Bibledoorajar: The Wages of Sin are Death

      Moses came down from being with the Father and he was shocked at what he saw. Down went the tablets that were imprinted with the finger of God only to be broken in two. So rampant was the revelry associated with the idol worship that the high priest Aaron was unable to come up with a good explanation of what happened,  But the Bible indicates he had something to do with the nakedness of the people. About 3000 people did not seem to care what Moses thought. But then they heard this: Who is on Elohim's side? All who are, come to me. And praise God the Levites, set aside by God, came forward. But the 3000 remained callous. Moses told the Levites, every man, to put a sword by his side and go from gate to gate slaying brothers, companions and neighbors. This was possible because the Levites had chosen to follow Moses' instructions to consecrate themselves to Elohim over relatives and friends that day.
      In Revelation Jesus tells the church at Thyatira this: "And he who overcomes, and keeps My will until the end, to him I will give power over the nations 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; they shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels'--as I also have received from My Father." Rev. 2:26 ff.  A time is coming when the church who has remained consecrated and has enjoyed moving in grace and the fruits of the Spirit will no longer turn the other cheek. They will rule with rods of iron with Jesus among the nations. Grace will be supplanted with justice. Now is the time to spread the Good News to all we know. Pray that many will take you seriously.

Bibledoorajar: Slippery Slopes

785: The number of years between the 1232 canonization of Saint Anthony of Padua and the day a great-grandmother in Brazil learned that the Anthony statue she had been praying to was, in fact, an action figure version of Elrond, a half-elvven character from The Lord of    the Rings.
                      That's Outrageous! By the Numbers, Reader's Digest, May, 2017

"When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain,,,"(Exodus 32)

There are blessings that are immediate and for which we humans can be immediately grateful. However, when the blessings are slow to come and demand patience, faithfulness and self-control, it is harder for we humans to take. Most scholars do not think the Israelites were wanting to replace God; they wanted to replace their mediator. He was just too slow. Thus began their journey down the slippery slope of ill advised behavior: loss of self-control and mob thinking. It's outrageous that a golden calf "just popped out" but it happened. That's the trouble with slippery slopes and the human  need for immediacy. When the disciples could not even stay awake to pray for their Lord who was soon going to have to give his life for them, we got a taste of our weaknesses even under grace. And yet, the Father gave us the Holy Spirit who humbly says he can help us produce wonderful fruit as we wait for present and long-term blessings. Shall we not honor Him more?

"Patience is greater than power; and he who rules his own spirit is greater than one who captures a city."(Proverbs 16:32)

"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, generosity, goodness, FAITHFULNESS, humility and SELF-CONTROL..." (Galatians 5)

For the blessings of the Bible which mean TOTAL increase, physically, spiritually and mentally, it seems worth a wait to me. How about you?

Bibledoorajar: Perfection Interrupted

"... so that we may present every person perfect in Christ Jesus" (Colossians 1:28).

"Therefore, be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect!" (Matthew 5:48)

     The Israelites had started on the pathway of what God calls perfection. That is, they had agreed to follow in God's heart steps. They agreed to look far off into the future and complete their obedience with good results. They would stay true to God. But the story of the golden calf revealed that their desire to stay on the pathway was short-lived. To stray so far off the pathway leads to what God calls His wrath. For a person or people who do not love God and honor His ways must sooner or later have that drawn to their attention. His love leads to a wrath that sends a clear message that the pathway has been abandoned and that trouble is in the future. Perfect is not 100 percent in behavior, but it is 100 percent in heart attitude. When convicted, we scurry back to the path. We resume pursuit of the goal.
     The Israelites abandoned God and His Man, Moses, less than five months after they sang God's praises. Their pathway was obscured with thoughts of Egypt and her gods. But Moses.... Thank God for Moses. When God had to honor His wrath, Moses was not afraid to talk to Him about the situation even though he, too, had been so seriously wronged.
When God said to Moses, "now therefore let Me alone, that My wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them." The moment was solemn.  God no longer called them His people but referred to them as thy people to Moses. The heart of God and the heart of the people were completely out of sync. For God, to get off the pathway once on it was a form of rebellion. Yielding to God was completely gone; they now yielded to sin. This is what they had to say just five months before...
"The Lord is my strength and song, and He is become my salvation: He is my god, and I will prepare Him an habitation: my father is God and I will exalt Him(Ex. 15)". Now they seemed to not know where God or Moses was. But Moses. Thank God for Moses. His heart interceded.
     Thank God that Jesus intercedes for us. He has provided the work of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip the saints and build up the body. We live in perilous times. We need to be listening closely. Is our heart telling us we are still on the right pathway? Are we in danger of God's wrath? Every minute of every day is a choice.