Re: July 31

Awesome and so true. 

Chuck Goulart

203-943-0961

Sent from my phone ignore typos

On Jul 31, 2012, at 18:08, Apryl Steinmetz <apryl.steinmetz@yahoo.com> wrote:

The heart is deceitful above all things 

and beyond cure. 

Who can understand it? 

"I the Lord search the heart 

and examine the mind, 

to reward a man according to his conduct, 

according to what his deeds deserve." 

~Jeremiah 17:9-10

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

~2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Have you ever done or thought anything that you wanted to keep from someone? Of course, we all have. Our minds and our hearts are devious, dark, impure, polluted... If other people could see inside our minds and read our thoughts, how ashamed, embarrassed, disgraced would we all feel. For me (and I'm sure all of you can relate), most of the sins that I commit are in my mind. I would be horrified beyond belief if my thoughts were made public for all to see and hear. 

Most of us may feel that we do a pretty good job hiding our corruption from other people. But we can never hide any part of ourselves from God. He searches our hearts and examines our minds. Not one thought, motivation, emotion, or feeling can hide from Him. He knows us completely inside and out. Why are there times that we forget that He knows all? We continue to allow our minds to wander aimlessly or indulge in sinful thoughts all while God is there.

I love the way that 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 describes how thoughts are to be controlled. Overcoming the sins of the mind is a battle that can only be won if we take captive every thought and make them obedient to Christ. And the only way we can do this is by surrendering to Him and allowing His strength to win the battle. Remember: there is nothing we can hide from Him, and He loves us anyway!

July 31

The heart is deceitful above all things 

and beyond cure. 

Who can understand it? 

"I the Lord search the heart 

and examine the mind, 

to reward a man according to his conduct, 

according to what his deeds deserve." 

~Jeremiah 17:9-10

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

~2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Have you ever done or thought anything that you wanted to keep from someone? Of course, we all have. Our minds and our hearts are devious, dark, impure, polluted... If other people could see inside our minds and read our thoughts, how ashamed, embarrassed, disgraced would we all feel. For me (and I'm sure all of you can relate), most of the sins that I commit are in my mind. I would be horrified beyond belief if my thoughts were made public for all to see and hear. 

Most of us may feel that we do a pretty good job hiding our corruption from other people. But we can never hide any part of ourselves from God. He searches our hearts and examines our minds. Not one thought, motivation, emotion, or feeling can hide from Him. He knows us completely inside and out. Why are there times that we forget that He knows all? We continue to allow our minds to wander aimlessly or indulge in sinful thoughts all while God is there.

I love the way that 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 describes how thoughts are to be controlled. Overcoming the sins of the mind is a battle that can only be won if we take captive every thought and make them obedient to Christ. And the only way we can do this is by surrendering to Him and allowing His strength to win the battle. Remember: there is nothing we can hide from Him, and He loves us anyway!

Monday July 30th - Jeremiah 13:1-14:18

Chuck and I have given our children rules and boundaries that they know they have to live by.  We have given them these, not because we are control freaks and preventers of anything "fun" but, because we know these rules and boundaries will keep them safe and will allow them to live a rich and fulfilling life without the risk of great harm to themselves and to others.

Breaking the rules comes with a price.  Our children have been fully warned of the consequences of breaking the rules.  They have been made fully aware of the price that their act (or acts) of disobedience will cause.  Despite this warning they can sometimes tend to push the limits, to stretch those boundaries, to test the patience's, gentleness, and the compassion of Chuck and I as their father and mother.  Sometimes their desire is to live outside of our established boundaries and within their own set of rules.  Yet, they still want to enjoy the benefits that we, their parents, provide for them. 

What they can't see are all the danger's that possibly lie outside of the rules and boundaries that they would set.  They only see rainbows and sunshine, smiles and freedom.  We see the storm clouds that lie ahead.  We see the severe thunderstorms – storms that would send trees and power lines down upon their newly paved paths in life.  Things that would stop them and possibly hurt them.  But no matter how much we warn them, how much we explain that we know and understand more because we have experience in life.  Sometimes they just can't (or won't) see, won't trust us and eventually will cross the line of no return.

What awaits them on the other side of disobedience is justice.  We still love them.  We still have compassion and a desire for them to return to their lives lived within the safety of our rules and boundaries.  The thing is we know that they need to learn from this mistake or they will surely make it again.  All the warnings, all the consequences that we have laid out before them in the past will now be given to them.  The full price of their disobedience is now on their shoulders.  Punishment is handed down to them to bear.  They thought their boundaries were small before, now they start to feel as if there is barely enough room to move – they feel captive.

Part of the problem is the storm clouds of their disobedient choices still lie ahead in their future.  They haven't arrived yet.  So, they mistakenly think that we are crazy.  That we truly are parents that are nothing more then control freaks that don't desire them to enjoy anything good in life.  We become the mean parents.

Sometimes their punishment is to simply let them feel the full brunt of the storm that is headed their way.  To let them learn the hard and much more painful way.  As a parent it can be very difficult to do this but it is so necessary in order for them to learn to trust us and to see the importance of our rules and boundaries in their lives.

At other times we know that the storm that lies ahead is a hurricane that will completely destroy them.  We have to step in and stop them.  We have to punish them and remove them from the harm that is coming.  This is when our children truly think that we don't love them.  They think we are heartless.  They don't see compassion, love, gentleness, patience, or forgiveness.  They think those things are gone because their stubborn, pride-filled hearts still don't fully understand what lies ahead and they can't see everything that we have and are doing for their benefit (protection).

This is exactly what we are seeing in our reading today in Jeremiah 13:1-14:18.  God appears to no longer have compassion on his children.  His punishment seems harsh and heavy handed.  He seems like a Father who is filled with nothing but anger, out to destroy those he calls his own.  But he is still the very same God he always has been and always will be. 

"And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.  Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation."  Exodus 34:6-7

There is a storm on the horizon of Israel's wicked and it is unlike any that has been seen.  It is the full wrath of God.  Sin cannot remain in the presence of a Holy God.  What his children deserved was complete annihilation.  But because God is loving and just, compassionate and holy, he spares them from the brunt of that storm and instead allows them to suffer the consequences of disobedience that he laid out in the Law that was given to Moses.  It is an act of love.  He desires to turn their hearts back to him.  He loves them too much to allow them to remain in their sins that push them further away from him.  His goal is to change their hearts not just their actions and bring them back to a right relationship with him.

I am just like the Israelites.  Sometimes I push the boundaries that God has set for me.  I take advantage of his patience and gentle nature.  I focus on his gracious and merciful heart forgetting often that he still is a just and holy God who loves me too much to let me always have things "my way".  I set up idols in my life, things that I put before him.  I think I can do things in my strength and that I don't need him.  I want to live my life my way but still enjoy his blessings poured upon my life as well. 

But God loves me so much he never lets me stay outside of the boundaries he has set for long.  He will do whatever it takes to bring me back.  He lets me experience the consequences of my choices.  When this happens I often find that I question God's unchangeable character instead of looking at my own which is flawed.  I question his love for me.  I question his authority in my life.  I question his plan for my life.  I question his ability to forgive.  I question my place in his family.  I should never question any of these things but rather remember that he is the unchanging God who created me with a purpose.  I need to learn from the place I am in and allow it to grow me.  Allow it change that which needs to be changed.  I need to allow God, my father, to mold me into the child he created me to be.  Sometimes that process isn't easy but in the end I will have a heart that has learned to love the boundaries that God has given me to live in.  I will truly be able to live a life of freedom and joy.

Jer 7-9

Jeremiah Chapter 7 

As we think about the book of Jeremiah as a whole we are conscious of the fact that he is dealing with God's people, and these scriptures speak directly to you and to me. God's people refers to the church that we know, people like us who have their trust in God. We will never be bothered with worshipping idols made of wood or stone or bow down to an image that is carved of gold or silver, but how many of us are prepared to recognize that in our daily life we fall into ways and habits of doing things that belong to the world and do not REPAEAT do NOT belong to the mind and heart of God. That was what Jeremiah found.

 

Jeremiah Chapter 8

As we continue our look in the book of Jeremiah we stumble upon to something that is very sobering. Jeremiah learned as he watched his people that they were not only going the wrong way but they intended to do it deliberately go the wrong way. The Christian church has a great heritage. We can go back all the way to the Apostle Paul, who came

to know the Lord Jesus Christ and preached the Gospel with such fervor and passion . Perhaps we think of great commentaries of God inspired men who were able to take the Word of God, and show it to the people in a way that brought great blessings and understanding. Some of us have had people in our own family whose names remain great in our hearts and minds, and who are a blessing to us to this day. We would like to think that with all the help that has come in the past, the church would not go wrong now. But here is a strange thing: people can get into the habit of doing things differently, and feel that the new way is right. In Jeremiah's time this is brought out in a amazing way.

 

Jeremiah Chapter 9

As believers in Christ, the church that we belong to and the community in which we live.

Have a definite relation to our spiritual existence and eternal destiny. The kind of spiritual life that shows itself in the church we attend makes a huge difference. We read about what happened in the time of Jeremiah with much interest and interest to learn from mistakes. We feel a great sympathy for Jeremiah when we read:

 

(Jeremiah 9:1) Oh that my heart were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.

 

    Jeremiah is sometimes called "the weeping prophet." Even the "cry baby" Every now and again someone implies that he was a eternal pessimist, a man who looked on the dark side of things. I have come to believe that the reason for this was that Jeremiah lived in a day when weeping was the only proper response to these issues. Jeremiah loved his town and community of Jerusalem. It was his task to preach the Gospel at a time when the whole nation of people were wandering away from God. It made him feel very sad.

 

He continues to describe them in their spiritual degeneration: And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for

they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, says the Lord (Jeremiah 9:3).

Jeremiah accused his people of a lack of integrity Take your time every one of his neighbors, and trust not in any brother, for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with slanders. And they will deceive everyone his neighbor, and

will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves, to commit iniquity. The habitation is in the midst of deceit, through deceit they refuse to know me, says the Lord.

 

Do you see that the issues we face are no different? We are surrounded by so many distractions, and idols that lead us away from the Lord.

 

Before you can defeat an enemy, we must identify what our distractions are that derail us from meeting with GOD? Prayer, singing, and reading His word keeps us focused on the right thins.

 

Identify your distractions and put God before them. If Computers are a distraction for you spend time with God before you turn on your computer etc…….  

 

 

Chuck Goulart

 203-943-0961

Friday, July 27, 2012 - Jeremiah 5:14-6:30

Friday, July 27, 2012
Jeremiah 5:14-6:30

God is going to punish Israel and Judah through the nation of Babylon.
But why? Steve Edwards spoke at length in yesterday's blog about the
sin of spiritual adultery as reason. Today's passage confirms this sin
as well; "As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your own
land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own"
(Jeremiah 6:19). In addition, Israel and Judah had many other sins,
which I've listed below (not exhaustive), from today's reading:

1) Among my people are the wicked who lie in wait like men who snare
birds and like those who set traps to catch people. (Jeremiah 5:26)
2) Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they
have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. (Jeremiah
5:27)
3) Their evil deeds have no limit; they do not seek justice. They do
not promote the case of the fatherless; they do not defend the just
cause of the poor. (Jeremiah 5:28)
4) The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own
authority, and my people love it this way. (Jeremiah 5:31)
5) As a well pours out its water, so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence and destruction resound in her; her sickness and wounds are
ever before me. (Jeremiah 6:7)
6) From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets
and priests alike, all practice deceit. (Jeremiah 6:13)

In other words, when a nation follows their way over God's way, evil
becomes the norm. The wicked destroy the innocent. People gain riches
through extortion and deception. The defenseless (orphans, the poor,
the homeless) are treated unjustly. Spiritual leaders arrogantly use
God's name to follow their own agenda. Wickedness flows like water.
Violence and destruction is prevalent. Across the socioeconomic scale,
all live lives of selfish ambition.

I must confess; throughout this bible reading journey, I've often
questioned God's wrath. But after truly acknowledging the
aforementioned sin, it becomes obvious that God's wrath is a
necessity. Otherwise justice would not prevail. In today's world, I
often ask myself, "where is the justice?" In our country alone, there
are countless kidnappings, rapes, and murders. The defenseless are
treated unjustly. In fact, I have a short story about how unjust our
system is towards the defenseless:

I have a sister who was orphaned at two-years old. From the age of two
to seventeen, she lived with foster parents that seriously abused her.
Her foster parents made her sleep on the floor. They made her eat food
off the floor. They beat her. And what made matters worse is that my
sister was born with cerebral palsy. In other words, she is completely
physically disabled. She can't control the movements of her own limbs.
She has been in a wheel chair her entire life. It is in this
condition, my sister withstood all this abuse. To top it off, the
family that abused her had an outstanding reputation as foster
parents. These people weren't jailed. They still live at home as free
citizens.

Injustice? Yes. But my family is attempting to imitate the same
forgiveness and patience that God demonstrates in the Bible. The
Israelites stray from God's path for years, yet God is so merciful
that He gives His people years upon years to turn back to Him. God
waits generations at a time before bringing His righteous punishment.
God even gives warning, "Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away
from you and make your land desolate so no one can live in it"
(Jeremiah 6:8). God allows His people to fall away to the point of
destruction before disciplining and saving them.

In the same way, my family must be merciful. We must forgive these
abusive foster parents. We must pray and hope for God's mercy to
change these people so that they will turn away from their sin and
towards God. If they don't choose to change, they choose destruction.
God can't cohabitate with evil. God is Holy and in order to be with
Him, we must choose to walk with Him.

"This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask
for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and
you will find rest for your souls'" (Jeremiah 6:16).

Let's follow God today and find rest for our souls.

God Bless,
Anthony

Saturday July 28

July 28, 2012       Jeremiah 9

 

Jerald Jellison said in a USA Today article, "Each of us fibs at least 50 times a day." He explained that we lie about our age, our income, or our accomplishments. And we use lies to escape embarrassment. A common reason for "little white lies," we're told, is to protect someone else's feelings. Yet in so doing, we are really protecting ourselves.

 

I've put together a short list of some of the most frequently used American lies.  

- The check is in the mail.

- I was just kidding.

- I am not angry….. really!!!

- I was only trying to help.

- I'll start my diet tomorrow.

- Give me your number and the doctor will call you right back.

- This offer limited to the first 100 people who call in.

- Leave your resume and we'll keep it on file.

- This hurts me more than it hurts you.

- I just need five minutes of your time.

- Let's have lunch sometime.

 

The prophet Jeremiah confronted the sin of lying which was prevalent in his day. He said the people made their tongues ready like archers at the Olympics, aiming their lies at each other. That is a pretty awesome picture of a person deliberately firing lies to hurt another person. Because of their lying they could not trust their friends, neighbors or even their own family members. The pronouncement Jeremiah makes is that, "no one speaks the truth." Truth had disappeared from the culture. All that was left were exaggerations, falsifications, fabrications and lies. Sound pretty much like America today.

 

God has set a radically different standard for us. He told us clearly don't make any false statements; only speak the truth. That is a pretty high standard. It is easy, even convenient to lie. But when we speak lies and deceptions to each other we are destroying the very fabric of our relationships. We live in a time of unprecedented lying. From politics to families, lying words impact all of us.  

 

Consider for a moment where lying originated. Satan is called the Father of Lies. (John 8:44)  It was his lies that started the cascading avalanche of the fall. So on this Saturday, who is your father? It is either the father of lies or the father of truth. As Christ followers we have the Spirit of truth dwelling in us. Because of this we ought to find it hard to tell a lie, at any time.

 

One little story to encourage us to speak the truth today.  A man went on a long awaited vacation to Europe. Two days after he left he called home to check in and his brother answered the phone. The man asked, "How's my cat?" The brother answered, "Your cat is dead." The man said, "You could have said that in another way, so as not to so hurt my feelings. You could have said, 'Your cat is on the roof.' Then tomorrow you could have said, 'The fire department came to get your cat down and dropped it and it is at the vet.' Then the day after that you could have said, 'Your cat could not be saved and was peacefully put down.' Then you wouldn't have hurt my feelings." The man then asked, "How's mother?" to which the brother replied, "She's on the roof."  

 

There is always an appropriate way to say things, if they must be said. But to lie to protect someone's feelings is never justifiable. There is no such thing as a little white lie. Telling the truth is always better than telling a lie.

 

July 25: Zephaniah

Travis and I have a Brittany spaniel named Sawyer. He's not a very big dog, but he is a wrecking ball of energy who wants to play all the time! His absolute favorite thing to play with is a laser pointer. If you have a laser pointer and shine it all over the place he will chase it for hours. Inside he'll run from one end of the house to the other over and over again. Outside he'll run circles around the house. This dog is never satisfied. When you don't have the laser pointer, he's thinking about it. When you do have it, he will never stop chasing that little red dot!

I often wonder why he loves it so much. When you think about it, there's nothing he can gain out of running after the light. He won't gain food that will sustain him. He won't gain water that will quench his thirst. He won't gain anything he needs because it's just a red dot of no value. As much as his behavior doesn't make sense to me, I think I'm more like him than I care to admit. How often do I pursue things of this world that have no value or substance?

Zephaniah had a warning for the people of Judah regarding the way they chased after worthless idols and false gods. God would stretch His hand against them for bowing down and worshipping that which was not the Lord. I think it's safe to say that none of us are tempted to worship Baal or Molech, but we still willing fall into the same trap as the people of Judah. We chase after money, power, a comfortable life. We put these things that have no value ahead of the God who created us and wants to give us everything we need and more. This warning that Zephaniah gave Judah thousands of years ago is a warning that is very important for us today. Steve Edwards preached a sermon a couple Sundays ago and his message has definitely stayed with me. We are to reject the cheap comfort this world wishes to sell us. If we go for comfort in other sources besides our God, we will not be fulfilled. Not only does it leave us empty, but we will also have to face God's righteous judgement.

As always, God desires for us to make things right. If we stop pursuing worthless things (little red dots!) and return to Him, we will find Him more comforting and more satisfying than anything we could imagine. 

Zephaniah 3:14-17

Sing, O Daughter of Zion; 

shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

O Daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.
The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; 
never again will you fear any harm. 

On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp. 

The Lord your God is with you,
he is mighty to save. 
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love, 
he will rejoice over you with singing."

Monday July 23rd

We took our family to see Ice Age: Continental Drift tonight.  It was a fun movie that made us laugh and it was an enjoyable time spent as a family.  We left the theater and walked back to our SUV.  That is when it happened, when it usually happens.  The pleasant family outing turned sour as the kids stood around the car in the parking lot with the door open arguing over who would have to sit in the way back, the 3^rd row of seats.  No one was willing to enter the car until they could secure the seat they wanted.  Each of them always wants one of the 2 seats in the middle.  Tonight (as usual) nobody would budge.  Nobody was willing to give up their "right" to a seat they felt entitled to, that they felt was theirs.  It sounds pathetic (because it is) and maybe a little foolish (again, because it is) but as a parent it causes my heart to ache to see such selfishness over things that are so foolish and petty.   Not one of my children was willing to humble themselves, to put the needs (or even the wants) of another before their own.  They only had eyes for themselves.  They were full of pride. 

This was Amon's greatest sin.

"But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the LORD; Amon increased his guilt."  2 Chronicles 33:23

It doesn't say that his worship of idols or sacrifices to them increased his guilt but it was his lack of humility, his pride.  It was his love of self.  His feeling of entitlement.  His desires to be above the law of the Lord.  His unwillingness to give God the place in his heart that he was occupying with his pride.  His pride caused his guilt to increase in front of the Judge of the earth:

"Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve."  Psalm 94:2

Amon seems like a fool (because he is).  He saw the evil his father Manasseh did and the punishment handed down to him by God, loosing his kingdom and being taken captive by the Assyrians.  He also knew of his father's sincere repentant heart – how he humbled himself before the Lord and gave back to God the seat of honor in his heart.  Once humbled God gave Manasseh his kingdom back, but rather then be selfish with his power to rule (like before) he allowed God to lead him and lived a life of obedience.  Amon, however, only paid attention to the pride filled sins of his father and longed to enjoy the similar desires of his own heart not the desires of his God.  There was no room, no seat, for God or for the good deeds God calls us to carry out and longs to see us engaged in.

The reason why my heart aches when my children fight over which of them get to have the second row seats is because it points to a greater issue of their heart.  Pride!!!  What this pride says is that they are not thinking about their God and they are not letting Him lead them.  They are keeping him from having the front seat of their heart as well and putting him in the 3^rd row where the music of their lives can be turned up and drown him out.   They are only thinking about themselves.  Their hearts desire is only for themselves and what satisfaction they can gain for themselves (even at the cost of their siblings joy).  This pride, left alone, will carry over into other areas of their lives and with other people.  This grieves me. This grieves God.

If I really take an honest look at my own heart I have no choice but to admit that I fall into the same foolish actions as my children.  I stand outside the door of my heart with God and I often times enter into a one sided "conversation" with God regarding who is going to get to sit in the driver's seat of my heart and life.  I want control.  I want to see where we are going and steer my life to where I think it should go.  I want to control what I do and how I do things.  I have a false sense of security when I'm in control.  If I'm driving he can't take me to places I don't want to go.  I'm not telling him he can't get in, I just want him to sit in the back and quietly enjoy the ride (or make the ride enjoyable for me).   The thing is I know that when we take control of our lives it leads to pain and difficulty yet, like Amon, I still choose the foolishness of pride over the guarantee of success (true joy) through humility – through giving God control.

Finally tonight one of my kids couldn't take it any more and stopped the fighting by getting into the car and sitting in the 3^rd row.  The other 2 got in and took their coveted seats in the 2^nd row.  Their guilt was most definitely increased by this action of humility.  There was silence on their part as we drove home and their faces were full of shame.

God is the same way.  He is not always going to stand in the parking lot and argue with me for control.  Sometime, and much to his disappointment and my loss, he simply climbs into the back and lets me take the wheel.  I know that the path he has for me is the straight and narrow one so I always make sure to take plenty of lefts and rights to get me as far away from the fear of His unknown and I usually end up lost.  But he is still with me, never leaving me and my pride filled heart alone:

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."  Isaiah 30:21

God always desires to lead me back to the paths and plans he has for me.  Even from the 3^rd row seat he will speak when he knows I am ready to listen and will guide me in which way to go.  Usually by this time I am ready to stop the car and relinquish my control, my pride filled heart to him and humble myself so that he can lead me to the paths of prosperity he had paved for me all along.

C.S. Lewis said, "If you think you are not conceited (prideful), it means you are very conceited (prideful) indeed." 

It is always a good idea to spend a little time each day asking God in prayer to help us see what areas of our lives are being led by pride.  Pride is more then just thinking highly of yourself.   Pride is anything where you put yourself first for your own personal gain.  It can be in simple little things not just the big and obvious.  If you are truly ready and willing for God to show you areas of pride in your life then pray for him to do so.  You may be very surprised with what he reveals to you.  But the benefit: freedom and the pile of guilt that it heaps upon us will begin to wash away.

July 22nd

July 22^nd

The Book of Nahum

After reading today's reading, I wanted to find out a little more about Nahum the person instead of his prophecy, because I always feel like I'm writing the same thing: God can show His wrath but still be a loving and caring God if you would just accept Him into your heart. So instead, I Googled Nahum and the first thing that showed up was that his name means "comfort" or "consolation." At first I thought it was pretty ironic, a man who's name means "comfort" describing gruesome scenes of destruction in such detail that when I pictured it in my head I actually winced, although I did appreciate his prose. But then I thought a little deeper and figured that it was actually a perfect name for him, because while his prophecy predicted a fall for Nineveh, that fall meant "comfort" and "consolation" for all that Nineveh oppressed.

Then after coming to that conclusion, I forgot about looking into Nahum and his life and continued my train of thought down the track that got me thinking about the people oppressed by Nineveh. These people did not have a good time. It says in the reading that these people would be tortured, some boiled in tar and others skinned alive. I know I wouldn't be strong enough to endure even a minute of either without my psyche cracking, let alone the agonizing physical pain. And even when they weren't being outright tortured, it's not like Nineveh was good to them. Their people suffered, even though they were with God. I empathized with them.

We can all relate to the troubles of these people because we ourselves all have troubles of our own. I wont lie to you, a lot of the time I wonder if sometimes God is giving me too much responsibility, or maybe He is overestimating my strength (or more pressingly, my patience). God believed in these people. He allowed their troubles because He knew that they would endure, and then when it became too much, He intervened. He does the same for us, whether we realize it or not. Yes, He sees when we suffer, but if He made all of our lives walks in the park, we could never appreciate anything because it wouldn't occur to us to do so. And when our suffering becomes too much, He does send help. Now, this help is not nearly as dramatic as the battle scenes described in today's reading, but instead it comes in a variety of subtle ways, and I'm sure if you looked into what was going on around you towards the end of your lowest point in life you'll be able to recognize God's movements in your life. And if you are at an extreme low right now, do your best to push through, and have faith that God will send you a little help too.

Hope you all had a wonderful Sunday!!

Gina :)

July 21

Is 65, 66
2 Ki 19:37
2 Chr 33:10-17

"I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
   I was found by those who did not seek me.
To a nation that did not call on my name,
   I said 'Here am I, here am I'.
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people,
   Who walk in ways not good"...

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would call out to me to tell me to do something, and rather than respond and disobey, I would hear them, then ignore them and pretend not to hear, and go on doing what I wanted.  I figured that if they thought I hadn't heard, I couldn't be guilty of disobedience!  (Hmm...I wonder if my kids are using that on me today...)

Though we are undeserving, God reveals Himself and calls to us.  We get notices of His call in even the most rudimentary Sunday school lessons, in even the most superficial knowledge of the Bible.  We may not be overwhelmed by His presence at that point.  But we know enough to realize there may be something out there, something else, something important we may be missing.  We are then faced with a choice - explore and examine, or ignore and go back to our routine.

I remember when I met Carla, my wife of almost 16 years.  We were a blind date while I was on a visit to Manila from New York.  On our first date, we went to dinner.  She ordered two appetizers to my one, polished them both off, and then proceeded to pick parts of my entree off of my plate. On a first date.  I saw a hint of something then and chose to explore and examine.  And over 3 weeks God revealed to me a wonderful woman and hinted at a beautiful plan, and I asked her to marry me.  We were wed 14 months after we met.  And as I look back on the last 16 years, even the challenges we faced were blessings.  I would've missed all that if I'd chosen to ignore her and go back to my routine overseas.

How much more, how much more completely, thoroughly, exquisitely does God want to bless us when we explore the hints He drops us of His presence?  And, now that we realize He speaks to us even we are not listening, what can we do, what must we do so we hear His voice, and we do not harden our hearts?

Jon Lanuza

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Friday, July 20, 2012 – Isaiah 60-64

Friday, July 20, 2012 – Isaiah 60-64

Isaiah 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor

Jesus quoted these words in Luke 4:18, 19. After reading these words
to the people in the synagogue, Jesus rolled up the scroll and said,
"Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). Many
know these verses as Jesus' mission statement. I've actually been
forming a mission statement of my own and for some reason, the words,
"to proclaim good news to the poor," have been ringing in my heart.

Over the past couple months, I've formed many new relationships with
young Christian men. Many of these guys come from humble backgrounds.
For most of my childhood, I actually grew up in the "hood" or ghetto
myself. At ten years-old, I was fortunate to leave that environment
(more so the abuse than the neighborhood) when two wonderful women (my
aunt and her partner/my moms) took me in and raised me as their son in
a nice suburb. Over time, I adapted to the wealthy suburban culture
and began to forget where I had come from. I started to take many
things for granted. I started to expect to have certain things.

Now I'm not saying that everyone that grows up in a nice suburb takes
things for granted, I'm just telling you my experience. I know many
financially well-off people are grateful for what they have. Anyways,
my experience – in high school for instance, I expected to have a car
once I got my license. It was normal in my high school for pretty much
everyone of driving age to have a car. Funny thing is most of us did
absolutely nothing to earn our cars. Our parents just gave them to us.
To be honest, until recently, I was very ignorant about the luxury of
a car. Many of my new Christian friends don't have cars and the first
few times I hung out with them I arrogantly thought to myself, "Why
don't these guys have cars? They need to get cars." Then I realized
that neither they nor their parents are in a financial position to
purchase a car.

In my ignorance, I also noticed how I've taken something as simple as
three meals a day for granted. The first few times I hung out with my
new friends, it became obvious that they skipped meals a lot. Not
because they weren't hungry, but because they didn't have the money.
And the couple times they did eat, they chose to eat fast food because
they could easily fill their stomachs for five or six bucks. None of
this, my friends has explained to me. I have figured this out through
observing them and recalling the days when my life was once like that.
After a couple days of course, I laid the observations to the side and
started treating them to meals.

"To proclaim good news to the poor," isn't just verbally sharing the
gospel with the poor. It's also caring for their physical needs. Jesus
set the standard for this by feeding 5,000 people with five loaves of
bread and two fish. And they had leftovers. Yes He's God and can
easily multiply that small amount of food to feed all those people,
but the example is the same. You don't need much to give. If you're
living paycheck to paycheck, you still have plenty to give.

Poor people are walking home from Stop & Shop every day. Go give one a
ride home and share the Gospel. Don't think about it, just pray about
it and do it. If reaching out to the poor isn't one of your top
priorities, then what Gospel are you preaching? In the New Testament,
Jesus' brother James said, "What good is it, my brothers and sisters,
if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save
them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but
does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same
way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead"
(James 2:14-17).

I challenge you all over the next week, "to proclaim good news to the
poor." With the anointing of the Holy Spirit, this was of the highest
priority to Jesus. If we believe in Jesus, then we also have the
anointing of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, proclaiming good news to the
poor should be one of our highest priorities. Who knows? Maybe you'll
be the one receiving the lesson on faith from them. This has certainly
happened to me. "Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God
chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith
and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? (James
2:5)"

God Bless,
Anthony

July 19: Isaiah 57-59

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

Isaiah 57–59

 

 

In today’s passage, we see the following themes:

 

1) The people had forsaken God.  God describes their following after idols as making “a pact with those whose beds you love,/ and you looked on their nakedness.”  Our worship, either of idols or of the Lord, brings us into intimate contact.  While Isaiah speaks here of physical idols, anyone or anything that we exalt above God Himself becomes an idol.  Yet, these idols would prove worthless in front of God’s judgment:

 

“I will expose your righteousness and your works,

                and they will not benefit you.

When you cry out for help,

                let your collection of idols save you!

The wind will carry all of them off,

                a mere breath will blow them away.

But the man who makes me his refuge

                will inherit the land

                and possess my holy mountain.”

 

 

I love this imagery of God as our refuge.  We may run to Him at all times, and He will not turn us away.  Whether there is a storm today or tomorrow, we may cling to His presence.  As the beautiful song lyrics proclaim, “His love never fails, never gives up, never runs out on me… ”

 

 

2) God becomes present with the contrite.  While the people had turned away from God, He will look upon those who are earnestly seeking Him (Hebrews 11:6).  While God is wholly other, “the high and lofty One[,]... who lives forever, whose name is holy,” He is “with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit.”  God will “revive the spirit of the lowly/ and to revive the spirit of the contrite.”  When the people turn to God in repentance, He will restore them and bring peace to their hearts.  As St. Augustine prayed, “Lord, you have made us for yourself and our hearts find no rest until they rest in you!”

 

 

3) The Lord detests empty worship.  Sometimes, we express our frustration when God appears not to answer us.  While God acknowledges that the people had indeed sought Him through fasting, He notes that their lives had not been marked by the integrity that their fasting purported to show.  God noted that their attitudes towards others showed brutality; they could not love God truly and show enmity towards their neighbors and the poor.  Indeed, the Great Commandments of Jesus tie together clearly:  our love for God comes shining through our love for our neighbor.  What a great barometer for our hearts!  God clearly looks beyond the outward actions to the condition and motivations of our hearts.  Only through the digestion of His Word and the empowering of the Holy Spirit (more later) may our hearts become in line with His “good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1,2)

 

 

4) Corporate repentance will unlock true salvation for Israel.  Isaiah prophesies about the weight of sin and how it has caused separation.  Sin brings death and cause God to “have hidden his face from you,/ so that he will not hear.”  How painful is that separation!  The lawlessness of sin has trampled truth and justice in the land and among the people.  Realizing that the people cannot bring healing themselves, God’s “own arm worked salvation for him....  [In retrospect, we may see that, in Christ,] he put on righteousness as his breastplate,/ and the helmet of salvation on his head... “  God appoints His Son as the atoning sacrifice for the people’s sins and a warrior to bring “wrath to his enemies” and so that:

 

“From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord,

                and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.”

 

 

5) The Spirit brings lasting change.  God’s promised Spirit, which will come upon the Church, will bring lasting change through His indwelling and empowering presence.  God’s presence will sustain the Church:  “‘My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have out in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,’ says the Lord.”  Christ did not leave us unequipped for the spiritual battle of life.  Instead, He sent the Holy Spirit:  “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you….  He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you….  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (John 14:26; John 16:14; and Acts 1:8)

 

 

QUESTIONS

 

1) Who or what is your refuge?

2) Have you confronted your sin in humility?  Did you feel God draw near to you during that period of contrition?

3) How can you trust God more fully in His provision of salvation or of the Holy Spirit?

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