Archive for the Read Thru The Bible 2021 Category

Do you practice spiritual warfare? Do you know how? If not, then you are naked and unarmed on the battlefield. These three sentences in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 are the foundation of spiritual warfare. God’s word truly is our sword and in its pages we find powerful weapons to fight against our spiritual enemies.

One phrase seems to be repeated more than any other in the Old Testament. “His love endures forever.” Isn’t that a lovely phrase to be repeated so often?

Jesus owns the universe. He possesses EVERYTHING, wealth unimaginable. He is God, a Holy perfect spirit being… yet He gave all that up to inhabit a cursed human body for 30 years. The height of Christ’s status compared to the baseness of we stupid humans is an unfathomable chasm. Jesus’ sacrifice for us was profound.

WE determine whether our sorrows will be Godly or worldly. Will we cry out to God in our sorrows and draw near to Him for comfort and guidance? Or will we become bitter and angry at Him? Bitterness does indeed lead to death because it pulls the bearer away from God. Bitterness unchecked long enough always leads to loss of faith…

NOW is the time to figure out where we stand, to examine our hearts to determine what is worth it to us. Are we really committed to Christ? Would we stand for Him if it meant losing everything? If it meant losing our lives?

I believe Micah also prophesies things that we are watching unfold in our world TODAY. He speaks of a coming judgment which I believe will happen soon, when God will “take vengeance in anger and wrath on the nations that have not obeyed [Him].”

Reconciliation is a process. It must be worked out piece by piece as we take each thing in our heart, the things of the world we still love and worship, and give them to God one by one. That is reconciliation. That is how to seek God and to be transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. That is how to shift from worldly vision to eternal vision.

Christians in some places haven’t had it so easy in the past several decades. But American Christians have. And our faith has grown weak and shallow. We humans seem to only realize our need for God during troubles.
So God eventually allows the trouble to come, to bring us back. Don’t be bewildered by the fiery trials flaring up around us. God is lifting His protection to call us back to Himself.

I had a vision when I read this passage today… I had a vision of one of those big maps in malls that identify your location with an arrow and “You Are Here.” In my vision, an arrow pointed to 2 Chronicles 36 and said “WE ARE HERE.”

When God makes a big move, the entire earth responds. ALL of creation is subject to its Creator. Every time Moses went up to the mountain to meet with God there were earthquakes, storms, and whirlwinds. It is no different today. Before, during, and after God’s great workings, moves and shifts, the earth heats up, shakes and howls.