Crossroads Community Church : Shelburne Free Press : https://shelburnefreepress.ca

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Crossroads Community Church

Sunday September 28th, 2014
We were blessed with a glorious morning as we met to praise the Lord. Worship was festive and jubilant as we worshiped our King! Pastor Don shared many prayers and announcements then prayed over the service,” Dear Father God, we give you praise and honor as we thank you for your unfailing love, forgiveness and mercy. We ask for eyes, ears and hearts wide open to your guidance and attuned to your will so we may not sin against You, in Jesus name, Amen.”
We have all heard sayings such as “You're living in the past”, or You're outdated”, and we can remember a time when there wasn't any online banking or cell phones and some still don't use them. Many will also argue that Christians are out of touch with the times because our value system is over 4000 years old and therefore must be irrelevant. However God's word is alive and eternal and God's ways do not change and we are still expected to follow His ways and inevitably we are blessed when we do. Take the Ten Commandments, we can all agree that it is morally correct and beneficial for everyone to follow “Thou Shall not Murder”, or “Not Lie and Steal” or Not Commit Adultery”. Then there is “Keeping One Day Holy and for rest, many don't feel it is necessary , but it is wise to abide to it as we can all see and reap the benefits when we rest and spend time with God, (Deuteronomy 5:6-11).
When we don't live according to God's morals we put ourselves and others at risk for devastating consequences. The way we treat others matters to God and especially those God puts directly in our lives. The story in Obadiah is exactly that, we read of the Edomites. They were descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's twin brother Esau. God had foretold to Isaac's wife Rebecca that her sons would be at odds,” “Two nations are in your womb and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” Genesis 25:23-26, and when they were born Jacob the second born grabbed his brother's heel. By Obadiah's time it had been a long standing family feud between Israel and Edom. During Israel's captivity in Babylon, their cousins the Edomites rejoiced in their pain and misfortunes and they had even helped Babylon to capture them. Israel was being disciplined by God for their own rebellion and complacency towards Him which is why they were in this mess, however their close relatives the Edomites were being judged for their callous and heartless actions towards God's children and He was bringing destruction to Edom. Edom was prideful and arrogant; they lived in the mountains where very few could reach so they felt pretty secure in their self-sufficiency and wisdom. The Bible says that pride always comes before a fall,(Proverbs 16:18). God also tells us the right way to treat each other, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” James 2:8.
God promised Israel that they were His and He loved them, Jeremiah 11:4. So when God sees injustice committed against His people He will bring righteous justice. Obadiah's prophetic mission was to warn the Edomites of their destruction because what they had done to Israel was in rebellion against God Himself. Although the Edomites trusted their own human wisdom and strength they were no match to God's Power. God humbled them first and eventually brought total destruction. Obadiah prophesied it and in 164 BC the Maccabees seized them, by the first century AD Edom was wiped out of existence. So what was their pride worth then? No one can mock God and get away with it, and those who trusted in their own wisdom are no more but God is forever and Israel still stands today and always will according to God's word, (Galatians 6:7).
Beloved our hearts should always remain humble for humility gives us a realistic view of ourselves and opens our eyes to the needs of others. We ought to consider our actions towards one another, when we see someone in trouble we should not ignore their plight rather we should reach out and help in any way we can, when we don't it is a sin against God, (James 4:17). When we see injustice against God's children, we have a moral duty to do something about it because we honor Him. God is the one who sees all things and He will judge all the nations of the world in accordance to the way they have treated both His, chosen and adopted children, he will bring justice for Israel and the Christian martyrs. If we reject Israel we reject God, when we mistreat our brethren, we grieve God's heart but when we Love each other as He has Loved us Jesus rejoices and the King replies, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me!' So let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, but encouraging one another—and all the more as we see the Day of His return approaching, L'Shana Tova, Asherey Shalom!
To learn more visit www.shelburnecrossroadschurch.ca

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