“:…”the hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and wrath is against all them that forsake Him.” So they fasted and besought our God for this; and He was intreated for us.”Ezra 8:22-23 KJV

Ezra did not trouble himself with armies of the Babylonian king, he had faith, knowing that God would do good and deliver him, and through his faith he went to Jerusalem and began to rebuild. We are in a time in which God is calling His people to readjust their focus onto Him, He wants to rebuild the temple in our lives, but this requires faith, and no simple faith, but mountain moving, miracle working faith, and a determined heart that will seek the Lord our God and love Him first and foremost.

Ezra prayed and repented for the sins of the people of God, and then led the people to turn away from their sins, this would set the stage for the rebuilding of the people of Israel and the return from captivity, but it starts with faith. If we want to return from our own spiritual captivity, and see the same done in our world, we must have faith, and be honest about ourselves and our sins, turn from our wicked ways and turn to God.

It is never too late to come to God, until it is too late, but as long as we draw breath we can turn to the Lord and repent of our sins. God turns back His wrath when the people will turn back to Him, He did it for Nineveh, and He set the stones for all of us when Jesus took the cross becoming a way for us all to come to God and seek Him if we will turn from our sins. We must put nothing before our God, He is to be our first love, but if we seek Him all else will be added to us. Repent, and turn to God.

 

Amen.

 

Our world is currently full of fear, fear of sickness, fear of governments and armies, fear of food shortages and droughts, fear of what the future holds. Fear not the things of this world, but I urge you all to fear God and keep His commandments.

The Bible tells us the beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). When we come into discipleship and become true believers we are no longer apart of this world, we are only in this world, and our fears should not be tied to this world. This does not mean we cannot have concerns about what is happening, but we must strive to act, and not fear. We as sons and daughters of a God have power, and we can impact this world, but only if we act and live only in fear of He who is able to destroy both body and soul. This does not mean to be afraid of God, but to have holy reverence of our God, and to keep His ways.

We must pray to God to direct our feet, to give us the spirit of courage in order that we may take the fight to the enemy. When we fight, we do some from a place of victory, and we must fight, fight our urge to fear and fight out enemy. If we fear, then we do not live in the fullness of understanding or love, for perfect love casteth out fear (1 John 4:18). I urge all in this time to seek God and His righteousness, flee from fear and do not let it control, but seek God and live according to His word.

Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters, I know that many of us are in a place of anger or fear right now. We are worried about what is happening in America and around the world, whether we are afraid of the Coronovirus, or afraid of our own governments, but I urge you in this matter, stand strong in your faith and in your knowledge of God. His plans are for us to prosper, no weapons formed against us can prosper and no plague shall come near our dwelling. I received a word from God, many hard days are ahead of us, some of us already know that, but do not be afraid, have courage and stand strong. In these trying times let us first come to God, more fervently than ever before. Do not let the media or the government take from you the one thing nobody can take from you, and that is your faith. God will see to His people, He always has. I was recently rereading 2 Chronicles, and the pattern of the people of Israel and Judah, how their leaders would go through periods of revival, and into periods of backsliding, do not let this time of isolation bring you into backsliding, into sin, or turn you away from God. Rather, use this oppurtunity to further your relationship with God, use this time to go to your prayer closet and seek out God in a personal relationship. This time will bring those true seekers into the light, as they will seek God, and those who merely were followers will find themselves struggling to stay afloat in the dark tide, but any who will call on the name of our God shal be saved, for this is His will, so even now as churches close, as we live in times of fear of gathering, seek God, seek Him online, seek Him in your Bibles, and most importantly seek Him in prayer, conversational prayer.

And always stand strong in your faith.

Amen.

2 Chronicles 7: 13-14

¹³ If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; ¹⁴ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.           

We live in sinful times, we as a people have turned away from God. God does not want evil to befall his children, but calamity and fear often drive us back to Him. Right now there is a virus codenamed COVID-19 spreading around the world. It is not as dangerous as the media claims, and yet the fear has lead to an almost complete shutdown of the global economy. We must have confidence that God protects those who call on His name, and call themselves by His name. We must also seek him and follow after him. Turn away from false idols, vain imaginations of the mind and seek after God and His righteousness. When we seek God, we will find Him, Jeremiah 29: 13 says “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Seeking is an active pursuit, turning from wickedness is an action, God requires action from His people, but it is not without promise, and the promise is worth the effort. I can look back on my life and I see the difference in my life when I sought God from those times in which I had backslid, when my fire was burning low. I have felt desperate, alone and been in dark places, but God is stronger than our fears and our loneliness. He is worth serving, and he believes that each person is worth saving. We must take the first step, and as we work toward coming to God He will come to us as well.  Turn, and seek the LORD your God wholeheartedly, and reap the fields of His goodness.

Amen.