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Today is Tuesday April 27, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Book of I Kings, chapters 14-15. If you would like to read the chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this URL onto your browser: http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-april-27

Title: Bible Study: Keep Your Commitment
America is one of the youngest and smallest, countries around the world, but it one of the most powerful ones as well. Do you know why? Because it was built on the foundation of Christ. Christians came to this country to worship God the way the Bible said, without any criticism or chastisement. They made a commitment to follow Christ and they prospered because of it. Compare this land to the promised land of Canaan, which was given to God's people and they prospered too when they fulfilled their commitment to God. We are not much different, we are Christians, we follow Christ and that makes us God's people and He gave us this land so we can be free to worship Him and fulfill their commitment to God. Sadly, as the years have gone by our nation is changing from one nation under God to one nation under Satan. The land of the free is full of every thing the devil strives on to destroy a nation, it contains everything that God detests, false doctrine, false gods, adultery, homosexuality, and prostitution, to name a few, just as it did in Israel. The more you read the Old Testament the more you will start to see that we are headed in the same direction. In fact, at times you would think we are reading about something that is taking place today, proof that God's Word is of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Today, God is giving all nations a warning, keep your commitment to me or suffer the consequences.

Israel suffered tremendously over the sins that their kings committed, both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms broke their commitment with God and suffered the consequences. In the North, Jeroboam led the Israelites to sin when he set up two idol worship centers with golden calves. After several attempts to get him to turn from his wicked ways God got his attention by his oldest son, when he became seriously ill. All he had to do was admit to God what he had done and keep his commitment to Him, instead he disguised his wife as a peasant and sent her to Ahijah the prophet, in the Southern Kingdom, seeking assurance that their son would live. However, when she got there she would soon learn that the moment she stepped foot back into her city her son would die. “And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, And rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone....Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.” - I Kings 14:6-10,12. Jeroboam's sin did not just cause him to suffer, but his son, and all of the Northern Kingdom. He was the example to follow, the one that was to show the people to live a godly life, instead he did the opposite and even introduced them to false gods, causing them to sin as well. All leaders of false religions and churches need to heed the warning from God, He is angry and will not hesitate to cast them all away. It is very important as Christians that we do not get ourselves caught up in false religions and churches that are not set on the foundation of the Word of God. Anyone in the midst of these will suffer as well.

In the South, Rehoboam lead the people just as his father Solomon did, since he allowed false religion in Jerusalem he became tolerant of it as well, in fact allowing even more than Solomon ever did, making him worse than his father. “And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother's name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every high hill, and under every green tree. And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made.” - I Kings 14:21-26. It was bad enough that they broke their commitment to God, what made Him even more angry was that they did these things in Jerusalem, the city God had chosen for His Temple and His worship only. Because of their sin, God withdrew His blessings and protection from Judah and the kingdom was not only emptied of all its wealth, but was now under the control of Egypt.

We are all created in the image of God, so just as we have all these emotions in us, He has them as well, He feels love, He grieves, He gets angry, and He gets jealous, especially if we commit adultery with Him. Yes, we can commit adultery with God. Think about a marriage, it is a commitment to become one with each other and stay faithful to each other for life, if your spouse is hanging out with someone you know is after them, you become angry and jealous and react accordingly. When we make a commitment to God by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior we are becoming one with Christ and saying that we will remain faithful to Him for life. So, if we mix religions or continue to do things that are an abomination to God we are committing adultery with Him and making Him jealous. Families and kingdoms are ruined by sin. If great men do wickedly, they draw many others, both into the guilt and punishment. The condemnation of those will be severest, who must answer, not only for their own sins, but for sins others have been drawn into, and kept in, by them. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” - Galatians 5:19-25. It is time for all Christians to keep their commitment to God, and remove all the works of the flesh, follow the Word of God, and walk in the Spirit. It is only than that we will truly be blessed.

Enjoy the rest of your day/night and week.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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