Saturday, April 9, 2022

April 9, 2022

Isn’t it amazing being a Christ-follower? The joy that he brings is sometimes overwhelming. Open up your mouth and praise him! He has taken away the judgments against you! 

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you; he has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. Zephaniah 3:14-15


His kingdom is coming! Haven’t we prayed for that over and over again? I know I pray for it daily. Zephaniah 3 gives us a glimpse into what it will look like when Jesus comes to rule and reign. He is getting ready to deal with our oppressors; I can feel it! Pure joy will overtake us when we see how much better our lives are without them. Then there is this; one of my favorite verses that I couldn’t resist including today:


The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17


Praise him now; our waiting is almost over.

Friday, April 8, 2022

April 8, 2022

I hesitated to comment on Zephaniah, though it contains one of my favorite verses. It includes some of the same types of information as the other minor prophets. That’s why I posted an analogy yesterday. In Zephaniah, evil people get destroyed, and those who love God win; it’s as simple as that. We shouldn’t fear the coming destruction of the bad people controlled by Satan; we have nothing to fear and everything to gain. God wants us to thrive under his direction and sees what the government thieves and their cohorts are doing to his children, and he doesn’t like it one bit. They wallow in the filth of their sin, push it into our faces, and want us to agree with them and say that sin is good and accept some of their most perverted sins, like pedophilia. They want us to believe that teaching our children filth is part of freedom when all they are doing is trying to groom them for their sexual pleasure. We live in a sick world which makes me relish the notion of God removing them from existence. This behavior is nothing new; it was going on back in biblical days. That’s why Zephaniah received this prophecy. It was for the people of his day but also a warning for the people of today. I would love to see God open the earth, swallow them up all at once, and remove them from the face of the planet. 

And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice— “I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. On that day I will punish everyone who leaps over the threshold, and those who fill their master's house with violence and fraud. Zephaniah 1:8-9

Thursday, April 7, 2022

April 7, 2022

My mom loves to go to the casino. She’s not a habitual gambler and only does it for entertainment. I’m continuing to clean out stuff at my father-in-law’s house after his passing in January, and yesterday I ran across a slot machine in the garage. I decided to plug it in to see what would happen. It lit up! I was so excited that I ran back into the house to get some quarters to give it a spin. If this thing works, I thought it would be a great way for my mom to have some fun without leaving the house. I stuck the quarter in, and nothing happened. The leaver wouldn’t pull, and it didn’t spin. What a disappointment! It may be illegal to have one that works. Still, it would have been fun. That slot machine is like living a life without Jesus. You are attached to some kind of power, but you are empty inside and have no purpose other than to decorate a space. Jesus is the one who gives us purpose, and the things we do for him and because of him make a difference in the world in which we live. My heart breaks for those searching for something to fill their emptiness; they can’t pull the handle because it’s locked, and the wheels don’t spin. If only they knew that if they had Jesus, they would hit the jackpot. Keep putting those quarters into those empty slot machines, and maybe they will come to life one day. Jesus is life.

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Luke 8:11

Wednesday, April 6, 2022

April 6, 2022

Habakkuk is one of my favorite of the minor prophets. One of the verses that I’ve used for a long time is in this book.

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. Habakkuk 2:3


Habakkuk lays out what we can expect as part of God’s retribution for all the evildoers have done throughout the years. It is good news for those who have struggled to make ends meet, especially those who’ve had to rely on whatever crumbs they could get from the banks; they are shysters and have plundered us for years. 


Because you have plundered many nations, all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you, for the blood of man and violence to the earth, to cities and all who dwell in them. Habakkuk 2:8


Did you hear that? They will be the ones who we plunder! We will be avenged by God and have our riches restored; everything taken from us by ill-gotten gains will be returned. Think about how much they have taken over all your years. Now imagine getting it all back at once. I believe we live in the days that God will fulfill this promise. I can see him putting all the pieces together now. It may seem slow, but wait for it; it will surely come and not delay! 

Tuesday, April 5, 2022

April 5, 2022

The Book of Nahum gives you a glimpse into how God plans to deal with the evil we are currently experiencing. God doesn’t change, so the way he promised to handle Nineveh back in Nahum’s day is what we will probably see when he decides to avenge his people of the evil tyrants of our day. It won’t be a pretty picture. Their worship of Moloch and Baal by sacrificing children through sex trafficking and abortion will be what nails their coffin shut and sends them straight into the fire of hell. But there is good news! God is our stronghold; we are protected and will not see his wrath come upon us; even though we have all sinned and did nothing to deserve his grace, he will save us through our faith in Jesus. I do not pity anyone who hurts a child and look forward to the day I see God’s recompense. If you want to see what God has in store for our enemies, read the three short chapters of Nahum. It’s encouraging to know that God will not let them get away with their evil deeds.

The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. But with an overflowing flood he will make a complete end of the adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness. Nahum 1:7-8

Monday, April 4, 2022

April 4, 2022

The Book of Micah seems to have dual information, much of which is appropriate for this day and time, as well as predictions for the time it was written. Not only is the Lord speaking to Samaria and Jerusalem, but he wants "all the earth" to hear his message. Like many prophecies I've read, the prediction is justice for the people of God and the destruction of the perpetrators. No matter what happens to us, it will be God who avenges us. 

Micah prophesied the issues that are clearly happening today. 


Remember this verse in Matthew? "For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household." Matthew 10:35-36


Jesus was quoting Micah! Look at this: "for the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are the men of his own house." Micah 7:6


We see families torn apart because some members are repulsed by our faith in God and want to live at a lower standard. They prefer to mix with the occult and satisfy their ungodly desires. Keep praying for them; hopefully, they will see that their actions are wicked and turn to Jesus.

Sunday, April 3, 2022

April 3, 2022

God cares about stupid people. How do I know this? I just read the book of Jonah. The people of Nineveh were wicked, much like the liberals here in the United States and around the world. They promote ideas they know aren’t true and support everything that goes against good moral conduct and the truth about God. Yet, he is the one who created them, and if he chooses to destroy them or save them, he will. We must still speak the message he gave us about salvation through Jesus, even if we would rather he take them out. There are many wicked people that I would like for him to rid the earth of, and he probably will, but until he does, we must continue to do as he has commissioned us; to teach all nations. Do I want him to avenge us over the actions of the whole rotten cabal? Absolutely! I’m waiting on that day, but I will rejoice over their conversion if he chooses to save some of them. 

And the LORD said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?” Jonah 4:10-11