Possession of the Land ~ Raul Ries

“Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
Ezekiel 36:28

As we look at the situation in the Middle East today, there is much confusion regarding what land belongs to what country. The Palestinians are wanting their own nation and claiming that much of Israel should belong to them. Even Jerusalem has been a point of contention. Differing nations are trying to lay claim to this piece of land as well. Since history began, much of Israel’s land has been given away in peace treaties.

In the above Scripture, God promises His chosen people that they will dwell in the land that God gave to Abraham. During the millennial reign, Israel will once again enjoy their land and possess every inch that God promised them! Maybe you are waiting for God to fulfill a promise that He has made to you as well? God’s timing is perfect – whether its today, tomorrow, or years from now, He will keep His word.

Thought for the Day:

During the Millennium, God will restore all of the borders and territories that belong to Israel, and as a nation, she will finally possess the land that God promised Abraham!

One More Consequence of Accessing Grace through Faith ~ Bob Hoekstra

Who through faith…turned to flight the armies of the aliens. (Hebrews 11:34b)

In this summarized series of testimonies, the Lord's servants "subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle" (Hebrews 11:33-34b). Our next category shows one more consequence of accessing grace through faith.

By trusting in the Lord, some of His people "turned to flight the armies of the aliens." Jonathan (son of King Saul) provides an excellent picture of this. "Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few'" (1 Samuel 14:6). Although these two men were greatly outnumbered by the enemy forces, Jonathan knew that God was not restricted by numbers and could bring victory to His people. The anticipated response of the enemy soldiers confirmed God's plan to Jonathan, so he attacked the fortress. "And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them" (1 Samuel 14:13). The alien army reacted as though a mighty horde had swept over them. "And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling. Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there"1 Samuel 14:15-16). Other Israelites, who had been fearful, were encouraged to join in the battle. "Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle" (1 Samuel 14:22). So, two men were sufficient to cause a mighty army to flee, even if God needed to add an earthquake to ensure effectiveness!

By trusting in the Lord, we can also cause the enemy and his demonic forces to flee. "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might…For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places…Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (Ephesians 6:10, 12 and James 4:7).

Lord God Almighty, where do you want me to go forth in faith, anticipating that You will cause the enemy to flee? Lord, guard me from presumption. I submit to You. Make me an encouragement to fearful saints who are in hiding and need to be serving, Amen.

What’s Your Passion? ~ Mark Balmer

Based on “What Satan Doesn’t Want You to Know” by Pastor Mark Balmer; 11/7-8/09,

Message #MB395; Daily Devotional #5 - “What’s Your Passion?”

Preparing the Soil (Introduction): The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) “Christianity is no fun; you won’t be able to party with your friends anymore.” “You’re going to have to give up all the things you love to become a Christian.” “All the Church wants is your money” These are all thoughts that Satan plants in our minds when he wants to deceive us. He is out to steal, kill, and destroy and will even use the gifts that God has given us to distort our thinking. Satan wants us to become entrapped with our gifts rather than letting us use them as God intended. What he doesn’t tell us in his deceit is that the momentary pleasure that he offers will bring sorrow and pain almost immediately. But remember, Satan provides the deception; it is we who provide the heart to be deceived.

Planting and Watering the Seed (Growth): Satan is THE master of deception. Look at the world. There is no limit to the ways he deceives. Money is one of his favorite and most successful tools. How many people do you know in your own life that would not come to Christ solely because they fear that they would have to give up their personal wealth to follow Him? As Christians, we know what the Bible says. Our money is not ours. We know the story of the young man who actively sought out Jesus but gave up his eternal salvation because he didn’t have the faith to give his money to the poor and follow Him (Matthew 19:16-23). One of the thoughts Satan loves to put in our minds is that “All the Church wants is your money.” Even as Christians, we struggle with this. God gives us money to provide for our needs and to do good works with, not to satisfy our own selfish desires. Most of us use money to buy things, pay bills, or engage in activities. It is so easy to give in to the lure of worldly “luxuries.” But think about it, do you even remember what you spent the majority of your paycheck on when you find you don’t have the money to pay an unexpected medical bill or your child’s school expenses? If we didn’t spend it on something memorable, chances are we didn’t spend it the way God intended. The world promotes this “More, now!” lifestyle, but it is not God’s way. One of the most difficult steps of faith we will ever take is to believe that God will take care of us if we spend His money as He directs us to. If we want to know what we truly “need” to live on, we need only look at the homeless, or how a missionary in the field lives, or even better, how Jesus lived, then gauge our spending on that.

Harvesting the Crop (Action/Response): Money is only one of the many ways Satan deceives. By the time we realize that we are in bondage, we’re trapped. Another deception that Satan offers is that there is no way out. But God offers us freedom from Satan’s bondage through the blood of Christ and a way to fix our broken lives through His Word which is found in the Bible. We have, in essence, left the arms of an abusive parent (Satan) and come to the arms of the One who is kind, warm, and loving (God); a parent who will always guide us and never deceive us. God does not disappoint. Satan offers momentary happiness; God promises us joy through salvation. Yes, we are asked to repent, which means giving up our sinful lives, but oh, what joy we receive once we remove Satan’s deception from our lives.

Cultivating (Additional Reading): Acts 26:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10

God's Spirit is Working in You ~ Rick Warren

"God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him" (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

It is the Holy Spirit’s job to produce Christlike character in you.

The Bible says, “As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT). This process of changing us to be more like Jesus is called sanctification.

You cannot reproduce the character of Jesus on your own strength. New Year’s resolutions, willpower, and best intentions are not enough. Only the Holy Spirit has the power to make the changes God wants to make in our lives. The Bible says, “God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 NLT).

Mention the “power of the Holy Spirit,” and many people think of miraculous demonstrations and intense emotions. But most of the time the Holy Spirit’s power is released in your life in quiet, unassuming ways that you aren’t aware of and don't feel. He often nudges us with “a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12 NIV).

Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation. We allow Christ to live through us. “For this is the secret: Christ lives in you” (Colossians 1:27 NLT).

How does this happen in real life? Through the choices we make. We choose to do the right thing in situations and then trust God’s Spirit to give us his power, love, faith, and wisdom to do it. Since God’s Spirit lives inside of us, these things are always available for the asking.

Too Far Gone? ~ Kay Arthur

Jeremiah, Part 1 (Return To Me)

Program 38 – Too Far Gone?

If you understand God, if you know who He is, if you‟ve read the Bible, if you understand His ways, you know that America has to be judged by God. And yet, the question is, could we still escape the judgment of God or have we gone too far? Is there no turning back? Could God turn the economy around? Could God turn the culture around? He sure could, but what would it take? It is exciting, isn‟t it, to think about America turning around? About America returning to God, about America getting rid of the sin and its culture and coming back to righteousness? About America being a nation where the aliens feel secure, where the orphans and the widows are not afraid? America the great. We‟ve sung about it. We‟ve sung about “America the Beautiful.” We‟ve sung about God blessing America. Could that happen again?

Well, you know what? When we go to Jeremiah chapter 21, we find out that there is a king by the name of Zedekiah, and he knows that the enemy is outside the gate. He knows that the enemy is coming against him. He has heard the prophecies of Jeremiah, and he has heard about the broken pot shattered into pieces so that it is un-repairable. And yet, what does he want? He wants God to bless Judah. He wants Jeremiah to put in a good word with God.

And, you know what? It‟s interesting to me that when a child is missing in the United States of America and we fear that it‟s been abducted or when somebody is missing, we always talk about prayer. Well, who are we praying to? Are we praying to a God that can help? Are we praying to a God that can hear? Are we praying to a God that can move? I mean pray? So and so is sick, pray for him. Why is it that all of a sudden we‟re ready to ask for prayer because we‟re at the end of our own ability? Pray that the rain will come. Pray that the rain will stop. Pray that the tornado will turn. Pray that the storm will turn. Who are we praying to? Who are you praying to? Are you praying to a God who is capable of doing that? Are you praying to a God that‟s a vengeful God that says, “No, you‟ve had it. You‟ve crossed over the line?” Are you praying to a God who is [full of loving-kindness, whose mercies and compassions fail not, but are new every morning?] (PARAPHRASE, Lamentation 3:22-23)

What is your concept of God? The next time someone says to you, “You know, we really need to pray about this. Or I wish you would pray about this,” ask them, “Who do you want me to pray to? Why do you want me to pray to God or to that person? Tell me about Him that? Give me a reason for praying to Him.” „Well, you know, you‟re the religious one.” You say, “But what is it that makes you want me to pray?”

Let‟s get in some discussions like this. Let‟s talk about can America be turned around? I can tell you about William Kerry, and about what he did in India. I can tell you about Abraham Kuyper and what he did in the Dutch Republic. I can tell you how societies, and Wilberforce turned, and the Clapham Sect turned around the culture of England when it was at its very bottom, when it was in its pits. I can tell you about men like that. The question is, are you willing to be a man like that? A women like that? Are you willing to stand for God, to talk to God, to give a true opinion and estimate of God?

Well, we‟ve come to Jeremiah chapter 21. And from this point in the book it‟s like things change. And it‟s like things change because it begins to say, the word of the Lord that came during Zedekiah‟s day, that came during the reign of Jehoiakim. And more and more now, in a sense, we know where we are. I believe that what we saw in Jeremiah yesterday when Jeremiah cries to God and talks about how he is going to shut up, but the word is like a fire inside of him and then how he curses the day that he was born. (See Jeremiah 20:9,14) I believe that that‟s the last great lament that we have from Jeremiah.

Now the book gets into the history. Now we start seeing the historical event and the message of what‟s happening in Jeremiah‟s life. Just wanted you to know that as we enter into Jeremiah chapter 21, and this week has gone by without me telling you that I want to hear from you, without me telling you, “Hey! Go online and communicate with me.” It‟s “preceptsforlife.com,” “preceptsforlife.com.” We want to hear from you. We want you to download the free study guides. We want you to study with us. We want to tell you where you can get into a local class, where you can gather together with a group of believers, of like mind, that are hungering and thirsting after knowledge. Where you can grow, and be nurtured, and be discipled, and disciple others. Where you can discover truth for yourself, where you can go deeper, and where you then in turn can disciple. And, of course, I have to tell you this, we need your support. You know, and it‟s very biblical. You say, “Things are tight right now.” I know they‟re tight. They‟re tight for all of us. And yet, now is not the time to stop giving. Now is the time to increase our giving in ministries that are going to benefit these days. This is our hour for “Precepts for Life,” because if you need to know anything, you need to know how to feed yourself from the Word of God because you‟re going to be tested to the core. And you‟ve got to know truth for yourself. And more and more false prophets are going to increase, and you‟ve got to know and be able to spot them.

Well, “The word [of the Lord]…,” Jeremiah chapter 21, verse 1, “…which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent [him to] Pashhur....” (Jeremiah 21:1) “Oh,” you say, “there he is again.” This is, “…the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying.” (Jeremiah 21:1)

So let‟s stop and get the setting. This is a different Pashhur. He‟s going to show up again in chapter 38, verse 1. And so, Zedekiah who is the king, he‟s the last king before they go into captivity, gets this other Pashhur, and Zephaniah the priest. And he tells them, “„[Go] inquire of the LORD on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar [the] king of Babylon is warring against us….‟” (Jeremiah 21:2)

So already, the enemy was outside the gates. Now he‟s outside the gates for a third time. The first siege of Jerusalem happens in 605 B.C. The second siege of Jerusalem happens in 597 B.C., and that‟s when Jehoiachin is taken. And then the third siege of Jerusalem happens when Zedekiah, or his name is also called Mattaniah, is reigning so you need to remember that. So Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Nabopolassar, who is the king of Babylon, this heir, this prince to the throne, is waging war. Now, he‟s already come. I want you to know by the time of Zedekiah, he‟s already become the king of Babylon. But until 605 B.C, he was not the king of Babylon.

And so the word of the Lord comes and they want to know what Jeremiah is going to say. “„…Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.‟” (Jeremiah 21:2) Perhaps this whole situation can be changed around. Go, go, go ask Jeremiah inquire of him, find out! And, “Then Jeremiah said to them, „You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: “Thus says the LORD [the] God of Israel, „Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:3-4) Oh, that sounds good news. Good news, He‟s going to turn back the weapons of war! Oh, no. He says, “„“„…I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:4)

In other words, your weapons are not going to prevail against the enemy. That‟s what I‟m saying to you. Now watch carefully what He says, “„“„…I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:4)

So there is a siege going on. So remember we are marking “siege,” we are marking, “besiege.” We are taking a pencil and we are drawing like a wall. He says, “„“„…And I will gather them…,‟”‟” Babylon and the Chaldeans, “„“„…into the center of this city.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:4) And He says, and “„“„I Myself will war….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:5) Oh, God‟s going to defend us! No. He says, “„“„I Myself will war against you….‟”‟” (Jremiah 21:5) Against Judah. “„“„I…will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation. I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; [and] they will die of a great pestilence…[and] the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:5-7)

You say, “See, there is no hope. There is no turning around.” O Beloved, I haven‟t finished the chapter. Remember, God‟s justice and His righteousness. Well, I left you, Beloved, in the midst of Jeremiah‟s word to king Zedekiah when he was hoping that the Lord would deal with him according to all of his wonderful acts. And that‟s not the message he is getting. Listen to what He continues to say. He‟s talking about, He‟s going to deal with him in anger, in wrath, in great indignation. Jeremiah 21, verse 6, “„“„I will…strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. Then afterwards,‟ declares the LORD, „I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in [the] city from the pestilence, [and] the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives….‟‟‟” (Jeremiah 21:6-7) That is bad news. And it says, “„“„…He…,‟”‟” speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, “„“„…will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.‟” You shall also say to [those] people, “Thus says the LORD, „Behold, I [have] set before you…,‟”‟” listen carefully, “„“„…the way of life and…death.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:7-8)

Immediately, you go back and you think, “Oh, Deuteronomy!” [I‟ve set before you life and death blessing and cursing.] (PARAPHRASE, Deuteronomy 30:19) That‟s not what He is talking about here so you have to keep reading. “„“„He who dwells in [the] city will die by the sword and…famine and…pestilence…he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans….”‟‟” (Jeremiah 21:9) The Chaldeans, Babylonians, the same empire. “„“„…Who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:9)

Now what is He saying? You stay here in the city, you‟re going to die. You‟re going to die of a sword. You‟re going to die of hunger. You‟re going to die of pestilence. But listen, if you get up and you go out with Nebuchadnezzar, and you go to Babylon. And get out your map and look at Jerusalem, and look at how they‟re going to go north. And they‟re going to go up until they hit the Euphrates, and then they are going to go east, and then they will go southeast as they go down to Babylon. Those are the ones that are going to live, the ones that go down. So [I‟ve set before you life and death.] (PARAPHRASE, Jeremiah 21:8) You stay here; you die. You go there; you live.

As a matter of fact, He is going to tell them later on through the prophets that when you get to Babylon you settle in. You‟re going to be there for a while. We are going to see that next week, how long they‟re going to be there. But He says, “You‟re going to be there for a while, so you settle down and you pray for the prosperity of Babylon.” Seems incongruous, doesn‟t it? But listen to what He says, “„“„For I have set…,‟‟‟” God is speaking, “„“„…My face against this city for harm and not for good….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:10)

Are you saying to me, Kay, that you‟re likening this to America? I really believe that God‟s face is set against America unless something happens. You say, “What?” Well, let‟s look at it. You say, “But America and Israel are different.” That‟s right. But you‟ve got to remember that God is not just the God of Israel, not just the God of Jacob, but all the nations. “The earth is the LORD‟S and the fullness thereof….” (Psalms 24:1) He is the God of all the nations. All the nations will come to Him. [All the nations eventually will beat their swords into plowshares, and they will come up to Jerusalem and they will say to the Lord, “Teach us your ways,” that‟s what Isaiah 2 says.] (PARAPHRASE, Isaiah 2:4) So He says, “„“„…I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good…It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:10)

So we know how Jerusalem is going to be destroyed. It‟s going to be burned with fire. This happened in 586 B.C. “„Then say to the household of the king of Judah, “Hear the word of the LORD.”‟” (Jeremiah 21:11) And then he says, “„“O house of David, thus says the LORD: „Administer justice every morning….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:12) Every morning I want you to administer justice, O house of David. He says, “„“„…And deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor, [and] that My wrath may not go forth like fire….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:12)

Hey, you want to stop My judgment? You want to not have Jerusalem burned? Then this is what I‟m telling you to do, administer justice. Put away the graft, put away the corruption, put away the playing of politics, put away saying one thing and doing another, put away playing to the society and playing to the people, and play to God. Put that away. “„“„…Administer justice every morning…that My wrath may not go…like [a] fire and burn with none to extinguish it, because of the evil of their deeds.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:12)

You want to turn things around? Then what you do is you administer justice. He says, “„“„Behold, I am against you, O valley dweller, O rocky plain,‟ declares the LORD, „You men who say, “Who will come down against us? Or who will enter…our habitations?”‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:13) He says, “„“„But I will punish you according to the results of your deeds….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:14)

God‟s very just, God‟s very fair. It‟s according to your deeds. [You sow to the flesh you reap corruption. You sow to the spirit and of the spirit you reap eternal life.] (PARAPHRASE, Galatians 6:8) He says, “„“„But I will punish you according to the results of your deeds,‟ declares the LORD, „And I will kindle a fire in its forest that it may devour all [of] its environs.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 21:14) Then chapter 22, “Thus says the LORD, „Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak [the] word….‟” (Jeremiah 22:1)

Now we don‟t know what king this is. It‟s like: Just go to any king that is the king at that present time over the house of Judah, “„…and say, “Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on David‟s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the LORD, „Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of [the] oppressor…do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger…,‟”‟” that would be the alien, “„“„…the orphan, or the widow…do not shed innocent blood in this place. (Jeremiah 22:2-3) For if you men will indeed perform this thing…,‟”‟” hang on it gets good, “„“„…then kings will enter the gates of this house….‟”‟” (Jeremiah 22:4) “Oh,” you say, “Other kings are coming?” No! “„“„…[Your own] kings will enter the gates of this house sitting in David‟s place on [David‟s] throne…,‟”‟” he says, “„“„…[and] riding in chariots and…horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 22:4) And then he says, “„“„But if you [don‟t] obey these words…this house will become a desolation.‟”‟” (Jeremiah 22:5)

What is God saying to us today? God is saying to us. It is possible for America to turn around even as it was possible with Nebuchadnezzar out there besieging the city or whenever it was. It was possible to turn the tide if they would turn to God, if they would return, if they would repent, if they would relent, if they would listen, if they would obey, if they would put away their idols. And the same thing goes for America. We need to preach that because America needs to hear it.

Using Time Well ~ Charles Stanley

Matthew 25:14-28
 

As today’s passage indicates, the Lord gives us resources and abilities, and He desires that we use them well. One such gift is time. 

In order to manage our days effectively, we should continually review them: What activities did we choose? How long did each one take? What were the results? This discipline will reveal what is most important to us.

In looking closely at our assessments, we can determine what drives our decisions about how to use time. 

Some people merely respond to circumstances for a majority of their day. They jump from one thing to the next, answering phone calls, reorganizing shelves, or doing anything that appears in their world at the moment. But this style of living misses the mark.

Other people spend their time according to desires. They want to relax, so they get home and watch television for the evening. Or they love to hunt, so they use their time to research equipment and locate wildlife in the forest. Desires are not bad, but they should not drive the bulk of our actions.

Thankfully, there are also people who live according to what they deem important. Loving God and serving others, for instance, are two biblical values that should, ideally, determine what we do with our time.

If you itemize your activities and their time consumption over the course of a week, you might be surprised at the dominating events. Each moment is a gift, so set aside a few minutes each evening to plan. Then revisit the way you spent the last 24 hours. This will help you to live purposefully.