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Paul tells the Thessalonians the best qualities to have in their church.

1 Thessalonians 5: Continue reading →

Trust in God more than humans.

Jeremiah 17

This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”

God set Jeremiah apart to be a true prophet for Him to warn the people of their coming judgement.  Jeremiah had a conversation with God about his struggles.

Jeremiah 15:

15 Then I said,

“Lord, you know what’s happening to me.
Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors!
Please give me time; don’t let me die young.
It’s for your sake that I am suffering.
16 When I discovered your words, I devoured them.
They are my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
17 I never joined the people in their merry feasts.
I sat alone because your hand was on me.
I was filled with indignation at their sins.
18 Why then does my suffering continue?
Why is my wound so incurable?
Your help seems as uncertain as a seasonal brook,
like a spring that has gone dry.”
19 This is how the Lord responds:

“If you return to me, I will restore you
so you can continue to serve me.
If you speak good words rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.
You must influence them;
do not let them influence you!
20 They will fight against you like an attacking army,
but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze.
They will not conquer you,
for I am with you to protect and rescue you.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
21 Yes, I will certainly keep you safe from these wicked men.
I will rescue you from their cruel hands.”

Fill your days with a good amount of work. All your work adds up to success.

Proverbs 24:

30 I walked by the field of a lazy person,
the vineyard of one with no common sense.
31 I saw that it was overgrown with nettles.
It was covered with weeds,
and its walls were broken down.
32 Then, as I looked and thought about it,
I learned this lesson:
33 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest—
34 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit;
scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

Bosses, have godly integrity toward your employees.

King David used integrity to lead God’s people.

Oh My God!

Last night around 10:30 after the Nightmare ‘scare house’ at my church, Guts Church in Tulsa, almost 300 people prayed the Gospel prayer! We were celebrating the victory of souls going to Heaven late in the evening along with many angels in Heaven!  How often does that happen!

This is happening all month long!  We own October!  We’re no longer defending our faith against our enemy!  We are on the offensive and taking new ground!  …In the name of Jesus!

God’s desire is care for His people.

Psalm 78:

52 But he led his own people like a flock of sheep,
guiding them safely through the wilderness.
53 He kept them safe so they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this land of hills he had won for them.
55 He drove out the nations before them;
he gave them their inheritance by lot.
He settled the tribes of Israel into their homes.

I like to put a Bible verse image at the start of my blog entries to help bring interest to the post so I started looking for an image for Jeremiah 9:11 but found none.  The only one that popped up were several images of Jeremiah 29:11.  This is a great verse but should be read in context with the verses around it.  You have to live a life to honor God if you want the reality of 29:11 in your life. On the other hand, In Jeremiah 9:11, God warns that He will make the land where His people live turn to ruin if they don’t stop living a wrong life.

I also am posting Jeremiah 8:16-9:2 because God describes the pain He feels when He has to administer wrath on His people.

Jeremiah 9:11 ~ “I will make Jerusalem into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord.  “It will be a place haunted by jackals.  The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them.”

Jeremiah 29:11 ~ For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 8:16-9:2 ~ 

“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard
all the way from the land of Dan in the north!
The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble.
They are coming to devour the land and everything in it—
cities and people alike.
17 I will send these enemy troops among you
like poisonous snakes you cannot charm.
They will bite you, and you will die.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
18 My grief is beyond healing;
my heart is broken.
19 Listen to the weeping of my people;
it can be heard all across the land.
“Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask.
“Is her King no longer there?”
“Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols
and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.
20 “The harvest is finished,
and the summer is gone,” the people cry,
“yet we are not saved!”
21 I hurt with the hurt of my people.
I mourn and am overcome with grief.
22 Is there no medicine in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why is there no healing
for the wounds of my people?
9 If only my head were a pool of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
I would weep day and night
for all my people who have been slaughtered.
2 Oh, that I could go away and forget my people
and live in a travelers’ shack in the desert.
For they are all adulterers—
a pack of treacherous liars.