Category: All in or not

Dip yourself in muddy water


There is a story in the Bible about a general in command of a country’s army but he had leprosy. Thankfully, it was in the beginning stages though. He knew it was a death sentence but he found out that there was a prophet in Israel who could pray for him and heal him.

Naaman, commander of the army of Syria, was a mighty man of valor but he was a leper. His wife’s servant girl told him of the prophet, Elisha, in Israel that he could be healed if he went to him. In 2 Kings 5, the story tells about how he got a letter from his king to be healed and he took many gifts for the prophet with him. Here is the story beginning with verse 5:

So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”

8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abanac and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Why am I putting this story here? Because, sometimes God asks us to do things that are outside our comfort zones. Not because He likes to make us uncomfortable, but because we need to trust Him in our uncomfortable places no matter where they might be. Regardless of the place that God places you in, He has a plan and a purpose for you and the place you are in. Will it bring a healing or some other miracle into your life or someone else’s life? Only God knows that answer. Go to that uncomfortable place that He is sending you and in faith believe that He will accomplish His purpose…whatever it may be.

Be generous with giving


Praise the Lord!


Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, And for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfieth the longing soul, And filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Psalm 107:8‭-‬9 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.107.8-9.KJV

The Lord is merciful


The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: Neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, So great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:8‭-‬12 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.103.8-12.KJV

The world around us doesn’t think that God is merciful, especially during times of war or famine, or economic chaos. Most of the time, the world wants to blame Him for their troubles, whatever they may be. God doesn’t need to explain His actions or His inaction in any situation. Sometimes in the past, He did tell His prophets why He was doing this or that but He usually did this because He wanted the Israelites to know His reasons.

Did God feel the need to tell them why He was allowing a famine or why He was withholding the rain? God told them the reasons for some of His punishments because they needed to know why they were being punished. Usually, it was because they had disobeyed His commands or His commandments such as when they were worshiping other gods rather than Him. Moses had told them many years before that they would do these things and that they would be punished but most of them had forgotten all of those warnings.

God’s Word tells us what happened in the past so we will not make those mistakes today. Yet, many people in the church still look at the Old Testament as an outdated document that we don’t need to read today. The same is said about the Constitution of the United States. Our history and the history in the Bible are there to show us what could happen if we make the same mistakes.

Jesus came to be the sacrifice that would take care of ALL of humanity’s sins. He paid our debts so that we could become the adopted children of God. To be able to have a relationship with God for all eternity.

We are called to serve in freedom


Sing praises to the Lord!


O come, let us sing unto the LORD: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, And make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, And a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: The strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: And his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: Let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; And we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart, As in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me, Proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: Unto whom I sware in my wrath That they should not enter into my rest. Psalm 95:1‭-‬11 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/psa.95.1-11.KJV

He is my refuge


Ask, seek, and knock because He hears you


Have the attitude of God


Those who don’t follow God…


The increase of his house shall depart, And his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, And the heritage appointed unto him by God. Job 20:28‭-‬29 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/job.20.28-29.KJV

But, what about those who don’t follow God and seem to be blessed beyond measure? God may be testing them to see if they will acknowledge Him and the blessings that they have. It is also possible that the devil is making sure that they get their “wants” in this life so that they might not seek God for His blessings. There is always a struggle in this world between our needs and our ideas of what we “need” to have. One of those is an actual need and the other is just something that we think we need.

When you are following God’s precepts and His wisdom, He will supply all of your real needs if you are depending on Him for your provision. But…for many people, Christians or not, truly depending on God for your daily needs is not as easy as it sounds. Most people don’t wake up thanking God for giving them another day to be in this world. Many don’t even give any thought to Him until something in their life goes wrong or turns in a direction that they weren’t expecting. Then many of them blame Him for whatever is going wrong!

If you don’t know God or Jesus as your Savior, why would you blame Him for whatever is going wrong in your life? He doesn’t punish you for things that aren’t going your way just because you haven’t heard His voice in your spirit/heart that you need Him. Many times that small voice may not show up in your “spiritual ears” until He gives you a seed of faith that will allow you to hear it and sometimes it takes a bad diagnosis or some other problem in your life that will get your attention!

When you hear Him and decide that you need Him as your Savior, I’m loathed to tell you this but this is when the devil puts a target on you and your life. Why? Because now you have gone over to the enemy’s camp. While you are living your life without Jesus as your Savior, the devil doesn’t really care what you do. But when you give your heart and your life to Him then you become a problem in his eyes. You will have trouble in the world even after you’ve given your heart to Jesus and possibly even more than you had before but now you have Him to lean on for strength and protection.