God will Judge all Persistant Evil-Doers

“18 so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood; 19 and so it may not happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart’—as though the drunkard could be included with the sober.

20 “The Lord would not spare him; for then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy would burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book would settle on him, and the Lord would blot out his name from under heaven.” -Deuteronomy 29:18-20
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God’s Promised Power for Those who Trustingly Pray and Obey

“The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,To all who call upon Him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.” -Psalm 145:18-19.

God will be near to those who “call upon Him.” These are those who give sincere time to earnest prayer and who seek the Lord! God will be near to us if we do so. Do you want to be near to God? Would you like God to be nearer to you? This is His promise to us, so how about we pray more!! Also, those who “fear Him,” that is those who respect and reverence His name, those who obey Him by keeping His word will have His blessing, power, and visible answers to prayer in their lives. That’s His promise! Will you read and obey His word more faithfully? Lord bless you if you will!!!

Rulers who were Placed and Chosen by Men (not by God)

“They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.” -Hosea 8:4

It is a well known Bible fact that God raises up kings and He takes them down. You can get the basic idea from Daniel 4:32 where it says, “…the most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will.” But is it also true that men choose and put up leaders of their own accord without God choosing them as the leaders? Absolutely! Continue reading →

Paid by God for your Service (4-23-2013)

18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.” -Ezekiel 29:18-20

Does God pay us for our faithful service to Him? Yes, a thousand times, the answer is yes! Jesus promised it over and over again. God will pay us with the wages of Heaven! But, even in this life we can receive blessings and rewards from God for our service to Him (See Matthew 6:4,6,18; 20:8; Luke 10:7; 2 Timothy 4:8).

In these verses from the book of Ezekiel God was paying back the nation of Babylon and it’s King for their service done to Him. God had wanted to send Judgment upon the wicked, proud, sinful city of Tyre! The armies of Babylon did their service to destroy this place. However, the spoils gathered from that destruction were not that great, but the cost was a little much for their army’s labor and travels. Therefore, God said, “I will reward them with Egypt and it’s riches also for their service to me.” God allowed them to overtake and destroy Egypt as well, thus finding the riches and getting the funds that were needed to pay for their military labors and to make it profitable for them. How nice of God to pay them for their services to Him. God also pays us for our services to Him!

You may think, “Oh, but when I do gospel labor there is not much profit. Oh, there is not much to be gained when I sell or give a Christian book to someone who has almost no money. Or when I do a Bible study freely for another person it is only for the value of our study and a soul, nothing more.” You may not get much apparently at this time for your efforts, but you can be sure that the rewards of God are on their way! You will be rewarded NOW with blessings from God, but rest assured that there is even a far greater reward that is coming from God in the future! Maybe at the next house (for you Colporteurs) your reward is coming. But, even more so when the Lord appears the greatest of all payments will be ours! The King of Babylon didn’t get his pay when he labored against Tyre, but God gave him what he needed as pay and profit at the very next military encounter. The treasures of the next campaign easily paid for both endeavors! God blessed these servants and rewarded them for their service! Maybe our kind act today, in service for God, will put us down a little bit financially speaking, but tomorrow God has plans to pay and to reward your kind service of faith! So, serve Him faithfully today, not counting the cost, but trusting that if it is God’s service, then He will richly repay you at just the right time! Be blessed in the Lord today!

[originally posted on our old CCM blog, April 23, 2013]

Is sharing sickness or disease love? (4-14-2013)

To the title question of this article, you might quickly say, “No!” That would seem like a reasonable response. However, believe it or not, there are people and cultures in the world who in practice (and/or belief) would think that sharing sickness and disease was love. After all, some people we really just “love so much!” Perhaps we think, well, if they can suffer it, then I will too. Is that love? The face of your spouse, that cute little child, or significant other; wouldn’t it just be love to share their sickness and feel their ill ease together? Is that right? To some, such an idea would seem like madness! And it is madness, isn’t it? Others would just buy it as “love” and suffer the illness of a loved one. However, despite people’s personal opinions and various cultural ideas, what does God have to say about this in His word? It is love, or insanity and sin? Well, let’s take a look at the Bible, the ultimate source for truth and right thinking! Surely, God has an answer for us! Continue reading →