“Disciple” and “discipline” are similar words and come from a similar Latin root.

A disciple is one who learns and follows.

Discipline is self-control.

You can read more extensive definitions of “disciple” and “discipline” here.

Discipline is a friend.  Discipline is a good thing.  It may time time and effort to get disciplined in any area of life, but once you have a discipline in place, it will work for you, not against you.

Hebrews 12:11  All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Another way of talking about discipline is to talk about forming a good habit.

You can pick anything in life.  If you have a problem and form a good habit or solution to overcome it, the discipline to create that good habit is worth it.

That covers so many arenas that it is only possible to give a very few common problems that people seek solutions to.

• Eating correctly
• Exercising on a regular basis
• Finding lost keys or cell phones
• Not taking a shopping list and forgetting what you needed and having to take a second trip
• Not calling in a presciption on time

The solutions are varied and books and webinars have been given on the topic of overcoming bad habits so that will not be addressed here, other than to suggest one possible solution.

• Write down one problem you are dealing with.
• Think about it and pray about it, ask for God’s wisdom and help
• Write down some ideas that come to you and see if you can at least find a first step among those ideas.

When you are praying it is easy to get distracted.  While you are thinking and praying about how to solve a problem, while you are asking God for help,  you may start thinking of things you need to do such as buy lettuce at the store, or write out a bill, or get the car filled up with gas the next time you are out.  Write those things down because in the act of writing them down, you will clear them from your mind.  It will free up your mind to stay focused on what you are praying about and your mind will stop going over and over what you need to remember to do.  And, of course, since they are written down, you will not worry about forgetting them.

It is possible, not only possible, but likely  that you will only get a first step idea or solution and not the whole picture or final solution.  In other words, if you are thinking of finding a new apartment to rent, you might think of talking to the property manager you met the other day.  Or, once you pray about it, you may end up talking to someone in the lunch room at work and they mention a room they know is for rent.  You might see a for rent sign as you drive to work and feel like you should stop in there after work.

The point is, pray, ask for God’s help, and then be open to ideas or help coming  in various ways.

If you are thinking of eating better write down the problem and then write down where you fall down.

Do you eat junk food cookies or snacks?  Write that down.

Do you buy a candy bar every afternoon?  Write that down.

Then look at the list.  How can you change?  Don’t buy the cookies and bring them home.  So then you have to decide what you will buy instead.  Apples?  Yogurt?  As for the candy bar, instead of standing in the checkout where all the candy bars are stacked, tempting you, go through the self-check out which usually has less temptation around it.   You might have to get a book on nutrition or learn some things online about healthy snacks.  You might find a group where you can be accountable in your effort to become healthier.  Any improvement for discipline in any area will take effort.

You will never solve a problem unless you look at it, confront it, actually think about how it is derailing your life, and then pray for God’s wisdom and guidance for solutions and follow it.

It is a matter of forming good habits and not breaking them.  It takes time and effort and discipline to learn about what to do and then take the ongoing, consistent effort to do it, but you will be very pleased with yourself and the results if you consistently beat a bad habit.  And you can thank God for His help.

Speaking of accountability, one of the organizations I admire is AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) because of the discipline and accountability there.   People with similar problems help each other.

At the Lindell Recovery Network,  a person is matched up with a recovered person of the same age and problem.

If you are  near Los Angeles, there is the Dream Center.

Accountability is why people of all walks of life have coaches.  People tend to stay more on the “straight and narrow” if they know they are accountable to someone for how they are following through on commitments.

Even the best professional atheletes at the top of their games have coaches.

Life is a lifelong process of improvement through more discipline and discipleship.  And, it is not a luxury, it is a necessity.  There are plenty of stories about when someone reached the top of their game in business or sports through hard work and discipline, only to lose it all through a lack of discipline in another area of life.  Being a disciple of Jesus and learning discipline is not a option, it is a necessity.

Proverbs 3:13  Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
    the man who gets understanding.
¹⁴ For her good profit is better than getting silver,
    and her return is better than fine gold.
¹⁵ She is more precious than rubies.
    None of the things you can desire are to be compared to her.
¹⁶ Length of days is in her right hand.
    In her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷ Her ways are ways of pleasantness.
    All her paths are peace.
¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her.

There is a phrase “it will catch up with you”.

Usually, this is used in a negative sense.

For example, if you don’t eat right and take care of your body, “it will catch up with you”, meaning that you open yourself up to sickness by a faulty lifestyle.

If you don’t maintain your car, change the oil, make sure everything is fixed on time, “it will catch up with you”, meaning you will probably end up with some type of car repair since you did not do regular maintenance.

“It will catch up with you” is in the same colloquial proverbs department as “a stitch in time saves nine” or “prevention is the best medicine”.

It also fits in well with this thought below.  I don’t know who first said this.

God will fix a fix.  And if you fix the fix that God has fixed, God will fix another fix to fix you.

Basically, we can’t run and hide from those things we need to deal with.  We may try, but the day of reckoning comes.  “It will catch up with you.”

We all know where we can improve, or should.  And we should try.  It is an ongoing process.

If there is something that needs to be changed, it is better to change it sooner than later, because otherwise, “it will catch up with you.”

The Good Samaritan is a story of someone who helped someone else out that would probably never  help  him in return.  Jesus commended the Good Samaritan.  There are hospitals that incorporate “Good Samaritan” in their names, or have statues of a good samaritan outside on their grounds, indicating their willingness to help those who have fallen to the thieves of sickness.

Here is the story of the Good Samaritan.

Luke 10:25 Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

28 He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he traveled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, 34 came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, ‘Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Now which of these three do you think seemed to be a neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?”

37 He said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

If you have followed this blog you have probably seen at least one post on tithing, one of my favorite topics.  If someone is having troubles, I would probably start there, and ask, “Are you tithing?”

Your tithe goes to your local church to help pay the expenses.  The message of the gospel is free, but the cost for the lights and building repairs and such is not.  To have a place to preach the gospel, local churches  have local expenses.  The same goes for you in your home.  You need a place to house yourself.  A church needs a place to “house” that which it uses to preach the gospel, including the equipment and other resources required.

Offerings can go to your church or another ministry.

Alms are separate from the tithe.  Alms are giving to people in need.

I’m not going to say that this is the definitive word, and I think I heard someone say this at some point, and I tend towards this understanding myself.   If you are giving your alms, or the money you would give as a tithe, to help a poor family member or just to anyone who is poor,  and calling that “giving your tithe”, it will not have the blessing of the tithe spoken of in Malachi.   If you give your tithe to the poor, the poor cannot give you the blessing of the tithe.   Give the poor alms, after giving God your tithe.   It is not something you hear preached about, and probably won’t be preached on due to possible pushback from the congregation (and media), but it is something to consider.  Read it in the Bible yourself and decide for yourself.

Malachi 3:7  From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. ¹² “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.

Give your tithe to God.  Give your alms to the poor.

I absolutely believe in tithing.  I have seen God fulfill his promise over and over.

It comes down to this.  1.  Do you believe God is real.  2.  Do you believe God will do what He says He will do?

If you do, then I recommend you believe what God says about tithing.

If you tithe, it should be the first thing you do.  When you get paid, tithe.

If you can’t afford to tithe because you are overextended, then ask God what to cut out.  I can tell you it is far more important to pay your tithe than to own the latest and greatest iphone or TV or more clothes or higher priced car or anything you think is important.  I would rather have the Lord rebuking the devourer for my sake and opening the windows of heaven than material goods.  Matthew 6:33 is true.

I’m not going to give all the testimonies I could on this, but here’s one simple one.  I moved into a place with very limited items, a bed, a small half-size refrigerator, one table, two small demo type tables, the kind you fold, and two chairs.  I was given a leather couch, large rugs, a nice cabinet, a modern stove (there was none when I moved in), a rocking chair and all sorts of things to fully furnish the house, including multiple sheets, blankets, kitchen items and all that I could possibly use.   And these things did not come from one person.  Different people had various reasons to get rid of things, such as moving, and asked if I wanted them.  So it was a process, but God met the need.  And this is just one testimony.  But I am a consistent tither.

You have to take tithing seriously.  You have to do it regularly.  You can’t do it once and say, “Well, I’ll try this and hope it works.”

That would be like going to the gym one time, working out, and then saying that you tried it once and didn’t get in shape like you thought you would, so you decide to quit the gym membership.

Some people, and I say this simply because I am in a position to observe it, treat God like a vending machine.  Put in a prayer, throw in a token gift into the offering, and hope the blessing you need comes out.

But the kingdom of God is a way of life.  A relationship with God is a way of life.

So if you are developing that relationship with God and have not yet found a church to tithe to, to give offerings to, or a place to give alms to, here are some suggestions as you continue to search for a local church.

I am not going to put direct links because trolls might say that a website is fleecing other people by pretending to be some kind of a church.

I have links all the time in these posts and could easily make them, but that is the reason these are not linked.  You can look these places up for yourself and decide if you want to give something to them.  There is much more to each ministry than the short notes placed below.

• Samaritan’s Purse (helping crisis needs worldwide)
• International Fellowship of Christians and Jews  (IFCJ) (helping in Israel and Ukraine)
• Slavic Gospel Association (SVA) (helping in Ukraine)
• Christ for All Nations (CfaN) (ministers particularly in Africa)
• Rhema (Rhema.tv is an online church) (they also have a Bible school)
• Morris Cerullo World Evangelism (worldwide evangelism, ministerial school)

This is your opportunity to be a Good Samaritan.

On this blog, occasional short videos are post.

This link goes to a longer video, but it is a good homily, or sermon.

https://youtu.be/5NbedB3WE60

One of the topics covered  is the power of words and how things can sometimes be expressed correctly or incorrectly.  The book of James covers this in Chapter 3.

James 3:1  Let not many of you be teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive heavier judgment. ² For we all stumble in many things. Anyone who doesn’t stumble in word is a perfect person, able to bridle the whole body also. ³ Indeed, we put bits into the horses’ mouths so that they may obey us, and we guide their whole body. ⁴ Behold, the ships also, though they are so big and are driven by fierce winds, are yet guided by a very small rudder, wherever the pilot desires. ⁵ So the tongue is also a little member, and boasts great things. See how a small fire can spread to a large forest! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.  ⁷ For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind; ⁸ but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who are made in the image of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹ Does a spring send out from the same opening fresh and bitter water? ¹² Can a fig tree, my brothers, yield olives, or a vine figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh water.

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and don’t lie against the truth. ¹⁵ This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, and demonic. ¹⁶ For where jealousy and selfish ambition are, there is confusion and every evil deed. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. ¹⁸ Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The Apostle Peter (also known as Simon Peter and Simon Bar Jonah)  illustrated this common human problem.   One minute he received commendation from Jesus, and then later Jesus said to him, “get thee (“thee” is an old English word meaning “you”) behind me, satan” as Peter did not understand the reference to the coming cross.

Matthew 16: 13  Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.¹⁸ I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.¹⁹ I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”²⁰ Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

²¹ From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.

²² Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This will never be done to you.”

²³ But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.”

²⁴ Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.²⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what will a man give in exchange for his life?²⁷ For the Son of Man will come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to everyone according to his deeds.²⁸ Most certainly I tell you, there are some standing here who will in no way taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

 

In today’s world, it is particularly important to understand the power of watching words, not only from the side of “us” watching our words, but also from the side of listening to other’s words.

You want to know if “someone is lying”.

You want to know if someone is lying about a car you are thinking of buying…particularly if you are buying it from an ad in Craigslist or Facebook and not from a dealership that would become legally responsible for lying.

You want to know if someone is lying about a house you are thinking of purchasing or renting.  Are there any problems that you need to know about?  Going through certified real estate agents provides some protection due to laws in place.

You want to know if someone is lying to you about something that will affect your health.

You want to know if someone is lying if he says there is no God (Jesus is real) or that there is no hell (heaven and hell are real).

You want to know if someone is lying about many things.  You only have so much time, energy, health, talents and money and you need good information to make good decisions on how to use everything God has given you.  And, you only have one soul and you want to make sure it goes to heaven after death.

When it comes to making decisions about natural things, this is why people read reviews.  People are more than happy to give their opinion about something.  And, by reading multiple reviews, you get a good sense about the topic.

There are two things to watch out for.  One is the one negative person that no matter how good a “whatever” is, a product, an event, “whatever”, there is that one reviewer who gives a terrible review in spite of multiple positive reviews.  Watch out for that and question “why”.  Did they get the one lemon in the batch?  Are they getting paid to give a negative review or paid to give information that contradicts so many other people?  Is the reviewer seeking honor from someone or a promotion and afraid to tell the truth?

Proverbs 11:14  Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls,
    but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.

 

Sometimes we are not seeking information about something that we want to purchase, but rather, we are seeking information about something that will affect our lives.

This is where we have to watch out for “group speak”.  This happens a lot in the mainstream media.  There have been videos made placing 20 or so newscasters up against each other and they all appear to be reading from the same teleprompter saying virtually the same thing.

God made man in his image.  And so we have the ability within us to sense if we need to be careful.  People call this different things…intuition, the gut feeling, go with your gut, common sense, or in scriptural terms for believers who have been born again by the Spirit of God, the word of knowledge, the word of wisdom, and gifts of discernment.

In terms of regarding and analyzing the many words we hear a day, we need to employ this sense of discernment using the Bible as our foundation.   If we hear words like “a man can be a woman or a woman can be a man”, we can say,  No, because God created them male and female.  There weren’t 57 varieties.

And so, sanctified common sense, intuition, go-with-your-gut knowledge, based on the knowledge of the Biblical scriptures can get us through, as well as godly counsel.  If we don’t feel peace, we need to find out from God, why?  Am I about to make a bad decision?  Is this not the right course?  Why do I not feel peace basing my decision on words that were spoken to me?  Am I off track with God?  Is God warning me?  This is the purpose of prayer…to talk to God and to listen to his answer.  This is the purpose of the Bible…to read and find answers in Words that were spoken by Jesus or words that were spoken by holy men inspired by the Holy Spirit.   You can find the answer in prayer, in the Bible, or you may be directed to an answer that comes another way…through a person’s sermon or conversation, a writing, a godly book or some kind of information that comes to you some other way that may give you the answer.  If it’s a car, you might be directed to a good mechanic.

Even beyond what has been said already, some people are very capable of deceiving others.  In the garden, Adam and Eve talked with God.  They were as “in synch with God” as could be, so to speak.  And yet satan deceived them.  They were “as in tune” as they could be, yet they fell.  How much more so should we be careful today.

Words matter.  Pay attention to words, your own and others.  And if something seems questionable, find out why.  It some cases, it might pay to do an actual background check, particularly if you are thinking of taking on another individual in a significant role, such as a business partner or a babysitter for your child.  If it is important enough, it is worth the time and money to do the check.

In real estate there is a certain level of question that, if a person asks it, they are instructed to talk to an attorney.  In life, if the questions are important enough, you might want to do some significant checking to find out if the words spoken to you are true.

Regardless of things others have told you, about Jesus, the New Testament tells us about Jesus.  Read it through.  Start with the book of John.  Start with the New Testament.  Read John Chapter 3.  Read Romans Chapter 10.

Words matter.  Be sure you have listened to and understood the correct ones.

Ezekiel 36:25  And I will pour clean water over you, and you shall be cleansed from all your filth, and I will cleanse you from all your idols.  36:26 And I will give to you a new heart, and I will place in you a new spirit. And I will take away the heart of stone from your body, and I will give to you a heart of flesh.   36:27 And I will place my Spirit in your midst. And I will act so that you may walk in my precepts and keep my judgments, and so that you may fulfill them. (PDCB)

God gets blamed for many things.  So we need to ask the question, is God a child abuser?

God gets blamed for everything from people dying to bad economic conditions and more.   Since we are called God’s children, the question must be be asked, “Is God a child abuser?”

The answer is “No”.

This blog is one of several covering this topic.  Prior posts will be linked at the bottom.

The reason God is blamed for so many things is that there is not a clear understanding about God, His Word, free will, God’s responsibilities and man’s responsibilities.

If you read the Bible carefully, especially a more literal translation of the Bible, there is a very exact way and wording to the scripture.

We know that words have meaning and the exact way words are used have even more meaning.

A mother calling, “Johnny, come here,” is different than “Jonathan Mills Smith”, come here right now!”

A problem can arise when a child, or God’s child, does something he should not have done or omits doing something that he should do.  There can be a negative consequence, but that is not God’s fault.   That is a sowing and reaping consequence of breaking some kind of natural or spiritual law, or combination thereof.  God is not to blame for our lack of obedience to His Word and ways.

God is not a child abuser.

Rather than blame God, we need to check up on ourselves, where we are missing it with either sins of omission or sins of commission, or a combination thereof.

I Corinthians 11: 31  For if we discerned ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged. ³² But when we are judged, we are punished by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. 

God will help us if we are in line with the Word of God and God’s way of doing things.

Mark 16:20  They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

Note that it is “the Lord working with them”, but generally man transposes that pattern in his mind and heart to “man working with the Lord” to mean that after the Lord does something, then man will do something.  But that is not the pattern.

In today’s modern society, that is so dependent on weakness and “someone do something for me” there is a subtle transposition of that to the Lord and expecting God to do anything and everything.   Then there is a blaming of God if something does not happen.  But expecting God to do everything is not scriptural.  So there is no need to blame God for something we have failed to do.  God is not a child abuser. “Ask and it shall be given you,” not “it shall be given you because God knows your need”.

If we don’t know what we should be doing according to scriptural patterns, that is why we need to be going to church, reading the Bible, praying, and learning all the time.  I would add tithing and giving tithes and offerings to that list.  The more you know, the more you can grow in the things of God.

Hebrews 10:25  not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Malachi 3: 7   From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ ⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. ¹¹ I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. ¹² “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.

Matthew 6:33  But seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 7:7  “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you.

The scriptural pattern is that man does something in obedience to God’s Word and then God moves.

Moses stretched out the rod over the Red Sea and the waters parted.

Exodus 14:15  Yahweh said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Speak to the children of Israel, that they go forward. ¹⁶ Lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. Then the children of Israel shall go into the middle of the sea on dry ground. 

Exodus 14:21  Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. ²² The children of Israel went into the middle of the sea on the dry ground; and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. 

They followed the directions of the Lord regarding Jericho and the walls fell.  The full history is in Joshua chapter 6.

Joshua 6:20  So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city.

The man with the withered hand stretched out his hand and it was healed.

Matthew 12:13  Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other.

As they went, they were cleansed.

Luke 17:14  When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed.

But in today’s world, there is an expectation for God to do something first.  That is totally contrary to the pattern of God as laid out in the scriptures.

Speak the word only, and thy servant shall be healed.  In this case, the requirement of speaking the Word came first.

Matthew 8:5  When he came into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking him for help, ⁶ saying, “Lord, my servant lies in the house paralyzed, grievously tormented.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

⁸ The centurion answered, “Lord, I’m not worthy for you to come under my roof. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I am also a man under authority, having under myself soldiers. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and tell another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and tell my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard it, he marveled and said to those who followed, “Most certainly I tell you, I haven’t found so great a faith, not even in Israel.¹¹ I tell you that many will come from the east and the west, and will sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven,¹² but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”¹³ Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way. Let it be done for you as you have believed.” His servant was healed in that hour.

And again,

Mark 16:20  They went out, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.

So there is a relationship between what God does (or does not do) related to what man does (or omits doing) when he should do it according to the admonition of the scriptures.

God is not a child abuser.  Man can either do things he should not do (sins of commission) or omit doing things he should do (sins of omission) and end up with a bad result and blame God.  But God is not at fault for man’s lack of obedience.

God is not the source of evil.

James 1:12 Blessed is a person who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to those who love him.

¹³ Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. ¹⁵ Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death. ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow. 

John 10:10   The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy.
I [Jesus]came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

 

This post is one of several focused on the topic of whether God is to blame for bad things.  Related posts are:

Did God Do It?

Prophetic Problems of the End

If you are not able to go to a good church during this time, here is a link to some online resources, including some online churches.

http://kingofkingsjesus.com/

God knows the beginning from the end and so can explain what will happen in the corridors of time.  This is not magical.  Even a parent can prophesy.

If you touch the hot stove, you will be burned.

If you run into the street, you might be hit by a car.

God, the Creator of heaven and earth, understanding all things and the intricacies of how things in heaven and earth are connected through the wisdom of God, and knowing the end from the beginning, can easily say what will happen if things remain on course without repentance.  God does not will destruction.

II Peter 3:9   The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but he is patient with us, not wishing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Ezekiel 33:11   Tell them, ‘“As I live,” says the Lord Yahweh, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why will you die, house of Israel?”’

Matthew 4:17  From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

2 Corinthians 6:2 for he says,

“At an acceptable time I listened to you.
In a day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

Acts 2:21  It will be that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Again, going back to examples we can understand, if someone is running towards a cliff and someone says, “Stop, turn around, you will get hurt if you fall off the cliff!” or “You may even die!”

If the person listens, stops, and turns around, he or she will avoid the consequence of falling off the cliff and getting injured or even dying.

But if the person doesn’t listen, and keeps going, then the consequences of falling off a cliff and the working of the law of gravity to pull him down, will bring the consequence of injury or death.

Again, this is not something that “the Lord did”.  This is the effect of someone not listening, of someone attempting to defy or break the law of gravity, and getting broken by that law.

This post is one of several discussing the topic of whether “the Lord did it” or “Is it God’s will for this to happen?”

Other posts:

Did God Do It?

Did God Do It?

Prophetic Problems of the End

Matthew 16: 13   Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

¹⁴ They said, “Some say John the Baptizer, some, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

¹⁵ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

¹⁷ Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.” ²⁰ Then he commanded the disciples that they should tell no one that he was Jesus the Christ.

 

John 5:44   How can you believe, who receive glory from one another, and you don’t seek the glory that comes from the only God?

There are a lot of things ascribed to God that God has nothing to do with.  There is a “what will be, will be” or “if it is supposed to be, it will happen” type of attitude that makes it sound that everything that happens, is because that God willed it.

That is not scriptural and it leaves God open to blame when things don’t go well.

John 10:10  The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

 

Hosea 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you,
that you may be no priest to me.
Because you have forgotten your God’s law,
I will also forget your children.

 

Deuteronomy 28:1 It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you today, that Yahweh your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. ² All these blessings will come upon you, and overtake you, if you listen to Yahweh your God’s voice. ³ You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field. ⁴ You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock. ⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed. ⁶ You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out. ⁷ Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways. ⁸ Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to. He will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. ⁹ Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by Yahweh’s name, and they will be afraid of you. ¹¹ Yahweh will grant you abundant prosperity in the fruit of your body, in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you. ¹² Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You will lend to many nations, and you will not borrow. ¹³ Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail. You will be above only, and you will not be beneath, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God which I command you today, to observe and to do, ¹⁴ and shall not turn away from any of the words which I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

¹⁵ But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come on you and overtake you. ¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city, and you will be cursed in the field. ¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. ¹⁸ The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock will be cursed. ¹⁹ You will be cursed when you come in, and you will be cursed when you go out. ²⁰ Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me. ²¹ Yahweh will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land where you go in to possess it. ²² Yahweh will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with fiery heat, with the sword, with blight, and with mildew. They will pursue you until you perish. ²³ Your sky that is over your head will be bronze, and the earth that is under you will be iron. ²⁴ Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust. It will come down on you from the sky, until you are destroyed. ²⁵ Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth. ²⁶ Your dead bodies will be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there will be no one to frighten them away. ²⁷ Yahweh will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed. ²⁸ Yahweh will strike you with madness, with blindness, and with astonishment of heart. ²⁹ You will grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. You will only be oppressed and robbed always, and there will be no one to save you. ³⁰ You will betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You will build a house, and you won’t dwell in it. You will plant a vineyard, and not use its fruit. ³¹ Your ox will be slain before your eyes, and you will not eat any of it. Your donkey will be violently taken away from before your face, and will not be restored to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and you will have no one to save you. ³² Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people. Your eyes will look, and fail with longing for them all day long. There will be no power in your hand. ³³ A nation which you don’t know will eat the fruit of your ground and all of your work. You will only be oppressed and crushed always, ³⁴ so that the sights that you see with your eyes will drive you mad. ³⁵ Yahweh will strike you in the knees and in the legs with a sore boil, of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. ³⁶ Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you will set over yourselves, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ You will become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword among all the peoples where Yahweh will lead you away. ³⁸ You will carry much seed out into the field, and will gather little in, for the locust will consume it. ³⁹ You will plant vineyards and dress them, but you will neither drink of the wine, nor harvest, because worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ You will have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you won’t anoint yourself with the oil, for your olives will drop off. ⁴¹ You will father sons and daughters, but they will not be yours, for they will go into captivity. ⁴² Locusts will consume all of your trees and the fruit of your ground. ⁴³ The foreigner who is among you will mount up above you higher and higher, and you will come down lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, and you won’t lend to him. He will be the head, and you will be the tail.

⁴⁵ All these curses will come on you, and will pursue you and overtake you, until you are destroyed, because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you. ⁴⁶ They will be for a sign and for a wonder to you and to your offspring forever. ⁴⁷ Because you didn’t serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things; ⁴⁸ therefore you will serve your enemies whom Yahweh sends against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of all things. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. ⁴⁹ Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies: a nation whose language you will not understand, ⁵⁰ a nation of fierce facial expressions, that doesn’t respect the elderly, nor show favor to the young. ⁵¹ They will eat the fruit of your livestock and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed. They also won’t leave you grain, new wine, oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish. ⁵² They will besiege you in all your gates until your high and fortified walls in which you trusted come down throughout all your land. They will besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land which Yahweh your God has given you. ⁵³ You will eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies will distress you. ⁵⁴ The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye will be evil toward his brother, toward the wife whom he loves, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining, ⁵⁵ so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he will eat, because he has nothing left to him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in all your gates. ⁵⁶ The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye will be evil toward the husband that she loves, toward her son, toward her daughter, ⁵⁷ toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she bears; for she will eat them secretly for lack of all things in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy will distress you in your gates. ⁵⁸ If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH your God, ⁵⁹ then Yahweh will make your plagues and the plagues of your offspring fearful, even great plagues, and of long duration, and severe sicknesses, and of long duration. ⁶⁰ He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ Also every sickness and every plague which is not written in the book of this law, Yahweh will bring them on you until you are destroyed. ⁶² You will be left few in number, even though you were as the stars of the sky for multitude, because you didn’t listen to Yahweh your God’s voice. ⁶³ It will happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish and to destroy you. You will be plucked from the land that you are going in to possess. ⁶⁴ Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth. There you will serve other gods which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone. ⁶⁵ Among these nations you will find no ease, and there will be no rest for the sole of your foot; but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and pining of soul. ⁶⁶ Your life will hang in doubt before you. You will be afraid night and day, and will have no assurance of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you will say, “I wish it were evening!” and at evening you will say, “I wish it were morning!” for the fear of your heart which you will fear, and for the sights which your eyes will see. ⁶⁸ Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I told to you that you would never see it again. There you will offer yourselves to your enemies for male and female slaves, and nobody will buy you.

This topic will be continued in future posts as it is too big a topic to cover in one post.

*Yahweh = the Lord in other Bible versions.  This version is used because it is copyright free on the internet and many other versions are blocked by copyright laws.  To view other versions, go to BibleHub where many others are listed.  https://biblehub.com/bsb/deuteronomy/28.htm

https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/28-1.htm