Daily Bread 10-13-17

Psalms 79:5,6

5 How long, Lord? wilt thou be angry forever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

ref. - Dt 29:20 - The Lord will not spare him, but then the anger of the Lord and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven.

Isa 45:4 - For Jacob, my servants' sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

Ps 53:4 - Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread: they have not called upon God.

What a powerful and vengeful god we serve. Just to read this scripture should bring fear into the hearts of all who do not follow him. But it doesn't because they who do not follow him do not know him. As we can see, in the days before Christ, we can learn how powerful God is and how that his followers called on him to avenge their adversaries. But as we look at this scripture let us think of where we would be if God had not sent Christ to show us a better way. We once were the adversary, the ones who did not know him and did not follow him. What if this prayer was still being prayed and God was answering it. Would we be serving him or would we perish? What chance would there be for our loved ones and the rest of the world? What we have been given is so much more precious than the calling on of the Lord for their destruction. This is why Jesus pled with God to allow him one more year to dung about the infertile plant and the unfruitful trees, he pleads with God not to avenge his wrath and jealousy upon the wicked. He teaches us to have patience and not try to avenge our own adversaries but that vengeance belongs to him. In due time all will be avenged and a jealous God will judge the world, but not yet. Just as he had patience with us, we must also have patience with him. Although it seems that we are attacked on every side and that the non-believers(even the ones who say that they believe but are ravenous wolves in sheep clothing) have us outnumbered, we must allow Christ to work on them. His goal and purpose in this generation is not to destroy but to seek and to save that which is lost. As we know, anyone who is not a follower of Jesus Christ and does not know God is lost. So, even though we wish in our selves that God would avenge such people, we have also been told not to take it upon ourselves and not to murmur. God surnamed all mankind, even the ones who don't yet know him. Who knows, your greatest adversary could be your minister one day. This is up to God. But he knows all of our names even though some choose not to follow, Christ is there still pleading with God to hold back and not destroy them. Vengeance will come in time and our job is to be on the right side of wrath when it does come. the right side is the side of the disciple of Jesus Christ! Thank God for Jesus Christ!!! Have a great day!!!