Holy Spirit Empowerment & Encouragement: September 2016

[96lioness]

Our Christian walk gets harder and harder with each step, especially in today's world. There's so much death, doubt, hate, so much wrong going on, so much trouble that it would appear easier to give up the Fight of Faith than to press on toward Jesus. So many people have been hit with so much at once that they focus and give in to their problems instead of praising the Problem Solver.

We (Christians/Believers) all know that it's easy to worship, profess, and praise God when He answers our prayer and when He delivers us from our storms. But when we slip into sin and forget Him and face trouble, we may want to feel/think/believe He's forgotten us. The Israelites did this every time God punished them for their disobedience, and we as Christians do it today.

I pray you're not tired, because we're about to climb our second mountain this year: Mount Sinai. There, we'll see what God told Moses concerning His promise to the Israelites and how He dealt with their disobedience. So, grab plenty of water and make sure you have your climbing gear; we're about to tackle Mount Sinai, the mountain of Covenant.

 

[96lioness]

Disclaimer: For those who believe in the Lord God Jehovhah, the Father; in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Crucifixion & Resurrection; and in the Holy Spirit, which discerns, comforts, and gives new life!

Anchor: Exodus 34: 1-10
Carabiner: Exodus 34: 10

The Israelites were God’s chosen people. It wasn’t just because of His covenant with Abraham, but because of His love for them. A great nation that would occupy Canaan, Israel was highly favored and blessed not only because of Abraham’s faith, but because his faith continued on in Isaac and Jacob (Israel). The Israelites loved God; they knew He would protect them and always be there for them. But there were times when they got too relaxed in their relationship with God and began to turn to other gods and idols. They forgot how God’s mighty hand had delivered them from bondage to a new, prosperous land. They forgot how it was the Hand of God that healed them when they were sick. They forgot how it was the Hand of God that delivered them from their enemies. Only when God punished them for their disobedience and allegiance & worship to idol gods did the Israelites turn back to Him. And while this back-and-forth idolatry & disobedience went on for hundreds of years, God still showed them mercy and forgave them each time they cried out to Him.

When we first give our lives to Christ, as Christians and/or Believers, we are so happy to become part of God’s family. We are eager and excited about the blessings & promises from Him, ready to serve Him and will even go so far as to pledge our lives and loyalty to Him. We know that He is our Father, Provider, Redeemer, Salvation, Protector, Healer and we profess Him and His goodness to others. But just like the Israelites, we get so comfortable in our being saved that we start to get lax in our praise and collective (and private) worship to Him. We cut our Word time with Him. We sacrifice our Bible Study for television, social media, or whatever. Instead of deep, earnest prayer, we throw any old prayer up to God, if we pray at all. But as soon as “famine” or “drought” or “plague” hits our house, we want to cry, complain, whine, give up, throw in the towel, and/or completely turn our back on God. We manage to lose that zest and zeal and passion we had about God when we first united with Him. But God is not like man that He should lie, neither is He slack in His promises; just like He kept His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel), He will keep His promises to us.

While we’re in Christ, we’ll have “famine”, “drought”, “plague” and other hardships, which means as long as we follow Jesus, we’ll always have mountains to climb. But just as God told Moses to meet Him on Mount Sinai, we too must continue to climb our mountains. And just like we found provision on top of Moriah, we must climb our Sinai so we can find our covenant with God at the top. So again, don’t ever be weary in climbing your mountains. God will be there at the top and will not only assure you that He is with you and that He has & will always keep His promises to you, you’ll find His mercy, Grace, and forgiveness during your times of disobedience and doubt. God will always be at the top of your mountain, waiting to further demonstrate His love for you and His promises for you.

Be blessed and be at peace in the Lord Jesus!


Reference(s):

Damon Williams, writer, “The Ultimate Climb: Hiking Up to Meet God”. Vacation Bible School (Adult).
Numbers 23:19
2 Peter 3: 9

 

[Big Thunder]

@96lioness ....thank you.....and Amen!

 

[AHL12]

Amen!