To The Cities:
"In all your getting, get understanding?
Are you honoring God?
How are you treating your neighbor?
I speak to the cities because God assigns His messengers to cities, and sometimes even nations.
All the laws and prophesies are summed up in two commandments, which to God, are essentially the same:
1. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind and soul.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
The second command is likened to the first because how you treat your neighbor reveals your true love for God. Jesus said: "If you love me, keep My commands." Such honors God. Therefore, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from YOU." James 4:7 (NIV) Yet, many misuse this scripture due to misunderstanding. James 4:7 aligns closely with Matthew 6:13. Resisting the devil is a directive for your inner self. It doesn’t mean that you punish or seek to destroy someone because you disagree with what they say. In this nation, that's infringement upon one’s constitutional rights. Moreover, for those who claim to be believers, it dishonors Christ (Ref. John 10:33, MSG Bible). James 4:7 urges believers to stand firm against evil influences that seek to hijack their own thinking. The temptation to mistreat your neighbor, particularly elders among you in need, defies Jesus's core teachings. Therefore, when you resist such temptation, that demonic mindset will flea from yourself. Once you have submitted to God, in obedience to Christ; then, and only then, will you be able to go before the LORD with boldness (i.e. the confidence of love, which is Christ Jesus) to request what you desire in His name. You can't effectively invoke "Love's" name, while harboring hatred towards your neighbor.
As a city, your treatment of God's messenger, His message, and your sister cities, factors heavily into your love and honor for Him. Romans 22:10 "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."
1. Do you love Him? Or do you begrudge, roll against, and cheat on your sister cities?
2. Do you love Him? Or do you throw elder women of God into the streets; thereby mistreating even one of your neighbors?
3. Do you love Him? Or do you seek to manipulate and exploit His Holy Spirit for self gain?
Please understand, the Word of God is not fluid, it's as solid as a rock. 1 Samuel 2:30 (KJV) "Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." If disdain is God's response to His Holy things being treated with contempt; how much worse when the third person in the triune Godhead, His Holy Spirit, is blasphemed?
Whether you're a believer or not, defying Christ has consequences. For example, in sports: While it is possible to steal a trophy; honor cannot be obtained deceptively. Rather, acquiring a trophy through dishonest means consequently tarnishes one's own reputation. In like manner, a city who withholds an elder's rightly earned government subsidies, has no claim for reward whatsoever; neither prophet nor righteous person (God knows the initial mindset). Yet, God does not despise the thief forever; just the unrepentant one. Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV) "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." Restitution is part of repentance. Where there is defiance to His gracious call for repentance, God administers retributive justice, Obad 15:14b “As you have done, it shall be done to you.”
Proverbs 24:27 (NIV) Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. In basic terms, ensure that there is good spiritual food for Temple goers. A church that fails to provide sound doctrine is just another building. In regard to my hometown, the bottom line is this: She allowed her counsel to mislead her into the temptation of harboring animosity and vengeance against a neighbor because of what was said.
Recommended Reading: Ezekiel Chapter 13 and Matthew Chapter 5
(The Word of God is meaningless for you, if there's no understanding. Therefore, I suggest either the NLT or MSG translation.)
How are you treating your neighbor?
I speak to the cities because God assigns His messengers to cities, and sometimes even nations.
All the laws and prophesies are summed up in two commandments, which to God, are essentially the same:
1. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, mind and soul.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
The second command is likened to the first because how you treat your neighbor reveals your true love for God. Jesus said: "If you love me, keep My commands." Such honors God. Therefore, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from YOU." James 4:7 (NIV) Yet, many misuse this scripture due to misunderstanding. James 4:7 aligns closely with Matthew 6:13. Resisting the devil is a directive for your inner self. It doesn’t mean that you punish or seek to destroy someone because you disagree with what they say. In this nation, that's infringement upon one’s constitutional rights. Moreover, for those who claim to be believers, it dishonors Christ (Ref. John 10:33, MSG Bible). James 4:7 urges believers to stand firm against evil influences that seek to hijack their own thinking. The temptation to mistreat your neighbor, particularly elders among you in need, defies Jesus's core teachings. Therefore, when you resist such temptation, that demonic mindset will flea from yourself. Once you have submitted to God, in obedience to Christ; then, and only then, will you be able to go before the LORD with boldness (i.e. the confidence of love, which is Christ Jesus) to request what you desire in His name. You can't effectively invoke "Love's" name, while harboring hatred towards your neighbor.
As a city, your treatment of God's messenger, His message, and your sister cities, factors heavily into your love and honor for Him. Romans 22:10 "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."
1. Do you love Him? Or do you begrudge, roll against, and cheat on your sister cities?
2. Do you love Him? Or do you throw elder women of God into the streets; thereby mistreating even one of your neighbors?
3. Do you love Him? Or do you seek to manipulate and exploit His Holy Spirit for self gain?
Please understand, the Word of God is not fluid, it's as solid as a rock. 1 Samuel 2:30 (KJV) "Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before Me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from Me; for them that honour Me I will honour, and they that despise Me shall be lightly esteemed." If disdain is God's response to His Holy things being treated with contempt; how much worse when the third person in the triune Godhead, His Holy Spirit, is blasphemed?
Whether you're a believer or not, defying Christ has consequences. For example, in sports: While it is possible to steal a trophy; honor cannot be obtained deceptively. Rather, acquiring a trophy through dishonest means consequently tarnishes one's own reputation. In like manner, a city who withholds an elder's rightly earned government subsidies, has no claim for reward whatsoever; neither prophet nor righteous person (God knows the initial mindset). Yet, God does not despise the thief forever; just the unrepentant one. Matthew 5:23-24 (NIV) "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." Restitution is part of repentance. Where there is defiance to His gracious call for repentance, God administers retributive justice, Obad 15:14b “As you have done, it shall be done to you.”
Proverbs 24:27 (NIV) Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house. In basic terms, ensure that there is good spiritual food for Temple goers. A church that fails to provide sound doctrine is just another building. In regard to my hometown, the bottom line is this: She allowed her counsel to mislead her into the temptation of harboring animosity and vengeance against a neighbor because of what was said.
Recommended Reading: Ezekiel Chapter 13 and Matthew Chapter 5
(The Word of God is meaningless for you, if there's no understanding. Therefore, I suggest either the NLT or MSG translation.)
