Category Archives: Wickedness / Evil

Faith / Trusting God, Heaven and Hell, Hebrew Roots / Commands / Law, Justice / Judgment, Learning To Pray Effectively, Murder, Obeying God, Pride, Protector / Deliverer, Psalms, Wickedness / Evil

O Lord, Hear My Plea for Justice. Listen To My Cry For Help.

Psalm 17 contains a faithful and heartfelt prayer from David. David had enemies that were stronger than him, but turned to God and relied on Him for protection. David was certainly willing to fight his enemies and demonstrated this on many occasions in his life, but he relied heavily on God.

Also, note that David did not walk his own way and then ask God to save him. He declares his innocence of wrongdoing. He has followed God’s commands, focused on not sinning in what he says, stayed on God’s path, and kept from cruel and evil people. He has not wavered from following God.

Psalm 17

1 O Lord, hear my plea for justice.
    Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer,
    for it comes from honest lips.
2 Declare me innocent,
    for you see those who do right.

3 You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night.
    You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong.
    I am determined not to sin in what I say.
4 I have followed your commands,
    which keep me from following cruel and evil people.
5 My steps have stayed on your path;
    I have not wavered from following you.

6 I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God.
    Bend down and listen as I pray.
7 Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways.
    By your mighty power you rescue
    those who seek refuge from their enemies.
8 Guard me as you would guard your own eyes.[a]
    Hide me in the shadow of your wings.
9 Protect me from wicked people who attack me,
    from murderous enemies who surround me.
10 They are without pity.
    Listen to their boasting!
11 They track me down and surround me,
    watching for the chance to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart—
    like young lions hiding in ambush.

13 Arise, O Lord!
    Stand against them, and bring them to their knees!
    Rescue me from the wicked with your sword!
14 By the power of your hand, O Lord,
    destroy those who look to this world for their reward.
But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones.
    May their children have plenty,
    leaving an inheritance for their descendants.
15 Because I am righteous, I will see you.
    When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.

David’s prayer is as relevant today as it was when he first prayed it. There is much wickedness and evil throughout the world today, as in days long ago. The face of wickedness and evil may change, but the true enemy remains Satan and the failure of people to recognize and submit to the one, true God.

I invite you to pray with me…

God, please stand against the evil around the world and bring them to their knees. Rescue the righteous from the hands of the wicked. Open my eyes, ears, and heart to listen to your guidance for how you want me to make a difference in defeating evil and protecting the righteous. Help me to walk in righteousness. In all things, not my will but your will be done.   Amen.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Hope, Protector / Deliverer, Psalms, Strong in Our Weakness, Wickedness / Evil

Only Fools Say in Their Hearts “There Is No God”

I am truly inspired by the faith and hope that David had in God even when he was experiencing grief and suffering or witnessing evil. Psalm 14 shows David relying on God even while he sees the wickedness and evil in abundance around him.

Psalm 14

1 Only fools say in their hearts,
    “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
    not one of them does good!

2 The Lord looks down from heaven
    on the entire human race;
he looks to see if anyone is truly wise,
    if anyone seeks God.
3 But no, all have turned away;
    all have become corrupt.[a]
No one does good,
    not a single one!

4 Will those who do evil never learn?
    They eat up my people like bread
    and wouldn’t think of praying to the Lord.
5 Terror will grip them,
    for God is with those who obey him.
6 The wicked frustrate the plans of the oppressed,
    but the Lord will protect his people.

7 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
    When the Lord restores his people,
    Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

David reminds us that only fools deny God’s existence. Creation itself cries out in testimony to the Creator. And those who insist there is no God then tend to lean on their own sin nature to guide them, which leads to corruption, selfishness, and all kinds of evil.

Some who reject God may seem to be respectful of life and help other people. But if you really dig into what drives them it is often the Christian beliefs that have so widely affected much of the world view for centuries. They will not even recognize its origins in Christianity.

As an example… someone who believes in Darwinian evolution instead of creation with man created in the image of God really has no logical position to explain why we should help others or why we should not be okay with murdering one another. The strong survive, right?  We are not special as humans, we are just “evolved” animals, right? Helping the weak and those in need is not a survival advantage consistent with evolutionary theory. Hitler conducting horrible mass executions, on the other hand… actually that is consistent with evolutionary theory. Evolutionary ideas played an important role in influencing Hitler as he tried to create the “master race”.

Even as we witness great suffering and evil around us and around the world, we can be encouraged that God will restore His people in His timing and His method. We can have faith and hope that God is in control and will protect us… will stand with us. Sometimes it is hard to see it as people are suffering such as those being executed for their faith in Jesus Christ but we can trust the promises of God. The righteous who accept Jesus as lord will find rest with God after they pass through this life. The wicked will find an eternity without God in hell.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Faithful, Learning To Pray Effectively, Lying / Deceiving, Protector / Deliverer, Seeking God, Wickedness / Evil

Help, O Lord, for the Godly Are Fast Disappearing

I often hear that the world is worse than it has ever been before and is degrading to new levels of wickedness and rejection of God. Though many parts of the world clearly reject God and do indeed appear to be in a period of decline and shift further away from Him, scripture reminds us that the world has always been full of wicked people.

Consider Genesis 6:5-9,

5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” 8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.

9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

Those who are godly have had cycles where there was revival and then periods of decline to what is essentially a righteous remnant throughout history. Psalm 12 reminds us of another time where those who follow God were grieved by the wickedness of those around them.

Psalm 12

1 Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing!
    The faithful have vanished from the earth!
2 Neighbors lie to each other,
    speaking with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.
3 May the Lord cut off their flattering lips
    and silence their boastful tongues.
4 They say, “We will lie to our hearts’ content.
    Our lips are our own—who can stop us?”

5 The Lord replies, “I have seen violence done to the helpless,
    and I have heard the groans of the poor.
Now I will rise up to rescue them,
    as they have longed for me to do.”
6 The Lord’s promises are pure,
    like silver refined in a furnace,
    purified seven times over.
7 Therefore, Lord, we know you will protect the oppressed,
    preserving them forever from this lying generation,
8 even though the wicked strut about,
    and evil is praised throughout the land.

As I read Psalm 12, my first reaction is that it may as well have been written about today in the United States of America. Evil is praised throughout the land and the wicked strut about. Every kind of sin and wickedness is tolerated or even praised, but Christians are called intolerant and pressured to be silent. I always find it ironic that those who say Christians should be tolerant of every kind of sin also refuse to tolerate our faith.

I find great comfort in God’s word and it reminds me that God is in control. I pray that true Christians around the world would rise up for their faith and live their lives like they truly serve God rather than blending in with the world. This includes electing godly leaders to political office to stop evil and work for good. When real Christians stand up for what God teaches, we will find revival and reinvigorate the body of Christ and then draw in those who may receive the good news of the gospel.

We must not be afraid to speak the truth, even when it brings controversy. We must instead follow the example of Jesus who spoke directly against sinful and wrong behavior and called people to change… to repent. If the godly are silent, evil prevails.

Take a few minutes in prayer and thank God that He is always with us, even when the world turns from Him. He does not reject those who continue pursuing Him in righteousness.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Lying / Deceiving, Wickedness / Evil

Sin Separates Us from God; We Are Reconciled through Jesus

When we feel separated from God, it is not because He can not hear us or because He can not reach us. It is because we have allowed our sins to create separation between us and God. Be thankful that Yeshua came as our Redeemer so we could be reconciled with God and receive justice and righteousness.

Isaiah 59

Separation from God

1Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short
That it cannot save;
Nor is His ear so dull
That it cannot hear.

      2But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God,
And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

      3For your hands are defiled with blood
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken falsehood,
Your tongue mutters wickedness.

      4No one sues righteously and no one pleads honestly.
They trust in confusion and speak lies;
They conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity.

      5They hatch adders’ eggs and weave the spider’s web;
He who eats of their eggs dies,
And from that which is crushed a snake breaks forth.

      6Their webs will not become clothing,
Nor will they cover themselves with their works;
Their works are works of iniquity,
And an act of violence is in their hands.

      7Their feet run to evil,
And they hasten to shed innocent blood;
Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity,
Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

      8They do not know the way of peace,
And there is no justice in their tracks;
They have made their paths crooked,
Whoever treads on them does not know peace.

A Confession of Wickedness

9Therefore justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We hope for light, but behold, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.

      10We grope along the wall like blind men,
We grope like those who have no eyes;
We stumble at midday as in the twilight,
Among those who are vigorous we are like dead men.

      11All of us growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We hope for justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.

      12For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And we know our iniquities:

      13Transgressing and denying the LORD,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving in and uttering from the heart lying words.

      14Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.

      15Yes, truth is lacking;
And he who turns aside from evil makes himself a prey.
Now the LORD saw,
And it was displeasing in His sight that there was no justice.

      16And He saw that there was no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.

      17He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.

      18According to their deeds, so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will make recompense.

      19So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west
And His glory from the rising of the sun,
For He will come like a rushing stream
Which the wind of the LORD drives.

      20“A Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” declares the LORD.

      21“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit which is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from now and forever.”

We are all sinners. If you have not given your life to Yeshua (Hebrew name of Jesus), do so now. Admit you are a sinner in need of salvation. Believe Yeshua is your redeemer,  God Himself, who died for your sins. Confess Yeshua is LORD and follow Him. Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Consequences of Sin, Justice / Judgment, Protector / Deliverer, Psalms, Wickedness / Evil

Trust in the Lord for Protection

Trust in the Lord for protection. Take comfort in knowing that God is in control, always.

Psalm 11

1 I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, “Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! 2 The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. 3 The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?” 4 But the Lord is in his holy Temple; the Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. 5 The Lord examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. 6 He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. 7For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.

We do not need to hear personally to know that the righteous will be rewarded and the wicked punished. We know this will be true because God’s word says so. It may not happen the way we want it to in this world, but all shall face God’s judgment when they die. Most will find they were not prepared and will suffer for eternity apart from God.

Be not discouraged because of trials and struggles. Instead look to God through Jesus Christ for hope and joy and for protection.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Consequences of Sin, Learning To Pray Effectively, Psalms, Seeking God, Wickedness / Evil

O Lord, Why Do You Stand So Far Away?

David was a man after God’s own heart. He experienced much hardship, made many mistakes, but consistently repented and turned toward God for forgiveness. He had a close relationship with God. Psalms 10 serves as a good reminder that we may feel that sometimes God is “far away” when we look around at the wickedness in the world and affecting our lives.

Psalms 10

1 O Lord, why do you stand so far away?
    Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
2 The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor.
    Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
3 For they brag about their evil desires;
    they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.

4 The wicked are too proud to seek God.
    They seem to think that God is dead.
5 Yet they succeed in everything they do.
    They do not see your punishment awaiting them.
    They sneer at all their enemies.
6 They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us!
    We will be free of trouble forever!”

7 Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.[a]
    Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
8 They lurk in ambush in the villages,
    waiting to murder innocent people.
    They are always searching for helpless victims.
9 Like lions crouched in hiding,
    they wait to pounce on the helpless.
Like hunters they capture the helpless
    and drag them away in nets.
10 Their helpless victims are crushed;
    they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us!
    He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”

12 Arise, O Lord!
    Punish the wicked, O God!
    Do not ignore the helpless!
13 Why do the wicked get away with despising God?
    They think, “God will never call us to account.”
14 But you see the trouble and grief they cause.
    You take note of it and punish them.
The helpless put their trust in you.
    You defend the orphans.

15 Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!
    Go after them until the last one is destroyed.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever!
    The godless nations will vanish from the land.
17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
    Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.
18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
    so mere people can no longer terrify them.

We can be encouraged though, that God is never “far away”. He always hears us. He is always aware of what is happening. We can trust He is in control. We can come before Him and call on Him for help to fight or resist the wicked, to help the helpless. He is able.

Above all, however, we must trust in God even when we may be tempted to think He is detached, or “far away”. His ways are above our ways. His plans are often beyond our understanding and vision. Though David was seeking righteousness, we can also understand that some will envy evildoers. God speaks also about avoiding this view.

Psalms 37:1-3

Do not get upset because of evildoers, do not be envious of wrongdoers. For they will wither quickly like the grass, and decay like the green plants. Trust in the LORD and do good; live in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 

Put your trust in God even when you see people “getting away with” whatever bad things they are doing. They may even appear to be prospering financially or in other ways. Trust in God and let that lead your heart and mind. Do what is good in God’s eyes. Give Him thanks for His provision and acknowledge that He is still God, all powerful… all knowing… loving… kind… righteous… holy… etc. His ways are above our ways.

Ultimately, all will stand before God in judgment. No one escapes God’s notice, even if they appear to while in the world.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Consequences of Sin, Fear / Reverence for God, Peace / Rest, Protector / Deliverer, Wickedness / Evil

The Righteous Enter into Peace

Isaiah compares God’s treatment of evil people to that of righteous people in Isaiah 57. We all face difficulties and trials. The righteous find peace and a helper in God. The wicked, find no peace in God. If you put your faith in idols (e.g. money), He will let your idols save you when you call out to Him. Spoiler alert, your idols (money or otherwise) cannot save you the was God can.

Isaiah 57

Evil Leaders Rebuked

1The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart;
And devout men are taken away, while no one understands.
For the righteous man is taken away from evil,

      2He enters into peace;
They rest in their beds,
Each one who walked in his upright way.

      3“But come here, you sons of a sorceress,
Offspring of an adulterer and a prostitute.

      4“Against whom do you jest?
Against whom do you open wide your mouth
And stick out your tongue?
Are you not children of rebellion,
Offspring of deceit,

      5Who inflame yourselves among the oaks,
Under every luxuriant tree,
Who slaughter the children in the ravines,
Under the clefts of the crags?

      6“Among the smooth stones of the ravine
Is your portion, they are your lot;
Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,
You have made a grain offering.
Shall I relent concerning these things?

      7“Upon a high and lofty mountain
You have made your bed.
You also went up there to offer sacrifice.

      8“Behind the door and the doorpost
You have set up your sign;
Indeed, far removed from Me, you have uncovered yourself,
And have gone up and made your bed wide.
And you have made an agreement for yourself with them,
You have loved their bed,
You have looked on their manhood.

      9“You have journeyed to the king with oil
And increased your perfumes;
You have sent your envoys a great distance
And made them go down to Sheol.

      10“You were tired out by the length of your road,
Yet you did not say, ‘It is hopeless.’
You found renewed strength,
Therefore you did not faint.

      11“Of whom were you worried and fearful
When you lied, and did not remember Me
Nor give Me a thought?
Was I not silent even for a long time
So you do not fear Me?

      12“I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,
But they will not profit you.

      13“When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you.
But the wind will carry all of them up,
And a breath will take them away.
But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the land
And will possess My holy mountain.”

      14And it will be said,
“Build up, build up, prepare the way,
Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”

      15For thus says the high and exalted One
Who lives forever, whose name is Holy,
“I dwell on a high and holy place,
And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit
In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
And to revive the heart of the contrite.

      16“For I will not contend forever,
Nor will I always be angry;
For the spirit would grow faint before Me,
And the breath of those whom I have made.

      17“Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him;
I hid My face and was angry,
And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart.

      18“I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;
I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners,

      19Creating the praise of the lips.
Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”
Says the LORD, “and I will heal him.”

      20But the wicked are like the tossing sea,
For it cannot be quiet,
And its waters toss up refuse and mud.

      21“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Take time to prayerfully reflect on your relationship with God. Ask Him to show you any areas in your life that are not totally submitted to Him. Ask forgiveness and commit to change. Ask for His help in these areas. Seek His kingdom and His righteousness in all areas of your life. Seek forgiveness through Yeshua (“Jesus” in Hebrew).

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Faith / Trusting God, Loving / Kind, Lying / Deceiving, Murder, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Prayer, Pride, Protector / Deliverer, Psalms, Seeking God, Wickedness / Evil

God, Listen to My Cry for Help

David wrote many of the Psalms when he was in times of personal adversity. As a man after God’s own heart, he consistently turned to God during suffering.

In Psalm 5, David demonstrates trust in God, reflects on God’s character, recognizes God’s love for him and his unworthiness to come before a holy God, and ends with a call to be joyful and praise God. When David prayed, he expected to hear from God.

Psalm 5

1 O Lord, hear me as I pray;
    pay attention to my groaning.
2 Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,
    for I pray to no one but you.
3 Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.
    Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

4 O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness;
    you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked.
5 Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence,
    for you hate all who do evil.
6 You will destroy those who tell lies.
    The Lord detests murderers and deceivers.

7 Because of your unfailing love, I can enter your house;
    I will worship at your Temple with deepest awe.
8 Lead me in the right path, O Lord,
    or my enemies will conquer me.
Make your way plain for me to follow.

9 My enemies cannot speak a truthful word.
    Their deepest desire is to destroy others.
Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave.
    Their tongues are filled with flattery.[a]
10 O God, declare them guilty.
    Let them be caught in their own traps.
Drive them away because of their many sins,
    for they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
    that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
12 For you bless the godly, O Lord;
    you surround them with your shield of love.

As with many scriptures, there is much wisdom packed into these precious verses. I admire the relationship David had with God.

We can challenge ourselves to do the following when we have times of suffering:

  • Rely on God. Ask Him for protection and help.
  • Expect God to answer our prayers.
  • Reflect on the character of our holy God.
  • Remember God’s love for us.
  •  Sing joyfully and praise Him even in adversity.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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.

Consequences of Sin, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Obeying God, Wickedness / Evil

Find Joy and Delight in the LORD

Psalm 1 provides a beautiful start to the book of Psalms, pointing to the joy which can be found in serving God instead of the wickedness of the world. This is a timeless message to reflect on.

Psalm 1

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

 So elegantly stated… yet direct. It speaks for itself.

Shalom. May the grace and peace of our Lord, Yeshua, be with you. Devotion by John in service to Christ

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, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Persecution / Glorifying God, Protector / Deliverer, Salvation, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Strong in Our Weakness, Wickedness / Evil

Keep God’s Commandments AND Hold to the Testimony of Christ

Revelation 12 lays out some key fundamentals in the spiritual warfare between Satan and YHWH’s people in some attention-grabbing visualizations. Notice you will find no labels of “Jewish” or “Christian”. These labels are not always meaningful as many call themselves by these names but do not follow YHWH or do not hold to the testimony of Yeshua. In verse 17 we see that the key is not what label someone claims, but if you actually “keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”.

It seems obvious that the Jewish people do not hold to the testimony of Yeshua. However, it may only be slightly less obvious that most who identify as “Christian”, holding to the testimony of Christ, do not keep the whole of the commandments of YHWH. Common Christian teaching holds to some commandments and dismisses many others. It is not simply about “the 10 commandments”. There is so much more to be learned and followed in studying the foundational books of the Bible, the Torah (written by Moses), and the writings of the prophets. For many, they do well to genuinely focus on starting to really live out the 10 commandments in their lives. This is a good place to begin.

I encourage Jewish people to seek Messiah in Yeshua. I encourage Christians to seek to study the Bible and challenge to deepen our understanding of the Hebrew roots of our faith and the fullness of the wonderful things in the law of YHWH.  (Focused Ministries – Understanding the Hebrew Roots of Christianity)

Revelation 12

The Woman, Israel

     1A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; 2and she was with child; and she cried out, being in labor and in pain to give birth.

The Red Dragon, Satan

     3Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. 4And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she gave birth he might devour her child.

The Male Child, Christ

     5And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne. 6Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

The Angel, Michael

     7And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, 8and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. 9And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying,
“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. 11“And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. 12“For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.”

      13And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child. 14But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. 15And the serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, so that he might cause her to be swept away with the flood. 16But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and drank up the river which the dragon poured out of his mouth. 17So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.

I invite you to pray with me:

Father, please help open my eyes to both the testimony of Yeshua and obedience to all Your commandments. Help me fully embrace You and Your ways and not only do so in part as so many do. I want to do more than just claim Your name and go to church. I want to live my life for You. I know I fall short, but please help me. Amen.  

Shalom

Devotion by John in service to Christ

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