The Sword of the LORD

"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come.  Therefore said He unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest.  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.  And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.  And if the Son of Peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.  And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire.  Go not from house to house.  And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: and heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom ...

After fleeing from Egypt because he killed an Egyptian who was beating an Israelite, Moses went into the land of Midian, and there kept the flocks of Jethro.  While leading the flock to the backside of the desert, he was drawn to an incredible sight: a bush that burned with fire, and yet was not consumed.  Moses said to himself, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” (Exodus 3:3).  When the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see, the Lord spoke to him from the bush and instructed him not to approach until he had removed his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground.  After Moses met God there, he was prepared to return to Egypt and loose the Israelites from the bondage that they suffered under Pharaoh.   There is a basic lesson to our whole relationship with God revealed in this simple account.  It speaks to the very essence of Christianity and reveals the true nature of the Christian walk.  By embracing th...

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” (2 Chronicles 16:9).     I have often aspired to be one whose heart is perfect toward Him, but thought that it seemed like a very tall order to have a perfect heart; and yet, time and time again God has proven Himself strong on my behalf.   I have slowly learned that being perfect in heart is not the same thing as being perfect in thought, word, and deed.   No, it is simply this: believing the Lord, and trusting His Word.     Asa, king of Judah, was the man to whom these words were spoken.   In the beginning of his reign, he did that which was right before God.   He trusted the Lord for deliverance from a great army that came against his kingdom.   He also removed the idols out of the land and encouraged the people to keep the commandments and laws of God.   Later, however, when tr...