When the Undesirable Happens….

Ezr 4:4 Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building.

Ezr 4:5 And they hired counselors against them to frustrate their purpose all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.



Ezr 4:23 And when the copy of King Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they hurried to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them stop by force and power.

Ezr 4:24 Then the work of the house of God at Jerusalem ceased. So it ceased to the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.



Yeah, sometimes the wicked do prevail, our weaknesses do cripple us, situations and circumstances overwhelm us, we experience regression instead of progression, darkness instead of light, hopelessness instead of hope….and so many times we fail at encouraging ourselves to continue (as David did-1 Sam 30:6)

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And don't for a moment think it is when we go our own way or when we are in error, but sometimes just as in the passage quoted above (Ezra 4:1-24), we see that our genuine and spiritual progress get halted.

Did it just start? No! The 3 hebrew children experienced that when they refused to bow to the god of Nebudchadnezzar (Daniel 3:13-23); and Job also experienced it (Job 1:12-19; 2:1-8). If we think it is because the Holy Spirit was not around and the manifestation of his power has not been made known, then you will be surprised to know that even so many Apostles died horrible deaths, faced grave dangers, and circumstances that can make us lose our minds (Hebrew 11:35b-39).

While I cannot tell you why God would let His work be stopped, His anointed suffer in the hands of evil and wicked men and allow circumstances and situations to overwhelm us (I lack the capacity to do that), but I can tell you two things I know for sure- without any doubt:

1. God is with you all the way-

Isa 43:1 But now so says Jehovah who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.

Isa 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; nor shall the flame kindle on you;

2. God will take care of YOU

Psalm 55:22

(CEV) Our LORD, we belong to you. We tell you what worries us, and you won't let us fall.

(ERV) Give your worries to the LORD, and he will care for you. He will never let those who are good be defeated.

(GNB) Leave your troubles with the LORD, and he will defend you; he never lets honest people be defeated.

(GW) Turn your burdens over to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will never let the righteous person stumble.


These are sure words we can live our lives on. It has never failed and it will never fail. By it the heavens and the earth were made and it is TRUE. God is with us all the way, and He will take care of us.


Shallom.

Worlds Apart

Matthew 5:3 (NET) - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of God belongs to them.

My friends just returned from a mission trip.

They shared some of their experiences with me.

In reflecting on the things they shared, I could not help but feel overwhelmed.

The remote village to which they traveled was quite poverty stricken.

The people there had very little as far as possessions are concerned.

Home was little more than four walls and a roof that could not even keep out the rain.

A simple bag of food distributed by missionaries to a household would be rationed and stretched to its limit and would last that family several days.

My friends have been sponsoring two children in this country for a number of years.

On this trip, God moved them to sponsor a third child.

Given the opportunity to meet this child, they took her to a zoo in the city.

These were both very new experiences for her.

She delighted in seeing all the different kinds of animals on display at the zoo.

Afterward, they went to a restaurant but were surprised that the child did not wish to eat her meal.

When asked why, she said she wanted to take it home and share it with her family.

This moved my friends who then told her to eat her meal and they promised her that before leaving they would buy food for her family.

Church was also a different experience for them.

The service was held in a structure that is a far cry from the image most people think of when they hear the word "church".

The service also lasted much longer than what most of us are accustomed to.

Singing songs of praise took up much of that time.

God had a surprise for one of my friends.

He was asked to preach.

He had nothing prepared ahead of time and found himself in total reliance upon the Holy Spirit.

Speaking through an interpreter, he delivered the message that God had given him to share.


Why am I sharing this?

Most of us have much more in terms of possessions than the people in this village will ever have.

In regard to food, most of us discard in a few days what families there share in a week.

Even the overall church experience differs.

At the risk of painting with a very broad brush, we expect church to conform to what we expect from it rather than what it is meant to offer us.

Perhaps most revealing was the overwhelming knowledge that those who have so very little are far more grateful than we can ever hope to be.

They are likely truly happier as well.

Matthew 5:8 (NET) - Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com

The Right Tool

Scripture reminds us time and again that God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things,

God used Moses to deliver His chosen people from bondage,

Even Moses was reluctant to heed that call at first.

Exodus 4:10 (NET) - Then Moses said to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not an eloquent man, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and  slow of tongue."

Nevertheless, God used Moses to fulfill His purpose.

When the giant Goliath filled Saul’s army with fear, God provided someone to defeat him.

God did not send in a seasoned veteran of many campaigns.

God used David, a young shepherd, though Saul protested at first.

1 Samuel 17:33 (NET) - But Saul replied to David, "You aren’t able to go against the Philistine and fight him! You're just a boy! He has been a warrior since his youth!"

Nevertheless, God used David to slay Goliath.

God chose these men and provided them with skills to accomplish His purpose.

He also provided them with the tools with which to prevail.

These tools, to casual observers, must have seemed poor at best.

Yet when blessed by God and in the hands of God’s  chosen they brought about complete and total victory.

In David’s case the tool was a simple shepherd’s sling.

Saul provided David with a helmet and armor.

David was not able to use them.

David used the tools God gave him and even Goliath fatally underestimated David’s skill in using them.


David obtained victory because he knew he did not fight Goliath on his own.

He prevailed because he knew God was with him.

1 Samuel 17: 50 (NET) - David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and a stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand.

In the case of Moses, the tool God provided him was a simple staff.

Moses used this staff to part the waters to provide the people a means of escaping Pharaoh’s pursuing army.

Exodus 14:16 (NET) - "And as for you, lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground."

After the people made good their escape, God had Moses use that same staff to defeat Pharaoh’s army once and for all.

Exodus 14:27 (NET) - So Moses extended his hand toward the sea and the sea returned to its normal state when the sun began to rise. Now the Egyptians were fleeing before it, but the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea.

God indeed uses ordinary people with ordinary tools to accomplish His purpose.

Even today He uses similar combinations to bring Him glory.

What ordinary tool has He given you.

Is it a pen or a keyboard?

Perhaps it is a paintbrush and canvas?

Could it be a chisel and a block of stone or a simple lump of clay?

Is it a musical instrument?

Perhaps it is your voice raised in song or spoken word?

Whatever tool you have, God can use both it and you to bring Him glory.


Blessings,
Jim Pokorny
The Other Brother Jim
http://otherbrotherjim.blogspot.com