Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Friday September 25, 2009 and we are studying the book of Micah, please read chapters 1-7

in your Bible or Click Here to read them. http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-september-25

Today's Message: Longing to Prosper
While we all want to be prosperous, many Christian's are longing to prosper from the things that are in the world instead of from God.

The book of Micah is the thirty-third book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains seven chapters. The author of the book is Micah and it was written to the people of Judah and Israel. The purpose of the book is a call to repentance to avoid judgment, what we are to learn from the book is that God judges the oppressors of His people.

Micah was raised up to support Isaiah, and to confirm his predictions, he encouraged the northern kingdom of Samaria and the southern kingdom of Judah (Jerusalem) to repent. “The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem. Hear, all ye people; hearken, O earth, and all that therein is: and let the Lord GOD be witness against you, the LORD from his holy temple. For, behold, the LORD cometh forth out of his place, and will come down, and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains shall be molten under him, and the valleys shall be cleft, as wax before the fire, and as the waters that are poured down a steep place. For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof. And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.” - Micah 1:1-7. God is addressing everyone that is on the earth and warning them that He is going to come down to earth and destroy all the high places. The high places were where the Israelite's were forbidden to set up altars, but they did just that in order to worship other gods. Jerusalem is actually on a hill and the reason it is referred to as a high place is because it had ceased to be the place where they worshiped only God. He is telling everyone that is found worshiping idols that destruction will come their way. Their idols will never prosper nor do them any good because what they got by one lust is laid in waste by another. God is addressing all of us today as well, He is trying to tell us that nothing we do will satisfy us because once we get what we want we get bored with it and want more. All the money or possessions in the world can not satisfy those whom seek only to please themselves.

700 years before Jesus was born, Micah was led to prophesy about it, “Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod in the entrances thereof: thus shall he deliver us from the Assyrian, when he cometh into our land, and when he treadeth within our borders. And the remnant of Jacob shall be in the midst of many people as a dew from the LORD, as the showers upon the grass, that tarrieth not for man, nor waiteth for the sons of men.” - Micah 5:1-7. Having showed how low the house of David would be brought, a prediction of the Messiah and his kingdom is added to encourage the faith of God's people. His existence from eternity as God, and his office as Mediator, are noticed. Here is foretold that Bethlehem should be his birthplace. As a descendant of King David, Joseph had to go to David's hometown of Bethlehem to register. In issuing his command from Rome, Caesar could only have thought of his own kingdom. However, he had no idea that God used the heathen emperor's authority to fulfill Micah's prophecy. The most significant statement of Micah's prophecy is, “Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting”. This proclaims the deity and eternal existence of the Redeemer who will be King, Jesus. He could not have been the Savior of mankind and suffer for the sins of the world if He had a sinful nature like everyone else. Because of this, Jesus the Son of God, was born of the Virgin Mary without a human father.

I have seen many people over the years, including myself, search endlessly for something to give meaning to their lives, yet never satisfied with anything once they get it. The truth is that No possession on earth can give meaning to our lives like Jesus Christ can, He gives our lives meaning and a purpose. When we receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives, we no longer long for the things that we want, but long for the things God wants. This in turn not only helps us to prosper, it also helps us to keep our relationship with God in tact.

Today's Prayer:

Dear God,
Lord, so many of us live in a state of discontent when we find ourselves long for things of the world. It distorts our priorities and while it gives temporary thrills, it always leaves us with long term dissatisfaction within ourselves and our relationships. Lord, help us learn to place You above all material things for you promise that You will never leave us nor forsake us and that You will provide us all the desires of our hearts as we put our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, Your Son, who died to save us all and give us the most important and wonderful gift of eternal life, which no possession here on earth can compare. In Jesus' Name..........Amen.

Have a wonderful and blessed day/night and
God Bless You,
Christina

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Hello My Friend/Guest,

Today is Wednesday August 19, 2009 and we are continuing our studies in the book of Jeremiah, please read chapters 19-22 in your Bible or Click Here to read them. http://www.readytofollow.com/bible-august-19.php

Today's Message: Holding to The Truth
As Christian's, we will face many trials and persecution for holding on to the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ, but no matter what we face we have Jesus and He will never leave us nor forsake us.

Learning what happened in Judah and Jerusalem in Jeremiah's day is important to us living today, it is a mirror of what this entire world is about to face, this time however, it will be Satan ruling the entire world with his one world religion system. This all gives us knowledge of what we will face very shortly, and that is why we must pay close attention to all the things that happened. Though it was spoken over 2500 years ago, it is just as important today. Through Jeremiah God spoke to the elders and wise men, “Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter's earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.” - Jeremiah 19:1-6. The potter's earthen bottle is a clay pot and represents human flesh bodies, which are formed of clay. God told the elders that He will bring evil to Jerusalem because they have forsaken Him and worshiped false gods. This is in fact what happened in Jerusalem when king Nebuchadnezzar entered into Jerusalem, he took many captive, and slaughtered many others.

During the last days of the kingdom of Judah, Jeremiah courageously faced the son of the chief governor of the high priest. “Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.  5Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.” - Jeremiah 20:1-6. Soon the people of Judah learned of the defeat of Assyria and then of Egypt. With Nebuchadnezzar's victory in the battle at Carchemish, Babylon emerged as the new dominant world power. This confirmed what Isaiah had foretold about 100 years earlier.

Even after being fully informed of the results of rejecting the Word of God, the religious leaders not only refused to repent, but they began a campaign to discredit Jeremiah before the king and the nation. Jeremiah sat alone in prison and was discouraged, “O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.” - Jeremiah 20:7-9. Jeremiah felt like failure because he gave the people the true Word, but no one would listen and although Jeremiah did not know the effect of his words, there were those few that did listen to him, and take heed of the warning.

Sadly, we learn very quickly that when one teaches the truth, especially God's word that it will often bring persecution. However, mockery can not hurt you when you are teaching the true Word of God. Jesus Said, “And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But there shall not an hair of your head perish.” - Luke 21:16-18. There is so much truth to these verses, I have aunts, uncles, cousins, even brothers and my own father, who disregard the truth and treat me as if I do not exist. The same thing will happen with all True Believers, but we can rest assure that We Have Jesus with us and no matter what they say or do we are safe. Many people over the years have died over their faith in Christ, but one thing is for sure, they are up there with Jesus right now enjoying eternity. That is something we all have to look forward to. Praise God!

Have a wonderful and blessed day/night and enjoy the rest of your week.
God Bless You,
Christina

Need More Inspiration?
Visit: I'm Following Jesus!
http://www.readytofollow.com/

Missed A Lesson?
Go to: Daily Bible Study
http://www.readytofollow.com/daily-bible-study.php

Learn More About Salvation Only Made Through Jesus Christ
Go to: I'm Ready to Get Saved
http://www.readytofollow.com/salvation.php