"When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the Lord your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the Lord's sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the Lord promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the Lord said.
In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand."
Deuteronomy 6:10-21
The Lord knew what was coming. The children of Israel were about to enter a land of milk & honey, He have them the ability to make wealth, and the result was that the people did not continue to press in, running after Him, adoring Him, calling on Him...no, they forgot about Him, made idols for themselves...swimming in the fat of the land and the blessing that God gave them, they slid backwards, bringing down on themselves the anger and wrath of the Lord.
This story has been repeated so many times in our history! Why is it that we actually languish- our faith vaporizing, even rotting- when prosperity abounds? We become "rich" but actually we are poor - filthy rags, we have gone astray. Consider soberly the condition of the American and the western churches - compared to the church around the world that is right now in the throes of tremendous persecution, with more martyrs losing their earthly lives than are previously recorded in Fox's Book of Martyrs? The numbers of Christians in these areas in exploding, with brothers and sisters hungering and thirsting - dying for His Name's sake, while many Christians in the US measure how much time they can spare as time for God, after accounting for TV, facebook, twitter, movies, sports events, lunches, brunches, dinner parties, cookouts, barbecues, picnics? The average American watches 6 hours of TV a day...I wonder how much time is spent praying? ...
I am not condemning anyone here, but only suggesting vigorously, sounding the alarm, that we all examine our priorities, while there is still time, while we still have daylight, before the darkness comes...
The Lord will not return to a wrinkled, blemished Bride.
Spread the Word, return to Him, forsake worthless activities and meaningless junk.
Return.
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