You Are Not Good, You Are Stubborn

18 07 2022

stubborn-post

Why did Yehovah God give the land of Canaan to Israel? Was Israel righteous? As a matter of fact, they were not. There are two reasons Yehovah blessed Israel with the Holy Land. He revealed these reasons just as Joshua led them across the Jordan River into the glorious land! 1. The previous inhabitants were so wicked they lost their right to the land. 2. God had made an unconditional promise, an oath, to their ancestors and He does not lie. Therefore they would receive the promised Land.

“After Yehovah your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘Yehovah has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way. It is not because you are so good or have such integrity that you are about to occupy their land. Yehovah your God will drive these nations out ahead of you only because of their wickedness, and to fulfill the oath he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You must recognize that Yehovah your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people.”  Deuteronomy 9:4-6 NLT

You Are Not Good. – Have you notice the popularity of the phrase: “I’m good?” We say it all the time when a waiter asks if we want anything else. I like to good naturedly contradict my friends once in awhile when they say it. “Only God is good!”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. “Mark 10:18 NLT

You Are Stubborn. – Why do we fight so hard against yielding to Jesus? It is because we are born with the sin nature of selfishness. We are naturally stubborn. Only by being born again in Jesus by the Holy Spirit are we empowered to overcome our old nature. This verse is more profound than we realize:

“Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of Yehovah, he has rejected you as king.” 1 Samuel 15:23 NLT

This judgement was spoken to King Saul, but it applies to all of us about our own rebellion and stubbornness. Here is the profound revelation. How is stubbornness like idol worship? It is because we worship our own will and opinion above God’s. We make ourselves the idol in place of Yehovah God! Praise Yeshua our Messiah that we are forgiven and given new life through Him!

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for seasonal rains.

Les Lawrence, a voice of Christian Zionists              (Read more)

Why  do I use God’s literal covenant Name: Yehovah? Here is a link to the explanation in my book: The Hebrew God Who Has No Name. And here is a link to a great visual from my friend Keith Johnson.


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Have You Been Passed Over?

27 03 2021

Dry Bones Passover 2021

Do you ever feel rejected because you were passed over for a promotion or honor of some kind? That can be devastating, but there was one time when being passed over was great news. Jews and many Christians around the world are observing Passover this week. It remembers the glorious deliverance from Egypt and from slavery. For every true believer it also represents our deliverance from slavery to sin. Before we learn about the Passover lamb and the blood on the doorposts, we PRACTICE sin and lawlessness. And we get pretty good at it. However, when the blood of the Lamb is applied to the doorposts of our hearts, we are set free from the law of sin and death. The Messiah Yeshua died for us, in our place. If we believe in His atonement we are no longer bound to PRACTICING sin. We now PRACTICE righteousness, and even though it is a slow progression, we are being changed.  PRACTICE speaks of intentionally repeating over and over a certain skill (like piano or sports) until you get better and better at it. What are you putting into PRACTICE in your life? It is your choice.

Do not incline my heart to any evil thing, To practice wicked works  With men who work iniquity; And do not let me eat of their delicacies. Psalm 141:4

For the foolish person will speak foolishness, And his heart will work iniquity: To practice ungodliness, To utter error against Yehovah, To keep the hungry unsatisfied, And he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. Isaiah 32:6

And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:23

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 1 John 3:10

We who are believers in the Blood of the Lamb Jesus are rejoicing that the death angel has passed over our house and we are free to practice life and righteousness. Our sins were forgiven instantly, but we choose to practice a whole new lifestyle which is made possible by the blood of the Lamb. This process continues till the Messiah comes and then He will permanently change us for eternity. Hallelujah!

…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Corinthians 15:52

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and pray for seasonal rains. (There was even more rain this week.)

Les Lawrence, voice of Christian Zionists                    (Read more)


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Lawlessness Will Abound

20 06 2020

US-POLITICS-RACISM-STATUE-UNREST

Where the police stand down, lawlessness will abound. We see this across our nation. The very first window broken should lead to an arrest. Once it is allowed without consequence it multiplies into lawless riots.

Surprisingly, the word lawlessness does not appear in the KJV. Instead, iniquity is used. Lawlessness is clearer to the 21st Century reader. The word occurs eleven times in the NKJV. We are now in such a period of history in America. Law and order must be restored. Meditate on these verses:

“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!‘” Matthew 7:23

“The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,” Matthew 13:41

“Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:28

“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” Matthew 24:12

“I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.” Romans 6:19

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14

“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7

“You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” Hebrews 1:9

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4

Is there any doubt we are seeing this in our culture today? Isn’t is ironic that these lawless protests are about “slavery?” We must pray for our leaders to have the courage to stand up to the lawless acts or it will get worse and worse. It is not easy to pray for evil leaders. We must pray while not dishonoring their God-given placement in leadership. Paul, the Apostle, spoke accidentally against the high priest and repented, even though Paul had spoken the truth. Remember that the battle is not against flesh and blood, but spiritual wickedness.

Then Paul said, “I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” Acts 23:5

“You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” Exodus 22:28

It may be tricky to thread the needle of praying with the right Spirit and attitude, but we must rise up and pray! We know the end of the book. We win! So, don’t lose heart. Yehovah has the final say!

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and thank God for Israel showers this week.

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists


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Two Responses to Favor in Judgment

17 04 2020

Yehovah love

So what have you learned so far from the pandemic? God is with us, you know. He is here, and He is speaking to us. He always speaks to each of us. You may say that He does not talk to you, but you would be wrong. God speaks, we just aren’t listening or we don’t know how. I will let you in on a little secret. You get better at listening with practice! After you have poured out all your own prayer requests, stay a little longer and listen. Learn to recognize Him. He explains a lot to us when we tune in. It really does take practice, so don’t give up. Here is some pretty clear guidance for how to respond to the judgments of God in the earth.

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 

Though the wicked is shown favor, He does not learn righteousness; he deals unjustly in the land of uprightness, and does not perceive the majesty of YEHOVAH.  Isaiah 26:9-10 NASB

Has God favored you with life and provision? Has He blessed you with more than you deserve? It is possible to see and hear God in favor and even in judgment. It is our opportunity to learn righteousness. The wicked have the opposite reaction. They hate God and get angry at Him and continue in their wicked injustice. The wicked ones don’t get it. Instead of being in awe at the majesty of Yehovah, they curse Him and suffer in their self-inflicted pain. On national TV, New York Gov. Cuomo declared that God did not save us, we ourselves did. During this coronavirus pandemic we should pray for a great awakening in America to see and hear the answers provided by our majestic and loving Heavenly Father through His Son, Jesus the Messiah.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and thank Him for the abundant rains in Israel.

Les Lawrence, Voice of Christian Zionists                   (Read more)


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