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Oh……now I get it.

Oh……now I get it.

Habakkuk 1:2-4    O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.

The prophet Habakkuk didn’t get it; he didn’t understand why God was seemingly letting evil rule over good in the land. The Babylonian empire was growing quickly and and it seemed to be an imminent threat to Judah. Was God really going to let such an evil empire plunder His people and their city? Why would God let evil prosper in the world? Habakkuk dared to ask God these questions, and God answered them. Habakkuk came to understand more clearly that God is in control of all these things; He is Sovereign over all. He came to understand that he was to rest in the faith of God’s Soveringty; to not worry for he should know that God is in control. Habakkuk 1:4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

We all have heard that questions of “How can a loving God let something like this happen?” Those may be some of the hardest questions to answer, for they are most likely involved in the most painful circumstances. It can be in the instances of sickness, or deaths of those close to us who lived righteous lives. It can be the senseless tragedies. It can be the prospering of those that live so far from God, while those that seek Him struggle. We cannot understand the ways of God, but we must understand that it all passes through his hands. Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

There should come a point in your faith that you begin to understand, that you will not understand, the ways of God. If you began to see the wisdom and complexity of Whom you worship, why would you seemingly worship them at all? There simply is seemingly no point of elevating anything which is within your grasp. Faith is the understanding that you cannot see, nor cannot control what God has planned for your life. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is at the root of your hope for eternity; your hope that drives your daily walk, perseverance, and endurance for your time here. When you struggle with the question of why, remember the story of Job; of how God was telling Satan of how righteous Job was, and of how great Job’s faith was. James 5:11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord–that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Evil Hearts

Evil Hearts

Genesis 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 8:21 And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in His heart, “I will never again curse the ground for man’s sake, although the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done.

These two scriptures are from before and after the great flood. Yet in these scriptures it also shows the bad news; that the heart of man has not changed. We are all descendants of Adam, and we all are born into sin as a result of his fall at the Garden of Eden. This is an inescapable fact; at your core you are a sinner. You sin because you are a sinner, you are not a sinner because you sin. The evidences of how great our society is lost in sin are before us every day; senseless tragedies from men who pursued that evil in their hearts. They do not seek to forgiveness for their sins, but become so lost in it they become truly consumed with evil. We live in a fallen world as a result of sin, and we are living in a nation turning their backs on God.

Our nation is teaching equality for all, and no absolute truth. We have become spineless for the fear of offending. The backbone that made us great as “One nation under God”, has become broken. Absolute truth is lost in equality and no accountability to God. We must understand as a nation, and even more personal as man, that we are bad at the core, and lost without Christ to redeem us from our sin. “The total depravity of man is seen throughout the Bible. Man’s heart is “deceitful and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:9), and the thoughts of his heart are “continually evil” (Genesis 6:5). The Bible also teaches us that man is born dead in transgression and sin (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3, Ephesians 2:1-5). The Bible teaches that because unregenerate man is “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5), he is held captive by a love for sin (John 3:19; John 8:34) so that he will not seek God (Romans 3:10-11) because he loves the darkness (John 3:19) and does not understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). Therefore, men suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18) and continue to willfully live in sin. Because they are totally depraved, this sinful lifestyle seems right to men (Proverbs 14:12) so they reject the gospel of Christ as foolishness (1 Corinthians 1:18) and their mind is “hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is unable to do so” (Romans 8:7).” (gotquestions.org)

Our nation is mourning again for another senseless tragedy by someone who’s evil heart thrives on the terror they create. They kill senselessly and mercilessly in acts of pure evil. They are pursuing their evil heart. We as a nation have turned our backs on God and are feeling the effects of it. Just as when Solomon had built the Great Temple to honor the Lord, the Lord came to him and warned him of Israel’s sin. He warned Solomon personally as their leader, even telling him that He would destroy the Great Temple he had built. But He also delivered a promise to him that would come to a humble repentant heart before God. 2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Let these days of mourning draw you closer to God. One by one, prayer and repentant hearts can heal our nation.

 
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Posted by on April 16, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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