Lengthen My Sleeves

 

Lord, give me long sleeves!

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

Zec 8:23 "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."'"

 

Any of you who have had younger brothers and sisters know how irritating it was to have “tagalongs.” Well, here’s a prophecy that challenges us to bring as many “tagalongs” with us into the kingdom of God!

 

This prophecy from Zechariah is being played out in front of us in these “latter” days. It’s the fruit of the great commission! Where men from every nation will hear the gospel and “grasp the sleeve” (tagalong) with Jesus.

 

Concerning the great commission, Jesus tells us in  Mt 24:14 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

 

The number ten in this passage from Zechariah is symbolic of completeness, so this gospel will go forth and the number who will receive it (or reject it) will be complete. In that sense, none will be lost, whom our God has called. The Lord knows who are His!  (2Ti 2:19

 

The “grasping of the sleeve of a Jewish man,” causes me to think of the woman with the incurable bloody issue who touched the garment of Jesus, (in this verse from Zechariah, the Jewish man) and she was immediately healed.  Jesus response to her touching is telling. He said in , Lu 8:46, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."

 

The power going out from Jesus is the church sharing the Gospel message to the world! We are His sleeves!

 

Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power (same word Jesus used in healing the woman) of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.

 

I’m not an evangelist per se, but it is my prayer that others will plainly see that “Immanuel” (Jesus) is with me, and that they would have a desire to tag along with me on my journey to eternal fellowship with the Father.

 

So I pray, “God, lengthen my sleeves, don’t let me shake them off by any loveless deeds,  and help me to take as many with me as possible.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

My Eyes Are Dry

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

The Lenten season is approaching (Ash Wednesday is Feb 22^nd)  and this year, I plan on doing something I haven’t done in quite sometime…..give something up for Lent.

 

If you must know, I am giving up sweets.

 

My reasoning is simple. When the craving for sweets comes knocking at my door, I want to refocus my thoughts on what Jesus gave up for me on Calvary. It seems a trivial thing to equate my craving for a jelly doughnut to the Passion of Christ, but that’s not the point.

 

The point is I’m bad at turning my thoughts to Jesus in my day to day living. The point is, I often forget.

 

 

 

How can I forget the jeering, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the scourging, the spikes driven through His hands and feet. The desertion of His closest friends, and even the forsaking by His Father! All for me. The guy who pats himself on the back because he tithes, and doesn’t curse anymore.

 

I forget what He gave up for me! I remember the early days of my conversion and how I wept over the great sacrificial love Christ displayed for me on the cross. Where are those tears now as the curse of lukewarmness creeps into my life.

I am reminded of an old Keith Green song that speaks of my plight:

My eyes are dry, my faith is old.

My heart is hard, my prayers are cold

And I know how I ought to be,

Alive to You and dead to me.

But what can be done, for an old heart like mine.

Soften it up with oil and wine,

The oil is you Your Spirit is love

Please wash me anew with the wine of Your blood.

Here’s a link to the song Keith Green - My eyes are dry - YouTube

 

Oh Lord, in my noble quest to be obedient, never let me forget that I daily continue to fall short, and that You died for me, let that jelly donut remind me daily during Lent of the blood You shed for me.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Desperate Wickedness

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

The headline read, “The city of Memphis has released footage from the night Tyre Nichols was confronted by police ……a night that left Nichols dead and eventually led to five Memphis police officers charged with murder.

 

I saw the beginning of the video and had to turn it off, it was so brutal, I couldn’t look at it. I pray for the Nichols family, the city of Memphis, and out nation.

 

Oh the depravity of man! The things we are capable of doing to our fellow man ought to chill each one of us to the bone! Jer 17:9 reminds us: "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

 

The desperate wickedness of man seems to be increasingly on display in our world today, and it’s certainly not limited to these incidents of police brutality, or the body cam footage of the brutal beating of Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their home in California.

 

What about the war in the Ukraine? Somalia? Yemen? Ethiopia, and who knows where else. And what about the war against the unborn that continues to take place even after the overturning of Roe V Wade?

 

Do we really want to see the body cam footage of these violent events?

 

Christians aren’t exempt from this kind of desperate wickedness either. Our history is dotted with periods of almost unheard of cruelty against our fellow men done in the name of Jesus.

 

I have no answers to this dilemma, only to make you aware of the struggle, that you may be personally prepared for it whenever it comes your way. Jesus promises to give us a new heart when we come to Him in faith, but the battle for that heart rages on, with the devil ever fighting for shelf space.

 

The biblical advice for you and I is don’t give place to the devil (Eph 4:27) and resist all his attempts to provoke you to acts of desperate wickedness with your actions or your tongue! (James 4:7)

If there be any shelf space to be meted out in your heart, give it to Jesus.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

A Lesson From Cooper On Mercy

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

My dog’s name is Cooper. He is a Berne doodle and has the most beautiful big brown eyes. Every night, after supper I do a trick with him, involving his favorite treat.

 

I place a treat on the floor and he is not allowed to eat it until I say “OK.” While he waits, he keeps those unflinching big brown eyes locked on mine. You can just read the anticipation and plea in those eyes! If he could speak, he would probably say something like. “Have mercy on me! Give me the go ahead!”

 

Ps 123:1 <<A Song of Ascents.>> Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. 2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He has mercy on us.

 

Need some mercy in your life these days? Lock your eyes on your loving heavenly Father. It may not come in the package you imagine or desire, but it is coming! Wait on it, confident that He will give you exactly what you need.

 

Thanks Cooper for the reminder that we have a God who bestows mercy!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Dauntless

 

Dauntless - incapable of being intimidated or subdued

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

I usually start me day by singing a hymn from me Ambassador Hymnal and today I found myself in the Easter section of the Hymnal singing “Now All The Vault of Heaven Resounds.”

 

It’s a great Easter hymn with a very familiar, easy to sing, ring to it, but as I was singing I was stopped in my tracks when I hit the third verse. It goes like this:

 

Oh fill us Lord with dauntless love,

Boom! What a prayer! God help me love, no matter the intimidation! Let my love for You and others, never be subdued! Let me move forward undaunted by what others may think, undaunted by the attitudes and ways of the world. Give me the undaunted love that Christ had for me and the world!

 

His love was resolute! A love that remained unintimidated even though the cross ever loomed before Him!

 Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

A dauntless love that even as the people mocked Him, spit at him, pounded spikes through His hands and feet, He prayed, “Father forgive them they know not what they do.”

 

But there’s more to be cherished in this old hymn! Listen to the rest of verse 3.

 

“Set heart and will on things above,

That we conquer, Through Your triumph,

Grant grace sufficient for the day, that by our lives we truly say,

Christ has triumphed! He is living!

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

What a prayer! Grant me the grace dear Lord that my life of dauntless love will truly say, “Christ has triumphed!” Let it be said by others that He is living, and loving dauntlessly through me!

 

Oh fill me Lord with Your dauntless love!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

I'm An 8th Day Baptist

 

You’ve all heard of the Seventh Day Adventists right? Well, I think I’m an Eighth Day Baptist!

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

This devo is especially meant for those like me, who hold to the practice of baptizing infants, and again I want to stress the urgency of the matter. Do we REALLY believe God’s promises concerning what He promises to deliver in baptism?

 

“Baptism now saves you!” (1 Peter 3:21) “Be baptized and wash away your sins!” (Acts 22:16)  Be baptized and “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!” (Acts 2:38)

 

And of course, there are more benefits, but these should certainly be enough to cause us to bring that infant to the font ASAP! But even so, how soon is soon? Do we set up a font in every maternity ward awaiting the rival of the latest sinner or is there something more reasonable that we could do?

 

I would propose to you that the eighth day would be a good day to baptize the infant and let me show you why. In Col 2:11,12 the Old Testament Covenant of circumcision is likened to the New Testament Covenant of baptism.

 

“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

 

Circumcision was required on the 8^th day of the child’s life! Not the first day, the fifth day, the 9^th day or any other day! There is something very beautiful about this that we often miss.  Think of the comfort for the parents who know that God has that child’s eternal destiny in His hand from conception until the 8^th day!

 

But on the 8^th day, He commanded the parents to do something about it. He wanted the parents to seal the deal with His covenant of circumcision. Of course it would be valid if you did it later, but why wait?

 

Since baptism is likened to circumcision why not trust God for that infant from conception to the 8^th day and then do something about it! Seal the deal with His New Testament covenant of baptism.

 

Is baptism required on the 8^th day! Certainly not! The requirement is to be baptized. “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved. (Mk 16:16) I’m just putting this out there as a good idea.

 

It’s good because it acknowledges the keeping power of God for the miscarried or sudden death of that child, and it changes the focus of the baptism ceremony from our “convenient” schedule to God’s schedule, helping us to remember that baptism is something that God does for us, not something we do for Him!

 

I guess this makes me an 8^th Day Baptist!

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Baptism Part 5 What Are You Waiting For?

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

We’ve been spending some time on baptism. In particular looking at the occurrences of baptism in the Book of Acts. We have seen that it is impossible to separate the act of baptism from the presentation of the gospel in this Book. The two always went hand in hand.

 

And as we have seen, there was always a sense of urgency connected with it, and that’s where I have been headed with this from the get go. Where is the sense of urgency concerning baptism in the church today? I believe this is a question the early church would be asking each one of us!

 

I don’t care what camp you are in as it relates to baptism. Whether you believe in infant baptism or believers’ baptism. Where is the sense of urgency?

 

If you are an adherent to believers’ baptism, why do you delay your obedience? Why do you have to go through a class on baptism before you step into the waters. Why do you have to wait for a convenient day on your church calendar to baptize?

 

Where’s the baptism pool when you come forward to receive Christ and say the sinners prayer?

 

Considering all the blessings wrapped up in the promises of baptism, why do we put it off for our own convenience sake?

 

And if you are a proponent of infant baptism, the same questions needs to be asked. If you really believe what God promises to deliver in baptism. Why do you wait?

 

You set the date around a convenient time for all the guests to be there, but it’s not about the guests! It’s what God intends to bestow upon that child! Why are you waiting?

 

So we leave this short study on baptism with the words of Ananias ringing in our ears as he spoke to the Apostle Paul! Ac 22:16 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Baptism Part 4 Urgency Continued

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Last time we began talking about the urgency of baptism  as evidenced by its inclusion in the gospel presentations we find in the Book of Acts. Bear with me as we continue to follow the trail of the water and the Spirit in the early church.

 

In Acts 8 we read of Phillip coming to the Samaritans with the gospel message and look what happened! Ac 8:12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized.

 

Then there’s the incident of Peter coming to the house of the Gentile Cornelius

And preaching the gospel. Baptism was right there! Ac 10:47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"

 

 

 The Apostle Paul was also busy preaching the gospel and baptizing! He preached the gospel to Lydia and her household in the city of Phillipi and look what happened: Ac 16:14b “The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. 15 And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." So she persuaded us.

 

But he wasn’t done in Phillipi. He and Silas preached the gospel to the jailer who had brought them to his house! Ac 16:32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

 

Later Paul would preach the gospel in Corinth and look what happened! Ac 18:8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

 

Try as one may, we cannot separate the gospel message and the immediacy of baptism.

 

So what does this all mean? I encourage you to stay tuned as we continue this short series on baptism next time.

 

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Baptism Part 3: The Urgency

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word.

 

Continuing this short series on baptism today, I would like to highlight the sense of urgency connected to baptism that we find all over the Book of the Acts of the Apostles. (The book of Acts!)

 

We’ll start with Acts 22:16, these are the words of Ananais spoken to the Apostle Paul immediately after his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus:

 

 'And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

 

Did you catch that? “Why are you waiting?” (sounds pretty urgent to me.)

 

Then there’s the Ethiopian eunuch, who upon having the gospel explained to him by Phillip, spots some water, slams on the brakes and says, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" (Acts 8:36)

Obviously Phillip brought up the matter of the urgency of baptism in his presentation of the gospel. The eunuch grasped it and immediately seized the opportunity.

 

This emphasis on baptism should not surprise us, since it was part of the great commission that Jesus issued to His church!

 

Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 

This emphasis on baptism in the great commission was not lost on Peter, and his very first sermon included the urgency of baptism in his gospel message!

 

Ac 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  39 "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call."

 

Well, where am I going with all this? I invite you to stay tuned in the days ahead and you will find out.

 

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Baptism Part 2 A Dispute Arose

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is today’s Living Word.

 

Last time we began our series on baptism. I hope you will continue along with me on this journey as we explore some areas that I feel need exploring.

 

To say that doctrines concerning baptism have been a flashpoint for division amongst Christians is a colossal understatement. In this short series, I am not trying to add fuel to the fire, and I am not opening the floor up for debate. I encourage you to work out your own position based on what God shows you in His Word.

 

The arguments over baptism are certainly nothing new and I think God wants us to be keenly aware of this fact as evidenced in what goes on in the third chapter of the gospel of John.

 

This is the chapter where we find the late-night meeting with Jesus and Nicodemus.  Let’s pick it up in verse 3:

 

 

Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." 4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?" 5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

 

The phrase “born of water and the Spirit” turns the hearts of Lutherans (such as myself) to thoughts of baptism. Right or wrong the subject is introduced, and what I find interesting is the subject is brought up again later in the chapter. (Context is a great biblical concept!)

 

Joh 3:22 After these things Jesus and His disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He remained with them and baptized. 23 Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there. And they came and were baptized. 24 For John had not yet been thrown into prison. 25 Then there arose a dispute between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purification.

 

“A dispute arose about purification!” And that’s the only point I want to make here. Baptism, sadly, doesn’t come without disputes. Know that! Brace yourself for it, and above all, be civil about it.

As I said at the beginning, search the Scriptures on the matter. Ask God to help clarify it for you. Then you will do well to seek to do all that Jesus has commanded in this matter.

 

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Baptism Part 1

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is today’s Living Word.

 

Currently, I am doing a Bible Study with a group of men at my church. The study was compiled by Terry Tieman and it’s called “The Discipleship Journey” First Steps for Growing Your Faith.

I highly recommend it!

 

Week 2 of the study brings up the matter of baptism, and rightly so, as (like it or not) it relates to the matter of discipleship. The essence of the Greek in the passage that we call “the great commission” is that disciples are made by baptism.

 

Mt 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

 

 

What is a disciple if not a follower of Jesus, a disciple is a student of Jesus. Therefore, when one is baptized, one is enrolled in the school of Christ. In this school, our textbook is the Word of God and the question always begs to be asked. How are you doing?  How are you doing as a student of Christ?

 

Thankfully at our time of enrollment we are also given a tutor….the Holy Spirit!

 

Ac 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Holy Spirit then will teach us what we need to know! And at the perfect pace for each one of us!

 

Joh 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

 

Well, that’s enough for today, but I encourage you to join me in this blog over the next several days as we explore further this matter of baptism.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

Have You Been Made Well?

 

Good day, I’m Duane Matz and this is today’s Living Word.

 

Today, I want to share some thoughts with you from a very familiar Bible story found in John 5.

 

Joh 5:2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.

 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.

This was some kind of pool! But please note how many people were healed after the holy jacuzzi was turned on! ONE! The first one and no more. Imagine what it would look like if this was the rule at your local Urgent Care! Can you imagine the scuffling and the mayhem that would follow.

 

Let me ask you, would you be willing to wait for your treatment and give someone else your place?

 Well, apparently these people would not, because there was a guy waiting his turn for 38 years!

 

5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"

 7 The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."

 8 Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."

 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath.

 

Oh Oh! The Sabbath! And the Sabbath police were present!

Look what happens next!

 

 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed." 11 He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"

 

The man who was made well, chose to obey the one who made him well. Wouldn’t you?......Shouldn’t you?  Let’s not miss this. Has Jesus made you well? Has He righted your relationship to God?  Seek to obey Him as opposed to man-made religious rules and regulations!

 

12 Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?" 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."

 

The man was made well, and Jesus left him with these words….”See you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you. Hmmmm, I wonder what that could be.

 

Friend have you been made well? Is Jesus your Savior and Lord, then go and turn from your sins.

 

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word

She Left Her Waterpot

 

 

Good Day, our text for Today’s Living Word comes from Joh 4:28 “The woman then left her waterpot”

 

This woman is the infamous Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at the well. Her story is found in the first 42 verses of the fourth chapter of John and I encourage you to take the time to read it. But for right now I wish for us to focus in on her abandoned waterpot.

 

She left her waterpot! Simple statement of fact, but it sums up the gospel! That “left behind” cumbersome waterpot  tells us much of what was going on in this woman’s heart.

 

The waterpot, symbolically filled with the water of the Law drawn from Jacob’s well. The water that does not satisfy the thirsty soul is left behind because the woman had received the living water of Jesus! She is now unencumbered by the weight of the Law and will never thirst again.

 

Think about this for a moment. If the woman leaves with the waterpot, how would she typically carry it? It would be on top of her head and it would be a great picture of someone remaining under the Law. But she left it behind!

 

When Jesus revealed Himself as the Messiah, she received His testimony and was set free from the curse of the Law. This same freedom is available to all who trust in Jesus as the Messiah! 

 

It’s not that the Law is bad, on the contrary! Ga 3:23-25 tells us: “ But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

 

The Law of course is still in force. It shows us our need for a Savior, it guides us in how to live out our faith, and it keeps the behavior of the unbeliever in check. Without it, our world would’ve gone up in flames eons ago!

 

The woman left the well, living under God’s grace. Wellsprings of living Law spewing from her heart. She was no longer under the external pressure of the Law, but rather, the internal releasing of the Holy Spirit and all He brings to the table.

 

The woman came to the well confined and pressed in by her sin, she left with the promise of eternal life. Ga 3:22 reminds us of our sinful condition and the hope we have in Jesus Christ. “But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.”

 

No matter how good you may think you are, without Christ you remain confined under sin. Many like it that way, and they continue to lug the waterpot around on their head thinking they can work their way into heaven. But the waterpot left behind by the Samaritan woman tells us a different story!

 

Believe in Jesus as the Messiah! Receive His gift of living water and leave the waterpot behind!

Not Blowing Smoke

 

When I write or speak about the sin of abortion, I always make it a point to remind people that there is no sin that Jesus did not pay for on the cross. There is no sin that God won’t forgive. I include that message because given the statistical evidence, there’s a strong possibility that someone who reads or hears my messages has had an abortion, and consequently struggling with receiving God’s forgiveness. Truth is, we are all sinners in need of the blood of Jesus!

 

But am I just blowing smoke? Am I just trying to make someone feel better or does God really forgive this sin? Let me assure you, I am not blowing smoke. Let me tell you about Manasseh to prove the point that God is more than willing and able to forgive!

 

Manasseh was the son of the good king Hezekiah, but when he took over the reins of the kingdom, he had gone bad…..very, very, bad.

 

This in itself serves as a reminder that even though our children are born and raised in God-fearing homes, there is no guarantee that they will stay on the straight and narrow.

 

How bad was Manasseh? Let’s read all about it from 2 Chron 33.

2Ch 33:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem.

2 But he did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.

3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

4 He also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem shall My name be forever."

5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.

6 Also he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom; he practiced soothsaying, used witchcraft and sorcery, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger.

7 He even set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, "In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put My name forever;

8 "and I will not again remove the foot of Israel from the land which I have appointed for your fathers-only if they are careful to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses."

9 So Manasseh seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

10 And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen.

Idolatry, occultism, desecrating the temple, sacrificing his children and encouraging others to do the same. 2Ki 21:16 tells us:

 

 Moreover Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides his sin by which he made Judah sin, in doing evil in the sight of the LORD.

 

It’s not just his personal sins, but he sought to seduce others to sin as well. Note too, that the Lord spoke to Manasseh through the prophets, but he would not listen. (Another lesson here. Speak the truth even if people won’t listen, who knows if the words of these prophets weren’t used as seeds for repentance later on in Manasseh’s life)

At any rate, this was one hard-hearted sinner. Could God forgive such a person? YES!

 

Sin has consequences for sure, and Manasseh’s consequence was God allowed him to be carried off into captivity by the Assyrians. It was a painful experience to say the least.

2Ch 33:11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,

13 and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

 

God often uses the consequences of our sin, to get our attention. He sure had Manasseh’s. And in Manasseh’s affliction, he humbly cried out to the Lord for forgiveness, and God, “received his entreaty!”

 

When Manasseh returned to Jerusalem, this forgiven saint set about correcting all his wrongs. It was not lip service repentance; it was the real deal.

Manasseh’s name is often used as a reference point for evil in the Bible. Few people could match the wretched state of this king, yet when he humbly confessed his sin, God forgave.

 

When I say that God forgives sins, even those sins that the devil would try to convince you that God won’t forgive, I am not blowing smoke. Just ask Manasseh, and if you have any sin, hanging over you and afflicting you, humbly call out to God for His forgiveness. 1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Gruesome

 

Good day! I’m Duane Matz and this is Today’s Living Word: *Warning this blog contains some gruesome material, but it needs to be said.

 

Mic 3:2 You who hate good and love evil; Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones;  3 Who also eat the flesh of My people, Flay their skin from them, Break their bones, And chop them in pieces Like meat for the pot, Like flesh in the caldron."  4 Then they will cry to the LORD, But He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, Because they have been evil in their deeds.

This is in the Word of God? Pretty gruesome, isn’t it? Is this to be taken literally or figuratively? In a figurative sense this is a picture of ultimate cruelty toward others. In a literal sense, it would be the practice of skinning someone alive, stripping their flesh away from their bones, breaking their bones and chopping them to pieces.

 

Surely Micah is speaking in a figurative sense, but horrifically, this is happening in a literal sense in places where abortion is still legal in America. Though seldom used today, saline abortions were common in the 70’s and 80’s and they would literally burn the skin off an unborn child.

 

More common was the use of a curette to remove the “contents of the uterus” (read that the unborn baby) where bones were crushed and babies where literally chopped to pieces.

As far as I know, no one is eating these babies but often, their once living body parts, are used for research and other purposes to “make our lives better.” Mother Theresa once said, “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

 

Look, I know we’d rather not talk about these things, but stop candy coating the act of abortion under the guise of reproductive freedom. It’s not! It’s a gruesome and cruel act of violence against someone created in the image of God!

 

We read here that God responds to such cruelty toward others by closing His ears to the prayers of a people who embrace these evil deeds.  Such acts are likened to hating good and loving evil! Is that how you want to be identified?

 

This is serious stuff my friends and again I remind you that even the gruesome cruel act of abortion is forgivable. There is no sin that Jesus didn’t pay for on the cross. Confess it and be det free from guilt as you receive His forgiveness!

 

1Jo 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I’m Duane Matz and that’s Today’s Living Word