The Golden Calf

When the people say that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, “Come, make us gods who will go before us. As for this fellow Moses who brought us up out of Egypt we don’t know what happened to him (Exodus 32;1).

Forty years earlier, the people of Israel have seen it all. They had heard the thunder and saw the lightning, the smoke billowing up from the mountain and Mount Sinai trembling. They saw Moses climb up to the peak, and the glory of God looking like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. So, where did they go wrong? How could they have been so fragile and been convinced to build a golden cow?

The Bible tells us that out of the Israelites needs a golden path, God tells Moses to go down, because your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt, have become corrupt. God doesn’t say my people but your people. the Midrash (rabbinic interpretation of scripture) these people who became corrupt, and who were corrupting the rest of the nation, we’re part of the “many other people” (Exodus 12:38) who joined the Israelites during the exodus from Egypt just months prior people that Moses accepted into the nation without advising with God.

According to rabbinical tradition m these rabble-rousers didn’t just mislead the nation at Mount Sinai. There were multiple times in the Israelites journey to the Holy LANs when they called to return to Egypt or craved for physical desires, such as in Numbers 11:4. “The rabble with them began to crave other food,’ trying to bring the whole of the nation down with them.

But these were a minority, and they shouldn’t have been able to overcome a large people. If this were only the truth. How many times have we been witness to a small minority of people, or people with a minority opinion, take over their country and running it into the ground. How many people found themselves just “following order”! Unfortunately, there are too many examples to list.

It’s happening today, right under our noses, and it’s not even recognized.

We don’t know why the Israelites has such a weak moment. But the fact is that they did – and with all due respect to them, this is perfectly normal it can happen to anyone,

Therefore it’s vital to set up fall-safe boundaries, so we know where the line is between good and evil and we can stop our deterioration before it gets out of hand. We need to protest against the minority- as small as it may be. Better yet we may draw it closer through love and turn the bad into the good.

I just hope it’s not to late for our nation.

The lesson of the golden calf is not just one for our state or our people or our religion, but a lesson for each and everyone of us. Sometimes we are too busy looking for the enemy from the outside. But more often the enemy is from within- more precise from within ourselves.

What characteristic do we have inside us that is waiting for the right mommy to completely take over, I think the last few years as been an eye-opener for most people. It maybe a desire, it may be a craving or just a weak trait that people have,

We need to be strong in faith and not heed to the call of evil inclination. For when Moses calls “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me,’ let us do as the Levites did, rallying around him and declaring that we are God’s true servants.

Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with sure fire easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fake for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life – to God is vigorous and requires total attention.

Because:

Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and there will be few that find it. (Matthew 7:14).

Possum In A Tree In Michigan

Redeemed

Sometimes it seems that all I can see is the struggle. I’m haunted by ghosts that lived in my past. I was bound up in shackles of all my failures. I think to myself how long is this going to last.

If we’re not careful the struggle is all we can see. We feel chained to our past and can not see the future. It seems like it lasts an eternity. With no way out.

Then God looked at the prison we’ve built around us. And says, Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won. And we become redeemed. God is our chain breaker, He wipes away every stain and we are white again.

If we take the opportunity to be not who we used to be, we will redeemed.

All my life I have been called unworthy, named by the voice of my pain, shame and regret. But when I heard God say lift up your head. I remember that Gods not done with me yet. There is a hope and a future for all of us.

We don’t have to be the old inside of us. The old is dead and gone, put on the new and begin living. We can have a new name, a new life, we do not have to be the same. Take off those chains, stand up straight and hold your head up high.

Remember we are sons and daughters of the most High King. Break off those chains. Stand up straight. Lift up your head. Straighten your crown.

And live the life you were meant to live.

God has redeemed you. So break off those chains, and wipe away every stain. Because you are redeemed.

Combating Deception

In Matthew 24 Jesus warns us to take heed that no one deceived you. The Holy Spirit tells us that in the latter days (end of days) that some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, Jesus spoke of the time of great apostasy (the abandoned of faith in God) where one’s own mind will be set fire and destroyed by lies and deception.

When we are deceived, we can be controlled and let astray from truth. This happens both in the world and spiritually. So, there is a significance to Jesus warning abs we need to understand why Jesus would warn not to be deceived. Some of us take this warning lightly, believing that we cannot be fooled. Those who take this warning light,t should be the ones most alert for deception. Take heed , there are many believers being deceived today by people who say that they are working on the Lord’s behalf, but they misinform, lie and deceive many.

So, the question that we should ask is, how do we as believers, combat being deceived? Here are a few steps I believe the believer should take to better prevent themselves from being deceived.

Spirit Check

The first thing we should all do is a spirit Che j. Whenever you hear someone preach about spiritual discernment. Make sure they reference scripture. In 1 John 4:1-4, John’s first epistle you’ll find that there are a couple of reasons that lead to one being deceived and it all begins in the spirit. The first reason, someone’s spirit is already willing to accept or believe what it is being fed, The second reason: we do not truly meditate on a thought spiritually. I go back after any sermon I hear and reread the reference scriptures that were mentioned during the sermon. Or follow along with them in my Bible.

John wrote that we should not believe every spirit but test the spirits (others) because many false prophets (teachers) have gone out into the world ( 1 John 4:1). As believers, we should test every spirit (meaning every word we hear or read) by the spirit that resides in us. Those who are of the Spirit of God, I want you to understand that God’s spirit (the Holy Spirit) is what resided inside your inner soul. ( 1 John 4:4). So, all of us as believers should commune with the spirit that dwells inside of us. If we are meditating and communing with the Lord, how can we be led astray?

Go To The Source

A lot of times, we take what we hear from someone at face value. (We don’t meditate on it nor question it). Many times, much of the information that we consume both in the world or even spiritually co es second hand. Oftentimes we don’t check the source and just assume it is true. It’s like “Oh it’s on the internet or the media so it must be true.” Often that is not the case. We are supposed to study diligently, always seeking to understand and find out the truth.

In other words , we must study and research. We cannot be lazy in doing this. In Timothy 4:13 Paul said, give attention reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. He also wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15 to be “Diligent to present yourself to God rightly dividing the word of truth.” Peter also advised, “be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble ( 2 Peter 1:10).

Sadly many of us stumble or are deceived because we do not put time into our research and study. We cannot simply accept everything we hear. So we must meditate but not only should we meditate, we should study and research. Go directly to the source. When it is something spiritual especially be sure to open up your Bible and study.

With all the chaos in the world. Don’t take anyone’s word at face value. And don’t let anyone tell you how you should act or believe. Do Not Be Deceived.

Seek Wisdom From Those You Trust Most

The third thing I suggest is that we seek wise counsel from those we trust most. We should surround ourselves with others who are genuine to the faith in word and deed ( Philippians 2:2; Romans 15:5). At the same time, it is of the utmost importance that you surround yourself with those who are also wise in doctrine. We all have times when we do not understand something clearly. Instead of figuring things out by ourselves, there is a reason that theLord has put those people around you. Solomon said, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).

Follow Your Heart

This means a great deal, what lies in your heart and what you believe in your heart is of the utmost importance. You see, what lies there and what you believe in is what we use to determine truth or lie.

If it feels wrong to you, it probably is. I call this unction. Listen to that still small voice.

Why Did God Allow This To Happen?

If you could ask God one question and you knew He would give you an answer, what would you ask? The most common response would be “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?”

If you are sharing the gospel, it wouldn’t be very long before someone asks, “ How could a God of love allow tragedy, pain and suffering?’

The problem of pain is an atheist’s most common weapon against the Christian faith. More people point to the problem of evil and suffering as their reason for not believing in God than any other. It is not merely a problem; it is the problem.

So, why does God allow tragedy! If God can prevent such terrible tragedies, why does He allow them to take place? Here’s the classic statement of the problem: Either God is all powerful but not all good, and therefore doesn’t stop evil — or He’s all good but not all powerful, and therefore He can’t stop evil.

The general tendency, of course, is to blame God for evil and suffering, transferring all responsibility on Him. Let’s look at the core question: If God is so good and loving, why does He allow evil?

The first part of the quiz based on false premise. People who express those words are essentially suggesting the God must meet their own criteria of goodness. But who are they to set standards for God! When did they become the moral center of the Universe?

God isn’t good just because that’s someone’s opinion of Him, or because some personally agree with His words or actions. God is good because He says He is, Jesus said, No one is good except God alone (Luke 18:19).

God is good, whether we believe it or not. He and He alone is the final court of arbitration. As Apostle Paul said, “Let God be true, but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4). And what is “good”? Gods is whatever God approves. And it’s good because He approves it. That’s circular reasoning. Well maybe, but everything begin and ends with God. I think of it more as a biblical reasoning.

In Isaiah 1:18, God invites, “Come now, and let us reason together.” Come sit down, let’s argue this out” (MSG). You see God’s thoughts are above our thoughts. There is no higher standard of goodness that God’s own character – and His approval of whatever’s consistent with that character. So God is good. Period.

Let’s go back to the second part of the question. Why does He allow evil.

Remember that mankind was not crested evil. In their original state, Adam and Eve were innocent, ageless, and immoral. But from the very beginning- from the time that God gave life to Adam and Eve, man has had the ability to choose right or wrong. They made their choice (and then their choice made them). Had man never sinned, there would have been no resulting curse. But now it’s too late. Romans 5:12 says, “When Adam sinned sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread for everyone sinned.”

The point here is to keep in mind that humanity – not God is responsible for sin.

So why didn’t God create humans to be incapable of sin! If God hadn’t given us free will, we would merely be puppets on a string, remote controlled robots that bow before Him at the touch of a button, God wants to be loved and obeys by creatures who voluntarily choose to do so. Love cannot be genuine if there’s no other option. You and I can choose to love God. And if we’re realistic, we have every reason in the world to make that choice.

Most of us can accept the idea of suffering in general, especially when it happens as a consequence of bad behavior. When bad thing happen to bad people it seems appropriate, fitting, understandable. So, it’s not suffering that troubles us; it undeserved suffering. Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Even more so, why do bad things happen to godly people?

There are times I just don’t know why God does or does not do certain things. I, like you am mystified by a lot of it. So here is my answer:

Being a Christian does not mean you will not suffer. We may ask the question, “Why me?” But we could more easily ask, “Why not me?” As 1 Peter 4:12 tells us “beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange is happening to you.” Our trials and sufferings should not be seen as strange but expected. Jesus Himself assured us that there we be suffering in our lives. “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulations; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. ( John 16:33),

Here is what we need to know; we need to prepare for suffering. Suffering will come; it’s not a matter of if but when and how much. As you read this message, and you do not have any suffering or tragedy, I say “rejoice and enjoy it.’ But know that hardship will come.

Here’s the bottom line: you are either coming out of a storm, in one, or headed there, ‘People are born for trouble as predictably as sparks fly inward from a fire” (Job 5:7). It’s just a matter of time. In this life, the on,y way to avoid suffering is to die.

Most of us don’t give any focused thought to evil or suffering until we experience them. This forces us to formulate perspective on the fly, at a time when out thinking is muddled and we’re exhausted and consumed by pressing issues. People who have been there will attest that’s it’s far better to think through suffering in advance.

In other words be prepared ahead of time!

We thank God for his mercy and grace. But we need to thank Him before pain and suffering comes. Pray without ceasing. Turn to God in the good and the bad. We should always be ready to stand before God. And the only way to be ready is having put our faith in Him.

Deuteronomy 15:7 says. If among one of your brothers (friend, strangers, family) should become poor, in any of the towns with your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart against your poor brother.

Deuteronomy 15:11, for there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, “You shake open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and the poor, in your land.

I say to you why are there poor and hungry people in the world? Why isn’t God doing anything about it? He did God sent us, it is in our hands to help the poor and needy.

Will God say to you on Judgement day. ‘Well done good and faithful servant.

Looking To Belong

Belonging in our current society’s mind is a commodity of choice. With people joining together with other like-minded people and finding safety in arenas of common thought.

To be known and loved, to be accepted and understood. That’s what we are longing for when we look for belonging. But what if belonging isn’t meant to be found within yourself or others! What if it is so much more than conformity to the beliefs of a narrow group?

The Bible has a lot to say about our belonging as Christ-followers: You are not your own. You belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God. You are purchased and paid for. You are safe and secure. According to scripture m our self-acceptance isn’t something weak discover with enough self-love. Rather it’s an extension of the work of redemption in our lives when we discover how much God loves us. We were made to belong to Jesus first. Not church denominations, political parties, justice movements or social circles.

In Christ belonging isn’t mere affection or membership in the same club; it is so much more. The price of our belonging was set and met through the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. That’s why Paul tells us we are not our own in 1 Corinthians 19:20. God loves us so much that He rescued us from the grip of anything else that promises to satisfy us but don’t. And instead, He made us belong to Him alone.

When we don’t remember that we were made to be God’s very own precious possession, and when we don’t remember what it costs for us to be His, we end up longing for belonging everywhere else. Through the clothes we wear, the people we engage, the work we do and the money we make. We look for home in identifiers rather than in our identifiers in Christ.

We must know who we belong to. In Christ, we are fit and fashioned for the belonging we were always made for. This week, resolve to let go of all the world tell you to do in order to belong. In Jesus, you are already seen, known, rescued, and loved. In Jesus, you already belong.

What Are The Keys To The Kingdom?

Wouldn’t it be good to have the keys to the Kingdom of God?

One of the most dramatic moments in Jesus’s life in recorded in Matt16:13-20. After asking His disciples who they thought He was, Peter rightly identifies His as “the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Moments later Jesus says this to Peter: “I will give you keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and what ever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” So what are the keys of the kingdom?

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His Disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They repel, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah, and still others say, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. But, Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered “You are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.’ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it, I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. This He ordered His disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Messiah. (Matthew 16:13-20).

Symbolism Of The Keys Of The Kingdom

In bother the Old and New Testaments keys symbolize power and authority. The nature of the power and authority varies depending on the context. Isaiah 22:22 refers to “the key of the house of David,” which in context refers to the authority of steward who manages the household of the king. That same imagery is applied to the rishon Christ (Revelation 3:7), who also has ‘the keys of Death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18). In Luke 11:52, Jesus claims that the experts in the Jewish Law “have taken away the key of knowledge.’ In other words m through their hypocrisy they have not only failed to enter the kingdom of God themselves, but have prevented others from entering as well.

This reference to the key of knowledge sheds light on the expression “keys of the kingdom’ here. Through Peter’s faithful proclamation of the gospel, Peter will open the door of the kingdom to those who respond in faith, while at the same time keeping it shut from those who do not. Because the gospel determines what is bound and what is loosed, Peter’s actions of binding and loosing here on earth express heaven’s verdict itself.

While the focus in this passage is Peter, this same authority is extended to the entire church of how the church should handle unrepentant sinners. When the church follows Jesus’s teaching, they can be confident that their actions of binding and loosing are an extension of God’s actions in heaven.

When it comes to the authority and power of the keys of the kingdom, it is not something that rests in Peter as an individual or even in the church as an institution. That is because the final authority rests in the gospel itself. Galatians make this point crystal clear. In 1:6-9 Paul stresses that if anyone- even he or an angel from heaven preaches a gospel other than the one he preached, they are under God’s eternal curse. Later in the letter, Paul recounts a time where he publicly rebuked Peter because his “conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel “ (Galatians 2:14).

So the keys of the kingdom are God’s gift to His people to state heaven’s verdict on who will and will not enter the kingdom based on their response to the gospel. As such, all who faithfully preach and teach the gospel are able to exercise then under the authority of Jesus Christ Himself.

Things The Bible Says About Jesus’s Return

For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man

Matthew 24:27

When it comes to the end times and Jesus’s coming, there seems to some questions and confusion about what Jesus’s return will be like. Although we will never fully know God’s plan for the end times, He has given us promises about the time in His written Word.

The end will come with the return of Jesus Christ… That is why a Christian can be an optimist. That’s why a Christian can smile in the midst of all that is happening… We know what the end will be: the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here are 6 things the Bible says about Jesus’s return:

So, if anyone tells you, There He is, out in the wilderness, do not go out; or Here He is, in the inner rooms; do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Lord. Matthew 24:26-27.

And there will be sign in the sun and moon and stars, and on earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring see and the waves, people fainting with fear and will foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of an coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these begin to take place, straighten up and raise your hands, because your redemption is drawing near. Luke 21:25-28

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven; not the Son, but only the Father. Matthew 24:36

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:13

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. Hebrews 9:28.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him, Even so. Revelation 1:7.