PSALMS MOMENT – (29JUN19) “But my people would not
listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn
hearts to follow their own devices” (Psalm 81:11-12). These words were
written by the psalmist because the Children of Israel were being reminded as
to why God had turned away from them. They were rebellious, stubborn, and stiff-necked
where they did not want to honor the Lord their God. They preferred to follow
the ways of the foreign nations and worship gods that could do nothing for
them. They became worse than their heathen neighbors, for they sacrificed their
children to the fires of Molech, became immoral with shrine prostitutes, the
priests did not stand for righteousness, and their leaders judged unfairly.
They defiled themselves with sin and reaped the consequences of their actions
when God turned them over to themselves. This is exactly where we are as a
nation within America.
God has turned the wicked over to themselves because they
have rejected Him and preferred to be their own gods. How is it that a man can
call himself a woman without it being declared at best a mental illness by the
American Psychological Association? How is it that boys can dance in a club
full of horny men with money being thrown at him, and Child Protective Services
are not there to swoop in and take the boy from his parents’ custody? How is it
that a mother can throw her baby in trash bags, but would not do the decent
thing and take the infant to an ER for drop-off? How is it that pastors are
entertaining themselves sexually by preying on children as well as gullible
women and men? How is it that political
leaders can make campaign promises to support transgender “women,” if it were
possible, to have abortions? The list goes on and on, but this lets us know what
happens when God turns man over to his own devices – all common sense and
spiritual compasses get tossed out the window. Man becomes more depraved and
viler as he tries to appease his sinful nature. The Bible says, “Furthermore, just as they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over
to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed
and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They
are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent,
arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their
parents; they have
no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although
they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,
they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who
practice them” (Romans 1:28-32). We are seeing the Bible be
fulfilled in real time. There is absolutely nothing that man will not due. We
have surpassed the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah, and we too will see the
Lord bring things to an end. But for those who uphold righteousness, will receive
a victor’s crown. Something to ponder….
QUESTION OF THE DAY – (29JUN19) Do you long to be in the
presence of the Lord? Do you just wish that you could physically be at His feet?
The psalmist wrote, “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand
elsewhere…” (Psalm 84:10). The psalmist longed to be where the Lord dwelt
because there is nothing like being in the presence of the Almighty. In the
presence of the Lord, you can be free from worry, free from pain, free from
stress, free from fear, and free from rejection. You can lay all of your burdens
down at the Lord’s feet and say, “Here am I. Lord, I turn everything over to
You.” This is what the Lord desires for us to do. The Bible says, "Come to me,
all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). We can give all
of our cares to the Lord when we come into His presence. He lifts our burdens
and eases the load. This does not mean that we will never have a cross to
carry, but just as Simon carried the cross for Jesus, He is there to carry it
for us. Something to ponder….
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