When We See This!

"When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes" (Isaiah 66:14 NIV).

The thirteenth verse of scripture states that, "The Lord comfort like a mother" (paraphrased) and all will see this. Moving on to the next verse, we are told what will happen when we see this.

Our hearts will rejoice--overflowing with joy.

We will flourish like grass--keep increasing year after year and look good (if well-kept and cared for).

Everyone will know that the hand of The Lord guides us and keeps us safe from harm and directs our success.

And...His enemies--those who openly oppose Him--deny His existence and disobey His Word--shall know His fury!

I don't know about you, but I plan to remain His child and receive His comfort and never, ever become one His enemies!

When we know we are doing the right thing for all the right reasons--we can expect to see His blessings in our lives. But for those who choose not to do what is right, they too can expect--to see His fury.

When I look at our society--on a global level--I cannot help but wonder whether some of the extreme weather conditions we see are the result of His fury--against those who oppose Him. Now, notice I did not say that the weather is a result of His displeasure; I said, I wonder.

No matter what anyone thinks or wonders-we only have to look back at history to understand how God operates--when sin is in the atmosphere, it tends to shake things up and everyone not willing to change their ways--creates an environment that leads to destruction--of many!

So, when we see--the violence that escalates in countries, nation against nation, brother against brother, parents against children and children against parents, disrespect of self and others of such magnitude that children could not possibly understand moral ethics when they do not see any--from anyone--especially those in the public arena. When we see the changes in the environment that threaten the very existence of whole communities, do we understand why or do we just continue to accept sin as a way of life and do nothing to preserve humanity?

The choice is ours--we can receive His comfort or His fury. What are we going to see?
When we see the need to honor and respect--The One who created all things and without whom, nothing was ever created, we will see His comfort--love, mercy, grace and changes in the atmosphere--peace in the land--confirming and justifying our faith in Him.

That Was Then, This is Now!

"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

Remember the good old days?  You know--the days when a neighbor helped a neighbor; when children respected all adults; when being pregnant without being married brought shame on a family; when fathers took care of their children; when mothers could stay home and raise their children and take of their houses; when preachers had integrity; when teachers didn't get intimately involved with their students; when educators could actually teach students and not test them to death and the students learned--to read, think, and write. Does anyone remember the days when all audiences watching television could do so without being bombarded with profanity and other obscenities? Does anyone remember the days when the government regulated what was aired on television and radio and children appeared to be less inclined to become involved with negative behaviors? 

Well, the good old days are gone; that was then, and this is now. Now--everything has changed and not for the better. I acknowledge there can be no progress without change, but I also acknowledge that all change does not lead to progression, but in fact, regression.

What is the regression?  Our society is regressing to the days when "men did what was right in their own eyes" and forgot about God.  In fact, we have removed God from just about everything we do in this society--schools, government, churches, homes--everything but the money and if those who are influenced by Satan have their way, that won't be long in occurring. And Satan misleads people under the guise of keeping "a separation of church and state" which is what he does--deceive the nations.

So, here we are--in the 21st Century--going nowhere fast--except further away from God and how He wants us to live.  We seem to have forgotten that we are saved by grace, not of works and not of our own doing, but God's. We seem to have forgotten that "He created us to do good works" and those had been planned in advance.  Our government has ignored the plight of the people who elected them. The government has ignored the price society has to pay with "deregulation" and parents have ignored their responsibility in teaching their children appropriate behavior--anywhere they go.  Where is God in all of this? He is pushed to the background and Satan is hoping that's where He will stay.

It is time--way past time--for all who have a relationship with God to stand up and say so! It is time for true Believers to make a difference in our society and we won't do it by praying alone (we must pray), but by seeking God's directions in everything we do and for whom we elect and then do as He directs us to do.  We must put God back in His rightful place in our society--at the forefront, not the background, if anything will change for the better.  If we are truly intended to do good works--it is time we got started.

Stand up Believers! For the condition our society rests upon us--to promote the Gospel and live Godly lives in front of all so they will know who we are--we won't have to tell them. Stand up for righteousness as God defines it!  Stand up for The One who created all things and without Him, nothing was created.  Stand up! We need to be as bold and determined as those who came before us--determined to do what is right for all people.

Power of Love!

"When nothing else would help, Love lifted me!"

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..."

"Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and love your neighbor as yourself"

Why should we love God and other people?

When we love God, we won't sin against Him.

When we love people, we won't sin against them.

Changing the climate of hate in our society would be so simple if people knew how to love.

Love does not hate and will not seek to do wrong to another.

Love seeks to care for and shelter self and others.

Love is forgiving (God forgives us).

Love corrects, admonishes, and warns against dangers.

Love embraces the object of its affection and nurtures the relationship.

Love does not complain or murmur against one another.

Love overlooks shortcomings and faults and loves anyway.

Love shares love with all who will receive it.

Love sees the needs of others and serves them.

Since God loves us so much, we should love one another whether a person is lovable or not.

If we learned how to love, there would be no wars, no murders, no rapes or incest, no violations of laws of any kind. Before we can love others, we must learn how to love self and then let the love overflow!

Love, like prayer, changes people!

Show some love today. You just might save somebody's life and give them  a reason to get closer to Jesus!