Looking for God's hand

Psalm 83:1-9

“O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!  For behold, your enemies make an uproar; those who hate you have raised their heads.  They lay crafty plans against your people; they consult together against your treasured ones.  They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”  For they conspire with one accord; against you, they make a covenant— the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, Gebal, and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Asshur also has joined them; they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.”

Have you been a member of this group that begs God not to be silent, often when things are upside down in our lives, we desire to see the hand of God taking action on our behalf?  Often, we see Israel as a nation chasing after what their neighbors have, and God sending His spokesman to warn them, but they, like us would not listen.  God was their King, but they wanted one like all the other nations, so He gave them Saul and David and many others.  Most were not good kings, a few were.  What do we find in history, they all did what God had said they would do?  When will we understand that God always tells the truth, and humankind as a whole,100% are sinners, they lie, steal, and even kill to have power and wealth?  It is only when a person is reborn by the Spirit of God that we see a person who seeks the face of God more than His hand in times of trouble.

Israel’s strength has never been in its military but in God, and when they have forgotten God and chased after other gods, it matters not what we name them, God seems to become silent, but He is always working, it may be the withdrawing of His hand of protection, it may be letting us chase after the wind, but do not error and say God is not watching or that He does not care.  God has shown this to both Israel and us in the life of Gideon.  He was made strong out of weakness.  (Hebrews 11:32-34)  The USA was founded by men who were seeking God’s approval, they like the man talked about in Hebrews 11:32-34, were a long way from perfect, they, like you and I make mistakes, but they were seekers of a better way, and I believe God's hand was with them.

The old is forever new, we learn nothing from our history, and is that not true when it comes to the nation of Israel?  The Nation of Israel has the same enemies as anyone who follows the commands of the Bible, and they are chosen people, it was God’s doings, not theirs.  We have been born again, not by flesh and blood, but by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and we are chosen.  What does that mean, born again to a living hope; it is found in 1 Peter 1:3-12?  If you are not a seeker of truth, if your apathetic, lazy, or even too arrogant to explore what has been promised by God, the Creator, you will not take the time to sit in a quiet place and ask God, after reading the above verses to open your eyes to what is real and what is false.  If you are not willing to do so you’re only harming yourself. 

Jesus is talking to some religious Jews who claimed Abraham is our father, Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.”  (John 8:39-40)  Skipping down to verse 44, “You are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”  

Some who serve in the Congress of the United States are children of their father, the devil; they lie and steal; they have no desire for the truth.  They made the foolish believe that free medical care is a God-given right.  That is a lie from the pit, free College, and the list keeps going, not one thing has ever been free.  

The Church is also guilty of its claim that Salvation is a free gift; it cost God the Father, His only Son, yes, our Salvation came at a very high cost!  A young girl named Carol, ask God how much He loves her; this is what she heard God say to her.  “I love you so much Carol that I did not let my emotions and feelings for my Son get in the way of everything that had to happen to Him for your sake.  I didn’t give in to the terrible hurt and anguish I felt as they rejected and beat my Son.  I never lost sight of what was best for you as I watched them mutilate and tear my son’s body apart.  Your life is more important to me than preserving any dignity or thought for myself.”

Let me close by stating a thirteen-year-old girl theology may be off a little, but her understanding the cost to the Father is on the spot!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice