Command the Raven

Don’t Be Fooled by What You See
Saints of God, don’t look at the way things appear.
Servants of God cheat on their wives, then go on with new wives, apparently still enjoying God’s blessings! Not so! You do not see or hear of God’s judgment on them. You know nothing of the sleepless nights, the despair and sorrow that floods in on them. To live under God’s displeasure is a burden few can bear. To have the heavens shut and end up ministering in the flesh leaves its mark on men. Little by little, their influence wanes, their following dwindles. People may smile at them but there is an insurmountable loss of respect. Those who live and preach as adulterers minister death and not life. What they say IS tainted by their evil deeds. They are heard only by the ear, and not the heart.

The only message with power is that which is preached from a pure heart, by men with clean hands. All else is sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. God will not speak to a man or woman living in sin; He closes the heavens to those who break and flaunt HIS commandments. So what they preach has to come out of their own hearts and minds and can only be man-centered. They have no searing, scorching word from God that drives men to their knees. They strike no fear to divided hearts and compromisers. Their thunder has been silenced by the evil charms of an adulterous woman.

We don’t have to go about with eyes full of lust-we don’t have to be looking at all-but Satan will always try to use a supposed lack in our lives ~o sna.re us in an evil relationship. Those kinds of relationships may be justified and continued for years on the grounds that we are all the better for it. Both may provoke each other to pray more and go deeper in God. But it is still sin!

The mate always knows. There is a strange wall that is erected and nothing but honesty can ever penetrate it. There is an aloofness, a holding back, something you can’t put your finger on, but you know something is really wrong.

A man of God can stand in the pulpit and preach with all his might, then give his heart and time to an adulterous relationship. Then, if he is a true man of God, he weeps over what he has done. He feels his heart going out in the wrong direction; he feels Satan breath¬ing down his neck, trying to wreck his ministry; and he cries out to God to be free of the attraction. How deeply it becomes embedded in the soul! What an ocean of tears is shed in sorrow of heart, because there seems to be no way out.

He hears in the deepest of his soul the taunting-cry, “You are a phony! You preach against this very thing! You are hooked just like any common drug addict! You preach freedom from sin, and you are enslaved! Liar!”

There is the constant fear of exposure and, worst of all, the hounding fear of bringing reproach on God’s name. There is the fear of ending up like Samson, stripped and shelved by God-c-or even worse, judgment by death.

The man of God caught in this kind of snare will walk his room at night, begging God for cleansing. His heart will yearn for the day he can once again look God and the world in the eye and proclaim, “1 am clean! 1 am pure! 1 am free!”

Oh, the broken promises, the lies. What appears to be a victory only ends in defeat. Just when you think it is dead, it comes back again in greater force. Then it is realized that only a true death at the Cross can deliver from its hold.

Many a great man of God has come this way to the Cross-broken down, helpless, having broken every promise, weary of grieving God and ministering under a lie. God has used that crisis to roll in death on every¬thing in that man’s life and raise him to resurrection life and glorious freedom.

There can be no deliverance from an adulterous attraction outside of total death at the Cross. Cry a river of tears, try to kill it on your own, suppress it any way you can-it will still be there. And, it will eventu¬ally destroy both of you. You will go back to it; you will always have that lingering memory erupting unexpectedly
Take my warning-O man of God! You are not above this kind of sin.
- SET THE TRUMPET TO THY MOUTH: David Wilkerson

Genesis 6:3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

Then the Lord said, My Spirit shall not for ever dwell and strive with man, for he also is flesh; but his days shall yet be 120 years. [The Amplified Bible].

Enoch had warned these people [Jude 14, 15 [show/hide]Jude 1:14 [14]It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, (ESV)
];
Noah had preached righteousness to them [2 Peter 2:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
];
God’s Spirit had been striving with them [Gen. 6:3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].
Yet they had rejected God and were without excuse. – Amplified Bible: page 7.

One would be in good stead to consider the reality of this Scripture and the fact that God may not strive with you indefinitely.

To stagger and reel between two decisions is no longer a viable option, if God is God, go, and serve Him, and if not, go and serve another.

Exodus 20:14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

You shall not commit adultery. [Matt. 5:28 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Rom. 1:24 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Eph. 5:3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Prov. 6:25, 26 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
].

Observe here the expansion of the thought in the catechism which includes whoredom in all its forms, as well as unchastity [premarital relations, sexual impurity, and lustful desire under whatever name] [Lange’s Commentary, condensed].

Not only adultery is forbidden here, but also fornication and all kinds of mental and sensual uncleanness.

All impure books, songs, pictures, etc., which tend to inflame and debauch the mind, are against this law [Clarke’s Commentary].

- The Amplified Bible: page 93

This is a very good article. Those who are still single may learn something from this article….
Those who are already married may take it as a guideline to improve your marriage….

DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, “How do I know if I married the right person?”
I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, “It depends. Is that your husband?” In all seriousness, she answered “How do you know?”

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it’s weighing on your mind.

Here’s the answer.
EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies.

Falling in love with your spouse wasn’t hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn’t have to DO anything. That’s why it’s called “falling” in love… Because it’s happening TO YOU.

People in love sometimes say, “I was swept of my feet.” Think about the imagery of that __expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is easy. It’s a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria of love fades. It’s the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse’s idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, “Did I marry the right person?” And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work,a
hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.

But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I’m not saying that you couldn’t fall in love with someone else. You could.

And TEMPORARILY you’d feel better. But you’d be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT’S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It’ll NEVER just happen to you. You can’t “find” LASTING love. You have to “make” it day in and day out. That’s why we have the __expression “the labor of love.” Because it takes time, effort, and energy . And most importantly, it takes WISDOM . You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It’s a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable. ..you can “make” love.

Love in marriage is indeed a “decision”.. . Not just a feeling .

Remember this always

“God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.”

- Author Unknown

P S A L M S

PSALM I.
________________________________________
This is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse, that we may take the right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. The different character and condition of godly people and wicked people, those that serve God and those that serve him not, is here plainly stated in a few words; so that every man, if he will be faithful to himself, may here see his own face and then read his own doom. That division of the children of men into saints and sinners, righteous and unrighteous, the children of God and the children of the wicked one, as it is ancient, ever since the struggle began between sin and grace, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, so it is lasting, and will survive all other divisions and subdivisions of men into high and low, rich and poor, bond and free; for by this men’s everlasting state will be determined, and the distinction will last as long as heaven and hell. This psalm shows us, I. The holiness and happiness of a godly man, ver. 1-3. II. The sinfulness and misery of a wicked man, ver. 4, 5. III. The ground and reason of both, ver. 6. Whoever collected the psalms of David (probably it was Ezra) with good reason put this psalm first, as a preface to the rest, because it is absolutely necessary to the acceptance of our devotions that we be righteous before God (for it is only the prayer of the upright that is his delight), and therefore that we be right in our notions of blessedness and in our choice of the way that leads to it. Those are not fit to put up good prayers who do not walk in good ways.

The Happy Man.
________________________________________
Psalm 1:1-3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

The psalmist begins with the character and condition of a godly man, that those may first take the comfort of that to whom it belongs. Here is,

I. A description of the godly man’s spirit and way, by which we are to try ourselves. The Lord knows those that are his by name, but we must know them by their character; for that is agreeable to a state of probation, that we may study to answer to the character, which is indeed both the command of the law which we are bound in duty to obey and the condition of the promise which we are bound in interest to fulfil. The character of a good man is here given by the rules he chooses to walk by and to take his measures from. What we take at our setting out, and at every turn, for the guide of our conversation, whether the course of this world or the word of God, is of material consequence. An error in the choice of our standard and leader is original and fatal; but, if we be right here, we are in a fair way to do well.

1. A godly man, that he may avoid the evil, utterly renounces the companionship of evil-doers, and will not be led by them (v. 1): He walks not in the council of the ungodly, &c. This part of his character is put first, because those that will keep the commandments of their God must say to evil-doers, Depart from us (Ps. cxix. 115), and departing from evil is that in which wisdom begins.

(1.) He sees evil-doers round about him; the world is full of them; they walk on every side. They are here described by three characters, ungodly, sinners, and scornful. See by what steps men arrive at the height of impiety. Nemo repente fit turpissimus–None reach the height of vice at once. They are ungodly first, casting off the fear of God and living in the neglect of their duty to him: but they rest not there. When the services of religion are laid aside, they come to be sinners, that is, they break out into open rebellion against God and engage in the service of sin and Satan. Omissions make way for commissions, and by these the heart is so hardened that at length they come to be scorners, that is, they openly defy all that is sacred, scoff at religion, and make a jest of sin.

Thus is the way of iniquity down-hill; the bad grow worse, sinners themselves become tempters to others and advocates for Baal. The word which we translate ungodly signifies such as are unsettled, aim at no certain end and walk by no certain rule, but are at the command of every lust and at the beck of every temptation. The word for sinners signifies such as are determined for the practice of sin and set it up as their trade. The scornful are those that set their mouths against the heavens. These the good man sees with a sad heart; they are a constant vexation to his righteous soul. But,

(2.) He shuns them wherever he sees them. He does not do as they do; and, that he may not, he does not converse familiarly with them.
[1.] He does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. He is not present at their councils, nor does he advise with them; though they are ever so witty, and subtle, and learned, if they are ungodly, they shall not be the men of his counsel. He does not consent to them, nor say as they say, Luke 23:51 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. He does not take his measures from their principles, nor act according to the advice which they give and take. The ungodly are forward to give their advice against religion, and it is managed so artfully that we have reason to think ourselves happy if we escape being tainted and ensnared by it.

[2.] He stands not in the way of sinners; he avoids doing as they do; their way shall not be his way; he will not come into it, much less will he continue in it, as the sinner does, who sets himself in a way that is not good, Ps. 36:4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. He avoids (as much as may be) being where they are. That he may not imitate them, he will not associate with them, nor choose them for his companions. He does not stand in their way, to be picked up by them (Prov. 7:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
), but keeps as far from them as from a place or person infected with the plague, for fear of the contagion, Prov. iv. 14, 15. He that would be kept from harm must keep out of harm’s way.

[3.] He sits not in the seat of the scornful; he does not repose himself with those that sit down secure in their wickedness and please themselves with the searedness of their own consciences. He does not associate with those that sit in close cabal to find out ways and means for the support and advancement of the devil’s kingdom, or that sit in open judgment, magisterially to condemn the generation of the righteous. The seat of the drunkards is the seat of the scornful, Ps. 69:12 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. Happy is the man that never sits in it, Hos. 7:5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
.

2. A godly man, that he may do that which is good and cleave to it, submits to the guidance of the word of God and makes that familiar to him, v. 2. This is that which keeps him out of the way of the ungodly and fortifies him against their temptations. By the words of thy lips I have kept me from the path of the deceiver, Ps. 17:4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. We need not court the fellowship of sinners, either for pleasure or for improvement, while we have fellowship with the word of God and with God himself in and by his word. When thou awakest it shall talk with thee, Prov. 6:22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. We may judge of our spiritual state by asking, “What is the law of God to us? What account do we make of it? What place has it in us?” See here,

(1.) The entire affection which a good man has for the law of God: His delight is in it. He delights in it, though it be a law, a yoke, because it is the law of God, which is holy, just, and good, which he freely consents to, and so delights in, after the inner man, Rom. 7:16, 22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. All who are well pleased that there is a God must be well pleased that there is a Bible, a revelation of God, of his will, and of the only way to happiness in him.

(2.) The intimate acquaintance which a good man keeps up with the word of God: In that law doth he meditate day and night; and by this it appears that his delight is in it, for what we love we love to think of, Ps. 119:97 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. To meditate in God’s word is to discourse with ourselves concerning the great things contained in it, with a close application of mind, a fixedness of thought, till we be suitably affected with those things and experience the savour and power of them in our hearts. This we must do day and night; we must have a constant habitual regard to the word of God as the rule of our actions and the spring of our comforts, and we must have it in our thoughts, accordingly, upon every occasion that occurs, whether night or day. No time is amiss for meditating on the word of God, nor is any time unseasonable for those visits. We must not only set ourselves to meditate on God’s word morning and evening, at the entrance of the day and of the night, but these thoughts should be interwoven with the business and converse of every day and with the repose and slumbers of every night. When I awake I am still with thee.

II. An assurance given of the godly man’s happiness, with which we should encourage ourselves to answer the character of such.

1. In general, he is blessed, Ps. 5:1 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
. God blesses him, and that blessing will make him happy. Blessednesses are to him, blessings of all kinds, of the upper and nether springs, enough to make him completely happy; none of the ingredients of happiness shall be wanting to him. When the psalmist undertakes to describe a blessed man, he describes a good man; for, after all, those only are happy, truly happy, that are holy, truly holy; and we are more concerned to know the way to blessedness than to know wherein that blessedness will consist. Nay, goodness and holiness are not only the way to happiness (Rev. 22:14 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
) but happiness itself; supposing there were not another life after this, yet that man is a happy man that keeps in the way of his duty.

2. His blessedness is here illustrated by a similitude (v. 3): He shall be like a tree, fruitful and flourishing. This is the effect,

(1.) Of his pious practice; he meditates in the law of God, turns that in succum et sanguinem–into juice and blood, and that makes him like a tree. The more we converse with the word of God the better furnished we are for every good word and work. Or,
(2.) Of the promised blessing; he is blessed of the Lord, and therefore he shall be like a tree. The divine blessing produces real effects. It is the happiness of a godly ma

[1.] That he is planted by the grace of God. These trees were by nature wild olives, and will continue so till they are grafted anew, and so planted by a power from above. Never any good tree grew of itself; it is the planting of the Lord, and therefore he must in it be glorified. Isa. 61:3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
, The trees of the Lord are full of sap.
[2.] That he is placed by the means of grace, here called the rivers of water, those rivers which make glad the city of our God (Ps. 46:4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
); from these a good man receives supplies of strength and vigour, but in secret undiscerned ways.
[3.] That his practices shall be fruit, abounding to a good account, Phil. iv. 17. To those whom God first blessed he said, Be fruitful (Gen. 1:22 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
), and still the comfort and honour of fruitfulness are a recompense for the labour of it. It is expected from those who enjoy the mercies of grace that, both in the temper of their minds and in the tenour of their lives, they comply with the intentions of that grace, and then they bring forth fruit. And, be it observed to the praise of the great dresser of the vineyard, they bring forth their fruit (that which is required of them) in due season, when it is most beautiful and most useful, improving every opportunity of doing good and doing it in its proper time.
[4.] That his profession shall be preserved from blemish and decay: His leaf also shall not wither. As to those who bring forth only the leaves of profession, without any good fruit, even their leaf will wither and they shall be as much ashamed of their profession as ever they were proud of it; but, if the word of God rule in the heart, that will keep the profession green, both to our comfort and to our credit; the laurels thus won shall never wither.
[5.] That prosperity shall attend him wherever he goes, soul-prosperity. Whatever he does, in conformity to the law, it shall prosper and succeed to his mind, or above his hope.

In singing these verses, being duly affected with the malignant and dangerous nature of sin, the transcendent excellencies of the divine law, and the power and efficacy of God’s grace, from which our fruit is found, we must teach and admonish ourselves, and one another, to watch against sin and all approaches towards it, to converse much with the word of God, and abound in the fruit of righteousness; and, in praying over them, we must seek to God for his grace both to fortify us against every evil word and work and to furnish us for every good word and work.
- Matthew Henry Commentary

Joshua 1:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

This is the only place in the early English versions where the word “success” is found.

The secret of success is given in verses 5 to 9.

Joshua accepted Moses’ place of leadership without misgivings. God’s will for him was his will, and he did not hesitate.

To be all-out for God was already habitual with him; it is the unfailing prerequisite of eternal success. [Deuteronomy 6:3-5 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Luke 10:25-28 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
; Psalm 1:1-3 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

- Amplified Bible: page 258

Proverbs 24:13 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

As the cold of snow (brought from the mountains) in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the life of his masters.

God demands faithfulness, loyalty and obedience from His messenger when He commissions them to convey His Word.

This is His refreshing that He delights in, the knowledge that you are willing to heed His call and obey His instructions.

The disappointment experienced in those that are unreliable can be daunting, for if they are not trustworthy who will be prepared to send them?

When the opportunity arises and He calls you to bring His Word, your response ought to be spontaneous and immediate; as you open your mouth, He fills it and teaches you to speak.

Isaiah responded immediately to His Call, Who will go for us, who will we send? Here I am Lord, send me.

Whereas Moses was reluctant and pronounced that he was not a man of words, slow of speech and ineloquent. In Genesis 4 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)
: 11 & 12 the Lord asked him “Who has made man’s mouth? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and will teach you what you shall say.

The Spirit is moving all over the world, searching for faithful messengers – the loyal, obedient and willing.

Imagine the delight of the Father as He personally goes with you and teaches you to speak, and as you do, you refresh His Life.

The message is of great importance – desperately waited upon and sometimes a matter of life and death, or life-changing.

Fear is a great disadvantage and one should not to succumb to it, God is greater than the obscure fear in your heart. If God is for you, who then can be against you?

Are you prepared to be courageous and keep your appointment with God? The messenger who faithfully speaks the Word of God that burns like a consuming fire?

Will you become a willing participant, or will you merely be a spectator who with profound sorrow will watch as the Holy Spirit passes you by and searches for another?

1 Thessalonians 4:6 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

That no man transgress, and overreach his brother and defraud his brother in business. For the Lord is an avenger in all these, as we have already warned you solemnly and told you plainly.

We cannot separate our spiritual lives from our business/working lives, they are indivisible, all encompassing by the Supreme Authority of God.

By virtue of our union with Christ Jesus, we should follow the instructions which we learned and ought to walk so as to please and gratify God, attaining yet greater perfection in living this life.

The heathen are ignorant of the true God and have no knowledge of His will; they flagrantly transgress, disregarding the consequences. Their minds are far from God, they do not regard or consider Him in their actions and the very concept of integrity and honesty is unfamiliar and not reckoned.

Ambition and greed is pervasive and irregularities are overlooked and condoned as “business” to improve the bottom line, regardless.

Whether you work in a home, an office or direct a corporation, if you take a paperclip or us the telephone for unrelated business purposes, this is classified as theft.

The scales must balance – any deviation from the law of God would be courting disaster,
He is an Avenger in all these.

Consider for one brief moment the fact that if you cannot be honest with that which is not yours, HOW CAN YOU BE ENTRUSTED WITH TRUE WEALTH?

We should reflect upon this and change our position, if it is necessary, rectify all wrongs, before the “Winds of Adversity” blow upon all that you have by the Avenger of your defrauded brother.

Micah 7:8 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

Rejoice not against me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall arise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to me.

Our enemies derive a great deal of sadistic satisfaction from our misfortune, which does inevitably add to our sorrow and discomfort.

Nevertheless, the prophet makes himself very clear on this subject; we bear the indignation of the Lord if we have sinned against Him, until He pleads our cause and executes judgment for us.

We cannot ascertain the precise actions and thoughts of God given a situation and should consider that we may be in a “Job” position; whichever it may be, we are in His Hand and should
Trust that His judgment will ultimately bring clarity.

We should not say or do anything rashly, which courts disaster, but stay at home and quietly wait with hope for deliverance from the God of our salvation, He will hear us.

For the son dishonors the father, the daughter rises up against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies can be the men of his own house.

Trust not in a neighbor, put not confidence in a friend; keep the doors of your mouth – let God be your confidante – rely and trust in Him alone, for He never fails or betrays you.

When your enemy sees your deliverance, shame will cover them who said to you; “Where is the Lord your God?”

The intrigues which surround family and friends can be diverse and perplexing, and it can be difficult to fathom the motivation that drives them;

Therefore, show tolerance towards them and with patience pray for each one, as a wise man overlooks an offence and even as Stephen did whilst they were stoning him to death, “Father, forgive them they know not what they are doing”.

Vindication comes from God, and they will see that God honors and loves you, which is more important than reacting to the stones which they throw. Leave them be, FOR THE SPIRIT OF GLORY RESTS UPON YOU.

Genesis 12:36 [show/hide]ERROR: You have exceeded your quota of 5000 requests per day. Please contact the developer of this application if you have questions. (If you're the developer and have questions about this error message, please contact Crossway.)

And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.

God co-ordinates the time and season for everything under the sun, the limitations and restrictions set in the parameters of His Permissive Will in an allowable time frame.

In due season, Israel did according to the word of Moses, and they urgently asked of the Egyptians jewels of silver and gold and raiment, receiving favour and respect.

God hears the cry of His oppressed people world wide, and takes knowledge of and concerns Himself about each one. He is aware of the anguish of spirit and impatience, the subversion of your cause and the precise amount owed to you.

On the exact, specifically chosen day, Israel departed from Egypt bearing their wealth – pay back for 430 years of oppression.

You may regard your situation as impossible, with no hope of extricating yourself from it – The King of Egypt that oppresses you in your situation will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand!

I AM stretches out His Hand, displaying all His Wonders; and after that he will let you go – with favour and respect and restoration of all that you have worked for or lost.

God earnestly remembers you and He will bring you out from under the burdens of your situation with special and vigorous actions – by mighty acts of judgment.

He will be a God to you and you will know that it is God that lifts up His Hand to give unto you your “Promised Land”.

He will give you your “Promised Land” for a heritage; He is the Lord, we have the pledge of His changeless omnipotence and faithfulness.

Wait upon God with patience, for your season of change – AND PAYBACK TIME.