Focus on the Message and Not the Messenger!

Good morning to all on this glorious Sunday morning! Waine and I are enjoining a long holiday weekend and although I am on call I am able to bustle around my house and do some fun things. We played Bid Whist with some neighbors yesterday. It was emancipation day in Thomaston and the tradition here is that every one has a cook out in their yards. Neighbors sit with each other, exchange news and catch up. Which is what Emancipation Day is all about. Apparently in the South, although the slaves where legally emancipated  on January 1, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln many Southern slave holders did not let their slaves know and kept them enslaved. In Georgia the official day the slaves were emancipated was in the summer of 1865 and thus the tradition. Thomaston, Georgia has the distinction of having the oldest, continuously-observed annual emancipation event in the USA. Freddie and Tracy celebrated Hailie Christine's 2nd birthday yesterday. She is the cutest little something walking on 2 legs!! Happy Birthday Hailie!!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 26, verses 16-24, "Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, “This man should not be sentenced to death! He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.” Some of the elders of the land stepped forward and said to the entire assembly of people, “Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone else in Judah put him to death? Did not Hezekiah fear the Lord and seek his favor? And did not the Lord relent, so that he did not bring the disaster he pronounced against them? We are about to bring a terrible disaster on ourselves! Now Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord; he prophesied the same things against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and all his officers and officials heard his words, the king was determined to put him to death. But Uriah heard of it and fled in fear to Egypt. King Jehoiakim, however, sent Elnathan son of Akbor to Egypt, along with some other men. They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people. Furthermore, Ahikam son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, and so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death." May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word. Amen.

Nothing has really changed since the times of Uriah, Micah or Jeremiah! People who are living contrary to the will of God will always attack both the messenger and message! Satan and his minons have always been among us and uses some of us, that let them, to be a mouth piece that creates confusion and distrust of God. Brad Pitt, who has an instant platform, was recently asked what makes him the maddest and he replied "when someone says they will pray for me". Now why would that make anyone mad? His issue is that he doesn't need God because He is a moral person who does good works on his own. This is the great deception of Satan. If you are moral and live your life as a "good" person then that's all that is required. Christ says that there are no good people. He lived among us and was without sin and still when He took on our sins, God turned His face from Him. Sin is the key that locks the door through which a relationship with God is possible. Our repentance of sin opens this door and makes a relationship with God possible.

Some wonder why a relationship with God is required. They live a good life here on earth. They help others. They are prosperous. Why do they need God? I can tell you I need God because without Him I am unfulfilled. Now that I know what a life with God is like, not to be in His presence is like not having oxygen to breathe. I was swimming yesterday and I frequently pray and commune with God while swimming. I pray for my family and the challenges they may have. I pray for the salvation of my family, their health and prosperity. God reminded me of the many laps I swimmed and prayed for some members of my family and how He has answered my prayers. I was shouting hallelujah under the water because I was reminded, lap after lap, of God's goodness and mercy. How even in the midst of despair and evidence to the contrary I kept praying only to see that God would bless me with an answer to my prayers! God always has a "ram in the bush" for His faithful. Christ was the utimate "Ram" in the bush. Like Uriah your "lamb" may be to go home to God; like Jeremiah it may be to live to continue your ministry; like me it may be to celebrate all the love and affection that God showers on me daily. God is never far away and yes pray for Brad Pitt and his salvation so that he will know the love of God as you do. Pray and witness to the unbelievers of this world boldly and wait upon the Lord. Wait expectantly and proclaim the Good News that Christ died so that we could live and have an abundant life!! God loves you this day and so do I.

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 Price of Obedience

Good morning to all on this Sunday morning!! Waine and I are in Hawkinsville this weekend and the weather is beautiful. The highs are in the mid-80's with very little humidity so Waine has enjoyed lots of good golf. It has been a wonderful week in which God in His goodness continues to bless Waine and I.  Our lesson for this week was to "let go" of the future and focus on today. What I have learned is that if I do the best I can today it literally sets me up for success tomorrow. I know for us "Baby-Boomers" this is a scary thought--What? No planning for our future success??--Truly as I learn the truth that tomorrow is not promised to us, I strive to make the best of today. As I practice this I am actually happier!

I am continuing my journey with Jeremiah 26 verses 1-15, "Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them, This is what the Lord says: "If you do not listen to Me and follow My law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened ), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse among all the nations of the earth." The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord.  But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die!  Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!” Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people: “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the things you have heard. Now reform your ways and your actions and obey the Lord your God. Then the Lord will relent and not bring the disaster He has pronounced against you.  As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the Lord has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing. Amen! May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

What struck me when I read this passage was that Jeremiah didn't question God as to this assignment. Jeremiah had to know what kind of people he was dealing with. For 25 chapters we have learned of the disobedience to the Word and words of God these Jews exhibited. We have read about their idol worship; their exhortations in their own plans; their propensity to take matters into their own hands and their frank disobedience to the teachings of God as conveyed by Jeremiah. Now God sends Jeremiah into the temple to preach a gospel that predicts the fall of Jerusalem unless the Jews turn from idol worship and turn back to God.  The significance of the city of Shiloh is that this was where the Ark of the Covenant was  housed until it was taken by the Philistines. Shiloh means "place of peace" and is the city in which God housed His Tabernacle until the Jews there forsook God to worship idols. God then gave the Ark of the Covenant to the tribe of Judah and now He threatens to do the same to the temple at Jerusalem, should these Jews of the tribe of Judah continue in their disobedience to Him. These Jews are aware of the events of Shiloh as is Jeremiah. Jeremiah is also fully aware that voicing these words of prophesy may endanger him and cost him his life but obeys God anyway. Jeremiah is not concerned for his future because he KNOWS the One who holds not only his future but the future of all mankind as he knew it. He was INTIMATELY aware of the power of God over man and had learned to be obedient. Not so much out of fear but from love.

To know God to the point of OBEDIENCE is truly a blessing and the journey that I am on. To know Him so intimately that obedience is not a chore or a second thought. Obedience becomes like breathing; it is what I seek. When you become caught up in this type of obedience then the "winds and waves" of this life cannot buffet you. Its like Peter in the boat when he walked on water to be with Jesus. As Peter kept his eyes, and thus faith, riveted on Christ, Peter was invincible to the world. Peter walked on water. He defied the rules of nature and became "Christ like", until, until, until he took his eyes off Jesus.

The Price and Reward of Obedience is to be Christ like. To know Him and His Words will protect you and the world from the great DECEIVER! This is what our mission should be. Everything else is the "small stuff" that continue to distract us from the abundance that Christ offers us through a relationship with God through Him. There is a price to obedience; that price is death to yourself and your way of thinking and trusting in JUST the literal truth of the Bible. Today be child like as God commands and submit to His commandment that you love God with all your heart, soul and mind and that you love your neighbor as yourself. Give as Christ commands and love those who may not love God or you in return. Amen and hallelujah. Let go of the small stuff.

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

 

Good morning to all and Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the house! Waine and I spent Mother's Day with Kai and Hailie and their parents. We got plenty of hugs and kisses and Waine got a lot of exercise running after the grandchildren as they took great delight in say "get me Poppop". I was blessed beyond expression to see these two little ones building memories of their grandfather and we are blessed to have the health and stamina to be able to interact with them. My glass is truly half-full today and running over. Satan will always try and get us to focus on our glass being half-empty and that's the time we have to gear up and praise God that our glass is half-full which is the fulfillment of His promise to us that our blessing will be pressed down, multiplied and over flowing. Praise God and hallelujah! A shout of to my nephew Jason who graduated from 8th grade over the weekend. I have had the pleasure of knowing Jason since his birth and he has turned out to be quite a handsome young man. Thanks to his Dad and Mom, he is also quite the athlete. Congratulations Jason from Auntie Steph and Uncle Waine!

I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 25, verses 31-38 " Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them: The Lord will roar from on high; He will thunder from His holy dwelling and roar mightily against His land. He will shout like those who tread the grapes, shout against all who live on the earth.  The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth, for the Lord will bring charges against the nations; He will bring judgment on all mankind and put the wicked to the sword, declares the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Look! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.” At that time those slain by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. Weep and wail, you shepherds; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock for your time to be slaughtered has come; you will fall like the best of the rams. The shepherds will have nowhere to flee, the leaders of the flock no place to escape. Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the Lord is destroying their pasture. The peaceful meadows will be laid waste because of the fierce anger of the Lord. Like a lion He will leave His lair, and their land will become desolate because of  the sword of the oppressor and because of the Lord’s fierce anger." Amen. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.

When I read this passage I was reminded of Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord." What God was communicating through Jeremiah was that the natural consequence of sin  IS death and destruction. God wishes that none perish which is the natural consequence of His LOVE for us however because we have free will, God cannot force His love on us. We  must accept it. He can warn us; He can show us the consequences of sin and our acceptance of sin; He can reveal the calamity that will befall us when we remove His protective Hand from us. He cannot make us accept His love but will try everything short of that! Hallelujah! I finally get it. Jeremiah is not about God's wrath its about the nature of Sin. Sin separates us from the Natural Love of God and the protection it provides. The scriptures describe Satan as a "roaring lion" ready to devour us. The lion's nature is to kill and destroy and when we are not in the protection of God's love we are vulnerable to the destruction that is all around us. Do not be fooled with what you see with your eyes. This world is a dangerous place without the love of God. Satan is a liar and the father of all the chaos and calamity that befalls you. Money and fame cannot protect you from Satan. Likewise God can shield you from all of it on a minute to minute basis is you let Him. If you let Him in to your life and then let Him steer your life, there is protection from the Great Deceiver. God implores us to take heed. He wants us to share this wonder Gift of Jesus that provides that protective hedge of Love and Security that we need. Do not be fooled that money, wealth or man made power can protect you. Remember what we have seen in Jeremiah. Death and destruction befell the kings and rulers just as readily as it befell the farmers in the field. Satan is the great destroyer who will try and fool you and the world. We, as Christians, have the key--we know the Savior. Isn't it time to stop fooling around and share this wonderful gift with all we know. Christ was not "just a great man and prophet". He is not like Buddha, or Mohammad, or Confucius. It is not enough to be moral. All these great men have come, walked among us and then died. Only one conquered the grave that is Jesus the son of God. Isn't it time that we all declared the Glory of the Lord to all mankind so that they too can be saved? Today, let your light shine that others may come to know the salvation that is available to them.

Have a GREAT day and keep your eyes open for all the blessings that God has in store for you 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. Amen and amen.

Stephanie