Pitch In your tents at Beer-sheba .

" And he went up from thence to Beersheba.
 And the Lord appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.
And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there: and there Isaac's servants digged a well ". Genesis 26:23 -25.

After receiving  our desire for victory  and peace within our borders, what next?
Do we  relax , beat our chests and  regale our listeners with stories of our past and ancient battles and victories;  and go our merry way until the next call to  battle? 
God's ability  to arise  and deliver His people is  not in question. 
Even God's enemies know the awesomeness of the name and the power of God and they tremble . James  2: 19 .
But the wicked will not relent  in their wickedness because the Satanic force using  them  goads the wicked further  and further along the path of destruction ;  to make  them to dare God by doing  evil continually .
In the day of battle, God is on the side of the righteous and He is against the wicked .
"Salvation is far from the wicked; for they seek not your statutes". Psalm 119:155. 

When we have attained our Rehoboth , the  next step is  to move up to  Beer-sheba " the  Well of the Oath" ; the place of  remembrance , of refreshing  and renewal and  of worship and sacrifice. Genesis 21:33.
We remain victorious  by building our altar  and by pitching our tents  in the place of  proximity  to God , as Isaac did  in Beer-sheba , 
Beer-sheba is   the place of God's visitation  and affirmation of  covenants. Genesis 26 : 24, 32- 33
" Pitching  tents  at Beer-sheba " is the basis of  continuous victory  for the righteous , who by faith have believed in the covenant of  God's mercy  and salvation  through Jesus Christ .
 No Christ , no  salvation and no victory for the Christ-less life.
 God's intervention manifests in all situations whenever  and wherever  His people , the righteous , are under attack by the enemy.

What is the condition  for resounding  victory  over the fury of the oppressor in the day of battle?

"For everyone born of God overcomes the world . This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.   Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God ". 1 John 5:4- 5 .
  God  will always  arise  and intervene on behalf of those who abide in Him in  the place of obedience and sacrifice. John 15: 4 - 8 . 
Are you abiding in Christ or do you choose to forget God and His word , but  suddenly, when you are under fire  from your enemies , you remember  God ?!  Then  and only then , you run to God,  crying  out to Him  for  help ?
 It is one thing  to expect God  to "arise and let his enemies be scattered  ! "( Psalm 68:1);
 it is  very easy to quote scriptures  profusely, to pray very loud prayers  and sing earth-quaking songs of praise of how  " the earth trembles for the Lord reigns !" , "O Lord come down and manifest your power!" . 
Yes , the Lord reigns , let the earth tremble and let His enemies flee before His awesome presence! 
But are your  own challenges and your challengers "trembling " and budging an inch ?
 It is very easy  to remind God of how He delivered  Daniel from the lions' den;  easy  to say you "  are putting  God in remembrance of   His word and promises  concerning the richness of His mercy and  of His mighty deliverance for His people  "; but  it is another thing entirely  to  be  on the Lord's side  , to be daily  in His presence.
The proper way   to  qualify  for God's mercy  and deliverance is  to be on the Lord's side PRIOR  to  the day  of battle , that is BEFORE  you sense impending annihilation by the enemy .
Daniel was steadfastly on the Lord's side , even in the face of death.  Daniel  6:3-13.
Are you on the Lord's side ?

Have you come to God with soiled and smelly hands , but you are  expecting His mercy  and justice  to deliver you , because you say , " We are now in the dispensation of  GRACE ! God is merciful and gracious. God understands!" 
  Really ?  Does God " understand " the  unrepentant  sinner  ? 
"When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts?" Isaiah 1:12. 
^" And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood " . Isaiah 1: 15..
Jesus said  deliverance is  received  by abiding in His word . John  15: 6- 8 .
Are you on the Lord's side or  are you , yourself  towing  the path of the wicked ;   far gone , in the same hell-bound  express train with  the wicked ?  Psalm 9 : 16,17   
 If yes, then  unless you repent , today , now ; your reward  shall  be the same as the reward of the wicked .

"Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down, saith the Lord" . Jeremiah 8:12.

Defeat and a casting down in the day of battle  is not  the portion of the righteous.

".... Men and brethren what shall we do ? " Acts 2:37-40.
When your ways  and your mind are pleasing unto God because you are on God's side , you are on  the winning side ;  therefore you have overcome  your enemies, both the physical and spiritual ones . 
Be on the winning side, always  . Repent and believe in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
For a life of continuous victory , move up  to Beer-sheba ; the place of proximity  to God . 
Build and repair  your altar  there  and pitch your tent there in God's presence, always 
As you confess the Lord Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour , in your words and by your deeds  you have  been  saved and you will  never  be put to shame. Romans 10 : 8-11.
Amen.

The Circle of Ingratitude

"Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth!

For the Lord has spoken:

“I have nourished and brought up children,

And they have rebelled against Me;" Isaiah 1:2.

"Hath God said..."( Genesis 3:1) is the seed of rebellion planted by the enemy in the minds of people.
This seed produces the fruit of rebellion and ingratitude towards God.

 Right from the beginning  of human existence, the rebellious souls have been quick to accuse God and to question God's mercy and goodness.

Adam : " Dear God,  Why did you give me  this woman?" True , I was alone  but definitely , I was not lonely. 
Do You see the  upheavals and chaos Eve has caused  now?

Eve :"Dear God,  it wasn't me ! Someone  created  this wicked  being called the Devil .  That someone was not me . 
Instead of locking Satan up and throwing away the key , why was he allowed  to roam about freely , even to enter inside our beautiful  garden ?!

 And by the way, what was the tempting, delicious  fruit  doing on the Tree ? "

How easily and how quickly human beings choose to forget the goodness and mercies of  God!
The children of Israel  went on a futile journey to the Promised Land , going round and round , back and forward and then back to their starting point ; they roamed in a pathetic circle for 40 years in the wilderness ,because they rebelled against   their God.

One would expect people who had witnessed first-hand miracles and the awesome deliverance of Jehovah ; to appreciate the difference between Heaven-sent manna  and quails and the flesh pots of Egypt !

"And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.” Exodus 16:3.

Rebellion in the face of challenges is vintage Homo Sapient  behaviour.

Even today FOOD and the search for it is big "politics" with some people.

At the slightest sign of  challenges and obstacles , ungrateful souls are very quick  to rebel , to jump ship , abandon God and go seeking  for help from all kinds of gods.

Accusations of incompetence  flow from the lips of the ungrateful soul who in the thick of life's afflictions chose to forget that the same God who delivered yesterday  has not changed .

He is the same , yesterday , even today and tomorrow.

"Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?" Exodus 14:11.

^" For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." Exodus 32: 23.

One has to first  recognise  the mercy of God , before  being able  to appreciate the joy of  being alive;  healthy and bubbling with zeal and zest .

MInds filled with  gratitude would give praise and thanksgiving  to God. 

Rebellion warps the human mind and clouds the reasoning faculties.                                 

Eyes blinded by grief and hearts numbed by pain and disappointments cannot  see  anything good and cannot  meditate on the mercy of God .
Ingratitude  causes  an unending circle of woe .
‘Woe to those who quarrel with their Maker, those who are nothing but potsherds among the potsherds on the ground.
Does the clay say to the potter “What are you making?
”Does your work say,   “The potter has no hands”? Isaiah 45:9 ( NIV )
Life for such persons is one continuous self-defeatist  cycle of  Ingratitude which begins with  Bitterness then unto  Rebellion - Blasphemy - Sin - Sorrow - Despair- Defeat ; and then back to more bitterness and  the circle goes on and on. 
As it was in the  past , so it is  today. 
Instead of appreciating the mercy of God , millions of rebellious people are blaming God for every evil under the sun.
Some  people speak out rebellious words ;but others keep their  rebellious questions inaudible ;harboured and hidden in the secret recesses of  their minds .

Questions are seething even in the minds of those who have had close fellowship with God and have tasted of the goodness of the Lord,
It is not unusual  to hear questions like these from  some people ;

"  Lies travel faster than the truth. Why?"

" Why did God create this world when He knew that things would become very bad and that  humans  would become very wicked , to this extent? "

"Why do wicked people  escape justice and innocent people suffer unjustly?

Why do the  unrighteous rich continue to  get richer and to live long  ?

Who allowed  tsunamis, tornadoes, fires , earthquakes , famines, pestilence and epidemics to take place? Where was God when thousands of people were killed?"

" Why did God allow  the apostle of Satan and founder of the evil religion which spreads hate , murder and chaos worldwide,  to be born into this world. Why didn't he and his present day disciples die in their mothers' wombs?!"

" Why do people who do not attend church or pay any tithes and offerings , get  financial miracles and the best jobs in the country?!"
"This world is not our home ; we belong to a higher realm ? Then why are we living here? "

" Why did a minister of God who was on an inter-city preaching mission die in a horrific plane crash; but the lives of many evil people in that same ill-fated aircraft  were spared?" 

"Why are people who do not desire children ; couples who have aborted several
pregnancies  blessed with repeated unwanted pregnancies ; but childless married couples who have been waiting on the Lord for many years ; are yet to be blessed  with even one child?"

"Why are millions of  people starving  and lacking the good things of life , on the same planet  Earth where others  have more of everything than they need and so  they waste tonnes  of food and  waste millions of cash on unnecessary  luxuries ?

"Why does excess rain fall , flooding those  countries where too much rain is not needed  , yet the areas of the world where millions of peasant farmers are struggling to survive get no rain for years on end ? "

The pit of Hell is the place from where all  rebellious  words issue from.

The Devil  is a liar and is the father of all liars and he is the source of  all  accusations against God. 

 Ignorance of who God is , is  the  fuel which  cooks  the anger and bitterness  against God .

The "beauty" of rebellion and ingratitude against God is that these two evils are unfailing paymasters , yielding well-deserved dividends. 
Those who ridicule and question the mercy and wisdom of God would one day, ultimately, remember God and acknowledge His mercy. 

There are two ways to it.

People would appreciate God's mercy either by the easy way of accepting the salvation of God or by the hard way of receiving the rod of affliction from the Devil ; which would make them to repent and embrace the merciful  God who has loved all men unconditionally.

Asking  "Why , why , why"? does not change the nature of God . 

My take on  all such questions  is :if rebellious human beings can question the mercy and goodness of God , God too is questioning Man's rebellion  against God and  Man's inhumanity to Man .
"What could have been done more in my vineyard, that I have not done in it ? ..." Isaiah 5:4.
While rebellious humans point their one finger against God , their other four fingers are pointing back to themselves. 
 People who question the power  and mercy of  God  should also reflect on the following points:

Why did God hand over the dominion of planet  Earth to Man and not to angels and to the  animals who were living on Earth before Man ?"

What did  Man do  to show gratitude to God ?  Man lost his dominion  to Satan.

The resources created by God on Earth are enough to go round every living soul and to make life meaningful for all humanity . But a small minority of very selfish men and women have  taken control of the world's resources for themselves and their generations unborn.  Why?
Who polluted the fresh air,  the rivers and oceans and stripped the forests of the earth bare ? 

Mankind has abused  the beautiful environment  and destroyed the Ozone layer which God put in place in the beginning ,to protect life on earth .

 These abuses by Mankind have led  to climate change , floods and other natural disasters.

 God has given all living souls the gift of life ; to glorify God during their life time.
Human beings could decide to use  their God-given freewill to choose between good and evil ; people could  choose to be vessels of peace and progress on earth or they are free to choose to  be deceived by Satan and be used as his messengers of  world-wide terror and death .
Whatsoever human beings sow, unfailingly ,  they will reap the judgement from God.
If there were no places on earth where people are living under the terrorizing reign of evil religions , how would Christians be able to appreciate what Jesus  Christ has done in their lives and to say , "Thank God  for Jesus Christ  and thank God I am a Christian ! " ?

 God sent His Son Jesus, to die  not  for "good" men only , but  for ALL men .

And what did mankind do  to Jesus Christ  when He lived on earth ?

Why  did mankind reject Jesus Christ and millions are still rejecting Him today ?
Those who have rejected  the salvation of God , have they not heard the words of the Lord Jesus in John 3 :16 - 18 , and have they not  heard  that : 
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved ". Acts 4:12.

Yes they have heard .
 Billions  of human souls have heard the Gospel preached several times , out of which  millions have chosen to ridicule and reject the Gospel of JesusChrist.

Why has God  not sent down His fire to destroy all those who blaspheme against God's Son and who  reject  the fullness of  God's mercy and grace expressed in Christ Jesus ?
God has not done so because He is merciful , loving and compassionate and does not desire the death of  the sinner but  God calls all men to repentance. 2 Peter 3: 9. 

You who have been questioning  the  love and  mercy of God ; it is time to face reality.
 What are you doing with  your God-given  life and freewill ?
Are you one of those  who have been blinded by  Satan from acknowledging and receiving the Salvation plan of God for mankind? 2 Corinthians 4 : 3 - 4 
 If you die today and stand before God , what will your life record of activities show ?

You cannot stand before God and question Him. 

Come out of that Satanic web of lies and deceit  and accept  the mercy and righteousness of God through Jesus Christ.

The life which Jesus  Christ gives is the only way out of the miserable circle of ingratitude.

"Let God be true  but  every man a liar...." Romans 3: 4.

 God is not a liar. Believe His Word while you still have breath in you and LIVE  by it. 

When life's challenges and afflictions come knocking , the way out of them and the way forward is  not  to become  bitter and  rebellious and it is not by railing accusations and curses against God .

The way forward is to remember that God is good and there is no turning or changing from goodness in Him.

What to do is trust God , that He is good and faithful ; accept that God knows what  He is doing , that He is omniscient ; God sees and  knows about our all challenges .
Standing on God's word concerning the challenges of life  gives peace to every mind troubled  and perplexed by  rebellious questions .

This is your year of  glorious testimonies of the goodness of God . 

Happy New Year and be blessed indeed. Amen.

Towers of Babel

 "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,

 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:" Phillipians 3:8,9.

The truth  is , God cannot change , neither will He bend His Word to conform with the demands of modernity. He is Timeless and so He cannot be expected to " move  with  the  times" because God pre-dates Time and  He will continue  to exist  after Time has ceased .

  God is the Creator of Man so it is Man who has to change , to  move with God's timing and  to conform to God's Word which abides forever.

Jesus Christ is the expression of God's righteousness which every  Believer puts on. 
The  righteous and their faith  in Christ shall abide for ever , but the works of Pride and Hypocrisy shall pass away with time. 

^"And the world is passing away, and the lust of it ; but he who does the will of God abides forever ".1 John 2:17( NKJV ).  
 God hates pride ( Proverbs 8: 13) and He debases the proud.
The proud will not prosper , for God will bring down the house of the proud. Proverbs 15:25 .

All man-made Citadels of Pride , whether  they were built by "sinners" or by "saints"; shall  not endure . 
Like the Tower of Babel , they are futile projects , they will fall and be swept  away like dust ,  by the wind of Time . 
 The haters of God , who glory in their inventions ; those who worship God's creations rather than God the Creator , they shall  wax old  like garments and fade away ; but God and His word shall abide forever. Psalm 102 :25-28.
Atheists and their ridiculous theories will fade away just as all liars and their fables , before them , have faded away with time .

Atheists'  fables about Evolution Theory , the "God Atom" and all other claims by men playing God and claiming to have " first-hand knowledge" of how the Earth and the Universe were formed and how everything "evolved" after the Big Bang" , are untenable and as such , they will  be exposed as fabrications  and they will fade away like all fables do .

 Also , all doctrines of men , which are " sanctification requirements" which have been set up as parallel or superior to the Salvation Plan