God Knows

Recently I saw an individual post in Facebook, "God Knows", nothing else.  I pondered on this very simple phrase for a few days, unsure of  it's intent or meaning.

I had finished studying the Book of Jeremiah and  had begun the Book of Ezekiel.  Much of these books reveal the character of God.  I've read the Bible several times over and each time I read an already read book, I get new deeper meanings from them.

This time, these two books back to back, revealed to me that God has repeated so many times not to sin.  In fact, I actually got tired of Him repeating it over and over, then...it hit me! People must be told over and over again not to sin!  People don't get it! Sin brings God's judgment which involves destruction.  God, himself, doesn't want to do it but He must! 

God simply wants to protect the innocent and bring understanding to the stiff necked (rebellious) person.  I actually felt sorry for God because people don't obey.

 

Ezekiel 11:5    

⁵And the Spirit of the LORD fell upon me, and said unto me, Speak; Thus saith the LORD; Thus have ye said, O house of Israel: for I know the things that come into your mind, every one of them.

God speaking to Ezekiel (the Prophet):

Ezekiel 8:

⁷And he brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold a hole in the wall.   

⁹And he said unto me, Go in, and behold the wicked abominations that they do here.

 ¹⁰So I went in and saw; and behold every form of creeping things, and abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed upon the wall round about.

 ¹²Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, the LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth. 

¹⁴Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the LORD's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz*. 

¹⁵Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. 

¹⁶And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD's house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.  

¹⁷Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.

 ¹⁸Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.

The Wicked are Slain

Ezekiel 9: 

¹He cried also in mine ears with a loud voice, saying, Cause them that have charge over the city to draw near, even every man with his destroying weapon in his hand.

²And, behold, six men** came from the way of the higher gate, which lieth toward the north, and every man a slaughter weapon in his hand; and one man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side: and they went in, and stood beside the brasen altar.
 
³And the glory of the God of Israel was gone up from the cherub, whereupon he was, to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed with linen, which had the writer's inkhorn by his side;

⁴And the LORD said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.

⁵And to the others he said in mine hearing, Go ye after him through the city, and smite (kill): let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity:
 ⁶Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

⁷And he said unto them, Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain: go ye forth. And they went forth, and slew in the city.

 ⁸And it came to pass, while they were slaying them, and I was left, that I fell upon my face, and cried, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou destroy all the residue of Israel in thy pouring out of thy fury upon Jerusalem?

 ⁹Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

 ¹⁰And as for me also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head.

 ¹¹And, behold, the man clothed with linen, which had the inkhorn by his side, reported the matter, saying, I have done as thou hast commanded me.

The Bible does provide a turnaround in attitude. In other words, repent.  Pray to God, by and through Jesus Christ, ask for forgiveness and he will determine the state of your heart. He will forgive you and grant you Salvation.

Even now as this article is read, you can turn your life around.  You can't do this on your own!

______________________

 *Tammuz: In pagan practices he was a Sumerian shepherd who married the goddess Ishtar. When he

died, fertility ceased on Earth. Since he was a vegetarian deity, the women of Judah were weeping for   him (probably in the spring) in order to restore fertility by bringing him back from the dead.

     **Six Men: Angel-Warriors who carry out God's judgment.

Scriptures Courtesy Biblegateway.com
Designs Courtesy: Corpus Christi Website Designs

Gossip (Words) and You

Clutter, clutter, clutter are your thoughts!

Since the advent of  sin, (man falling from God's grace) man has been stumbling, running blindly to and fro, totally lost, (without direction) and multiplying sorrow to his life. Worry, lack of understanding, negativity, anxiety,  overwhelming circumstances, uncontrolled addiction, to name a few, are a direct result of  man's spiritual disconnection from God.

The Holy Bible, brimming with wisdom and warnings, does make available numerous scriptures qualifying this phenomena regarding gossip:

Proverbs 4: 
²⁰My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
²¹Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
²²For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.  
²⁴Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.

Proverbs 6:
²Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
¹²A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.

Proverbs 7:
 ⁶Hear; for I will speak of excellent things; and the opening of my lips shall be right things.
⁷For my mouth shall speak truth; and wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
 ⁸All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them

Proverbs 10:
¹¹The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
¹⁹In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.
 ²⁰The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.
 ²¹The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
³¹The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.
 ³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness. 

Proverbs 11:
 ⁹An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.
¹³A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter 


Proverbs 17:
⁴A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue. 
²⁰He that hath a froward heart findeth no good: and he that hath a perverse tongue falleth into mischief.

Proverbs 18:
²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

And on and on....get the picture?  People get hurt when, even if it was unintentional, words are spoken that are untrue or misunderstood.

Several ways to avoiding gossip:

• Stay busy--bless everything, speak positively about everything and everyone.  If you can't find something nice to say, say nothing.
• Crush curses (by speaking the Word) that are over you or anyone you may suspect is under a curse.  Proverbs 3: ³³The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just. 
• Change your attitude over your mouth.  Give thanks to the Lord: Psalm 100:⁴Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Listed are a few suggestions:

• Purpose, commit, to encourage, edify (build up):  The "I didn't say anything" comment...well, that's just it, you didn't say anything!  Show, speak kindness, show mercy and compassion. Appreciate sacrifices.  Who knows, this may help in your personal relationships (ie. marriage, profession, children, family).
• Make a decision to "I will!" I will speak kindly, I will compliment, I will willing help those in need, I will, I will, I will.
• Be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.

Thinking you can't do it on your own?  You're right, you can't!  God sent his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to save those whosoever will accept him as his/her Saviour! This means that gossip is sin and this also means that Jesus Christ took your sin to the cross.  Ask him for forgiveness for all your sins and ask him to help you with your tongue.

Use your mouth for the sake and glory of Jesus Christ and trust in Him!

Legacy of the Holy Bible

I lay quietly reflecting on this past year and remembered the situation in the earth quaked nation of Haiti.

I wondered how this past year has impacted the lives of so many devastated, left homeless, and their relationship with Jesus Christi, if any, was left. Watching a program, Travel the Road, these missionaries visited Haiti a few days after the earthquake and examined the scene of broken buildings, roads, government and long lines of a desperate people hoping for parcels of food from relief agencies (volunteers from around the world).  My heart hurt from the scene of so many beautiful people being shoved, pushed and fights breaking out at these relief stations.

But not the lives of  some of the Haitian Christians!  Their spirits were praising the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the midst of their terror. They had made it through the worst of the disaster!  They were alive and lived to tell of their God for another day. 

How can a person praise in the middle of such a circumstance?  They had a relationship with Jesus Christ!

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). 

The Holy Bible is our legacy inspired by the Holy Spirit:

My own spirit was lifted as I viewed the video of  Haitians praising in the hospital.  Who better to testify of God's goodness!  The Word (from the Holy Bible) obviously was deeply embedded into their spirits and they know they have a future filled with hope.

Guideline:

• Read your bible daily;
• Learn the scriptures;
• Have faith in God's word (as told in the Holy Bible);
• Scriptures are bread for your spirit to live by

^{Isaiah 35:2-4
2}It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the LORD, and the excellency of our God.
 ³Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees.
 ⁴Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

Indeed God did come and save (by and through Jesus Christ) his Haitian people!

I, too, was inspired to write this short article to testify of one of so many of God's goodness as these Haitians touched my own life.

For an in-depth history of the Holy Bible visit: Abide-In-Me.