Nearing the Point of No Return
Greetings in the Lord~
There really is such thing as a point of no return. It's sometimes hard to know when or where that is exactly, but after you've reached it, you simply just know. You are too far along to go back to the starting point; too much has been invested to start over; and maybe, as in the case of sin, you have sinned so long you have simply forgotten how to do right or what God desires of us. It's interesting that the concept of repentance is to "turn back," to turn away from what you are doing and go back the opposite direction on a righteous path. So in essence, it is possible to sin long enough to not be able to repent anymore. And it's on the other side of this 'point of no return' that God uses judgments to bring people back into relationship with Him, or in the case where the sinners never knew God, He brings an end to their wickedness so that righteous seed may be planted in their hearts. In either scenario, God's judgments are a form of His compassion and mercy meant to try and turn people from their sin to avoid eternal damnation in hell. The Lord Almighty does not desire anyone to go there.
So it is along this premise that I share today's words from Nahum 3, Isaiah 2, and Amos 3. Taken singly, each word is a powerful decree of coming judgment for the unrepentant and persistent sins of the people: idolatry, witchcraft, violence, plundering, and spiritual pride and apathy. However, taken together, these three passages of scripture sound out like a clear warning bell that prophetically speaking, God is decreeing judgment meant to completely wipe out these sins from people incapable and unwilling to return to Him. It's interesting that Nahum 3 is included, as it was a prophetic judgment to the Assyrians of Nineveh, which we know was completely wiped out and never rebuilt again. They were exceedingly arrogant and outright pagans who were very adept in witchcraft, violence, plundering and cruelty. Isaiah 2 issues judgment against Israel for embracing and practicing the same pride, sorcery, idolatry, theft and violence of their eastern neighbors. Coincidentally, Isaiah 2 was the passage I received before Hurricane Katrina hit to explain why the Lord was allowing that natural disaster to devastate the New Orleans area -- it too was famous for all of these same sins. Lastly, Amos 3 includes the sin of spiritual apathy and makes the decree that the judgments are certain -- they have indeed gone beyond the point of no return and God's judgments are their only recourse. I discern that we are entering such a time as this where these judgments will be meted out -- public and widespread disasters happening -- to people and community groups that have long resisted the Lord's correction in these sins. This will include both Christian and non-Christian alike, and may take the form of natural, financial, or man-made disasters.
I realize an ominous prophetic word is not fun to read; however, it is important to see things from a godly perspective where maybe it's time to put on the brakes, wipe the slate clean, and start again. Mercy triumphs judgment, after all, and God is a loving God who does not want people to drown in a sea of iniquity and be lost forever, especially when their sins may be partly attributed to and reinforced by long held traditions, systems, and false doctrines of a community group or area. No, God desires and loves righteousness and will help get us back on track when we've lost our way, individually or as a corporate body. Even cultural ideas and norms can and do change overtime as well, where once truth-loving, peaceful people become treacherous and corrupt and it takes the hand of God usually in a very dramatic way to get people to embrace goodness again. I do discern that we will see such judgments taking place where these sinful strongholds exists, so that the people have an opportunity to embrace His grace and truth. That is a good and loving God we have.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
There really is such thing as a point of no return. It's sometimes hard to know when or where that is exactly, but after you've reached it, you simply just know. You are too far along to go back to the starting point; too much has been invested to start over; and maybe, as in the case of sin, you have sinned so long you have simply forgotten how to do right or what God desires of us. It's interesting that the concept of repentance is to "turn back," to turn away from what you are doing and go back the opposite direction on a righteous path. So in essence, it is possible to sin long enough to not be able to repent anymore. And it's on the other side of this 'point of no return' that God uses judgments to bring people back into relationship with Him, or in the case where the sinners never knew God, He brings an end to their wickedness so that righteous seed may be planted in their hearts. In either scenario, God's judgments are a form of His compassion and mercy meant to try and turn people from their sin to avoid eternal damnation in hell. The Lord Almighty does not desire anyone to go there.
So it is along this premise that I share today's words from Nahum 3, Isaiah 2, and Amos 3. Taken singly, each word is a powerful decree of coming judgment for the unrepentant and persistent sins of the people: idolatry, witchcraft, violence, plundering, and spiritual pride and apathy. However, taken together, these three passages of scripture sound out like a clear warning bell that prophetically speaking, God is decreeing judgment meant to completely wipe out these sins from people incapable and unwilling to return to Him. It's interesting that Nahum 3 is included, as it was a prophetic judgment to the Assyrians of Nineveh, which we know was completely wiped out and never rebuilt again. They were exceedingly arrogant and outright pagans who were very adept in witchcraft, violence, plundering and cruelty. Isaiah 2 issues judgment against Israel for embracing and practicing the same pride, sorcery, idolatry, theft and violence of their eastern neighbors. Coincidentally, Isaiah 2 was the passage I received before Hurricane Katrina hit to explain why the Lord was allowing that natural disaster to devastate the New Orleans area -- it too was famous for all of these same sins. Lastly, Amos 3 includes the sin of spiritual apathy and makes the decree that the judgments are certain -- they have indeed gone beyond the point of no return and God's judgments are their only recourse. I discern that we are entering such a time as this where these judgments will be meted out -- public and widespread disasters happening -- to people and community groups that have long resisted the Lord's correction in these sins. This will include both Christian and non-Christian alike, and may take the form of natural, financial, or man-made disasters.
I realize an ominous prophetic word is not fun to read; however, it is important to see things from a godly perspective where maybe it's time to put on the brakes, wipe the slate clean, and start again. Mercy triumphs judgment, after all, and God is a loving God who does not want people to drown in a sea of iniquity and be lost forever, especially when their sins may be partly attributed to and reinforced by long held traditions, systems, and false doctrines of a community group or area. No, God desires and loves righteousness and will help get us back on track when we've lost our way, individually or as a corporate body. Even cultural ideas and norms can and do change overtime as well, where once truth-loving, peaceful people become treacherous and corrupt and it takes the hand of God usually in a very dramatic way to get people to embrace goodness again. I do discern that we will see such judgments taking place where these sinful strongholds exists, so that the people have an opportunity to embrace His grace and truth. That is a good and loving God we have.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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