…and find is a verb so there is work to do….and a maintaining…a responsibility…and a sharing…go in and go out…right?dj
About the free will that chickenfarmer points out is available to us. I read: “God says He sets before us life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both you and your descendants may live…”(Deut 30:19) Jesus says He has the keys of Hades and Death (Rev 1:18). And He invites us to choose Him and “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke (servitude)is easy and My burden(duty;responsibility)is light.” Matt 11:28.
So, let’s go back to the original Scripture quote that started this amazing Biblical journey. The question put forth in Jeremiah 13 was….” then can you do good who are accustomed and taught and even trained to do evil?”
We’re talking about the CHURCH, here folks! Not the sinner who hasn’t come into the knowledge yet of Jesus Christ. He/she is taught and trained by the world system to do evil. True!. But that exact, same system harangues and vexes the CHRISTIAN soul every waking moment of every waking day. We’re like frogs in a warm pan of water, heating up slowly on the burner of oppression and obsession.
We have been offered and even accepted the greatest deliverance known in the universe….salvation by the blood of Jesus Christ, the eternal SON OF GOD. But if we do not put our trust in that shed blood and walk by faith, but instead walk the paths of the world system with what we look at, what we hear, what we purchase, what we do with our time and FINANCES, then our SPOTS (and wrinkles) remain or resurface…beautiful leopard or not…our spots have not changed.
But, you say, “I have said the sinner’s prayer and I am born again.” But Paul says in Romans 1:21, for although they knew GOD they neither glorified Him as GOD. v32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such evil and depraved things deserve death. Yet they CONTINUE in the paths of unrighteousness doing those very things AND ALSO APPROVE OF THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEM.” So we have no excuse who pass judgment on others because at that point of judgment we condemn ourselves…for we do the same things.”
Someone taught in a Bible study once, that the accusing spirit always identifies itself. For what it accuses others of is the sin of its own soul. Most of the time we don’t even know it. But the accusing spirit reveals itself emanating from the mouth of the accuser.
So if we sit out in the garage that does not Make us a “car”. And just because we sit in the pew in church that does not automatically MAKE us a Christian.
So Paul shows us THE WAY to change the SPOTS when he writes,
“To those who by persistence is doing good, seek glory, and honor and immortality, He will give His eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil there will be only wrath and anger…trouble and distress. But peace for everyone who does good.”
Let’s use the FULLER’S SOAP of the Scriptures….the cleansing blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and scrub those spots and heat up the Sword of the Spirit and iron out those wrinkles by obedience to the WORD of GOD. Let’s Begin anew! Let’s begin NOW!
Thanks to our Lord that we have a hope..that we can choose the key to the Door of Hope that I read of in chickenfarmer’s comment…can begin anew as MG said above…. Do have a hope for the future. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to His abundant mecy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”(I Pet 1:3)
yes Chickenfarmer you are right we need to dicipline ourselves and not lose focus…we are not alone as the diciples thought..Jesus sent the Holy Spirit and He said He would never leave nor forsake us….it is we who do the leaving…and the forsaking….and as Sara prayed we all should and need to pray and “ask that the Holy Spirit who is our quide,help,counselor, to give us these things and comfort us as we make those adjustments to cause our lives become more pleasing to the Father”….I say yes and amen to that prayer with Sara. Oh the Blood of Jesus that Washes white as snow….and the grace and the mercy…dj
On thinking about focus: a center of activity, attraction, or attention; to concentrate attention or effort.
“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because He trusts in You.” (Isaiah 26:3)As Dorothy and chickenfarmer said, it takes discipline. And a disciplined mind requires us to “take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ(2 Cor 10:6)…” This takes me back to ‘Study with Sara’which tells us how to do this…’being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled’. It is like any focused exercise program…daily and ongoing.