Shalom,
Psalm 83 is very appropriate for our times. I especially like it in the Message Bible:
1 GOD, don't shut me out; don't give me the silent treatment, O God. 2 Your enemies are out there whooping it up, the God-haters are living it up; 3 They're plotting to do Your people in, conspiring to rob You of Your precious ones. 4 "Let's wipe this nation from the face of the earth," they say; "scratch Israel's name off the books." 5 And now they're putting their heads together, making plans to get rid of You.
There are currently several Arab/Muslim nations that are threatening to wipe Israel from the face of the earth! They will NOT succeed! God has made certain promises to the nation of Israel, and He KEEPS His promises! The psalmist is calling on God to deal with the enemy nations in verses 9-17. Verse 18 is the desired result of all that he is asking God for:
18 Then they'll learn Your Name: "GOD", the One and only High God on earth.
Remember, always, that God desires that NONE should perish (2 Peter 3:9)! We should desire the same thing! AMEN! Here is "Shalom, Jerusalem" by Paul Wilbur:
Although Luke 4 is all about the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, I want to look at something that directly affects you and me! We read that after Jesus was baptized, He was led into the desert (wilderness) by the Holy Spirit, where He was tempted by the devil. After Jesus met every temptation with the Word of God, this was said about the devil in verse 13:
13 And when the devil had ended every [the complete cycle of] temptation, he [temporarily] left Him [that it, stood off from Him] until another more opportune and favorable time.
Realize that after every victory you have over the enemy, he is merely standing off to the side, waiting for a more opportune time to hit you again! Be prepared! THIS is also true of you and your situation: verse 14a:
14a Then Jesus went back full of and under the power of the Holy Spirit....
Keep yourself filled with the Holy Spirit every day and you, too, will be able to withstand and quench every fiery dart of the enemy! AND, you can say, with Jesus, verses 18-19:
18 The Spirit of the Lord [is] upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the good news (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed [who are downtrodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity], 19 To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord [the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound].
The Spirit of the Lord IS on YOU, also(1 John 2:20)! Now let's show HIM off to the world!
In Hosea 6-7 we see what appears to be repentance on the part of the nation of Israel. Hosea 6:1-2:
1 COME AND let us return to the LORD, for He has torn so that He may heal us; He has stricken so that He may bind us up. 2 After two days He will revive us (quicken us, give us life); on the third day He will raise us up that we may live before Him.
They were caught in their sin and rebellion and were reaping the results of their disobedience. They didn't like it and decided to call out to God so that He could make everything right again. They wanted a two-three day "quick-fix"! But God knew their hearts! He says this in Hosea 7:14:
14 They do not cry to Me from their heart, but they wail upon their beds; they gash and distress and assemble themselves [in mourning] for grain and new wine; they rebel against Me.
What was God saying here? He was saying that they cried out NOT from a true repentance (changing your thinking to agree with God) but because of the "things" they wanted from Him! What does God truly desire to receive from us? Hosea 6:6:
6 For I desire and delight in dutiful steadfast love and goodness, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of and acquaintance with God more than burnt offerings.
He wants YOUR love and desire to know Him, also! Make Philippians 3:10 YOUR prayer and determined purpose today!
Shalom in Him!
