Show some GRATITUDE

My inspiration for this post comes out of the good ol' book of Deuteronomy :) I believe Deuteronomy is like a... forewarning. It talks about how the Israelites turned an 11 DAY trip THROUGH the desert into a 40 YEAR journey CIRCLING the desert. WOW... how did this happen?? Well, the answer is simple, because of their murmuring and complaining. All they had to do was walk by faith and not by sight. But most importantly they needed to show some GRATITUDE! God was supplying everything they needed but, they weren't satisfied...at all. Come on, God was giving them manna, which they would have only had to eat for 11 days but they were complaining about that. God supplied them water from a rock so they wouldn't go thirsty. The Israelites were just on some other stuff with their complaining and disobedience. They complained about being taken out of Egypt [a place were they held in bondage, slavery--or in other words, God brought them out of their pit, their sin, depression, sickness, poverty, etc.] and being placed into the desert.  They rebelled against God and provoked Him to anger/wrath.


Deuteronomy 9:7 "Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD." -KJV

All the Israelites saw was the desert. They weren't thinking about the land that was promised to them because of their forefathers... They were thinking about the "now." God had SO much more and SO much better for them than the desert. All they had to do was go the distance for a few days and be grateful for what was to come! SOOOOO many of us are like that now. I'm guilty myself. We get so stuck on the "now" but remember:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 "Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." KJV

We have to go THROUGH the desert to get to the place God has promised us. Realize that once God brings us out of Egypt, he will give us EVERYTHING we NEED in order we make it to Goshen. Stay on the right path and be humble, meek, and grateful for what God has in store for us.

Choosing to walk the walk of faith comes with so much responsibility, tests, trials, etc. We, as TRUE believers, ARE a peculiar people, a chosen generation:

1 Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;" -KJV

Concerning their disobedience...

Deuteronomy 9:16 "And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you." -KJV

This is where Moses was talking to the Israelites. Note where he says "you had turned away quickly from the way the LORD had commanded you." In other words, in no time, without deeper thought, they disobeyed what God told them not to do. Moses came down from the mountain, where he fasted 40 days and 40 nights and was VERY upset with them. How easily to get distracted from your divine appointed assignment because of some type of sin, whether it's idolizing something, complaining about what God has called us to do, or just being lazy..?

In verse 23 he goes on to say "Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice." -KJV

God was telling them, go get the land that I have ALREADY given you. Instead, they ignored what God said and His commandments and did not listen to Him or truly believe what He promised them. Is there unbelief in your life? Have you been doubting your faith and the promises of God which are rightly ours because of the Blood shed on Calvary..? Do you understand we have been bought with a price? Do you know how expensive Jesus' blood is? Do you truly understand the power that is in that blood?

Jesus' blood is so precious to the true believer. Knowing that he died to cleanse us of our sins, we should want to live Holy everyday BECAUSE he BOUGHT us, with His precious, stainless, PURE blood and allowed us to go free and live in the peace of God. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. All throughout Romans, you can see where everything is possible THROUGH the blood of Jesus.

Example: Romans 5:1 "THEREFORE being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

I suggest you examine the book of Romans yourself if you already haven't. There is SO much I want to say but I will have to save it for another blog post... I need to find the right words to say...it will be a sequence to "Let's stop faking this.." The hypocrisy in Christianity is becoming a huge problem. I'll just put it like this for now... it's all or nothing... living Holy one day out of the week for a couple hours won't suffice. You are either hot or cold. Please, pick a side....

-Revelations 3:15-16 "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth."

Be blessed my brothers and sisters. I love you all dearly...