Micah 4 - Mountain of God

 "In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
    as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
    and peoples will stream to it.

Many nations will come and say,

'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
    so that we may walk in his paths.'
The law will go out from Zion,
    the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Micah 4:1-2 NIV)

Now, this sounds really good to me! If we are in the last days, as many say we are, I'm  wondering why so many are not streaming to the mountain of the LORD. Yes, of course, there are many. But, there are also many being left behind. It is a very sad thing to know that so many do not know the peace that only God can bring.

The LORD has promised that even though many will walk in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever. (vs 5) And...

“'In that day,' declares the Lord,

'I will gather the lame;
    I will assemble the exiles
    and those I have brought to grief.

 I will make the lame my remnant,    those driven away a strong nation.
The Lord will rule over them in Mount Zion
    from that day and forever.'" (Mic 4:6-7)

 

Since God, our Father, has promised us so much, through our LORD, Jesus the Christ, why would we not desire to go to the mountain of the LORD?  Why would we not desire to be taught His ways and walk in His paths, that we might live in His presence for all eternity?

 

Come let us go to the mountain of the LORD so that we might learn to follow in His Way and live in His Peace.

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Amos 9 - God's Promise Thru Amos

After many warnings of destruction to those who do not listen to God, Amos ends with a promise.

“In that day

'I will restore David’s fallen shelter—
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins—
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,
so that they may possess the remnant of Edom
    and all the nations that bear my name,^'
declares the Lord, who will do these things.

'The days are coming,' declares the Lord,

'when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman
    and the planter by the one treading grapes.
New wine will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,
    and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.'" (Amos 9:11:14 NIV)

 

God's awesome promises - the Good News of His Kingdom - is for all nations who will bear His name. Shall we then bear His Holy Name - proclaim it to all people - that all might live in His loving grace?

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Ezekiel 9 - Beginning At The Temple

God sends out his appointed to execute judgment. Those who grieve the detestable sins of the people receive a mark on their foreheads. Those who do not lament the sins against God are destroyed.

Ezekiel is horrified at this vision. I am horrified at his vision. After it is over, will all of the remnant be gone?

Of course, we realize that the whole of the remnant is not destroyed. I find it most interesting, though, that the judgment begins at the LORD's sanctuary. We need to beware that just because we say we are God's people, His chosen ones, does not always mean that everything we say or do finds favor with him.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
  “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
  “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’" (Matt 25:31-41 NIV)

Our actions and our inactions; even our inmost thoughts, may not all be seen by our neighbor, our loved ones, or our enemy. But, God sees them. We cannot hide them from Him. It is, of course, that we are saved by faith, not by works. But, let us consider if it is not our faith (or lack thereof) in the One True God that determines the way we live. Do we serve the LORD or some other false god of our own making?

Just because the LORD seems to delay, does not mean that He will not come. He has come. He is present, even now. He will come again.

Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy on us all.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

P.S. Note: I find it most difficult to consider some of the prophetic warnings, especially when it is sometimes so difficult to see the bigger picture when we are reading the Bible one chapter at a time. Some of these visions and actual events can really be horrific. I find so little grace in some of them; grace which I depend on to see me through each day. But, it is there (even if hidden) and I have promised to continue through the whole Holy Bible, so I will do what I can to complete what I have promised.   

Ezekiel 6 - Calamity Not In Vain

"And they will know that I am the Lord; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them." (Ezekiel 6:10 NIV)

It is sometimes (no, most of the time) difficult to find any good news in the prophecies of old. The prophets warned the people over and over again to turn to the LORD and worship only Him. But, they did not listen and suffered greatly for it. In today's reading the LORD reminds us that there is a reason: that the remnant might realize that He is the LORD and return to Him.

Sadly, we do not listen to God's word and often we have to learn the hard way that when our feet follow paths we should not follow, destruction follows those footsteps. It is when destruction happens, when we are brought low, by the worship of our false gods, that we realize that we have to turn to the LORD for help. He is our help in every time and need.

"Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16)

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 50 - Babylon/False Shepherds Destroyed

Babylon is about finished. God is about to destroy her and His people will turn their faces, once again, to the LORD and to the land that He has given them; to the covenant that He has made with them. They were once lost, living in exile; because of their hard-heartedness and eagerness to follow false god, false shepherds. But, now God will destroy those false shepherds who led them out of the land He had given them.

“My people have been lost sheep;
    their shepherds have led them astray
    and caused them to roam on the mountains.
They wandered over mountain and hill
    and forgot their own resting place.
Whoever found them devoured them;
    their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty,
for they sinned against the Lord, their verdant pasture,    the Lord, the hope of their ancestors.’" (Jer 50:6-7 NIV)

No more! Those who say that they are not guilty, that they have no sin; those who have scattered the flock will fall. Babylon will fall! The wolves in sheep clothing will fall! The Good Shepherd, Himself, will lead the remnant home.

“Israel is a scattered flock
    that lions have chased away.
The first to devour them
    was the king of Assyria;
the last to crush their bones
    was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”

Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

"I will punish the king of Babylon and his land
    as I punished the king of Assyria.
But I will bring Israel back to their own pasture,
    and they will graze on Carmel and Bashan;
their appetite will be satisfied
    on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
In those days, at that time,”
    declares the Lord,
“search will be made for Israel’s guilt,
    but there will be none,
and for the sins of Judah,
    but none will be found,    
for I will forgive the remnant I spare." (Jer 50:17-20)

 

There are many false shepherds out there. Beware! And, follow in the way that the LORD has prepared for you. "The LORD is our Shepherd, we shall not want. He makes us to lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still water. He restores our soul..." (Psalm 23)

 

God's Peace - Pr. J

Jeremiah 43 - Trust The LORD - Call On His Name

OK! So, the remnant still refuses to hear the words the LORD their God had given to them through Jeremiah! Humankind is a pretty hard-headed lot. God's own people hadn't been able to keep themselves from evil or harm so far; so, they're pretty convinced Egypt is going to be able to save them.

What about the remnant today? Are we listening any better? In whom do we really put our trust? Is it God? Or, are we just like everyone else thinking that our governments will keep us safe? Do we put our faith in governments who are actually made up of people who, no matter how good their intentions, end up putting their own bias', their own welfare, before the welfare of the people, as a whole (even if they are elected by the people)?

God's not happy about the decision of the remnant to move to Egypt so that they might be safe from the Babylonians. He warns them: "In Tahpanhes the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “While the Jews are watching, take some large stones with you and bury them in clay in the brick pavement at the entrance to Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. Then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will send for my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will set his throne over these stones I have buried here; he will spread his royal canopy above them. He will come and attack Egypt, bringing death to those destined for death, captivity to those destined for captivity, and the sword to those destined for the sword. He will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt; he will burn their temples and take their gods captive. As a shepherd picks his garment clean of lice, so he will pick Egypt clean and depart. There in the temple of the sun in Egypt he will demolish the sacred pillars and will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’” (Jer 43:8-13 NIV)

The remnant will not escape. They cannot run to Egypt to be saved. We will not be saved by trusting in Pharaoh's and Kings to save us. There is only one God. "And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls." (Joel 2:32)

"And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Act 2:21)

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

It has always amazed me; but, I have been amazed all over again this past week as I have read stories of the faith of those who are being persecuted in eastern countries, particularly this week the Coptic Christians in Egypt. They continue to call on the name of the LORD, trusting in Him to be with them always, no matter what the circumstances of the world around them may be. They do not run. They stand on His promises even as their places of worship are burned. They call upon His name, even as their lives are threatened.

Let us give thanks to God for the remnant who listens and follows in the way of the LORD.

God's Peace - Pr. J

 

Jeremiah 42 - Remnant

The remnant has gotten much smaller and they are afraid. They are afraid that somehow they, too, will be deported to Babylon as captives. Johanan, the army officer, who freed them from Ishmael's captivity, is thinking that if they all flee to Egypt they will be safe.

Jeremiah advises against this. The promise of God is that if they will stay put in the land that He has given them, He will protect them. He will bless them.

There are times when we feel that the remnant is much smaller than it appears on the surface. Do not despair. Stand firm, trusting in the LORD. Trust that the gifts that God has given you are sufficient for your life. Trust that He will save you. Trust that the LORD is with you as you proclaim the Good News of His Kingdom. It is as simple as that.

Trust in the LORD's direction for you. Trust Him and you will truly live life in the land that He has promised and given you.

Thanks be to God! God's peace - Pr. J