Today, as I continued my reading through Psalms, it didn't seem to me like I was "getting" anything out of it. It seemed more or less just intellectual information and not life changing at the moment. I was about to stop reading after 2 chapters of Psalms and I decided that I wasn't going to stop untill I came away with something to chew on spiritually. Going through more than 6 chapters of Psalms I still wanted more. Why wasn't I getting anything to pray about? Have I not spent enough time to come away with something? Why was nothing striking me? Thoughts of old preachers came to me on how we need to sometimes MINE the word of God for it's gems. After taking some time in prayer and asking the Lord to reveal more of Himself to me through His Word I decided to change books. I finally decided on Joel.
As I read Joel and the destruction the Lord was bringing down on the Southern Kingdom of Judah I came across multiple things. God wanted the leaders of God's people to cry out to Him to spare them. Even though God was right in His judgments, He wanted them to plead with Him to give them a chance to return to Him. What I found astounding is that they would be doing this!
Joel 2:17-1817 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘ Where is their God?’” 18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
Would I be doing this for those who shunned what I told them about God? Would I still be pleading with God even after they would spit on my face or laugh at what I told them would happen if they turned away from God's gracious gift of Jesus Christ on the cross? I would love to say 'yes' but my conscience tells me 'no, I wouldn't for those who so ardently chose to reject Him'. I need the Lord to change my hard calloused heart to a soft and tender heart for the lost. It is not because I have given them the gospel that I should not be moved for them even when they reject it. Thank you Father for rewarding me with a jewel in Your Word to ponder and pray about.
I need to mine the Word of God more often. The jewels I find are much more precious than the shiny stones I find after 10 mins of digging.
"An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly." - A.W.Tozer
As I read Joel and the destruction the Lord was bringing down on the Southern Kingdom of Judah I came across multiple things. God wanted the leaders of God's people to cry out to Him to spare them. Even though God was right in His judgments, He wanted them to plead with Him to give them a chance to return to Him. What I found astounding is that they would be doing this!
Joel 2:17-1817 Let the priests, who minister to the LORD,
Weep between the porch and the altar;
Let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not give Your heritage to reproach,
That the nations should rule over them.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘ Where is their God?’” 18 Then the LORD will be zealous for His land,
And pity His people.
Would I be doing this for those who shunned what I told them about God? Would I still be pleading with God even after they would spit on my face or laugh at what I told them would happen if they turned away from God's gracious gift of Jesus Christ on the cross? I would love to say 'yes' but my conscience tells me 'no, I wouldn't for those who so ardently chose to reject Him'. I need the Lord to change my hard calloused heart to a soft and tender heart for the lost. It is not because I have given them the gospel that I should not be moved for them even when they reject it. Thank you Father for rewarding me with a jewel in Your Word to ponder and pray about.
I need to mine the Word of God more often. The jewels I find are much more precious than the shiny stones I find after 10 mins of digging.
"An honest man with an open Bible and a pad and pencil is sure to find out what is wrong with him very quickly." - A.W.Tozer