I awoke this morning to the sound of Door County Blueberry Cobbler Coffee brewing in the kitchen.
I am looking forward to having a cup or two and then possibly sharing some with whoever graces the door of my office.
Last night as I was putting together some notes for a funeral service I will be performing, my mind started to wander and then somehow I just lost time. Thoughts to put on the paper were just not coming to me. It seemed that I would be stuck at my refurbished desk forever. I do like working at my desk in the den. It seems like a fortress that I can run to, pray, study and write. I spend some of my best times with God at my desk. It just seemed that God would not let me leave the desk. So I prayed, and prayed. I was led through prayer to the following passages.
Isaiah 31English Standard Version (ESV)
Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt
31 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help
and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
2 And yet he is wise and brings disaster;
he does not call back his words,
but will arise against the house of the evildoers
and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are man, and not God,
and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many
and in horsemen because they are very strong,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel
or consult the Lord!
2 And yet he is wise and brings disaster;
he does not call back his words,
but will arise against the house of the evildoers
and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.
3 The Egyptians are man, and not God,
and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.
When the Lord stretches out his hand,
the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,
and they will all perish together.
I then petitioned God as to tell me what lesson I was to learn. Here is what was laid upon my heart through the passage. God was clearly warning His Chosen People not to partner with those outside of the faith to do good. I pondered this Old Testament passage and asked God to show me what I could apply to my life.
The same message applies to the churches of today. We must never partner with anything of evil to accomplish good. Many a plan devised by men alone has failed because it was not God's plan. Many churches go ahead and try things and then ask God to bless it. They fail to ask, or if they do ask cannot wait on God for direction and start out on a road to disaster without Him. Very often churches disguise their own ambitions by " saying it will help many". They rush to help in the name of good, but take short cuts to do so that really just aligns them with Satan's plan to destroy the church. A church with a bad reputation is really no church at all.
Now this lesson can also be applied to individuals. We need to heed God's advice, individually as well as corporately. We should never attempt to do good by partnering with anything evil.
Think it through. God is never wrong.
Marty
No comments:
Post a Comment