How Many Woes Will We Suffer?

Woe to those who draw sin along with cords of deceit, and wickedness as with cart ropes, to those who say, “Let God hurry; let him hasten his work so we may see it. The plan of the Holy One of Israel— let it approach, let it come into view, so we may know it.” Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Isaiah 5:18-21 NIV

Grievous destruction, prolonged trouble is the expectation one can have when we promote sin and deceit, call evil good and good evil, who prefer to keep people in darkness rather than light, who deceive others by exchanging bitterness for sweetness and sweetness for bitterness and for those who wise in their own eyes (thinking they are wiser than God) and clever in their own sight (thinking their inventions are more clever than God’s creation).

There is so much that can be said about the woes of the Bible that many are going to experience in the 21st Century because we have outsmarted ourselves. But prolonged trouble and grievous destruction will be seen and felt by many.

We see greed overshadow need and then harm is caused to many by a few.

We see injustice after injustice when evil is called good and good people penalized for their faith in God and stance on His Word.

We see appointed judges thinking they are wiser than God in their decision-making that opposes God’s ordinance for mankind. We have yet to see the abominations that will result from those decisions.

We see problems with air quality and water quality because we think we are clever with our inventions and ignore the value of God’s creation–and man’s cleverness because of his greed is destroying the very atmosphere and yet we will not concede pursuing greed over need.

We have need to breathe clean air, but those who are only interested in making money don’t understand until it affects their loved ones and then we hear the outcry. We have need to have clean water, but again the need for greed overrides the need for safety and health.

Until we change our attitude about God and learn to live according to His Word, we shall have the woes shadow us until the end of time–oppressing all those who had nothing to do with the choices of their forefathers–suffering trouble and grievous destruction.

Woe unto us if we don’t heed the need for protecting the vulnerable and needy, and stop proceeding with plans that will only benefit the greedy.

Convenience has made most of us lazy–physically, mentally, and emotionally because of our dependence on all those things others invented--that are now destroying us and our environment. Our brains are becoming atrophied like the muscles in our bodies because we don’t exercise brain or body and we allow the dictates of fools to encourage us in relationships–family and otherwise.

It is time for us to retreat–back up into the safety of God’s arms and learn to live for Him, instead of everything else. The only way we can escape the woes–is to get into the of God’s Word, know it and live it.

 

Advertisement

No Reason For Shame With Hope in God!

“And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5 NIV)

Though there are many who attempt to belittle those who not only believe God, but also live to please God, we who know God, understand,  and we are not ashamed of our hope in Him.

Why hope in God when it appears that all is lost–when spouses kill each other, when man overrides God’s intent for marriage and family, when politicians are corrupt, and violence erupts all around us and the weather is taking its toll on people everywhere? Why hope in God?

I have had some to question my faith by asking why would I believe in a God who allows such terrible things to happen, especially to children. The question they should have asked is, why do “people choose” to do such dastardly things to children and to others?

Terminal illnesses are not caused by God, they are a result of man’s greed and inability to make good choices. Most illnesses are the result of what we ingest–voluntarily–or involuntarily and what we breathe in the air. Every time someone comes up with a new idea that is primarily seen as a convenience, we learn–sometimes years later–just how much that convenience costs us in human lives. From the preservatives in foods to sustain shelf-life to the use of cell phones and other oil by-products. It is not God who does these things. We choose to participate because it is convenient to do so and for the most part, most of us have little opportunity to change how we eat or have access to alternative products.

Personal hygiene products, medications, and clothing using recycled materials as well as air pollutants and water pollutants–big industry–lost lives–all because of greed and convenience. This is what happens when we have hope in man and what they do.

Hope in God–sustains the Believer–in spite of all the stuff going on around us–even to the hope of healing and finding means to overcome all the ills we have brought upon ourselves. Hope in God keeps the Believer focused on the things of God and in constant communication with Him through the auspices of prayer. Hope in God–does not make us ashamed of our belief in Him; it strengthens us so we might continue to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For we know that no matter what we suffer here on earth, we have a great reward waiting for us for all eternity.

No–our hope in God is not something we should be ever be ashamed about and as long as we have men who are greedy and proceed with the production of “things” without seeking God’s Wisdom before they make them, we will pray and expect God to keep us safe from harm of all the “conveniences” we use that could lead to an early earthly death.

While we enjoy the products of man’s invention, let us not have so much hope in them that we forget to have real hope in God, who has yet to abandon us to our own self-destruction. Hope in God–gives us reason to keep moving forward–in spite of all the attempts by man to override God’s intent for man–in so much of what they do.

Hope in God–trumps hope in man–every time–and the real shame is on man who refuses to live according to God’s plan for mankind.