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What is wrong here?
If you ever had to ask this question it would have been because you realized something was wrong but you didn’t know what; and you would have investigated to find the problem and fixed it. So shouldn’t we all wonder why it is that in spite of all the preaching from the pulpits, that in spite of all the churches that are being built, which should indicate that more people are going to church, that in spite of 80% Americans professing to be Christians; we are loosing ground?
We are loosing to the A C L U,
We are loosing to the homosexuals,
We are loosing to the pornographers,
We are loosing to the criminals, not to mention to a secular government.
Does anyone have a clue? I mean, if 80% of the people of a nation are praying to God; would you not think that he would hear us? But the fact is, that instead of things getting better, they are getting worse; and instead of thinking well, there is nothing I can do about it, should we not rather ask the question: WHAT IS WRONG HERE?
Everybody knows, that when you build something and it does not work, you go “back to the drawing board”, you start again from the beginning. And that is exactly what we “Christians” have to do, go back to the bible and see where we went wrong. Most, if not all people know what a bible is; most people have a copy, fewer then most have read it. If you are a bible reader, what is the bible to you? Why do you read it? Why do we say the bible is the written word of God, and then don’t believe what it says? It is the only book that teaches us about God; after all, who but God could teach us about him. We have on our money printed “In God we trust”; but do we believe his word, the bible? What do I mean? Have you ever noticed that your bible teaches one thing and man another? Have you ever wondered why we have so many denominations? Do you thing that is good? Should not all churches be teaching the same doctrine? Listen what Paul says.
1 Cor. 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
1 Cor. 3:1 “And I, bretheren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.”
v. 2 “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear
it, neither yet now are ye able.”
v. 3 “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
v. 4 “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”
I am a Catholic; I am a Lutheran; I am a Protestant, Baptist, etc, etc. Do we not all serve the same Lord? People used to stay with whatever denomination they had grown up with, that is no longer true either. People not only change churches, they change denominations, why is that? I can only guess, and my guess is this. When you go to a restaurant and you don’t like the food there, you go to another, and you keep on looking till you find the one that has the best food. People are hungry for spiritual food; they are hungry for truth, for honest answers to their questions. As I have already mentioned in my foreword, religion has become a business, a very profitable one at that. Churchgoers are treaded like shoppers, give them what they want, and they become your customers. Which, I think, explains the increase of none denominational churches. How many churches did Jesus Christ start? Paul in his letters to the churches addressed them according to their geographical location, but they were all churches of God. God gave us one church and one bible. The Bible is our manual; God provided it for us, his creation, so that we can check it out when things go wrong to distinguish what needs fixing. It should be our warning light that something is wrong. If we ignore the light, the problem can only get worse; and that is where we are today. We have in fact ignored the light for decades and things have gone from bad to worse to where our problems now threaten to overtake us. There is just one problem with all that; in order to fix a problem, you first have to admit, there is a problem. You might even have to admit that you are part of the problem. This is not something someone else can fix for you.
YOU need to check your Manual.
YOU need to go back to the drawing board.
YOU need to ask questions like: why is God teaching one thing, and man another? And right there is where the problem lies! We are contradicting God! Impossible? Why is Jesus telling us?
Mat. 15:9 “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men”
Why did Jesus say that? Do we even know what the commandments of men are? When you read your bible; do you even notice the contradiction? We seem to have no problem believing men, why is that? Could it be we don’t know the doctrines of God? If we don’t believe God’s Word do we not call God a lair? Do we begin to see where the problem lies? Jesus told us:
John 4:23 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
v. 24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
If you don’t believe the truth, you don’t have the truth, if you don’t have the truth you worship in vain. Making a show on Sunday is not what its all about. God was very precise in his instructions in the O.T., those that ignored them were severely punished, for instant.
Gen. 2:16 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.”
v. 17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Whatever Adam was thinking, whether he understood the meaning of death or not, he did understand the command of God don’t eat of that tree.
Lev. 10:1 “And Nadab and Abi’hu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.”
v. 2 “And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”
When God gives a command, we better listen.
Num. 20:7 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying.”
v. 8 “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes;…”
v. 11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:…”
v. 12 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”
Deut. 34:4 “And the LORD said unto him, this is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.”
v. 5 “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.”
Just one more example to show how serious God is when he gives a command.
2 Sam. 6:6 “And when they came to Na’chon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.”
v. 7 “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”
In each instant, God had given precise instructions, which were not followed, and death was the punishment. We are not left without instructions either, God has not left it up to the individual, or even a church how to worship him, if we ignore his command, we too will pay the price.
Is. 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this
Word, it is
because there is no light (understanding) in them.”
Daniel was given much information for the end time, he wanted to know what it all meant and was told;
Dan. 12:4 “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
If nothing else could proof to us that we are in the end time, the increase in knowledge should do it. The computer alone is an incredible machine. But does this increase of knowledge also include understanding of the Word of God? If it did should not all ministers preach the same? If men of God all have the Holy Spirit, should they not all have the same understanding?
Is. 5:21 “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own
sight.”
Where do you go to get understanding of the scripture? Do you go to a College or University? A Seminar? And who is teaching there? Scholars, Professors, Theologians, in other words, Men! And what do they teach there? the commandments of men. Where does wisdom and understanding come from?
1 Ki. 3:5 “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ask what I shall give thee.”
v. 9 “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I
may discern between good and bad…”
1 Ki. 4:29 “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much…”
Jesus told us there are three things we need to do for God to give us understanding and wisdom.
Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
v. 10 “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Our sincere prayer is the knock on God’s door; it will get His attention. We have the advice form James.
Ja. 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
And Jesus’ promise;
Luke 11:13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him.”
It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that you can expect to find what you’re seeking, understanding of the word of God. Look around, is this the answer to your prayer? We are too confident in those that teach us. Think about it, the Bereans checked out the Apostles.
Acts 17:10 “And the bretheren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
Bere’a; who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.”
v. 11 “These were more noble than those in Thessaloni’ ca, in that they received the
word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so.”
They received the word with readiness, but then searched the scriptures daily if those things were so. DO YOU? It is after all, your responsibility. Whatever needs correcting in our nation, can only be corrected with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul lays it all out in 1 Cor. 2:1-16, please read it in your bible. Paul was an educated man, a Pharisee, yet he did not try to impress the people with fancy talk, showing off his smarts; instead he came to them in fear and trembling, not because he was scared of them, but rather because he was very much aware of his calling and his responsibility, of the burden he carried to be accurate and truthful in his teaching. That their faith would be in the wisdom of God, and not in the convincing words of his. God does tell us what he requires of us.
Micah 6:9 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
To do what God requires from us is not only good advise, but it is also a warning.
Zeph. 2:3 “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.”
God never breaks a promise, but he may relent from a threat; read the book of Jonah. What happened to the nation Israel long ago, don’t have to happen to us.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…”
God does not play games; he says what he means and he means what he says. He does not care to be politically correct; you can’t plea-bargain with him, neither does he listen to Lobbyists. He has given us his word, the bible, and stands by it. By not taking God serious we only show what fools we are.
These studies are easy to read and understand; you don’t have to be a Scholar,
I’m not, or a College graduate, neither am I. Consider what the bible says about the Apostles Peter and John.
Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they
were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of
them , that they had been with Jesus.”
This is not to say that the Apostles were stupid, they had a trade, they were fishermen, but they had no schooling or training as the professional teachers of the law, like the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin or the Scribes. If you read with a desire for truth, and truth does not offend you, God will do the rest. Let me remind you what Paul said.
1 Cor. 1:19 “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to
nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
v. 20 “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world?
Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”
v. 25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God
is stronger than men.”
v. 26 “For ye see your calling, bretheren, how that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”
v. 27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty.”
How serious do you take the bible? How serious do you take God?
Deut. 30:15 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good and death and evil.”
How will you choose?
The choice is yours the time very short!
Peace to all of you, Article by GeorgGeorg,
Nice post, the times truly are perilous, in the world, good is bad and bad is good. Praise God that you don't have to be a genius to find truth, seek and you will find with the Holy Spirit to guide us.Wm
Hi Georg:
Thanks for this article. Jesus stated:
Quote Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.So, then the true church of God will be saved in spite of all the circumstances that may seem that we are losing ground to these various organizations like the A.C.L.U. or to laws that allow Homosexual marriage or churches that will ordain Homosexuals as Bishops etc.
There is a distinction between society and the true church. I have found that the best way to witness for God is to live our lives as an example so that the world can see the love of God manifest through our lives. Of course, the gospel must also be preached by those who have been ordained by God to do so. Not everyone is an Apostle, evangelist, pastor, teacher or prophet. I believe that part of the problem is that there are those in the pulpit who have not been ordained by God. They exalted themselves to the position of authority in the church. God did not ordain them for that position. I believe that is why we have the different denominations and the different doctrines that are contrary to the Word of God.
Jesus states:
Quote Mat 16:17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed [it] unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.However, not every one who professes to be “the church” is the church. Jesus has stated:
Quote Mat 7:15 ¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.This is a warning by the Apostle Paul to the church:
Quote 1Cr 10:1 ¶ Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Cr 10:2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
1Cr 10:3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1Cr 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
1Cr 10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
1Cr 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
1Cr 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as [were] some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
1Cr 10:8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
1Cr 10:9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Cr 10:10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Cr 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Cr 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
1Cr 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].
1Cr 10:14 ¶ Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.
1Cr 10:15 I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say.God Bless
No one would have any power unless it were given to him from above. We do not choose our rulers. All authority is under the control of YHWH. He has a plan and a purpose. If we are under evil leadership, there is a reason.
True Christians should not go with the flow on that, and whole it is hard, it is almost a need.
Take into example this. . .
There is a river, and if the river gets enough pollution it can even catch on fire.
Let's say the church is also a river. If everyone who goes to the river (church) and dumps their garbage in there, (extreme sinfulness) then the river will be polluted.
I will say this. . .
Christianity should be influencing the world, not the world influencing Christianity.
Does this mean we will be 100% perfect in life? No! I think it means that perfection is what we strive for, and yes, we should try and make a difference to make Christianity the influencer of the world, not the influenced.
Quote (Theologian-and-Apologist @ July 17 2008,09:05) True Christians should not go with the flow on that, and whole it is hard, it is almost a need. Take into example this. . .
There is a river, and if the river gets enough pollution it can even catch on fire.
Let's say the church is also a river. If everyone who goes to the river (church) and dumps their garbage in there, (extreme sinfulness) then the river will be polluted.
I will say this. . .
Christianity should be influencing the world, not the world influencing Christianity.
Does this mean we will be 100% perfect in life? No! I think it means that perfection is what we strive for, and yes, we should try and make a difference to make Christianity the influencer of the world, not the influenced.
If you don't agree on my Husbands post, you are deceiving yourself that everything in this world is alright. It is more then just being Human. Much more, Satan is the God of this world and is holding a lot of people captive. So many denominations, all believe something else. Look on this board alone, so few agree with each other. So many respond in a negative way. God is Love and in Love we should handle our Brothers in Christ. That however is not being done. The greatest Commandments of all is:” Love God with all of your heart and your neighbor as yourself.” Question is that what is being done here? Not as far as I can see.
Peace and Love IreneGreetings Irene…..”What is wrong here”….The answer to this question is easy….”Evil triumphs when good people are silent”….The people in this country have adopted a stance known as political correctness…..Which is a nice name for COWARDESS…The element that is taking the forefront are doing it not because they are a majority…It is because they stand for something…( we christians may not like this agenda,but refuse to stand against it )….Let us not forget the violence displayed in the temple court when Jesus confronted the money changes….Is there one minister that would have the guts to do that today….
Quote (theodorej @ July 17 2008,13:54) Greetings Irene…..”What is wrong here”….The answer to this question is easy….”Evil triumphs when good people are silent”….The people in this country have adopted a stance known as political correctness…..Which is a nice name for COWARDESS…The element that is taking the forefront are doing it not because they are a majority…It is because they stand for something…( we christians may not like this agenda,but refuse to stand against it )….Let us not forget the violence displayed in the temple court when Jesus confronted the money changes….Is there one minister that would have the guts to do that today….
You really believe that because of political correctness that all follow Anti-Christ? IMO Rather that Satan has kept all captive. Most Christian are just followers. They don't even study their Bible. Especially all Catholics. I know that because I used to be one.
Peace and Love IreneQuote (Shania @ July 16 2008,18:36) No one would have any power unless it were given to him from above. We do not choose our rulers. All authority is under the control of YHWH. He has a plan and a purpose. If we are under evil leadership, there is a reason.
Greetings Shania…..God originally always had a hand in picking a King for the children of Israel until they rebelled and decided to pick a king for themselves and that king was Saul….When we tell God we would like to do it our way in spite of his guidance….HE LETS US…And for this reason we have the kind of leaders we have today…THEY ARE JUST LIKE US….Greetings Irene….The majority of the people will stand for nothing unless they are forced and when that happens the majority will choose what is politically correct and expedient for themselves….We are not the same people that fought 2 world wars and prevailed in both….We are lazy and want to hear smooth things….Sometimes the truth can be very harsh…
Quote (seekingtruth @ July 16 2008,13:06) Georg,
Nice post, the times truly are perilous, in the world, good is bad and bad is good. Praise God that you don't have to be a genius to find truth, seek and you will find with the Holy Spirit to guide us.Wm
Thanl you fpr your reply much appreciated.
Peace and Love IreneQuote (Irene @ July 16 2008,11:36) What is wrong here? If you ever had to ask this question it would have been because you realized something was wrong but you didn’t know what; and you would have investigated to find the problem and fixed it. So shouldn’t we all wonder why it is that in spite of all the preaching from the pulpits, that in spite of all the churches that are being built, which should indicate that more people are going to church, that in spite of 80% Americans professing to be Christians; we are loosing ground?
We are loosing to the A C L U,
We are loosing to the homosexuals,
We are loosing to the pornographers,
We are loosing to the criminals, not to mention to a secular government.
Does anyone have a clue? I mean, if 80% of the people of a nation are praying to God; would you not think that he would hear us? But the fact is, that instead of things getting better, they are getting worse; and instead of thinking well, there is nothing I can do about it, should we not rather ask the question: WHAT IS WRONG HERE?
Everybody knows, that when you build something and it does not work, you go “back to the drawing board”, you start again from the beginning. And that is exactly what we “Christians” have to do, go back to the bible and see where we went wrong. Most, if not all people know what a bible is; most people have a copy, fewer then most have read it. If you are a bible reader, what is the bible to you? Why do you read it? Why do we say the bible is the written word of God, and then don’t believe what it says? It is the only book that teaches us about God; after all, who but God could teach us about him. We have on our money printed “In God we trust”; but do we believe his word, the bible? What do I mean? Have you ever noticed that your bible teaches one thing and man another? Have you ever wondered why we have so many denominations? Do you thing that is good? Should not all churches be teaching the same doctrine? Listen what Paul says.
1 Cor. 14:33 “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”
1 Cor. 3:1 “And I, bretheren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto
carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.”
v. 2 “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear
it, neither yet now are ye able.”
v. 3 “For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?”
v. 4 “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”
I am a Catholic; I am a Lutheran; I am a Protestant, Baptist, etc, etc. Do we not all serve the same Lord? People used to stay with whatever denomination they had grown up with, that is no longer true either. People not only change churches, they change denominations, why is that? I can only guess, and my guess is this. When you go to a restaurant and you don’t like the food there, you go to another, and you keep on looking till you find the one that has the best food. People are hungry for spiritual food; they are hungry for truth, for honest answers to their questions. As I have already mentioned in my foreword, religion has become a business, a very profitable one at that. Churchgoers are treaded like shoppers, give them what they want, and they become your customers. Which, I think, explains the increase of none denominational churches. How many churches did Jesus Christ start? Paul in his letters to the churches addressed them according to their geographical location, but they were all churches of God. God gave us one church and one bible. The Bible is our manual; God provided it for us, his creation, so that we can check it out when things go wrong to distinguish what needs fixing. It should be our warning light that something is wrong. If we ignore the light, the problem can only get worse; and that is where we are today. We have in fact ignored the light for decades and things have gone from bad to worse to where our problems now threaten to overtake us. There is just one problem with all that; in order to fix a problem, you first have to admit, there is a problem. You might even have to admit that you are part of the problem. This is not something someone else can fix for you.
YOU need to check your Manual.
YOU need to go back to the drawing board.
YOU need to ask questions like: why is God teaching one thing, and man another? And right there is where the problem lies! We are contradicting God! Impossible? Why is Jesus telling us?
Mat. 15:9 “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments
of men”
Why did Jesus say that? Do we even know what the commandments of men are? When you read your bible; do you even notice the contradiction? We seem to have no problem believing men, why is that? Could it be we don’t know the doctrines of God? If we don’t believe God’s Word do we not call God a lair? Do we begin to see where the problem lies? Jesus told us:
John 4:23 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”
v. 24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
If you don’t believe the truth, you don’t have the truth, if you don’t have the truth you worship in vain. Making a show on Sunday is not what its all about. God was very precise in his instructions in the O.T., those that ignored them were severely punished, for instant.
Gen. 2:16 “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat.”
v. 17 “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”
Whatever Adam was thinking, whether he understood the meaning of death or not, he did understand the command of God don’t eat of that tree.
Lev. 10:1 “And Nadab and Abi’hu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.”
v. 2 “And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”
When God gives a command, we better listen.
Num. 20:7 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying.”
v. 8 “Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes;…”
v. 11 “And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice:…”
v. 12 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”
Deut. 34:4 “And the LORD said unto him, this is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.”
v. 5 “So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.”
Just one more example to show how serious God is when he gives a command.
2 Sam. 6:6 “And when they came to Na’chon’s threshingfloor, Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for the oxen shook it.”
v. 7 “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God.”
In each instant, God had given precise instructions, which were not followed, and death was the punishment. We are not lef
t without instructions either, God has not left it up to the individual, or even a church how to worship him, if we ignore his command, we too will pay the price.
Is. 8:20 “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is
because there is no light (understanding) in them.”
Daniel was given much information for the end time, he wanted to know what it all meant and was told;
Dan. 12:4 “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”
If nothing else could proof to us that we are in the end time, the increase in knowledge should do it. The computer alone is an incredible machine. But does this increase of knowledge also include understanding of the Word of God? If it did should not all ministers preach the same? If men of God all have the Holy Spirit, should they not all have the same understanding?
Is. 5:21 “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own
sight.”
Where do you go to get understanding of the scripture? Do you go to a College or University? A Seminar? And who is teaching there? Scholars, Professors, Theologians, in other words, Men! And what do they teach there? the commandments of men. Where does wisdom and understanding come from?
1 Ki. 3:5 “In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, ask what I shall give thee.”
v. 9 “Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I
may discern between good and bad…”
1 Ki. 4:29 “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much…”
Jesus told us there are three things we need to do for God to give us understanding and wisdom.
Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
v. 10 “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
Our sincere prayer is the knock on God’s door; it will get His attention. We have the advice form James.
Ja. 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
And Jesus’ promise;
Luke 11:13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children:
how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask
Him.”
It is only with the help of the Holy Spirit that you can expect to find what you’re seeking, understanding of the word of God. Look around, is this the answer to your prayer? We are too confident in those that teach us. Think about it, the Bereans checked out the Apostles.
Acts 17:10 “And the bretheren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto
Bere’a; who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.”
v. 11 “These were more noble than those in Thessaloni’ ca, in that they received the
word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so.”
They received the word with readiness, but then searched the scriptures daily if those things were so. DO YOU? It is after all, your responsibility. Whatever needs correcting in our nation, can only be corrected with the help of the Holy Spirit. Paul lays it all out in 1 Cor. 2:1-16, please read it in your bible. Paul was an educated man, a Pharisee, yet he did not try to impress the people with fancy talk, showing off his smarts; instead he came to them in fear and trembling, not because he was scared of them, but rather because he was very much aware of his calling and his responsibility, of the burden he carried to be accurate and truthful in his teaching. That their faith would be in the wisdom of God, and not in the convincing words of his. God does tell us what he requires of us.
Micah 6:9 “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
To do what God requires from us is not only good advise, but it is also a warning.
Zeph. 2:3 “Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.”
God never breaks a promise, but he may relent from a threat; read the book of Jonah. What happened to the nation Israel long ago, don’t have to happen to us.
Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou has rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…”
God does not play games; he says what he means and he means what he says. He does not care to be politically correct; you can’t plea-bargain with him, neither does he listen to Lobbyists. He has given us his word, the bible, and stands by it. By not taking God serious we only show what fools we are.
These studies are easy to read and understand; you don’t have to be a Scholar,
I’m not, or a College graduate, neither am I. Consider what the bible says about the Apostles Peter and John.
Acts 4:13 “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they
were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of
them , that they had been with Jesus.”
This is not to say that the Apostles were stupid, they had a trade, they were fishermen, but they had no schooling or training as the professional teachers of the law, like the Pharisees, the Sanhedrin or the Scribes. If you read with a desire for truth, and truth does not offend you, God will do the rest. Let me remind you what Paul said.
1 Cor. 1:19 “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to
nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
v. 20 “Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world?
Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?”
v. 25 “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God
is stronger than men.”
v. 26 “For ye see your calling, bretheren, how that not many wise men after the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble, are called.”
v. 27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and
God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty.”
How serious do you take the bible? How serious do you take God?
Deut. 30:15 “See, I have set before thee this day life and good and death and evil.”
How will you choose?
The choice is yours the time very short!
Peace to all of you, Article by Georg
And peace to you and your household.I thought I would bring this up again, find it to be a good post. I hope you will read it all.
Peace and Love IreneHi All
It would be nice if the whole world could be united as one in Christ. But I am afraid that won't happen for a while or at least until Jesus comes.
Peace to all! WJ
Quote (Shania @ July 16 2008,18:36) No one would have any power unless it were given to him from above. We do not choose our rulers. All authority is under the control of YHWH. He has a plan and a purpose. If we are under evil leadership, there is a reason.
ShaniaGod given power refers only to civil powers, when it comes to be spiritually led it is up to the individual to prove all things, if you don't, you are a blind following a blind leader.
Georg
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