Deuteronomy 28:15 and 23
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:"
"And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron."
Understand that these are the words that Moses spoke to the Israelites when he had given them GOD'S laws. What I want to point out is that if we refuse to obey GOD there is a long list of bad stuff that can enter our lives. What we see in verse 23 is that the sky and the ground can become hard as metal. As for the ground, he was referring to the lack of fertile soil for crops. It represents ground that can't be effectively plowed for a garden. But the interesting thing is what he said about the sky. It can become like brass. Brass can be a highly reflective metal. It was used by the ancients to make mirrors, among other things.
This is what I'm thinking. Have you ever experienced those times when you thought your prayers were bouncing off the ceiling? I have. Sometimes that is probably the devil trying to get us to stop praying. But sometimes, maybe they are? If we are living in rebellion against GOD, HE has the right to turn our sky into brass. And HE can and will do so until we repent and worship HIM "in Spirit and in truth". Are your prayers bouncing off the ceiling? Maybe GOD is waiting for you to seek HIS face again. Just a thought.
Peace and blessings.
Shannon
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
What I have to always do
I am prone to failure. And as a result I am also prone to getting beaten down with guilt. So this is what I have learned I have to do always. This is my protection from getting beaten up and beaten down and knocked completely off course when I fail. This is what I must do when the adversary tries to burden me and guilt me into giving up when I fail. This is a four step process including scriptures that I have to remember in order to keep from turning stumbling into utter failure and hopelessness.
Step One, Realize my sin. Admit to myself that I have stumbled once again and make no excuses.
Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Romans 3:10 - "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"
1 John 1:10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
Step two, Confess my sin, failure, mistake, transgression, or whatever I call it, to GOD quickly and in complete openness and honesty.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Step three, When the adversary tries to beat me down over my failure, remember that after taking the first two steps, I am forgiven and that sin no longer exists. It is gone and is no longer held against me.
1 John 1:9 (again) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."
Hebrews 10:17 "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
Psalm 86:5 "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee."
Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Romans 7:18-25 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
Step four, Repent. Turn away from the point of failure. Make every effort to avoid making the same mistake again.
Hebrews 10:26 "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"
Galatians 2:17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid."
1 John 2:1 (again) "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
Step One, Realize my sin. Admit to myself that I have stumbled once again and make no excuses.
Romans 3:23 - "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
Romans 3:10 - "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:"
1 John 1:10 "If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us."
Step two, Confess my sin, failure, mistake, transgression, or whatever I call it, to GOD quickly and in complete openness and honesty.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Step three, When the adversary tries to beat me down over my failure, remember that after taking the first two steps, I am forgiven and that sin no longer exists. It is gone and is no longer held against me.
1 John 1:9 (again) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
Hebrews 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."
Hebrews 10:17 "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."
Psalm 86:5 "For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee."
Psalm 103:12 "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Romans 7:18-25 "For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."
Step four, Repent. Turn away from the point of failure. Make every effort to avoid making the same mistake again.
Hebrews 10:26 "For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,"
Galatians 2:17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid."
1 John 2:1 (again) "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"
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