Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

What things? The things that will happen before…..”the end times”. (Matthew 24:33-42)

Everyday we see these things happening.

And what are we, as Christians, told to do?

To grow sad, as though our hope was in this world….no!

But we are to “look up”……..we are to look above the circumstances and see the Lord working behind everything that He is allowing.

We are to “lift up our heads”…..we should rejoice in the scriptures being fulfilled right before our eyes….

….don’t let our head (thoughts) hang down,….but we should be praying,…

…”Even so, come Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

And loving His appearing…for there is a crown of righteousness laid up for those who love His appearing (2 Timothy 4:8).

But in order for us to “love His appearing”….we must be watching and praying….ready for His return…….not fainting under the weight of the Adversary’s attacks.

He might send darkness….but we are given Light….pray for light.

He might send hatred….but we are given joy and peace in believing….pray for that peace to fortify your heart.

We are not to faint….and Jesus gave us a parable to show us the Way we are to handle the enemies attacks….especially in our prayer life….which is so important now.

To this world….we are not important….but we are His child….and He hears us, and has already given us HIs Word for our case.

Luke 18:1 “And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint:”

Here, we see plainly, that to be ready for Christ’s return:…..we must be a praying people.

Praying for His Will done….Praying for His kingdom come….within us and His church…..and on the earth….soon.

For Jesus speaks, here, of the closing days of the church age….just before He returns to Rapture the church….

….and how these times will be…….we will have enemies….those that think we are helpless and seek to ruin us…..and those that seek to take our blessings…….

…..and He says, what we should be doing about them.

Luke 18:2-3 “There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:

And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of my adversary.”

This was probably a Roman judge (for Jewish judges were in three’s)….so he would not care about the needs of a Jew….especially a widow…

….she was not someone important,….she was not rich…..she did not have important friends…..she was a nothing, a nobody to him….

….but she kept coming back.

This judge did not fear God, nor man….he was appointed by Rome.

So anything he would do, was on a personal level…..only for what affected him….or for his gain.

“Avenge me of my adversary”….was the widows cry….again and again. “She kept coming back”.

This is not a request for punishment for her enemy (she had an enemy which persecuted her….sought to take things from her…..so do we.)

……but this cry was for a decree issued from that judge……that would give her protection from her enemy’s injustice…..

…..and to keep him, from harming her…..like a restraining order, today.

She wanted protection…..not vengeance…..so she kept coming back, to someone who could give it to her…..

…..but he thought nothing of her….and ignored her….for a while.

Luke 18:4-5. “And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, though I fear not God, nor regard man

Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest, by her continually coming she weary me.”

Because this widow kept crying unto this unjust judge….”I will avenge her”.

The reason? “Lest by her continual coming she weary me.”

The Greek, “she weary me”….literally means….”she give me a black eye”.

That means, that her continually coming there, might ruin his reputation…..

…..something he cared about….though he did not care about anything else.

People might get the wrong impression about him…….so he gave her that “restraining order” against her enemy…..just to be rid of her.

Luke 18:6 “And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.”

Jesus says to listen,…..to really see what that unjust judge says…..

….”I will do it, just to get rid of her, for my reputation is on the line.”

See his motives….selfish, and proud….yet the widow got her request…

Luke 18:7 “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?”

Then, Jesus said…..look to God…..cry unto God, Who loves you.

God is just….He will issue such degrees for us, against our Adversary…

…”Heavenly Father, Avenge me of my Adversary”.

Shall not the Judge of all the earth…..and our Heavenly Father….surely do right?

(Sometimes we act as if God was unjust…..in His dealings with us, and the men of the world.

They prosper,….and we just get by.

They lie and steal and cheat….and yet are not, seemingly, chastened…..but if we try and use these means….we are rebuked.

Why? Their rebuke is coming…..for all eternity, if they do not turn and repent.

But our rebukes….are for our good, that we might grow thereby.)

Yet Jesus uses this parable…..especially for these last days….because we are not to look to our enemies…..but to God in prayer.

We are not to look for “justice”, here, in the world’s system……but to God, the Judge of all the earth.

And we are to look to God, crying….…..”Avenge me of my Adversary”.

“Though He bear long with them”….we are not what we ought to be in this age…

His church has Him outside the door in Laodicea….this last of the church age. (Revelation 3:20)

….He is loving, rebuking, and chastening….that we might become all He has for us….to have the victory He has for us, in our circumstances…even in these days.

He is “bearing long” with us….to bring us to one day stand before His throne, hearing….”Well done, My good and faithful servant”.

We should always cry unto the Lord for such restraining decrees against our Adversary.

“Heavenly Father, avenge me of my adversary”….

…this is especially helpful in prayer….when our thoughts roam, or as we are praying we suddenly become angry, or depressed…..

“Lord, Avenge me of my Adversary”

Luke 18:8 “I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?”

Faith gives us victory. (1 John 5:4)

Our faith is increased as we pray, going before the throne of grace….the Father’s throne….and receiving from His hand mercy and grace, especially in the face of our adversaries.

Remember this began with:

Luke 18:1. “And He (Jesus) spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint;”

“Faint” means to weaken in our purpose, to languish, to give up.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

When we pray, we ought to believe that our Heavenly Father….the Just God of all the earth…. is going to hear,….

….and keep at it until He does…..and gives us these restraining orders against our Adversary……..

…..for He will avenge us speedily.

And “speedily” means that God gives Himself to our request with all His Wisdom and Might…..He answers our cry’s.

“And when these things begin to come to pass”……do not faint….but cry to the Just Judge of all the earth….He hears…and will “avenge” us speedily.

“Heavenly Father, Avenge me of my Adversary”

Naomi

Ruth 1:1 “Now it came to pass in the days when the judges ruled, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem-Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he, and his wife, and his two sons.”

In this little book, we meet three ladies….Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah.

Naomi is the one we are going to talk about….

….she is an Israelite….she is a wife of a man of the tribe of Judah….she is a mother of two sons….

…….and she is in the middle of a famine in Israel.

This is about three to four hundred years after the Israelites have entered the Promised land, and their history has been one of….revival and turning away….revival and turning away.

Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.”

Some followed the Lord wholeheartedly…..others led their families into idolatry with the people of the land….which often led God to correct them.

Often God has had to awaken His people to their sin, by sending an enemy…..or a calamity (famine or locust)….

Such a time was now….and Naomi and her family was in the middle of it. I believe that she knew God, and believed in Him as a God for the nation…..but not in the practical way of her own life….yet.

So when the famine came, her husband said, “Let us sojourn in Moab….till the famine has passed” (Ruth 1:1)

“Sojourn” means to “turn aside from the road, to stay as a guest”. They did not mean to stay long….just a year or so, till the famine was over.

But…Naomi’s husband dies…and….ten years pass!’

Ruth 1:3-4 “And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left, and her two sons.

And they took them wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years.”

The sons decide to stay, and take wives in Moab.

(This was against God’s commandments, Israel was not to marry idolaters….and Moab’s gods were horrible.

When Israel first came into the Promised land, they could not kill, molest, or possess Moab’s land….for they were the children of Lot (Deuteronomy 2:9). But they were to not inter-marry with idolaters….)

And then, after ten years, the sons died there, too.

Everything had been taken from Naomi.

She was a poor widow, in a strange land….for it is clear….that she never felt at home in Moab.

She gathers her few belongings….then she and her daughters-in-law….begin to tread a path back to God, and her nation.

(This journey was about thirty to fifty miles, depending where she sojourned in Moab)

Till she reaches a crossroads. This is an important moment for all three ladies….and their relationship with the true God.

Ruth 1:8-9 “And Naomi said unto her two daughters-in-law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you,….

…Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice and wept.”

Saddened, but realizing she had nothing in Naomi or her God now,…..Orpah returns to her home and gods.

Ruth, on the other hand, takes a place as a daughter….both of Naomi—to care for her….and a daughter of the Living God.

Ruth 1:16 “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God, my God:”

So Naomi continues on….backward….back to what she had left….

…..they thought Moab would be a reprieve from famine…

….instead it brought a “famine” of a different sort…

(And how many times we have thought to seek an “easier, less troubled way”…..when it was moving us away from God. Amos 8:11)

The thing about Naomi I wish to stress….is her desire to be among the people of God….

…she did not stay and die in a foreign land….but made the long trip home to Bethlehem.

It would have been by herself, an old woman, alone….for she determined to go back….to die there….in the promised land, with her God.

When Ruth accompanied her, this was a great kindness….but she realized she was responsible for this girl’s education, and future….for Ruth was going to stay by her, till death.

Naomi and Ruth come to Bethlehem…..and the whole city was moved with the sight of these two women….so weary…so beggarly….

Ruth 1:19-20 “….the city was moved…and they said, Is this Naomi?

And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.”

When they came into Bethlehem, she saw many of the people that knew her….and she confessed willingly that…

….”The Lord hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me”

Basically, she told them all God’s commands are true…..she had forsaken His Way….

….and though God does not afflict willingly…..yet the troubles He sent, were for her correction.

Therefore she is back…..back to her God and nation…..she has learned that His corrections will bring peace…..afterward.

Lamentations 3:32-33 “But though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.

For He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men.”

Psalm 119:67 “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept Thy Word.”

Naomi’s return and confession……leads them to begin to be blessed by the Lord.

Naomi was home….with Ruth….but they had little. Blessedly, it was the barley harvest….and Ruth asked if she could go and glean in a field that would let her…

(In Israel, the reapers were not allowed to gather the corners of the field….leaving that to the poor…

….and if any sheaves fell….the gleaners could take them up.)

….and Naomi sent her…”Go, my daughter.” Naomi had fully embraced Ruth as her daughter-in-law…..but now she loves her as a daughter.

(The story of Ruth and Boaz is a wonderful one….”and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz”,….who was of their kindred.

There is no “happen-chance”….no accidental meetings….in God’s Plan.

And though Ruth was not “guided” to the field, yet God saw to it that it happened just as God had purposed)

But this message is about Naomi….

an old woman, having lost everything…..but not quite….

…..for she did not lose her heart’s love of the people of God….or her desire to dwell under the protection of her God.

Therefore….she did not stay and die in a foreign land….but made the long trip home to Bethlehem…..and became blessed for it.

This is what distinguishes true believers….

…..no matter how far we travel away from God….the heart still wants to draw near again.

When Naomi sees that Ruth has been provided for by a near kinsman…..she praises God…”Blessed be he of the Lord, Who hath not left off His kindness to the living…”

This provision continues for several months….through the barley harvest and through the wheat harvest….because of Ruth’s gleaning, by instruction from Naomi.

(How many times as Christians, we think if we can not take direct charge, or a personal action….our “talents” are not worth anything?

But, it is not so. Our prayers, and instruction to the younger generation is imperative!

How are they to know that God is God indeed….but by the prayers, testimony and instruction of godly people……us.

This was Naomi to Ruth….a heathen girl….brought to God, and instructed in His word….and blessed….because Naomi helped her. Jude 21-23)

Naomi senses a developing respect and love from Ruth for Boaz……so she “seeks a rest for this devoted “daughter”….

….she instructs her to speak to Boaz about the law of taking a near kinsman’s wife, when he was dead…..and marrying her.

Now at the beginning, Naomi could have gone to the field herself….once she knew that Boaz was a near kinsman.

She could have begged for herself, and Ruth a continuing supply of food….a kindness he probably would have done….

…..but she sees (blessed sight of faith)……that the Lord has worked in all of this….for Ruth….

…..and if it be His Will, He would see that Ruth was blessed for choosing God.

And that is what Naomi wants…..God’s blessing on her.

By Naomi’s instruction Ruth speaks to Boaz, and he agrees to see to the matter (he could have refused….after all she was a Moabite. But according to the Lord’s blessing, he agrees)

And by Naomi’s instruction, Ruth and Naomi sit still and waits for the Lord’s Will.

Ruth 3:18 “Then said she (Naomi), Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he hath finished the thing this day.”

When Boaz seeks out the other kinsman, who refuses to perform the duty…..then Boaz takes Ruth to be his wife:

Ruth 4:9-10 “And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s,….of the hand of Naomi.

Moreover Ruth the Moabitess,….I have purchased to be my wife, and raise the name of the dead upon his inheritance,….”

They are married, and when Ruth has a son….then the women of Bethlehem praise the Lord,….

…….for Naomi’s sake.

Ruth 4:14-15 “And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kindred, that his name may be famous in Israel.

And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee,

which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.”

Yes, Ruth had been a blessing to Naomi….but it would not have been so, if Naomi had stayed in Moab.

It was Naomi’s return to God, that brought about the blessing for so many….

…..for Ruth and Boaz’s son was grandfather to David….from whom the Lord Jesus was born.

When we return to God…..we are certainly brought back into a place of blessing.

Naomi could have reasoned….I am in Moab….my husband and sons died here….I will just stay…..I am too old to go back.

But she determined to return to Bethlehem…and her God….for He became very personal to her….with each step she took….each confession and instruction she told….God became her God, her Lord, her life.

None of us are too old……..if you have breath….you are not too old to return to God…even if you are in a “strange land”…..and our return might give “rest” to others.

(For there is only one “rest” that is above all others…Matthew 11:28-30….”rest” in Christ Jesus: whether in bringing one to Christ…..or back to Him….we can bring down God’s blessing.)

Naomi did, and became a blessing to all around her….a testimony for God’s goodness….after affliction.

Psalm 119:171-173 “My lips shall utter praise, when Thou hast taught me all Thy statues.

My tongue shall speak of Thy Word: for all Thy commandments are righteousness.

Let Thine hand help me; for I have chosen Thy precepts.”

To Learn Instruction

Proverbs 1:5 “A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding will attain unto wise counsels:”

Proverbs is a book where a father tells his son the best way to live…..get wisdom from God: live in reverence to the Lord.

Proverbs 4:11-12 “I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

When thou goest, thy steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble.”

Wisdom is that light from God that brings “fear” or reverence for the Lord to us.

For He is over all….

in knowledge (there is nothing that takes the Lord by surprise…for He sees the end from the beginning)…

in might (He is Almighty)….

In Purpose (for His purpose is from everlasting to everlasting….for us and everyone and everything)

God’s wisdom gives us His sight in the things we need….opening up for us the way to go, and encouraging us in His strength.

Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the Holy is understanding.”

And so in Proverbs, we are encouraged to seek this wisdom from God for our lives.

To live our lives in the knowledge of Who He is….and that He will enable us by His wisdom….teaching us, not just how to live…..but to live the best life we can!

Proverbs 24:30-31 “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.”

A passerby noticed a field, and then a vineyard….both had good soil, and could have gotten a harvest.

But the lazy man who owned them…did not use the advantages that he had.

He did not care for the plants…instead there was thorns (a picture of corruption and the curse Hebrews 6:7-8).

The owner didn’t even keep the wall which surrounded them in repair….so even the wild animals would be kept out.

(In scripture, our souls are compared to a field (Luke 8), and a vineyard (John 15) that we are to keep,….and bring forth fruit, for the Lord.)

Proverbs 24:32-34 “Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

So shall thy poverty come as one that traveleth; and thy want as an armed man.”

Notice the passerby did not accuse the owner, but rather saw these as a lesson for himself.

If we are “lazy”, because we want to pamper the flesh: “a little sleep”, “a little slumber”, “a little folding of the hands”……all of these are….”a little”.

“A little”….the flesh says—a “little” sin, a “little” putting off till tomorrow what should be done today, a “little” ignoring the Holy Spirit to pray…..

All are “a little” but it results in poverty of spirit….a numbing of our hearts which can turn to hardness.

And it leads to dissatisfaction……

We think that to give in “a little” to ourselves, will give us satisfaction…..a little rest, a little anger, a little hurt,……but it is the opposite….it leads to uneasiness, in our Christian life.

That is not satisfaction, and contentment……which the Lord has for us.

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

But the lesson did not end there: Our souls, as these fields and vineyards, can be improved……by diligence:

The thorns and nettles can be taken away and burned.

The wall….repaired….to keep out anything which destroys the fruit meant for the Lord.

2 Peter 1:5-8 “And besides this giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge;

And to knowledge, temperance;

And to temperance, patience;

And to patience, godliness;

And to godliness, brotherly kindness;

And to brotherly kindness, charity (love).

For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Faith is given to us by God at new birth. To this, we add “virtue”, which is the “force” or power of the Holy Spirit within, by diligently yielding to Him.

If we give effort here, instead of “a little” slumber…..we shall reap abundantly.

If we are diligent in faith, the Holy Spirit empowers us for the rest……like the harvest of a field or vineyard.

James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not (does not correct); and it shall be given him.”

The Lord will not correct you for not knowing….for He wants you to ask.

He gives willingly, and largely….will we ask for His wisdom?

Our Tongues

James 3:5-6 “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

Often people talk about our tongue as though it is a separate entity…..it is not.

It is an extension of our hearts and minds. We are to control it…..and use it for the glory of God,….as with all our faculties.

James 3:3 “Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.”

Psalm 39:1 “I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me.”

A bridle is there to check the animal’s willful actions…..so with a bridle on our tongues.

As long as the horse, mule, or whatever is going along with a nudge…..everything is fine…..the reins are loose, and the rider and horse are working together.

But let the horse begin to run off or take another path, and the rider instantly…..gently at first, pulls on the reins.

If we control our tongue, we are “perfect”….or complete. Our whole being is subjected to Christ and His Will and glory….for out of the mouth, the heart speaketh.

James 3:2 “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.”

But when we do not check ourselves in our conversation…..

……our testimony can be damaged….or someone may be hurt,….and we should always be watchful for that. (Matthew 18:6-7)

Psalm 141:3 “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”

When I read this verse, I don’t see a locked door……

…..but rather an open door with a butler there….

…..ready to assist with anything…..taking our “extra baggage”….so that all that comes through that door is ready to go in or out….prepared for any good work or audience with the King.

Proverbs 10:32 “The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness (perversity or fraud).”

How great! To know what is acceptable to say! How far to go, what words to use….the tone in which to speak. Amazing promise, to those who obey the Lord.

James 3:9-10 “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.

Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.”

Matthew 12:37 “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”

Our mouths are an important part of our work…..our speech is the outlet of our testimony.

Granted, it is only good, as our actions are right…..but as they are, our words carry real weight for the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:”

That hope within us…..is Christ Jesus.

Are we ready to use our tongues for His glory?

Be Still and Know that I am God

Ex 14:13 “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more forever.”

How many times have we been told to stand still…..wait here….till God removes….or moves circumstances, to His Way for us?

Many times.

(I am a planner. Give me a problem….and I am right at it, to “fix” it.

Even if there is nothing I can do, I still try and wiggle the circumstances….or change the mind of people….to see the “right” thing done.)

Psalm 46:10-11 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge.”

Like Jacob, (and I love that God uses him here,….not the God of Israel, but the God of Jacob!…..For he was a schemer….figuring out things…trying to hurry up God’s time!)…we often think we know what is best.

But what we are called to “know”…..is God.

God’s time is best…..God’s Way is best…..God’s faithfulness is seen again and again in the fact that what He works out, is right.

Let us consider…..”Be still”.

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Be still and know,….to be still that you may know…..know that He is God, still in control of all things….

….no matter what is going on with me, now.

To quiet yourself before Him….this requires discipline.

To force yourself…and all the voices within your thoughts to stop!

(1 Peter 1:13 “Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,…” Wherefore gather your thoughts….and bind them under One thought…what is the Lord’s Will for me, now.)

Stop trying to figure out what must be done….stop planning….stop,..

…and force yourself to wait on the Lord….to honor Him in this.

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

(Wait…..but wait upon the Lord.

Not on circumstances to change, or people to change, or even our feelings to change….

…to wait upon the Lord is different for each of us….

….for me, it usually comes down to “seeing”. The things I “see” in my problems or trials or sickness is how this effects me and mine. But when I “see” the Lord, then His Will is first….and my spirit gets quiet,…then I can know God….my God.)

This He will do, if we but wait on Him.

He hath blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3)…

…but what we have…

(they are ours, set aside for our circumstances here….count on it.)

….we need to get them in us, down here in the earthlies,…ourselves.

The means to have all these blessings is.….”Thy Kingdom Come. Thy Will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

This is true rest, this is true sight, this is true liberty.

The flow of Spiritual blessings is only stopped when we refuse His rule over our lives.

He does not bless our will…..but He does bless His Will, in us….for me to do His Will,….which is all that He is requiring at my hand, in my everyday things.

Be still, and know that I am God.

(I have been thinking a lot about how many times the Lord uses…the Lord, or God, in scripture.

He uses The Lord when He is stressing Himself as our Personal King and Guide….He leads us through all things.

He uses God when He is stressing His Purpose, which is Eternal and Unchanging…and His Might to bring it to pass.)

Here, He commands….”Be still and know that I am God”….

“Have you forgotten that I am in charge? That I will bring all My Purpose to pass….in My time?

Then quiet yourselves, and know….first in you….then in the peace I give you in this time.”

Be still and know,….to be still that you might know!

Know that He is God….our God….still in control of all things.

Amen and amen.

2 Chronicles 34:33 “And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel,…… And all his days they departed not from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.”

But now King Josiah was dead.

For the nation of Judah, this was their last godly king….in essence, their last revival….their last chance, as a nation….to repent and be blessed.

There still could be personal repentance and turning to the Lord God, but the nation was on a course to destruction.

Jeremiah, a friend of King Josiah, mourned his loss….and the loss for the nation….for what could have been.

2 Chronicles 35:25 “And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations.”

He wrote “Lamentations” ….a song and prophesy of what will happen now that Josiah was gone.

The downward spiral into captivity…(it took twenty-three years)….was filled with battle,…loss…..hunger…till in the siege at the last, people were letting their children and the older people just die, so they would not have to feed them.

All of this was seen by Jeremiah on the day Josiah died…

Lamentations 1:1, 4, 8, 16 “How doeth the city sit solitary, that was full of people!…..she that was great among the nations, and princess among the provinces, how is she become tributary!

The ways of Zion do mourn, because none come to the solemn feasts:….

Jerusalem hath grievously sinned; therefore she is removed:…

For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the Comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me:…”

I have spoken before about when the Lord uses….The Lord,….or God…in scripture.

He uses The Lord when He is stressing Himself as our Personal King and Guide….He leads us through all things.

He uses God when He is stressing His Purpose, which is Eternal and Unchanging…and His Might to bring it to pass.

In Lamentations, God is used just once,….but the Lord is used every other time…forty-three times.

Jeremiah cries out in the personal….

Lamentations 3:40-41 “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.

(Let us get back into the personal relationship with our King and Guide.)

Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.”

(Let us remember our Covenant God….His Purpose, and pray to Him that He will work that Purpose in us.)

With all that he saw,….for Israel….and all that would come upon himself for standing with the Lord God….

…”He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with wormwood.”

Standing with the Lord had always been dangerous….

….when Jeremiah was first called, and he preached in his own hometown….the people, and even his own relatives tried to kill him….and God sent him to Jerusalem.

But now, in the perilous times….the last times for the nation of Judah….till there captivity would be complete….

….Jeremiah preaches to a people who wants to be deceived…..who wants to hear only pleasant things…

“Mine enemies chased me sore, like a bird, without cause.” Lamentations 3:52

Yet,….

….and I stress that Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet….

yet…

….He knows the Lord…..God is his God.

Jeremiah laments the last chance for Israel, yet gets up and preaches in the Temple….

….he is told to write his messages down, and when they are destroyed…..to write them again.

He becomes weary, and wants to give up preaching, at one stage….

Yet…

“Then I said, I will not make mention of Him nor speak any more in His name. But His Word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible One:…

Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for He hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.” Jeremiah 20:9,11,13

How great is the grace that upholds His servant!

How greater is the grace that gives the burning desire to preach His Word, even in times of trouble!

Jeremiah, in time of bitterness (Lamentations 3:15-19)….seeing by the Word of the Lord all that would come upon his people….and himself….

yet said,…

Lamentations 3:24-26 “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him.

The Lord is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.

It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.”

The Lord God was with him….in all….through all…and though he was never esteemed of men….yet God spoke to him, through him, and never was He away from him.

In this day, we Christians, are also called to look…

…”for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ;

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:13-14)

We are in a time…

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine….and they shall turn away their ears from the truth….”. (2Timothy 4:3-4)

Yet….

…Timothy was exhorted (and we too, are exhorted to do this, as well)…

2 Timothy 4:1-2,5 “I charge thee therefore before God (Whose Purpose is Eternal, Unchanging),…

…and the Lord Jesus Christ (our Personal King and Savior), Who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom;

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.

But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”

No matter the “times”…..or the seasons of emotions….we are to continue with on with the Lord….seeking the good of all, especially them of the household of faith.

May The Lord our God keep us faithful to Him…..may His word be as a fire in our hearts, that we may speak it faithfully….

….and may we know the Lord as our portion….through all the circumstances of these days.

The Power of the Word of God

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

This is a simple statement. Period. God does not need to prove anything….nor does He.

He simply speaks, commands, and calls.

He created the heaven and the earth.

Psalms 33:6-9 “By the Word of the Lord were the heavens formed, and all the hosts of them by the breath of His mouth.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”

The first creation was a beautiful place….but the sin of Lucifer entered and destroyed it’s beauty….it was now covered with darkness….no order..

Genesis 1:2-3 “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

But God’s Voice spoke….”Let there be light”……there was light.

God purposed this earth….and us….and would not let this rebellion put an end to His purpose……”and He commanded….and it stood fast.”

His Purpose continued….there was nothing He was not prepared for.

Psalm 18:30 “As for God, His Way is perfect: the Word of the Lord is tried: He is a buckler (shield) to all those that trust in Him.”

Have we found His Word to be the purifier of our minds and hearts? For that is what “tried” means…..to be purified like silver.

Psalm 138:3 “In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.”

His Word corrects and instructs…..His Word encourages and comforts us…..His Word brings knowledge, and through His Spirit, understanding.

John 1:1, 14 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

His Word is truth.

Ephesians 4:21 “If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:”

Have you heard Him? Has He spoken His truth into your heart?

Our example of the power of His Word, is Lazarus:

John 11:43 “And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”

This is Jesus, raising Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus had waited two days after hearing that His friend was sick…..

John 11:3 “Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.”

He had done that,….knowing that Lazarus would die,…..so that God’s purpose would be shown…….a manifestation of the power of His Word.

John 11:14-15 “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.”

He had healed the sick, cast out demons, and done many wonderful works…..so much so that even the men present said….

“Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have cause that even this man should not have died?” (John 11:37)

They believed….but only up to a point. They believed He could have done something….if Lazarus was sick….if Jesus had been there.

They called Him….”this man”…..not Christ, “the anointed”…..or the Messiah…..or even Rabbi.

They saw Him come out of obscurity…..preaching “the kingdom of God is at hand”……

……He had come in “power”…..healing the sick, feeding the multitudes, giving the blind, sight.

But now, the power of Him, through His authoritative Word, will be shown…over life and death.

All He had to do was say the Word….and it was done….Lazarus was free from death….by His Word…..”Lazarus, come forth.”

But then Jesus said,…

John 11:44 “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”

Lazarus was raised, but not freed from the grave cloth bond……till, Jesus spoke again,…

…this time in a command to others (whether His disciples or others)..”Loose him, and let him go”.

Christ Jesus, has spoken to His church the same way:

“I have raised up all who will believe in Me…now you need to loose them and let them go, by the preaching of My word.”

There are things Jesus does by His Word alone…..and then there are things He commands others to do…..by His authority….with His Word.

Only Jesus Christ can free them from the death of sin, and give liberty to the captives….

….yet in this work He calls His church to join Him.

We can not bring them from death to life….He does that.

But we can loose them from the grave-clothes of the world….by His Word.

The Lord has shown us God’s heart…..for He sent His Son to seek and to save all who are lost.

Let us speak His word faithfully….

…..the Lord will save….

…..for no Word that He speaks will return to Him void.

Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater.

So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”

Trials of Faith

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”

There are trials of faith which we just have to go through. They are sent to help us to grow stronger in faith; to learn joy in trouble; to realize the power of peace—His peace in it all.

Thank goodness, we do not go through any trial alone. For Christ Jesus is with us, guiding, strengthening, and encouraging us; as we walk through them with Him.

There are also trials which come upon us…..which we have brought on ourselves.

Let’s face it, we often “stick our foot in our mouths” and say things which are wrong….or at the wrong time (I am guilty of this a lot….you want to help…so you jump in….where only God should be speaking.)

We speak or act in anger (and have you ever noticed how much anger is around any more?), and why?

First, that never helps…..

James 1:20 “For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Second, we lose the opportunity to say…..what really needs to be said.

Sometimes the Lord uses these trials to remind us of these things we have put off…….so they can be confessed, and taken care of….done.

And then there are “fiery trials” which come upon us because we are Christians—we belong to Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4:14, 16 “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you; on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

Peter knew about being ashamed of Christ….he had missed the blessing of standing with Christ in suffering…..when Jesus was taken in the garden…

He had tried to defend with a sword…thinking that was what he should do…but instead….Jesus had corrected him….”My Father’s Will….that I will do….no matter what.”

John 18:10-11 “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear….

The said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword in the sheath: the cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it?”

The sword was not the way to help Jesus, here…..Peter should have just stood with Him…..that is what Jesus wanted…

….And it is the same with us….Christ Jesus wants us to stand with Him in every trial.

And that is what He says: Stand with me, and go through these trials, with Me at your side, to show to the world that you trust Me.

That will glorify Me.

Do you remember when Jesus asked His disciples in the garden to watch with Him? (Mark 14:33-34, 37-38)

And instead they fell asleep.

He came and asked, “Could you not stay with me one hour?”

He asks us the same thing:

Stand with me in a world that does not believe in Me,…

…..and if that brings ridicule, or persecution;……still stand with Me, and I will stand with you, in peace, strength, and guidance.

The Word that I have spoken to you,  shall I not do it?

What has the Lord spoken to you?  What has He promised to do through you?

When Ezekiel was taken away to Babylon, he was called to give a message to Israel, which simply was…..

…..before you can return to the land, you must return to your God.

     ( He was with the group of engineers, smiths, and priests which Nebuchadnezzar carried away the second time.  2 Kings 14.    Ezekiel was a priest.  His name means “God will strengthen, or God will prevail”.)

Ezekiel 3:17 “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel:  therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from Me.”

It was the last days of the kingdom of Judah…..there would be nine more years after Ezekiel was taken, before the last of Jerusalem’s people were put under siege….and in the eleventh year….Jerusalem and it’s people fell.   God removed them out of HIs sight….for a time.

These are the last days of the church age.    Is there someone to whom we should speak….and give them warning from HIm?

God’s promises and God’s warnings are very important.   He does not speak slightly….or carelessly….but every Word He gives is vital (Matthew 5:18)…..if we are to do the work He has for us.

Ezekiel 3:10-11 “Moreover He said unto me,   Son of man, all My words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.

           And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them,  Thus saith the Lord God;  whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear,

Ezekiel’s ministry was to the captive prisoners near the River Chebar, which flows into the Euphrates.   

         Often they would come to him, because he was a priest, to hear what the Lord would say(Ezekiel 20:1)….especially when they would hear something had happened in Jerusalem and Judah. 

         The Lord had made Ezekiel responsible to speak His Word….whether they would hear it or not.

We, too, are responsible to speak to those we are called to.  Whether at home, work, school, or wherever….we are to simply say HIs Words.   Then it is between them and the Lord.

Obadiah 1:17 “But upon Mt Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.”

(Obadiah was the prophet who prophesied against Edom….because they helped Nebuchadnezzar when he came to destroy the city.  Though they were the descendants of Esau…Jacob’s brother….yet they were glad and rejoiced when the city was taken.  And  they entered into the city to plunder what they could.   God would greatly judge them for such unkind attitudes and actions against family.)

Israel shall be brought back….and possess again the land of their possessions.  Though they sinned so great…as to be driven from the promised land….yet God would bring back a remnant, and work in them a “new heart” (Ezekiel 36:24-28).

God will not forget His promises….or HIs warnings.

We also are responsible to have the reality of HIs Word within ourselves….to possess our promised possessions.

2 Timothy 2:6 “The husbandman that laboreth must be first partaker of the fruits.”

In other words,  we must have in our experience, to a degree, what we require at the hands of others.

Ezekiel was in captivity….he, too, felt the defilement of the heathen land.   Yet he never lost sight of the call he received….speaking the Word of warning and promise…faithfully.

Though the captives were to build houses, and be useful citizens there as long as the captivity lasted….yet this time was given them and their children to repent and leave the idols they had turned to….and return to God, and HIs Word.

(And is this,  not the message for today, for the church of Laodicea?   We are to be good citizens…live the lives the Lord gives us….but return with all our hearts to God and HIs Word.  “Be zealous therefore and repent”)

Through Ezekiel,  God showed His people…that He had not left them.   He would not be with them in their sin….yet He was never away from them.  

Well, what has the Lord spoken to you?  What word has He given you?   

Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;)

            And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:

            Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is;  but exhorting one another:    and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

We are to watch out for one another…in prayers, words, deeds of kindness.

           “Provoke” here means to incite for good, or to contend for the faith.   

           We are to incite…wake up and get them excited….unto love and good works.    We are to exhort one another….again a word that means to wake up, each other, so we all will finish the ministry…or work the Lord has for us….in these last days of the Church age.

As God said to Israel…

Isaiah 1:18 “Come now,…(not tomorrow or next week)

….and let us reason together, saith the Lord:  though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

And God says to us….

Hebrews 10:35-36 “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

           For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.”

Let us hold on to our profession of faith….let us not cast away our confidence in God….but let us be as Ezekiel, and speak….and keep speaking to those in this time….whether they will hear the Lord, or forbear.

The Woman at the Well

John 4:3-4, 6-7 “He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee. For he must needs go through Samaria.

Now Jacobs’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.”

Why is the woman at the well important?

1. the Salvation of every person is important.

2. She became a light which brought her city to Christ, though she was an adulteress.

3. Because Jesus lets us know that it is not in a place, or because you are a particular people….but He tells that anyone must worship God in Spirit and in truth.

Jesus is passing through Samaria, and was tired, hungry and thirsty. His disciples went into the city to buy some food. And Jesus sat on the well, waiting.

She had come to the well when no one was around, because of what she was; and yet wanted the truth of God’s Word…..even though she was, what she was.

(I am stressing this, because we all begin our journey with the Lord the same way: We are sinners. Maybe we have never done what she did, but sin places us all on the same plain….on the way to death.)

“Why do you a Jew ask a drink of me, a Samaritan?” (John 4:9)

It seemed a good question, for the Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans,….thinking them defiled.

(The Samaritans were the descendants of the inter marriages of Hebrew and the other nations. Ezra 9:1-2,12)

But Jesus came to save all those who would believe and receive His life.

So, instead of pressing His right to a drink again;…….Jesus speaks to her about “living water”.

John 4:10, 13-14 “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knowest the gift of God, and Who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water.

Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

Her reply was very practical: “Give me that water so I won’t have to come and draw from this well.”

So Jesus brings her a step further toward real life, by dealing with her real problem: “Go get your husband.”

Would she tell the truth?

She replied, “I have no husband”.

John 4:17-18 “….Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said I have no husband:

For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.”

What would she do now? Run away? Spit on Him? Throw water on Him?

But instead she considered the truth, instead of her feelings,….and spoke to this man of something which was on her heart: worship,….for she knew He was a prophet.

She wanted to know, what was right, in God sight.

This is amazing…..she was being shown for what she was….yet…she is drawn out of herself….because she sees He is a prophet (she still does not see Who He is as Lord and Savior)….but she is being drawn toward more of the truth…

Let me say, that Jesus does this within us….He draws us out of ourselves….our circumstances….toward Him.

“Were they right to worship in this mountain, as their fathers did? Or were the Jews right in saying Jerusalem was the only place to worship God?”

Odd conversation for a woman who had been looking for satisfaction in sexual and romantic emotions.

John 4:21-22 “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship;…

…But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:….

God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.”

Right here, could have been a problem; if she did not really want the truth.

(Maybe this was what she had been searching for in those five husbands she’d had.

But to want the truth,….generally, and to face the truth for yourself, is two different things.)

Yet, here again, she does not back away from getting the truth,……of getting that living water;……even when it came to what He would say about herself.

John 4:25-26 “The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will teach us all things.

Jesus saith unto her, I that speaketh unto thee am He.”

Jesus had revealed Himself to very few people; but to this woman who wanted the truth, He did.

This shows us the great value the Lord Jesus puts on truth,….and those that seek it.

(John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”

When truth is faced, grace is always given….no matter what our background)

This woman was afraid of people….and how they treated her.

Because of that she had come to the well at this time…..and met Jesus.

But hearing the Truth, and from the Messiah……sent her into that same town, to tell all that she would meet, about Christ Jesus.

John 4:29 “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”

By her witness, many came to believe on Jesus, too:

John 4:39-42 “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him, for the saying of the woman, which testified , He told me all that ever I did.

So when the Samaritans were come unto Him, they besought Him that he would tarry with them: and He abode there two days.

And many more believed because of His own word.

And said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.”

Notice, she is not afraid of the townspeople, now. They are not different….she is. She has met the Savior….and believed on Him. (John 1:12, Romans 10:8-13)

What of us? How much do we value the truth, especially for ourselves?

Have we hidden lives we do not want to admit to?

Or are we believing in a doctrine, and that is enough?

The truth is, that everyone who comes to Jesus can find the water of life……

……real satisfaction…..and know for themselves that He is Lord and Savior, for themselves….and show Him to others.