Day 3 A
How I came to have this to share : I asked the Holy Spirit to show me if any of these people or circumstances were similar to anything in my life.
Temptation to worship idols. Man pleasing , worshiping and serving my God not by how the Holy Spirit was leading me, but by the way my peers were suggesting I do it.
Reading about Ahaz just reminded me of where I had been, (and am still being set free from.)
The attitude the Northern Kingdom, before and after their dealings with the South Kingdom jolted me.
How easy it is to become no better than your worst enemy.
If you do not keep a right heart before God the very ones you are so against , their ways, start creeping in to your own life and start becoming your ways.
Maybe this is what David was aware of when he definitely made limits as to what he would say and do , when it came to dealing with King Saul. "Touch not God's anointed ,do my prophets no harm." was his reason for not ending a life of harassment and persecution from an enemy that wanted to destroy him.
This temptation to think I know what God would want for people really is one I have to guard against.
Like the Northern Kingdom , more than once I have found out, my attitude was not lining up with God's.
Present day, read the sermon on the mount, Matt 5. All of that doesn't make sense in a world like ours. Just like it did not make sense to the Northern Kingdom probably. Some guy might of thought, "aren't we suppose to get to make slaves from those we conquer ?" And God said, "NO !"
The other line of thought that came to me was "what to do after you have already fallen into temptation and realized you have made a big mistake." Oh , I am not suggesting God is not sovereign and that He is not going to work everything together for good. Actually that is where I use to start meditating on His word was when some calamity had befallen me and I would quote that scripture over and over. It was not for years that I began to see that God expects us to love Him with our minds ,our gift of reason ,is for a reason.
And I began to ask God to show me if there was some reason for this problem. When the Holy Spirit would bring conviction , it felt good. I would confess my sin to God ,Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse of all unrighteousness.
Then I knew I had given into a temptation but I was forgiven .
Then I needed to know "my way of escape." He was and I know He will always be faithful to reveal that "way" to me. It is what is referred to as finding "the Lord in your situtation." Jesus is the WAY.
I know that the words in I Corth 10:13 mean for me ,that even if I have fallen into temptation and now have problems that I would not have if I had not fallen. He still is my help in time of need and will make a way of escape for me. For His grace is sufficient for me in my weaknesses. If I look to Him, the author and the finisher of my faith, He will start right where I am and begin a way for me.
Those guys in the North were tempted to keep all that they had gained from battle but when God said "NO." They gave it up. Praise God. We too can give up whatever we think we would gain by doing things the worlds way. We can give it back and say, "Here you can have it." And we can turn around and go towards the kingdom of heaven. Though our free gifts of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost may not buy many groceries, it won't have to. We can count on our God to keep us, for He has created us to do His will.
Temptation to worship idols. Man pleasing , worshiping and serving my God not by how the Holy Spirit was leading me, but by the way my peers were suggesting I do it.
Reading about Ahaz just reminded me of where I had been, (and am still being set free from.)
The attitude the Northern Kingdom, before and after their dealings with the South Kingdom jolted me.
How easy it is to become no better than your worst enemy.
If you do not keep a right heart before God the very ones you are so against , their ways, start creeping in to your own life and start becoming your ways.
Maybe this is what David was aware of when he definitely made limits as to what he would say and do , when it came to dealing with King Saul. "Touch not God's anointed ,do my prophets no harm." was his reason for not ending a life of harassment and persecution from an enemy that wanted to destroy him.
This temptation to think I know what God would want for people really is one I have to guard against.
Like the Northern Kingdom , more than once I have found out, my attitude was not lining up with God's.
Present day, read the sermon on the mount, Matt 5. All of that doesn't make sense in a world like ours. Just like it did not make sense to the Northern Kingdom probably. Some guy might of thought, "aren't we suppose to get to make slaves from those we conquer ?" And God said, "NO !"
The other line of thought that came to me was "what to do after you have already fallen into temptation and realized you have made a big mistake." Oh , I am not suggesting God is not sovereign and that He is not going to work everything together for good. Actually that is where I use to start meditating on His word was when some calamity had befallen me and I would quote that scripture over and over. It was not for years that I began to see that God expects us to love Him with our minds ,our gift of reason ,is for a reason.
And I began to ask God to show me if there was some reason for this problem. When the Holy Spirit would bring conviction , it felt good. I would confess my sin to God ,Who is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse of all unrighteousness.
Then I knew I had given into a temptation but I was forgiven .
Then I needed to know "my way of escape." He was and I know He will always be faithful to reveal that "way" to me. It is what is referred to as finding "the Lord in your situtation." Jesus is the WAY.
I know that the words in I Corth 10:13 mean for me ,that even if I have fallen into temptation and now have problems that I would not have if I had not fallen. He still is my help in time of need and will make a way of escape for me. For His grace is sufficient for me in my weaknesses. If I look to Him, the author and the finisher of my faith, He will start right where I am and begin a way for me.
Those guys in the North were tempted to keep all that they had gained from battle but when God said "NO." They gave it up. Praise God. We too can give up whatever we think we would gain by doing things the worlds way. We can give it back and say, "Here you can have it." And we can turn around and go towards the kingdom of heaven. Though our free gifts of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost may not buy many groceries, it won't have to. We can count on our God to keep us, for He has created us to do His will.
posted by Diane B at 6:27 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home