Thicket

Jer 4:7  The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant. 
Jer 4:8  For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. 

Jer 4:14  O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? 

This is Bible history. Jeremiah is warning Jerusalem of a coming judgment from God; Babylon, an enemy nation was to be sent to take them captive. Another lion nation, the Assyrians had scattered the northern kingdom of Israel. The LORD sent the lion nations to judge his sinful people. From the thicket a lion comes.This is a warning for us also, to purify our hearts and to put aside idols, or stuff that keeps us from worshiping the true God. Repent, weep, be sorry and do what is right. The Lion of Judah is coming to judge the nations with a rod of iron. Jesus is coming again.

Be slow to speak

 

We must give room for ministry. One of the problems with denominations and non denominational churches is their feeling of exclusiveness, that they have the truth and question the ways of some of the other churches. As a child I attended a school where once a week all the children were given a choice to attend a Baptist church or a Catholic church. I still remember the pastor of one of these churches shaking his fist at the other church across town. Do we expect too much? Not all people are alike, nor do they serve God the same way. Give them room and always speak of Jesus as the center of our faith.

 

Jas 1:19  Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20  For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

 

Rom 14:4  Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.

Rom 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Rom 14:11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.
Rom 14:12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

 

Churches can be as different as the people who attend them, even in a particular denomination. It is being in Jesus Christ that brings us together. We can come together if he is held up and worshipped as our Lord and savior. God the Father, has given authority to his son to judge all things. If Jesus is not worshipped as God, then the church probably is not a Christian church. Some claim to know Jesus, but not as Lord. Jesus must be exalted in the churches along with God the Father. The Holy Spirit is God, but he exalts the Father and the Son. We worship by the Spirit and through the Spirit. If the Spirit exalts Jesus, than so should we. We are to honor men, but not to exalt them. We are not to exalt a denomination as "the only true church." The focus is on Jesus and the cross and his resurrection. He is the foundation of the church that we build upon.

The Ebenezer Stone

When the ark was in captivity, it brought plagues to the Philistine people. The false images bowed and were broken in the presence of the ark. For fear of the God of Israel the ark was returned to a place in Israel called Bethshemesh, and from there to Kirjathjearim.

1Sa 7:2 And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjathjearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.
1Sa 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the LORD with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the LORD, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.
1Sa 7:4 Then the children of Israel did put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the LORD only.
1Sa 7:5 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto the LORD.
1Sa 7:6 And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.
1Sa 7:7 And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines.
1Sa 7:8 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry unto the LORD our God for us, that he will save us out of the hand of the Philistines.
1Sa 7:9 And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering wholly unto the LORD: and Samuel cried unto the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.
1Sa 7:10 And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel.
1Sa 7:11 And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Bethcar.
1Sa 7:12 Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.

Israel missed having the Ark in the temple and by Samuel's counsel, they repented and put away their foreign idols. Satan doesn't give up easy, he always tries to disrupt the moving of God; the Philistines were coming to fight. The people cried out to Samuel, their prophet and Judge. He offered a burnt offering of a baby lamb and prayed. His prayer was answered with a voice of a great thunder that so upset the Philistines that Israel was able defeat and drive them away. The Ebenezer stone memorialized this victory. Ebenezer : God is our help (the stone of help).

If we are children of God, through faith in Jesus Christ we may call out to God ourselves, with the Lamb of God as our intercessor. Jesus was the sacrificial Lamb. God's spirit in us prays to the Father and he helps us. The Holy Spirit is our comforter and helper. He is God with us and we are as priests to God and son's of the most high God. We are the Spirit filled family of God. May I suggest that you find an Ebenezer stone of any size to remind you that God helps us? Jesus is the Rock of my salvation. I had a custom of going to a rapid place on the river for prayer. I would find a white stone and pray for a certain person and throw the stone into the living waters. These were as Ebenezer stones for God to help those that I prayed for. There was a large Ebenezer stone in Israel, but we can make our own to remember God is our help.