Rise Up, Lord!

Let your enemies be scattered!

Thus goes the history of the Israelites in the wilderness: “And whenever the Ark set out, Moses said, ’Rise up, O LORD, and let your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate you flee before you.”’ (Numbers 10:35)

“And when the Ark was set down, he would say, ‘Return, O LORD, to the countless thousands of Israel!’” (Numbers 10:36)

Yaweh gave instructions to Moses about the route of the long journey that lay ahead of them:

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.

“If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out.

“Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces. If you worship me, the Lord your God, I will bless you with food and water and take away all your sicknesses. ” (Exodus 23:20-25)

There are people today who get very upset about this instruction of the Lord regarding other tribes It is clear their opinions are based on a real lack of knowledge and understanding of the truth.

God had once already dealt with human wickedness by sending the flood, in which He wiped out all but the members of a chosen family who would act righteously. He was looking for a righteous nation who would become His chosen vehicle for His redemption of mankind from sin, through the coming of His Son.

Idolatry

But fast forward 1000 years or so – sin was rampant again in the people: every kind of wickedness. The tribes mentioned above, in addition to ‘marketplace’ wickedness, were worshipers of idols: Baal and Moloch – and the people thought both of these inanimate gods favored temple prostitution, and the regular sacrifice of live infants on their altars.

Talk about gods formed in the image of man…

This idolatry was anathema to Yaweh. He wanted none of that in His chosen people – hence the instruction given time and again to wipe out the enemy tribes.

Well, the people disobeyed Him, and although the Israelites had women of their own, they made a practice throughout their history of taking foreign wives. The natural outcome of that was the reintroduction of the worship of Baal and Moloch. (Think King Ahab’s wife Jezebel as an example.)

This was a regular pattern in the history of the Jewish people. Time and again, they backslid on this point, time and again the Lord allowed their enemies to overcome them and their fortunes slumped. Time and again, there arose a righteous leader who cleaned up false worship and set the nation back on track. For a while…

It still goes on today. Abortionists, take note! Baal is still calling for worship, still anathema to God. Do not look for a lovey-dovey God of unconditional love – that is not His way, thank goodness!

He will not be mocked. Nor will He condone the slaughter of the innocents.

So spiritual warfare goes on – and it will continue until the End Of The Age. Our present troubles are evidence of this – and we wonder why life does not go well?

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I Will Heal their Land

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

A much-quoted scripture, very much needed right now. We have all heard this, time and time again. But the real problem is that in their minds, many people rush over the “If…” portion of the quotation, to get to the “heal their land” part.

The Real Message

BUT – it is the “If” part that carries the most important message of the scripture. Repentance must happen – and it must be real. And contrary to what may be being preached in the pulpits of apostasy at the present time, we all need to repent seriously, both for ourselves and for our nations.

The ‘Feel Good, God Loves You No Matter What’ messages of such ‘churches’ as Progressive Christianity, New Age, Prosperity Gospel – to name just the tip of the iceberg – is leading believers away from the teachings of Christ and into End Times apostasy. Jesus, though He preached a gospel of love, never said that following Him would be an easy path:

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

Needs – Not Desires

Though He spoke powerfully of the Father’s care, we should note that care is couched in simple terms: In His memorable message against worry, He certainly did not place the focus on endless material wealth. His message is about meeting needs, not desires. Look at these words:

“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6: 28-34)

Jesus’ life’s focus was always on the Father. His ministry pointed His hearers to the same path:

“Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’“ (Luke 9:23)

The Twisted Message

This is far from some present pulpit messages that paint God as some kind of Sugar Daddy, doling out sweets to children. Indeed, we are told in the writings of Paul that we must get off milk food and become mature.:

“I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” (1 Corinthians 3:2) It is worth noting that the Corinthian church in ancient Greece, surrounded by cosmopolitan values, heathen gods, and worldly desires, was the closest to what we find in the world and many churches today. That church was an unending trouble for Paul.

Old Testament History – Relevant Today

SO – we have a promise from the Father that dates back many thousands of years. On top of that, we have The Word, which faithfully and without compromise records the history of the people to whom that promise was initially given.

If we take the trouble to look into that history, we can see clearly the outworking of this promise in the lives of the people of Israel. The ups and downs, the victories, defeats and almost annihilations. Back and forth – defeat, exile, restoration, apostasy; defeat, exile, restoration, apostasy, over and over again. And always, the forgiveness of the Father – conditional on repentance.

Make no mistake, we are no better than they were. If we want our land healed, we need to look seriously at the history recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible: it is a dereliction of duty that many of today’s churches teach only from select passages of the New Testament. Their congregations could do with learning a thing or two about Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God.

Wonderful Counselor

come-lion Going ‘through the mill’ is something I’m familiar with. I came to the Lord in October 2006 at a time of great trial.

I had come north to live on the family’s 10 acre property following my father’s death. I loved the place too much to sell, and at the time it seemed like a great adventure. Stepping into my father’s shoes, getting a half-finished house completed, establishing a dairy goat stud (my idea), were all challanges that I ran with. As a career soldier, my father had great all-round abilities – fencing, planning, building, planting. I took all that on, and though I had the major fencing done by a contractor, I was soon using the fence strainers and skillsaw – all helped by my mom, just as she had helped my dad over the years..

But by 1997 it became clear that my mother’s mental condition was deteriorating, and before long she was diagnosed with alzheimers. There followed 10 years of caring for her sole charge.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that these were trying years. Gradually, my options in life foreclosed. From a past career as a highly-paid lawyer in government, I had become a ‘handmaiden’. Much as I loved my mom, that did not go down well. My various options for making an income foreclosed also, though I clung tenaciously to the artistic skills I’d nurtured from childhood, and they and the internet helped me keep my sanity. There were times when I considered running away – but to what? My assets were all tied up in the land. And with a horse, 2 dogs and 4 cats?

I won’t go into the dramas, the worries and the uncertainties. These are well documented in the blog The Alzheimers Carer, which I wrote at the time.

My mom passed away in February 2007, and I was left with debt and a host of problems. It was a blessing that I was ‘born again’ – above all else I had that lifeline.

Over the years I’ve been helped mightily by the Lord. But right now I am in strife, following a decision in September 2014 that it’s time to move from here. A huge step.

Something that Separates Us from God

Since then, I feel like every problem in the book has been thrown at me, from health issues to dramas around getting the place in order for sale. It has been a nightmare.

Why?

Without actually realising it, I have allowed myself to come under ongoing stress – in other words, attack. Attack centered on my own feelings of guilt that I hadn’t maintained the property up to scratch during my mom’s illness – as if that were possible when she wouldn’t let me out of her sight.

The accuser has stood alongside, ceaselessly pointing the finger and finding fault. Though intellectually I know better, I have let him do it. He is already defeated, and I have been giving him power. How foolish is that?

And though I ask the Lord for guidance daily, I know I have never really ‘let go’ on this particular issue. And we absolutely have to do that:

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Knowing that and actually doing it, are two very different things. If we do not let go, He cannot help us. And that is where I am at.

Lack of faith of this type is actually a sin (by definition, something that separates us from God).

I’ve just enrolled for notifications about a Video Course called “Wonderful Counselor”, starting on 17 October. Though the course can be bought, there is a brief opportunity to watch the video series free at this time, which is what I am going to do. I’m passing this information on on for anyone who may feel need of it.

Note – I am not an affiliate of the Christian Leadership School – I have nothing to gain by recommending this.

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My Sheep Hear My Voice

sheep-iicon Early morning at the most famous church in New Zealand, and certainly the most photographed. This is the Church of The Good Shepherd on the shores of Lake Tekapo in the wild mountain country of the McKenzie Basin in the South Island.

The church was built in 1935 by a number of families farming remote hill stations in the area, originally for their own use. It has a large window behind the altar that looks out on the mountains across the lake. Clearly, those farmers saw the magnificent country around them as evidence of the Creator’s hand, and they wanted to be reminded of that as they came to worship.

Jesus (The Good Shepherd) said, “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
(John 10:2-4, 27)

He also said (at John 10:11), “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

And that is exactly what He did.

Even now, the world has not come to a full realization of what that means.

He saved every one of those who will follow Him once and for all by paying the ultimate price on the cross. That offer of salvation is still open, and as spiritual beings we all have an eternity of life ahead of us. How are we planning to spend it?

So many still rush blindly to destruction, thinking only of the first death, the death of the body. Thinking, “Once that’s over, it’s all over. May as well get the max out of this life.” How foolish that is. For there still remains the second death, which is the lake of fire where all who have chosen to separate themselves from God by their sin and ungodly living will dwell for eternity.

Jesus made it clear, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep… I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:7, 9)

But He will not allow sin and all its ramifications into the New Heaven and the New Earth. Once was enough.

Think on it.

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