“THROUGH YOUR PRECEPTS I GET UNDERSTANDING!”

 Psalms 119:104-105                              (ESV)

“104 “THROUGH YOUR PRECEPTS I GET UNDERSTANDING”; therefore I hate every false way. 

105 YOUR WORD is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

The word PRECEPTS is defined by one dictionary as “a guiding principle or rule that is used to control, influence or regulate conduct.”   Being controlled or influenced by anyone or anything is foreign to most humans, as we are all encouraged to do things “our way”, making “our mark” in the world.  But as Believers we are to DIE to ourselves DAILY (Luke 9:23), surrendering our WILL to HIS.  

WISDOM comes from THE LORD (Proverbs 2:6) and Proverbs 3:5-7 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING. In all your ways acknowledge HIM, and HE will make straight your paths. BE NOT WISE IN YOUR OWN EYES; FEAR THE LORD, and TURN AWAY FROM EVIL.”  We are incapable of doing “the right things” even when our intentions are the best.  Unless we are driven by the SPIRIT OF ALMIGHTY GOD we will invariably wind up in the midst of calamity, needing rescuing by OUR CREATOR!  

Having our EYES OPENED to SEE “every false way” is a blessing beyond description.  It isn’t something that anyone can Glory in, simply because we cannot SEE into the future and know where the storms will appear!  Knowing that THE ONE WHO spoke CREATION into existence is guiding our lives doesn’t mean that we will have “smooth seas”, but we are PROMISED that HE will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5 as well as over 100 other verses in the BIBLE!)!  Not getting caught up in the storms, but focusing on OUR DELIVERER, should be the calming influence or regulator we depend upon!  

“THROUGH YOUR PRECEPTS I GET UNDERSTANDING” doesn’t indicate that our paths will not experience storms and difficult times, but it does mean that JESUS HIMSELF will be with us in whatever HE guides us to!  Having FAITH that HIS WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS (Isaiah 55:8-9) will allow us to go wherever HE leads!  When HE is regulating and controlling our conduct, HIS Promise is to use even our weaknesses for HIS GLORY “THROUGH YOUR PRECEPTS I GET UNDERSTANDING” makes perfect sense when we realize WHO is regulating things!!!

“It ain’t looking good???”

 A young shepherd boy went to visit his older, more experienced brothers who were in a battle with a GIANT!  The brother used a slingshot and a rock and killed the GIANT and cut off his head.  This is a TRUE account, not a fairytale.  GOD doesn’t play games!!! (1 Samuel 17) 

“MY COVENANT!”

 Genesis 17:15-21                                 (ESV)

“15 And GOD said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

16 I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her."

17 Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, "Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?"

18 And Abraham said to GOD, "Oh that Ishmael might live before you!"

19 GOD said, "No, BUT SARAH YOUR WIFE shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

20 As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation.

21 But I will establish “MY COVENANT” with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year."”

According to a dictionary, the definition of the word COVENANT is “TO PROMISE by covenant; pledge”, or a more modern translation might be “to give your word”!  The Martin’s, a Southern Gospel group, sing a song entitled “The Promise” that has been on my heart for weeks.  The second verse states “I never said that friends would never turn their backs on you, Or that the world around you wouldn't see you as a fool,

But I did say like me you'll surely be despised, And I did say my ways confound the wise” (1 Corinthians 1:27)!  This morning, I arose with “The Promise” reverberating in my heart and soul.  

Numbers 23:19 says “GOD is not man, that HE should lie, or a son of man, that HE should change his mind. Has HE said, and will HE not do it? Or has HE spoken, and will HE not fulfill it?”  HE PROMISED Abraham that HE would be “the father of a multitude of nations”.  Abraham “assumed” that his son Ishmael, born by his handmaiden Hagar.  But GOD’s Plan is seldom within the minds of HIS CREATION.  Once again we SEE, GOD IS GOD, and we ARE NOT!

In Genesis 17:1 it states that Abraham was 99 years old! Fathering children was probably not in the plan for him, and Sarah was 90, beyond her child bearing years!  But GOD answered her disbelief (in her heart ) in Genesis 18:14 when HE said “Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son."  

The WORD OF GOD is TRUTH, if HE says it, it WILL COME TO BE!  No less than 10 times the wording “MY COVENANT” is used in Genesis 17.  When THE CREATOR establishes HIS WORD, we “should” accept it as FACT!  Genesis 21:1-3 says “The LORD visited Sarah as HE had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as HE had promised.  And Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age AT THE TIME OF WHICH GOD HAD SPOKEN TO HIM.  Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, WHOM SARAH BORE HIM, ISAAC.”  “MY COVENANT” was fulfilled in that GOD DELIVERED THAT EXACTLY WHAT HE PROMISED, PRECISELY WHEN HE PROMISED IT!!!

“THE HOLY STILL BE HOLY!”

 Revelation 22:10-13                    (ESV)

“10 And HE said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and “THE HOLY STILL BE HOLY”."

12 "Behold, I AM coming soon, bringing MY recompense with ME, to repay each one for what he has done.

13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."”

Consider the Thanksgiving of 1789 when President George Washington penned his Thanksgiving Proclamation.  Times were definitely different in those days as most modern “conveniences” were not competing for the minds of the people.  Folks had no choice but to BE STILL AND KNOW THAT GOD was WORTHY to be praised and adored, to be THANKFUL that HE had BLESSED them with life, LIBERTY, and the “pursuit” of happiness!  

Mankind as a whole may have become wiser and more knowledgeable (Daniel 12), but fewer and fewer humans are part of “THE HOLY STILL BE HOLY” that John wrote about in the Scriptures above.  JESUS is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”, so why do people act as the world revolves around them?  And why do I do the same sometimes?  

As many people know, GOD has recently been “working” in/on me about “letting go” and letting HIM be GOD! Since HE is “the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end”, it should be easy for me to allow HIM to be GOD!  

“THE HOLY STILL BE HOLY” is a LOT simpler when we place GOD where HE belongs, ESPECIALLY when we a placed where we belong!!!

“THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION!”

 Thanksgiving Proclamation, 3 October 1789

Thanksgiving Proclamation

[New York, 3 October 1789]

By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

“IT IS THE GIFT FROM GOD!”

 Ephesians 2:4-10                                 (ESV)

“4 But GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which HE loved us,

5 even when WE WERE DEAD in our trespasses, made us alive together with CHRIST-BY GRACE you have been saved-

6 and raised us up with HIM and seated us with him in the heavenly places in CHRIST JESUS,

7 so that in the coming ages HE might show the immeasurable riches of HIS GRACE in kindness toward us in CHRIST JESUS.

8 For BY GRACE you have been saved THROUGH FAITH. AND THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING; “IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD”,

9 not a result of works, SO THAT NO ONE MAY BOAST.

10 For we are HIS workmanship, created in CHRIST JESUS for good works, which GOD prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

 

There are several “scars” on my body where either I have unintentionally cut myself, or where a physician has been required to correct something that had developed. One of the, and possibly the largest “scars”, was in 2017 when bypass surgery was performed on me, remediating problems that unwise decisions and genetics had caused for me. When one immerses themselves in THE WORD OF GOD with a desire to have their life changed, it usually isn’t a neat and clean process, precise with no remnants of what we once were?  “Scarring” is something that is expect!  

Hebrews 4:12 states “For the WORD OF GOD is living and active, SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and DISCERNING THE THOUGHTS AND INTENTIONS OF THE HEART.”  Even though the WORD OF GOD is SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, we will still have scars to remind us of our choices.  Just as I had always preferred not to have open heart surgery, I have NOT always wanted to experience some of the things being removed by ALMIGHTY GOD in my life!   

“IT IS THE GIFT FROM GOD” has to remind us that we are not worthy of Salvation, it is only BY GRACE that we are CHOSEN, and THROUGH FAITH that GOD grants!  The fact that our Righteousness is not a result of works should alert us ALL that we are going to Heaven ONLY because HE IS MERCIFUL!  Just in case you disagree, Romans 3:10-11 reminds us that “NONE is righteous, no, NOT ONE; NO ONE understands; NO ONE seeks for GOD.”  We ALL need to “cut away” the flesh and surrender our spirit to the SPIRIT OF GOD!  

ALMIGHTY GOD has to perform surgery on me quite often to make me more in HIS IMAGE.  The “scarring” maybe painful at the time, but making me like HIM constitutes some RADICAL changes.  Since HE IS OUR CREATOR, submitting to HIS wishes should be what we desire.  Do I willingly submit to HIS surgery, or do I have to go kicking and screaming?  Remembering that “IT IS THE GIFT FROM GOD” needs to be remembered by this servant, and that THE CREATOR is my surgeon.  My desire is s for HIM to be Glorified — and to use me to achieve that!!!

“THEN THEY BELIEVED HIS WORDS!”

 Psalms 106:6-12                                            (ESV)

“6 Both we and our fathers have sinned; we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness. 

7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider YOUR wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of YOUR steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. 

8 Yet HE saved them FOR HIS NAME’S SAKE, that HE might make known HIS MIGHTY POWER. 

9 HE rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry, and HE led them through the deep as through a desert. 

10 So HE SAVED THEM FROM THE HAND OF THE FOE AND REDEEMED THEM FROM THE POWER OF THE ENEMY. 

11 And the waters covered their adversaries; not one of them was left. 

12 “THEN THEY BELIEVED HIS WORDS;” they sang HIS praise.”

My focus during this devotional is A ”MIRROR” broken for HIS GLORY

Over the past several years I have had a picture in my mind about TRUE BELIEVERS being similar to a MIRROR reflecting CHRIST to a lost and dying world.  But only recently has that picture been more clearly defined to me.  Any mirror can reflect LIGHT, but a BROKEN MIRROR displays LIGHT in ways that can never be understood by those who have never been BROKEN!  The refraction of a BROKEN MIRROR can be breathtaking!  The image displayed will be unique to the precision of the BREAKS that mirror has experienced.  

BROKENNESS can be a painful, almost debilitating experience, but GOD often has to BREAK us VERY PRECISELY to bring us to where only HE GETS GLORY.  There are many instances that people give about being broken, but none will move us like personal experience will.  Telling you about my own BROKENNESS is too humiliating to put into words, just suffice it to say that JESUS says in Matthew 19:26 “...With man this is impossible, but with GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE."  A person’s personal BROKENNESS isn’t nearly as important and breathtaking as the HEALING that comes from afterwards.  

When JESUS opens our EYES to be able to SEE HIS HAND (usually on the other side of BROKENNESS), the LIGHT that is reflected by our BROKEN MIRROR may not be something we are especially proud of, but we want to CELEBRATE that we are repaired and still being used for HIS GLORY!  The Children of Israel had to get across the Red Sea experience before they REALLY BELIEVED!  Exodus 14:31 says “Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and THEY BELIEVED IN THE LORD and in his servant Moses.”  “THEN THEY BELIEVED HIS WORDS” is usually not something that comes without PROOF THAT HE IS GOD, which is more than likely a harrowing experience.  But when we get to the other side, we will be able to RECOGNIZE that GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR ENEMIES!  “THEN THEY BELIEVED HIS WORDS;” they sang HIS praise.”!!!

 

“BY NO MEANS!”

Romans 5:20—6:4                                  (ESV)

20 Now THE LAW CAME IN TO INCREASE THE TRESPASS, but WHERE SIN INCREASED, GRACE ABOUNDED ALL THE MORE,

21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

1 What shall we say then? ARE WE TO CONTINUE IN SIN THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND?

2 “BY NO MEANS!” How can we who died to sin still live in it?

3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into CHRIST JESUS were baptized into HIS death?

4 We were buried therefore with HIM by baptism into death, in order that, just as CHRIST was raised from the dead by the glory of the FATHER, we too might walk in newness of life.”

The song “The love of GOD” was written in 1917 by Frederick M. Lehman.  The second verse of the song reads “When hoary (gray or white with or as if with age) time shall pass away, And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall; When men who here refuse to pray, On rocks and hills and mountains call; GOD's LOVE, SO SURE, SHALL STILL ENDURE, All measureless and strong; Redeeming grace to Adam's race The saints' and angels' song”.  Writing these lyrics in way does the song justice, but I pray the message is clear?

One person has stated that “Grace is Love that cares and stoops and rescues”.  GOD’S LOVE was demonstrated to man most when HE sent HIS SON among us, both as an example of HOLINESS, and as a SACRIFICIAL SUBSTITUTE for we who were CHOSEN before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).  GOD’S GRACE is immeasurable and without end, but we mustn’t take it for granted, or cheapen it’s majesty.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian and minister, wrote a book entitled “THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP” in which he wrote that cheap grace was "the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."

The Apostle Paul was writing to the church of Rome that “BY NO MEANS” were Believers to become so enamored with GRACE that we lose sight of the price it cost JESUS CHRIST!  We don’t have an unlimited “credit card” to sin, basically defacing the LOVE OF GOD!  THE LAW CAME IN TO IDENTIFY AND INCREASE THE TRESPASS, but also to say that JESUS freely accepted the debt of THE CHOSEN when HE went to Calvary, IN OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER!

We are CHOSEN to “...deny himself and take up his cross and follow ME” in Matthew 16:24.  Our “cross” means that our selfish desires should be sacrificed on the altar DAILY and we should follow HIS LEADERSHIP, much like the Israelites in the wilderness followed THE CLOUD (Exodus 13:22)!  Enjoying “sin” only lasts for a season (Hebrews 11:25), but SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT (Numbers 32:23)!  “BY NO MEANS” should we ever think otherwise!

“BE STRONG IN THE LORD!”

 Ephesians 6:10-13                                         (ESV)

“10 Finally, “BE STRONG IN THE LORD” and in the strength of HIS might.

11 Put on the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

12 FOR WE DO NOT WRESTLE AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers OVER THIS PRESENT DARKNESS, against the SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES.

13 Therefore take up the whole armor of GOD, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, TO STAND FIRM.”

The SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES are at work overtime currently in “this world”!  It is evident to anyone whose SPIRITUAL EYES have been opened that THE BATTLE is raging, and we MUST have on the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD as soon as we get off our knees in the morning, until we lay our heads on our pillow at night!  Satan is running scared because he knows that he has already been defeated, but he wants to take as many to hades with him as possible!  

We mustn’t lose sight that we are on A TEAM.  Either we are on the side of the WINNERS, or with the ones who are LOSERS!  Just because we have setbacks and troubled times doesn’t indicate that we have LOST!  We are conquerors through HIM WHO loves us (Romans 8:37)!  According to John 17, our TEAM has THE FATHER and THE SON as our most valuable assets, but WE MUST REMEMBER THAT!  In John 17:23 JESUS says “I in them and YOU in ME, that they may become PERFECTLY ONE, SO THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW THAT YOU SENT ME AND LOVED THEM EVEN AS YOU LOVED ME”!!!

One of the greatest tools that “the enemy” has in his arsenal is to cause us to DOUBT that GOD is able to overcome his efforts.  Please remember that this is the same enemy that lost at the Red Sea in Exodus 14, was at the wrong end of David’s slingshot in 1 Samuel 17, and especially was whipped at the empty tomb of JESUS!  Our TEAM is THE VICTOR, and the opponent has been DEFEATED!  That is what we MUST REMEMBER!  

FEAR and DOUBT are exactly opposite to living in FAITH.  YAHWEH spoke these worlds into existence from nothing.  HE is able to get this lowly servant through whatever HE allows to be in my path.  SEEING GOD in everything instead of seeing the enemy is what I need to work on.  Joseph (Genesis 37-50) asked a question of his brothers in Genesis 50:19 “DO NOT FEAR, FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD?”  We MUST recognize that WE ARE IN THE PLACE OF THE LORD!  GOD is still GOD even though we fail HIM!  “BE STRONG IN THE LORD” and remember what TEAM you are on!

“THE LIFE THAT THE LORD HAS ASSIGNED!”

 1 Corinthians 7:17                    (ESV)

“Only let each person lead “THE LIFE THAT THE LORD HAS ASSIGNED” to him, and to which GOD has called him. This is my rule in all the churches.”

Seeing those who show no signs of following CHRIST experiencing what “this world” might consider a successful life can be tough to accept.  But a  person who achieves tremendous financial gain could actually have an underlying health concern that even they are unaware of.  A person who is living a life free from any identifiable obstacles can die unexpectedly from any number of issues!  The thing that we must recognize is that ALMIGHTY GOD in Exodus 33:19 GOD tells Moses  "I will make all MY goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you MY NAME 'The LORD.' And I WILL BE GRACIOUS TO WHOM I WILL BE GRACIOUS, and WILL SHOW MERCY ON WHOM I WILL SHOW MERCY.”  Identifying the BLESSINGS and MERCIES of CHRIST can sometimes escape our EYES, but when we SEE through the prism of the CROSS, a new LIGHT shines on everything!  

Just because others experience financial blessings doesn’t indicate that their lives are pleasing GOD.  And just because someone is struggling to pay the bills doesn’t mean that they are out of GOD’S WILL!  In Genesis 37 - 41 Joseph was sold into slavery, worked as a servant to Potiphar, sent to prison unjustly, and finally was elevated to Second in Command of all of Egypt!  GOD used everything in Joseph’s life for HIS GLORY and to prepare Joseph for what lie ahead in his future.   

When we finally understand and have our EYES OPENED to SEE that GOD is using “all things” for HIS GLORY (Romans 8:28), our “suffering” takes on a different meaning.  If GOD has CHOSEN us to SUFFER for HIM, we should make sure HE is getting Glory!  If GOD is Blessing us with anything (especially BREATH!), we should make sure HE is getting Glory!  The bottom line is that GOD deserves Glory in everything as we are not worthy of anything, especially LIFE IN JESUS!

This wretch of a man grows weary from time to time of the struggles of every day life.  It seems that most people want to claim the “good times” when talking about the PROMISES OF GOD, but what about John 16:33 when JESUS “promises” “I have said these things to you, that IN ME you may have PEACE. IIN THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION. But take heart; I have overcome the world."  This is a PROMISE OF GOD that most want to forget.  Why would a LOVING FATHER expose HIS children to painful times when HE could prevent them?  Maybe because HE gets Glory from us learning to depend on HIM to get us through the hard times?

“Only let each person lead “THE LIFE THAT THE LORD HAS ASSIGNED” to him, and to which GOD has called him” wasn’t placed in the WORD OF GOD by chance or circumstance.  The LORD has a PLAN and that is for us to Glorify GOD!  Maybe one day I will learn to LET GO and allow GOD TO BE GOD and simply lead “THE LIFE THAT THE LORD HAS ASSIGNED” to me???

“CHOSEN RACE!”

 1 Peter 2:9-12                                      (ESV)

“9 But you are a “CHOSEN RACE”, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a people for HIS OWN POSSESSION, that YOU MAY PROCLAIM THE EXCELLENCIES OF HIM WHO CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT.

10 Once you were not a people, BUT NOW you are GOD's people; once you had not received mercy, BUT NOW you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to ABSTAIN FROM THE PASSIONS OF THE FLESH, which WAGE WAR AGAINST YOUR SOUL.

12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD DEEDS and GLORIFY GOD on the day of visitation.”

Why am I CHOSEN by GOD ALMIGHTY when HE has ALL OF CREATION to choose from?  Choosing a servant with no “redeeming characteristics” doesn’t seem like the best Plan for a CREATOR WHO has almost 8 Billion people from which to choose.  But HE could have called ten thousand angels to rescue HIM from the cross of Calvary as well!  GOD doesn’t need a great orator, nor a powerful leader, nor does HE require a wealthy business tycoon to accomplish HIS PLAN.  HE uses those who realize that HE IS GOD, AND WE ARE NOT!!!

HIS PLAN is not always what most people would expect to SEE.  Our finite minds are totally incapable of figuring out THE HOLY GOD and HIS PURPOSE. When GOD’S PLAN and PURPOSE is REVEALED to us so precisely, we KNOW that HE is CALLING US OUT OF DARKNESS AND INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT, and MUST be aware that “the enemy” will do everything within his power to interrupt the PLAN OF GOD.    Satan thought that JESUS was defeated on Calvary, but in three days THE TRUTH was unleashed!  

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 states “But, as it is written, "What no EYE has SEEN, nor EAR HEARD, nor the HEART OF MAN IMAGINED, what GOD has prepared for those who love HIM"- these things GOD has revealed to us through the SPIRIT. For the SPIRIT searches everything, even the depths of GOD.”  

Although I am not the best person, even in my neighborhood, I AM CHOSEN by ALMIGHTY GOD to fulfill HIS PLAN “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14)!  Deuteronomy 7:7-8 says that because the LORD LOVES YOU is why HE is gracious to HIS CHOSEN!  No, it is NOT because I am worthy, but because I am part of a “CHOSEN RACE” that HE keeps performing the miraculous in my life!  

“EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES!”

 Judges 17:1-6                                                (ESV)

“1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.

2 And he said to his mother, "The 1,100 pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." And his mother said, "Blessed be my son by the LORD."

3 And he restored the 1,100 pieces of silver to his mother. And his mother said, "I dedicate the silver to the LORD from my hand for my son, to make a carved image and a metal image. Now therefore I will restore it to you."

4 So when he restored the money to his mother, his mother took 200 pieces of silver and gave it to the silversmith, who made it into a carved image and a metal image. And it was in the house of Micah.

5 And the man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and household gods, and ordained one of his sons, who became his priest.

6 In those days there was no king in Israel. “EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES!!!”

We each are led on a JOURNEY in life.  What we accomplish on our JOURNEY is NOT determined by our earthly success.  This “Micah” was different than the Prophet Micah, who wrote in Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your GOD?”  This Micah stole 1,100 pieces of silver from his own mother!  After returning the money his mother gave almost 20% of it to an idol maker and told him to form him a carved image?  He had stolen something from his own mother and was rewarded with 20% of what he returned to her???

To say that “EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES” was almost laughable!  This man even hired a stranger, a Levite, and said “Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest."  This man had exhibited no traits worthy of Priesthood, but he was a Levite and Micah saw the opportunity to appease what others thought about him????

In 1 Corinthians 7:17 the Apostle Paul writes “Only let each person lead the life that the LORD has assigned to him, AND TO WHICH GOD HAS CALLED HIM. This is my rule in all the churches.”  We must know that ALMIGHTY GOD isn’t impressed with our pedigrees nor our titles.  GOD has a PLAN for each person, and you can rest assured that stealing from others, ESPECIALLY YOUR MOM, isn’t something that GOD HONORS!  This Micah “DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES” and never considered searching for GOD!

Are we any better than this Micah?  Do we do what is best IN OUR OWN EYES instead of searching for the will of GOD for our lives?  “The heart is deceitful above all things, and DESPERATELY SICK; who can understand it?” is written in Jeremiah 17:9.  Unless we are following THE CLOUD (Exodus 13:21-22), we are trusting in the wrong thing!  “EVERYONE DID WHAT WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES” is NOT what I want said about me when I am at the Judgment Seat!  My prayer is that I will be an example of following THE CLOUD and not my own desires!!!

“GROW UP!”

2 Peter 2:1-5                             (ESV)

“1 So PUT AWAY ALL MALICE and ALL DECEIT and HYPOCRISY and ENVY and all SLANDER.  

2 Like newborn infants, LONG FOR THE PURE SPIRITUAL MILK, that BY IT you may “GROW UP” into salvation-

3 IF INDEED you have tasted that the LORD is good.

4 As you come to HIM, a LIVING STONE rejected by men but in the sight of GOD CHOSEN and PRECIOUS,

5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to GOD through JESUS CHRIST.”

This is the first epistle (formal letter) written by Peter to churches who were founded as a result of The Dispersion, the general title applied to  efforts to eradicate THE CHURCH by forces of “this world” during the mid to late first century.  Over time these efforts resulted in THE CHURCH being spread into every corner of the earth and much of the New Testament being written.  The Apostle Paul was used to pen a lot of GOD’S MESSAGE to mankind, but Peter wrote some very thought provoking messages, many in this his first letter to the churches.  

Probably my favorite verse of 1 Peter is a few verses later in 1 Peter 2:9.  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, A PEOPLE FOR HIS OWN POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of HIM WHO called you out of darkness into HIS marvelous LIGHT.”  Believers are CHOSEN (John 15:16) as A PEOPLE FOR HIS OWN POSSESSION!  We are NOT simply afterthoughts, but we’re CHOSEN before the foundation of the world that we should be Holy and blameless before HIM (Ephesians 1:4)!  

Probably the easiest thing to overlook is when Peter says “LONG FOR THE SPIRITUAL MILK”, that BY IT you may GROW UP into salvation-IF INDEED you have tasted that the LORD is good.”  Everyone seems to want to eat the mature foods without GROWING UP Spiritually?  By experiencing the difficulties and pitfalls of GROWING Spiritually, GOD has been able to MATURE me FOR HIS GLORY in ways that I won’t know for a long time.  I’ve said this so frequently, but GOD HAS A PLAN, for each of us, and we won’t be “content” until HE has us where we are where we can fulfill HIS PLAN!  

Doing anything outside of HIS PLAN will never satisfy, it will never fill our hearts, it will always leave us empty, searching for PEACE.  But when we are PRECISELY where HIS PLAN calls for us to be, we can MATURE how HE wants us to, and HOW WE NEED TO!  Even if HE calls us to The Dispersion, or into The Wilderness, or wherever HE LEADS, as longs as we TRUST HIM in our journey to “GROW UP”, HE will be GLORIFIED....and we will be content!!!

“LEST WE FORGET!”

 Deuteronomy 4:5-9.                      (ESV)

“5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my GOD commanded me, that YOU SHOULD DO THEM IN THE LAND YOU ARE ENTERING TO TAKE possession of it.

6 KEEP THEM AND DO THEM, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'

7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our GOD .is to us, whenever we call upon him?

8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9 "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, “LEST YOU FORGET” THE THINGS YOUR EYES HAVE SEEN , and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. MAKE THEM KNOWN TO YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN-“. 

Failure to keep the pain our past experiences in our memory banks is foolish.  Why would you go back to something that had caused you pain and heartache?  Yet I have done it repeatedly in my life, and a few times knowing that pain would be a byproduct of my actions!  GOD’S WORD is given “as a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalms 119:105), yet sometimes we are so caught up in the busyness of life that we FORGET lessons learned!  

GOD is telling us that “I have taught you statutes and rules, as the LORD my GOD commanded me, that YOU SHOULD DO THEM IN THE LAND YOU ARE ENTERING TO TAKE possession of it,  KEEP THEM AND DO THEM, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding...”.  If we continue to be on the spinning top of “this world”, living in the vortex of the evil one, what do we expect to reap AT HARVEST TIME?   

Learning from our mistakes is part growing up.  Our WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING comes from listening to the SPIRIT OF GOD, especially after we have made bad choices.  Seeing people who are making WISE DECISIONS have usually been through some painful things in their lives.  To ignore the lessons of the past is almost like we are asking to experience more of the same results.  We can LEARN from our past, or we can wallow in the same pig sty (Luke 15:11-32) that we are in!

YOUR CHILDREN AND YOUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN can learn from our mistakes, providing they are aware of them.  Do you prefer they go through similar pain and heartache that you have experienced?  Then why don’t we alert them that we have already made “errors” and the consequences were not enjoyable?  We need to REMEMBER our past and the pains we brought upon ourselves!  “LEST WE FORGET” is a warning that we need to heed!

“JESUS WITHDREW!”

 John 6:15                               (ESV)

“PERCEIVING then that they were about to come and take HIM by force to make HIM king, “JESUS WITHDREW” again to the mountain by HIMSELF.”

JESUS is GOD (John 10:30), so HE could tell how people were going to react before they ever said or did anything to indicate their intentions.  HE wasn’t on earth to establish an earthly kingdom, although HE could have at anytime.  He wasn’t here to amass great wealth.  HE already owns the cattle of a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10)!  The purpose of JESUS coming to earth was to REDEEM we who are HIS (John 17:6).  

But we have to WAIT ON THE LORD (Psalms 27:14)!  We are not wise enough to eradicate cancer, we aren’t able to make our skin a different color, nor even smart or good enough to figure out a way into Heaven!  WE MUST HAVE DIVINE INTERVENTION!  

When “JESUS WITHDREW”, HE did so because HIS time had not yet come.  HE lived a perfect life, always doing what the FATHER would have done.   MANY times the people were emotionally “moved” to proclaim HIM as KING, but HE KNEW that no one can come to ME unless the FATHER draws him (John 6:44). HE was ALL ABOUT Glorifying ALMIGHTY GOD.   

So many times I want to “build on” things that THE LORD has accomplished in my life, leaving HIM behind!  To be more like HIM, I must remember that “JESUS WITHDREW” when THE FATHER wasn’t Glorified.  When I begin to be elevated, I must remember that without HIM I would be nothing!  1 Peter 5:6 says “HUMBLE YOURSELVES, therefore, under the MIGHTY HAND OF GOD so that AT THE PROPER TIME HE MAY EXALT YOU”!  “JESUS WITHDREW” at the this time, but GOD ELEVATED HIM at the appropriate time

“FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME!”

John 12:27-32                                  (ESV)

“27 "NOW IS MY SOUL TROUBLED. And WHAT SHALL I SAY? 'FATHER, save ME from this hour'? But for THIS PURPOSE I HAVE COME TO THIS HOUR.

28 “FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME”." Then a voice came from Heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 

29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to HIM."

30 JESUS answered, "This VOICE has come for your sake, not MINE.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of “this world” be cast out.

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to MYSELF."”

JESUS had just experienced HIS “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem in John 12:12.  Now HE is saying that HIS SOUL IS TROUBLED, something that must have caused HIS disciples a bit of concern?  JESUS seemed to ALWAYS have the correct response to the problems presented by others, now HE is telling them HIS SOUL IS TROUBLED?  

One morning recently I awoke with a sense of “dread” gripping my heart and mind.  Now most mornings I am a bit groggy, but upbeat and happy to be CHOSEN to serve another day.  So I was TROUBLED by feeling of NOT BEING IN CONTROL of what MIGHT BE ahead for me that day.  WALKING BY FAITH is KNOWING that GOD is leading us in the PLAN to GLORIFY HIS NAME, not to make us prosperous and successful.  JESUS prayed “FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME” knowing that it would entail suffering the cross.  

In John 17:23 JESUS says “I in them and YOU in me, that they may become PERFECTLY ONE, so that the world may know that YOU sent ME and loved them even as YOU loved ME.”  HE had NEVER been separate from GOD, so HE was “sailing uncharted waters”!  In John 10:18 HE tells the Jews “No one takes it (my LIFE) from me, but I lay it down of MY own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my FATHER." HE HAD THE PROMISE of GOD THE FATHER that HE would overcome death, hell and the grave, AND HE DID!  

Not being IN CONTROL can cause FEAR and DOUBT to swarm our feeble minds, especially if we aren’t PERFECTLY ONE!  Knowing that GOD is molding us for HIS PLAN is comforting, but we must realize that HE IS GOD, and we are not!  GOD’S PLAN called for JESUS, HIS ONLY SON, to suffer an unimaginable death.  Yet JESUS accepted GOD’S PLAN to be able to say “FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME!!!  Will we???

“RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT!”

 John 20:19-23                                                (ESV)

“19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, JESUS came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."

20 When HE had said this, HE showed them HIS hands and HIS side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the LORD.

21 JESUS said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the FATHER has sent ME, “EVEN SO I AM SENDING YOU”."

22 And when HE had said this, HE BREATHED ON THEM and said to them, "RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT.

23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."

Recently I shared how JESUS “revealed” HIMSELF to Mary Magdalene outside of the tomb HE was placed in, but HE didn’t reveal HIMSELF to Peter and John??  Speculation can cause us to travel a path where we “need” to understand everything instead of WALKING BY FAITH!  Proverbs 3:5 says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and DO NOT LEAN ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!” Sure, our minds want TO KNOW, but JESUS wants us to HAVE FAITH IN HIM!

On the evening of “the first day of the week”, JESUS came to visit the disciples, AND REVEAL HIS PLAN for them.  HE breathed on them and said “RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT”!  JESUS had Promised the COMFORTER before HIS crucifixion (John 14:16), and even though the disciples heard HIS WORDS, they couldn’t KNOW the fullness of HIS WORDS until they experienced it.  

Keep in mind that the disciples were LOCKED in a room FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, when JESUS entered, even through the locked door.  GOD wants us to have FAITH in HIM, and HE Divinely orchestrates our lives to GROW that FAITH.  In Genesis 22:12 Abraham demonstrated that he had FAITH IN GOD.  Scripture records “HE (GOD)said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I KNOW THAT YOU FEAR GOD, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from ME."  GOD is GOD and HE already knew that Abraham would obey HIM!  The thing we mustn’t overlook is that Abraham’s FAITH was matured by this trial and he now KNEW that the Promise of GOD would be fulfilled. The disciples were about to “RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT”, which was a Promise from GOD IN THE FLESH!  

The Promise of “RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT” is something that cannot be undersold and NEVER under appropriated.   The Third Person of the Trinity indwells every Believer, yet we tend to allow FEAR and DOUBT to rob us of our JOY and PEACE.  “The enemy”, aka “the great deceiver”, wants us to live in Exodus 14:13.  But he knows Exodus 14:27-28 is just around the corner and his armies are going to once again experience defeat!  JESUS lives in me (John 17:23) and HE PROMISED us to “RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT”!  

“UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURE!”

 John 20:3-10

“3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there,

7 and the face cloth, which had been on JESUS' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 

8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he SAW AND BELIEVED;

9 for AS YET THEY DID NOT “UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURE”, that HE MUST RISE FROM THE DEAD.

10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.”

UNDERSTANDING THE SCRIPTURES isn’t something that one simply “wishes” to come about.  FATHER GOD, in HIS infinite wisdom, reveals things to people at precisely the correct time to accomplish HIS PURPOSE and Glorify HIS SON.  Peter and the other disciple, believed by many to be John, had just spent three years following JESUS, WHO John 1:1 identifies as THE WORD.  One might think that they were familiar enough with THE WORD to “UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURE”?  But they were seeing the empty tomb and grave clothes, but they couldn’t “UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURE”, that HE (JESUS) MUST RISE FROM THE DEAD! 

The other disciple (John) was the first that SAW AND BELIEVED, but Scripture doesn’t indicate the he immediately does anything with this knowledge that JESUS was risen.  On the other hand, when Mary saw JESUS a few minutes later, she went and told the disciples that she had seen THE LORD and what had HE said to her.  The disciples were locked  in a room FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS later that evening when JESUS “revealed” HIMSELF to them.  

There may be some who know why JESUS did NOT choose to reveal HIMSELF to Peter and John earlier that day, but not me?  Instead, it was Mary Magdalene who JESUS “revealed” HIMSELF to that Resurrection Sunday.  This woman, who “seven demons had been driven out of her” by JESUS, was now the first to SEE HIM after HIS resurrection.  Was she holier than others?  Did she follow the Ten Commandments more closely than others?  No, all I can say was SHE WAS CHOSEN by ALMIGHTY GOD to be the first.  

Charles H. Spurgeon is quoted as saying “GOD is too good to be unkind and HE is too wise to be mistaken.  And when we cannot trace HIS hand, we must trust HIS heart.”  Sometimes we cannot understand what GOD is doing, and why HE is doing it, but we must BELIEVE THAT HE IS ACCOMPLISHING HIS PLAN!  Exodus 14:13-14 says “And Moses said to the people, "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, WHICH HE WILL WORK FOR YOU TODAY. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The LORD will fight for you, AND YOU HAVE ONLY TO BE SILENT."  We don’t have to UNDERSTAND what HE is doing, NOR HOW HE IS DOING IT, but we need to BELIEVE that HE IS WORKING HIS PLAN!!!

John 8:34-47

John 8:34-47                         (ESV)

“34 JESUS answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, EVERYONE WHO PRACTICES SIN IS A SLAVE TO SIN.

35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.

36 So if the SON sets you free, you will be free indeed.

37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because MY WORD FINDS NO PLACE IN YOU.

38 I speak of what I have seen with my FATHER, and you do what you have heard from your father."

39 They answered him, "Abraham is our father." JESUS said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

40 but now you seek to kill ME, a MAN WHO has told you the TRUTH that I heard from GOD. This is not what Abraham did.

41 You are doing the works your father did." They said to HIM, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father-even GOD."

42 JESUS said to them, "If GOD were your FATHER, you would love ME, for I came from GOD and I am here. I came not of MY own accord, but HE sent ME.

43 WHY DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND what I say? It is because YOU CANNOT BEAR TO HEAR MY WORD.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and DOWS NOT STAND IN THE TRUTH, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES.

45 But because I tell the TRUTH, YOU DO NOT BELIEVE ME.

46 Which one of you convicts ME of sin? If I tell the TRUTH, why do you not believe ME?

47 Whoever is OF GOD hears the WORDS OF GOD. THE REASON WHY YOU DO NOT HEAR THEM IS THAT YOU ARE NOT OF GOD."”

“THREE TIMES!”

 Luke 22:31-34                                         (ESV)

“31 "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat,

32 but I have prayed for you that YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL. AND  WHEN YOU HAVE TURNED AGAIN, STRENGTHEN YOUR BROTHERS."

33 Peter said to HIM, "LORD, I am ready to go with YOU both to prison and to death."

34 JESUS said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny “THREE TIMES” that you know ME."

My view on the affairs of our nation and the world.

2 Corinthians 4:4 says “In their case the god of this world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the “unbelievers”, to keep them from SEEING the LIGHT of the gospel of the glory of CHRIST, WHO is the IMAGE of GOD.”  So “unbelievers” cannot SEE, for they have been blinded.  Even though they cannot SEE, they will be accountable for rejecting JESUS, as Romans 1:20 says “So they are without excuse”!

However, l see some Believers that are being “sifted” (Luke 22:31) by the devil just as Peter was right before JESUS was arrested and crucified.  Scripture is very plain that the PLAN OF GOD was fulfilled so meticulously that the crucifixion was performed at the EXACT TIME in HIStory to fulfill numerous prophecies.  Peter had demonstrated THE FAITH that JESUS said HE WOULD BUILD HIS CHURCH ON (Matthew 16:18).  Now Peter was denying he even knew JESUS “THREE TIMES” as part of GOD’S PLAN.  

Can you just imagine how Peter must have felt being told by THE CREATOR that the FAITH he exhibited would be what HIS CHURCH would be built upon?  Now imagine having the opportunity to STAND for JESUS and willingly DENYING that you even knew WHO HE was?  But it ALL had to happen JUST AS IT DID for GOD’S PLAN to be fulfilled. 

GOD hasn’t relinquished HIS THRONE and HE hasn’t succumbed to the evil hearts of man!  Peter was informed by JESUS that HE had “prayed for you that YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL” so that Peter could STRENGTHEN YOUR BROTHERS!  In John 17:9 JESUS prayed for us too, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom YOU have given ME, for they are YOURS.”  

It was probably confusing and profoundly stressful for the disciples to experience the crucifixion of JESUS.  And the tremendous INJUSTICE has never been matched!!!  But it was part of GOD’S PLAN, and that worked out wonderfully for ALL MANKIND.  GOD’S PLAN is STILL being fulfilled, even though we cannot understand why somethings are happening.  Just as Peter had to deny JESUS “THREE TIMES”, we will have to remember that JESUS prayed for us that YOUR FAITH MAY NOT FAIL!!!

“HISTORY!”

1 Kings 16:6-11                         (ESV)

“6 And Baasha slept with his fathers and was buried at Tirzah, and Elah his son reigned in his place.

7 Moreover, the word of the LORD came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house, both BECAUSE OF ALL THE EVIL THAT HE DID IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, provoking HIM to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam, and also because he destroyed it.

8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha began to reign over Israel in Tirzah, and he reigned two years.

9 But his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired against him. When he was at Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza, who was over the household in Tirzah,

10 Zimri came in and struck him down and killed him, in the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.

11 When he began to reign, AS SOON AS HE HAD SEATED HIMSELF ON HIS THRONE, HE STRUCK DOWN ALL OF THE HOUSE OF Baasha. HE DID NOT LEAVE HIM A SINGLE MALE OF HIS RELATIVES OR HIS FRIENDS.

12 Thus Zimri DESTROYED ALL OF THE HOUSE OF BAASHA, “ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF THE LORD”, which he spoke against Baasha BY JEHU THE PROPHET,

13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, which they sinned and which they made Israel to sin, provoking the LORD GOD of Israel to anger with their idols.”

Hebrews 10:31                             (ESV)

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living GOD.”

My Spirit will not allow me to expound on these Scriptures right now!  GOD is still able!!!