Answering the Call! Leading By Example! Blessed By The LORD!

And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will rejoice over you to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. ~ Deuteronomy 28:63

(Deut. 28:63) “The most terrifying verse in 31,102 verses in the Bible,” according to Peter Ruckman, “I do not know of a ‘Christian celebrity’ in America who dare try to expound the verse publicly or privately. Its counterpart is Proverbs 1:25-32. It is the apotheosis of hate and vengeance and has never been surpassed.” In chapters 27 and 28 there are fourteen blessings (positives,) and 54 curses (negatives) God spells out as a warning to His children. I think anyone who has been a father knows why our Father would place 75% more emphasis on what could go wrong than focusing on the positive.

Is it possible to be a church-going, good deed-doing Bible scholar…living outside the will of God? If we tell our children great stories, teach them great lessons, but fail to demonstrate all we have taught them by how we conduct ourselves with the world around us, would they not see us as hypocrites? Wasn’t that our LORD’S greatest rebuke of the Pharisees of His day {Luke 11:42-51}? Jesus not only taught them about what it is to be the good shepherd, He showed them by His example. He not only talked to them about sin and defilement, he fashioned whips, flipped tables, and went after those who defiled His Father’s house {John 2:15}. They actually saw him leave the ninety-nine to go after and save the one that was lost. Just as Pastor John Amanchukwu did this past Thursday at the Board of Education meeting in Hyde Park, NY. If Jesus was moved to the John 2:15 action over defilement of His Father’s house, imagine his action in response to the defilement, abuse, and sexual grooming of His children! And yet, Pastor John, who flew in from North Carolina, and Pastor William Green, who drove up from Pennsylvania, were the only two pastors who showed up.

The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. ~ Proverbs 15:3

Treasure in heaven is faith that has been tried (cf. Rev. 3:18). ~ Oswald Chambers

Maybe Chambers is onto something here…maybe we have grown to feel we have too much to lose by driving an hour to call out evil.

Professional Christianity is religion of possessions that are devoted to God; the religion of Jesus Christ is a religion of personal relationship to God, and has nothing whatsoever to do with possessions…The scare of poverty will knock the spiritual backbone out of us unless we have the relationship that holds.~ Oswald Chambers, A Religion of Relationship …Possessions, to be clear, means all kinds of things. Feelings and Time, for example: I can possess a feeling of safety, and time is an extremely important possession for so many these days…The attitude of our Lord’s life was that He was disconnected with everything to do with things that chain people down to this world. Nobody in the entire Bible knew the curse of possession more than Achan and his entire family {Joshua 7:11-26}…and then have ye a gander at the certain man who said, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest…BUT…or him who said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father…another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house {Luke 9:57-62}.

The ignominy of the modern pulpit knows no bounds!

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. ~ Joshua 1:9

“When I sign a Bible, I will usually sign it with Joshua 1:9. I do that because Christian life is a warfare (1 Tim. 1:18), and a Christian needs courage to make it through that war victorious.” ~ Peter Ruckman

The only simple thing is human life is our relationship to God in Christ.  (Shad. Agony)

A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. ~ Proverbs 16:9

I want you to know I am nobody special. I have no great claims or accomplishments in this world…no letters after my name, other than Jr. But I have learned to listen to God tell me what He wants me to do, even and especially when I’m afraid to do it! And here’s what I am here to tell you with absolute certainty from my own experience. When you answer His call, He favors (Blessings) you in ways you can’t possibly imagine. On the other hand, focusing on the 75% negative (Curses) and the Nadab/Abihu violation of the Law of Solid Ground (Trust & Obey)…the very foundation of leadership, the laundry list of curses I hear every single day from those around me is staggering. It really is simple. Preacher…repent, and LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET OUT OF THE WAY!