Micah 1:2-5

It is not because of the transgressions of unbelievers but the sins of believers that the world  will be judged. Pride and greed will consume men who trust in themselves to know the way to eternal life and not in God who created them from the womb for His good works. It is only in surrendering his life to Jesus and the New Covenant that man, through the Holy Spirit, can understand the truth and the way to eternal life.

All the earth was to know that God was witnessing against His people. This announcement of judgment is based on the people’s breach of covenant. The faithlessness of the people provoked the Lord God to enter into a judicial dispute with them. 

Jerusalem and Samaria were the “high places,” or elevated capitals, of Judah and Israel; but “high places” were also sites of idolatrous worship.Jerusalem, which was once “beautiful in elevation”, was nothing more than another platform of pagan worship, like the “high places” of the Canaanites.

Micah 1:2-5

² Hear, all you peoples!

Listen, O earth, and all that is in it!

Let the Lord God be a witness against you,

The Lord from His holy temple.

³ For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place;

He will come down

And tread on the high places of the earth.

⁴ The mountains will melt under Him,

And the valleys will split

Like wax before the fire,

Like waters poured down a steep place.

⁵ All this is for the transgression of Jacob

And for the sins of the house of Israel.

What is the transgression of Jacob?

Is it not Samaria?

And what are the high places of Judah?

Are they not Jerusalem?

⁴ The Lord is in His holy temple, The Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 

Psalm 11:4

¹³ “He made him ride in the heights of the earth, That he might eat the produce of the fields; He made him draw honey from the rock, And oil from the flinty rock; 

Deuteronomy 32:13

⁵ The Lord God of hosts, He who touches the earth and it melts, And all who dwell there mourn; All of it shall swell like the River, And subside like the River of Egypt. 

Amos 9:5

¹³ For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth— The Lord God of hosts is His name. 

Amos 4:13

Colossians 3:12-17

As we mature as Christians the Fruit of the Spirit should become more and more evident in our lives. The childish ways of the world should grow dimmer and dimmer. We learn precept by precept as the Holy Spirit gives us understanding and our hope is in becoming like our Master, Jesus Christ. Lord help me to mature and to be Your light in a dark world.

Paul sums up how Christians should live. We should commit everything we do or say to Jesus and continually thank God for all His good gifts.

Colossians 3:12-17

¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴ But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵ And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷ And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22

² elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

1 Peter 1:2

⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 

Luke 1:78

¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 

1 John 3:17

²⁵ “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 

Mark 11:25

⁸ And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 

1 Peter 4:8

¹⁵ But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace. 

1 Corinthians 7:15

Ezekiel 22:27-31

In the end times people will become lovers of themselves, only interested in what benefits them personally or their immediate families. The way of truth, in Christ Jesus, the suffering servant, no longer will apply to the masses that call upon His name. If it were not for the mercy and grace of God who placed His only Son in the gap created by mankind we would all be without hope and consumed by greed.

These prophets were involved in “whitewashing” the sins of the nation’s leaders. If the proper antecedent for them is “princes”, then the priests were also guilty of approving murder.

Ezekiel 22:27-31

²⁷ Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, and to get dishonest gain. ²⁸ Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord had not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. ³⁰ So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. ³¹ Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God.

²³ Your princes are rebellious, And companions of thieves; Everyone loves bribes, And follows after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, Nor does the cause of the widow come before them. 

Isaiah 1:23

⁶ “Look, the princes of Israel: each one has used his power to shed blood in you. 

Ezekiel 22:6

⁹ Now hear this, You heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And pervert all equity, ¹⁰ Who build up Zion with bloodshed And Jerusalem with iniquity: ¹¹ Her heads judge for a bribe, Her priests teach for pay, And her prophets divine for money. Yet they lean on the Lord, and say, “Is not the Lord among us? No harm can come upon us.” 

Micah 3:9–11

³³ ‘And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 

Leviticus 19:33

⁹ tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 

Romans 2:9

Luke 12:13-21

Money has no spiritual value unless it is used to build up the Kingdom of God on earth. God knows that we have need of it to live but if we trust Him He will provide not only for our needs but for the needs of others. God needs to be in all areas of our life especially when it comes to handling the money that He has provided to us.

The love of money and using it to control others is a widespread evil in our world today. It can become an all consuming idol in our lives affecting generation after generation and in our families and in our minds can becomes a substitute for the love that we crave.

Jesus refuses to enter into a dispute over money, which is clearly dividing a family. Such disputes over money destroy relationships, so Jesus tells a parable that explains the danger of focusing on wealth. The word I appears six times, showing the selfish focus this man has as a result of his fortune. His plan is to store his abundant resources for himself, as though the assets were his alone and should be hoarded. This focus on the self is what Jesus is condemning. All earthly wealth is temporary and ultimately worthless.

Luke 12:13-21

     ¹³ Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” ¹⁵ And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

⁶ Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, ⁴and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸ And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

1 Timothy 6:6–10

²⁴ Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 

Ecclesiastes 2:24

⁷ “Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.” 

Psalm 52:7

²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 

Matthew 6:20

¹⁸ Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 

1 Timothy 6:18

Jeremiah 44:1-3

We cannot abide in (Egypt) sin and keep God’s peace within. God uses whom He wills to teach us. Greed, pride and control  are lesser gods… man made idols. Without trust in God alone there is fear.

We need to stay where God has planted us. In obeying His will for our life we will have peace even in adverse situations. Life is not about our desires but His desire to use us as instruments for peace that can only be found in Christ Jesus. Our thoughts and actions should always be filtered through the love the He has for all His creation wanting no man to perish but for all to have eternal life with their Creator. 

In the life and death of the Apostles and Martyrs… God is found. 

Spread the Good News of the Gospel of Christ. Love not hate shows our devotion to the Triune Godhead.

Jerusalem was brought to desolation because the people broke God’s covenant by worshiping other gods, rejecting the lordship of God, and thus provoking Him to anger.

Jeremiah 44:1-3

44 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, ² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘You have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one dwells in them, ³ because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke Me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve other gods whom they did not know, they nor you nor your fathers

⁷ So they went to the land of Egypt, for they did not obey the voice of the Lord. And they went as far as Tahpanhes. 

Jeremiah 43:7

¹⁸ At Tehaphnehes the day shall also be darkened, When I break the yokes of Egypt there. And her arrogant strength shall cease in her; As for her, a cloud shall cover her, And her daughters shall go into captivity. 

Ezekiel 30:18

¹³ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will also destroy the idols, And cause the images to cease from Noph; There shall no longer be princes from the land of Egypt; I will put fear in the land of Egypt. 

Ezekiel 30:13

¹⁶ And set a fire in Egypt; Sin shall have great pain, No shall be split open, And Noph shall be in distress daily. 

Ezekiel 30:16

⁴ “Because they have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents 

Jeremiah 19:4

Mark 2:22-26

We need to be careful not to call good evil or evil good. 

The Holy Spirit is within and we need to listen carefully to Him. When we have done all we can… we need to stand firm putting on the full armor of God. In the unity of the Holy Spirit we are to go out and show the world the fruit He matures in us in Christ Jesus. 

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. Luke 11:21

Jesus’ reply in parables was actually a threefold message that contrasted unity and disunity. Nothing—including Satan’s kingdom—can stand if it is divided.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:13-17)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22)

Mark 3:22-26

      ²² And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebub,” and, “By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons.”

²³ So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan? ²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. ²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. ²⁶ And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end. 

²⁵ It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 

Matthew 10:25

⁴⁸ Then the Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 

John 8:48

²⁰ And many of them said, “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” 

John 10:20

²⁰ But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 

Luke 11:20–21

Colossians 1:9-14

I ask for wisdom daily to overcome the every day trials of this life by remaining steadfast in His love. I pray always for His will to be accomplished and carried out in my life while allowing me to  spiritually discern the working of Satan to destroy it. 

The battle we all fight is spiritual against the powers of darkness. Without the Holy Spirit we can do nothing. Pray that we can patiently hold onto the joy that comes with our salvation and increase His Kingdom by sharing the Good News of the Gospel of love in Christ Jesus. It is only through His birth, death and resurrection that redemption came to man.

As soon as  Paul heard of the new faith of the Colossians, he began interceding with God for them, asking Him to give them knowledge, wisdom, strength, and joy. Wisdom is the practical outworking of knowledge, and that knowledge cannot be separated from the spiritual understanding that comes through the discernment given by the Holy Spirit. A believer’s strength comes from God alone.The kingdom from which believers have been rescued is the kingdom of darkness.

The slavery from which believers are released is not physical but spiritual. They are freed from bondage to sin by forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 1:9-14

⁹ For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰ that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹ strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; ¹² giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

⁵ that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, 

1 Corinthians 1:5

² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

Romans 12:2

²⁷ Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 

Philippians 1:27

¹⁶ that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 

Ephesians 3:16

¹⁰ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 

Ephesians 6:10

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Ephesians 6:12

Jeremiah 44:7-10

We must be doers of God’s Word.

Christians are to be a beacon of hope. They are a living reminder of God’s great love and compassion for man. Our actions for good reflect God’s mercy and grace. Our lack of action based on fear reflects Satan and the tactics he uses to to stop us.

We either believe God is and He is in total control OR we take our place among  the  unbelievers in fear. The battle is His to win. The fight we face is not physical but spiritual and we can be instruments of His plan by helping  those caught in  the crossfires of Satan’s plan to kill, steal and destroy mankind.

The Book of Jeremiah, perhaps more vividly than any other book of the Bible, reveals the inner struggles of a prophet of God. Indeed, the prophet’s anguish over the message of judgment upon his people and the coming destruction of the land was at times overwhelming. Yet despite his anguish, Jeremiah fulfilled his ministry of proclaiming God’s judgment against the people of Judah for their idolatry, their unfaithfulness to the covenant, and their obstinate disobedience of His will. Long acknowledged as one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, Jeremiah serves to this day as an example of someone who remained faithful to the word of God despite countless hardships.

The present generation of Jews had learned nothing from the past failures of  the nation. The people were not broken in heart, only more stubborn

Jeremiah 44:7-10

⁷ “Now therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, out of Judah, leaving none to remain, ⁸ in that you provoke Me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have gone to dwell, that you may cut yourselves off and be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? ⁹ Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁰ They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My law or in My statutes that I set before you and your fathers.’

¹¹ Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ 

Ezekiel 33:11

¹⁴ Happy is the man who is always reverent, But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. 

Proverbs 28:14

John

There is no power higher, there is only One in control, the Triune God. Love Him above all and love others as much as you do you and your families. Those who know to do right and do not…bear the greater responsibility.

We do not war against people or places, we war against the powers of darkness, and he has already lost the battle to Jesus.

Jesus acknowledged that Pilate had the power to take His life, but only because God allowed him that power. Caiaphas, had the greater sin because as a religious leader he had that much greater a responsibility to recognize the Messiah. 

John 18:36-37

³⁶ Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.”

³⁷ Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

John 19:10-11

¹⁰ Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.”

²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” 

Matthew 20:28

¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

John 3:17

⁵³ When I was with you daily in the temple, you did not try to seize Me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” 

Luke 22:53

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 

Romans 13:1

¹⁴ Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed. 

Daniel 7:14

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 

Revelation 1:5

Luke 6:1-19

Things I have learned through Luke 6:

1.Common sense and doing good are always the right choice. 

2.The wisest decisions are always filtered through prayer. 

3.God chooses whom He wills not us. 

4.Miracles can and do happen when we ask them in His name. 

5.Never call good evil or evil good.

Jesus pointed out that if David and his men could violate the Law to satisfy their hunger, His disciples could do the same. Jesus may have been attempting to show that the Law was never intended to be applied so absolutely that it would take precedence over the necessities of daily life. Jesus chose to do good. The plots of the Pharisees represented doing evil and destroying. That was truly breaking the Sabbath. 

Luke 6:1-19

6 Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. ² And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

³ But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” ⁵ And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. ⁸ But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” ¹⁰ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve whom He also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

¹⁷ And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸ as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. ¹⁹ And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

¹⁶ Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, ^j“How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 

John 9:16

⁴ But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 

Matthew 9:4

²³ If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? 

John 7:23

³⁵ Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 

Mark 1:35

And when He had called His twelve disciples to Him, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease. 

Matthew 10:1