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Today is Sunday September 26, 2010 and we are reading through the Bible in a year. Today's message comes from the reading of the Books of Nahum & Habakkuk. If you would like to read today's chapters along with us here online you can Click Here to read them or copy & paste this link onto your browser: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/bible-september-26

Today's Message: Remain Faithful
We all want the best for our children, often, we use our own experiences to teach them, the Bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” - Proverbs 22:6. It is important that we as Christians train our children to fear the Lord, not be afraid of Him, but fear (honor & respect) Him. I have only one regret in my life over the years and that is that I did not have God's Word in me as a child. I imagine life could have been a lot easier and I would have stayed away from some of the trouble I caused myself had I learned from it when I was younger, but praise God He got me to see the truth when He did because He truly saved me from making one of the biggest mistakes that I would have ever made. God is amazing, in the midst of our worst errors in life He is right there to help us and get us out of trouble. However, we can not expect God to get us out of any trouble unless we humbly come to Him, ask Him for help, and remain faithful to Him.

The Book of Nahum is the thirty-forth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains three chapters. The author of the book is Nahum and it was written to the city of Nineveh. The purpose of the book was to warn them of the coming judgment on Nineveh, the capitol of the Assyrian empire which took God's people into captivity. What we are to learn from the book is that we need to be aware that God avenges all evil. Nahum prophesied during the reign of Hezekiah, about 150 years after the great revival of Jonah's day when the city of Nineveh repented in dust and ashes. They had come to know the One True God through Jonah's preaching. However, the people failed to keep Him in their lives, nor did they give their children the opportunity to know who God was and now they are facing judgment for returning to their idolatrous and sinful ways. “The burden of Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.” - Nahum 1:1-3. God will not spare any nation or person that continues to live wickedly. He is slow to wrath and ready to forgive, but He will by no means acquit the wicked, therefore there will be tribulation and anguish for every soul that does evil.

Why is God jealous? The word jealous from God's point of view means that He is intolerant of ones disloyalty or infidelity. He is not speaking here to those who just do not know who He is, He is speaking to those who know Him and are ignoring Him. “For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.... And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:” - Acts 17:28,30. God will forgive anyone who repents He always forgives even the most sinful person who truly repents and has received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of their lives.

The Book of Habakkuk is the thirty-fifth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains three chapters. The author of the book was Habakkuk and it was written to the people of Judah. The purpose of the book was to Awaken Judah to their spiritual needs and warn of impending judgment from God. What we are to learn from the book is that the just shall live by faith alone. Habakkuk prophesied in the latter years of Josiah, he was more concerned with the holiness of God than Israel's escape from chastisement. “The burden which Habakkuk the prophet did see. O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.” - Habakkuk 1:1-3. Habakkuk expresses the attitude that many righteous people have. He is outraged at the violence and injustice in his society. There was sin, wickedness, destruction and violence, no justice in the courts, and the wicked outnumbered the righteous. He asked God how much longer will we have to suffer and keep praying for things to change when they keep getting worse.

Since we do not know all the facts, in the midst of our numerous, perplexing injustices, where too often evil seems to triumph, we should not express doubt in the One and Only True God. He is just as uncompromising toward sin today as He was then. God is telling us that no wickedness will go unpunished, we may not see things happening, but He is watching and listening to everything that is going on. He also assures us that no matter what we are going through or how long it seems to take to receive an answer He is at work and will bring all to pass. He is going to do something so marvelous that we as Christian's will find it hard to understand and believe. Through the tribulations of this day and age we can join in with Habakkuk and say, “Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.” - Habakkuk 3:18,19.

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

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