We claim so strongly that we are a country founded on the principles of the true God (which is a HUGE lie)....and yet no one wants to follow them. Everyone chooses to walk in their own way, and because of the constant barrage of songs and media being blasted at us, our thoughts are evil continuously, even without us realizing. We are unconsciously always singing some song or saying something in anger under our breath. We are cursing our lives and the lives of those around us without even realizing it. Mumbling, muttering and thinking things that were never supposed to cross our minds to begin with.
This passage reminds me so much of America and of our churches here, especially when it comes to the man-made holy days that our Father hates. Dang, do we know how to be stiff-necked and stubborn around here. We will stick our heels in and refuse to budge because of our ignorance and pride. America has quite a bit in common with the same pride ol' Lucifer has.
And you know what, I am stepping on my own toes here, because even though my family has stopped actively participating in these holidays in our home, we will still eat at the family meals, or we go along with something stupid just to pacify family members. I often wish that I didn't care about my extended families' feelings, because I know I can turn my back on all this garbage, but inside this robotic exterior, I am still concerned about hurting people. I pray for wisdom on this all the time. I do understand how hard it is navigating all of this, but on the other hand I am so convicted because we cannot be lukewarm about any of this. So much of this that we say we are doing in the name of the Lord is absolutely abhorrent to him.
“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it." -Jeremiah 32:30-34
Sometimes I think about what Daniel saw. I mean, obviously the scripture tells you the vision he saw. But what about the stuff that was going on in the background of the vision? What he saw that was so horrible that it left him in bed for days.
I believe he saw now.
I believe he looked into the distant future and saw sick and weak people following their own pleasures. I think he saw families separated by screens in their own personal realities. I think he saw absolute immodesty in men, women and children. I think he saw extreme violence and the complete lack of respect and regard for other humans. I think he saw the people who claim to believe in God and saw their pride and prejudice on anyone whose skin was a darker color. He saw people claiming God who refused to stop celebrating pagan holidays and willingly choosing to ignore particular parts of scripture to keep from having their consciousness pricked.
In one of the extra-biblical texts I have recently read (I am pretty sure it was Tobit,) it talks about how Rebecca still looked like a young woman when she died because she had never been sick in her life. She had a dream she was going to die, and gathered her family around, but no one believed her because she was still so full of youth. This actually doesn't go against any scripture. In fact, there are references to other biblical characters, like Moses, who remained in a youthful vigor until they died. If you followed the law, you were spiritually protected, which kept you from getting sick. This is something we have forgotten and been lied to over the course of humanity. Instead of seeking God, we have learned to seek out doctors and medications. Keeping this in mind, in Daniel's end days vision, I'm sure most of us would look like walking corpses in comparison.
Smog and pollution. Plastic islands. Vaccines. Chemtrails. GMO everything. Cancer. I wonder what the sky looked like in Daniel's vision?
There have been other ancient texts from gentile nations that referenced how these other nations KNEW to leave the Israelites alone on the Sabbath. Even if the Israelites were not in God's good graces at the moment, the heathen nations knew any Hebrew person that was faithfully participating in the Sabbath rest each week would not be allowed to be harmed on that particular day. So even if active fighting was going on, intelligent nations understood to stop fighting on the Sabbath because they would never be victorious on the the intended day of rest.
"My people are fools, they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they do not know how to do good." -Jeremiah 4:22
"Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner (wait a minute, has any Trump supporter read this verse?) the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless." -Jeremiah 7:2-8
"They cling to deceit; they refuse to return. I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle. Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord." -Jeremiah 8:5-7
The fantastic news in all of this is:
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. -Jeremiah 29:11-13
Comments
Post a Comment