Have You Heard God Today? – The Saturday Morning Post

Have You Heard God Today? – The Saturday Morning Post

Comments 0 Comment


Today’s Passage – 1 Samuel 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Revelation 10 – 12; Proverbs 29; Psalms 141 – 145

“And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.” (1Samuel 3:19-21)

Good morning. The LORD revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the LORD. Have you heard God today?

“And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.” (1Kings 22:19)

Have you heard God today?

“As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.” (Psalm 18:30)

Have you heard God today?

For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.” (Psalm 33:4)

Have you heard God today?

“And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” (Acts 13:44)

Have you heard God today?

“The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the LORD. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.” (Ezekiel 37:1-10)

O ye dry bones, hear the Word of the LORD. Have you heard God today?

Peace. (Colossians 3:16)

Delilah, The Woman Who Deliberately Betrayed Her Man

Delilah, The Woman Who Deliberately Betrayed Her Man

Comments 0 Comment
Today’s Passage – Judges 14 – 17 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – 2 John, 3 John, Jude; Proverbs 25; Psalms 121 – 125)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Psalm 55:17

Read the “0325 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven hundred pieces of silver.” (Judges 16:4-5)

Delilah grew up a Philistine who’s culture worshiped idols.  She had little respect for her body and threw away her honor.  What made her so deceitful?  Could it have been the money they offered her?  Samson was physically strong, but morally weak.  He became involved with Delilah but was not married to her.  Together they spelled disaster.  Samson’s future, a man of God, now lies in the hand of Delilah, a worshiper of Dagon.

Delilah took her first strike with flattery.  I can hear her saying, where do you get your strength from because your sooooo strong.

“With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him.  He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;” (Proverbs 7:21-22)

Next she plays the victim.  Now sulking like a little girl she says, you lied to me and your making fun at me.  Samson was like putty in Delilah’s hands.  She was with him long enough that she knew how to push his buttons.  Again Samson lied to Delilah.  Now she had to use her final weapon to trap Samson.  Her attack was in the form of feeling of hurt love.  For days she sulked and whined and nagged.  How can you say you love me when you mocked my three times?  You don’t really love me.  Finally frustrated, Samson could no longer take it.  He gave in.  Delilah won.  She got what she wanted.

“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.  Her feet go down to death;” (Proverbs 5:3-5)

Talk about death, later we find Samson blind between two pillars.  He brought down the pagan temple and everyone in it.  We don’t know if Delilah was there, but maybe she wanted to take part in insulting Samson.

Looking at Delilah’s life, what can we learn?  How not to act.

First be very careful in our conversation with men.    The only man a women should flirt with is her husband.  Regardless if we ladies or the men are married, be careful in not sounding flirty because we never know what one is thinking.   There are many verses in the Bible that warns men about woman’s lips.

Next is playing the victim.  “Well if you didn’t … then I could have…” or “It’s not my fault, you didn’t ….. It’s your fault, not mine.”  “ You never let me have any money…”  It sounds familiar to me, how about you?  We know exactly how to push our man’s buttons.  We want our own way and sulk until we get it, but to what end?  What does your man have to do to keep you happy?  We laugh when we say “That cost an arm and a leg” but to Samson, it was his eyes.

Last is nagging. If there is one thing that gets under my skin, it’s a nagging wife.

“A continual dropping in a very rainy day and a contentious woman are alike.” (Proverbs 27:15)

As a young girl I watched as a wife nagged her husband. I saw her put him down time after time. Because of his love for her, he tried to keep her happy by granting her every wish. Where were the kind words? Would she have liked it if he nagged her the same way? How many buttons would it take before he exploded and then granted her wish? How about you? How about me?

“It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.” (Proverbs 21:9)

What will be the end?  What kind of death will it come to? God’s Word commands a faithful husband and wife relationship. Any dealings outside of marriage leads to heartbreak.  Romance is not a game, but a lifelong commitment. Yours may not come quickly and you may not die, but pain will come when you don’t live God’s way. Ask Delilah if you can find her under the rubble!

Thank You

1 John 5:13

 

For As The Man Is So Is His Strength – The Saturday Morning Post

For As The Man Is So Is His Strength – The Saturday Morning Post

Comments 1 comment

 

“Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king. And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you. And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth. Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels’ necks.” (Judges 8:18-21)

Good morning. And how are you? For as the man is, so is his strength. And man should have been strong: he was created in God’s image…

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:26-27)

If we are created in God’s image, then when people look at us, they aught to see Jesus. Do they? As a man, Jesus is our example: our perfect example. He is obedient to the Father. He is truthful. He cares for and loves others, even His enemies. He is faithful and prayerful.

How do you stack up against a real man? You don’t have to answer, the Bible is clear: we all fall short of God’s glory. The best thing we can do is stop comparing ourselves to other, and use Jesus as our example on how to be a man. For as the man is, so is his strength.

Peace! (Judges 16:19-30)

Deborah and Jael – Women of God

Deborah and Jael – Women of God

Comments 0 Comment

 

Today’s Passage – Judges 4 – 6 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – James 1 – 5; Proverbs 21; Psalm 101 – 105

Scripture Memorization for March – Verses About the Bible

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Psalm 34:6

Read the “0321 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this morning’s reading passage in Judges – “Gideon’s Fleece”

“And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.” (Judges 4:4 )

“Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.” (Judges 4:21)

In Judges 4, we read about, not one, but two remarkable women who were greatly used of God. The first is Deborah who was a prophetess in Israel during the time of the judges. All of Israel came to her to receive judgment, and it was she whom the Lord directed to lead the children of Israel into battle against the oppressive army of Hazor and Sisera.

We next meet Jael, a woman who lived with her family in a plain outside of the city of Kedesh. Sisera, the general of the Canaanite army was on the run, and sought refuge in the tent of Jael, but when he fell asleep she took a tent peg and drove it into Sisera’s head, thus ending Israel’s campaign against the Canaanites.

These two women were both bold and decisive women who were mightily used by God during a time when the children of Israel were doing evil in the sight of the Lord . The men who should have been leading the people of God spiritually were failing in their responsibility, but God raised up a couple of women who stood in the gap and did what they could in service to God.

Today, we are also living in a culture where the men are not fulfilling their God-given roles of leadership. Too many men are neglecting their responsibilities in the home, the community, and the church. Thank God, however, that there are many women who are willing to do the work of God that their male counterparts are reluctant to do. In our church, we have some great and godly men, but if the truth is to be told, I would have to admit that we have more women involved in the ministry here. I thank God for their willingness to step in and do some of the things that perhaps the men should be doing. I have been praying for God to give us some more men who will step up and be the godly husbands, fathers, and church and community leaders that they should be, but at the same time, I want to keep these godly and diligent women right where they are where they can continue to be used mightily by the Lord.

God Sent Them a Deliverer

God Sent Them a Deliverer

Comments 0 Comment

Today’s Passage – Judges 1 – 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Hebrews 10 – 13;  Proverbs 20; Psalms 96 – 100)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Psalm 34

Read the “0320 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab.” (Judges 3:15)

In these first three chapters of the Book of Judges, we read that the children of Israel had already gotten away from what the Lord had commanded them, and had begun to worship and serve the gods of the Canaanites and the other previous inhabitants of the Land. God had expressly warned them that if they were to do so His hand of provision and protection would be removed. It seems like throughout Israel’s history a familiar pattern could be clearly observed. The people of God would be in the place of blessing, which depended upon their devotion to God. However, their prosperity would often cause them to forget about God, and go in their own direction, which always eventually led to immorality and idolatry. God’s blessing would ultimately cease, which would open the gate for the enemies of God’s people to get in and be allowed to oppress them, oftentimes placing them in bondage. But, then the people would wake up and realize the error of their ways, and cry out to God in repentance. And then God would send them a deliverer.

In our story this morning, Judges 3, we see: “the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD.” (Judges 3:12) For eighteen long years the people of God lived in bondage being subject unto the Eglon, the king of Moab. But, all of a sudden, the people came to themselves, and turned to God for help. (v. 15) And God did what He always does when His people cry out to them: He helped them. This time through a man named Ehud. Ehud dramatically kills the king of Moab, and leads the people of God in victory, ridding them of the Moabites and all other enemies for eighty years.

This reminds me of another story. 2000 years ago, sin and the devil were kicking around and oppressing the people of God, but God sent His Son to deliver them:

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:” (Colossians 1:13)

“And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)

I like what it says in 1 Corinthians 1:9 – 10: God has delivered us, does deliver us, and will keep delivering us.

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us;” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10)

Someday, praise God, Christ is going to come and deliver us completely from this old, sinful flesh, and this world full of iniquity!

“Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:” (Galatians 1:4)

“And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Timothy 4:18)

Thank God for our Deliverer!

The Promised Land

The Promised Land

Comments 0 Comment

Today’s Passage – Joshua 19 – 21 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Philemon – Hebrews 4; Proverbs 18; Psalms 86 – 90)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Psalm 19

Read the “0318 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them: According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein. These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.” (Joshua 19:49-51)

Reading the previous Scriptures, we see the land is divided according to all the families of the tribes of Israel. It is their inheritance from the Lord. God would give everyone their share. Jesus said…

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” (John14:1-4)

After all the battles, and fighting for the promised land, Israel would finally have peace in a land of their own. We have a land of our own too. Jesus told us at the end of John 14:2 that He would go and prepare a place for you: a perfect place for you. He has also prepared a place for me. Jesus knows me better than I know me, and my place will be perfect for me. Israel enjoyed their rest in a land flowing with milk and honey. Can you imagine how happy they were? The excitement as they set foot on their very own land, and in their very own home! Can you imagine what you will see when you set foot into heaven?

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1Corinthians 2:9)

No, you can’t imagine, but ain’t heaven going to be great!

Thank You

1 John 5:13

Get to Work

Get to Work

Comments 0 Comment

Preparing to Work1Today’s Passage – Joshua 16 – 18 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Titus 1 – 3; Proverbs 17; Psalms 81 – 85

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Psalm 18:3 & 46

Read the “0317 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

“And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.” – (Joshua 17:15)

In Joshua chapter seventeen, we see the land of Israel being divided up among the twelve tribes. The two half tribes that belonged to the sons of Joseph were a little concerned because they felt that they needed more land than what was given to them. They reasoned that because they were a “great people”, one portion of land would not be sufficient for them. The leader of Israel, Joshua, basically tells them that there is plenty more land available, but they would have to work a little to get it. The land he offered them was very mountainous and wooded, and needed to be cleared; and it also contained some pretty heavily armed Canaanites that also needed to be removed. I think the tribe of Joseph really wanted to just move right into a place where they would not have to put forth too much effort.

There is a great lesson to be learned here for us today. We often have desires for great things in life, but we usually are reluctant to work for those things. I know a man who today is very wealthy. He and his family enjoy many material possessions, and are very well off. However, those things did not come easy to him. He worked very hard over the course of many years to accumulate the wealth that he enjoys today. In fact, I knew this man when he was a boy in school. He studied hard, and applied himself. He continued to work hard through college; and when he received his first employment opportunity, he applied himself diligently there as well. Nobody handed his wealth to him. He had to work for it. He is envied by many people today who want what he has, but most of those people would not want to pay the price that he paid in time and sweat in order to achieve what he has.

As Christians, we need to get away from this entitlement mentality that everything is owed to us. There are plenty of opportunities out there for us to take advantage of, but few of them will come without a sacrifice on our part. We can see this lazy attitude in the ministry today. Some preachers, right out of Bible college, want a large ministry handed to them. They look for the perfect opportunity. Yet, there are millions of people out there who need a preacher. I remember when I came to Jersey Shore, there was no parsonage,there was no salary. We did have a beautiful little building, and a good group of people gathered together, but there were few perks that would attract many prospective preachers today. I was just thrilled that somebody wanted me to be their pastor. The church has grown some since then. By God’s grace we have been able to add on to our building, purchase more land, and add new ministries. But it took work. We had to cut down the woods, and drive out some of the Canaanites. It wasn’t easy, but God has blessed us all through the process.

Don’t expect all of the good things in life to be handed to you. Our God is a wonderful, gracious, and very giving God; but aside from our salvation, He often doesn’t hand us things on a silver platter. What He does do, however, is offer us opportunities to fight and work for things. Do you want something more in life? Go get it. Work for it.

Don’t Mess With God’s People – The Saturday Morning Post

Don’t Mess With God’s People – The Saturday Morning Post

Comments 0 Comment

Today’s Passage – Joshua 10 – 12

(Second Milers also read – 1 Timothy 1 – 6; Proverbs 15; Psalms 71 – 75)

“The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.” (Proverbs 15:29)

“And the men of Gibeon sent unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us.” (Joshua 10:6)

The Kings of the Amorites had a plan…

“Wherefore Adonizedek king of Jerusalem sent unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying, Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it hath made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. Therefore the five kings of the Amorites, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon, gathered themselves together, and went up, they and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.” (Joshua 10:3-5)

But God hears the prayer of the righteous…

“And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee. Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly, and went up from Gilgal all night. And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.” (Joshua 10:8-10)

But why would God save a heathen nation? The verse says that He hears the prayers of the righteous: were the people of Gibeon righteous? No, but…

“And Joshua called for them, and he spake unto them, saying, Wherefore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very far from you; when ye dwell among us? Now therefore ye are cursed, and there shall none of you be freed from being bondmen, and hewers of wood and drawers of water for the house of my God. And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.” (Joshua 9:22-24)

The Gibeonites knew where they could find God: with Joshua and Israel. Let me ask you something, if the Gibeonites looked at you, would they know that’s where they could find God? Jesus said…

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48)

Peace! (Jude 1:22-25)

Under Daddy’s Wing

Under Daddy’s Wing

Comments 1 comment

Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 32 – 34 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Colossians 1 – 4; Proverbs 11; Psalms 51 – 55)

Scripture Memorization for March – Verses About the Bible

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 Timothy 1:17

Read the “0311 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

Read a previous post from this passage – “Well Done”

“As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.” (Deuteronomy 32:11-12)

Believe it or not there are many lessons a Christian can learn from birds. Let’s take a look at a few.

If you ever observed birds, they are very protective of their young.  A Sand Piper bird will fake a broken wing as they lead you away from the nest.  If a predator falls for it, they will find themselves chasing after what they think is a helpless bird.  Suddenly the bird takes off into the air and the predator is far from the nest.  Some birds will dive bomb anyone or anything that gets near where the nest is.  If you get near some domesticated birds, they will bite your fingers if you go near their eggs.

“And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:3-6)

God protects us too.  God protected the children of Israel from the Egyptians.  He led them into the Sea and the Jews fled away.  The walls of Jericho fell (dive bombed) so the Jews could take the city (the nest).  And He loves and protects us today.

Birds provide protective homes for their young.  Finding a place to safely place and hatch their eggs, raise their young to the point of independence, is a challenge birds have solved in many clever ways.  Some birds build nests hidden away inside vegetation.  The Hornbill seals herself into the nest and stays inside the tree cavity throughout incubation.  An Australian bird will pick the fur from the back of a koala to make the nest comfy for her young.  Some find secure homes in caves and rock ledges.

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:2-3)

God promises us a safe home.

There are some birds that are called ‘Brood Parasites,’ birds that never build their own nests but lay their eggs in the nest of other species.  The cuckoo is the best know brood parasite.  She will remove one egg of the other birds nest and replace it with hers.  Somehow she is able to match the size and color of the nest she is invading.  But many of the birds learn to recognize the cuckoo egg and discards their egg.  There are several other species that follow this way of life.

God also protects us in this same way.

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” (John 10:27)

“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” (Matthew 25:32-33)

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” (Matthew 25:46)

And there are many more comparisons. Although God does not have wings, He has loving arms to wrap around us.  So I will close with this song:

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms

What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

Leaning, leaning, safe and secure from all alarms;
Leaning, leaning, leaning on the everlasting arms.

O how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
O how bright the path grows from day to day,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.

 Thank You

1 John 5:13

[follow_me]

Amazing Grace – The Saturday Morning Post

Amazing Grace – The Saturday Morning Post

Comments 0 Comment

Today’s Passage – Deuteronomy 23 – 26

(Second Milers also read – 2 Corinthians 9 – 13; Proverbs 8; Psalms 36 – 40)

“If a man be found stealing any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and maketh merchandise of him, or selleth him; then that thief shall die; and thou shalt put evil away from among you.” (Deuteronomy 24:7)

“Amazing Grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.” – John Newton

Good morning. We can see by Deuteronomy 24:7 how God feels about slavery. There was a time that John Newton realized he was in trouble with God. John Newton worked in the slave trade. And God started working on him…

“‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!”

Joseph’s brothers were in a mess too: they sold their brother into slavery; and they knew it was wrong, but they also saw an example of God’s amazing grace…

“And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.” (Genesis 50:15-21)

God had sent Joseph ahead into Egypt to preserve the lives of his family. God sent Jesus ahead to preserve our lives by shedding His precious blood as payment for our sins.

“Thro’ many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
‘Tis grace hath bro’t me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.”

What has you in bondage today? What are you enslaved to? One day, all the works of man held in this world will be burnt in fervent heat. The only thing you can take with you is that precious soul you led to the Lord. We should get our priorities in order: God, family, and everything else. Jesus said…

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3)

“When we’ve been there ten-thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we first begun.”

Peace. (Ephesians 2:8-9)