Category Archives: Character of God

Discerning / Judging, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God, Prayer, Seeking God, Teachable

Shun Idolatry; Seek Out And Obey The Instructions of YHWH

The LORD has told us in advance that there will be false prophets that perform signs, but will propose chasing new and different doctrine that YHWH Himself told us to follow and is recorded in the Bible. He told us to reject such people as false prophets who are leading rebellion against Him.

We are called to test everything against the commandments of YHWH. We are not to simply follow anyone who can seemingly perform a miracle or sign, though it may seem compelling. This is perhaps where people end up following false teaching and false religions.

Ironically this is also where many Jewish people struggle in accepting Christ. Don’t misunderstand, it is not because Christ taught a different doctrine… He certainly did not. However, when one encounters most or nearly all Christian churches, one finds that the doctrine and commands they teach do not line up with the commands of YHWH as given to Moses. Much has been discarded as “Jewish” that should have been kept as “God’s commands”. Many claim that much of God’s instruction is obsolete. They pick and choose which commands to follow (e.g. they say adultery is still bad, but sabbath is no longer called for or “the Old Testament  is obsolete, but you still need to give a tithe”).

We are to shun idolatry. We are to shun anything that would take the primary  place in our hearts which was created for YHWH. We are to shun anything that teaches us to discard YHWH’s commands and instructions. For most today, that means we are to make serious changes.

Deuteronomy 13

Shun Idolatry

      1“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.4“You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. 5“But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against the LORD your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from among you.

      6“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. 9“But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10“So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11“Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.

      12“If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13some worthless men have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14then you shall investigate and search out and inquire thoroughly. If it is true and the matter established that this abomination has been done among you, 15you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword.16“Then you shall gather all its booty into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its booty with fire as a whole burnt offering to the LORDyour God; and it shall be a ruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. 17“Nothing from that which is put under the ban shall cling to your hand, in order that the LORD may turn from His burning anger and show mercy to you, and have compassion on you and make you increase, just as He has sworn to your fathers, 18if you will listen to the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.

Pray for insight and clarity from the Spirit. Open yourself to listen to Him, even if He calls you to change. Odds are if you are growing up in culture today, even if you are in a church, you are not following all of YHWH’s commandments. It is not about “salvation”. That is received by grace through faith in Christ. Obedience is the fruit of our salvation, not the root of our salvation. Seeking to understand God’s instructions instead of being complacent “as we are” or “as we are told is acceptable” is a sign of love. Study the Bible. Really study it. Pray for discernment. Be ready and willing to make even emotionally difficult changes. If you choose to hold tight to something other than what God calls for us to do, then that is rebellion and idolatry. You are putting something else in a higher priority than obedience to Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Children, Guide, Marriage, Parenting

God’s Instruction On Family Relations Is Actually Clear

Our culture is so far off from YHWH’s design that even people who claim to follow Christ, often want to pick and choose which scripture “they agree with” and which they don’t. This is not the way. Seeking to understand scripture through study and prayer when it may not make sense to us…that is good. Recognize, though, that in these circumstances it may be you and I that need to change and not the instruction of YHWH.

As an example, many women really struggle at the concept of “wives be subject to your husbands” and want to find a way around submitting to the leadership of their husband, but then want the husband to “love your wife” and children to “be obedient to your parents”. Perhaps some men want to have wives submit, but not really love their wives the way YHWH calls them to.

Colossians 3:18-25

Family Relations

       18Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. 21Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.

      22Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, 24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. 25For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

The point is simply that we should accept all of scripture. YHWH’s design for family is wonderful. Keep in mind that the framework around this family model includes the beginning of chapter 3 as well, in which we are to each become new in Christ. This foundational to making the family model work as YHWH intends. We become more like Him and less selfish.

Do not seek to redefine YHWH’s word by trying to find “loopholes” for how we are to behave. Instead seek to transform yourself in Christ and study the word to understand it more clearly. Submit to Christ and obey His instruction, even if you don’t agree. Pray and seek discernment to increase in understanding of the scriptures.

The path to change your life to be more like YHWH desires is not always easy, but obedience is good and a primary way we truly show love for Him. (There are many scriptures where YHWH equates loving Him to obeying His commands. You can search for them if you like with a search engine.)

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Idols / False Gods, Obeying God, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Worldliness

Blending With False Religions Is Not A Virtue

The message I am about to share will be upsetting to many and many will speak against it. Many are influenced by our worldly culture and not clear on what YHWH has actually said.

YHWH is not tolerant and accepting of the worship of other gods. He does not tolerate us worshiping Him according to our own ways, but rather according to the ways He determines. He does not want us to simply worship Him with offerings associated with the holy places or practices of false religions. He does not want us to blend with other worship practices. He wants us to be pure and focused on Him and His ways.  We are to do as He commands, not as we desire or what is easiest for us.

Deuteronomy 12:1-14

Laws of the Sanctuary

      1“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. 2“You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3“You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. 4“You shall not act like this toward the LORD your God. 5“But you shall seek the LORD at the place which the LORD your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. 6“There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7“There also you and your households shall eat before the LORD your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

      8“You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. 10“When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11then it shall come about that the place in which the LORD your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the LORD. 12“And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

      13“Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, 14but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

      15“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. 16“Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water. 17“You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. 18“But you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all your undertakings. 19“Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

      20“When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire. 21“If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. 22“Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23“Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24“You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25“You shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the LORD. 26“Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses. 27“And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the flesh.

      28“Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God.

      29“When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,30beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31“You shall not behave thus toward the LORD your God, for every abominable act which the LORD hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

      32“Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

Let us take seriously YHWH’s instruction for us to worship Him according to His ways and in His places. Let us not blend with and accept other beliefs. Remain set apart and holy for His purposes.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

All Powerful / King of All, Am I on the path?, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Father / Yahweh, Fear / Reverence for God, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God

What Does The Lord Require From You?

An interesting point in scripture for those of us who want to know what the Lord expects from His people.

Deuteronomy 10:12-22

      12“Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13and to keep the LORD’S commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? 14“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. 15“Yet on your fathers did the LORD set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16“So circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer. 17“For the LORD your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. 18“He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. 19“So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. 20“You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. 21“He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. 22“Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

We often look at God’s instructions as punishment or keeping us from “having a good time” or “being free”. Perhaps children feel this way as well about some rules that parents make for them. However, any good and rational parent will immediately recognize there are instructions and boundaries we need to put on our children for their own good, not just for the good of the parent (e.g. don’t play in the street, don’t stick something in the electrical socket, etc.). What is more, good parents expect obedience from their children… the rules should be followed and the parents need to be respected. It is the same for us with God as our loving Father.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Government, Guide, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Obeying God, Prayer

The 10 Commandments Matter To God and They Should Also Matter To Us

Many probably forget this, but when Moses came down off the mountain(Deuteronomy 9) with the 10 commandments the first time, he found the people sinning in rebellion to YHWH. He was so angry he broke the tablets with the 10 commandments on them. It was quite a dramatic scene. Once the situation was addressed, however, YHWH must have thought it was important because He told Moses to come back so He could provide a replacement set of the commandments.

Deuteronomy 10:1-5

The Tablets Rewritten

     1“At that time the LORD said to me, ‘Cut out for yourself two tablets of stone like the former ones, and come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood for yourself. 2‘I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ 3“So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. 4“He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which the LORD had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the LORD gave them to me. 5“Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the LORD commanded me.”

The commandments are important to our Father. They are not all inclusive of all instructions He has provided, but they are an important summary and for many a good starting place. They are not obsolete. Neither YHWH nor human nature nor sin have changed in thousands of years. YHWH’s instructions are there for our benefit, not His. We should honor and respect that which our Father has provided to help guide us.

Ask yourself… Do you know what the 10 commandments are? When is the last time you reviewed them and prayed over them for the Spirit to show you what changes you need to make in your life?

Ask also… What can we do to ensure that the commandments are honored throughout our country instead of constantly being under attack by atheists. Are we as Christians, fighting as hard to protect the ten commandments and instructions of God throughout our culture as the atheists are fighting to eliminate them? Pray for guidance on how you can get involved to help.

Praying for our nation is a great spot to start… for our nation to embrace YHWH and His ways rather than reject them. Pray for the plans of the wicked to be destroyed and the righteous to be lifted up and protected.

The 10 commandments matter to YHWH and they should also matter to us.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Forgive Others / Seek Forgiveness, Interceding for Others, Justice / Judgment, Merciful, Rebuke Wrong Behavior, Seeking God, Worthy of Fear / Reverence

The Intercessory Prayer of the Righteous Is Powerful

The intercessory prayer of the righteous is powerful. Let us remember to pray for one another not just in sickness and hard times but also when we sin. The people of Israel sinned against God multiple times through disobedience.  God was ready to destroy them. Moses interceded on their behalf. He was not part of this sin, but prayed to God for the people anyway. God had mercy on them, not because they deserved it, but because in part of the intercessory prayer of Moses.

Deuteronomy 9:7-29

7“Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8“Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10“The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11“It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13“The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

      15“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17“I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18“I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21“I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

      22“Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice. 24“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.

      25“So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26“I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28‘Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Pray for one another… for mercy, forgiveness, a spirit of repentance when we sin. Notice that Moses did not excuse the sin or accept the sin of the people in order to rationalize asking for mercy. He strongly acknowledged the sin was wrong and without excuse and in need of repentance. However, he prayed for mercy anyway. Also note, the people were rebuked for their sin by Moses and he demanded a change in behavior. Intercessory prayer is not an excuse to keep sinning and assume we will receive mercy anyway. The sin must stop.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Contentment, Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Guide, Loving / Kind, Peace / Rest, Provider, Strong in Our Weakness

The Lord Is My Shepherd

I want the kind of relationship with YHWH that David reveals in Psalm 23. I ask the Lord to help me draw near to Him so that I may have that in greater and greater portions. I have seen so much of my life transformed since fully submitting to YHWH through Christ. I find more peace indeed and more reason to rejoice, even when things are bumpy. I am more content. But I know I have farther to go…

Psalm 23

The LORD, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

     1The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not want.

      2He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside quiet waters.

      3He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

      4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

      5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.

      6Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I encourage you to pray for this kind of relationship with YHWH and this kind of world view. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Blessed, Grace / Forgiveness, Humility, Justice / Judgment, Money / Finances / Wealth, Obeying God, Repenting from Sin, Thankfulness

Receive Our Blessings With Humility, Obedience, and Gratitude

We all need a reminder from time to time of two key messages.

1- YHWH does not bless us and provide for us because we are so righteous that we deserve it. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of YHWH.  Let us approach Him with humility, repentance, commitment to obey, and thankfulness.

2- Though YHWH is love, He is also just. He does hold people and nations accountable for their sin and rebellion. Do not think this only applies to “the other guy”. It applies to each of us as well. If we as a nation rebel and embrace wickedness, there will come a time when He removes His blessing and then perhaps even displaces us from our land and identity as a nation.

Deuteronomy 9

Israel Provoked God

     1“Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, great cities fortified to heaven, 2a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3“Know therefore today that it is the LORD your God who is crossing over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that you may drive them out and destroy them quickly, just as the LORD has spoken to you.

      4“Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out before you, ‘Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land,’ but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD is dispossessing them before you. 5“It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to possess their land, but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

      6“Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stubborn people. 7“Remember, do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness; from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the LORD. 8“Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9“When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the LORD had made with you, then I remained on the mountain forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10“The LORD gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the LORD had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11“It came about at the end of forty days and nights that the LORD gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12“Then the LORD said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made a molten image for themselves.’ 13“The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

      15“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16“And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17“I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18“I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19“For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20“The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21“I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

      22“Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the LORD to wrath. 23“When the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you neither believed Him nor listened to His voice. 24“You have been rebellious against the LORD from the day I knew you.

      25“So I fell down before the LORD the forty days and nights, which I did because the LORD had said He would destroy you. 26“I prayed to the LORD and said, ‘O Lord GOD, do not destroy Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27‘Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or their sin. 28‘Otherwise the land from which You brought us may say, “Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which He had promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29‘Yet they are Your people, even Your inheritance, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Take time to come before YHWH with humility, repentance, and gratitude to thank Him for all He provides you and ask His help for you to walk in obedience and fellowship with Him.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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Work Out Your Salvation With Fear And Trembling

We are called to obey YHWH even when no one else is looking. Our Father is always aware of what we are doing. We are not to focus on convincing other people we are saved or righteous, but rather focus on working out our Christian walk primarily with YHWH Himself. We do so with fear and trembling, meaning we recognize that YHWH has power over us in this life and in the next. We need not be afraid of YHWH per se, but perhaps more to the point just recognizing the seriousness of the issue at hand. Should we fail to work out our salvation with YHWH, we should fear the consequences of that choice.

Philippians 2: 12-13

     12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Are you focused on pleasing and obeying YHWH as Christ demonstrated in His earthly ministry? Is this the most important objective or goal in your life? It is hard to do this, but it is the proper standard. Never lower the standard because you feel you can’t reach it. Instead, ask YHWH to help you and by His grace and power you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

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All The Commandments That I Am Commanding You Today You Shall Be Careful To Do

Over and over again in scripture YHWH emphasizes a very key point which is lost on most Christians today. He calls for us to live according to His commandments and be blessed, remembering Him and He contrasts that with a dire warning about ignoring His commandments and growing prideful and diminishing His role in our lives.

We can certainly see this today as many Christians declare “Christian freedom” as an excuse to not obey God’s clear instructions. They ignore more and more of His instructions over time. We can see it even in looking back over our own lifetime, let alone over the past thousands of years since Jesus walked among us in the flesh. Today most who identify as Christian do not love God above all other things. They may use those words, but many things take His place in their heart and how they spend their time, money, and talent declare they love other things more than God. We are a culture of coveting. Sabbath is ignored and considered “odd” and “unnecessary”. Children do not honor their parents. The majority of people in the USA identify as Christian, but as a culture we tolerate the murder of unborn children and embrace “diversity” amongst those who worship false gods. We allow persecution of Christians for living God’s instructions regarding failing to honor homosexual marriage but are told to tolerate all manner of sinful behavior amongst people who reject or ignore God. We let Atheists continually chase God out of our public schools and government and mainstream life. Surely we are not on the path God calls us to follow as a nation.

Deuteronomy 8

God’s Gracious Dealings

     1“All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to give to your forefathers. 2“You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3“He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. 4“Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5“Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6“Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7“For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10“When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

      11“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15“He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. 16“In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. 17“Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18“But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19“It shall come about if you ever forget the LORD your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. 20“Like the nations that the LORD makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the LORD your God.

I believe this passage is incredibly relevant today for the USA and most western nations. As we continue to diminish God and chase after sin He will surely remove His blessing from our country and leave us to the depravity of our own minds. For those of us who are followers of Christ, we must not tolerate sin and false religion. (Atheism is a religion too… it is not a “neutral” position.)

Pray for Christians throughout our nation and the world that we would be passionate and courageous for Christ. Pray for our nation to humble themselves, repent and turn back to God.  Pray for those who identify as Christian to live as Christ called us to do. Pray that the plans of the wicked would be defeated and God would lift up the righteous in His right hand and bring victory.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.