Our Father, our God, founded this nation
and nourished us up from nothing and blessed us with the best of everything.
Yet we have forgotten God. Even a dumb ox knows his owner who cares for him.
Isa 1:2-7 KJV
(2) Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath
spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled
against me.
(3) The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not
consider.
(4) Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of
evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the LORD,
they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away
backward.
(5) Why should ye be stricken any more?
[What else can I do to chasten and correct
you? There’s nothing else I can do. You won’t listen.]
ye will revolt more and more: [It just makes
you more rebellious.]
the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
(6) From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it;
[There’s no wholesomeness. There’s no
sound thought even. Nothing you’re doing makes any sense. Picture God there
just shaking His head.]
there is no soundness in it; but wounds,
and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up,
neither mollified with ointment.
(7) Your country is
desolate, your cities are burned with
fire: your land, strangers devour it in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.
This has become the country we live in. Anymore, when people
get bad news, things don’t go their way, they want to turn over cars and burn
something down. They get good news, their favorite professional sports team
wins the national championship or they get a favorable verdict in a high-profile
trial, and they want to turn over cars and burn something down.
And here we are in the middle of it, a very small remnant.
(v. 9)
Ever get tired of it all? Ever get so tired of it all to the
point that you think, “I can’t do this anymore. I don’t have the energy
anymore”?
Gal 6:7-10 KJV
(7) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,
that shall he also reap.
(8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life
everlasting.
(9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due
season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the
household of faith.
Be Not Weary in Well Doing
We see the line drawn between those who sow to the flesh and
those who sow to the spirit. The line is becoming more distinct, more
well-defined. The sheep are being separated from the goats, the wheat from the
chaff. And it is becoming clearer on which side of the divide we fall.
We must not let it get to us and weary us in well doing.
We see the division in our country with racial issues,
gender issues, abortion, drug addiction legal and illegal, division over First
Amendment rights, Second Amendment rights, our border being flooded with
illegal immigrants from all over the world.
We can no longer have a civil discussion. We take offense at
every little disagreement of opinion – wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, take the
vaccine, don’t take the vaccine, vaccine passports to travel or do business, no
vaccine passports, critical race theory, social justice, cancel culture that
exiles you from society for everything that’s said or done, even for what we
think and believe. It’s gotten so emotionally charged that some want to deny
your very right to exist just because you disagree with them.
We can get so angry, and saddened at the same time, at
what’s taking place in our precious country.
It is indeed a day of adversity.
And as a result – Anger, Stress, Fatigue, even Burnout
We can become anxious, weary, and despondent.
Pro 24:10-22 KJV
(10) If thou faint
in the day of adversity, thy strength is
small.
[Faint – become feeble, slacken, weaken, be slothful,
cease, forsake]
(11) If thou forbear to deliver them that
are drawn unto death, and those that are
ready to be slain;
(12) If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that
pondereth the heart consider it? and he
that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not
he render to every man according to his
works?
[Rescue those being drawn to death, and hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say,
"Behold, we did not know it," does not He who searches the heart
consider it? And the Keeper of your
soul, does He not know? And does He not repay to every man according to his works? Try to talk some
sense into them. Don’t act like you don’t know what’s going on.]
(13) My son, eat thou honey, because it
is good; and the honeycomb, which is
sweet to thy taste:
(14) So shall the knowledge
of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou
hast found it, then there shall be a
reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
(15) Lay not wait, O wicked man,
against the dwelling of the righteous; spoil not his resting place:
(16) For a just man falleth
seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief. [calamity]
(17) Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart
be glad when he stumbleth:
(18) Lest the LORD see it,
and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.
[I see many people making fun of President
Biden in his state of mental and physical decline. Regardless what we may think
of him or his legitimacy as President, we need to stop it. It’s wrong.]
(19) Fret not thyself because of evil men,
[fret does not convey
the intensity of the word in the Hebrew. It more rightly means “Do not become
infuriated”.]
because of evil men, neither be
thou envious at the wicked;
(20) For there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out.
(21) My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:
[Those seeking to ‘Fundamentally Change
America’. Those saying they will ‘Build Back Better’. Those looking for a
‘Great Reset’. Do not join them, do not give allegiance to them.]
(22) For their calamity shall rise suddenly; and who knoweth the ruin
of them both?
Those who are sowing to the flesh will get theirs. We need
but wait on the Lord. He will deal with them at His return.
We on the other hand, have chosen the way of truth and sow
to the spirit. We will be rewarded. But in the meantime, in a time when truth has
fallen in the streets, we become the object of scorn to those who do not love
the truth. They have forged a lie against us but we will keep God’s precepts
with our whole heart anyway.
Psa 119:30 KJV I have chosen
the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before
me.
[We are dedicated to live by truth, the
way of God and His laws, statutes, and precepts.]
Psa 119:65-69, 71 KJV
(65) Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according unto
thy word.
(66) Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy
commandments.
(67) Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy
word.
(68) Thou art good, and doest
good; teach me thy statutes.
(69) The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
(71) It is good for me that I
have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
We were once as they are, rebelling and chafing at
correction but now we have laid God’s judgments before us and delight in His
statutes.
We have chosen the way of truth. They who are sowing to the
flesh have not but take pleasure in unrighteousness.
2Th 2:10-12 KJV
(10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might
be saved.
(11) And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:
(12) That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.
They are deceived. Deluded. They know not what they do.
But when truth fails, we who are dedicated to the truth
become a prey to those who love not the truth.
In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary
act.
We will be considered extremists, revolutionaries,
dissidents when we refuse to live by lies and don’t go along with the
prevailing narrative but demand to know and live by the truth.
Isa 59:15 KJV Yea, truth
faileth; and he that departeth from
evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it,
and it displeased him that there was no
judgment.
God is not pleased. He is not happy.
What’s really going on here?
Let’s step back a second and see what’s really going on. We could
get into a long discussion about how all this came about but at the core what we’re
witnessing is the nation’s reaction to the unraveling of the blessings of God.
Every time we become incensed, every complaint, every rant
about what’s taking place in our nation is a direct reaction to God withdrawing
His hand of blessing and we don’t like it.
But we’ve given our righteous God no choice.
We became complacent. We fell asleep at the wheel and now
we’re witnessing the train wreck.
We’ve allowed those who do not believe in our Sovereign God
to force their views and changes on the rest of us. There was no intercessor,
no one of sufficient force standing in the gap to repel the forces of evil. We’ve
allowed their immorality and decadence to have a louder voice than the voice representing
God’s guiding principles.
We didn’t stop them in the beginning when we had the chance
and now evil has triumphed because good men did nothing. The nation has been
incrementally transformed and over time turned away from God and godly
principles and values. And so, we must reap what we’ve sown.
Without wholesale repentance at the national level,
especially by our leaders in church and state, it’s not going to turn around.
Even the event that was designed to do just that last September
26th in Washington, DC which was promoted by Jonathan Cahn and Franklin Graham to
be a return to God in humble repentance, included but a few of the church
leaders and scant few of our political leaders.
Without repentance at the leadership level, the nation is
still in a state of disobedience.
Nineveh
Jon 3:4-10 KJV
(4) And Jonah began to enter into the city a day's journey, and he
cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.
(5) So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast,
and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
(6) For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from
his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
(7) And he caused it to be
proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and
his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste
any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water:
(8) But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry
mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the
violence that is in their hands.
(9) Who can tell if God will
turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
(10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way;
and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and
he did it not.
“The king and his nobles”
Did you see President Donald Trump there at that event in
Washington, DC in sackcloth and ashes? Did you see Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the
House), Chuck Shumer (Senate Majority Leader), Mitch McConnell (Senate Minority
Leader), Steny Hoyer (House Majority Leader), Kevin McCarthy (House Minority
Leader) any of them making a decree for repentance and fasting?
No.
President Trump did issue an official proclamation from the
White House supporting this National Call to Prayer and Repentance. However,
not one word about repentance. Was he there? No. Instead he tweeted!
"Today, I am pleased to join my voice to yours in
thanking God for blessing this nation with great power and responsibility.
With reverence, humility, and thanksgiving, we beg for His continued
guidance and protection." – President Donald Trump
Repentance? No.
Even in his official statement from the Whitehouse –
“From the pilgrims who sought His protection aboard the
Mayflower to the countless believers who today bow their heads to ask for His
guidance during these unprecedented times, our country continues to turn to the
Lord. Following in our ancestors’
footsteps we continue the ‘firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence’
that provides us enduring strength and reassurance in our times of need.”
“The trials and tribulations the American people have faced
over the past several months have been great. Yet, as we have seen time
and again, the resolve of our citizenry—fortified by our faith in
God—has guided us through these hardships and helped to unite us as one Nation
under God.”
Then the statement closes out with the same statement the
President of the United States of America took two seconds to copy and paste
into a tweet.
Does that sound like sackcloth and ashes? Does that sound
like a command that every one turn from his evil ways?
Vice-President Mike Pence was at the event on behalf
of the President. He quoted paraphrasing from 2 Chronicles 7:14 –
“We stand today on an ancient promise that Americans have
claimed throughout our history that if His people who are called by his name
will humble themselves and pray and turn, He will do like he’s always done —
through much more challenging times in the life of this nation — He’ll hear
from Heaven and he’ll heal this land, this one nation, under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all. God bless you all. And God bless America!”
Pence declared.
Did he lead us in praying for repentance? He referenced a
Bible verse and closed out with the final words of the Pledge of Allegiance to
the flag of the United States of America.
Repentance? No.
No. We have not repented as a nation. God’s hand is
stretched out still.
Only when Christ returns will there be true justice and things
set right.
Until then, we who are His can become extremely frustrated
and feel helpless to make any meaningful changes. As we see things continue to
worsen, we can feel just plain worn out.
Our spirit is vexed living in the midst of a perverse and
crooked generation. We sigh and cry, oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked as we dwell among them, as
they torment our souls from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds.
(2Pe 2:7-8)
Just as it was in the days of Lot, we have to work hard to
maintain our faithfulness in endtime Sodom and Gomorrah. (Luk 17:28-29)
What is Well Doing?
It can seem like
we’re not making a difference but we’re to keep on keeping on. We may not see
the impact of the good we do, yet the good is done. We may not see the impact
of one act of kindness, but the impact is made.
Keep going. Don’t
lose heart. Our reward is not in this life. Our reward will come in due season when
Christ returns.
As this world
grows darker, our light is to shine brighter, not dimmer.
There are those who
have been among us whose light has grown dimmer, even some whose light has been
snuffed out, turning from the faith.
Keep Calm and Carry On. Don’t give up.
Never, never,
never, never give up! ~Winston Churchill
Let no man steal your crown! (Jas 1:12; Rev 3:11)
What is well doing?
What would we as followers of Jesus, His disciples, consider
to be well doing?
Put simply. We do those things that are pleasing in His
sight, maintaining a clear conscience before God, following as He leads by His
Holy Spirit.
Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind,
soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself, and especially those of
the household of faith, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is the love of God, that we do His commandments.
We strive to learn God’s way of life and to make it our own.
It’s not just following a set of rules.
This is a lifestyle change. We adopt the teachings we learn
in the Bible and make them our own. We see them as not only what we do, but who
we are. We see them as a way of life, our way of life.
What is well doing?
It’s doing those things you know you’re supposed to do. Do
what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, regardless of how you feel and
regardless of the circumstances around you.
I don’t need to tell you what those things are. You know full
well what they are. We all know what we need to do.
We grow in grace and knowledge because we trust him and his
plan of salvation. Because we trust him, we yield our wills to his, allowing
his way to become our way.
When we become stressed and anxious, however, our focus can
turn inward. We become focused on ourselves, our circumstance, how we
feel. We can become less caring, less compassionate towards others.
We need to be cautious to not let ourselves sink to that
level.
When we see what’s happening that’s tearing down our nation
and destroying the very fabric of the societal values we hold dear, we can
become infuriated. We direct our anger towards those who are doing such things
and those who support their cause.
Mat 24:12-13 KJV
(12) And because iniquity shall abound,
the love of many shall wax cold.
(13) But he that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved.
We must endure to the end.
We must not become unloving and uncaring toward them, or
wish them ill will or harm.
We must remember why this is happening. We must not forget that
the root cause is that we as a nation have turned our back on God and we’re
experiencing the effects of that.
We must be careful not to come to the point that when we see
others lie, cheat, and steal to get their way, that we feel justified in doing
so as well.
In our carnal efforts to combat them we can become just like
them.
If we’re not careful we too can come to believe that the end justifies the means, to win at any cost, sacrificing our character in the process.
Why We Must Not Weary
Because of what’s at stake! Remember why we’re here. Why we
were born.
To become sons and daughters of the living God! Anything
less is to disappoint God and to forget your God ordained purpose.
Stay focused on the future, the goal that is set before us –
Rom 2:7 KJV To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for
glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
And not just for our own
sake but for the sake of others, to set the example.
1Pe 2:15 KJV For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may
put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
We need only wait patiently for them to realize it.
We must not overly concern ourselves with what we may lose
along the way.
Christ told us we would have tribulation in the world. He
told us we would be hated. He told us friends and family members would betray
us, even turn us in to the authorities.
Though it may bring sorrow in the short term, joy comes in
the morning!
We’ve already counted the cost. We’ve made our decision. All
in this life is vanity and temporal things cannot compare to what God has in
store for us.
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart
of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1Co 2:9 KJV)
Php 3:7-14, 20 KJV
(7) But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
(8) Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
(9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is
of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith:
(10) That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the
fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
(11) If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead.
(12) Not as though I had already attained, either were already
perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus.
(13) Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before,
(14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus.
(20) For our conversation [our citizenship]
is in heaven;
from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
(21) Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like
unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things
unto himself.
We don’t look behind. We don’t look back at what we’ve been
through. We don’t look back at what we’ve lost.
We focus on the future, the Kingdom of God, and press on
toward the mark!
Four Keys to Avoid Becoming Weary
1. Break life down into
smaller segments.
Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one
after the other.
It can be overwhelming to think that we have to
endure to the end. When is that? When is the end? How long do we have to put up
with this? How long do we have to hang in there? We don’t know.
Don’t let life overwhelm you. Break it down into
manageable chunks. Set your mind to endure.
Until the next Holy Day. Make it through this
month.
Get through this week. Make it to the next
Sabbath.
Today. We have to put up with it today. Get
through today.
Mat 6:34 KJV Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow
shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day
is the evil
thereof.
Just get through today.
2. Know that you’re not alone.
You have your brothers and sisters in Christ to help
you. Draw on their strength. We’re all in this together.
When you feel weak go to your brother and confess
your concerns, your weaknesses, your faults. (James 5:16)
When you feel strong bolster your sister,
encourage, edify, exhort, and comfort.
Pray for each other. Pray together.
And so fulfill the law of Christ: As we bear one another’s
burdens, we are fulfilling the simple law of Christ: (Gal 6:2)
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have
loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall
all men know
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. (Joh
13:34-35)
3. Look to God to renew your strength.
Isa 40:25-31 KJV
(25) To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the
Holy One.
(26) Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number:
he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
[We who are His can call on the Sovereign
Ruler and Creator of the Universe. There is no higher power!]
(27) Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid
from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
(28) Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator
of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
(29) He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
(30) Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men
shall utterly fall:
(31) But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
4. Have a strong sense of mission
We must stay focused on our purpose, on our goal, on our
mission.
We have a mission – to preach the gospel and to prepare a
people
Love your brother. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love your
enemy.
Though a thousand may fall at thy side stay strong and endure
hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
Stay focused! Focused on the Kingdom! Keep Calm and Carry
on!
And through it all remember…
God Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You
Isa 41:8-13 KJV
(8) But thou, Israel, art my
servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
[And if ye be
Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal 3:29)]
(9) Thou whom I have taken
from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof,
and said unto thee, Thou art my servant;
I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
[Ye have not chosen me,
but I have chosen you, and ordained you…
John 15:16]
Isa 41:10-13 Fear thou not;
for I am with thee: be not dismayed;
for I am thy God: I will strengthen
thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness.
(11) Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be
ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with
thee shall perish.
(12) Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war
against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.
(13) For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying
unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Heb 13:5-6 KJV
(5) Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for
he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
(6) So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall
do unto me.
We may be in the midst of a perverse and crooked people but
we continue to do good. We follow God’s way of life. We do good to those around
us despite the way they may treat us.
Be not weary in well doing but keep calm and carry on. The
LORD our God is with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you.
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