Rebel against the Word of God and Dispise His Counsel.

Psalm 107:10-15
10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, Bound in affliction and irons--
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; They fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

What intrests me most about this passage of Scripture is verse 11.
11 "Because they rebelled against the words of God, And despised the counsel of the Most High"

1. folks setting in darkness
2. in the shadow of death.
3. bound in affliction
4. bound in irons

Why?
1. they rebelled against the words of God
2. despised the counsel of the Most High.

Bondage of any kind is from hell.

There have been times that I've found myself in such bad situations. You?
Whether we're Believers or not, the consequences of rebelling against God's Word, whether written or spoken and despising the counsel of the Most High, are really serious.

Romans 6:23 tells us that the wages of sin is death. This is not JUST for the unbeliever, sin works death in EVERYBODY. Romans was a letter wroten to the Body of Christ.

You know what James said....

James 1:12-16
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

Verse 13 of Psalm 107 tells us that when "they" cried out to the Lord in their trouble, He saved them from their distresses.

Vs. 14 says that He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, And broke their chains in pieces.

Vs 15 then says: Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!

GOD IS SO WONDERFUL!!!

This passage in Psalm 107 is full of hope and deliverance, for all of us, and is a strong reminder that we SHOULD NEVER rebel against the Word or the counsel of God.

Father, HELP US to hold in highest regard for Your Word, both written and spoken, and that we NEVER rebel against Your counsel, in the Name of Jesus.

Value of the Blood of Jesus

"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation (your manner of life or conduct) received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot..." I Peter 1:18,19

Circumstances can affect the value of anything. Differing circumstances can make the very same thing either worthless or extremely valuable. The reality of sin and its dire conseuences make the blood of Jesus very precious. And the blood of Jesus is made infinitely more valuable and precious to us because of the power it has in our life.

I don't know whether you can fully realize how precious health is until you get sick. Or whether you can fully realize how precious it is to live without pain until you suffer pain - and how precious food is until you suffer hunger. Hunger makes food precious; thirst makes water precious; and poverty makes riches precious.

Sin makes the blood of Jesus Christ precious.

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This is an excerpt from "The Precious Blood of Jesus", authored by Kenneth E. Hagin.

While I've been pondering on the Blood of Jesus recently, I came across this tidbit.

The ONLY thing that brought us as Believers in Jesus, out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light, was the sacrificial Blood of Jesus. There was nothing that we could barter with God for this. There could be no exchange of monies, nothing we can "offer" God for that transfer of death for LIFE. The ONLY thing that causes this exchange is the shed Blood of Jesus, and our acceptance of Him/His sacrifice.

We need the cleansing Blood of Jesus, every day of our lives.

Father, HELP US to magnify the Blood of Your Son. We need You, we need the sacrifice of Jesus all the days of our lives. Help us consider it precious and not forget that what it cost You and Jesus both. It's the most valuable - precious thing in heaven and on Earth. Thank You. In Jesus' Name.

The Cleansing Power of the Blood

We all make mistakes. It is a part of our human nature to make mistakes. This body is not redeemed yet (but, thank God, it's going to be one of these days.) No one is perfect. Because there are imperfections in all of us, we all miss it from time to time. That's not to say that we should not strive to live in obedience to God's Word, that's known as holiness.

I John 1:7 says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."
The Apostle John didn't write this verse to sinners. He wrote it to the Church, because he said, "If we walk in the light..." Sinners are not walking in the light. That's the reason they need to come to Jesus and be born again.

But as long as you walk in the light, even though you may miss it, there is a continual cleansing from sin. When you know you've missed it, confess your sin to the Lord. He's faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9)

FATHER HELP US!!! Help us to get right and STAY right with You, and Your HELP. Help us to remember that we call out to You when we stumble along our way. Help us to REMEMBER to make much of the Blood of Your Son. Help us to magnify the Blood of Jesus as we ought, because IF we as BELIEVERS only knew and remembered about the power of the precious Blood of Jesus, we would no longer have a guilty conscience. In Jesus' Name.

The Old Paths

Jeremiah 6:16
Thus says the LORD: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

Everywhere we turn, there's a "new" way of doing things, a new way to worhsip, a new way of preaching, new way of living. I've heard a lot of things the last few years that are labeled "new", that have given my heart pause, bringing a check in my spirit.

There's a place over in Proverbs 22:28 that says:
28 Do not remove the ancient landmark Which your fathers have set.

Landmark here in the Hebrew means:
1) border, territory
a) border
b) territory (enclosed within boundary)
c) region, territory (of darkness)

The dictionary says lankmarks are:
1. a prominent or conspicuous object on land that serves as a guide, esp. to ships at sea or to travelers on a road; a distinguishing landscape feature marking a site or location

Repeatedly he Word of God speaks of how wrong it is to remove the old landmarks. It's a warning, not only about land disputes, but also to our spiritual landmarks, and the old paths that God has for us. God said that it would be rest for our souls.
Man, who of us do not need or desire rest for our souls?

Matthew 11:29 tells us:
29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The Lord said here in Matthew to learn from Him and we will find rest for our souls.
That sounds a sweet as honey, doens't it?

Well, up there in Jeremiah where He instructed us to find the
Stand in the ways and see
Ask for the old paths
Where the good way is
Walk in it
Then you will find rest for your souls.
THEN THE FOOL SAID
But they said, 'We will not walk in it

Proverbs 1:7 tells us:
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 4:13 says:
13 Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.

Proverbs 5:23 says:
23 He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

God's ways are not our ways and our ways are truly not ours...but it's LIFE to us to follow HIS WAYS, His instructions.

Proverbs 1:33
But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure without fear of evil.

THAT is a whole bunch of what I WANT, to dwell safely, to be secure and to be without fear of evil.

GOD HELP US!!! Help us to ASK YOU for the old paths of Your choosing, we are none of us fools, Lord, and we know we NEED YOUR HELP. All that glitters is not gold, Lord, help us not to be fooled with anything that has been "jazzed" up to tickle ears, and to lead us away from YOUR WAYS. The SAME Word that saved, healed and delivered throughout time is the SAME Word of God that has the power to do the same NOW. Father, help us to guard our hearts - and to guard Your Word in our hearts. There is no new thing under the sun, and the devil knows how to try to dilute Your Word because it's THE SWORD that defeats him. I choose YOU, Lord. I choose YOU. I'm asking YOU for the old paths where the good way is, AND I will, with Your help and grace walk in it. In Jesus' Name

Attending to God's Word

Proverbs 4:20-27

1.My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
Instead of ever altering God's Word to my lifestyle, I make the quality decision to always alter my lifestyle to fit the Word.

2.Do not let them depart from your eyes
I give my attention only to the Word, keeping it in front of my eyes CONSTANTLY!

3.Keep them in the midst of your heart
I keep the Word in my heart and refuse to be sidetracked, allowing His promised harvest to come (Mark 4:14-20)

4.For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
Since the Word is vital to my health and to my very life, I gie no attention to things that would rob my peace and engender strife. I stay on the faith side of everything. I stay on the love side.

5.Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
I know that my mouth speaks out of the abundance of my heart. I put away any disobedience or unbelief from my heart - from my mouth!

6.Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. Turn not to the right or the left: remove your foot from evil.
By attending to the Word and keeping my eyes on Jesus, I always know where I am and where I'm going. My ways are established. I will not be confused.

Father, HELP US to stay close and obedient to Your Word. HELP US to make it FIRST in our lives and mean business with all You have to say. HELP US to be established in it and live and move and have our being IN it. In Jesus' Name