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De: George Bragg
Data: 09/04/2003 01:23
Assunto: Creekside Devotional April 9, 2003
Good Morning:
The book of Judges ends with a very sad commentary concerning the moral conditions of Israel at the time. "In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit." (Judges 21:26)
God was no longer their king, nor did they have any righteous man as their king. In the absence of a law giver, they did as they saw fit. What would cause their parents to cry or blush with shame, seemed now to be the "in thing" to do. Does that sound familiar to you? Unfortunately, as they walked away from the "gold standard" of the Law, their nation quickly sank to lower
and lower standards of morality. The consequences for them were disastrous.
In her devotional this morning, Dr. Angelica Garcia describes the challenges of sin for Christians in her native country, Brazil. I have assured her that we have exactly the same challenges in America, as do Christians throughout Europe and Asia. I know that you will find her devotional, "My People Love it This Way" very perceptive and thoughtful.
God bless you all...
George Bragg
Creekside Christian Fellowship
Creekside Devotional
April 9, 2003
My People Love it This Way
MY PEOPLE
LOVE IT THIS WAY
Jeremiah 5:30-31 (NIV)
A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?
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Recently I found myself in the middle of a shopping center "food plaza".
Looking around me, all I could see were people eating, talking, laughing, drinking and smoking (note: this was in Brazil), and of course loud music was in the air! Nothing unusual, and I have nothing against shopping. I like to shop! People seemed to be “normally” happy. However, I remembered the words of Jeremiah and wondered, “Were the people really listening to each
other? Would the meal be good for them? Were they really listening or enjoying the music?”
We often do things without thinking about them, don't we? Things may be bad and we don’t even see them. If we look around us we will see that the "noise and chatter of sinful life" is very real. It can be inside our homes, among our families, in our churches and even in us. Everyone is talking and no one is really listening! That is why we should often stop and listen to the calm voice of Jesus; just Him and us. We need to set our spiritual compass and learn to follow His course.
My heart hurts when I realize that many people are listening to false prophets and going about spreading their lies. They are not listening to Jesus. As I write we are in February. The world knows that Carnival is one of the "most famous" party times in my country, Brazil. It is a time for people to do freely almost everything sinful they wish to do. They do horrible things in the streets, and in the clubs! “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land… and my people love it this way.”
When we no longer listen to the morality of God, or the teachings of Jesus, what happens? Again Jeremiah has some answers: “Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the fallen; they will be brought down when I punish them,” says the LORD. “ (Jeremiah 6:15)
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Dear Lord, Forgive us for we have sinned against the sanctity of your love.
We seek joy, pleasure and peace, but often we are looking for all of them in the wrong places. Please, help us to seek your face and learn by your wisdom and direction. Direct us, cure us and bless us in our spiritual growth.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
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