Research shows that if new people at a church or group do not make seven friends within the first seven weeks of attendance, they will not stay. Small groups and social gatherings are the natural solution to this situation. Dave Earley
Scripture
This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says, “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In and confidence and quietness is your strength.”
Observation
Judah makes alliances that are not directed by the Spirit of the Lord. They have gone to Egypt for help, but all who trust in Pharaoh will be disappointed. The Lord says that Egypt is a harmless dragon that cannot help them.
The people of Judah don’t want to hear the words of the prophets or the visions of the seers. They want to live life their own way without being bothered by the God of Israel.
The lord tells them that it is only in resting in Him that they will be saved. In quietness and confidence is their strength.
Justice will rule, and God’s righteousness will bring quietness and confidence forever.
Application
The people of Judah looked for peace and support from the ruler of Egypt instead of seeking it from the Lord.
God told them that it was only in returning to him that they would find quietness and strength.
The Lord is our strength. He is the one we should trust. He loves us and is always faithful.
Israel and Judah looked to make unholy alliances with other nations, Many christians seek strength anywhere but in God. We seek security in our jobs and our possessions. We look for affirmation in our families.
There is nothing wrong in any of these things of course, but the Lord is the source of our strength.
Put Him at the centre of everything.
Prayer
Lord, you are my quietness and my strength. Please help me to trust you always. Amen.
Still facing coastal levels of humidity 掠Not a bad morning to share with our equine friends. I rode out to Culgoora Road today. #cycling #Narrabri #Biketooter
Satan does everything he can to keep us from Christ. Once we are in Christ he does everything he can to keep us from ministering. Once we are ministering, he does all he can to keep us from mentoring. This is because he sees the awesome potential mentoring has to expand the kingdom of God. Dave Earley
It has been a bad summer, apparently, for people drowning, particularly at the beaches along our coastline. People have been taking risks such as swimming at unpatrolled beaches, entering water that was dangerously rough and so on. In a couple of cases, people have died in the process of rescuing somebody else who was in trouble.
We add to those people dying in the water to those who lost their lives on the roads, and it is clear that it has been a dangerous summer for many people.
When I was young, I used to love the water. Waves were fun, and the beach was a place that seemed almost magical in many ways. There were a few times when I could have been one of those who was swept out in a rip or suffered an injury from a dumper.
The phrase, “but for the grace of God” springs to mind when I think of those situations.
We are used to thinking about our lives stretching on for ever, with no thought that it might end one day. None of us knows when that time will come. For any of us it could be much sooner than we ever thought possible.
The Bible tells us that “each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgement,” (Hebrews 9:27). There is no replay or second chance. We all get one shot at life.
The Good News is that Jesus, in His death on the cross, paid the price for us. All who put their trust in Jesus can be sure that everything is forgiven and the slate is wiped clean.
Taking a risk in the surf or on the road can be fatal. Taking a risk with God has eternal consequences.
Our American diets are loaded with sugars, toxins, processed foods, meats, etc. Yet it is possible for us to be eating large meals, be overweight and still be malnourished.
In that sense, it is easy to see how our physical lives again parallel our spiritual lives. We can become over-nourished on a hefty diet of church programs and activities, religious structure and traditions of men and yet be severely undernourished when it comes to the deeper things of God.
Hungry in Flesh. . .Hungry in Spirit
Jesus found such hunger while visiting Tyre and Sidon. A woman whose daughter was possessed and tormented by a devil heard that He was there. But the woman was Greek, “a Syro-Phoenician by birth” (Mark 7:26), and, therefore, outside of the covenant God had made with Israel. But that didn’t matter to her. She was hungry, and her faith was persistent. Even when Jesus discouraged her, saying that the “bread” was first for the children of Israel, she was hungry enough to ask for even a crumb that would fall to the floor. Many of the children who sat at the table had not shown such great hunger. Jesus honored her request, and her daughter was healed because of her persistence (vv. 29–30).
Breaking News. Spirit-Filled Stories. Subscribe to Charisma on YouTube now!
Hungry, desperate people are hungry for more of God than they have ever had. They are breaking out of religious rules, regulations and traditional thinking and breaking through to more of His presence, more of His power to turn situations around, more of His healing power, and more of His miracle-working power. Only Jesus satisfies that hunger!
Fasting stirs a hunger in your spirit that goes deeper than the temporary hunger you experience in your flesh. When you hunger for God, He will fill you. Jesus went through cities where He could do no miracles—because there was no hunger.
As Jesus entered Capernaum, He was confronted by a Roman centurion whose servant was paralyzed and tormented (Matt. 8:5–13). But the centurion knew it would take only a word from Jesus for the servant to be healed. When he said those words to Jesus, the Bible says Jesus was amazed at his faith and told those around him, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” (v. 10). He was saying, “So many in Abraham’s lineage don’t have the hunger this man has shown. They come to see Me, but they don’t hunger.” In this day, God is saying, “I’m looking for somebody who wants something. I’m looking for somebody who will do more than show up, but they will hunger for that which I want to place in them!”
Anybody can be normal. Normal is overrated. Someone has to say, “But I want more! Lord, I’m hungry! I’m going to have to push tradition aside! I’m going to have to push religious rules aside! I’m going to have to push all of the rituals aside because I’m starving to death, and I just can’t do ‘church as usual’ any longer.”
My suggestion is to begin by pushing the plate aside. Show God that you are serious. We must get to the place where we are desperate for God again. We must begin to desire Him more than food or drink. Let us be filled with the Bread of Life instead of the refuse of religion. Begin to make fasting a regular discipline, and see how God answers your hunger!
New Life Narrabri 