Isaiah 60:17 Video: Exchanging Bronze For Gold And Iron For Silver

Rejection sometimes is God’s way of keeping us from people who do not deserve or wont value us as he sees fit. Do you think the King is going to trust His daughters to men who have no nobility in them to treat them right

It goes both ways too- a good man should end up with a good quality woman. Rejection can hurt but sometimes its God’s way of getting us not to settle for less than his true best.

Trust God when he removes people from your life and thank Him that even though it may hurt, He is doing it for a good reason.

Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and well-being your ruler.
Isaiah 60:17 –

Lets ask ourselves, if we want God to bring us gold instead of bronze, let us trust Him enough to relinquish the bronze we are clinging too. If we wish for silver instead of iron. Let us be willing to relinquish the iron we may be so tightly clinging to. If you want your adult teeth to grow in you must first lose the baby teeth. You must at times be willing to let go of things in order for God to truly impart His best things

Dont Let Worry Or Fear Steal Your Focus

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10 –

The devil has only one purpose to steal, kill and destroy- there is nothing he does that is beneficial whatsoever. He loves to steal from today and destroy our future for tomorrow- to kill our souls with lies and drag us to eternal destruction with him.

Lets examine one way Satan can trip up even saved people. Sure your soul is safe with Christ the moment you believed the Gospel, Satan cannot touch that. Yet if he can make a believer miserable and fruitless he will try

Lets look at worry for example. Worry is a weed that chokes our hearts and minds, keeping us from fully bearing fruit for today. If we get so hung up on fears for tomorrow, how then can we rejoice and praise God for His blessings in the today.

God may indeed be really blessing us so much in a season of life, yet worry and lack of contentment creep in and choke out our enjoying God’s present blessings. We must though be aware of this deadly mind game. We must choose where we focus our thoughts- on purpose with intentional resolve not to focus too far ahead. Our focus should be first on the Lord, and what he calls us to do each day. Looking too far ahead can cause us to be unproductive right now and looking too much at the past too can also drain us in the now. Keep your eyes on Christ, and fix your focus also on just the present

Sometimes Things May Get Worse Before Better- Have Faith Though God Knows What He Is Doing

Sometimes have to get worse before they can get better? Why? Well ask the house that was worn down and that got remodeled. Well there is a period of time where in remodeling a house it may indeed look more ugly and torn apart then in its prior state. Yet what is happening? The remodelers are ripping out the old rotten wood and replacing it with good boards. They are removing old plumbing and giving better pipes. They are changing things through a messy process so the latter state of that house is better than the first.

Now therefore trust God to remake you after you have been torn down for a time. He will do something good in and for you, just trust him

Hard To Obtain, Not Easy

Lesson here is that a tree with high branches makes it much harder for opportunistic ones- animals or people to just eat the fruit. It take determination to actually truly climb that trunk to the top to get the fruit high and out of reach.

Yet isn’t this something we ought to be especially teaching our daughters. To make themselves, their hearts, bodies – so lofty that just any man cannot easily come into her life and with some sweet talk just use her.

We see people often truly show how mucg the value something by effort and patience to obtain it. A man who truly wants the girl is willing to commit and marry her. Not just use her and fool around. Women need to really understand this simple thing- many men may and do at times say whatever they think it will take to get “fun”

But a decent man is not after just fun but wants a real life partner and someone he can start a family with. Real men- or ones that are even worth considering understand relationship and marriage is not always easy. Its not all fun and games but they see the value in commitment and relationship.

Good men are not just after a body or pretty face to use here and there or for a night of fun- they want something more permanent and if he is truly into you he will make effort to get to know the inner person not just use the outer things for some thrill.

Want to know if a man is really into you- tell him you wont give him anything sexual till he marries you and if he just up and leaves he proves he was not patient enough to wait, nor commited enough to you to marry you.

A man like that is going to look elsewhere to get something less challenging to him. He is not going to tire himself trying on someone he wont get anywhere with without commitment (That he is not willing to actually make)

That be like for example selling an item of value (like a nice car) are you going to let that person take off driving in it before you actually have in writing they paid you what it is worth and have the title officially in their name?

Seriously people seem to be more savy and shrewed with cars or other items and things but are not to savy with who they offer themselves to physically or let have their heart

Thinking With Human Mind, Not An Animal’s

Teach your daughters not to overfocus in physical things- pretty face or beautiful body- those may work as “mating calls” so to speak but it takes actual personality and substance, character- to attract a worthwhile man. After all, you want them to attract a gentlemen and not just use an animal’s logic in only using bright or flashy colors just for mating. After all, we are supposedly human beings so if you want to use animalistic mindset- be prepared to attract animals doing that.

Animals fight and animals use physical things only to breed and all. We are not supposed to act like wild animals are we? We are given minds of human beings not of lesser beasts. So when people use beast logic to attract, they will attract people with the minds of beasts, and that is not something anyone truly at the end of the day wants if they really think about it.

It make sense if you were a bull or a elk to fight to the death to mate- after all thats just animals ways. When men more example fight or strike eachother with fists over a girl- they act more like wild animals doing that. Yet a gentlemen – a human mind would use human methods to attract a lady. His mind, his intelligence and personality – his character to attract her notice or capture her interest- unlike just some peacock who uses his bright feathers or squawks to breed.

Human beings rightly ought to use human minds and faculties and not resort to lesser forms of life that lack intellectual capacity to do anything other than what instincts dictate

Another thing animals will fight and kill eachother over food. So thats to be expected, yet far worse when people fight and kill eachother over things that are not even necessary to live. One blackfriday a man was trampled to death by a stampeed of people rushing into a store to get good deal on sale items. Human beings should not behave that way, they make themselves like animals with far less excuse for behaving so

Playing Hard To Get

My beloved thrust his hand through the latch-opening; my heart began to pound for him. I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with flowing myrrh, on the handles of the bolt. I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had left; he was gone. My heart sank at his departure. I looked for him but did not find him. I called him but he did not answer. ——Song of Songs 5:4-6 –

We see the man who was in this story made an effort to reach out to her, she lingered too long and so he withdrew himself for a time- she began to regret it and his absence stirred her heart to go in search of him.

Yet this would not surprise me if the Lord does so. He will not let us take His love for granted but if we neglect time for Him, he may soon hide himself- we may feel that heavy sense he has withdrawn and veiled himself behind thick cloud. Yet so is the ways of the Lord often, he knows how to bring out the ripeness of desire from a true believer, like the man in the story knew his withdrawing would stir in her a desire for his presence while she was facing his absence.

So often as people we take for granted good we enjoy- the Lord loves for us to enjoy his goodness and the good he does for us, yet we dare not take His love for granted lest he may have to use similar means with us.

We all have heard “playing hard to get” and people assume only women play that game- yet in this case the man did and we see how it affected her.

Truly you are a God who has been hiding himself, the God and Savior of Israel.
Isaiah 45:15 –

Why does anyone withdraw like that? Well in hopes that the person they may do that unto may begin to miss the companionship and be stirred in earnestness to search that person out, proving through some measure of effort they “desire” that person who hides.

Yet make no mistake. As complex as human beings are the Lord is much more sophisticated and knows the value of “Silence”

Does he do so to be cruel or mean? Does he do so to retaliate or just give silent treatment.
No- silence is sometimes his way of restoring relationship to become stronger and better than before. If your wife went silent on you for example- you know you may be in trouble. She is probably hoping you may start pondering over and figure out what you have done to upset her so you can “take initiative and make a mends with her”

Yet the Lord may use silence too to that affect. He wants us to examine our hearts and ripen our desire and longing for him- so that whatever is amiss we will deal with and we may make an effort to “earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6)

Wouldn’t God want us to make some effort to in such a relationship? Of course you could say a man may hope the woman he makes an effort for recipricates and shows that same effort to ocassionally pursue him too. Is it only women who desire to be pursued. Is it only a man’s role to make all the effort without her lifting a finger on her end to express how much he means to her? Well why would you say the Lord is only the one who makes effort and does not also desire and delight in it when we offer up free will praise and express our love through worship, trust and obedience.

If a man for example makes great efforts for a woman and she seems less and less impressed by it- he is inclined to withdraw his efforts entirely for a time to see whether or not she will miss them at all or notice they are gone. Yet when the Lord does so, let us also consider our hearts may have become dull or complacent, maybe spoiled as we human beings can be have neglected him even though it is said “if we are faithless, he is still faithful”

God’s love is always coming to us through his faithfulness. Yet in order for us to fully benefit from that we must notice, recognize and delight in it for what it is. What good is all God’s expressions of love if we are too dulled to truly enjoy them. What if we have grown sleek and fattened- he may allow us to face spiritual leanness for a season in hopes our wayward hearts return to “The first love”

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
Revelation 2:2-5 –

We do not lose our salvation, yet we become dull by neglecting time with him in His presence, ah indeed the lamps of our devotion grow dimmer and we fail to shine light as we should to influence the world around us

So that is why we must prioritize the relationship with the Lord and not neglect His life giving presence

Spiritual DNR

For those who have no idea what a DNR is- “Do not necessitate” – some people sign them and it legally prevents medical professionals from trying to bring those people back. Yet sometimes people spiritually do that with their souls. They hear the truth and do not want to be saved. They want to be left alone sadly and get angry if you try to speak truth that could save their souls from death.

Sometimes there comes a point where people have already decided their fate and there is nothing any Christian can do to convince them otherwise. If God is merciful that person may eventually come to faith- yet there comes a point we say all we are able and just as best as we can reflect a Christ like lifestyle in hopes they reconsider.

Yet we are not commanded to be overly pushy with closed doors. At the end of each day people must decide to open the door to Christ by faith themselves. It cannot be forced by a friend or parent, only they can truly enter into that decision themselves. No amount of arguments or convincing will do ahah only God’s power can to change their hearts.

We can keep praying for individuals like that. Yet the results at that point are in the Lord’s hands

Jump Start A Deadened Heart

Efforts to share gospel, Word of God, kindness and love are a lot like a defibrillator. A defibrillator jump starts hearts with a surge of electric current. There are some who will not be resuscitated at all but does not mean a paramedic or medical personnel at a hospital won’t try.

That same concept is true when preaching the Gospel or Word of God, showing kindness and love of Christ. True some will reject the message, kind efforts and no matter what good you do or say to them will not affect them at all. Yet we are not preaching with the idea we control the outcomes of who responds or not.

You can show kindness to all- you cannot say “well doing good or showing love to this person is useless because they will likely not appreciate it”

Imagine a hospital or ambulance paramedic who said “Sorry Bud, you may just be too far gone we cannot try to treat you.”

Jesus commanded we love all people in a manner that is reflective of His gospel, whether or not those efforts affect their hearts or not. We cannot just neglect this command just cause some will be ungrateful or not recognize it.

32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:32-36 –

Of course Jesus also taught there comes a point where some will not want to hear the message and “shake the dust off your feet” and move on to try with others. Yet as long as we make an effort we do right- only God can awaken dead hearts and breath new life. We should not worry about the results but rather just focus on sharing the message and showing kindness to all.

Logic

Imagine for a moment a bunch of people organized and pushed to start calling the sky green and grass blue. Even if you change the “name” of something you cannot change what it really is. You can say ice is hot and fire is cold- yet you do not change the fact that one produces heat the other lacks it.

When people overthink things they say all sorts of weird things. They get so messed up in thinking that they may argue that we could call a duck a lion or a lion a frog- but at the end of the day, the lion roars and is a large carnivorous cat and a duck has feathers, a frog is an amphibian that jumps.

See how our society is now days, there will be some who try to argue and challenge you on simple very uncomplicated realities, wrangling over words or things trying their hardest to make more complicated things that are really very simple.

Now imagine some divisive person saying to me after I post this, “The sky is not really blue per say but only appears that way when light molecules travel through it creating the affect we see as blue” – then Id say, “Yes I am aware of that, because when it’s night time the sky appears black. But then again you had to overcomplicate a simple analogy I made to prove a point. What we see during the days, is what we perceive and call blue. The point is it does not matter whether you call it green or not, it will not change whatever your eye is seeing”

Saying the ground is sky or sky is ground won’t change the fact one hangs above you and the other is below your feet.

You could change someone’s name through nickname- they still retain their personality, hair color, eye color, distinct person. You have not changed their nature or turned them in to someone they are not.

So true it is no matter how much some say lies are truth or truth is lies, or good is evil and evil is good- fact still remains evil is evil, good is good, truth is truth and lies are lies. Person is a person, a man is a man and woman a woman, a dog is a dog, cat is cat and bird flies in the air even if you say it is truly a snake.

No Bandaid Fixes

You can no more get rid of consequences or negative affects of sin anymore than you can get rid of symptoms of a disease you are in too much denial to admit you have

A society or person who is in denial of sin- will never stop seeing negative symptoms and consequences until collectively or individually they deal with it. It won’t get better, problems won’t go away, no politician or leader will fix the mess and the nation will never have true prosperity or good until it deals with heart issues. There is no money you can throw at it or no made made solution that will help, or truly bring any healing or peace.

It does not matter how many bandaids you put on a gunshot wound, there is no amount of bandaids that will put that man back together. He needs radical intervention and life saving surgery, not just bandaid solutions