Nahum 1 - Avenging God

"The Lord is a jealous and avenging God;
    the Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath.
The Lord takes vengeance on his foes
    and vents his wrath against his enemies.
The Lord is slow to anger but great in power;
    the Lord will not leave the guilty unpunished.
His way is in the whirlwind and the storm,
    and clouds are the dust of his feet." (Nahum 1:2-3 NIV)

Nahum prophesies against Nineveh. He warns that those (in this case Nineveh) who go against His people will not go unpunished. Sometimes, in reading some of these prophesies it sounds awfully vengeful and hurtful. Well, vengeance is the LORD's to take and while it may appear to be really bad news to those who worship false idols and persecute those who worship the LORD, it is good news to the people of God. Those who find themselves attacked and persecuted by God's enemies have no other place to turn for hope except in the LORD and His promise that He will deliver them from the hands of their enemies.

He will deliver us! It is the LORD who saves! Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Psalm 81 - Stubborn Hearts Need Listen

Again we hear and are reminded that those with the stubborn hearts should listen to God.  I guess we have to keep being reminded to listen to Him, because we are so stubborn.  We refuse to hear God's Word.  We refuse to remember and sing for joy for what God has done for us.

If only we would listen! If only we would hear!  So many people who go from one crisis to another.  They don't remember what God did to help them through the first crisis.  They off don't remember what they did to get them in the mess in the first place.  They do remember something, though!  They remember all kinds of things that others supposedly did that brought the crisis upon them.  They falsely remember and blame others for their sins.  The burden cannot be removed from their shoulders until they take the burden of their sins upon their shoulders.  God cannot remove their foes, if the foes that they have live only in their own imagination and they are their own enemy.  I take that back...  God can remove the strongest foe, even if that foe is our self. 

Through recognizing that we are our own worst enemies, by recognizing that it is we who have sinned against God, humanity, and ourselves; by recognizing these things and turning to God, we are forgiven. The burden is removed. "You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” says the LORD. (Psalm 81:16 NIV)

May God help you to listen and to hear so that you might turn to the LORD and not be stuck in crisis', following our own devices, created by our stubborn hearts. (vs 11,12)

God's Peace - Pr. J