Jeremiah 44:16-18

As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you! But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine.

The Israelites had just experienced a horrible time of famine, war, and persecution. God had already spoken through the prophet Jeremiah that it would come because of their turning from Him and committing spiritual adultery with the "queen of heaven." No one believed him though, and continued in their ways, trusting God would still protect them despite their false idol worship. When the testing did come, they turned from their idols and sought God, but now it was too late. God's judgment had come and they were not repentant, only remorseful for their mistakes. This is shown in the verse above in that when God tells them to stay in the land and not go down to Egypt. They did not associate their suffering with their spiritual adultery but rather their abandonment of it! Their past had caused their current pain but they sought to return to their past sins, glorifying it's joy and fulfillment of their desires. Don't allow yourself to believe this lie either. We can sometimes be tempted to look back fondly on our sinful life and remember the good things, forgetting the bad things like pain, suffering, and lack of real fulfillment. Remember the good things you have when you follow God, even if it is hard for a season; eternal life, forgiveness, and the love of the Creator of the Universe! That far outweighs even the greatest pleasure of your past sin life. Don't forget this!

Luke 4:1-2

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. - Luke 4:1-2

Jesus just had an amazing moment in His life; He was baptized, the Father declared Him to be His beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in full view of many people. It must have been an utterly amazing moment for Him, but then the Holy Spirit leads Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days! Why would the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into a trial and temptation? The answer is that this trial made Jesus stronger, and that was what God wanted for Him at this point. Sometimes we fall into the temptation to believe that because God wants good things for us that life will be easy and calm. This is not the truth! When a parent wants their child to be healthy, they have to take the child to the doctor, give them food that isn't sugary, and get them to sleep at a decent hour. This is not pleasurable for the child but it will help the child be healthy and happy. Likewise God will often give us Spiritual food that isn't our favorite "flavor," take us to places where we receive a Spiritual "checkup" and maybe a shot or two to keep sin away, and cause us to rest when we just want to do something. In these times, we need to trust God as a child has to trust their parents. Don't give into the sin of doubting God's love or good plans for you. Trust Him and you will see the good fruit that results.

Luke 1:1-4

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.

Have you ever been told in school "Don't ask why, just trust me. I know what I'm talking about?" This is the response of someone who is afraid to challenge his concepts and beliefs. They may even be aware of some hole in their understanding and are afraid you will open that doubt in them again. This is not what we, as Christians, are supposed to do. In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter says we should all be ready to defend our hope. How can you do that unless you have investigated and searched the truth for yourself? Faith in Christ is not an exercise in trusting what someone else says about Him but experiencing and growing in it yourself. Then, you can share what you have learned with someone else and encourage them to investigate it themselves. Don't be afraid to open yourself to your doubts and fears but accept them, investigate them, and allow God to answer them. Questions are not the enemy of faith, but the fertilizer that helps it grow.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. - Matthew 7:7-8

2 Cor 7:4-6

Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; 2 Cor 7:4-6

Our troubles can seem so overwhelming at times. I have often been in the middle of a tough time and felt in my heart an overwhelming desire to just stay home, alone, and just sleep. It seems like that is the most comforting thing I could do in those times, but that is not the case. Paul had suffered greatly when he came to Macedonia, both physically and spiritually, but in the midst of that trial, he was comforted by the visit of his friend and fellow believer; Titus. In this visit, Paul realized that God had sent Titus to comfort them and welcomed it with open arms. When we are in trials, like Paul, we might feel that the last thing we want is a visitor or to go to church, but that is exactly where we need to go! It is there that God can speak to us, comfort us, and encourage us through each other. Don't allow the enemy to disable the great source of strength and healing that is the fellowship of believers. Get out of your pit of despair and allow God to shine some light into the darkness, giving you a proper perspective and view of your trial. Then, you can face the trial with renewed faith and trust in God's ability to show you His love, grace, and power, even in this time.

2 Sam 6:6-9

But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. David became angry because of the LORD'S outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day. So David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" - 2 Sam 6:6-9

There is a strange trend in our generation to try to reduce role models and authority figures to normal people through mockery or acting like they are our best friends. We see this spill over into Christianity with the idea that Jesus is my best friend, for example. This idea turns the Creator of the universe and sustainer of all things into one of the dudes I play poker with every week while smoking a cigar or the girl I have a coffee and long conversations with. While Jesus is the lover of our souls and desires a real relationship with us, He is also the Holy God. Because of this, He desires us to be holy, as He is holy, and to respect Him for who He is. Uzzah was trying to do a good thing when he tried to stop the Ark of God from falling over, but he didn't honor the holiness of God by doing so. This is why God struck him dead. It seems harsh to us maybe, but we need to understand that God had given specific ways to carry the ark and to handle it with reverence. When the people failed to do that, He was gracious enough to allow them to continue, but when they stepped over the line, He had to act. Today, God often withholds His judgment of our sins because of His love, but we shouldn't expect Him to allow us to continue in an irreverent and unloving attitude with Him. He is a holy God and needs to be treated as such. We need to be close to God, but in His way and according to His terms. Then and only then can we be set free from fear and truly enjoy the love and grace of God.

2 Corinthians 2:6-8

Sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority, so that on the contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him, otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. - 2 Cor 2:6-8

Everyone likes to see justice finally come to someone who has done something horribly wrong. There is a need within us all to believe that every bad deed will be punished and every criminal will be repayed for his crime and when we see that about to happen, something within us rejoices. In Corinth, there was a man who had sexual relations with his own mother and had claimed the freedom in Christ to defend his actions. This was wrong and Paul instructed the church to cast him out of the church "so that his spirit might be saved." This they did, and it had the intended effect; the man repented and desired to be forgiven. However, the church wasn't doing that. This man was desiring to be restored but the church didn't want to restore him. This poor man was filled with sorrow and repentance and yet those who most closely represented God would not forgive and restore him! This was a horrible example of the love and forgiveness of the Father! While his sin had been great, his repentance was real and deserved to be responded to. This is why Paul instructs the people to now forgive and restore, lest the man turn from God in his sorrow. God does not turn His back on anyone so long as their repentance is real and honest, and neither should we. As Jesus taught in Luke 6, "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you... Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned." (31, 36-37) If there is someone who has hurt you or sinned against you, shows repentance, and desires to be forgiven and restored, do not withhold that from them. If you don't, you will become a living demonstration of God's nature and you yourself will receive the forgiveness and restoration you so badly need from the Lord as well!

Change of plans

Sorry anyone reading this for not updating for almost two months! EEK! I have discovered the time commitment to update every day is a bit much so I am going to try once a week and see how that goes. I hope and pray these posts have and will continue to be encouraging to people and that God blesses someone through them. So, here goes the weekly experiment!

- Shane