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The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie
http://www.harvest.org/devotional/daily-devotions/home.ht
“Homily Grits Devotional” http://www.homilygrits.com/
Isaiah 30:15… For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and restyou shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” But you would not, (NKJV)
The Lord was trying to tell the rebellious Israelites that all they had to do was listen to, and then place their trust in Him… At the beginning of the chapter, Isaiah the prophet tried to explain to the Israelites, that they were to trust God for protection, instead of Egypt and the strength of Pharaoh and his horses…Isaiah 30:1-3…
Way back in Deuteronomy, The Israelites were told by Moses that they would eventually have a king appointed by God to oversee them… And this king was to follow some governing principles set forth by God… The king was to observe all of the laws God had set before him… This included not relying on military strength, political alliances, or an accumulation of wealth to support his position of authority… Instead, the king was to rely on the Lord for His provisions and protection, with humility…Deuteronomy 17:14-20… We know how that worked out later with King David, and King Solomon who broke these rules…
We see specific restrictions on the king for accumulating horses, and returning to Egypt, in…Deuteronomy 17:16… But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’ (NKJV)
King Hezekiah’s advisors urged him to return to Egypt and the strength of Pharaoh… Isaiah, the Lord’s anointed prophet, tried to warn them they were making a big mistake…but they wouldn’t listen to him… Instead, they tried to get Isaiah to prophecy deceits, to make them feel like their sinful decisions were right…
Isaiah 30:9-10… That this is a rebellious people, Lying children, Children who will not hear the law of the Lord; 10 Who say to the seers, “Do not see,” And to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us right things; Speak to us smooth things, prophesy deceits. (NKJV)
Imagine that… A rebellious people who didn’t care if they were being fed a lie… It made them feel good, so they could continue in sin to do as they pleased…instead of hearing the truth, and being convicted to turn from their sins to the Lord…
We see at the end of the opening scripture, that the Lord knew the Israelites weren’t going to listen to the Lord’s offer to return to Him for the Lord’s strength and protection… We then read this, in…Isaiah 30:16… And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses”— Therefore you shall flee! And, “We will ride on swift horses”— Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift! (NKJV)
The Israelites put their faith and trust in Egypt’s horses, instead of the Lord… But no horse, no matter how swift…could save them from the Lord’s wrath because of their rebellion against Him…
God gave us the examples of rebellion and God’s wrath to follow in the Bible, for us to learn from… This preference to attend a church to hear only good things to make one feel justified in their sins (only to suffer God’s wrath on the day of judgment…Romans 2:5-8)…should give anyone pause to stop and think… If they are going to a church that always makes them “feel good” when they leave…they can’t be going to a church that is preaching God’s Word in a truthful way…
Any man of God standing before a congregation, that is worth his weight in salt…will preach and teach the truth directly from the Bible (both good and bad), that God wants all of us to hear… There is a heaven…there is a hell…and those that haven’t been justified in God’s eyes by saving faith alone in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)…will be separated from God for an eternity in hell when they die…
And any church member, that doesn’t hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ preached on a regular basis (see note at the end)…should consider changing churches to find a Bible preaching and teaching church… I wrote about “The Right Church”, back on 1/05/2013… And even more important…is the right church doctrine that is being taught… I wrote about this back on 1/08/2013… You can easily go back to these 2 days of writing, by going to www.Godsmanforever.wordpress.com and entering these dates as shown, in the search window…
I am reminded of the Apostle Paul’s wise teaching to his protégé Timothy, about sinners not wanting to hear sound Bible doctrine, in…2 Timothy 4:3-5… For the time will come when they will not endure sounddoctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their earsaway from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (NKJV)
Heavenly Father, I pray Your Word today, would open the eyes and the “itching ears” of anyone who doesn’t know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior… And that You would draw them to Yourself (John 6:44), providing them grace, through saving faith alone in Your Son Jesus Christ… I pray for this fullness of Christ for all of us, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…
Blessings in Christ, bruce r mills
P.S. Here is a link for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through obeying the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…
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