Scripture Nugget 9.28.2016

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. But, they refused to listen, and tuned a stubborn shoulder, and stopped their ears in order not to hear. They made their hearts adamant in order not to hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Just as, when I called, they would not hear, so, when they called, I would not hear, says the LORD of hosts, and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and a pleasant land was made desolate.” Zechariah 7:8-14

What is my/your/our heart(s) adamant for? Who and what do we listen to in our communities? It is not good when we refuse to listen and refuse to be obedient. Pay attention anytime we see ‘Therefore’ in scripture – ask the question, what is it there for? In this case a warning! Great wrath came from God. God who is slow to anger. Notice what got God to that point. His people refused to listen to His word, His people rendered false judgments, were not kind nor merciful to one another; they oppressed the less-than among them – the widows, orphans, aliens and the poor; and they schemed against one another for their own betterment. O God, I desire that my heart be adamant for you! Help me God.

Scripture Nuget 9.27.2016

“Seek the LORD, all you humble in the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the LORD’s wrath.” Zephaniah 2:3

Wesleyan Core Term – Humility Humility is central to John Wesley’s understanding of the Christian life. The journey of faith is a lifelong process in which the believer is “perfected in love.” Growing into Christian perfection implies that we become increasingly filled with God’s love and become holy as God is holy. Put another way, we grow to sin less and to love more over time. If we wish to grow in love and holiness, the virtue of humility is required. In Sermon 17: “The Circumcision of the Heart,” Wesley refers to humility as a “right judgment of ourselves” (Para I.2) In other words, humility enables us to understand that we are flawed human creatures in need of the love of God in Jesus Christ through whom we can be reconciled and restored to the fullness of life. (John Wesley Study Bible, pg 1133)

Seek the LORD, for those who have turned, returned and enter into relationship with God you know it is with humility one comes – much like the Prodigal Luke tells about in his Gospel. Let us grow in God’s love, let us be perfected – loving more and sinning less. Putting God first and self-second. Lord, help me, help each of us to recognize our flaws and our need of You.

Scripture Nugget 9.26.2016

“A jealous and avenging God is the LORD, the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and rages against his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger but great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. … The LORD is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; he protects those who take refuge in him, even in a rushing flood. He will make a full end of his adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.” Nahum 1:2-3, 7-8

“Look at the nations and see! Be astonished! Be astonished! For a work is being done in your days that you would not believe if you were told. For I am rousing the Chaldeans, that fierce and impetuous nation, who march through the breadth of the earth to seize dwellings not their own. Dread and fearsome are they; their justice and dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses are swifter than leopards, more menacing than wolves at dusk; their horses charge. Their horsemen come from far away; they fly like an eagle swift to devour. They all come for violence, with faces pressing forward; they gather captives like sand. At kings they scoff and of rulers they make sport. They laugh at every fortress, and heap up earth to take it. Then they sweep by like the wind; they transgress and become guilty; their own might is their god!” Habakkuk 1:5-11

Judgement is coming, yet so is salvation! Do I argue with God over the “speed” in which His judgment comes, especially when it concerns enemies of the faith? Our hope is based in God, faith in God demands we believe that in the end God triumphs over evil. We must be patient enough to wait, to tarry in the presence of God and possess faith that God uses the wicked evil doers to defeat themselves. Pray for your enemies, pray for those who oppose God, that they may encounter God’s Holy Spirit and evil be overcome. Read the verses from Habakkuk 1:5-11 above with an eye on the present day. Read those verses with faith God pursues his enemies into darkness as promised in Nahum 1:8. Pray for a move of God’s Holy Spirit in those who persecute Christians, who deny God and who receive might from their “gods”. What use is an idol – there is no breath in it at all! But God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) lives! God wins!

Scripture Nugget 9.25.2016

“In that days, says the LORD, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; and I will cut off the cities of your land and throw down your strongholds; and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers; and I will cut off your images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; and I will uproot your scared poles from among you and destroy your towns. And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance o the nations that did not obey. … He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?’ Micah 5:10-15, 6:8

Judgment is coming, yet so also is salvation! Will I/you/we be found doing good? Or, will be found unclean, hoarding things we consider mighty, attempting to create our own salvation while causing harm to others? “Real religion is a journey of faith working by love leading to holiness of heart and life.” (Wesleyan Core Term, Real Religion, Wesley Study Bible, pg 1117)

Scripture Nugget 9.24.2016

“Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, ‘Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come before me.’ But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. … The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone great and small, put on sackcloth.” … the king of Nineveh … had a proclamation made … ‘All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.’ When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.” Jonah 1:1-3a, 3:1-5, 8b-10

Judgment is coming, yet so is salvation! Praise God, glory hallelujah! My/your/our attitude is important here. Are we so focused on what we think God’s judgment on others is that we miss the salvation God offers? The salvation He offers me?! Am I, are you so concerned with the sins of others and wanting God to smite them that we forego entering into the grace that God offers. To not just be proud that we have, “fled from the wrath to come” but are experiencing God’s life changing, transformative grace. Can we say, do we say? I use to be like this….. then I met Jesus …. now I am like this! Do we celebrate when another is able to say the same? Are we praying for our enemies to be able to say the same? Do we accept the work the God does in others as we do ourselves? Do we expect that work? Do we cry out for God to act? Stand up where you are, look to heaven and scream – COME ON GOD! Yes, judgment is coming, YET SO IS SALVATION. Pray for all to say, “I have been saved, I am being saved and I’ll be saved some more.” God’s ultimate purpose, ultimate desire is to save not destroy. COME ON GOD!

Scripture Nugget 9.23.2016

“The time is surely coming, says the LORD, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows, the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God.” Amos 9:13-15

Indeed, a time is coming when seeds planted will not only sprout but will grow into mature plants of their kind. In that maturity they will produce the fruit of the type are meant to produce and then be harvested for consumption. In the process some will cultivate the ground, some will sow seeds, some will fertilize and weed and, at the right time, others will harvest and collect, and at that time the harvest is meant to be consumed and enjoyed by all. The process may take many seasons before a bountiful crop is produced. One thing is for sure if seeds are never planted, if the sower never sows, there will never be a harvest! O sons and daughters of the Living God lean into your calling, lean into that which God instructs you to do. Be the best dang seed sower you can be. Sow for a Great Awakening, sow for an abundant harvest, sow without regard wondering if you will reap the reward. Sow for the Kingdom of God. Sow so that others may arise, may keep and till and have dominion over God’s creation just as God commanded and willed from the beginning. Sowers are keeps. God will provide the tillers. Live into God’s Over-the-Horizon Promises with Over-the-Horizon faith.

Scripture Nugget 9.23.2016

“The time is surely coming, says the LORD, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows, the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God.” Amos 9:13-15

Indeed, a time is coming when seeds planted will not only sprout but will grow into mature plants of their kind. In that maturity they will produce the fruit of the type are meant to produce and then be harvested for consumption. In the process some will cultivate the ground, some will sow seeds, some will fertilize and weed and, at the right time, others will harvest and collect, and at that time the harvest is meant to be consumed and enjoyed by all. The process may take many seasons before a bountiful crop is produced. One thing is for sure if seeds are never planted, if the sower never sows, there will never be a harvest! O sons and daughters of the Living God lean into your calling, lean into that which God instructs you to do. Be the best dang seed sower you can be. Sow for a Great Awakening, sow for an abundant harvest, sow without regard wondering if you will reap the reward. Sow for the Kingdom of God. Sow so that others may arise, may keep and till and have dominion over God’s creation just as God commanded and willed from the beginning. Sowers are keeps. God will provide the tillers. Live into God’s Over-the-Horizon Promises with Over-the-Horizon faith.

Scripture Nugget 9.23.2016

“The time is surely coming, says the LORD, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows, the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them upon their land, and they shall never again be plucked up out of the land that I have given them, says the LORD your God.” Amos 9:13-15

Indeed, a time is coming when seeds planted will not only sprout but will grow into mature plants of their kind. In that maturity they will produce the fruit of the type are meant to produce and then be harvested for consumption. In the process some will cultivate the ground, some will sow seeds, some will fertilize and weed and, at the right time, others will harvest and collect, and at that time the harvest is meant to be consumed and enjoyed by all. The process may take many seasons before a bountiful crop is produced. One thing is for sure if seeds are never planted, if the sower never sows, there will never be a harvest! O sons and daughters of the Living God lean into your calling, lean into that which God instructs you to do. Be the best dang seed sower you can be. Sow for a Great Awakening, sow for an abundant harvest, sow without regard wondering if you will reap the reward. Sow for the Kingdom of God. Sow so that others may arise, may keep and till and have dominion over God’s creation just as God commanded and willed from the beginning. Sowers are keeps. God will provide the tillers. Live into God’s Over-the-Horizon Promises with Over-the-Horizon faith.

Scripture Nugget 9.22.2016

“I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight I your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me you burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amos 5:18-24

Righteousness and Justice flowing together from me outward helps me achieve the fullness of the potential possibilities available in relationship with God. One without the other is out of balance; though at times it may be more important to serve others through acts of mercy than participate in acts of piety such as prayer, and reading scripture. However, that being said, without participating in prayer and reading of scripture I may never recognize the needs that require me to engage in acts of mercy. Certainly there is no real and long lasting justice without righteousness as defined by God. “faithfulness requires more than beautiful worship and fervent prayer. A faithful life is a just and righteous life.” (Wesleyan Core Term, Ethics, Wesley Study Bible, pg 1097) O that I live life in balance, guided by God having received that guidance through fervent and travailing prayer!

Scripture Nugget 9.21.2016

“Hear this, O elders, give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your ancestors? Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten. …Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.” Joel 1:2-4, 14 … “Yet even now, says the LORD, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; rend your hearts and not your clothing. Return to the LORD, your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and relents from punishing. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD, your God? … Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit. … Then everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.” Joel 2:12-14, 28-28, 32 … “Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. … But the LORD is a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.” Joel 3:14, 17

We, believers in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit are under immense attack. Some attackers nibble away little bits at a time. It doesn’t seem so bad, but overtime swarms of attackers taking little bites may end up destroying our foundation of faith. Imagine the devastation to crops after four successive infestations of locusts! Everything chewed down to the soil, nothing left – massive crop failure. Now transfer that to the attacks against God, the one true God, and those who would re-write holiness to mean something other than how God defines holiness and righteousness. Those are attacks on the foundation of our faith. Where do we turn? To whom do we turn? Anyone else than God is another attack. But notice God is waiting for each and every one to repent, to turn, to return to Him. When we do; when each does, there is a joyous celebration. There are multitudes in the valley of decision! What am I, what are you, what are we, The Body of Christ doing to, go and make disciples of each? What refuge are we leading them to? Where are we taking refuge?