September 23, 2011
2Ki 20:1 in those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
Our economy is failing, and unless we repent and change our ways I believe that our economy will not recover. Stop and look around you… Men are losing their jobs, their homes, their self worth, and more and more individuals are turning to our government for aid, support, and answers. Materialism has taken root, and like a weed it has consumed us all!!! We are too caught up in what we have and what we want and how are we going to get this or that, that we don’t have time for our family, our kids, our husbands or wives, our friends, or what is most important: God. Materialism has consumed most of our lives. We have too much stuff… That stuff consumes our time, and our money. It takes away our relationships with others and God. Men’s hearts are failing… They are being weighted down by fear, anxiety, and distress from materialism. A man can not cope with all the responsibilities that he has taken on through materialism. We have too much going on and there are too many things happening around us. We have in essence become consumed by our own stuff. Are we coping? Most men just go to their man made “man caves” flip on the big screen plasma and get lost with a beverage of their choice. Their kids are out doing their own things, and their wives are on the computer blogging on face-book. (Obviously there are men and women who are doing other things besides what I mentioned above, but the point is that there is no togetherness and no time for God.)
So how does one put his or her house in order?
I’m not going to claim to be an expert in this, and one thing I will say for sure is, “That it is easier said then done”.
I believe we need to first start by Spiritual Preparation:
Those steps as per the bible are:
- Abandonment of idols: 1Sa 7:3
3 So Samuel said to all the Israelites, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the Israelites put away their Baals and Ashtoreths, and served the LORD only. (We need to rid ourselves of materialism).
- Cleansing of God’s temple: 2Ch 29:15
15 When they had assembled their fellow Levites and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD, as the king had ordered, following the word of the LORD. (Repent, turn back to the Lord you can cleanse yourself by washing with water through the word.)
- Return to the Lord: Lk 1:17
17 And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (John prepared the way for Christ, we have that example… We need to turn our hearts to God so that we can love unconditionally and are able to be wise and understand the things that God is revealing to us through his word, circumstances, and things happening in our world today.) Romans 12:2 - Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Personal Purification: 2Ti 2:20-21
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. (Let us become instruments of God for his use. We can not do this if we are consumed by materialism.)
Psalm 127
1 Unless the LORD builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
for he grants sleep to those he loves.
3 Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court.
Like I said easier said then done… However it is a must. We all need to make the spiritual preparations, and prepare our house. Put you house in order!!!! Give your house to God. I have to say that I think that Joshua put it best with this verse from Joshua 24… 15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Also if you know hard times are coming… Then what do you think you should do? I’ll try and look at Obedient Preparation that precedes Blessings next time.
One more Note: Hebrews 10:24-25
New International Version (NIV)
24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Stay tuned for now...
BerryBlueBerry
4 comments:
Curt Here...
Welcome to the blog BerryBlueBerry, it is really great to have you here.
Your first post is very timely and really struck a cord with me. Many times when you hear that you must get prepared for tough times, or for some future possible natural disaster people are referring to physical preparation, such as food, water, batteries, etc. Hardly ever do you hear about spiritual preparation, even from our own Christian community.
We as believers need to realize that there are very tough times in front of us, and yes there is some importance to physical preparedness, but in my opinion it is much more important to be spiritually prepared for these times. You're post has done an excellent job of bringing this subject to light and giving us some very practical and scriptural guidance on how to start getting spiritually prepared.
I look forward to you're next post as you dive into this subject further.
Curt
Excellent post Mr Berry. It made me look at myself and my walk with the Lord.
Why is it that the men who are qualified to give advice are so hesitant to give it? Excellent post. God bless.
This has been eating me up for a while now. Especially at Christmas time. How would you approach your family with this idea? Knowing that all that we are and our flesh hates the thought as much as our heart loves it? Family prayer sessions? Shed one "idol" at a time in waves?
Thanks for the post.
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