Famine in the Land
Amos 8:11-12 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it. When I read these verses I couldn’t help but think of the time in which we live. It is getting harder to find churches where the Word of God is taught as it should be. There is an increase where some have watered it down; perverted it; and many have been led astray by their lusts for self-gratification and exaltation. The name Jesus Christ has become “taboo” and politically incorrect. And I can’t help but wonder if we are in some part living within these verses. And if we are not, as yet, how soon will we? And are we taking heed to the warnings? It says; the Lord God, [will send] a famine; and the kind He will send is that of [hearing] the [words] [of the LORD]. Our ears must be kept attentive to the word; Neh. 8:1-3. we need godly preachers who boldly speak the truth; Rom.10:14. When we are pricked in our hearts we need to respond; Acts 2:37. We need to take heed [how] we hear; Luke 8:18. We need to praise God for He is great, and there is {NONE} like Him; 2 Sam. 7:22. We need to examine our hearts to make sure we are [not just] spewing [words] of love, but in reality we are going after covetousness; Ezek. 33:31. We need to remember there are many [hard] things in the word, and [not] be offended, but rely on the Spirit who quickeneth, and [not ]turn away; John 6:60-66. We need to allow the Spirit to circumcise our hearts and ears, and [not] resist the Holy Ghost; Acts 7:51-54. So that the Bread of Life and Living Water, will sustain us and those around us who hunger and thirst for the [True] Word of God.
Lord keep our ears attentive to Your Word, that it may preserve us.
Hearing
Romans 10:17; So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. If I fill my ears with the sounds and voices of the world; of false teachers; of misguided but well meaning Christians, and not with the “Still small voice”; the voice of Truth; Wisdom; Righteousness; the very Word of God, then what happens? I become “Dull” of hearing; and my “Faith” begins to dwindle. “Hearing” comes by the word of God! We need to clear the cache and registry of our brains from the non-essential junk that has accumulated, and renew our minds daily with the “pure word of God”. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. Hebrews 4:12-13
The cause of all the miseries in the world!
It is my firm conviction, that a right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving religion. The first thing that God does when He makes man a new creature in Christ—is to send light into his heart, and show him that he is a guilty sinner. I have an equally firm conviction, that a low and imperfect view of sin—is the origin of most of the errors, heresies, and false doctrines of the present day. If a man does not realize the extent and dangerous nature of his soul's disease—you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief needs of the Church, is for clearer and fuller teaching about sin.Sin is the corruption of the nature of every man. Therefore, every person born into the world, deserves God's wrath and damnation! Once let a man see his sin, and he must see his Savior—in order to obtain rest for his soul. He feels stricken with a deadly disease—and nothing will satisfy him but the Great Physician. He hungers and thirsts—and he must have nothing less than the Bread of Life. Sin, in short, is that vast moral disease which affects the whole human race—of every rank and class and name and nation and people and tongue! Sin is the plague of nations, the divider of churches, the destroyer of family happiness, the cause of all the miseries in the world!It is my thorough conviction, that the extent and vileness and deceitfulness of sin—are a subject which is not sufficiently brought forward in the religious teaching of these days. It is not pressed on congregations in its Scriptural proportion. The consequences are very serious!We may depend upon it—men will never truly come to Christ, and stay with Christ, and live for Christ—unless they feel their sins, and know their need of a Savior. Those whom the Holy Spirit draws to Christ—are those whom the Spirit has convinced of sin. Without real conviction of sin, men may seem to come to Christ and follow Him for a season—but they will soon fall away and return to the world. The words of one are most deeply true, "The consciousness of sin is the true pathway to heaven."
Are you overcoming the world, or are you overcome by it? Do you know what it is to come out from the world and be separate or are you still entangled by it, and conformed to it?
Righteousness Exalts A Nation
“Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people”. Proverbs 14:34.
It is not valor in war; but righteousness . It is not policy in government; but righteousness. It is not wittiness of invention; but righteousness. It is not civility in behavior; but righteousness. It is not antiquity of laws; but righteousness. It is not largeness of dominion; but righteousness. It is not greatness of command; but righteousness— which is the honor and the safety, and the renown and the security of a nation. It is not rich mines of gold and silver, nor armies, nor councils, nor fleets, nor forts—but justice and righteousness which exalts a nation; and which will make a lowly people to become a great, a glorious, and a famous people in the world. That nation which exalts righteousness—that nation shall be certainly exalted by righteousness.
Ah! America, America! If injustice shall grow rampant, and you shall brandish the sword of protection to the desperate swearer, and to the cruel oppressor, and to the roaring drunkard, and to the cursing monster; and shall be a devouring sword to the upright and godly in the land—divine vengeance will dig your grave, and divine justice will tumble you into it.
(Thomas Brooks; "The Crown and Glory of Christianity, or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)
{The words America, America, were originally England, England,}
PSALM 23
The Lord is my Shepherd...THAT'S RELATIONSHIP!I shall not want...THAT'S SUPPLY!He maketh me to lie down in green pastures...THAT'S REST!He leadeth me beside still waters...THAT'S REFRESHMENT!He restoreth my soul...THAT'S HEALING!He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness...THAT'S GUIDANCE!For His name sake...THAT'S PURPOSE!Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death...
THAT'S CHALLENGE!I will fear no evil…
THAT'S ASSURANCE!For thou art with me...THAT'S FAITHFULNESS!Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me...THAT'S SHELTER!Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies... THAT'S HOPE!Thou anointest my head with oil...THAT'S CONSECRATION!
My cup runneth over...THAT'S ABUNDANCE!Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life... THAT'S BLESSING!And I will dwell in the house of the Lord...THAT'S SECURITY!Forever...THAT'S ETERNITY!
-- Author Unknown
It's Pretty Strange
“IT IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN MAN.” Psalm 118:8
It’s pretty strange how it worked out this way;Question: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?Answer: Psalm 117.Question: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?Answer: Psalm 119.Question: What chapter is in the center of the Bible?Answer: Psalm 118.Facts: There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118.
There are 594 chapters after Psalm 118.
Add these numbers up and you get 1188.
Question: What is the center verse in the Bible?
Answer: Psalm 118:8Does this verse say something significant about God’s perfect will for our lives?
The next time someone says they would like to find God’s perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word!“IT IS BETTER TO TRUST IN THE LORD THAN TO PUT CONFIDENCE IN MAN.” PSALM 118:8
Now Isn’t that odd how this worked out…or was God in the center of it?
A Cleaner way to Hell
“I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” Luke 18:12 Take heed of trusting in religious duties. These duties rested in, will as eternally undo a man, as the greatest and foulest enormities. Open wickedness slays her thousands; but secret resting upon duties slays her ten thousands! Open profaneness is the broad dirty way which leads to hell, but trusting in religious duties is a sure way, though a cleaner way to hell. Profane people and formal professors shall meet at last in the same hell. You know, in Noah’s flood all that were not in the ark, though they climbed up the tallest trees, and the highest mountains and hills, yet were drowned! So let men climb up to this duty and that, yet, if they don’t get into Christ, they will be damned! It is as natural to a man to rest in his duties, as it is for him to rest in his bed. It is not your duties, but your Christ, that must save you. Many shining professors burn themselves by resting in their duties and services. Oh, rest not on anything but Jesus Christ! It is His free grace, it is His special mercy, it is His infinite love, which is your resting place! It is the bosom of Christ, the favour of Christ, the satisfaction of Christ, and the pure, perfect, spotless, matchless, and glorious righteousness of Christ, which is your resting place! It was the saying of a precious saint, that “He was more afraid of his religious duties, then of his sins, for his duties often made him proud; his sins always made him humble.” [The Privy Key of Heaven 1665 Thomas Brooks]
The Bible in Fifty Words
God made; Adam bit; Noah arked; Abraham split; Joseph ruled; Jacob fooled; Bush talked; Moses balked; Pharaoh plagued; People walked; Sea divided; Tablets guided; Promise landed; Saul freaked; David peeked; Prophets warned; Jesus born; God walked; Love talked;
Anger crucified; Hope died; Love rose; Spirit flamed; Word spread; God remained.
Author Unknown
Author Unknown
"As obedient children, do not conform to the evil lusts you had when you lived in ignorance." 1 Peter 1:14Peter warns us against yielding ourselves to the power and practice of any of those lusts which had dominion over us in the days of our ignorance--such as the base and sensual lusts of the flesh--or the more refined lusts of . . .money, power, pleasure, fashion, pride, worldliness, fleshly ease --those more fashionable sins in which a man may live and walk, and yet preserve his character and good name. Let the children of disobedience follow after and be conformed to all these worldly lusts; but let the children of obedience shun and abhor them as . . .hateful to God, deceitful and dangerous to themselves, and contrary to a holy, godly profession. "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." 1 Peter 1:15
Coffee & Cups
"A group of alumni, all highly established in their respective careers, got together for a visit with their old university professor. The conversation soon turned to complaints about the endless stress of work and life in general. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen and soon returned with a large pot of coffee and an eclectic assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain, some expensive, some quite exquisite. Quietly he told them to help themselves to some fresh coffee. "When each of his former students had a cup of coffee in hand, the old professor quietly cleared his throat and began to patiently address the small gathering. ‘You may have noticed that all of the nicer looking cups were taken up first, leaving behind the plainer and cheaper ones. While it is only natural for you to want only the best for yourselves, it is actually the source of much of your stress-related problems.'
"He continued, ‘Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In fact, the cup merely disguises or dresses up what we drink. What each of you really wanted was coffee, not a cup, yet you instinctively went for the best one. Then you began eyeing each other's cups. " ‘'Now consider this: Life is the coffee and jobs, money, and position in society are merely cups. They are just tools to shape and contain life. The type of cup we have does not truly define nor change the quality of the life we live. Often, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has provided for us. You see, God brews the coffee, but He does not supply the cups. Those choices are up to us. Enjoy your coffee!' "
--Author Unknown
