Ministers For God

King James Bible Daily Devotion – Learning Scripture One Day At A Time
Date: Saturday, September 19, 2015
Chapters: The Book of Joel http://imfollowingjesus.com/Bible-Reading-262.html
Message Title: Ministers For God

Hello My Friend,

The Book of Joel is the twenty-ninth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains three chapters. The author of the book is Joel and it was written to the people in Judah. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 860BC and 850BC. The purpose of the book was to warn Israel of their sin and need for repentance and to inform them of God's future restoration for the nation. What we are to learn from the book is that even in the midst of God's chastening, His plans always include restoration. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” - Joel 2:32.

Recently, I have noticed that I am getting a lot of hateful comments, I also noticed that my readers are increasing as well. You see, for a time I gave up posting my devotions because I felt no one was interested in these long messages. Then God reminded me of something, people need to hear the Gospel, they need to hear the truth, this may be the only time they read My Word, I have given you this job, now do it. God calls on all of His people to tell the truth, we do not need to be Bible scholars, we just need a be saved, and have a willing heart. Jesus will return one day, God has been using simple laymen to warn of Him coming since the fall of man. Through Joel, He warns not only Israel, but all nations of Judgment Day.

“Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” - Joel 1:11-15.

Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar, God specifically calls all of His ministers (those who serve Him) to preach the Gospel to all, in fact, we are commanded to do so. While we can rejoice in knowing that we are saved from Judgment Day, we must realize that there are many people who are not, and God has called us to make sure as many as possible know before Christ returns. “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” - Matthew 28:18-20.

Like me, all of God's ministers can get tired and slow down at doing His work sometimes, life happens, we are going to let things get to us, we are not going to always have a perfect heart for God, and when we do not we are going to neglect the duties that He gave us. Through Joel, He calls on all His minsters to get back up, to fast and pray for the lost, and to

“Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:” - Joel 2:12,13,17-19.

I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen:, reproach, shame; infamy; disgrace. There are way too many ministers of God secretly living among those who are of the world, and sadly, their shame gets exposed all the time. I read something that said, if you do not realize what you are doing is sin than you do not have the Holy Spirit in you. This is not true, many are saved, they just do not allow the Holy Spirit to work in them, just like Jesus, He's not going to work in our lives if we are not going to listen to Him. Our countries are in the shape they are in because ministers are tired, some are quiting and becoming part of the world, some are just content to preach the Gospel and that's it. We need to lift up and encourage those who are tired, we need to fast and pray for God to work in our lives like never before, and we need to remember how merciful and gracious God is, slow to anger, and of great kindness toward us, even when we get tired and even if we fall. “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” - 2Corinthians 6:16-18.

Zion is the hill in Jerusalem on which the Temple was built, one day, God will dwell there and it will be the final gathering place for all His people, whether Jew or Gentile we all become His people. Through Joel, He tells Israel to be ready for the Gentiles, and for all to receive Him as they will all come to Him for judgment.

“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.” - Joel 3:9-12,16.

Come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, the valley of the judgment of Jehovah. When Christ returns, we will all stand before Him in judgment, this is everyone from Adam to the last person born on the earth. Only those who know Him as their Saviour will be saved. The heathen, many will come trying to defeat and or change their fate by fighting God, but all will fail to their own destruction. Naturally, when you are doing work for God you are going to get persecuted by those who think they know the truth, but no amount of persecution will compare to what will come of those who reject the truth, even those who claim they know Christ and judge everyone else as if they do not. “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;” - 2 Timothy 3:12-14.

Today's Prayer: God, You have called on Your people to be ministers, with the most important task being to preach the Gospel to all. Lord, Help me to look beyond today to a deeper meaning of each day’s task. May the hope You place within this redeemed heart of mine stir up a joyful spirit and an overcoming attitude regarding the difficulties I encounter throughout the day. Restore unto me the joy of salvation and renew a Your Spirit within me as I rejoice in the unending hope I have in You. Lead me and guide me, use me in whatever way You need me, open my heart, give me a willingness and desire to tell all about Judgment Day and how they can be saved from it. Put Your hedge of protection around me, open the hearts of those who persecute me and show them the truth. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

Subscribe To Our Devotions: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Do You Know For Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://godsprice.com/
Visit I'm Following Jesus: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
Like I'm Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.