The GOD of “I Will” and “He That” (Destruction and Restoration) Amos 9

I am finishing up the Amos 9 part of my Lent journey. Yeah!!! Beloved, we all know who the “I AM” is in the Holy Bible, the “I AM” of the Beginning and of the End. While journeying through Amos 9 with the Spirit of God, lightning bugs, mosquitos and Lord knows what else was flying around outside at 2 in the morning on my back porch, I was reminded that He is not only “I AM.” He is also the God of “I Will” and “He that”. There are several themes in the bible that tell us about His ability to destroy and/or restore. In the book of Amos, we see what the Lord’s plan is for those inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom of Israel that mistreated the poor and those that lived a life (God-given life, might I add) of selfishness.

Questions…Are you or have you been an eyewitness to the mistreatment of the poor and to the selfish lifestyle of others? Are you or have you been a criminal when it comes to the mistreatment of the poor and have lived or living a selfish lifestyle? Dig deep within your heart for THE truthful answer. If you don’t, may I remind you that “He that” already know the answer will be the “I will” to destroy and/or restore you. (TYHS) It has been said many times before and shown throughout the Holy Bible that God, Our Father and Creator promises are all about His Glory and our salvation. Say what? (TYHS) As for me, it wholly manifested itself while on my journey with Amos, the “burdenbearer” prophet.

According to Amos 1:1, Amos prophesied/forecasted to Israel what the Lord showed him 2 years before the earthquake. I must ask another question here. If you were given 2 years to get your life in order for the Lord, our God, would you do it? Majority of the time we are given warnings and most ignore those warnings until the fly hits the fan. I repeat from the Amos 1-4 blog (https://talkativeangel.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/nakedness-be-aware-of-your-sins-amos-1-4/) “If you are not aware of your sin(s), how can you correct them? I found that an answer lies within the Book of Amos. (TYHS!!!) I Love You.”

Ok, so here we are with Amos and his 5^th vision of the Lord standing by the altar and speaking. He confirmed through Amos and confirms through His many signs today, that no matter where you try to run and hide, you cannot hide from or escape from His final decision to destroy and/or restore. If you are anywhere in the vicinity of His atmosphere, you will not escape it, especially those wasting time and money building spaceships to travel to and live in space. It’s not prudent. Now, that’s syrup for your pancakes. Get your milk, to help you swallow that down while reading a brief Godtific aka scientific study about God’s atmosphere.

Troposphere- the 1st and lowest level and is half of the Earth’s atmosphere( this is where God put us to live)

Stratosphere – the 2nd level ( this is where flight takes place along with the flying inhabitants of the skies)

Mesosphere- the 3rd level (this is where space meteors and rocks burn…oooh Hot!!! Cold!!!) It is also the layer that scientists know the least about.

Thermosphere- the 4th level (this is outer space, where you are NOT meant to live due to low air density and the high activity of the Sun) God allows the space industry to orbit this atmosphere.

Exosphere- the 5th level (this is the thinnest layer where things (atoms and molecules) escape into space. It is high above the 1st level. Only God will and can allow you to live here.

 

Wow! Now I hope and pray that you can discern who is in charge of the atmosphere. He is the “I AM” God of “I will” and “He that.” Hallelujah Jesus!

Back to my time with the Spirit in Amos 9… Let us all be reminded as Israel was of the Lord’s power in the following themed verses which began in Amos 1:

1. “…I will slay the last of them with the sword…”
2. “…thence will I bring them down”
3. “…I will search and take them…thence will I command the serpent”
4. “…thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.”
5. “…he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn…”
6. “…is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea…”
7. Praise Remembrance Break– Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
8. “…I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob…”
9. “…I will command, and I will sift…”
10. “…will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build…”
11. “…the Lord that doeth this…”
12. “…I will bring again the captivity…”
13. “And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.”

My 2 cents…When the Spirit of God sends a messenger or message your way…”shut the trap and hear me please” as my grandson Elijah would say, you can not continue to run and hide from the Lord’s destruction and restoration plans.

This quote concludes my journey with The GOD of “I Will” and “He That” in the Book of Amos.  I can’t wait to see what next years Lent journey has in store for me.  

“God never made a promise that was too good to be true.”- D. L. Moody

 

Photo- Courtesy of Nat Geo

Fleeing From Your Destiny- Are You Going in the Opposite Direction? ( Jonah 1: 1-16)

Per my promise, you are about to embark on a journey that I took during this past Lenten season through various books in the Bible. Although Jonah was next to the last book during the journey, I shall begin sharing the things I learned here first and work my way backwards and then finish up with the end. You know me… I take the less traveled winding road to gain a better insight. So let’s start from mid-end.    😛

Most of us have heard the story as a child. God tells Jonah to deliver a message to the city of Nineveh. He flees from God by boarding a ship going to Tarshish, which was in the opposite direction of Nineveh. While aboard the ship, he sleeps below the deck and a sea storm is raging. Sort of like on Gilligan’s island when the “tiny ship was tossed”…. God sent a storm raging in the sea that tossed the ship to and fro. The other passengers on the ship became afraid and started praying to their gods. No such luck in stopping the storm until they asked Jonah to pray to his God to save them. Lots were cast and the lot fell on Jonah. Jonah was cast into the sea and the sea became calm. He ended up in the belly of a great fish, was spit out upon land after 3 days, repented and delivered the message from God to the people of Nineveh.

Key Words

• Compass- (n) – a device that is used to find direction by means of a needle that always points north: something that helps a person make choices about what is right, effective, etc.
• Destiny – (n) – : what happens in the future: the things that someone or something will experience in the future: a power that is believed to control what happens in the future
• Rend- (v.intr) – to perform an act of tearing or splitting: to become torn or split: to come apart

Lesson 1 – We allow our compass (our heart and mind) to direct us according to our will, not God’s will. We as Christians cannot travel two different roads at the same time when serving God. The Holy Spirit revealed to me something deep. Every event in the bible gives us an example of people choosing between two roads (paths)….one towards God and one away from God. There are no in between roads my beloved ones. Let your compass direct you to take the road less traveled to God and make all the difference in your life and others when it comes to serving God.

We as children of the Lord have a habit of fleeing in the opposite direction when we receive direct instructions from God. In this day and time, God speaks to us directly via the Holy Spirit. You know the Helper and Comforter that Jesus sent?  He that translates our prayers to God?   Yeah…that Holy Spirit!  We have a habit of taking the more traveled road leading away from God and are easily led to follow the directions of others. We…yes you and I, have a wobbly directional destiny compass. Think about this before going in an opposite direction leading away from your destiny. As a Christian, we are supposed to stand out from the rest. People should be able to see a distinction between those who serve God the Creator of all beings and things, and those who do not serve Him. Amen?  Weren’t the people on the ship who prayed to their gods able to make the distinction between their gods and Jonah’s God? (v. 6) (TYHS)  Why do you think God refers to you, me, we, they, as “My People”?  As a Christian, do you think God wants you to live an eternal life in hell?  Those who are faithful and that reverently fear Him have nothing to worry about when traveling the road towards His destiny for you.

Here’s proof in the pudding, if you can’t find an answer from deep within and be sure of where you will end up.

Exodus 11:3-8(NIV) 

(The Lord made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh’s officials and by the people.)  So Moses said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt.  Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.  There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any person or animal.’ Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

Malachi 3:16-18(NIV)

Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

Lesson 2 – I have learned that it takes others (both Christians and Non-Christians) seeing God in action with others in order for them to “rend” their heart to Him. I use to think that seeing Him work in my life through answered prayer was enough for me. I guess I didn’t pay close attention to the effect it not only had on me, but on others also. Now I know. God is The Master at getting your attention to turn towards Him in order for you to receive what He desires for you, i.e. life more abundantly. (Read Jonah1:6-16) Storms, regardless of its tenure or endurance are necessary to get our attention. Take Noah for example, and he was a righteous and blameless man per Genesis 6:9. (TYHS)

My entire journey revolved around me rending my heart to God. (Joel 2:12-13)  My heart needed to be torn apart to get to the inside of all matters concerning me and how I relate to various people in the Body of Christ, family, enemies, and friends; to understand what I truly needed to do concerning self and my relationship with Him. My desire was for Him to have mercy on me; to remove me from certain situations, tasks, and job; to let me know what my destiny is according to His will and to prepare me both mentally, emotionally, and financially; to see through others more clearly by their actions (not judge) so that I may unyoke myself away from and pray for those more zealously who practice fake-I-tis while claiming to be a Christian; to be more honest in my communication with others and not leave anything out that cause me to appear as telling lies( I’ve learned that lies of omission are still lies even if it is not intentional or information shared is misunderstood); teach me how to deal with non-communicative people when communication and feedback is needed from others in order to accomplish tasks or to know where one stands concerning me; and to listen and hear more clearly when the Holy Spirit is speaking through others who have put their destiny in His hands and those that faithfully desire to serve Him.

The truth is that we don’t pay much attention to the paths we choose, even those who are followers, shepherds, leaders, or teachers of the WORD.  Nor do we realize most of the time beloved, that WE are indeed fleeing God when choosing a path not destined for us. God doesn’t just choose you to follow a path to benefit just you. His desire is for others to turn to or return to Him. He desires ALL to be saved upon His return. Sometimes it involves you being the messenger.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!      

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The Old Testament Daily News

Joshua 24:14-16(NIV)

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.  But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!

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Our Heavenly Father I pray for myself and those who are reading this. Let it be far from us to forsake YOU. When we flee from our destiny and go off in the opposite direction, forgive us and put us back on the right road. From this journey shared, I pray that we now realize we are serving other gods and not you when we choose to flee. Have mercy on us in the comforting name of Jesus. Amen

Before I close, allow me to share with you a poem by Robert Frost that came to mind. I think it’s quite comparative to this lesson.

The Road Not Taken
TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Two road diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one les traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Are You Conscientious About the Presence Of God in Your Life?

Please read Exodus 32- 34. I’ve been studying the Books of Exodus and Genesis once again over the last month or so. I had and still have so many questions proliferating within my cranium and heart. I’m positive that when God is ready to reveal more to me, He will in His time. He loves talking to me and I love talking with Him. His strong suit is dealing with the hard headed, talkative, and inquisitive ones. Lately, He has been revealing a lot to me about people wearing veils in His presence.

As a child I use to envy the people in the bible who were in God’s presence and those who spoke directly with him. I did not understand how or why people would behave so badly by worshipping other gods or possessing a less than righteous behavior when they knew God was right there, like next door, face to face, back to face, etc.  He was there in the Garden of Eden speaking directly to and with Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. He spoke to and with Cain, Noah, Abram, Job, Moses, to name a few. Even Enoch “walked with God.”  

Judging from the biblical events I’ve read, I’ve concluded two things about God’s Presence. Some of the beings in the bible were somewhat conscientious and some were wholly conscientious about His presence in their lives. And yet…the majority of beings were not perfect but found ______ in His sight. (Fill in the blank)

In Genesis 4:26, it says that Seth (the appointed seed instead of Abel, who Cain slew-vs.25), to him was born a son named Enos and it was at this time “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” (AKJV) Truly amazing!  Let’s call!

Here is where we skedaddle on to Exodus 33: 1-22. No Veils Allowed!   First some key pointers and definitions:

• With – used as a function word to indicate a participant in an action, transaction, or arrangement; in opposition to.
• God told Moses to “Depart, and go up hence”(away; from this place) Notice how he said it twice using different words…(Get= go up; Skeedaddle= depart)   😛
• God told Moses that He would not be in their “midst” (the interior or central part of a point) because “thou are a stiffnecked people.”
• The stiffneckers believed God’s message via Moses to them to be “evil tidings.”(news) They mourned.
• Consume- to do away with completely; destroy
• Dung- Used as manure (Luke 13:8); collected outside the city walls (Nehemiah 2:13). Of sacrifices, burned outside the camp (Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:11; 8:17; Numbers 19:5). To be “cast out as dung,” a figurative expression (1 Kings 14:10; 2 Kings 9:37; Jeremiah 8:2; Psalms 18:42), meaning to be rejected as unprofitable. Note- you’ll understand why this was used below.- Courtesy of Easton’s Bible Dictionary

I love Moses, for he pleaded his case for his people to God. He reminds God, that these are His people too.  I also love it when God is direct and communicates effectively.  What would you do if God told you to depart? What would you do knowing He is waiting to make a decision based on your “stiffnecked” behaviors? How would you feel if He told you that He would not be in your presence or “midst”?  How would you feel if He told you, ok, I’ve definitely decided I am going to “consume thee”?

It seemed that God had become fed up with the Israelites and their she-nanigans and he-nanigans, and decided to just send them on their way, while keeping His promise to Abraham. 

People have forgotten how to communicate with each other to eliminate division amongst the body of Christ and to eliminate the stench of ignorance floating around in homes, businesses, and churches. I have learned from my inquiries and from an observance of everyday life, we as people and as Christians are lacking more and more in patience and communication with each other. We have begun to ignore each other more because of feelings, one tracked minds and hearsay. 

Who are we?  A “stiffnecked people” who quite often forget whose presence we are in which is why we behave the way we do WITH one another.  We can’t seem to talk to each other one on one anymore. That allows 1 of the top 5 sins from my List to grow and cause more division among us on our jobs with co-workers, in church with our members who claim to be on one accord with Christ, and in our homes with family, we so dearly claim to love. I have penned it as Micro-Managed Gossip or MMC if you prefer.  

Personally I don’t have a problem with any person approaching me if they have an issue with me, for I realize I am not perfect but in the works of being about my Father God’s business. I am not easily hurt by any person’s words or thoughts.  Let me tell you beloved, when you keep going through fires, being tested and overcome test after test, you are on a whole other level that people not in His presence don’t understand. Job’s friends didn’t understand him. Thank you Holy Spirit!

FACT- Unless one is reprimanded and convicted by the Spirit of God, one does not really pay attention to being in His presence.

If I am correct in my study, after being reprimanded by God, the Israelites temporarily paid attention to His presence. Throughout the bible, they were a backsliding people, forgetting whose presence they were in, until warned again and again.  Well, hit me with a hammer! Isn’t this the same thing we do to this very day? Exodus 33:7… And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation. Before this, what were they doing? You guessed it! They were line dancing, boot scooting, and worshipping false gods all the while, while in His camp.

We need to be more aware of our presence with others mainly in a body of Christ setting or within His camp.  Ask self…How can I put and keep myself in God’s presence?  What does it take for me as an individual to be conscientious about the presence of God in my life? Do I realize I am in God’s presence when I avoid speaking to or greeting others while in His house, aka church, at work, or with family?

The Ashtoreth poles, i.e. some individuals, need to be removed from church pews and pulpits. A limbless tree trunk without roots have no use but of that to be burned to ashes. Of all places, nowadays, with so many claiming to be Christians, the devil should not have to be rebuked inside the church. I guess he will get in where he feels he can fit in though. His days are definitely numbered.  “Dung” belongs outside of the church, not inside.

In the bible “dung” is referred to as being unclean, evil, falsity, a nakedness fully clothed and styled with a stench…you know….NOT CHRISTLIKE.

The spiritual gift of seeing through others is a beautiful gift when you know you have planks as well being removed.

Spend time with God alone and just focus on Him. Do as the Israelites did. Seek Him. You are not perfect. You’ll stumble quite often, but you have to get back up and go hence. Beloved, find out what will distinguish you “as His people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”- (Ex 33:16) He will bring Himself into your presence. I know this to be so true, along with some witnesses.

• Be very aware that God knows you by name out of zillions of names.
• Be very aware that it is God who finds the ultimate grace in His sight, not men, friends or foes.
• If you are chosen to do His will, ask God to show you His ways, so that you too may “know thee” and partake of His glory.
• Ask God for forgiveness, plead your case before Him, not just for you but for others so that you all will find grace in His sight and know it.
• Be determined, be prepared, and be expecting God to do something. This, in my opinion is called having FAITH.

Moses was determined to move God’s people from bondage. He prepared himself with the help of God to do God’s will.  He expected God to do something, when they came to the Red Sea; when they were left wandering for 40 years; when he came face to face with God. Go ahead and SHOUT!  Expecting God to do something?…PAUSE…. Ok, that’ enough shouting Hallelujahs! After all, He did decide and told Moses. “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.”

Moses asked Him to show him His Glory. God did, did He not?

Ask Him to show you His Glory. He will. He will communicate with you one on one. If your heart is not hardened, it will help you communicate better with others and help you be more about our Father God’s business and status instead of your own business and status.

Let’s close it. I am very conscientious about His presence in my life and how He has placed others in my presence this past year…definitely these past three months. Others…that believe in Him who are relying on His promise that we will on one day be glorified and be face to face with Him. But first, beloved you should practice being more conscientious about His presence.

As of this moment, are you conscientious about His presence being in your work life, in your church, and in your home? If not, remember what He told Moses (Exodus 34:20)…. “And none shall appear before me empty.” Remove the veil when you are in His presence.

 

LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS