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24. Aloha, The needy in distress – Isaiah 25:4 – 09-27-05 Dear Everyone I Know,
Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus. As I was reading my email, some organization focused my attention on a verse that foretold of what Jesus said about 700 years before He was born to this world.
Jesus said to focus on the poor and homeless, and so did Isaiah. As we see the wreckage in the wake of the hurricanes, we might be able to recognize the homeless that are right outside of our walls. We are willing to do a lot for those who lost their homes during the hurricanes, but what are we doing to help those who lost their homes because no one will hire them. No one will give them food. No one will give them something to drink. No one will give them clothes. No one will give them shelter. No one will care them before they are in the hospital (and they all get there, but nobody knows). No one will visit them when they go to jail (and they will all be arrested at one time or another for vagrancy or some other charges). The looks of devastation and despair are hard to miss after the hurricanes when we look at New Orleans or now Texas. Many are asking will we ever rebuild our lives. But there are still those who live right were we live who are asking the same thing and nobody is there to really help them. Oh, yes, we hear a lot of rhetoric about helping them once or twice a year, but they need help everyday, just like you and I do. Are we there to help them.
Entire communities lay flattened by the Katrina and Rita hurricanes, and millions of lives remain splintered by the immense destruction. Together, we can deliver the timely comfort and strength of Gods Word to hurricane survivors. But, can we give it to those right outside of our own doors? There are many more millions who are homeless before these hurricanes struck.
Isaiah 25:4 (New Living Translation)
But to the poor, O LORD, you are a refuge from the storm. To the needy in distress, you are a shelter from the rain and the heat. For the oppressive acts of ruthless people are like a storm beating against a wall,
God will comfort those who trust in Him and punish those who ignore Him. He is a shelter from the storms of life to those of us who have established a relationship with God. No matter what we have done to mess up our life before we can rely on God to strengthen us and keep us from our dependency. If we havent yet asked God to take control of our unmanageable life, there is still time. No one is too far gone to receive Gods mercy.
The homeless around the Waikiki Beach Outreach Ministry have been receiving Gods mercy. The ministry had been feeding the local homeless with food and the Word of God every day, but now needs help. Is there anyone out there who might help the 200 folks that that ministry desires to help?
God bless you and your family.
Your brother in Christ, Bob Erb @ http://www.waikikibeachoutreach.com/wst_page4.htmlxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
23. Aloha, All things are possible - Matthew 19:26 and Philippians 4:16 -- 09-27-05
Dear David and Everyone I Know,
Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus. Thank your for sharing so many prayer requests. Thank you for being part of the team to get 2 or more gathered in His name to produce results in agreement. Thank you for sharing God's Word, again.
As you share these verses, again I am being inspired to share what God is showing me how these words might apply in today's life of recovery.
Matthew 19:26 (New Living Translation)
Jesus looked at them intently and said, "Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible."
This verse is true not only for salvation, but also for recovery. Left on our own, we would fall deeper into the pit of our addiction, never gaining control over it. But with God's help, the inconceivable is possible. He can turn our life around, bringing hope and health where once despair and pain had reigned. Giving God control of our life is the only way to regain independence from our addiction and other compulsive behaviors.
Philippians 4:13
For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need.
Some of us may wonder if we will ever experience peace again. Our battle against addiction seems endless and hard. We continually find ourselves in helpless situations. When we get discouraged and recognize that recovery is too hard for us to achieve alone, we can claim this verse for renewed hope. God wants us to make progress in recovery, and He has the power to help us do it. As we entrust our life to God, we can make progress in recovery whit the help of Christ, who gives us the strength we need. With God, noting is impossible.!
God bless you and your family.
Your brother in Christ,
Bob @ http://www.liferecoveryministry.org/wst_page3.php and check out item 23.
For friend's mom { and her } having trouble at work.
For the men from Emmanual Bible Church { & others } going on upcoming retreat. For renewing of old friendships for me. That all of us can count our blessings. { At least more than we focus on what's wrong in/ with our lives. } God + any of us = more than any problem/ s! Matthew 19:26 & Philippians 4:13. Ty. God, Jesus & The Holy Spirit love you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! John 3:16, 1 John 3:16, Psalm 139:1-18, Jeremiah 29:11, Isaiah 40:31, 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 , 2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:26-39, John 17:20-26, Luke 18:1-18, Ephesians 6:10-20 & Matthew 6:25-34. ^i^ @)>--->--- ^j^ Dav e xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
22. Aloha, Evil deeds come around back to us Obadiah 1:15 09-26-05
Dear Laura and Everyone I Know,
Greetings in the name of Christ Jesus. Thank you for your response. Thank you for sharing the Word of God.
I dont recall you sharing this with me in the past, but it sure trapped me today. I spent many hours studying this and sharing what I understand to put it into todays perspective. Is this what you saw two years ago?
Obadiah 1:15 (New Living Translation)
Edom (or New Orleans) Destroyed, Israel (or the Christ focused USA) Restored
"The day is near when I, the LORD, will judge the godless nations! As you have done to Israel, so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your own heads."
Betrayal always produces feelings of agony, and the closer our relationship with someone, the greater the pain we feel if that person betrays us. In this short book, Obadiah condemned the people of Edom (the land area in the desert at the southern end of what now is Israel south of the Gaza Strip) for betraying their kinsmen in Judah, who were descendants of Jacob, while the Edonites were descended from Jacobs twin brother, Esau. The two nations were closely related, yet over the years the Edonmites treated the Israelites cruelly.
When Judah needed help to stand against the armies of Babylon, the Edonmites stood by and encouraged the attackers. They cheered the enemy on! They gloated while the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem. When the Babylonians left, the Edomites entered the Holy City and helped themselves to the remaining plunder. They even captured Judeans who were trying to escape and turned them over to the Babylonians.
Obadiah reassured the hurting Judeans that justice would come. In Gods timing, Edom would experience the same kind of destruction that Judah did. God promised that Judah and Israel would someday be restored, and He has been true to His word. The nation of Israel still exists, but the nation of Edom has been gone for thousands of years. When we have been betrayed and are struggling with hatred and the desire to "get even," we can leave justice in Gods hands. We can rest in the knowledge that someday He will right all wrongs. Then, as we release the burden of anger and hatred to God, we can get on with the recovery process and deal with significant life changing experiences.
God held the Edomites accountable for taking advantage of their helpless relatives in Israil. People who are undergoing trubulation are precious to God; He will not tolerate those who gain from their misfortunes. God will bring justice, He says that their "evil deeds will fall back upon their onw heaes." We may have sufferedunjustly in the past. If so, we can let go of our hatred or bitterness because God will see that our enemies get what they deserve. If we have taken unfair advantage of others, we need to admit our sins to God and seek to make amends. If we dont, God will not allow us to go unpunished.
OBADIAH: DEATH TO EDOM!
Obadiah, the shortest book in the Old Testament, is the pronouncement of doom against an ancient and long-forgotten nation, the land of Edom. But there is more to this book than that. The Scriptures have that beautiful faculty of appearing to be one thing on the surface, but on a deeper level, yielding rich and mighty treasures. That is certainly true of this amazing book of Obadiah.
We know very little about Obadiah except that he was one of the minor prophets. Most Bible commentators believe the author of this book was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, the last of the prophets before Israel went into captivity.
The name Obadiah means "the servant of Jehovah;" he fulfills the position of a servant. He comes and does his work and fades into the background; he delivers his message and he is gone. And that is about all we know about the man behind this book.
The book of Obadiah tells the story of two nations, the nation of Israel and the nation of Edom, the country to the south of Israel that is now usually referred to as the Negev or Negeb. Through this ancient land of Edom the Israelites marched as they came into the land of Israel out of the captivity and slavery of Egypt. As they came into the land they had difficulty with the Edomites; they were enemies of Israel from its very beginning.
But behind the story of these two nations, this book tells the story of two men. Every nation in the Bible is a lengthened shadow of its founder, and the two men behind the nations Israel an Edom were twin brothers, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the father of Israel, and Esau, his twin brother, became the father of the Edomites. In the story of these nations you also have the extended story of these two men, Jacob and Esau. God, in a sense, has put Jacob and Esau into an enlarger and blown them up to national size. As the prophet discusses this you can see that the story of these two men continues; Israel is still Jacob and Edom is still Esau.
Jacob and Esau were in perpetual antagonism. We read in the book of Genesis that even before they were born, they struggled together in their mother's womb. That antagonism marked the lives of these two men, and, consequently, the lives of their descendants, the two nations of Israel and Edom.
And as you recall from Genesis, Jacob was mother's darling and Esau was daddy's little man, and there was one unending conflict between the two of them which did not end with the lives of these men. The nations carried on this same conflict, and all the way from Genesis through Malachi there is the threat of struggle and unbroken antagonism between them. In the book of Malachi (remember, Genesis records the beginning of these nations), the last book of the Old Testament, God says, "I have loved Jacob but I have hated Esau." (Malachi 1:2) Why does the story of these two men come to a focus here in this little prophecy of Obadiah? What is so important about these two men and these two nations? Well, that is what the book of Obadiah makes very clear to us. In the New Testament we discover that there is a perpetual antagonism within the nature of the Christian. In Galatians 5:17 we are told that the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh; they are opposed to one another. God is a great illustrator. He is always using pictures for us so that we can understand truth more easily, more graphically. We are children in this respect. We like to have a picture. We would rather see something than hear it, so God has many pictures. He has taken these two men and the subsequent nations that came from them and used them through the Bible as a consistent picture of the conflict between the flesh and the spirit -- Jacob and Esau, Israel and Edom.
The trouble with Esau is pride. Pride is the root of all human evil, and pride is the basic characteristic of what the Bible calls the flesh that lusts against, wars against, the Spirit. The flesh is a principle that stands against God's purposes in human life and continually defies what God is trying to accomplish. Each of us has this struggle within us if we are Christians, and its basic characteristic is revealed here as pride. That is the number one identifying mark of the flesh.
Proverbs 6:16 says: "There are six things which the Lord hates, seven which are an abomination to him." And what is number one on the list? A proud look. And everything else that follows is a variation of pride. Those that are swift to run after mischief, he that spreads lies and slander and discord among brothers -- all these things are manifestations of that single basic evil, pride. This is the satanic nature which was implanted in the human race; all who are born of Adam have this congenital twist of pride, the independent ego that evaluates everything only in terms of its importance or its unimportance to self. The universe centers around self, the rival god. That is pride. That is Esau; that is Edom. It can appear in our lives in ten thousand ways, but you will find some common expressions of it here in this book of Obadiah.
Here is the man who says, "Nobody can touch me. Who is going to upset me? My plans are all laid out. I am able to carry through what I set out to do." This attitude of self-sufficient ability is a mark of pride. And the Lord says that "though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, yet I am able to bring you down."
This kind of self-sufficiency is clearly evident in the man who says, "I don't need God. I can run my own life without God, in my own wisdom, my own strength, my own abilities, my own talents -- that is enough. That is all I need to make a success in life." But self-sufficiency is also seen in the Christian who says, "Well, I need God, yes, in times of danger and fear and pressure, but I am quite able, thank you, to make my own decisions about the girl I am going to marry, or the career I am going to follow, or the friends that I have, or the car that I buy or anything else like that." That is the same spirit of self sufficiency, isn't it?
The thing that characterized the Lord Jesus Christ and marked him as continually opposed to this spirit of self-sufficiency was his utter dependence on the Father. We Christians have to learn that if there is any area of our life where we think that we've got what it takes to do without God, it is in that same area that we are manifesting the flesh, the pride of Edom. When you step into your office on Monday morning and you have been a fine Christian on Sunday and all through the weekend, but on Monday morning you say, "Now I am in charge. I know what to do here. I don't need the Bible. I don't need God. I don't need my religion to help me here. I know exactly how to run this business," you are manifesting this same spirit of Edom, this spirit of self-sufficiency. In many areas of their lives Christians live as though God were dead, they believe in God, but live as though he were dead, they live without any sense of dependency upon his wisdom and his strength.
Violence is a form of pride; the man who strikes his wife, a child who has been beaten, a baby whose bones have been broken, and who has been damaged internally. What is behind this violence of the human heart? An unbroken ego, a spoiled and cowardly spirit. Pride is centered only on self and it strikes out against anything that dares to challenge its supreme reign in life. I have been in a Christian home and seen a woman with black eyes and bruises on her legs and arms because her Christian husband, who was a Sunday School teacher, had beaten her. Where does this violence come from? It is from Edom. It is the pride of the flesh. Indifference is a form of pride. I think this is by far one of the major causes of marital difficulty. In the constant stream of people who have come to see me about problems in their marriage, almost invariably, somewhere along the line, I hear the complaint. "Well, he is simply indifferent to me. He doesn't care about me. He ignores me." Or, "She pays no attention to me. She isn't interested in the things that I am interested in." Isn't it strange that these things can be true in Christian homes? And how quickly it comes in after courtship. During the courtship it is, "What are you thinking about? Tell me what you would like?" But when marriage comes, it is, "Where's dinner? Where is the paper? What's on TV?" And the concern is entirely different. Why? Well, Esau is at work -- that's why. The force in human life that God hates is Esau.
God charges Edom with the sin of gloating as a manifestation of this basic problem of pride. Notice how you hear this so frequently in children who haven't yet learned to cover up what they feel with a subtle varnish of politeness: "Yay, yah, yah, good for you. You had it coming!" Did you ever say that in your own heart about somebody? "You had it coming." You were gloating over them. Adults learn to disguise this sometimes, but it comes out once in a while. You hear that the boss is sick, and you say. "Nothing trivial, I hope." What do you say when someone fails and you hear about it? Do you ever say, "Well, I told you so. I knew that would happen. I expected it all along"? That is the sense of gloating, you see. I remember reading of the hypochondriac who had written on his tombstone the words, "I told you I was sick."
Now, what causes this? Why do we like to rub salt on another's wounds? What is behind this perverse delight we take in another person's failure or his faults? It is Esau in us. The flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. In our pride and unconcern we don't care what happens to someone else, as long as everything is all right with us.
When calamity fell, Edom took advantage of it. The Edomites moved in on a fallen people, a captured people, took advantage of the fact that these were fugitives, and used their trouble and their misery to their own advantage. They delivered up the survivors in the day of Israel's distress. They took unfair advantage. God hates it when we utilize another's weakness or bad luck to our advantage.
Have you ever heard anyone say, "Well, I had a contractor bid on some work I would like him to do, and the fellow made a mistake and he has underbid this. But I am going to hold him to It. After all, I've got the contract. He signed it and I am going to hold him to it"? That is taking advantage of another's mistake. We find this spirit coming up so easily when something like that happens. We say, "Oh, that is your hard luck. Finders keepers, losers weepers." We try to move in and take advantage of another's distress.
"Oh," you say, "I could never do a thing like that." Well, how many of you are on the lookout for some old coin, or some antique chair, or some widow selling her husband's golf clubs who doesn't know the value of them? What a bargain! Move in on that and take advantage of it.
Well, this is only a partial listing of the ways of Esau, the man God hates
That is the terrible thing about pride. It traps us. It tricks us. It trips us up. We don't recognize it until we are too late. We go stumbling along in our pride and arrogance and vanity and we think we are doing fine. Everyone else can see the trouble we are having, but we go blissfully on, sawing away on the limb, totally unaware that the limb we are sawing on is the limb we are sitting on, until it falls down and we are suddenly exposed.
In other words, God has determined judgment upon Edom, and there is no escaping it. Does that sound like destruction? Well, it is -- for Esau. There is no hope for Esau; there is no way out. The judgment of God is absolutely inescapable for Esau. God is forever set against him. One of the grandsons of Esau was a man named Amalek, who withstood the Israelites on their way into Canaan. In Exodus 17:14-16 it is recorded that God said to Moses, "I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." And Moses says, "The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." That is what God is saying about the flesh. He will never make peace with it.
Isn't it interesting that when you get to the New Testament you find these same two principles personified again in two persons who meet in the pages of the Gospels face to face. In the last week of our Lord's sufferings, he stands before Herod. Herod, we are told, is an Idumean, which is another spelling of Edom -- he is an Edomite. Jesus before Herod -- the representative of Jacob and the representative of Esau face to face. Herod the Edomite, proud, arrogant and rebellious, watches the cruel mockery of the soldiers as they strip the Lord down and dress him in his royal robes. The Gospel writer says that Herod plied him with many questions, but for the son of Esau there is no answer from the son of Jacob. He has nothing to discuss with him. There can be no compromise. God has nothing to say to the flesh, nothing at all except judgment.
And what is the final issue of that account? The prisoner went out to a cross and a grave, and from it he emerged a king; but King Herod went on to disgrace, exile, and, finally, to a grave in a foreign country. Beyond that he is a prisoner, bound by chains of his own making, eternally.
Now which are you? A king or a prisoner? Is Esau or Jacob ruling? Do you know about this ruthless cross that denies you any right to self-sufficiency, to self-_expression, to self-advantage, to self-exploitation, to all these things -- denies you indifference, gloating, or self-righteousness? Have you learned yet to reign with Christ, not in heaven, but right now? Have you learned to possess your possessions -- as Jacob is intended to do -- so that the kingdom shall be the Lord's, the kingdom of your life? Or are you still a prisoner, like Herod, fancying yourself to be free, on a throne in authority, but still bound by unbreakable chains because you refuse to pass through the death that sets you free? Destruction came upon Edom. Their offences against Jacob.
Destruction came upon New Orleans. Their offences against Jacob?
This prophecy is against Edom. Its destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's rejection; and to refer to the destruction of the enemies of the gospel church. See the prediction of the success of that war; Edom shall be spoiled, and brought down. All the enemies of God's church shall be disappointed in the things they stay themselves on. God can easily lay those low who magnify and exalt themselves; and will do it. Carnal security ripens men for ruin, and makes the ruin worse when it comes. Treasures on earth cannot be so safely laid up but that thieves may break through and steal; it is therefore our wisdom to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Those that make flesh their trust, arm it against themselves. The God of our covenant will never deceive us: but if we trust men with whom we join ourselves, it may prove to us a wound and dishonor. God will justly deny those understanding to keep out of danger, who will not use their understandings to keep out of sin. All violence, all unrighteousness, is sin; but it makes the violence far worse, if it be done against any of God's people. Their barbarous conduct towards Judah and Jerusalem, is charged upon them. In reflecting on ourselves, it is good to consider what we should have done; to compare our practice with the Scripture rule. Sin, thus looked upon in the glass of the commandment, will appear exceedingly sinful. Those have a great deal to answer for, who are idle spectators of the troubles of their neighbors, when able to be active helpers. Those make themselves poor, who think to make themselves rich by the ruin of the people of God; and those deceive themselves, who call all that their own on which they can lay their hands in a day of calamity. Though judgment begins at the house of God, it shall not end there. Let sorrowful believers and insolent oppressors know, that the troubles of the righteous will soon end, but those of the wicked will be eternal.
God bless you and your family.
Your brother and friend in Christ, Bob Erb @ http://www.liferecoveryministry.org/wst_page3.php check out item 22
GOD BLESS YOU BROTHER BOB today as always, and I never knew if you had received this or not,,,,,, as you never made a comment on it before...... so I thought I'd send it to you again,,,,,, you may remember when I sent it to you a couple of years agao. AMEN GOD BLESS YOU & YOURS YOUR SISTER IN CHRIST CHRISTINE
For the day of THE LORD is NEAR upon ALL the heathen; as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall return upon thine own head. OBADIAH 1: 15
This scripture is so significant to me as it is the day after GOD had me write about HIS
Those that dont know JESUS ,,,,, need to come in NOW !
Everything they have ever done to people is NOW RETURNING TO THEM !
GOD IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS,,,,,,, therefore there is no favorites that do not GET EVERYTHING GOD HAS FOR THEM
GOD is POURING OUT HIS RAFT on AMERICA--------- A NATION THAT PULLS GOD OUT ------- CANNOT STAND xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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