The squeaky wheel gets the grease
At the beginning of time God created a perfect Paradise for what has been called the crown of His creation, mankind, beginning with Adam and Eve. There were boundaries set for Adam and Eve, not to keep them under rule, but to keep them safe, physically and spiritually. They were given free will to choose to follow the guidelines of those boundaries or to go their own way.
Since the beginning of time man has been pushing the boundaries God has set. Each time man chooses to do things their own way instead of God's way, bend and rewrite His laws, cry out and complain like the "squeaky wheel", God turns them over to their own desires, only to be met with great consequences! They learn the reason behind the why God set those boundaries to begin with.
Adam and Eve crossed God's boundaries, the only ones set for them and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.
The consequences brought on by this defiance include: separation from God, painful childbirth, weeds in our garden, and, ultimately, death. The worst part is the separation from God, as it introduced fear and death which further puts more division between God and mankind.
Cain, who who was the first son of Adam and Eve kills his brother Able out of jealousy. During this time God required mankind to make sacrifices or offerings as a show of obedience (another consequences from the first breach of God's boundaries). There were instructions as to how the offerings were to be conducted. It was a symbol of what was to come in a Messiah (Jesus). Able, Cain's brother followed God's instructions and God was pleased.
However, Cain chose to do it his own way, he disobeyed God's instructions. The consequences; God rejected Cain's offering. Jealousy and anger grew in his heart, which led to the murder of Able, followed by further separation between Cain and God. In Genesis 4:7 God said, "If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Now Jonah was a prophet of God and his story is one I can relate to, it's found in the book of Jonah. I feel as though many times I would fight God about some sort of conviction until I'm sitting in the belly of a whale and finally give up. God told Jonah to go to the Nineveh and tell the people to repent of their wickedness and turn to the Lord. But Jonah didn't think the people were worthy, in fact he thought it would be pointless, nobody would listen to him.
He was so against it he tried to run away from what God wanted him to do. He was only interested in doing things his way, preaching to those he thought were redeemable. He found himself on a ship in the middle of a storm far far away from where God was trying to lead him, only to get thrown overboard by the sailors on the ship. Jonah knew God was chasing him down. Jonah 1:5-2:10 continues the story about how sailors were afraid, (consequences of Jonah doing things his way) they all cried to their gods, but when Jonah had them throw him overboard the seas calmed the Sailors saw the power of the Lord and Jonah got swallowed by a big fish, where he stayed there for three days and three nights, still struggling to do things his own way. When he finally saw God's wisdom, the fish vomited out Jonah on dry land. He then went and followed God's will and the people of Nineveh DID repent!
As time passed the people of Israel wanted a king, as told about in the book of 1 Samuel. All the other nations were setting up kingdoms and having Kings rule over them. The Israelites had the Lord God, the one true king. But they complained to Samuel the prophet of God about their desire for a king. 1 Samuel 8:19-22 says, "But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.”"
Saul was later appointed king and he too disobeyed God. He didn't follow the instructions for offerings, (at this time it was the job of the priests or Levites). When God's favor left him, he sought out mediums to speak to the dead when all the prophets didn't give him the answers or words he wanted to hear, he was still trying to do it his way. He spent more time trying to rule his way, than the way God instructed, and the people were handed over to the Philistines. The people of God got what they wanted, a human king with human faults, giving into human sin, which led to his death and their captivity. In 1 Samuel 12:14-15 again, were reminded to obey for our own good,"If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God—good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your ancestors."
Throughout Biblical history as well as man's written history we can see cycles of how God provides and blesses, man grows discontent, wants things his way, and complains until God turns man over to their own ways. If and when man wises up enough, he turns back to God once the lesson is learned. Today is no different.
Today we see the confusion and immorality brought in by being discontent. One that is in the forefront of our society today... Yes I'm going there... Sexual immorality. Now before I go any farther, know that a sin is a sin in God's eyes. Weather your involved in sexual immorality, a liar, a drunk, or a murderer it's all a sin. I'm not one to judge, God is. I've got plenty of sin in my past and if I'm honest, in my present and future too. I'm no better than any one else and God is no respecter of persons. Nobody is better than any one else. That being said, I know what the Bible says about sexual immorality and can only use that as a standard to live by, with the best of my ability.
The current squeaky wheel of our time, the Gay and Lesbian community got what they asked for. Do I agree with it, not when I look to what God's word says. Do I condemn and judge those who do? No, that isn't my place. I fully expected this to happen. Many Christians if not all saw this coming. It's upsetting, not because they are judging but because Christians know the consequences of sin and know that we reap what we sew. The government should not be involved in matters of conscience, telling the people what they should believe, or that what they believe is wrong, anymore than Christians should tell another their beliefs are wrong, that's God's job. It is our job to listen to God and follow him.
This whole country, the USA has drastically changed over the course of a few years due to being discontent. My heart has grown so heavy over it, as I'm sure many other Christians have too. The biggest reason my heart is so heavy over it is that through out history people or even nations felt conviction and or regret over their sins. Sadly today, people celebrate sin. Sin is becoming normalized or moralized and those who stand against it, are called immoral and narrow minded. But Christians have seen it before, it's predicted in the Bible.
Every aspect of our society is being permeating with sexual sin as being "normal". We can't escape it. For the first time in history sin is being institutionalize.It all stems from being discontent and wanting to do it man's way. Sadly, if you don't follow the ways of the world, you are no longer free to speak your mind with out being condemned.
Never thought I'd have a blog that spoke about such controversial things.
We know from history, every time man is left to doing things his own way, distraction follows...
"But since sexual immorality is occurring, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman with her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2)
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexualimpurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ( Romans 1:24)
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men.. (1 Corinthians 6:9)
It's what the Bible says, not I. Does our Hope and Future still lie in the one who created it, or in the squeaky wheel?
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