Don't Break Faith With God: Ezra - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) August 8, 2023

Last Friday we began our series on not breaking faith with God by looking at Moses and Aaron. Today, we look at Ezra. He was a priest and a teacher of God's laws to the remaining Israelites when they were a conquered group scattered within the Persian Kingdom. His experience teaches us that when we speak about the goodness and power of God, we will need to back it up with our actions and words.

As a leader of his people, Ezra had the task of bringing some of them back to Jerusalem. Although he was respected by the Persian King and could have requested soldiers to accompany him and his people during the four month journey, he didn't. This, despite the fact that they would be traveling with precious gold, silver, and other items that had been carted off from the Temple when Jerusalem fell decades before. Ezra explained why he couldn't request an armed escort in Ezra 8:22 - I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” What did he do instead? He called for the people to fast and ask the Lord for a safe journey. We are told that God answered the petition, keeping the group of travelers and their possessions safe from marauding bandits (Ezra 8:23).

Ezra had spoken highly of God to the king and when the time came, he had to prove that he believed all that he'd said. He couldn't speak about how powerful his God was only to then ask a man, albeit a king, for soldiers to provide protection. No, he had to put his mouth where his money was - as the saying goes - and show through his choices and not just his lofty words that he trusted in this God he'd spoken so highly of.

God expects those who believe in Him to do the same. Remember, the scripture taught us that breaking faith with God means to dishonor Him in what we say and do in the presence of others. Therefore, we must honor the Lord by standing in our faith and even when everything looks wrong. We can't forget that the choices we make can influence how others see our God. This is why Paul said of believers in 2 Corinthians 5:20 - We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. Additionally, the Lord has said of His people in Isaiah 43:12 - First I predicted your rescue, then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world. No foreign god has ever done this. You are witnesses that I am the only God,” says the LORD. (NKJV).

We are to attest to His might and power. We do this by sharing our testimonies, fellowshipping with believers and by sharing the Gospel with non-believers. And when in the midst of unbelievers, we are to speak about the Lord with the reverence He deserves - no matter how others bash Him. Even when we have some gripes of our own, we are to respectfully carry them to the Lord, laying them at His feet because He has instructed each of us in 1 Peter 5:7 - "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

It's not easy to share our worries with Him without becoming disrespectful. People have been conditioned by the world to talk recklessly about people and God is no exception, unfortunately. Yet, we must allow the Lord to build us up in Him where we learn how to honor Him in good times and bad. That's exactly what Ezra did. A potential challenge arose - the need for safe journey to Jerusalem over a span of months. He stood in his faith in God, understanding it would be a shameful thing to make God look small before the king. He understood that doing so would constitute relying on man instead of the Lord Almighty.

Let us learn from Ezra to make the choice that honors God and His personality. The Lord will help each of us to do so more and more so that we shall never break faith with Him in any way, IJMN, Amen.

Don't Break Faith With God: Moses & Aaron - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) August 4, 2023

As believers, if there is one thing we need to remember, it is to not break faith with God. That may be a term you're unfamiliar with but over the next few weeks, we'll learn more about it and how not to commit this sin that God considers a great offense.

Today, we examine the story of Moses & his brother Aaron. Both were chosen to wield God's power for others to see. Neither man was perfect and yet, God continued to use them starting with making them leaders of the Israelites when it was time for them to leave Egypt. They maintained their positions for 40 years. Yet, neither entered the Promised Land with the people they had shepherded for that period.

The reason was because they broke faith with God. Moses and Aaron had been given a specific set of instructions on how to produce water when the people complained because there was none. Unfortunately, he failed to carry out that directive and even took some of the glory that belonged to God for Aaron and himself, saying, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Numbers 20:10).

Here was God's assessment of Moses and his brother in Deuteronomy 32:51 - For both of you broke faith with me among the Israelites at the Waters of Meribath-kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin by failing to treat me as holy in their presence (CSB). The CEV puts it as such - Both of you were unfaithful to me at Meribah Spring near Kadesh in the Zin Desert. I am God, but there in front of the Israelites, you did not treat me with the honor and respect I deserve. Further understanding can be found in Numbers 20:12 - But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into the land I have given them.” (CSB).

These verses clarify what it means to break faith with God. It means to dishonor Him in what we say and do in the presence of others. It's about what your mouth says about God and who He is. It is about what your actions and choices say about God's power and might. This is particularly the case for those who have seen God do things in their lives. Those who are to be witnesses to His abilities. For them to publicly fumble in times of uncertainty is to break faith with God.

This does not mean that there will not be times where your faith is shaken. After all, Prophet Elijah with all His experiences with God fled from Jezebel in fear. He, however, never spoke or displayed that fear to others whereby they would see God as less than the I Am that I Am. He did not publicly diminish God. Other great men and women of God struggled to believe He'd come through but they had a responsibility to carefully walk through that struggle without blemishing God's name. This is why Apostle Paul warns in 2 Peter 2:21 - For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. He also tells those who believe in Christ to not crucify Jesus again by returning to the world and thereby subjecting Him to public disgrace (Hebrews 6:4-6).

In the moments when we struggle with our faith, we need to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to pour out our fears to God as well - tell Him (as respectfully as possible) exactly how you feel, none of it is a surprise to Him anyway. We need to turn to the word and use it to build ourselves up. We have to look to our Jericho Moments and remember what God has done for us in the past. We must be careful to not blaspheme or slander the Lord in speech. We should also be cautious to remember that others of even weaker faith could be negatively influenced by our reactions and keep them in mind because of the love we have for them.

None of this is easy to do. It requires God's children to be intentional about how they react to situations when things don't go the way they desire. They can't leave this to chance. It is possible to be in a tough situation and not break faith. In fact, I believe that God builds up our 'reaction muscle' over time so we eventually become the children who manage their emotional response and don't break faith with God the way Moses and Aaron did.

Today's message isn't to castigate anyone or make someone feel sad. It is to enlighten us all on how to react when things go wrong especially since we all have such experiences. Everyone who believes in God and His Son must remember that God will put them through things to build us up in Him. It won't always be pretty. He is also very merciful to keep teaching us so we get a passing grade and the devil won't be able to use the same old tricks to trip us up. God wants us to honor Him even in the tough moments. He will give us people to help us through those times and He Himself will be right by our side. We just have to hold on to His hand, mindful to not publicly disparage or dishonor Him.

In the mighty name of Jesus, I pray that none of us will break faith with God. That in our challenges, we will find strength in Him to keep going, anticipating His word in Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Amen.

God bless you richly and I hope to see you at Noon EST when we'll gather to worship the Lord and pray for His people everywhere. During the last 10 minutes of fellowship, we'll collectively pray to be those who don't break faith and don't give the devil room to gloat against our God. See you then.

Tomorrow may be too late - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) August 1, 2023

It can be hard for some to believe that God could ever be inaccessible. In this day and age, many of us think God is like a streaming channel - turn it on when you want and ignore it when you don't. This attitude leads to so many believing they should 'enjoy life' or make money first, putting the need to enter into a relationship with God on the backburner. "Oh, I'm young and I've got my life to live. I'll give my life to the Lord later," they say.

However, what many fail to realize is that tomorrow may be too late.

That is not the message anyone wants to hear. We always imagine there will be plenty of time to turn to the Lord. However, consider Isaiah 55:6-7 - Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

This scripture makes it painfully clear that there is a time when God can be found. This being the case, the opposite is equally true - there is a time when God cannot be found. We must ask ourselves which of these options do we prefer? Wonder how the latter option could happen? Imagine a guy, living the life. He's got money, women, cars, homes and takes great trips. He's the dude every guy wants to be and the man every woman wants. His mom keeps telling him to make time for God but He promises her he'll do so when he gets married and has kids. Over the years people try to talk to him about Christ but he brushes them aside. He eventually gets tired of his mom's 'nagging' about God and calls her less frequently. His life of partying intensifies and he's soon doing things he never would have before, all because he can and nobody tells him not to.

One day, he falls sick and dies. At no point did he get to return to the subject of getting to know God or His son, Jesus Christ. His death was sudden, so there was no death-bed opportunity for someone to pray with Him and have Him give His life to Christ. Where do you think a man like that ends up? Heaven? Hell? According to the words of Jesus in John 14:6, this man will not make it to heaven because He never took that preliminary step of accepting Jesus as His Lord and Savior.

God does not want anyone to go to hell (2 Peter 3:9). And this is why the Lord wants everyone to turn to Him and leave behind the things that don't please Him, because these things negatively impact a relationship with Him. Jesus said in Revelation 16:15 - “Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is he who stays awake and who keeps his clothes [that is, stays spiritually ready for the Lord’s return], so that he will not be naked—spiritually unprepared—and men will not see his shame.” (AMP). The Lord wants all to be spiritually ready for His return because He has promised to come back and those who remained ready will go to heaven, while those who didn't will suffer an unpleasant fate in hell. Nobody knows when the time of His return will be, but is it worth it to leave things to chance and remain unprepared? If my experience is anything to go by, then making intentional choices to have a relationship with God is not easy. Many might not want to hear that either. Yet, I've seen God do things for me whereby I'm thoroughly convinced that the sacrifices were worth it. Plus, God is responsible for me and according to 1 Corinthians 1:8 - He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

You may be wondering, how can you seek the Lord? How does one prepare for when Jesus will return? The first thing to do is to genuinely tell Him you want to know Him and have Him in your life. The next step varies from person to person but can look like any of the following: for many, finding a church where the Holy Spirit dwells acts as a great incubator for their relationship with God. Others open the Bible and develop their relationship through regular interaction with the word of God. Some are led to someone who talks to them about Jesus and helps them become familiar with who He is and what He offers. There are so many ways that God stretches His hand toward people so that a true relationship begins and is firmly established.

The point is, He wants a relationship with you and you should take the offer before it's too late. None of us know when that time will come but I pray in the name of Jesus that each of us will accept His outstretched hand and enter into friendship with the Lord, IJMN, Amen.