How to Bring Reformation in America - 2 Chron 15

 

April 16, 2024

 

This blog’s jumping off point is 2 Chronicles 15:17 following along with Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, April 15^th devotional.

Reformation in Judah

Although we’ll cover most of the chapter here, I would encourage you to read the entire Bible chapter on your own or along with this blogpost. Here are the pertinent parts I’d like to cover:

In this Scripture, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Azariah (name means, “the Lord helps”), the son of Oded, the prophet (whose name meant “to sustain, hold or lift up”) to deliver a message to King Asa. And this is crucial for us to know today. He said to Asa, “The lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake Him. He will forsake you.”

In linking this to the New Testament, we can look to Scriptures like James 4:8: “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” By the way, the Lord is speaking to believers who are still living as if they are sinners in the world. This verse come after verse 7, which says, “Therefore, submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Then 8 telling us to draw near to God. There’s no way you will even want to get closer to God if you still dabbling and playing footsy with the devil. After we submit to God, then we can resist the devil and develop a desire for God.

Idolatry Leads to Catastrophe and Conflict

The verses after that describe how the trouble that came when the people turned their backs on God but how He heard them when they cried out to Him. God sent Asa a message to strengthen him to do the right thing and remove the idols and idol worship that brought them to ruin. He not only removed the idols, but he also called the people to gather to worship the Lord and they came in great numbers, “when they saw that the Lord was with him.” This is proof that we never need gimmicks to lure people to gather when the Lord is with us. The enemy uses lures to deceive and trick people. Therefore, the people of God have no business using hype and other fleshy and demonic methods to lure people to their gatherings. Notice the emphasis is on “their” gatherings.

Covenanting with God -- Again

So, they gathered together, worshipped, and offered the Lord sacrifices. Then, they entered into covenant with the Lord (v.12), “With all their heart and with all their soul.” This is the rededication of a nation that had gone rogue. And we see in this Scripture, “Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death.” It was that serious. Now, you may think this is harsh, but when you consider what the people had experienced when not serving God and in blatant rebellion in the form of idolatry against God, you see why the weak link had to be eliminated. Now, these are not the methods God uses today because of Christ, Who bore all the sins of mankind in His mortal body. But the situation had been grave, and it had to be dealt with with finality, so whether young or old male or female, those who refused to submit to God and wanted to continue in rebellion had to be put to death.

Swearing an Oath to God --- Again

Then the people (V. 14), “took an oath before God with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams’ horns.” This was no, “Oh, I’m worshiping God on the inside” kind of worship. Ever meet those people, who can shout and carry on about a sports team or idol but not for God? Now, I’m not saying it’s never appropriate to commune with God in quiet contemplation and prayer, but that’s, generally, not worship or celebration.

And in v. 15, we see the people rejoicing in their rededication to the Lord. “And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul, and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.”

But even after all of that, some people had to be deposed who had governmental positions, like the king’s mother. Imagine that. Moving onto verse 16, “Also, he removed Maacah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah, and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.”

However, they still did not cleanse the land all the way, “But the high places were not removed from Israel. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was loyal all his days. Then he brought back the sacred things back into the temple of silver and gold and it verse 19, we see the result of this rededication to God of the people and the land: “And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of the reign of Asa.

We have to realize what it took for King Asa to go against the grain of the culture in that time to rededication the nation and the people to God. And although He did not do it perfectly by tearing all of the altar of paganism, God still honored him with 35 years of peace. A miracle in those days. Asa did difficult things including deposing his own mother.

America Needs This Kind of Reformation

Now, I know that America is not Israel, but the Bible shows us the character and methods of God. He deals with nations as He deals with people. Think about it. When we sin, the protocol to restoration is repentance, asking for forgiveness, and consistently walking in obedience never to return to that sin, although we often do. The Scripture describes this as “a dog returning to its own vomit.”  Engaging in recurring sin is like vomiting and eating what you vomited out. Disgusting, yes, but that’s how Peter refers to it in  2 Peter 2:22: “But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit, and a sow having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”

Applying this pattern to America’s current condition, the nation which was started and covenanted with God to be a Gospel-sending nation to all of the world, now itself needs the Gospel to be sent to it for it has turned it’s back on God, now had enemies within and without, and is on the verge of complete annihilation. We go to sleep at night assuming that the government has it all under control, when in fact, if we are paying attention, we should realize it absolutely does not. In fact, the government is in freefall due to moral turpitude and a complete lack of justice. We are living in Isaiah 5:20 and we need voices like Azariah and Oded to the Asa’s of today.

Now, Asa had a heart to pursue God and to do the right thing. We don’t have that kind of leadership today; at least none that has the power to lead and to encourage change. Our leadership is not godly but patently and openly un-godly, and we are feeling it and will feel it even more before it gets better.

BUT GOD …

You, see, even in our dire condition, God has the answer. He has those in place hidden and in the open ready to speak a word to the arising Asa. But this time, this Asa must remove the high places in addition to repenting and re-covenanting with God and encouraging the people. And, again, the people must see that God is with our Asa. It remains to be seen, if our Asa will do the right thing and cry out to God and openly bring the people together, tossing out those who refuse to bend the knee in submission to do the right thing.

As we do this, we have to stay out of vain arguments with people who are blind and under some kind of spell by the demonic powers now in charge, but as I always say, EVIL HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE. And by God’s amazing grace, no mater how bleak it may look, we will get our Asa and He will do the right thing by God, His fellow countrymen and this nation.

Friends, I had not intended this to have anything to do with America, but as I continued to read yesterday’s devotional Scripture, I realize this is America’s plight. She needs a brave leader like Asa to put away the idols, depose idol-worshipers who refuse to submit, and tear down the altars to pagan entities.

And individually, we also need to turn back to God, destroy our own idols and altars, and walk in submission to Him, and yes, His laws as enable by His Holy Spirit remembering, that Jesus came to fulfill the law, not to do away with it. We need to know the Word for ourselves not through another person, although others can encourage and clarify. We must know His Word for ourselves, and we must know Him for ourselves.

In conclusion, as individuals, we have the responsibility of take heed of 2 Chronicles 7:14. As this chapter showed us the predicament Israel had been in when they cried out to God, He told them what needed to be done, same pattern here. So, again I say, “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 forgive their sin and heal their land.” God looks to His people first to repent and come back to Him, just as we just saw in the Scripture in this blog. It’s the people of God that need to initiate this turning away from our own idolatry, and there is plenty, and back to him in repentance, away from our wicked ways, seeking him in prayer and intercession, then …

HE WILL HEAL OUR LAND.

Please join me in humbling, praying, seeking, and turning from our wicked ways.

Finally, not only do we need to 2 Chronicles 7:14 (our responsibility as the Church) but we need to pray that the nation gets a leader who will lead us into 2 Chronicles 15:15 (the responsibility of godly leadership to lead the nation) in committing to God with all our hearts, all our souls, that He will be found by us and give us rest all around. 

 

The Anointing Breaks the Yoke - Who's Answering the Door?

 

                                  The Anointing Breaks the Yoke

 

As I contemplated the other morning, the Lord brought back this spiritual truth to me “the anointing breaks the yoke.” (Isaiah 10:27). “It shall come to pass in that day That his burden will be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, And the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil.”

 

He was saying that whatever yoke the enemy has placed on you, the only way to break it is to meet it with the anointing. What does that mean? Glad you asked. I’ll “break” it down with His story to demonstrate.  

 

You can consider the yoke as a taunting, a kind of harassment or torment, anything that brings bondage, ruining your peace in addition. The anointing is what is needed to break that hold. Let’s consider the story of David and the “yoke” of the Philistines over the Israelites, in the form of Goliath. They were taunting the armies of God, bringing a reviling of God Himself and the Israelites. As far as they could see, they had nothing with which to break this hold. In all their might in the form of King Saul, who the Bible tells us stood head and shoulders above everyone else, they could not break it. Saul became a man of might in his own right. There was a time when he was anointed by the Lord, but instead of humbling himself, he became proud. This, of course, was no match for Goliath who apparently stood about nine feet tall or more. That would be several feet above Saul. So, for Saul to go one on one with Goliath would not have ended well. Plus, Goliath was demonically empowered. Israel apparently had no one to match the power of this mighty giant. Their natural strength to Goliath’s supernatural power would only end in their slaughter. Therefore, they were cowering before the giant bound by fear.

 

What to do?

 

Enter this “little boy,” as the reviling giant called David. Let’s remember that David was the forgotten one of Jesse’s 8 sons. Out in the hills of En Gedi tending the sheep where only God knew what he carried. Forgotten! How do we know he was forgotten. Well, when Saul had lost the anointing and favor of God through disobedience, the prophet Samuel came to anoint a new king from Jesse's house on God’s orders. Jesse gathered his sons, everyone except David. When Samuel thought for sure this one was it because he looked “kingly,” then when God said no, that’s not the one, then another, oh surely this is the one – No, God said again, that’s not the one. When he asked Jesse if he had any other sons, as in “Are these all of your sons?” Jesse’s response was essentially, “yep, that's all of them.” "Oh, there’s David, but he can’t possibly be the one, he’s in the hills with the sheep." Well, you know the story, God rebuked Samuel for only looking at the outside of a person to determine their stature before God. That’s usually not the case. The stature of a man, or woman, before God is determined by their internal resolve and relationship with God. So don’t make that mistake. 

 

So, when David came to visit his brothers at the battlefront and heard the yoking taunts of this uncircumcised Philistine, he wondered why they were accepting this reviling against the armies of God, and by extension God Himself. They mocked him, called him names, and told him to go home. Chief among his mockers were his “beloved” brothers. You know, the kingly ones. Saul tried to put his armor on David, but David refused it. Saul’s armor was unfitting, too heavy with the wrong kind of weight. – if you get my meaning. Who wants to wear the armor of the disobedient? You see, there is the weight and glory of the anointing, but it does not weigh down, it empowers with godly might. So, the mockers watched as God's anointed one, who to man was just an arrogant little brat, was about to face off with this giant. They thought he would be dead meat. 

 

But David, ran towards the giant with the famous words, “You come to me with a sword, and a spear and a javelin but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Sam. 17:45). and slew that huge giant, might and all. It all came crashing down in a defeated pile of bones and metal.

 

That’s what the anointing does. 

 

So, breaking it down. The anointing was on the inside of David, he was the anointed one God used to slay that giant so the method was also anointed of God, the one smooth stone that found a way through a space in Goliath’s helmet or through the helmet itself. That’s all it took, making the rest of Israel look on in shock and making David famous. So even before he was crowned as king he was anointed as king, approximately 13 years before he sat on the throne. That anointing stayed with him. And it’s important to note, in the secret of the mountains of En Gedi, God was preparing David to save Israel from the hands of the Philistines. When he took down their champion, it was all over.

 

So how do we access the anointing?

 

We can only access the anointing by faith. We cannot do, or access anything supernatural, without faith. Fleshly might or working it up doesn’t do anything. It may deceive and fool a lot of people, but God is never mocked by man’s antics. “Faith comes by hearing … the Word of God.” That means the Living Word, Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27-28; see also v. 16). You have to be able to hear the voice of God. His written Word is in the Holy Scriptures where He gives us understanding by the Holy Spirit. We cannot live without the Voice of God or the Word of God or the Spirit of God. There are, however, counterfeit familiar spirits, which is why we need discernment to know of what spirit a person is. If it is not of God, we reject it.

 

So that brings me to a major point in the anointing that breaks the yoke. The anointing is the Anointed One, the Christ, Jesus. When the yoke presents itself it’s Jesus Who has to answer that “door” so to speak. You put on Jesus; you answer when you're “in Jesus”. You cannot afford to answer in the flesh because you’ll lose when you do. For instance, let’s say you’re in a relationship and the enemy shows up when someone is triggered, then you “answer the door” in the flesh because now you’re offended. Your negative emotions are triggered and you react. When you answer in the flesh in this triggered state, the enemy comes, with your permission, and takes up more ground. But let’s say you don’t allow yourself to be triggered in offense and you let Jesus Christ, the Anointed One “answer” the door. It has the opposite effect and breaks the yoke, and the enemy has to recoil from whence he came. He came knocking, you let Jesus, the Anointed One answer with the yoke-breaking anointing. That means you submitted to God and resisted the enemy’s triggering, so he had to flee because the environment is not one that can accommodate him so he has to go. [James 4:6-7, paraphrased]. That is a spiritual law and Satan has to obey it. Remember God is the Lawgiver. 

 

So now, how are you going to respond the next time the yoking bondage knocks? Will it be in the Spirit accessing the anointing through faith or will it be in the flesh? You choose! We know, “in the flesh is no good thing.” (Rom. 7:18).  So “choose you this day between life and death.” Remember, “the power of life and death is in the tongue.” (Proverbs 18:21) And “choose you this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 24:15). Will you serve yourself or will you serve the Lord and flourish? Choose, my friend. And choose well!

 

Please note, I am referring to any kind of yoke, and what does a yoke do? It places restrictions on movement, it binds and places into subjection to a force that is not of God. That bondage could be an addiction or any kind of habitual sin. It knocks and you answer in your flesh, so you stay in bondage instead of letting Jesus “answer” that door. Remember, when God saved you, you asked Jesus to come and live inside of you and lead, as Lord, over your life. That means everything that approaches you is approaching Jesus. Therefore, for Him to be Lord, He has to either approve or deny access to you, but He will never overrule your own will. You still have free will. If you push Jesus off the throne for even one moment to answer the door yourself, you will have sinned by opening a door to the evil one to attack you. And what does John 10:10 tell us? “The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy.” That’s all the devil does. He is not capable of bringing good to a life. Only God can do that. James 1:17 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." Are any of those good things that you want to reign in your life? What does the same verse, John 10:10 tell us Jesus comes to do? “But I (Jesus) come to give your life and it more abundantly.” Jesus does the very opposite. 

So, when we allow destructive behavior, we are allowing the enemy of our soul to have more lordship in our life than God. You cannot say that you’re God’s if he is your “surrogate” father. It is time to repent and come back to the Lord so that He can have His rightful place in your life. If you don’t, there is only one eventuality, death, and separation from God. If you do allow Jesus' Lordship over your life, you can expect life and not just any life but abundant life. The choice is yours. God will not violate your free will and commandeer you to obey Him. That’s up to you. 

 

The key is to the anointing is to let Him, the Anointed One, answer the door when the yoke knocks and you will break the stronghold over your life and that of your family if you are the head of a household. When you are the head of a household this plays out in exponential ways negatively or positively. You get to choose!

 

May this word be a blessing and life-changing for those who would let God use it to destroy the yokes in their lives.

 

What Can You Do About the Current State of Affairs #3?

 

        What Can You Do About the Current State of Affairs #3?

 

Hi again!

 

Some of you might have guessed the answer to my question about what we can do about the sickness of fear spreading - by design - in the world today - causing many to lose heart. 

 

But YOU do not lose heart! 

 

Help is on the way!

 

Actually, help is here and available!

 

What am I talking about “Help is here?”

 

Help has already been sent.

 

How do you cure the sickness of fear?

 

LEARN TO LOVE LIKE HE LOVES.

 

Yes, LOVE is the CURE FOR FEAR.

      

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and sound mind.

 

    And

 

           Perfect Love CASTS OUT FEAR!

 

Fear cannot exist where His love is, and His love only comes from HIM!

 

You see, fear will eventually cause you to lose your mind. Some people are still functioning and existing, but they do so under the weight of fear. When fear goes unchecked, it will eventually win over.

 

The only way to truly win over it is to LOVE! Love covers a multitude of sin.

Love never fails

 

We love in the following order

 

         GOD

 

 

            SELF (Love your neighbor as yourself).

 

 

               OTHERS 

 

 

                   COUNTRY

 

Are you surprised that I said love was the answer to our current state of affairs?

 

Did you expect a “political” answer like a particular party or vote is the answer? Did you expect a “military” answer?

 

Sorry, folks! 

 

No.

 

LOVE is a person – God manifest in Jesus Christ!

 

Christ is the answer to our current state of affairs.

 

How do we manifest Christ in the earth is to LOVE. 

 

When we love like God loves – we become the answer in the earth. 

 

Hell has no match for LOVE. It is the most powerful force on earth – even more than hate. As a matter of fact – LOVE is INFINITELY MORE POWERFUL than hate.

 

So how do we get that kind of LOVE

 

We learn from LOVE HIMSELF …

 

Introducing “8 STEPS TO WINNING AT LOVE AND WINNING WITH LOVE”

 

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Check it out and sign up here

 

https://asoniamorris.samcart.com/products/8stepstowinningatlove

 

What Can You Do About the Current State of Affairs #2?

 

Hi again!

 

We're discussing the answer to the sickness of fear that's spreading in the land. What are we as private citizens to do because there are more of us than there are of them. We the decent citizens of these United States of America are being silenced, intimidated, blocked, censored, canceled and worse! 

 

Yes, it's real. 

 

But there is an answer, a cure for this disease of fear. 

 

Who will seek and serve in this dangerous hour?

 

Well, we just celebrated the 235th anniversary of our U.S. Constitution, and my husband's birthday on September 17th. And, boy, has it been a trying time in our country! More than ever before.

 

And you can imagine how wonderful those freedoms recognized as from our Creator and protected in the primary Constitution, the Bible, and the U.S. Constitution when they were initially enjoyed by the settlers to the New World - now they're trying to push this New World Order. But imagine how precious those freedoms were then. 

 

Well, only 235 years later we're about to lose those very freedoms. Which ones, you say? All of them! We now stand on the brink of wholly engaging in communism as a country. Something we never though could happen here. 

 

Give me some specifics, you say. 

 

Our government has gone rogue and up is down, down is up, good is evil, and evil is given a platform and a pedestal as good.

 

FBI raids on private citizens, including a president, a business owner, and certainly more people than we know of. Arrests of innocents while hoodlums and murders go free. Some are arrested and released quickly after. Places like New York are releasing dangerous criminals back into society while law enforcement is left scratching it's head. What is really going on here?

 

The surge in crime all across this country is in direct correlation with the surge of illegal immigrants invited in by this Administration.

 

Coming in with this surge of illegality are massive amounts of fentanyl, an extremely dangerous narcotic, brought in by the Mexican drug cartels, and who knows who else.  But this fentanyl is resulting is massive amounts of drug overdoses when laced on certain other drugs.

 

We are also dealing with record amounts of suicides. (More on that in another blog post).

 

We are also dealing with the highest level of inflation in 50 years. The prices of everything we need to live is up. And remember the baby formula shortages of just a few months ago while pallets of the stuff were going to the Southern border to feed the babies of illegal immigrants. All babies should have enough food. If you know me, you know I'm not advocating for any baby to have to go without food. However, any country's leadership should know that you take care of your own first. That is not what is happening in our seats of government. They want to bring on globalism and they want it now. Who will stop them. That is the reason for advocating for chaos in every sphere of society. And don't get me started on the crookedness that exists in elections on both sides of the aisle. 

 

Need I go on?

 

Yet, the government instead of dealing with these grave problems on such a large scale on a national level, these issues we are facing as a country, they instead focus on terrorizing private patriotic citizens.  And for what? Supporting president Trump? Really? Why are they so afraid of one man? Who is apparently no longer in power. Don't they have all the power? Is that where we have come to? It that who we are now?

 

Is there no more freedom of association from the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? Freedom of speech is no more either. If one of these rights is in jeopardy, they are as we have seen. We spied on, listened to, canceled, harassed, and more because we subscribe to what's called Conservative views. My views are biblical and where there is any discord between that and Conservatives, guess what? Conservatism loses. 

 

 

No, we are in the fight of our lives as a nation, as "we the people, and as individuals?

 

Yes, our own government, instituted to do the will of the people, seems to have declared war on us.

 

Parents concerned about the education of their children have been called domestic terrorists by justice department officials. Yes, parents! Perhaps, they think by simply stating something, whether truth of lie, somehow makes it true. 

 

How is a parent a domestic terrorist solely by expressing concern about their children's education going off the rails. The seeds of indoctrination are being planted in schools all over America. Parents are being labeled with the hideous names because they are objecting to the objectionable. In school board meetings they are being intimidated but holding their ground on behalf of their children. They simply want to replace CRT loving communistic school board members.

 

We are a nation under siege of terroristic Marxists, communists, fascist curs.

 

        Yet!

 

             Yet!

 

With all of this, we are still the answer! We the people! And certainly, we the people of God to stem the tide of this tsunami of this thing that is nothing short of demonism. 

 

"What can I do?" You say.

 

Take charge! 

 

Do the work! 

 

No more sticking your head in the sand and saying, "This will all go away shortly. 

 

No, it won't!

 

Don't wait for permission to exercise your rights to questions these blatant acts of Communism and Fascism in our country. The only reason to engage in Marxist Stalinist tactics is to destroy a nation - this nation! 

 

Hey, I know what communism has to offer the American people - I lived in China for a while. Lovely people, but do you know what communism has to offer us?

 

 

Nothing! That's what!

 

This is why I ran for the U.S. Congress to represent the 6th District of South Carolina. I did move forward with the nomination but it's clear God still wants me to use my voice to speak out and to offer His solutions to what we are facing in this country today, which we have never before faced. Have been always had people on the inside who hated America and for pay would see her destroyed? Yes, but we have never had it to this level and with such force and power - dark power. 

 

I have no political aspirations but to serve my God first, then my fellow man and my country! That is and that's what anyone entrusted with elected office should want to do also. But, unfortunately, for too long we have turned a blind eye until - well, this is what we get for being callous with our vote and consequently our voice. No vote, no voice. No voice, no say in what happens in the country. 

 

And then there's election integrity. We need paper ballots, no machines, same day voting, no drop boxes, voter identification, clean up the voter rolls by removing the deceased, and so on. But we see that neither side, no matter what some leaders ay to our faces, want anything to do with true election integrity. Just lip service!

 

No, I'm a messenger and minister of the Gospel no matter what role and function I possess. I have been chosen for this generation and so have you.

 

I will still do my part by writing, speaking, teaching, coaching, creating content, and presenting courses. 

 

More on that ...

 

Next ...

What Can You Do About the Current State of Affairs?

 

We can all agree that the world, more than ever, is in a sad state of affairs. 

 

You do not have to look far to see the fear and trepidation that’s crept into all of life - seemingly overnight. Although it’s been building for some time, the manifestation has been sudden. Crime, drug addictions and overdoses, surges of illegal immigration, suicides, human trafficking, inflation with cost of living, all rising to a seemingly impossible high. Seems like every bad thing is on the rise. 

 

How can we survive this? 

 

How can you stay sane let alone encouraged and joyful? 

 

Great question!

 

We know that the government doesn’t seem to have the solutions you and I need, even though we are to believe that the brightest minds are at the helm in Washington, D.C and elsewhere. Yet, every day, things seem to get worse even though our leaders tell us differently. They placate us with this bill and that measure. They seem to think we’re blind, deaf, and dumb. Yet, we see that things are not indeed getting better.

 

Additionally, friends and family don’t seem to have the answers either. 

 

So, what can we do to stem the tide of this ever-increasing fear of danger on every side – physically, economically, relationally, psychologically, medically, nationally, even globally. 

 

What is the cure for this sickness called fear? 

 

Even if you do know the answer, how do you access it? How can you protect yourself, friends, and family? 

 

To hear the answer to this, please stay tuned here.

 

We can get through this! We really can, no matter what you are facing personally! 

 

And yes, government its a place, friends and family have their place, but they are not the answer. 

 

Believe it or not, YOU ARE the answer!

 

Shocking? Yes, I know.  

I will show you how.

Earth is Our Proving Ground

Earth is Our Proving Ground

We came from God and at the end of this earth journey, God’s plan is that we would go back to Him. I say His plan because He has given us the choice to choose or to reject Him. How do we do that? By accepting Christ as our Savior and walking with Him. Why? Because of the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, a fall away from God, the only way to reconcile back into relationship with Him is through Jesus Christ. Apart from that there is no other way back. The only other alternative then is eternal separation from God in a place called hell.

Earth is our proving ground, meaning only our time here on earth will determine where we spend eternity. Once, our time here ends there is no more opportunity to choose – and not choosing is choosing. It is actually rejecting, Jesus the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), and in effect, choosing to perish and spend eternity away from God.

Think about it! If Jesus did it all and we had no need to respond, everyone who ever lived would be in heaven and there would be no need for the Word that broad is the road that leads to destruction and many there are who take it, but narrow is the road that leads to life, but few there are who FIND the narrow and difficult road. [Paraphrased]. Here's the text: 

Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 [a]Because narrow is the gate and [b]difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

 James 4:8

⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Jeremiah 29:12-14

¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

If anyone tells you that your actions, words, and thoughts don’t matter and that Jesus did everything when He died, they are either ignorant of God’s Word or they’re trying to deceive you into some level of feel-good Christianity from the pit.

The Bible is full of proof from Genesis to Revelation of the very opposite. In Genesis, we see our fore parents, Adam and Eve, who introducing sin into the world by going against God’s instructions. That’s why we, as their descendants, are in the mess we are in today.

In the book of Revelation, we see the rise of anti-Christ and the decisions that all those alive at the time will have to make, take a mark and belonging to Satan or become and remain true to Christ and possibly lose your life. But even before that, we see the seven churches, also representative of modern-day Christianity, showing from the time of the writing mankind has not changed. In the letters, we see that only two of the seven churches remained faithful to God while the others did some good. Yet, the Lord had a charge against them that if they did not follow His instructions to rectify their major wrongs, there would be grave consequences. Still, He rewarded those who would hold on to the end, calling then overcomers. (Revelation 2 & 3).

Those are only a few examples for the sake of time. The 10 commandments plus the one to love our neighbors as ourselves are also instructions for us. We know that all of the requirements for fellowship with God are fulfilled in Christ and we who are His do the same as we walk in the Spirit. God is after our maturity and becoming as the Lord Jesus Christ was when He walked the earth. Jesus was the ultimate in obedience to God. He was our model and still is today!

So, what we do, say, and think (yes, think) determines whether we choose an eternal reward in heaven with God or eternal damnation in hell with Satan, his demons, and all those who rejected Christ. In other words, we get to choose eternal life of eternal death.

Friend, study the Word of God because if you don’t know your Word, you are a prime target for the enemy and those he uses to deceive people. Everything that sounds good isn’t necessarily good. Just like all that glitters is not gold. There are many charismatic deceivers out there. Don’t fall victim to them.

Study the Word. Know the Word. We are each accountable to Know God for ourselves and we cannot know Him without knowing His Word. He’s inviting you to a deeper more intimate walk with Him.

I have 3 encouraging Scriptures for you:

John 3:16

For God SO LOVED the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever (that means anybody) believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

That tells me that because of the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden everyone born afterwards is perishing and will perish, unless, they choose to identify with the Son of God and His death on the Cross and accept His sacrifice as if they died because of their sin. His death instead of ours. Jesus paid our sin debt which is death. The ultimate sacrifice One for all and once for all.

James 4:8

⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

We do the drawing first, then God draws close. Yet, I believe He works in us by His Holy Spirit to woo us. His love is unmistakably magnetic, yet many still reject Him. 

Jeremiah 29:12-14

¹² Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.

Read that very slowly and meditate on it for a good 10 minutes. If this doesn't blow you away, nothing will! The God of the universe waits for us to seek Him and promises us not only freedom but really what He is promising is Himself! And there is no greater Gift!

Yes, earth is our proving ground! We get to respond to the love God poured out on us when He sent Jesus to die a sinner's death on an accursed Cross on Golgotha in our stead!  

Hallelujah!

Many blessings as you meditate and focus on Him today!

 

Earth is Our Proving Ground