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Ezekiel is used by God to speak to His people. They have once again turned their back on God. This has been a consistent pattern and theme of the Old Testament. I believe God sent me on this journey to read the Bible once again as a way to get to know Him. When we get to know God, we become intimate with Him. We learn somewhat how He operates, what He loves, what He hates, how He blesses His people and how He disciplines His people.

Ezekiel 6 spells out once again how God is going to discipline his people for turning their backs on Him. Verse 11 say they shall fall by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence. This is so clear and repetitive throughout the Old Testament. I believe it is God’s message to His people on His discipline methods.

Fast forward to today, 2023. When we see pestilence, in the case of COVID, that affected the whole world, how can we not believe it was not God sending a message to the world? Why are we slow to acknowledge it? Why do we dismiss it? There is much idolatry that is going on in the world. Satan has successfully blinded many of us in thinking everything is alright and God does not care if we have other things before Him such as our careers, jobs, families, hobbies, and other vices. We are deceived if we think that God does not care. Just read for yourself in the Old Testament how angry God became of the idolatry the people committed against Him and how He consistently used war, famine and pestilence to discipline them. It really gives us a moment to pause in our own lives. Love & Blessings!

Moab’s destruction can be likened to our own destruction. If we put other things before our God, it will destroy us. It is the reason why God hates sin because it destroys the people He loves.

In Jeremiah 48 we are reading about the destruction of Moab. God is destroying the people because they magnify themselves against God. Imagine that! Sometimes we get so caught up in who we are and our importance, that we start to magnify ourselves. We call attention to our so-called accomplishments when in reality we could not have done any of it without our God.

We are reminded by Moab’s destruction that God can humble us and bring us down to size or call us home when we start placing people, places, and things in front of him.  After reading the 47 verses about Moab, we no longer hear of these people in the Bible. Oh, let this be a lesson for us. Love & Blessings!

We all have received bad reports. Invariably, they are never pleasant to receive. Basically, on July 25 I received such a report. I went in for a screening mammogram. Less than an hour later when I returned home I had received a bad report from the screening. They wanted me to come in for more testing. One was for additional imaging and, if needed, an ultrasound.

I thank God for surrounding me in a cocoon of PEACE. Immediately, I thought what is this bad report? I thought it was wrong and not cancer. However, I did my due diligence. I inquired about making a follow-up appointment for additional testing.  Not once did I panic or have anxiety about this bad report. God’s supernatural PEACE was surrounding me.

On August 7, I had my follow up appointment. After having to endure both tests, I received a good report before I left the lab. God has not given us a spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7). Satan tries to shake us up with bad reports. God is above all things. (Psalm 96:3)  When we know we are doing all God has called us to do, there is no need for fear. God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19).When we are walking in God’s purpose for our lives, He will lead and guide us into those purposes. Satan’s lie, a bad report, is only a distraction to keep us from God’s BEST… Claim it! Love & Blessings!

In Jeremiah Chapter 32: 30 – 36 illustrates what evil the children of Israel brought on themselves. God’s anger and fury has been provoked time and time again. Finally, the soft landing is how God once again proclaims them as His people and He will be their God (Jeremiah 32:37-38).

Two take aways from these scriptures. Number one, sometimes the evil that is in our lives could be from our own doing as we see here in Jeremiah and throughout the Bible. When we are disobedient to God, ultimately we hurt ourselves. It is why God hates sin, because it destroys the people He loves. Secondly, our God loves us so much and with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3), why can’t we love him back the same from our hearts?

That is not to say we will be perfect. But when God examines our hearts He should see a deep abiding love we have for Him not some shallow, wishy washy, serve God with my lips and my heart is far from Him kind of love. Believe me, God knows the difference. Love & Blessing! 

Some treasurers are meant to be shared. Here’s one…

We are studying The Fruit of the Spirit during my time with the ladies at the jail. This week we studied on the fruit of JOY. The young lady presenting did a beautiful job peppering her presentation with scriptures referencing to JOY. The Holy Spirit was moving during the presentation. At the end of her presentation, she said in amazement she never knew how simple what God is asking from us to have faith and believe! Adding, she never realized until now since she has been here (jail). We witnessed the scales being removed from her eyes… It was a BEAUTIFUL thing! I shared it is because God now has your attention.

The Bible says heaven rejoices when one sinner repents (Luke 15:7) I believe God hearing this young lady say these words put a big SMILE on His face! I told them we sometimes complicate the things God has asked us to do. He asks us to have faith and believe; He will do the rest! Once we have done what God has asked us to do, trust that He will do His part. It may not always LOOK like we expect, but it will give us the same results.

I pray this is an encouragement to YOU!

Thank you for your love and support.

Love & Blessings!

This journey of reading the Bible cover to cover, has been so revealing. It has been a blessing in many ways. Time and time again I have seen how God’s people have turned their backs on Him. Time and time again I have seen how God has restored them. What have been striking are the many times God sent war, pestilence, famine and in Jeremiah I am reading how God is going to send evil their way.

Jeremiah’s prayer in Chapter 32 so eloquently describes how loving and kind God is which we all like to hear. Yes, He is a forgiving God. However, there are lessons to learn in our disobedience. When we turn our backs on God there are evil consequences. I grew up thinking anything bad happening was because of Satan. That thinking came from my ignorance and immaturity.

Now that I am eating and seeking the meat of God’s word, I so clearly see everything evil in the world does not come from Satan. Some of it comes from our own disobedience. We suffer from what we have done to ourselves. Many times we want to blame others, but it is us and our disobedience to God. Because our disobedience or sin destroys us little by little, God will continue to correct us until we learn the lessons He wants us to learn. Love & Blessings!

In Jeremiah 26, Jeremiah is speaking on behalf of the Lord. The message to Judah and Jerusalem is to repent of their wicked and evil ways.  Usually, no one wants to hear it! The priests and prophets are ready to kill him. Jeremiah warns them if they did kill him they will surely curse themselves because of the innocent blood they will shed.

This was tough for Jeremiah. He knew he was walking into a lion’s den, but he did it anyway. I encourage you to be obedient. God will give you the strength to do his will if you lean and depend on him. However, if you will obey, then God will find another vessel to get His work done.

We read in the last verse of this chapter, Jeremiah’s life was spared mainly because the people did not want to bring additional curses upon their lives.

I believe we must proceed with anticipation in the things of God. This means we should yield, and yes, we should be a living example of representing Christ on the Earth. However, we must always rely on the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into the things of God. On this occasion, Jeremiah was being led and guided by God. We should embrace this example. Love & Blessings!

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When God sends His people out to speak for Him they may become marked people. In Jeremiah 26 we read Jeremiah became a marked man. After he had delivered the words of God to the people of Judah and Jerusalem to turn from their wicked and evil ways, the priests and the prophets did not like it. Ignoring these warnings meant curses on the cities.

In Jeremiah 26:8, the priest and prophets told Jeremiah he was going to die. At this point, Jeremiah became a marked man. The priests and the prophets conspired to kill him.  However, the princes and the people wanted to spare his life. They wanted no part in killing Jeremiah and were willing to repent of their evil and wicked ways.

The same may happen to us. We may become marked people when God sends us out to speak truth to His people.  It is usually an unpopular message, but TRUTH. We have to then decide if we will be courageous and stand up for God. Or, will we embrace the things of this world and culture and follow them. Love & Blessings!

Jeremiah 25:30 God tells Jeremiah to tell the people “… The Lord shall roar from on high…” Certainly, that sounds mighty fierce to me. What is this about? Consequently, this is the continuation of the evil God was sending to Jerusalem and Judah. Why? Because earlier we discussed how God was once again angry with them for being stiff neck or hard headed. Regrettably, they are worshipping idol God’s once again.

We, who profess to honor and love God and His son, Jesus, have been shown the way through God’s word, the Bible. It is absolutely fascinating; yet, pathetic, how these people kept turning their backs on both God and Jesus. We have heard the saying God does not send people to hell. It is TRUE. It is truly a choice you make for yourself. Today, everybody seems to want to stand on their truth or MY TRUTH. Well, in Christ there is only one truth and it is the TRUTH OF GOD.  This is a heart issue and that is what God searches, THE HEART. Satan wants us to think about MY TRUTH and not about GOD”S TRUTH.

I believe there has to be a balance in our teachings of God’s word. I have heard many church leaders’ teachings on the love and acceptance of God and His son, Jesus Christ. So, no God does not want to condemn us, Satan does. I thank God for His love and long suffering with us. Undoubtedly, it is clearly illustrated in the Bible when you read how God toiled with Israel. He is still doing that with all of us today.

Let us not forgot, God will not be mocked. I feel a need to ring the bell about COVID because I do not hear our religious leaders ringing the bell and ringing it loud enough about COVID. God ROARED through COVID to the world. He was speaking individually, to groups, families, work places, governments, etc. Did you hear what God said to YOU? Love & Blessings!

God sometimes sends us on unpopular assignments. We can see this in many of the characters of the Bible. He even sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Being a Christian is not for sissies and wimps. It calls for people who have grit and guts to stand up and be used for God’s purposes.

I love how the Bible shares the innermost emotions and feelings of the men and women that risked it for our God. Again, not popular, but in many cases, it is a test of our faith.

In a previous blog, we read how Jeremiah was sent to tell the people of Jerusalem and Judah that God was going to send evil to them… How unpopular is that? In Chapter 20 of Jeremiah, we see him sharing how it made him feel to share God’s word with the people. Verse 7 says he felt deceived by God. He accounted his feelings of derision. He was mocked.

This is clearly a lesson for us. We will sometimes wonder if we are doing and saying the right things by following God. It does not feel comfortable to our flesh sometimes when we boldly proclaim the things of God. You sometimes feel like a fish out of water and floundering.

However, when the spirit of the Lord is upon you, God will find a way to encourage your spirit and your soul. In versus 9, Jeremiah seemed to have a made-up mind. He did not want to speak again for the Lord. But then he recounted. Reflectively, he said he could not do it because God’s words were like fire shut up in His bones. Remarkably, he could not stay away from speaking about God because when the Spirit of God is upon you even if you want to resist talking about Him, you can’t…Amen.

Markedly, the assignments God may send us on may be unpopular. Strikingly, a sure sign of His spirit being upon you is that you cannot keep your mouth shut on what God has proclaimed you to do and say. Sometimes we may have to do it afraid, but He is ALWAYS with us. Love & Blessings!