What Do They See?

Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 27 – 28 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Ephesians 4 – 6; Proverbs 9; Psalm 46 – 50

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – SSEphesians 4:32

Read another post from this passage – “Choose Wisely“

Read the “0309 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the LORD; and they shall be afraid of thee.” – (Deuteronomy 28:10)

I was captivated by the verse above. Notice that it says that people will see that the Israelites were called by the name of the Lord. It does not say that the people will hear mere words. The people were not to just talk about their relationship with God, they were to live it; and live it so powerfully that the surrounding nations would fear them.

It is rare today that the world looks into the life of a Christian and sees the hand of God working so evidently and powerfully in them that they are actually feared. For the most part Christians today are mocked and made fun of, but not feared. Why are we the laughingstock of the world today? There are many reasons, but I believe the main one is that our lives do not demonstrate the power and abundance of the life of faith. We dabble in God, but we don’t let Him get all of us, and unless He has all of us He cannot demonstrate His power in our lives.

Christians should be walking billboards illustrating the power and blessing of an omnipotent God. People should be able to take one look at us and tell that there is something radically different about us; something almost intimidating. The story is told of the great preacher, Charles Finney, who visited a factory one day in New York, and after merely making eye contact with a woman in the factory, she began to weep uncontrollably. That is pretty powerful. Our lives should declare loudly and boldly that we are the children of an awesome and all powerful God. People may not agree with us, but if our lives are fully surrendered to the Lord, they should respect us. Do the people around you fear you because of the presence of God in your life, or do they mock you? Sobering thought.

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Phil Erickson

Pastor Phil Erickson has been the pastor of Jersey Shore Baptist Church since January of 2002. Having grown up in Ocean County, Pastor Phil has always had a burden for the south Jersey area. After graduating from Bible College in Longview, Texas, he and his family moved to Galloway Township with the vision of digging in and serving the Lord and the people of Atlantic County. Pastor Phil and Cindy Erickson have been married since 1985. They have four children and ten grandchildren. Their oldest son, Phil Jr. and his wife Katelyn are serving the Lord in Egg Harbor Twp., NJ. Their oldest daughter, Melissa, is married to Wesley Clayton who is in the Air Force and is currently stationed in New Mexico. Samantha, their third child, is married to Justin Mears and they are both serving the Lord at the church in Galloway. Hannah, the youngest, is married to Lucas McCollum, and they are also serving here in Galloway. In preparation for ministry, the Lord led him through a variety of educational experiences that have equipped him to serve the Lord and His people. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgian Court University, a Bachelor of Biblical Studies in Pastoral Theology from Texas Independent Baptist Seminary (formerly Texas Baptist College), a Master of Religious Education in Bible from West Coast Baptist College, and a Master of Biblical Studies from The Crown College. More recently, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Biblical Counseling and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Veritas Baptist College. He is thankful for these opportunities to study God’s Word more deeply, and counts it a privilege to use whatever knowledge the Lord has given him for the building up of His church. In addition to pastoring, the Lord has given Phil the wonderful privilege of teaching as an adjunct professor at Vision Baptist College in Berlin, NJ and Veritas Baptist College.

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View Comments

Gary Geiger says:

March 9, 2023 at 5:03 pm

Amen
Desiree Ann Jones says:

March 9, 2023 at 3:57 pm

lord help me to continue and grow in my spiritual growth. because we are gods children. if we continue to be who we are we will be able to dhow god what we can do as gods children. because we are special in each and every way. we continue to shine our light upon the earth.
Bob says:

March 9, 2021 at 10:09 pm

Thank you for the thought Pastor, We as
Christians ,if we look into a mirror and we cannot see Christ, neither will the world
And they will see us as one of there own.
Issan Acosta says:

March 9, 2021 at 6:14 am

Amen!
C Stahl says:

March 9, 2020 at 8:45 am

Lord help me to be a better light. Amen.