God's Faithfulness reminded

This week I was tested in a way I wasn't expecting, and it hurt!!! I recognize our human nature is weak, but when you preach, and preach, and preach about salvation over and over, and over again, you would think that people gets it.  Then we pray for the people we preach to for a stronger relationship and walk with the Lord; for daily Bible study and prayer sessions, and just trust that people will try to keep it, and if tried several times, and its not kept, once they realize it its not good to stay away from God's Word, they will apply more and stick closer to the plan of salvation.  As preacher that's what we strive to; our mission is to get the message to the world that God LOVES us, and that we JUST have to admit and confess our sins to HIM, believe that HE sent JESUS to die for our sins, and receive the gift of eternal life. Once that is done the daily maintenance of that restored relationship with God is just a matter of discipline.  To keep that relationship growing we have to get used to pray and read The Bible DAILY, this will help us understand how everything started in the book of Genesis, with the beginning of the world, and how from generation to generation things began to go wrong when people decided to break apart from God's will, and how things got better after people called upon the name of the Lord. Although in the times we are living today, is not surprise to see the stories that you've read in The Bible to come alive, it hurts when that people, is close to your heart; and quite frankly sometimes, it takes you by surprise, and let those stories take a new meaning for you. This could be one of the hardest things as a preacher I had to face ever, the fall of one of your sheep. It's hard because as a shepherd you LOVE your sheep; as they are part of the body of Christ, and when one part of the body hurts, the entire body will feel the effects of that pain.  It was then that The Lord reminded me that you, and me, we aren't exempt from falling, and that today such and such is suffering the pains of that fall but if we aren't careful, tomorrow could be one of us. 1st Corinthians 10 reads:"¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."
Then as I was gathering my Scriptures to preach, God made it so clear to me that HE takes care of us as we are being tempted, by using sometimes third parties to show us the way of escape.  In 2 Chronicles 26 for King Uzziah He used Azariah the Priest to get the King to realize that burning incense to the Lord was something The LORD had established only for the priest to do not for him. Azariah convey the message that doing so was disobedience unto God; this was God's given chance to save King Uzziah from a terrible punishment, but he responded furiously and rage with anger against totally disregarded it, and  God stroke him with leprosy, and in this state King Uzziah died.  The Lord also used the book of Jonah, to show me HIS merciful love if when we have done wrong, we confess, and repent.  Jonah, a Prophet of God, decided to run away from a God given assignment, by hoping to a boat going the opposite way where God had send him to.  Then the people of the boat was used to point Jonah of his wrongdoings but unlike King Uzziah, Jonah confessed his guilt, recognized willingly that consequences were coming, and accepted them.  Although God wasn't pleased with Jonah for trying to get away from the assignment, Jonah's humble heart and quickly acceptance and repentance of his sin pleased The Lord, so instead of dying in the whale's belly, the whale spit him out three days later.
In both of these Scriptures God's loving mercy is showed, and to bring this to our lives, we just have to recognize that sometimes, those "inconvenient" moments in life, are God's way to show us that HE's giving us a chance BECAUSE, HE DOESNT WANT US TO PERISH!  To tell us that a change of attitude and direction should be IMMINENT, otherwise pains and punishment will come to us, and if they come it was "unnecessarily" because HE HAD WARNED us but we "didn't get it".

My prayer for you this week is for The Lord to open your eyes when you're being tempted and remind you that is necessary for us to accept and confess like Jonah so we do not end up like King Uzziah; and I pray this in JESUS name and for the glory of God, AMEN!!!