NEBUCHADNEZZAR
Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 24
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
This photo is of the model of the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. This magnificent structure was constructed by King Herod and was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D. On today's Google map, you will see where this model is located in Jerusalem; the original Temple stood just 300 yards to the northeast. Today the location of the Dome of the Rock Muslim shrine is approximately where the Temple was situated.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: 2 Kings 24:2
And the Lord sent against him raiding bands of Chaldeans, bands of Syrians, bands of Moabites, and bands of the people of Ammon; He sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servants the prophets.
We are now being introduced to Nebuchadnezzar, a King who will show up in our readings more often in the remaining Hebrew Scriptures than any other foreign monarch.
God is very patient, as is demonstrated again and again in our readings about the kings of Judah, but He will not forever endure disobedience and the flagrant misuse of His name. The practices established by Moses in the Tabernacle, and enhanced by Solomon in the Temple, were continuing. But the Kings who did evil in the sight of the Lord had added the idol worship of other religions. The peoples of Israel and Judah continued to be known as the people of God, but for most of the time, they did not act in a manner honouring God. God finally refused to see any more evil done in His Holy Name. God hurled enemy after enemy against Judah until it was a mere shadow of its former self, and it became a mere puppet of foreign rulers.
Let us not despair. God was working all things after the counsel of His will. He had His faithful people amongst the captives taken to Babylon. Check out Daniel 1:1-6.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, even as You had people who were faithful to You when evil deeds were government policy in both Israel and Judah, so You have those in our land who refuse to compromise their personal standards of righteousness. I pray that I may ever be one of those who serve You with all my heart, as did Daniel and the three Hebrew youths who, even though they were forcibly removed from Jerusalem, served You with integrity. In the Name of the One who served You most faithfully, Jesus, I pray. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
While I use the common term to describe Israel, the “Holy Land,” it is by no means “holy” today. The destruction of innocent life, known as abortion, is rampant amongst secular Jews who make up the majority of the population. The evil kings of ancient Judah in our recent readings burned children as sacrifices to the god Molech. Today little bodies are burned in an incinerator. The same atrocity is happening here in Canada. There is no protection in our country for life up until the moment he or she exits the womb. I believe that the reason God is still merciful to modern Israel and to Canada is because there are people who grieve and repent for national sins against God on a daily basis. I know that our Queen, our official Head of State for Canada, is grieved deeply by the evil of abortion, but as a constitutional monarch, she does not have the power of a Hezekiah or a Josiah to change things. Our government is also powerless to protect these little ones until a clear majority of the members of the House of Commons and the Senate come to abhor the practise of abortion. Back in the eighties, we had a Minister of Health, the Hon. Jake Epp, who succeeded in getting a bill through the Commons with some protection for these little lives, but this bill was defeated in the Senate by just one vote. I pray daily for leaders, those who hold life as a sacred gift of God, to rise up, run for elected office, and form the majority of our lawmakers. I not only pray but I work for such people, regardless of party affiliation.
Yours to pray and work for God’s “will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven,”
David
Yet another tragedy. Simply put, the disobedience of a people brings tragedy; the obedience of a people brings blessing. As the Bible states in Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap”. His patience will only endure for a time before His judgement begins. Many have forsaken or have turned away from God in our age, many don’t know Him but will ‘mock’ Him nevertheless. God has been so very patient with this present age, woe is us should we exhaust His patience. A people turning to Jesus, a practice of Biblical principles and repentance from sin is what I pray for today.
Scott well said and Amen!
If you would like to participate, there will be a walk Saturday to help raise awareness and funds to further the vision of transforming Halton Region into a pro-life community. For more information visit the web site below …
http://www.haltonprolife.com
Walk for Life Saturday, June 1
Location: St. John the Baptist Parish, 2016 Blairholm Ave (at Brant)Burlington Parking Lot
Time: Registration 10km begins at 8:30am
5km begins at 9:30am
BBQ and Band at 11:00am
Have a great day to all!
Thank you for the info David, I will be praying for the event!!!!
Very sadly, there does not seem to be much (or any ?) protection for babies even after they “exit the womb” if they are born alive after a “failed” abortion. Story here confirmed by Statscan. Very, very heartbreaking.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/491-babies-born-alive-after-failed-abortions-left-to-die-in-canada-statscan
It is hard to comprehend the reality of these occurrences here in Canada. It seems so obvious to me that the right of a woman to control her reproductive freedom happens before she gets pregnant, not after.
“the right of a woman to control her reproductive freedom happens before she gets pregnant, not after” — I *really* like that. Gonna’ be using this statement for sure! Thanks, David 🙂
I like that too David, thanks for sharing!!!!
Scott yes Woe is us! There is much evidence to support, we have ,exhausted his patience.
I have been studying end times prophecy for three years. I am amased at how
detailed and presice the Bible prophecy is. As you quoted from the Bible, God will not bemocked. There are many scholars out there giving their account of Gods wrathas it applies in relation to this fallen world. I have listed two very interesting sights . If any one is interested simply Google the fallowing.
Bible Prophecy countdown to Eternity-End Times Documentary on YouTube
Running time is 1:13:53
Also Google
The coming Four Blood Moons Full version on YouTube John Hagee ministries
Running time is 1:54:37
Both of these prophetic accounts are 100% Bible based word for word kjv.and or
from the Torah .
And this next one is an eye brow raiser!! . Some one has put together a compolation of events from around the World day by day as they unfolded in the news. From April 26 2013 till mid March 2013 .Google
Prophecy in the News for April 26 2013 on youTtube
Running time is 47:29
Yes woe is us to the unsaved sinner.But for fellow Christians who walk in the ways of the Lord I say Hallaloueya! Come quickly Lord Jesus.!!!
In the mean time. The job at hand for we Christians is urgent. We are running out of time here.
I feel the pressure of knowing I have a responsibility to evangelize to the lost.
I’m OK at spreading seeds but ….! To actualy have people ask the Lord to forgive them for their sins and accept Christ as Lord and savior ……! For me that is easier said than done. I have lead some to Christ. I want to do better.
David can you give some advice on the subject? I really want to win souls for Christ. I want to be bold.Years ago I worked for The Olan Mills Portraite Studios
in Burlinton On. They were located on Harvester Rd. I worked in their telephone sales divsion .Our quota was 9 sales per week. One evening Imade 36 and they closed 28 .
I was told that was a company record. How did I do it ? … I was able to come up with my very own sales pitch. I did not read what the company asked me to. It almost never worked. Do you have a saving souls sales pitch David?If you do I
want to know what it is.
I want to close the deal . I want to make a diffrence. I want to hear our Lord and savior say ” well done,good and faithful servent “.
Yours for winning souls to Christ.
Marla 🙂
Marla I am not David, but I have been a born again believer a very long time, so I will offer this advice– It is good that you are zealous to win souls for our Lord- but there really isn’t any sales pitch– our God is a God about relationships–so ask Him to lead you to people to whom you can form a relationship with, to witness to them, to open your eyes to small seed plantings. Often a person comes to Christ, not all at once, but by small nudges along the way. It is the Holy Spirit’s work to lead souls to Christ, so be open to His leading- always listening for His whisper in your ear, when to speak and when to listen to the non believer He puts in front of you. And lastly, don’t play the number games, just concentrate on the one God puts in your path, whether to seal the deal or just plant the seed, another believer will reap for you– just be available and willing, God will work through that. I hope that helps.
Hi Marla and Donna,
I will like to share briefly my trial and errors in witnessing Christ to others since I was born again 26 years ago. In 1993, I tried learning those tactics in spending 2 years full-time of doing local mission to try to seal the “deal” to win souls and to satisfy the number expected by my sponsored church. The result of those “souls” hardly last. For those who are able to stay in church, I just so happened to reap the harvest of other Christians’ hard work.
In my workplace, I used all kinds of ways to reach out to my colleagues. However, somehow God didn’t call me to be the reaper in this way.
Funny speaking, only since I was diagnosed with late stage cancer last year, God let me be broken down spiritually and raised me up again to centre my life in Him. Then, throughout this cancer period, He gave me tons and tons of witnessing opportunities, merely through emails, telephone contacts and visits of colleagues and relatives (which He brought to my home). These are the witnessing opportunities I never had before and which I would not have dreamed for before honestly. Even in reaching out to my mom and dad who are non-believers and used to get very offensive when I shared my faith with them, God now opened up more opportunities for me to share God’s working in my life with them through my cancer experience. Many of the non-Christian colleagues even told me saying that they believe that my God will answer my prayers and that my God is truly being with me and heal me. I prayed that they were able to see God through my life and through my relationship with them.
Because of my cancer, I got to deepen my sharing with two colleagues in particular, and in return, they also shared with me their struggles in life and in response I got to share God’s word with them. These were chances I never had before.
Marla, I am not saying you need to be in my situation to witness God, I pray that you don’t need to go through my kind of struggle. What I am saying is that, God’s ways are way better than our ways; his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. He surprises me in a nice way. Yes, I have cancer, but I also have tremendous joy and peace from His presence in me daily.
My prayer now is that God be merciful and gracious to extend my life on earth so that I get to see my two young kids (aged 7 and 4) grow up and be rooted in their faith in Christ, my husband be zealous in letting Christ centred in His life and nurturing our kids to be God-fearing, and that I also got to see my mom and dad accept Christ as their personal saviors without trying His patience any longer.
It is true, sometimes the greatest witness for Christ is seen in our brokenness, in our weaknesses and in our failures. Why? Because in that state we are striped of all pride– we are authentic and humble– and this makes more credible to non believers; they see that our faith isn’t based in some pie in the sky wish fulfillment, but born out of real experience.
The truth is God’s greatest expression of love for us was not seen in our Lord’s miracles, or in His wise teachings, but in its most raw state, while He was naked and exposed in His sufferings and death for us on the Cross.
God does not inflict the suffering, but when we are willing to yield them and the outcome to Him, like you did Janet, we discover how much God can do with it. Praying for you– Amen
Well said Janet, you are an inspiration to all of us and we continue to pray for your healing and that God will allow you to be used of Him and see your young children rooted in HIM. Praying for you Janet. Love in Jesus
Wonderful words of encouragement and truth Donna and I know Marla will be able to put them into practice, sometimes our zealousness for the Lord overcomes us and we need to be still and know He is God and listen for His divine leading. Great advice Donna.
Janet thank you for your testimony,Marla Catherine and Donna for your words of encouragement .1 Cor.3: 5-9 says What is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed and each has the role God has given. I (Paul) planted, Apollos watered, but God gave growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. Now the one planting and the one watering are one in purpose and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.For we are God’s co-workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
Thank you David for stating the spiritual and moral situation in ancient and modern Israel and Judah as well as Canada. This syncretism or teaching of Christianity and traditional religions is happening especially in African schools today as I viewed two of their textbooks yesterday from a missionary couple in our church. Isn’t that what Israel and Judah were doing so the situation hasn’t changed. The first commandment is I will not have any other gods before me. Say Amen to your posting too Scott. Must check out to see if there is any “Walk for Life” rallies in my area. Have a good day everyone. The sun is trying hard to roll back the dark clouds here.
Amen, Ger!
That is very good advice, Donna.
Linda, that is shocking and heartbreaking!!!
I was really struck by today’s reading. It is all folding together and becoming clearer in the sense of the bigger picture. “The peoples of Israel and Judah continued to be known as the people of God, but for most of the time, they did not act in a manner honouring God.” That really hit home. I can only speak for myself because this is not something that can be generalized here, especially with David Mainse in mind!
There is a clear dichotomy of life. We are born with a sinful nature and the pressures and temptations that try to pull us in and away from being centered in Christ are all around us. In a way, it is like living in a world with landmines everywhere. No matter how much we try to be Christians, just like the generations we have been reading about in the OT, we are the same people as they were. We fall into conflicts in relationships, keep our focus on what others are doing, have problems communicating with one another, become enmeshed with each others lives, try to fix others and avoid dealing with ourselves… and the list goes on. Add onto it, the struggles in life, which we all face, in different ways, that are overwhelming. No wonder there is so much failure and back-sliding at every corner. But this life is the test that we have been given, and blessed with, to overcome. Our relationship with Jesus and our commitment to living the Word teaches us how to avoid the landmines, not detonate them, hence causing further destruction to ourselves and those around us.
As David Mainse has been our prime example, we must keep Christ and the Word as our center–ALL the time. The devil is apt to use any means to sway us away from the Truth and Way to cause destruction, slander and failure. He uses the strongest weapons to bring us down through addictions, suicide, bullying, crime, poverty, abuse and terrorism–just to name a few. Arming ourselves with the Word and prayer is our only defense. That is not something new–we have all heard that before, but it has somehow become evidently more apparent because of today’s reading.
Because of being in the Word daily with this bible study for the past year, the knowledge, understanding, and Spirit of our Heavenly Father God and His Son and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, is sinking in more deeply and is amazingly clear. It goes beyond just hearing how the journey unfolds and actually means feeling the truth that has become a living reality in our lives. We have become a part of the living truth of Jesus and Jesus has become a part of our living lives. Praise God!
Blessings fellow saints!
I will spread the word about the walk David I know a few people in that area.
If we are able we will attend. What a wonderful Idea.Sadly ….. 🙁 I am no stranger to abortion.
When I was a young bride of three yrears and living in New Orleans, I was a farely new mother.
My first born was born in the Methadist Hospital in New Orleans. I was just 21
Years old. I was with child again eight months later. My then husband who was
American and a Vietnam veteran sadly he was not happy. Nor were his parents. Because of buisness they and us traveled alot and we were very out going. Sadly they were Aithiest.They pulled my husband a side and insisted I have an abortion.I was not given a choice.
Too … young…. too…..acomodating , and to afraid , to not do as I was told. Sadly I was convinced it was for the best. This was in the 70 ‘s I have vag memories of the incident . I believeit is because years later I asked Jesus to for give me and he washed me white as snow.
If he can for give me and for get my sin I should to. I took that horrible sin to the foot of the cross and left it there.And forgave my self. I am OK now but 🙁
Ii will say this . Back in the 70 ‘s in New Orleans there weren’t Abortion clinics. If there was then my inlaws didn’t want any one to know , so they arranged for it to be done in private. Dispite the unthinkable ordeal , I think I’m lucky in that I didn’t get an infection or loose my life . One life lost was alredy too many.I was taken to a very ceady place in a poor side of town. There was no anastetic .
Looking back I don’t know if the person who performed the procedure was even a real a Doctor. I was given a brown paper bag to breath in to , to keep me from hyperventalating or going into shock. There were now emergency facilities. It was not a hospital . It wasn’t even aClinic. All I remember is the building was huge but the room was small. My family do not know of this.
My heart goes out to all of the woman who are blind to this sin or who are guilted into it.
But the real tragety is the loss of all of the precious little babies.
Dear heavenly father, please for give them for they know not what they do.
Thanks to Jesus and his healing power, I am healed. Thank you Jesus Amen 🙂
Love and prayers to you all .Turning a negative into a posative.There is some one in heaven I will one day meet. 🙂
M.
We all have much to be forgiven, and can be thankful for the promise of forgiveness in 1 John 1:9 9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” It has been said, “Most women do not freely choose abortion; they resort to abortion.” Though we have redemption in Christ, the sad part can be our memory, which I believe may have been the “thorn” in the apostle Paul’s side. Even so, our Father empowered him to accomplish the many works he did!
Dear M J
Thank you so much for your testimony . It brought me finally able to cry out all the pain that I have been carrying for so many years holding on to the shame of my own daughters abortion.When I think that 16 years ago my daughter then 20 yrs old was being driven to a fertility clinic by my husband and myself to support her in ending the life of our precious grandchild and were sadly ignorant and empty of any faith in Christ and the saintity of our Heavenly Father.
Like you I have been reborn and through that process by the Grace of God have been able to forgive myself , my husband ,my daughter,my parents my family who are all still not knowing Jesus and like you pray diligently for each of them to turn away from the evil of this world and surrender thier life to the one and only Jesus Christ .
Amen and Amen.
Thank you Carol and Marla for sharing your lives. I will keep you and your families in my thoughts and prayers.
Thank you Janet 🙂 It did help emensly. God has done a great work in you Janet.
I love you and I will pray for you and your family.
Marla
I very much enjoy each days blog and am truly blessed.Thank-you. But I am usually getting 2 of these e-mails as in 2 full blogs.Could you make sure I get only one. Thank-you and God Bless.
Hello, You need to “unsubscribe” to one of the two emails you receive. You will find the unsubscribe option at the bottom of your email. God bless!
I hear babies cry all the time. Crimes and Violence against Children and the knowledge of such evil makes me drop to my face in prayer instantly. We do not understand the plan of God so I / we can find comfort in praying for all these little lives. Knowing that God’s desire to save and comfort these little brand new souls is first and formost on His heart. And God hates evil and violence more than we do!! Right now all I can do is pray for the crying out of the babies. I hear them in my head and I weep and pray for them. How else can I help. I want to go and look after them. Maybe God will allow me to serve them and hold and rock them in my arms in heaven!! Its not the flesh we fight but Satan and his armies. God has already won and when Jesus returns “every knee shall bow”!! I pray that the offender of the victim will feel such pain of his/her shame that it will bring them down on their face in reverence to God!!
Linda Brown
We have a pregnany councellingcare centre in our City, and our churches
support this orginition ever year on mothers day we are given a baby bottle
and fill it with as much money as we can and return it on fathers day, this
money is used ,to help the girls make better decision’s about the pegnancy
rather than abortion, and later they also get help with their baby, how to take care of it, with clothing and housing, ect. it is also a nother way to share Jesus
with them and many receive Him as their Savior ..and some come to our church
to give their testmonies over a cup of tea…. ptl. how woderful is that. God bless
you all David. M. and bloggers….R…
P.S. to the above We have representive in our congregation who does most of the work ,bless her dear heart…and we support her money wise, knitting
layettes ect ,ect…R…
Hi Rosemarie,
There is a lady in my church that does the same thing. I have not ever ask what the pregnancy center does so thank you for explaining it to me
Thank you all for your prayer support and words of encouragement. Sorry, I was a bit tired physically, usually happened after the weekend taking care of the kids. You are all God-sent angels to me in your insight of His word and your testimonies and sharing. It’s truly my blessing to come across 100 Words Post receiving Rev. Mainse’s teachings and all of your sharing. Thank you!
Janet
The people who are making these life-altering decisions are children themselves. I’m 65 years old and don’t make good decisions all the time. It is such a tough time for all concerned. Such a need for loving support from God’s people.
On another note – David, I really hope all of your 100words.ca ‘entries’ will be put in a book or something. Such a comprehensive daily study – it would be so good to have something ‘in writing’ (a veritable Commentary) to refer to later or pass along to loved ones.
Love from your Forbidden Plateau Friend, Mary Hopwood