Question????

Does anyone find it kind of creepy that NASA is planning on bombing the moon in the morning?

Has our government gone mad? I knew it was evil....but this is more then nuts.

All I can say is, make sure your house is in order....



So here is the next installments of our study from Gentle Shepherd...hope you are getting something out of me posting this...if anyone thinks I am wasting you all's time please let me know...otherwise I will keep on keeping on.



Reading: Judges 9:7-15

BRAMBLE BUSH

When we consider the life that is being established in us, and the One we must also grow in, we must realize that we are like a branch in God’s scheme of things. There is no life in the branch apart from the source. It must be firmly connected in the vine or the tree to have life.
It is from the branch that the life of the vine or tree is reproduced. When it comes to Christians, this life has to do with the inward character of the person. Inward character is based on the type of life that is flowing through a person’s being.
A good example that life varies according to the source and character of it is found in the story of the wicked Abimelech. Abimelech was the son of Gideon. He decided he was to be leader over God’s people. Instead of being a righteous judge, he chose to exalt himself as a wicked king. At this time, God was the King and man served as a judge.
Abimelech went to his mother’s family and conspired with them to kill the rest of Gideon’s heirs, and to pronounce himself as king. The plan was carried out, except for one heir of Gideon’s who escaped. This heir, Jotham, came back to pronounced judgment on Abimelech.
To bring home a point, he related the type of life that was in Abimelech with different trees and bushes. The olive and fig trees, along with the vine, would not give up the fruit of their satisfying work to reign, for that was not their purpose. However, the bramble bush, which is only good for being consumed in the fire, decided it could reign.
The bramble bush was symbolic of the life of Abimelech. The life, or his light, was the darkness of arrogance and would be good for nothing except to be consumed by the fires of judgment.
What kind of life is being developed in you?

Prayer: Lord, we do have some type of life flowing through our being. This life represents our source, as well as the type of life that is being brought forth. Lord, I want You to be my source of life. Amen.



Reading: Judges 9:22 -24

WHO WILL REIGN?

In yesterday’s devotion we considered the wicked ways of Abimelech. He desired to reign over God’s people. Yet, his desire was not based on calling, right or honorable character, but on pride.
Pride conspires with that which will encourage it to reign. It will walk over or destroy anything that is in its way. It will deal in cruelty towards others as it exalts its tyranny over those who are considered inferior. As a result, those who come into agreement with tyranny always will display the fruit of treachery.
The tyranny of pride will eventually be met with treachery. Treachery is equal to tyranny in its level of wickedness; therefore, it will prove a worthy opponent if conflict arises. It is wicked in character and deed. Amazingly, it only took three years for treachery to raise its head against the cruel indifference of pride. Once again, we see where treachery conspired against the cruelty it had been party to three years prior. Only now it was on the receiving end of pride’s cruelty.
As we watch these two wicked factions rising up against each other in the story, they basically end up destroying each other. They were consumed by the devices of their own wickedness.
We need to take note of such incidents. From this premise, we need to decide who or what will reign over us because it will influence the type of character that will be produced in our lives.
For the Christian, there should be one ruler—the King of kings and the Lord of lords. It is from His reign that all true character will be realized in and through our lives.

Prayer: Lord, I want you to reign over my life. I want your character to come forth in my countenance. Amen.



Reading: Hosea 8:5-9

THE DANGER OF BEING WILD

One of the main points of identification in God’s kingdom is order. The opposite of order is chaos and confusion. When we consider the perspective of being wild, we know that which is wild can only produce chaos in its attempt to survive. A wild rose bush will grow every which way, revealing that there is no order to its way, causing the roses to be devoid of real substance.
Samaria , the capital of Israel represented the spiritual condition of the people of the ten Northern Tribes of Israel. They were wild due to idolatry. There was no order to their ways, nor was there true worship to be found in any of their religious exercises. They had become lost in the spiritual mire of paganism and perversion. As a result, they were not made or established by God. Their whole way of life and worship was about to be broken by judgment. Of course, they would not turn back to God in repentance and restoration. Due to their stiff-neck ways, they were about to reap the whirlwind.
There is no foundation that will stand in the whirlwind of holy judgment. There is no life or bud that can be found in such ways. Any type of l ife will dry up and blow away as the winds of adversity rip through the desolate terrain of sin and death. As Scripture states, those who find themselves in the whirlwind of judgment will be swallowed up. As for Israel , they were taken to Assyria as slaves. For Assyria , it stood alone as a wild ass.
Assyria was the empire that brought Israel down into utter defeat. Untamed as well, this empire found itself alone as it clamored to control the known world. Eventually, this wild ass would be brought down by another empire. Like Israel , this empire would also reap a whirlwind as it was swallowed up in judgment.
This is true for all world empires. They all are untamed by their idolatrous, wicked, pagan ways. They may hit peaks of exaltation in their existence, but they will eventually taste the other side of judgment and desolation.

Prayer: Lord, we must be tamed by Your Spirit, disciplined by Your Word, and brought into line with Your character to know the majesty of Your power and life. Amen.

©2008 Rayola Kelley, Gentle Shepherd Ministries. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
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