God's ways, at times, may be difficult to understand, but His commands are simple and straightforward, and we should never blame disobedience to God on our understanding of God.
And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Inquire first for the word of the Lord." Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall we go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?" And they said, "Go up, for God will give it into the hand of the king." But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?" And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah; but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but always evil." And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say so." 2 Chronicles 18:4-7 (ESV) We often choose who to listen to based on who reinforces what we want to hear. The book of 2 Timothy, chapter 4, speaks to this issue, as does this passage in 2 Chronicles, and our general observation of life. Choosing who you listen to is not ...
"For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”" Mark 8:35-38 (ESV) Jesus does not give us opinions. His message of living with a greater purpose than ourselves is clear. His warnings are stark and He cannot, has not, and will not lie. I was created for a much greater purpose than comfort, wealth, power, and popularity can deliver. I was created to die. Nothing is alive apart from something dying in order to give it life. Life has never been about life, but about death, and this death is what brings about life. Perhaps the greatest deception Satan has wielded is that of life being...
“Have you listened in the council of God? And do you limit wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we do not know? What do you understand that is not clear to us?” Job 15: 8-9 Sometimes, I think that I am the only one listening to God. I am wrong. It is so easy to fall into the pattern of using God's name in vain, or using God's name to add power and authority to what I believe. Miriam, Moses's sister, had this attitude, and God struck her with leprosy. Job and his buddies differed in their understanding. There must have been a reason why God pointed Job out to Satan and not to Eliphaz. It is easy to justify whatever we want and even claim that God has directed us to think this way. It is easy for us to elevate ourselves to "God" status and believe that because we think it, so must God. Reality is not a game, and there are no "house rules." Eliphaz was "sort of" correct, which made him all wrong. How right are you? How do you know? https://...
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