Families

Mal 4:4 Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
:5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
:6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

 
Mat 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
:2 Abraham begot Isaac, Issac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.

 
Luke 1:16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God.
We can find ourselves in circumstances of separation and danger we did not anticipate. Only from our heavenly Father can we find the perfect forgiveness, example, and inner grace we need. He knows we are all fallen children off fallen parents, and even now He offers us the help of His Spirit and the rescue of His Son. It's never too soon to turn back to God.

 
Jer 3:22 "Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You for You are the Lord our God."

 
What's the root of our failures? Failure doesn't lie in the strength of the enemy or our own weakness, or God's reluctance to help us overcome. Israel was defeated by a small town after having conquered might Jericho. Their failure, like ours, was the result of unconfessed sin. Sin unacknowledged will keep you defeated, but sin confessed will bring you forgiveness and restoration that leads to victory. Anything we cling to that's contrary to God's word will cause us to fall before our enemies. Whatever God shows you, confess it immediately and by faith receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Then you'll be able to stand victorious before your enemies.

 

Sin, Forgiveness and Holiness

Heb 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
:11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
:12 saying, " I will declare Your name to My brethren, in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You."
:13 And again, "I will put My trust in Him." And again, "Here am I and the children whom God has given Me."
:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,
:15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
:16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.
:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

 
Is 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong. Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

 
Sin put Jesus to the ultimate test. But His love endured it, His strength bore it, and His power overcame it. Thanks to Jesus' death and resurrection, we know beyond a doubt that sin will not and cannot win.

 
Jos 7:5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

 
Holiness is a path, not a place. When you're off the path, God's plan is simple – get back on it immediately. Like a child learning to walk, when you fall don't lie down and give up. Get back up and walk again. The moment that brings the awareness of sin should also bring the confession of sin and the assurance of forgiveness!

Consequences and Love

2 Sam 12:1 Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him, and said to him:"There were two men in one city, one rich and the other poor.
:2 The rich man had exceedingly many flocks and herds.
:3 But the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb which he had bought and nourished; and it grew up together with him and with his children. It ate of his own food and drank from his own cup and lay in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him.
:4 And a traveler came to the rich man, who refused to take from his own flock and from his own herd to prepare one for the way-faring man who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him."
:5 So David's anger was greatly aroused against the man, and he said to Nathan,"As the Lord lives, the man who has done this shall surely die!
:6 And he shall restore fourfold for the lamb, because he did this thing and because he had no pity."
:7 Then Nathan said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.
:8 I gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israeal and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!
:9 Why have you despised the commandments of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of Ammon.
:10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife."
:11 Thus says the Lord:'Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbors, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun.
:12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.
:13 So David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
:14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die."
:15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it became ill.
:16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground.
:17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them.
:18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, "Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!"
:19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?" And they said, "He is dead."
:20 So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshipped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate.
:21 Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food."
:22 And he said, "While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?"
:23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."

 
Is 43:25"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
Just as David had to face the consequences of his sin so do we. But just as he did we can find our way back to a relationship with God that makes it possible for us to serve Him.

 
1 Pet 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."
Your marriage and other valued relationships should be like a mutual admiration society that builds each other's self-esteem and overlooks flaws that could otherwise be destruction. And there's a biblical word for this kind of commitment. It's called love.

God’s Will and Doubt

Eph 5:17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
:18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
:19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
:21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.

 
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

 
As we seek to know God's will for the future, we must also act on what we already know now.

 
Love and obey the Lord every day, and He will unfold your future.

 
Mt 21:21 So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, '
Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done."

 
Doubt is a doorway for satan to enter your life. It causes the 'fight of faith' to take flight. Doubt is one of satan's ploys. Your doubts reveal a lack of confidence in what God says. How can you stop doubting? The same way you deal with other sin. Acknowledge the problem and do something about it. It's believing that when you surrender a thing to Him, He takes it and deals with it. Don't fret, wrestle or reason with your doubts. Instead, repeat your Spiritual declaration of faith, disregard your feelings and trust God to do what He says.

Unity and They can’t “unsee”

Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh – who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands –
:12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
:14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace
:16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
:17 And He came and preached place to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
:21 in whom the whole building being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

 
4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
:2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
:3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 
Sadly, Christians often re-erect walls between one another. Rather than building walls, let's work to dismantle what separates us. Let the world see that we are indeed of the same household.

 
Ps 101:3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me.

 
Do you monitor what your children are watching, listening to, seeing around the home? Are you modest at all times? It may seem that you are being careful but you need to be diligent what your children see. They can't "unsee" something you think is ok now if you decide later it was wrong. Err on the side of not exposing them.

God is good and bathing in the Word

Ps 67:1 God be merciful to us and bless us and cause His face to shine upon us, Selah
:2 that Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.
:3 Let the people praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
:4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy! For You shall judge the people righteously, and govern the nations on earth. Selah
:5 Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.
:6 Then the earth shall yield her increase; God, our own God, shall bless us.
:7 God shall bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.

 
God's daily blessings are proof positive that He is indeed a good God who cares for His own. But how will our world know this about God if we never praise Him for His goodness to us?

So next time God blesses you, be sure to look for ways to appropriately give Him the credit.

 
Jn 9:11 He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ' Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight."

 
Jesus told this man to go wash the clay from his eyes. What do you need to remove from your life today in order to see what God wants you to see and do what He wants you to do?

 
Whether it is a destructive habit, or toxic relationship, a bad attitude, you must get rid of it.

 
James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Clease your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

 
God will do His part, but you must do yours. God will extend grace to you, but you must act on it.

 
The secret of victorious Christian living is bathing your mind each day in the Scriptures. Picture yourself taking a bath in God's Word and the dirt and grime coming off you. That's what meditating on the Scriptures does for you.

Growing and Walking

Heb 5:12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
:13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.
:14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
6:1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,

 
While receiving spiritual food from preachers and teachers is good, spiritual growth and survival also depend on knowing how to feed ourselves.

 
Jn 9:7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

 
Sometimes Jesus healed by speaking to them, sometimes He laid hands on them. But this man's healing was a process. It required something of him. How far away was the pool? Doesn't matter. Being blind any journey was long. There is something important here. Even when God touches us, sometimes we have got to walk with our mess until we get to the place of healing, freedom and deliverance.

 
Here's another lesson. Whoever told him about Jesus, and helped him get there, had to help him to the pool. God never gives up on people and we shouldn't either. Sometimes when someone continues to struggle over and over with the same old habit, some Christians say they must not be saved. How often do you give in to resentment, pride, lust, greed, gossip, etc? The list Is endless, yet God doesn't give up on you. Sometimes we have to walk out our deliverance and healing. That's how long you need to love them, believe in them, pray for them and keep working with them. I'm glad God hasn't ever given up on me, aren't you glad He hasn't given up on you too?