“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 5: 8 - 11
King James Version
During hurricane season when I turn on my computer in the morning as soon as I check my email, I go to the hurricane website and get the latest information regarding possible hurricanes where I live. There is another kind of hurricane report and it is God’s hurricane report. If we will go to God and get His hurricane report about possible hurricanes of life for that day before we even get out of bed in the morning, we would have a lot more peace and happiness in our lives.
We need to pray as soon as we open our eyes and ask God to please protect us from the sneaky attacks of satan. If we don’t ask God to protect us every morning before we get out of bed, we are open targets for satan because he will hurl his fiery poisonous darts of criticism, sarcasm and ridicule at us. It may start out to be a wonderful day when all of a sudden without any warning, we feel the sharp poisonous and fiery darts of satan in our hearts.
Sometimes it is our own fault that we have hurricanes of chaos and heartaches in our lives. God has told us not to go to certain places or do certain things but we do them anyway. When we go to these places that God has said not to go to and when we do these things that God has said not to do, not only do we cause our own hurricanes of life, we are being disobedient to Him. We don’t have any right to expect God to help us when we deliberately disobey Him. In fact, when we disobey Him, we should have broken hearts because we have hurt Him once again. We need to repent of our sins and go to Him and tell Him that we are sorry and ask Him to please forgive us and help us not to go to those places anymore or do those things again.
I have lost count of the emails that I have received over the last three and a half years from people who are living with someone without getting married first. These people have asked me to pray for them and ask God to bless their homes with peace, joy and happiness. When I prayed for them, I prayed that God would work in their hearts and make them understand that they are hurting Him by deliberately disobeying Him and bringing shame and disgrace to Him because they claim to be Christians but refuse to obey His commandment to get married before they live together.
In the first place, these people are living with someone without being married as God has commanded them to do. God can’t bless these homes with real happiness, real joy and a lasting peace because these people are deliberately disobeying God by not getting married before living together. Our Heavenly Father is a Holy God and He can’t look on sin much less bless their homes. One man made this statement “I guess I might as well marry her because she tells me what to do and spends my money.” What a rotten attitude that is and it stinks in the nostrils of Jesus!
However, it’s not just people living together without being married that hurts God and brings shame and disgrace to Him. It’s anything that we do that He has told us not to do. Sin is sin to Him. We are the ones who say that one sin is worse than another sin. We focus a lot on homosexuals, alcoholics and drug addicts and neglect the other sins that stink in the nostrils of Jesus. Our precious Saviour died an agonizing and cruel death for the one who lies and the one who breaks the speed limit just as He did for the one who lives with someone without being married.
We read in the Bible “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (James 2: 10, 11). If we have gone just one mile over the speed limit, the Bible tells us that we are guilty of all.
I think if we are honest with ourselves all of us will have to admit that there have been times in our lives when we have said unkind and cruel things to people and have killed their self confidence and their desire to keep going. We are just as guilty as the one who commits murder with a gun. It is time that we stop pointing the finger at other people and point it at ourselves. All of us are guilty of hurting God and disobeying Him at times.
Are you bringing hurricanes of unhappiness, confusion and heartaches to yourself by deliberately disobeying God? If so, repent of your sins, ask God to forgive you and help you to live the way that He wants you to live. If you continue to disobey God, He can’t bless your life with happiness, peace and joy. In fact, you can’t expect Him to do so when you deliberately disobey Him and continue to hurt Him day after day. Give your heart and life to Jesus and let Him direct your life. He will lead you down the right path and protect you from the hurricanes of life.
July 18, 2008
Author Resource:->God has given Joanne two ministries. One is doing Inspirational Writings, the other is Encouraging Pastors.
www.heavenwardbound.com
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© Joanne Lowe 2008
You may contact Joanne by e-mail:joannelowe8@cox.net
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