Psalm 83, the times of the gentiles!

Psa 83:1-2, …DO NOT KEEP SILENT, O GOD! DO NOT HOLD YOUR PEACE, AND DO NOT BE STILL, O GOD! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head.

IF GOD kept silent or held HIS peace or stood still Israel would perish! Truth be told, Israel has been the target of satan for thousands of years! BUT, by the grace of GOD, HE has preserved them in spite of persecution! GOD has also brought them back to their homeland!

Eze 37:14, I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I WILL PLACE YOU IN YOUR OWN LAND. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,” says the LORD.’ “

Psa 83:4, They have said, “COME, AND LET US CUT THEM OFF FROM BEING A NATION, THAT THE NAME OF ISRAEL MAY BE REMEMBERED NO MORE.”  

Even up to present times, Israel remains a target of the world. Until the ‘TIMES OF THE GENTILES ARE FULFILLED”!

Luk 21:24, And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles UNTIL THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES ARE FULFILLED. 

There are many schools of thought regarding this passage, but for me, it’s a time the LORD gave to build HIS church! There is a blindness in the truth of CHRIST JESUS, but one day the blinders shall be lifted. And, they shall see JESUS AS THEIR LONG-AWAITED MESSIAH!

Psa 83:13-14, O my God, make them like the whirling dust, Like the chaff before the wind! As the fire burns the woods, And as the flame sets the mountains on fire,

GOD is faithful to Israel in spite of their unfaithfulness to HIM! HE will always have HIS faithful remnant in Israel!

Psa 9:20, Put them in fear, O LORD, THAT THE NATIONS MAY KNOW THEMSELVES TO BE BUT MEN.

Psa 83:18, THAT THEY MAY KNOW THAT YOU, WHOSE NAME ALONE IS THE LORD, ARE THE MOST HIGH OVER ALL THE EARTH. 

They world maybe blinded for now, but the day is coming Where every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that HE IS LORD!

2Kings 19, Call upon HIS Name!

2Ki 19:1-2, And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, THAT HE TORE HIS CLOTHES, COVERED HIMSELF WITH SACKCLOTH, AND WENT INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. Then he sent Eliakim, …TO ISAIAH THE PROPHET, THE SON OF AMOZ.

A great threat has come into the land of Jerusalem and it’s godly king humbled himself before the LORD, entered into HIS courtyard and called on Isaiah!

Psa 46:1, … God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

2Ki 19:6, And Isaiah said to them, “… ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed ME. 

2Ki 19:10,12 , “Thus you shall speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying: ‘DO NOT LET YOUR GOD IN WHOM YOU TRUST DECEIVE YOU, saying, “Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” … HAVE THE GODS OF THE NATIONS DELIVERED THOSE WHOM MY FATHERS HAVE DESTROYED… 

The threat continues and his blaspheme against the LORD is increasing! But Hezekiah prayed to the LORD (ver 14-19)

Psa 50:15, Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” 

When trouble comes our way, it is always wise to humble yourself before the LORD and seek HIS face! for without HIM we are nothing but with HIM we are strong! 

Jer 29:12, Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, AND I WILL LISTEN TO YOU. 

2Kings 18, a time of testing!

2Ki 18:5-6, HE TRUSTED IN THE LORD GOD of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.  FOR HE HELD FAST TO THE LORD; he did not depart from following Him, BUT KEPT HIS COMMANDMENTS, WHICH THE LORD HAD COMMANDED MOSES. 

Hezekiah was a godly king and did what was right in the sight of the LORD! YET he was going to be tested!

2Ki 18:7, THE LORD WAS WITH HIM; HE PROSPERED WHEREVER HE WENT. And HE REBELLED AGAINST THE KING OF ASSYRIA AND DID NOT SERVE HIM. 

He defied Sennacherib, and he came after him!

2Ki 18:15, So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 

Hezekiah, a godly man gripped by fear tried to pay off the king of Assyria, yet that failed!

2Ki 18:29-30, Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand; nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ‘

2Co 4:8-9, We are hard-pressed on every side, YET NOT CRUSHED; we are perplexed, BUT NOT IN DESPAIR; persecuted, BUT NOT FORSAKEN; struck down, BUT NOT DESTROYED

NEVER TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE LORD, FOR HE IS OUR STRENGTH AND NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US SHALL PROSPER! TRUST IN HIM!

Ruth 1, Returning to the LORD!

Rth 1:1, Now it came to pass, IN THE DAYS WHEN THE JUDGES RULED, that there was a FAMINE IN THE LAND. And a certain man of Bethlehem, Judah, went to dwell in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons. 

The time of the Judges was dark for people did what was right in their own eyes! Elimelech, Naomi & their two sons left for Moab! After 10 years, her husband died and their two married sons also died leaving three childless widows!

Rth 1:16-17, But Ruth said: “…For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God… The LORD do so to me, and more also, If anything but death parts you and me.”

Ruth saw Naomi’s faith even in times of trouble! She didn’t blame the LORD, but she blamed herself for leaving the promised land! Ruth clung to her and decided to leave her old life behind trusting in the GOD of Naomi!

Rth 1:21, I went out full, and the LORD has BROUGHT ME HOME AGAIN EMPTY. … the LORD HAS TESTIFIED AGAINST ME, AND THE ALMIGHTY HAS AFFLICTED ME?” 

SHE LOST EVERYTHING BUT HER FAITH IN GOD! AND SHE RETURNED TO HER GOD! OFTEN AFFLICTION EITHER BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD OR DRIVES US AWAY!

Hos 14:1, O ISRAEL, RETURN TO THE LORD YOUR GOD, FOR YOU HAVE STUMBLED BECAUSE OF YOUR INIQUITY; 

Laid off, but Praising God!

On January 12th, 2018, I was laid off work again! I had no choice in the matter and neither did my Manager! this is now the 3rd time i was released, but HE is still on the throne! He has always been there for my family and I, and we know that He is in control of all things including this! Nothing escapes from Him, nothing!

On Friday the 12th, my manager drove me home and after a while, i laid in bed, praising God and with the Bible in hand! I flipped the Bible opened and it landed in the book of Psalms 149! it says in verse 5-6

Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand,

That caught my attention immediately! that was me! i was laying in bed, praising God, with a two-edged sword in my hand (the Bible)

Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

My family and i will continually praise Him and serve Him in whatever means He chooses! Praise and Glory be to HIM!!