Esther 4:14
For if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?
The story of Esther is one of the most dramatic books in all of scripture. The story of Jewish girl taken by force to be part of the Kings harem to choose a new bride from who is chosen to be queen. Dire circumstances fell and increased government persecution of Gods people came to a boiling point when a descendent of a former enemy of the Jews gains power and influence and tries to have all the Jews put to death. Esther must then use her position, defy the formal protocols of the land, possible facing death as a result to stand up and make it be known to the king exactly what was up.
The above verse came at the time when she was being asked to stand up for Gods people and proclaim the truth, even if it meant her demise. We today are facing hard times. While we are not yet at the point of being annihilated, we are at the point of having our ability to live and express our faith openly taken away. The full force of government is being used to try and make us go against our God with the threat of loss of property, livelihood, family. We are regularly ridiculed and lied about, demonized by those who wish to silence us.
Looming in the backdrop of all this is an old enemy of Christendom; Islam. For 1400 years those who follow Mohamed have been venturing on a quest for world domination and the extermination of Christians and Jews. Unbelievers here side with them and give them favored status, while attacking and removing all symbols and remembrances of Christendom from our national memory.
In modern memory we can still look back and see what happened in Germany to the Jews and see very eerie similarities to what is starting to take place in the US. The German government too gave favored status to Muslims while attacking and removing anything Jewish from German memory. They, like has begun here, were being made as the scapegoats. All that was wrong could be placed squarely on Gods people and if only they were not there, we could evolve into the great human utopian era.
Now is the time for believers to stand up and proclaim the truth of God to the nation and to the world. It is time we stand up and live our beliefs faithfully and recommit ourselves to do that which God wills us to do. It is time to stand up and call out the evildoers and expose what they are doing. For if we remain silent at this time, God will raise up those voices elsewhere and we will not be spared. Who knows whether we have been placed here for a time such as this?
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obedience. Show all posts
2015/07/19
2015/01/27
2014/12/24
It's Bacon!
The other day at my job, we had a holiday dinner at work. Among the items served were, ham, beans with bacon, and green bean casserole with bacon. For someone trying to cut out the pork products, that left me with the au graten potatoes, the dinner rolls, and the desert dishes.
In a large setting you will always then end up with someone saying, "Aren't you having any ham? It is so good!" Followed by them trying to throw a big piece on your plate. Then you explain that you are not eating pork and everyone suddenly kind of slides away from you at the break table. They kind of get this, "oh, you are one of those" looks.
Seriously, If you are someone who has ever tried just dieting, you can have a hard time finding foods that will fit your diet. But, you don't really notice that much until you start looking. Going kosher is the same way. Until you start making a conscious effort to do so, you just don't realize how many "unclean" foods we are being fed, and how much promotion goes into getting you to eat pig.
Have you ever tried going out to eat for breakfast trying to avoid pork? You almost can't do it. Bacon or sausage is the standard with nearly every meal. Seriously, try it some time. At McDonald's, for example, there are very few options that don't include pork. A number of the small amount of items you can get are not even listed on the menu. It's a secret menu item that you have to request. Even the cashier are often unaware of them and have to call a manager to find it on the register.
It seems in the last few years, promotion of pork, especially bacon, has gone hog wild. (pun intended). I seem to recall this first with the old commercial with the dog screaming, "IT'S BACON!!!!" I think we people have gotten trained that way. There are now bacon products for almost anything. Bacon hot dogs, milk shakes, even edible bowls made of bacon that you can eat after you have consumed whatever it was (probably with bacon in it) in the bowl.
People just seem to want to pig out on bacon. (I know, another pun). If you have a Facebook page, you can't escape people posting ridiculous bacon pictures of bacon wrapped in bacon deep fried in bacon grease, or some such thing. It really has become a weird obsession with people; an addiction even.
Even Christians are in on this. You will get a HUGE argument ending in being called a heretic and a false teacher if you happen to point out that the Bible says we should not eat pork. That is one of the hottest no no's in all of Christendom it seems to say that God might want us to have a "clean" diet. So many believers are stubbornly unwilling to give up anything they want as an act of service to God. Our religion has become self centered and not God centric. God serves us and we can do whatever we want is the easy believism cheap grace taught in many pulpits today.
No, choosing to eat kosher is not putting you or anyone else under the law. No one is going to be dragging anyone to the edge of town and stoning them for disobeying God's and national law. No one is going to hell, per se, for eating bacon. But, there are consequences for our actions.
One of those consequences is our health. How can anyone argue against God's diet as being the best one for us to live our days healthy? Is anyone going to say God is wrong on His choice of diet that He would like us to consume? Paul puts it this way, Is the law sin? God forbid, for I would not have know sin if it were not for the law. and John describes sin as being, "transgression of the law". The kosher diet is the right one for believers, whether they want to admit it or not, or follow it or not.
The real question for believers is this, why are so many believers stubbornly opposed to what God has laid out for us to do? The bible was fairly clear on this point that as a human, we are a stiff-necked and rebellious people. There is none that seeks good. We all want to do what is right in our own eyes, not God's. It is our nature.
We have to be willing to and consciously submit our will to Gods each and every day, and on constant guard. It is an act of praise and worship to be obedient to the most high. It is putting God in his proper place in our lives when we submit ourselves to His ways and put aside our desires. Is it easy? No. But, we have a helper residing in us when we are saved that will help us along the path of righteousness if we are willing to submit.
Pork is not a need. It is a want. It is a desire. When we put that want ahead of what God wants, we turn that desire into an idol. With our actions, words and posts, we set up bacon as a false God to whom we are more willing to submit to than the Lord out God. It is time we start paying attention to what God wants, and doing what God says we should do. One can argue all they want about the "law", but when you look back before the "law" you see Noah loading animals based on clean and unclean standards set by God. Something to consider.
In a large setting you will always then end up with someone saying, "Aren't you having any ham? It is so good!" Followed by them trying to throw a big piece on your plate. Then you explain that you are not eating pork and everyone suddenly kind of slides away from you at the break table. They kind of get this, "oh, you are one of those" looks.
Seriously, If you are someone who has ever tried just dieting, you can have a hard time finding foods that will fit your diet. But, you don't really notice that much until you start looking. Going kosher is the same way. Until you start making a conscious effort to do so, you just don't realize how many "unclean" foods we are being fed, and how much promotion goes into getting you to eat pig.
Have you ever tried going out to eat for breakfast trying to avoid pork? You almost can't do it. Bacon or sausage is the standard with nearly every meal. Seriously, try it some time. At McDonald's, for example, there are very few options that don't include pork. A number of the small amount of items you can get are not even listed on the menu. It's a secret menu item that you have to request. Even the cashier are often unaware of them and have to call a manager to find it on the register.
It seems in the last few years, promotion of pork, especially bacon, has gone hog wild. (pun intended). I seem to recall this first with the old commercial with the dog screaming, "IT'S BACON!!!!" I think we people have gotten trained that way. There are now bacon products for almost anything. Bacon hot dogs, milk shakes, even edible bowls made of bacon that you can eat after you have consumed whatever it was (probably with bacon in it) in the bowl.
People just seem to want to pig out on bacon. (I know, another pun). If you have a Facebook page, you can't escape people posting ridiculous bacon pictures of bacon wrapped in bacon deep fried in bacon grease, or some such thing. It really has become a weird obsession with people; an addiction even.
Even Christians are in on this. You will get a HUGE argument ending in being called a heretic and a false teacher if you happen to point out that the Bible says we should not eat pork. That is one of the hottest no no's in all of Christendom it seems to say that God might want us to have a "clean" diet. So many believers are stubbornly unwilling to give up anything they want as an act of service to God. Our religion has become self centered and not God centric. God serves us and we can do whatever we want is the easy believism cheap grace taught in many pulpits today.
No, choosing to eat kosher is not putting you or anyone else under the law. No one is going to be dragging anyone to the edge of town and stoning them for disobeying God's and national law. No one is going to hell, per se, for eating bacon. But, there are consequences for our actions.
One of those consequences is our health. How can anyone argue against God's diet as being the best one for us to live our days healthy? Is anyone going to say God is wrong on His choice of diet that He would like us to consume? Paul puts it this way, Is the law sin? God forbid, for I would not have know sin if it were not for the law. and John describes sin as being, "transgression of the law". The kosher diet is the right one for believers, whether they want to admit it or not, or follow it or not.
The real question for believers is this, why are so many believers stubbornly opposed to what God has laid out for us to do? The bible was fairly clear on this point that as a human, we are a stiff-necked and rebellious people. There is none that seeks good. We all want to do what is right in our own eyes, not God's. It is our nature.
We have to be willing to and consciously submit our will to Gods each and every day, and on constant guard. It is an act of praise and worship to be obedient to the most high. It is putting God in his proper place in our lives when we submit ourselves to His ways and put aside our desires. Is it easy? No. But, we have a helper residing in us when we are saved that will help us along the path of righteousness if we are willing to submit.
Pork is not a need. It is a want. It is a desire. When we put that want ahead of what God wants, we turn that desire into an idol. With our actions, words and posts, we set up bacon as a false God to whom we are more willing to submit to than the Lord out God. It is time we start paying attention to what God wants, and doing what God says we should do. One can argue all they want about the "law", but when you look back before the "law" you see Noah loading animals based on clean and unclean standards set by God. Something to consider.
2014/12/14
Can You Handle It?
The other day I was having a conversation with a friend of mine. During the course of the conversation, my friend mentioned a common theme that many people believe is true but one that I am not so sure is. The idea is this; that God will not give you more than you can handle.
This is a pretty common theme that I hear all the time. I hear it from both church goers and unbelievers as well. It is one of those "universal" themes that people seem to have about God. I think that also in time of great difficulty it is kind of comforting to ones self to think that I can handle this because God would never give me more than I can handle. Is this true?
The concept come from I Corinthians 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. It certainly seems here that this is indeed a statement right out of scripture that God will never give you more than you can bear. But we need to look a little closer.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. When we start out here we find the people to whom this is written in the same plight of those who use the saying, in a position of troubles. But, what kind of troubles? These are very specific issues with these people. They are temptations that they have fallen to. The temptation to which they have fallen, and so many others is the temptation to sin; or go against God's will. We often find ourselves at our wits end in a situation where we have made a decision and are suffering the consequences thereof. We've all been there and it is nothing uncommon. We have all been disobedient and had to suffer the consequences.
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able... This is the part people like to take out. We can handle anything because God won't let us get in over our heads. We have to think about this one here a minute. Yes, God is faithful... faithful to whom? God is faithful to His children. If you are not a child of His, God is not obligated to be faithful. This verse, after all, was written to believers. It was for believers. It is believers who will not be tempted above what they are able. Unbelievers will not even see a temptation as a temptation. It will not be something they would even be interested in avoiding. An unbeliever will plow full steam into temptation and revel in it. They might comfort themselves with these words, but they will continue doing the same things.
For the believer, "but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." The question is, what is that escape? For the believer, that escape is the Word. In Mathew 4 we see Jesus being tempted by the devil. With each temptation, Jesus gave example for us on how to escape temptation. It is written, it is written, it is written. And it wasn't just the words, but also the fact that Jesus believed the words and obeyed the words. Obedience to the word of God is the way of escape from temptation that will allow us to bear it. If we are not going to be obedient to the word, we will not be delivered from the temptations.
The truth is this, God will allow us to get in way over our head. He will let things get so bad sometimes that we have no clue what to do. Everything will seem out of control, topsy-turvy, and one thing right after another until our heads are spinning. We know from Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. If you don't love God, God may be using those circumstances to force you into a corner to make a decision. The way of escape that God has for mankind is through His son Jesus Christ. That is the whole point. Without Jesus, we can't bear it. The load of our sins that we have will cause us an eternity of torment beyond anything we can imagine. We don't have to bear that weight though. We can give it to Jesus. Jesus is the way of escape from all the temptations we have fallen into, and obedience to God's ways will keep us from further temptations.
2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
This is a pretty common theme that I hear all the time. I hear it from both church goers and unbelievers as well. It is one of those "universal" themes that people seem to have about God. I think that also in time of great difficulty it is kind of comforting to ones self to think that I can handle this because God would never give me more than I can handle. Is this true?
The concept come from I Corinthians 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. It certainly seems here that this is indeed a statement right out of scripture that God will never give you more than you can bear. But we need to look a little closer.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. When we start out here we find the people to whom this is written in the same plight of those who use the saying, in a position of troubles. But, what kind of troubles? These are very specific issues with these people. They are temptations that they have fallen to. The temptation to which they have fallen, and so many others is the temptation to sin; or go against God's will. We often find ourselves at our wits end in a situation where we have made a decision and are suffering the consequences thereof. We've all been there and it is nothing uncommon. We have all been disobedient and had to suffer the consequences.
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able... This is the part people like to take out. We can handle anything because God won't let us get in over our heads. We have to think about this one here a minute. Yes, God is faithful... faithful to whom? God is faithful to His children. If you are not a child of His, God is not obligated to be faithful. This verse, after all, was written to believers. It was for believers. It is believers who will not be tempted above what they are able. Unbelievers will not even see a temptation as a temptation. It will not be something they would even be interested in avoiding. An unbeliever will plow full steam into temptation and revel in it. They might comfort themselves with these words, but they will continue doing the same things.
For the believer, "but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." The question is, what is that escape? For the believer, that escape is the Word. In Mathew 4 we see Jesus being tempted by the devil. With each temptation, Jesus gave example for us on how to escape temptation. It is written, it is written, it is written. And it wasn't just the words, but also the fact that Jesus believed the words and obeyed the words. Obedience to the word of God is the way of escape from temptation that will allow us to bear it. If we are not going to be obedient to the word, we will not be delivered from the temptations.
The truth is this, God will allow us to get in way over our head. He will let things get so bad sometimes that we have no clue what to do. Everything will seem out of control, topsy-turvy, and one thing right after another until our heads are spinning. We know from Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. If you don't love God, God may be using those circumstances to force you into a corner to make a decision. The way of escape that God has for mankind is through His son Jesus Christ. That is the whole point. Without Jesus, we can't bear it. The load of our sins that we have will cause us an eternity of torment beyond anything we can imagine. We don't have to bear that weight though. We can give it to Jesus. Jesus is the way of escape from all the temptations we have fallen into, and obedience to God's ways will keep us from further temptations.
2 Peter 2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
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