Tag Archives: Israel

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God is Not Done With Israel

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Zephaniah 3:9-17 (NIV), “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Cush my worshipers, my scattered people, will bring me offerings. On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame for all the wrongs you have done to me, because I will remove from you your arrogant boasters. Never again will you be haughty on my holy hill. But I will leave within you the meek and humble. The remnant of Israel will trust in the name of the Lord. They will do no wrong; they will tell no lies. A deceitful tongue will not be found in their mouths. They will eat and lie down and no one will make them afraid.” Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Even though God’s chosen people have rebelled and turned away from Him over and over during the span of history, He has always kept a remnant, those few who loved Him and were faithful, or those who were lowly and not haughty. He did this for David’s sake. He had promised Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David many things concerning His people and He always keeps His promises. He also did this for His names sake as well. He wants the world to know that He is good, that He is forgiving, and that, no matter what, He loves. He promises to gather them back together as a shepherd gathers His flock. Over the years, many times, it may have looked like God had totally forsaken Israel, but that was never the case. The plans and the purposes that He had for them never changed. His desire for them to be His children and to call Him “Father” always remained the same. He consistently sent deliverers until finally He sent His Son as the final deliverer. They will see Jesus for who He is and they will turn their hearts to the Father. Doesn’t God promise that in His word?

Jeremiah 46:27 (KJB), “But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.”

Jeremiah 23:3 (NIV), “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.”

Isaiah 25:9 (NIV), “In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

So what do we do as believers? We accept all God has for us, showing the Jews how good God is and what Jesus has done for us. We are to make them jealous enough that they seek after Him.

Romans 11:11 (NLT), “Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.”

We also are supposed to be praying for them.

Psalm 122:6 (NASB), “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.”

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Letting Love Motivate Us- Part I

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The most important truth available to us today is this: GOD LOVES US.
He loves you, He loves me.

One of the most familiar verses in the Bible is –
John 3:16 (KJV) “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

How many of us wish we had a dollar for every time we have heard it, said it, read it (even on t-shirts and cardboard signs at football games)? God so loved the world! He loves the lonely single parent, the latch key kid, the grieving widow, the gay couple next door, and even the child molester. God loves people! We have heard countless messages on God’s love for us. So we know, at least in our heads, that God IS Love. But it isn’t until we hit those road bumps of life that our belief in that love is tested.

God doesn’t stop loving us, ever. We may go through hard times, even horrible things, but His love is still there. We may not understand why we have to face such trials, other than the fact that we do live in a fallen world, with a real enemy, and awful things happen to people. Those people, won’t get saved hearing a ‘turn or burn’ message. In fact the few ‘turn and burn’ messages in the bible, weren’t given to the lost, but to religious people. The lost will come into the family of God when they really believe that He loves them.
How will they know that He loves them?

Leviticus 10:17-18 (NIV) “‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

And Mark 12:31 (NIV), The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

So it starts with two things, we have to love God, and we have to love ourselves. For some of us it is easy to love God, but loving ourselves is a whole different matter. We know us. We know what ugly things we did, the ugly thoughts we have had, those things we don’t want anyone else to know. But it is part of the command. If you have a hard time loving yourself, then you haven’t been listening to God. He has wonderful things to say about you. Find out what He says about you, how He feels about you, what He plans for you. You’ll find it much easier to love yourself. We have to change our ungodly thought patterns into Godly thought patterns. Ungodly thoughts say “I am no good, no one loves me.” Godly thoughts say, “I am accepted in the beloved and God loves me.”

Jesus’ says in John 13:34-35 (NIV) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

After loving God, and learning to love ourselves, we must love one another. If we can’t love our brother and sisters in Christ how can we love those that are lost and without hope. We always think of loving others as a new commandment, but God commanded Israel, in the book of the law (we just read it) to love your neighbor as yourself. My opinion is that part that is “new” is our loving the way Jesus loves us, unconditionally, without restraint or strings attached. It has always been a command of God. Of course, He’s all about love!

Now, we come to the part where the world can see the love of God. They see it by our love, for God, for ourselves, for the family of God, and for them. We can’t stop at any of these steps. If we learn to love God with our whole heart, we won’t be able to stop! God’s love compels us to love others. But if we get hung up on just trying to love ourselves or other Christians, how will those who really need to know about His love ever experience it?

Ephesians 2:10, (KJV) “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

We have to show them the love of our Father. We need to be a reflection of His love.

Ephesians 2:1-7, 10 (AMP) “And you [He made alive], when you were dead (slain) by [your] trespasses and sins. In which at one time you walked [habitually]. You were following the course and fashion of this world [were under the sway of the tendency of this present age], following the prince of the power of the air. [You were obedient to and under the control of] the [demon] spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, and the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]. Among these, we as well as you, once lived and conducted ourselves in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature], obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]. We were then by nature children of [God’s] wrath and heirs of [His] indignation, like the rest of mankind. But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation). And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together [giving us joint seating with Him] in the heavenly sphere [by virtue of our being] in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One). He did this that He might clearly demonstrate through the ages to come the immeasurable (limitless, surpassing) riches of His free grace (His unmerited favor) in [His] kindness and goodness of heart toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Our acceptance off all God’s goodness shows by example God’s love to the world.

Verse 10 again in the Amplified. “For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].”

We were predestined to demonstrate the riches of his kindness and the goodness of His heart. God is our Father, we are His children and this is our “family business.” He has already given us the gifts and talents to do this. We have all of heaven at our disposal to show the world how much He loves them.

Just doing good works isn’t enough. We have to let love motivate our good works. If we work to try to earn God’s favor, we are building with wood, hay and stubble.

Matthew 6:1(New Living), “”Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.”

Verse 16, (New Living), “And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get.”

God’s word is clear, our motives are important. If we work so other can see us and praise us or admire us, then their praise and admiration are our only rewards. It isn’t pleasing God, or building with anything that will last through the storms. We can bully, beg and harass someone into saying the sinners prayer, but are they really saved? How does that portray God? As someone who doesn’t really care about them, someone who just cares about numbers-how many people I converted today.

Please read Letting Love Motivate Us Part II Tomorrow.

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Consider Jeremiah

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God called Jeremiah at a young age, telling him that before He formed him in the womb, He knew Jeremiah-consecrated and appointed him a prophet-before he was even born (Jer. 1:4-10). Jeremiah was concerned about his immaturity, but God commanded him to go and speak, and placed His word in Jeremiah’s mouth. From the very beginning God told Jeremiah that He watched over His word to perform it (verse 12), and that He would use Jeremiah to pronounce judgment over His people.
Sounds like a fun calling…Obviously God knows it was going to be rough as He tells Jeremiah in verse 17, “Now, gird up your loins, and arise and speak to them all which I command you. Bo not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them.” He encourages Jeremiah in verse 18 by saying that He had strengthened him. God then tells him in verse 19, “‘and behold they will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,’ declares the Lord.”Israel had exchanged their glory for that which does not profit, chasing after other Gods. Israel had done two evils according to God. First they had forsaken Him, and secondly, they had hewn their own cisterns instead of taking His living water. The word that Jeremiah had to give wasn’t an easy one. It wasn’t “I haven’t seen you in Church lately,” or, “you need to read your Bible more.” No, he was to declare them as “harlots, prostitutes, and faithless adulterers. He had to tell them that God had given them their divorce papers, because they had even polluted the land.
Jeremiah did it! That is what amazes me. I a time when false prophets were the norm, he chose to do what God told him, to say what God said-knowing that the people would not listen to him (Jer. 7:27). God even warned him in 11:18-19 that the people were plotting to kill him. Not only was he responsible for telling God’s chosen people that punishment was coming, he had to do all of these strange object lessons to prove his point. He did it all knowing that they wouldn’t turn their hearts to God, knowing full well that they were going to be given over into the hands of their enemy and slaughtered. Why would he do this fruitless task? Because God told him to, plain and simple. He did complain, and even cursed the day he was born. He cried and lamented the plight of his people and at one time pleaded for them. But God had had enough.
Jeremiah was beaten, cast into a cistern of mud, put in stocks. He was mocked and was made a “laughingstock” to all of those around him. Jeremiah 20:7-9 says, “O Lord, you deceived me, and I was deceived, you overpowered ma and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” Yes, he had his moments of pity partying. But let’s move on to verse 11, “But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.”
God showed Jeremiah the destruction of His people. But He also showed Jeremiah their salvation. “’The days are coming,” declared the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In His days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which He will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness.’” God never leaves us hopeless. True to His promise, He preserved Jeremiah as well as a remnant of His people and sent the Savior.
So consider Jeremiah…What has God asked you to do? Did you think it was a hard thing? Do you still?

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Chronicles of the Kings

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God called David, “A man after my own heart.” He made a promise to this young shepherd-turned King, to always keep one of David’s heirs on the throne. This line started with David’s son Solomon and went all the way to Jesus (who still happens to occupy the throne and hold the title of “King.”) Starting with Solomon, David’s heirs were not faithful to continue in their father’s footsteps. During Solomon’s reign he worshipped false Gods and led the people astray. So God separated His Chosen People into two groups, Judah who kept the throne of David and ruled in Jerusalem and Israel who ruled in Samaria. Israel had a string of leaders who mostly fought for the throne, while Judah continued to have David’s seed as their kings.
Read Kings and Chronicles as well as the prophets and you will quickly see that the very people that God had chosen to have as His own, turned their backs on Him. They built altars to foreign gods, worshipped and sacrificed to false gods; they even profaned the temple that David had dreamed of building for the Lord. They went as far as even sacrificing their own children to Molech, by throwing them into the mouth of the idol, which was a fiery furnace. Over and over through the lineage of those kings from Judah and Israel we read how they “did evil in the sight of the Lord,” and led God’s people to do the same.
Every now and then there was a light in the darkness, a prophet who really heard from God, a king who “did good like his father David.” They were few and far between and all but one, never removed one hundred percent of the idols and temple of the false gods, or restored the temple worship, sacrifices and the law. Only Josiah, who was only eight years old when he became king, did. He tore them down, pulled the altars to false gods out of the temple, crushed them into dust and let them wash away in the river. Then at the ripe age of sixteen he is given the book of the law that had been sitting unused in the temple. Once again God’s children renewed their faith in Him and they repented and followed the practices set up by God.
At his death, the next king, his very own son, “did evil in the sight of the Lord.” I read all of this and the one thing that stands out the most (no, not the stupidity of the people) is God’s patience! If I was Him, I would have given up after Solomon…So why did He keep trying? Why did He come when they remembered to call on Him? Because of the promise He had made to King David, all those generations ago, generations of unfaithful, hard hearted, stiff necked and rebellious people, that a son of David would always sit on the throne.
So even in His anger, when He used other nations to chastise the people and scatter them from their own land, He preserves the seed of David and a “Remnant” of His people. God was faithful to an unfaithful people. He preserved the line from David all the way until Jesus, the Son of David.
So what has God promised you? He is faithful. If He said it, He will bring it to pass. It might not always look like its coming, or come when we want it to, but it’s there. He is always watching over his word to perform it, (Jeremiah 1:12). Beware- don’t sin as the children of Israel and Judah did and expect God to move on your behalf. He clearly states in Zephaniah 3:12, that the remnant He preserved were, “A humble and lowly people and they will take refuge in the name of the Lord.” Those are the ones who inherit the promises.