Deut. 19:17 - "'Then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before priests and the judges who will be in office in those days.'"
As I was thinking how backwards our judicial system has become, putting the judges first and separating state from "religion", a friend came up and reminded me that the Supreme Court still begins with prayer. I wonder, do the lower courts begin with prayer too? I could be cynical and ask, "Where is the fruit of those prayers then? Why has our country fallen into such immoral allowances? "But I won't! If I compare our nation with others who are lead by such corrupt governments and where the people have absolutely no power whatsoever, I can see where God has protected us in many ways. Our country is very blessed. The ratio of economically poor and destitute is minimal in our country compared to the many others of this world. We do not need to live in fear daily of suicide bombers at the hands of our government, we don't need to negotiate prices for food, or pay off corrupt police men. We don't have men with rifles breaking into our homes threatening us on regular basis, our daughters are not being raped by rebels. Foreigners in our country are not being kidnapped for ransom and Christians, nor any other person of any faith is being imprisoned just because of their faith. God has blessed us, He is the Great judge, as long as we continue to put Him first, we will continue to see His blessings.
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Promise 65 from Deuteronomy: 19:8-10
Deut. 19:8-10 - "'If the Lord your God enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give your fathers - if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His was always - then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, and blood guiltiness be on you.'"
God expands territory and He provides places of refuge. Again, Moses emphasises the conditions for God to keep His promise to the Israelites: "to carefully observe the commandments, to love the Lord their God and to walk in His ways always." If they do that, He will expand their territory, which will enable them to provide more cities of refuge for those who have accidentally killed others. This is the same as the concept of "If you do well with little, you shall be rewarded with much more." Obedience in times of small gain will reap a reward of greater gain. If we are faithful, obedient and follow after God with the small portion that God has given us, then He will bless us with the more, not because we earned it, but because He sees us worthy of deserving it. When our land or portion is expanded, then that enables us to reach out to more people and to provide assistance to more who are in need. When we are faithful, then through our blessing, others are equally blessed.
God expands territory and He provides places of refuge. Again, Moses emphasises the conditions for God to keep His promise to the Israelites: "to carefully observe the commandments, to love the Lord their God and to walk in His ways always." If they do that, He will expand their territory, which will enable them to provide more cities of refuge for those who have accidentally killed others. This is the same as the concept of "If you do well with little, you shall be rewarded with much more." Obedience in times of small gain will reap a reward of greater gain. If we are faithful, obedient and follow after God with the small portion that God has given us, then He will bless us with the more, not because we earned it, but because He sees us worthy of deserving it. When our land or portion is expanded, then that enables us to reach out to more people and to provide assistance to more who are in need. When we are faithful, then through our blessing, others are equally blessed.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Promise 64 from Deuteronomy: 18:18-20
Deut. 18:18-20 - "'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. It shall come about that whoever will not listen to my words, which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.'"
Prophets need to be anointed by God, to be chosen by Him and blessed by Him if they are going to be carriers of His words, and to be His voice. God said, He will put His words in them and will require it of the prophet to speak His words out. If he likes it or not, Prophets have a huge responsibility, they need to be sure that the voice they hear is God's, so that they can speak His words out accurately. How do they know that it is God's voice they are hearing? Well, God's sheep know His voice. When prophets spend significant time in His presence, they get to know their Father's (Shepherd's) voice very well. If prophets speak on their own accord however, but say it is from God, they are wilfully disobediant and the punishment is death. The prophet is safe though when He remains in His Father's presence and is always plugged into the lifeline of the Father, then His job is easy. He just repeats what he hears the Father saying. God speaks through His chosen prophets, this is a great promise!
Prophets need to be anointed by God, to be chosen by Him and blessed by Him if they are going to be carriers of His words, and to be His voice. God said, He will put His words in them and will require it of the prophet to speak His words out. If he likes it or not, Prophets have a huge responsibility, they need to be sure that the voice they hear is God's, so that they can speak His words out accurately. How do they know that it is God's voice they are hearing? Well, God's sheep know His voice. When prophets spend significant time in His presence, they get to know their Father's (Shepherd's) voice very well. If prophets speak on their own accord however, but say it is from God, they are wilfully disobediant and the punishment is death. The prophet is safe though when He remains in His Father's presence and is always plugged into the lifeline of the Father, then His job is easy. He just repeats what he hears the Father saying. God speaks through His chosen prophets, this is a great promise!
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