Jeremiah 17:19-27
God requires Israel to start keeping the Sabbath as a time of worship to Him and not concentrating on their business affairs. This morning the Lord spoke to my heart to share this with my readers, so in the interest of obedience here it is.
"God's emphasis on the Sabbath draws attention to an attitude of the heart. The people of Israel are more interested in making money than worship, they focus on self, not on God. Their entire society chose physical wealth over spiritual security.
In America today, the people of God focus more on wealth than worship. They, like Israel, want stuff and not God's Kingdom. They seek silver and gold yet do not seek God's face or His ways. The change that we see in America today has been largely by the choice of the ones who claim to be believers, God's Word and Ways have not changed! If we put our focus on God, seek Him, Turn our whole being toward Him, He will bless and restore. If we, as Israel, turn a deaf ear and fail to heed His many warnings, then we will face His judgement, and it always starts at the door of His house.
We are 2 kingdoms in conflict, God's Kingdom, or the world, we must be faithful ambassadors, for Him so that He can Heal our land and bring peace again!
Grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Eric Stansberry
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Friday, March 2, 2018
Knocking!!!
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7 NASB
When Jesus was teaching about prayer, he tells the believer to Ask and keep asking, knock and keep knocking, and seek and keep seeking, yet in our instant gratification society, we can't stay focused on this particular teaching. We like our instant oatmeal, microwave popcorn, instant messenger, and all the things that meet our needs in a blink of an eye. However, this instant answer doesn't always apply to prayer. In Daniel, he prayed 21 days, BEFORE his answer arrived, even though the answer was sent that very day. Sometimes, God waits before He sends the answer, sometimes the enemy slows the arrival of the answer, (notice I said slows down, he can't stop what God is doing) and sometimes the answer is no!!! So this has lead many Christians to become discouraged, and even lukewarm in their relationship to Christ, thinking that prayer doesn't work, and they are just living to make it to the sweet by and by not the nasty here and now.
This explains why there is a change in who is seeking. In Revelation chapter 3 Jesus says these words to the church at Laodicea. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. " He is standing outside the church knocking on our door. Imagine, rather than believers seeking Him and knocking on His door, He is standing outside our door waiting on us to let Him in!!
What does this mean for us? It evidence that we in the church have allowed the pace of the world and what it wants to infect our walk and relationship with God through Christ. I'll be the first to admit, that God's timing isn't mine, and sometimes I wished He moved faster, BUT when I wait on His answer and timing the miracle that comes is more than I could have imagined or hoped for. I like everyone else must learn to wait on God and allow Him to meet my need not only according to His riches but also according to His timing. I would rather be knocking on His door, over Him knocking on mine to get my attention!
So in your life who is doing the knocking, you or Jesus? If we are going to be the church that does the greater things, and shows the lost and dying world the power of Christ, then we should be at His door, and He should have the key to ours on a regular basis.
Grace and peace to you!!
Eric
When Jesus was teaching about prayer, he tells the believer to Ask and keep asking, knock and keep knocking, and seek and keep seeking, yet in our instant gratification society, we can't stay focused on this particular teaching. We like our instant oatmeal, microwave popcorn, instant messenger, and all the things that meet our needs in a blink of an eye. However, this instant answer doesn't always apply to prayer. In Daniel, he prayed 21 days, BEFORE his answer arrived, even though the answer was sent that very day. Sometimes, God waits before He sends the answer, sometimes the enemy slows the arrival of the answer, (notice I said slows down, he can't stop what God is doing) and sometimes the answer is no!!! So this has lead many Christians to become discouraged, and even lukewarm in their relationship to Christ, thinking that prayer doesn't work, and they are just living to make it to the sweet by and by not the nasty here and now.
This explains why there is a change in who is seeking. In Revelation chapter 3 Jesus says these words to the church at Laodicea. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. " He is standing outside the church knocking on our door. Imagine, rather than believers seeking Him and knocking on His door, He is standing outside our door waiting on us to let Him in!!
What does this mean for us? It evidence that we in the church have allowed the pace of the world and what it wants to infect our walk and relationship with God through Christ. I'll be the first to admit, that God's timing isn't mine, and sometimes I wished He moved faster, BUT when I wait on His answer and timing the miracle that comes is more than I could have imagined or hoped for. I like everyone else must learn to wait on God and allow Him to meet my need not only according to His riches but also according to His timing. I would rather be knocking on His door, over Him knocking on mine to get my attention!
So in your life who is doing the knocking, you or Jesus? If we are going to be the church that does the greater things, and shows the lost and dying world the power of Christ, then we should be at His door, and He should have the key to ours on a regular basis.
Grace and peace to you!!
Eric
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