- Joined
- Apr 25, 2006
- Messages
- 17,522
4 July 2008
Word on the Web
Obadiah 1 v 17-21
"But on Mount Zion some will escape the judgment,
and it will be a holy place.
The people of Jacob will take back their land
from those who took it from them.
The people of Jacob will be like a fire
and the people of Joseph like a flame.
But the people of Esau will be like dry stalks.
The people of Jacob will set them on fire and burn them up.
There will be no one left of the people of Esau."
This will happen because the LORD has said it.
Then God's people will regain southern Judah from Edom;
they will take back the mountains of Edom.
They will take back the western hills
from the Philistines.
They will regain the lands of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will take over Gilead.
People from Israel who once were forced to leave their homes
will take the land of the Canaanites,
all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah who once were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad
will take back the cities of southern Judah.
Powerful warriors will go up on Mount Zion,
where they will rule the people living on Edom's mountains.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Today we read that God's people will retake the lands they once lived in. However, there is a sting in the tail - these lands will not be theirs, rather "..the kingdom will belong to the Lord."
Today's society is very materialistic, and very often our status and value as people is measured by what we own. The challenge in today's passage is to acknowledge that everything we have comes from God in one way or another; even if we claim to be a "self-made" person, this overlooks the fact that the very essence of our being is given by God, and that our achievements stem from this alone. Once this truth has embedded itself in us, we can start to use what He has given us not for our own ends, but for His glory and purposes.
This is partly what Jesus means when he talks about "dying to self", and in today's society, with all its pressures to conform and to have the biggest and best of everything, it's not easy to do. But true freedom comes from acknowledging that all we have comes from God, and being ready to use it for His work, or even to surrender it back to Him if called to do so.
Lord Jesus, by nature I'm selfish and I want to keep all the things I have for myself. Please forgive me for this, and help me to realise that all I have comes from you, and make me willing to use my self and my possessions for your purposes, not to satisfy my own desires. Amen
Written by John Jackson
Word on the Web
Obadiah 1 v 17-21
"But on Mount Zion some will escape the judgment,
and it will be a holy place.
The people of Jacob will take back their land
from those who took it from them.
The people of Jacob will be like a fire
and the people of Joseph like a flame.
But the people of Esau will be like dry stalks.
The people of Jacob will set them on fire and burn them up.
There will be no one left of the people of Esau."
This will happen because the LORD has said it.
Then God's people will regain southern Judah from Edom;
they will take back the mountains of Edom.
They will take back the western hills
from the Philistines.
They will regain the lands of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will take over Gilead.
People from Israel who once were forced to leave their homes
will take the land of the Canaanites,
all the way to Zarephath.
People from Judah who once were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad
will take back the cities of southern Judah.
Powerful warriors will go up on Mount Zion,
where they will rule the people living on Edom's mountains.
And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.
Today we read that God's people will retake the lands they once lived in. However, there is a sting in the tail - these lands will not be theirs, rather "..the kingdom will belong to the Lord."
Today's society is very materialistic, and very often our status and value as people is measured by what we own. The challenge in today's passage is to acknowledge that everything we have comes from God in one way or another; even if we claim to be a "self-made" person, this overlooks the fact that the very essence of our being is given by God, and that our achievements stem from this alone. Once this truth has embedded itself in us, we can start to use what He has given us not for our own ends, but for His glory and purposes.
This is partly what Jesus means when he talks about "dying to self", and in today's society, with all its pressures to conform and to have the biggest and best of everything, it's not easy to do. But true freedom comes from acknowledging that all we have comes from God, and being ready to use it for His work, or even to surrender it back to Him if called to do so.
Lord Jesus, by nature I'm selfish and I want to keep all the things I have for myself. Please forgive me for this, and help me to realise that all I have comes from you, and make me willing to use my self and my possessions for your purposes, not to satisfy my own desires. Amen
Written by John Jackson
Last edited:
