Good morning to all on the 1st Sunday of the New Year. Waine and I want to wish all of you a spirit filled and prosperous new year. May God lead you and your family to new heights. May your health and the health of your family be elevated and may God grant you the desires of your heart. When you think about it, God doesn't celebrate years--as the Alpha and the Omega time is neither linear or horizontal. Time is existence in His all encompassing LOVE. As continue in His love this year be the LIFE that you often sing about.
I am continuing my journey in Jeremiah 46 verses 1-28, " This is the Word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations: Concerning Egypt: This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “Prepare your shields, both large and small, and march out for battle! Harness the horses, mount the steeds! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears, put on your armor! What do I see? They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated. They flee in haste without looking back, and there is terror on every side,” declares the Lord. The swift cannot flee nor the strong escape. In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall. Who is this that rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters? Egypt rises like the Nile, like rivers of surging waters. She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy cities and their people. Charge, you horses! Drive furiously, you charioteers! March on, you warriors—men of Cush and Put who carry shields, men of Lydia who draw the bow. But that day belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty— a day of vengeance, for vengeance on His foes. The sword will devour till it is satisfied, till it has quenched its thirst with blood. For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates. Go up to Gilead and get balm, Virgin Daughter Egypt. But you try many medicines in vain; there is no healing for you. The nations will hear of your shame; your cries will fill the earth. One warrior will stumble over another; both will fall down together. This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to attack Egypt: “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it also in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and get ready, for the sword devours those around you.’ Why will your warriors be laid low? They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down. They will stumble repeatedly; they will fall over each other. They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back to our own people and our native lands, away from the sword of the oppressor.’ There they will exclaim, Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise; he has missed his opportunity.’ As surely as I live,” declares the King, whose name is the Lord Almighty, one will come who is like Tabor among the mountains, like Carmel by the sea. Pack your belongings for exile, you who live in Egypt, for Memphis will be laid waste and lie in ruins without inhabitant. Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly is coming against her from the north. The mercenaries in her ranks are like fattened calves. They too will turn and flee together, they will not stand their ground, for the day of disaster is coming upon them, the time for them to be punished. Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent as the enemy advances in force; they will come against her with axes, like men who cut down trees. They will chop down her forest, declares the Lord, dense though it be. They are more numerous than locusts, they cannot be counted. Daughter Egypt will be put to shame, given into the hands of the people of the north. The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh. I will give them into the hands of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited as in times past,” declares the Lord. Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel. I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, for I am with you,” declares the Lord. Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished. Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of his Word.
Another fine mess SIN and disobedience has gotten the children of Israel, the tribe of Judah, in to. You would think that the children of Israel would have learned their lesson by now. God has admonished them through prophets and kings and still they seek answers in idolatry and other leaders. But that is how sin is. Sin seems not to have a memory. When we are living through hard times as a consequence of sin or just hard times, man ultimately turns his thinking toward Heaven. Even atheists ponder why a loving God would allow calamity, which is why they don't have a belief in the Divine. What human kind forgets is that destruction is a NATURAL consequence of SIN. Sin will lead to destruction just like fire will produce a burn. The nature of sin is to destroy.
The nature of God is to build and prosper. The twin towers of GRACE and MERCY are to provide prosperity and peace. So why does human kind turn their face from God. Well just like these lost people from the tribe of Judah that went to Egypt when God told them not to, Satan the father of Sin will have you believe that your way of thinking is the best way of thinking. That you should be the ruler of your own life. That the most important thing is YOU. That is what caused Adam and Eve to disobey God. They understood and experienced the LOVE of God in the GARDEN. They KNEW God was love--they however did not understand the NATURE of God. God cannot exist in the same space as sin. He will turn His face from it and when He turns His face from us we are exposed to the calamity that exists because of sin. This is what the Egyptians and the Judites were going to experience here shortly--the natural consequence of SIN is death and destruction. Now some may read this passage and wonder how a loving God could foretell so much death and violence. Well God, for one, truly understands Satan and is not fooled by him (Satan). God knows that the natural consequence of turning to Satan will be death and destruction AND God always provides a Life Line. In our age this Life Line is Jesus the Christ. All men have to do is believe that Christ is the bridge back to God and accept this GIFT of Life with Christ. There will be a day of reckoning. I believe by faith that I will cross over Jordan with Christ and while here on this side will be sheltered from the calamity that exists. Our job as Christians is to preach this good news so that others may come to now the God of Jesus. In 2013 will that be your mission?
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
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