Am I Only a God that is Nearby?

Good Sunday to all! I have had a great day starting with my fellowship with God this morning. I am so blessed to have God in my life who consistently teaches me that I need not worry about the future as long as I know the One that holds the future. His grace and mercy continue to humble me and I thank God for my husband, my children and my grandchildren. Atlanta is in full bloom with azaleas and dogwoods showing their coats of many colors. I am not sure whether you have been following the pollen count in Atlanta but it has been at an all time high. Waine keeps his nasal spray handy.

As I continue my journey in Jeremiah, I am reminded how blessed we are Christians to have God's forgiveness of our sin so that we continue in His Grace and Mercy and not His wrath as experienced in the Old Testament. Thank God for the Blood of the Lamb that covers us immediately so that we are never out of God's favor. I am continuing with Jeremiah 23: 9 -23 "Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a strong man overcome by wine, because of the LORD and His Holy Words. The land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land lies parched and the pastures in the wilderness are withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. Both prophet and priest are godless; even in My temple I find their wickedness, declares the LORD. Therefore their path will become slippery; they will be banished to darkness and there they will fall. I will bring disaster on them in the year they are punished, declares the LORD. Among the prophets of Samaria I saw this repulsive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray. And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen something horrible: They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that not one of them turns from their wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah. Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty says concerning the prophets: I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land. This is what the LORD Almighty says: Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They keep saying to those who despise me, The LORD says: You will have peace. And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’ But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see or to hear His word? Who has listened and heard His Word? See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly. I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My Words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds. Am I only a God nearby, declares the LORD, and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? declares the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD. " Amen and may God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

The first thing that Adam and Eve did after they ate the fruit of the Forbidden Tree was to hide. When God came to the Garden and called for them, Adam answered by saying they were hiding because they were naked and ashamed. Then God asked "How do you know you are naked?" At that very moment Adam and Eve understood that God didn't have to be "nearby" to know about their disobedience. The first thing God did was to make clothes for Adam and Eve from animal skins. You see God always takes care of our immediate needs because He loves us and wants us to focus on His love so that we can accept the forgiveness of our sins as we can them. God knows that the Sin will condemn us because that is the nature of Sin. When you loe to condemn us; He knows that we have the heart of Christ and therefore God does not have to condemn ours will.

Just as the false prophets suffered the consequences of their sinful behavior, so too will those today who refuse to believe that Christ died so that our sins could be wiped clean. It is not our behavior that will allow us to live eternity with God, it is our belief in the sacrifice of Jesus that cleanses us and allows us to be in the presence of God. Our job as Christians is to SOW this message so others can also understand the Grace and Mercy that is theirs to enjoy. This world needs that message. We are not alone and God is both "nearby" and "faraway"; he has the complete vision of us, our circumstance and our needs. There is nothing lacking if we only believe. So easy and yet until you take the first step, so hard.  I thank God for each of you and the love of Jesus Christ.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie




 

The Lord our Righteous Savior

Good morning to all on this glorious Sunday morning! Waine and I are in Hawkinsville and the weather has been above 80 everyday. The Dogwoods and azaleas are in full bloom! My sister, Velma, was having chest pain last night so I directed her to the ER. All her tests were normal, thank God and she is still among us. As I waited on her test results, being so far away, I had to rely on God's promises and my faith that she would be fine. Her daughter who lives in Miami where Velma lives ordinarily would be available to be with her, but was babysitting for Tracy and Freddie in Orlando; Velma had to rely on her faith and her resolve that no matter what happens she would either be on this side of Jordan with Christ or if she crossed over would awake in paradise. Hallelujah even when you don't know what the future holds, if you know the One that holds the future you can be calm in the midst of a storm. I thank God for just being God and taking care of each of us and especially my sister. This thing we call Life is very fleeting on this side of Jordan. If you are quarreling with someone, let it go and embrace the power of love that lives within you as your reasonable obedient service to God.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 23 verses 1-8 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture! declares the LORD. Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend My people: Because you have scattered My flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. I myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing, declares the LORD. The days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a Righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior. So then, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where He had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.” Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

Isn't it great that we serve and know a God that always has a plan! For 22 chapters we have heard and felt the lament of God and Jeremiah over the sinfulness of the Israelites. We have grieved with God that the Israelites allowed themselves to sink into idolatry, turning their face away from God and the Promise made to Abraham. And yet God already had a plan for them and us! He was already planning on the Birth of Christ through the lineage of David--the Righteous Branch, Jesus the Christ. God had already named Him even though it would be hundreds of years before the birth of Christ! God not only knows about your today's, He knows and holds your tomorrows which is why he admonishes us to live in the moment and let tomorrow take care of itself. When we are always living in tomorrow, we will miss the lessons that have to be learned today so that we can embrace tomorrow. Anxiety is often upon us because we are using the "shekels" of today to pay for tomorrow. Can't be done. We have enough shekels to pay for today and today only; I don't care if you are a pauper or a prince YOU only have enough for today because tomorrow is literally not promised to you. My sister faced this reality yesterday.

How much more can we glean from today if our faith is directed to the tasks at hand minute by minute. How much happier would you be as you focus on the blessings of just today. Don't let Satan rob you of your joy and peace today because he has you focused on tomorrow. God has blessed you this day with abundance, enjoy it. A word to those false prophets who mis-lead the world. There is a reckoning for you as well. If you have been deceived to believe that there is no God the punishment that awaits the false prophets will be great because God just said so in these verses. We who know the truth need not shrink from it. Be bold in your faith today because God is real and His mercy and grace abounds because while the Israelites were yet in sin, while we were yet in sin, while I was yet in sin God had a plan that all my tomorrows would be lived in abundunce. The Rightoues King Jesus, Savior of the world, is as real today as He was 2000+ years ago. His message of love and redemption can be embraced by this sin sick world if we who know the truth will only just let our life Shine in the security of our faith. Don't let the Great Deceiver have your worried about what might happen tomorrow and rob you of the joy of today.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.

Stephanie

Footprints

Good Sunday to all. I hope everyone was aware that today was the start of day light savings time. Waine and I slept right through it. None-the-less it's a beautiful spring day Waine and I are enjoying it thoroughly. I am reminded every day of God's good grace and mercy. I am reminded daily that God has a plan for my life and Heaven and Hell will not be able to stop it.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 22: 18-30 "Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: They will not mourn for him: Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister! They will not mourn for him: Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor! He will have the burial of a donkey— dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem. Go up to Lebanon and cry out, let your voice be heard in Bashan, cry out from Abarim, for all your allies are crushed. I warned you when you felt secure,  but you said, ‘I will not listen!’ This has been your way from your youth;  you have not obeyed me.  The wind will drive all your shepherds away, and your allies will go into exile. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced because of all your wickedness. You who live in ‘Lebanon, who are nestled in cedar buildings, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain like that of a woman in labor! As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off. I will deliver you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians. I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. You will never come back to the land you long to return to. Is this man Jehoiachin a despised, broken pot,  an object no one wants? Why will he and his children be hurled out, cast into a land they do not know? O land, land, land, hear the Word of the LORD! This is what the LORD says: Record this man as if childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime, for none of his offspring will prosper, none will sit on the throne of David or rule anymore in Judah." Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

I believe what God is admonishing Israel to do is to think about its legacy. What evidence did they want to leave behind as the proof that they were the children of the Promise. Throughout Jeremiah, God has pleaded with Israel to turn from their practice of worshipping idols and return to Him. They however have remained disobedient and now not only is their future at stake, the future of their legacy and the future of their children is at stake. One of the things that Waine and I take great pride in is that our children and grandchildren are the evidence that we walked this earth. Not to have that legacy would be disturbing to us. However, not to have a legacy with God would be  more disturbing. My spiritual footprint is more important to me than my physical footprint. I want a legacy with God. I want my name in His book and I want Him to call me as part of His tribe today. As a member of His tribe I am called upon to be in obedience to His commandments - to love Him with all my heart, mind and soul and then to love you as He has loved me. In so doing I am in obedience to His Will and then am truly in the path of Grace and Mercy. 

Where is your footprint today. If He took you across the River Jordan today what foot print would you leave? What foot print would I leave?

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen.

Stephanie 

Do What is Just and Right

Good  morning to all on this Sunday morning. God is in His heaven and all is right with the world! Waine and I are in Thomaston this weekend catching up with each other and catching up on all the many events that make our life together wonderful. The temperature has dropped down in the 50's and is more in line with Spring temperatures for Georgia.  I am sure that you have been watching the news and following all the tornadoes that have devastated parts of the South and Mid-west. Please pray for the folks in the 12 states have been affected.

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah chapter 22 verses 1-17 "This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: ‘Hear the Word of the LORD to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by Myself that this palace will become a ruin.’ For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a wasteland, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire. People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’ And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’ Do not weep for the dead king or mourn his loss; rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled, because he will never return nor see his native land again. For this is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice, making his own people work for nothing, not paying them for their labor. He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace
with spacious upper rooms.’ So he makes large windows in it, panels it with cedar and decorates it in red. Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar? Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just, so all went well with him. He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? declares the LORD. But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.” Amen. May God add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

Gilead holds a prominent position in God's heart. Gilead is the place of many important events in the Bible. When Jacob fled Labam after he stole the "promise", he went to Gilead. When Moses went up to the Mount of Moab to see the Promised Land, God showed him all the land between Gilead and Dan. When the crowds followed Jesus across the River Jordan, they followed Him to Gilead. The history of the twelve tribes of Israel and the eventual lineage to Christ surrounds Gilead. This place was very special to God however God was willing to destroy Judah, which was like Gilead to God, if the Kings of Judah remained disobedient to the commandments of God. The Kings were to assist the poor and protect the weak. They were to do what was JUST AND RIGHT!  Being Just and Right is a commandment which carriers forward even to us as Believers in Christ. This message is needed more than ever today as candidates for the US Presidency are beating the bushes for Americans who believe that the poor and weak among us should not be given a hand up; the poor are to do the best they can in a free market enterprise and if they are unsuccessful and become homeless and destitute then so be it--this was their destiny. Perhaps these candidates should really get into the Word of God. God does not desire anyone to be destitute and the greed of many Americans will end up destroying them. 

As Christians we are commanded to have a Heart for the less fortunate. We are commanded to love one another as God has loved us, while we were yet in sin. God's overwhelming LOVE for His people will cover all sins EXCEPT when that sin puts other gods before Him. My prayer is that we are not like the kings of the Old Testament who worshipped idols; that we are not stupid to think that this world was created by accident. Out challenge as Christians is to use our lives as the testament of God's love for us and the world; He does not desire that any should perish. We are in need of more Jeremiahs providing a message of hope to a sin-sick world. Be encouraged my beloved because God has a plan for you today and that plan is Life filled with abundance because Jesus has already paid the price for it.

Now may the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen

Stephanie