Baptist City Blog

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Removing the World's Ties

Daniel 3:23

"And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace."

We sing the song, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through..." The problem with passing through this world is that the world often is very unfriendly to the Christian. We find as we pass through this world that it will often place it's ropes upon us to bind us, keeping us from being free to do God's will for our lives.

The three Hebrew children found themselves in this situation. Nebuchadnezzar had set up an image for everyone to worship. His command was that everyone should bow to this image when the music began to play. However, the three Hebrew children would not bow to this image, for they knew they were not to bow down to any graven images. Their stand for right caused them to face the fiery furnace. What is interesting is that when they were thrown into the furnace, they were bound by the ropes of the world. Yet, when they came out of the furnace, the only thing on them that was burnt were the ropes. These men saw the ties of the world removed from their lives when they walked out of the fire. However, there were four steps they had to take to remove the world's ties.

First, they had to take an uncompromising stand. When others around them were bowing to the image, these young men stood strong for what they believed. You will never be loosed from the ties of the world when you bow to the world's offers. Christian, God never said that serving Him would be easy. If Jesus had to face the cross, then why do you think that you can go through this life without having to take a stand? The more you bow to the threats of the world, the more ties the world will place upon you. The first step in removing the world's ties is to stop worrying about the consequences and take an uncompromising stand.

Second, these men had to have faith in God's promises. They had faith that God would see them through the fire. Their faith did not waver in the face of persecution. You will never see the ties of the world removed from your life until you act upon the promises of God. Sure, it takes faith to act upon God's promises, but you will never please God until you step out upon His promises.

Third, these men had to endure the fire to see the world's ties removed. You will notice that the ties were not removed until they went into the fire. Likewise, you will never see the world's ties removed from your life until you endure the fire of life's trials. Everybody has trials that they must endure. Some endure the fiery trial of health, while others must endure financial struggles. Some endure the fiery trials of ridicule, while others must endure the loss of a loved one. Whatever the trial is that you face, you will never see the world's ties removed from your life while you run from it. You must endure your trial if you want the world's ties removed.

Last, these men had to walk with God. It was their walk with God while in the fire that removed the ties of the world. When you continue to walk with God in the fiery trials, you will find the world's ropes that bind you will fall off. You will find more freedom walking with God in the fire than you ever will outside the fire.

Christian, with what has the world bound you? Until you take these four steps, you will never see these ties removed. Yet, once they are removed, you will find a freedom that the world will never know. Don't run from these four steps, but embrace them as your steps to a life of freedom in Christ Jesus.

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Stay Inside the Lines

Ezekiel 47:13

"Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions."

Many people have lived by borders from an early age. When you watch children in a car, they will establish their imaginary borders that they don't want their siblings to cross. Teachers will teach their young students when they color a picture to stay within the lines. Drivers are expected to stay within the yellow lines when they are driving. Borders are a part of life.

When God established the inheritances of the tribes of Israel, He made sure that they had borders. These borders were there so that each tribe would clearly know what their inheritance was. God knew that one way to keep peace among His people was to have clearly established borders for them to live within.

Likewise, your life will never experience peace without having borders. Every part of your life should have borders. One of the reasons people live in turmoil is because they leave the boundaries of their borders, thus causing strife with others and within themselves. Peace is one of the most desired things in life. However, if you are going to have personal peace, then you will have to establish borders in your life.

If a workplace is going to have peace, then their needs to be clearly defined borders of everyone's duties. One of the causes of strife and discontentment in the workplace is because the boss did not define the boundaries of the duties of each employee. Without these duties being defined, you will have people crossing over into the duties of others. Moreover, a boss needs to be sure that each employee understands that they are expected to stay within the borders of their duties. A boss must not allow employees to cross over into another's realm of duties if they expect there to be peace in the workplace. When every employee stays within their defined borders of their duties, then all employees have a better chance of getting along.

You must also establish borders in the home if you want your home to be peaceful. The husband and wife need to know their areas of control. If one spouse is in charge of the inside, then the other spouse needs to stay out of that area so that conflict is not established. Likewise, your children need to know what is and is not theirs. If parents will clearly define borders in the home for duties and expectations, then you will have a better chance of having peace amongst your children.

Furthermore, be sure to establish borders with right and wrong. When you clearly define what is right and wrong, you give clear direction of what to do and what not to do. This creates a peace within a person that they know they are doing right. Don't blur the lines of right and wrong, but make the lines of right and wrong very clear.

Finally, establish borders with your time. What I mean by this is you need to live by schedule. A schedule is a border of time. Your schedule tells you the allotment of time that you give to each responsibility that needs to be done. It tells you when to do that responsibility. The establishment of borders with your time will help to remove undo stress.

God created us with a need of borders. Throughout creation you see the borders that God established for us. You will never experience peace to its fullest without having established borders in every area of your life.

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Dealing with Revenge

Ezekiel 25:15

"Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it for the old hatred;"

They often say that revenge is sweet. However, revenge never gives the satisfaction that one thinks it would give. It is amazing how a person can dwell a long time on getting revenge, but when the revenge has been administered there is an empty feeling of dissatisfaction. The reason is because revenge is a selfish action that a person wants to administer to another because of what they did to them. There are many serving prison sentences who got revenge, but they will pay for it the rest of their lives with no satisfaction to show for it.

The verse above deals with the subject of revenge. God told the Philistines that He was going to judge them because they dealt revenge to Israel. God saw that the Philistines acted out of revenge, and not out of obedience to Him. Therefore, their vengeful actions would cause them to suffer the judgment of God.

Dealing with revenge is an important matter for every Christian. God forbids us from getting revenge. Proverbs 24:29 says, "Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me: I will render to the man according to his work." Notice that God said that those who practice revenge will see His judgment on their lives. Furthermore, Leviticus 19:18 says, "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord." Revenge is not the attitude that a Christian is to have, but a Christian is to love people instead of trying to get even with them for what they did.

Revenge is one action that only God should administer. Romans 12:19 says, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord." When we try to get revenge with people, we are taking God's place. The reason God cannot trust us with revenge is because He knows that we cannot get revenge with the right heart. That was one of the problems with the Philistines in the verse above. They administered revenge out of a heart of spite. Their purpose for revenge was not to help, but to hurt.

So, what is the purpose of revenge? Ezekiel 25:17 says that the purpose of revenge is to get people to see that God is the LORD. That's why God can't trust us with revenge, because we don't want revenge so that people will look up to God, but we want revenge to get even with someone. The whole reason that God is the only One Who can administer revenge is because He is the only One Who will do it with the right heart and purpose.

You may wonder how to handle your desire to get revenge. Romans 12:19 says that the way to handle revenge is to "...give place unto wrath:..." Whenever you want to get even with someone, learn to give that person space so that your wrath has a chance to cool down. Most people will not want to get revenge if they will give themselves time to cool down. During the time when you want revenge, pray and ask God to help change your attitude. As hard as it may be, pray and ask God to help you to love the person with whom you want revenge. God can help you to love them, and once His love is placed in your heart, then you will find that the desire for revenge will no longer exist. Don't let your desire for revenge win, but let the love of God win. You will find more satisfaction when God's love wins than you ever will through revenge.

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Righteousness Has No Second Generation

Ezekiel 18:20

"The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."

We often hear about people who are what we call second-generation Christians. A second-generation Christian is one who was reared in a Christian home and who is now an adult. One of the sad things I see is it is very common to see the lack of spirituality among second-generation Christians. Many second-generation Christians attended church regularly while growing up, and often they went to a Christian school. Because of the spirituality of their parents, many times a second generation Christian will have the mentality that they inherited the righteousness and Christianity of their parents. However, righteousness and Christianity cannot be inherited, for these are conditions of the heart and actions that previous generations cannot give you.

The verse above makes it very clear that you cannot inherit righteousness. The only way you can be righteous is by living a righteous life. Your parents righteousness cannot be passed along to you. Likewise, just because your preacher is a very spiritual man does not mean that you are spiritual. I had the privilege of having Dr. Jack Hyles, a prominent Christian and pastor of his time, as my pastor for many years. However, just because I was under his ministry did not mean that I inherited his spirituality.

Likewise, just because you are a member of a large church does not mean that you are spiritual. Throughout my lifetime I have had the privilege of being a member of some very large churches. These churches have been known in fundamentalism as great churches. However, just because I have been a member of these churches does not mean that I am spiritual or righteous. My spirituality and righteousness is completely reliant upon how I live and what I do with Christ.

Furthermore, just because you were born in a "Christian" nation does not make you a Christian. Being born in a car wouldn't make you car. Likewise, being born in a Christian nation doesn't make you a Christian, and being a beneficiary of living with or under someone who is righteous doesn't make you a good or righteous person.

You must realize that your righteousness is dependent upon how you live. What others before you have done does not make you what they are. If others before you lived unrighteously, then you can decide to live righteously by not living like they did. Likewise, if others before you lived a righteous life, you must still decide to live a righteous life because it cannot inherited.

Finally, you are responsible for your own actions. You are your own fault. What I mean by this statement is you are what you are because you choose to be that way. Nobody makes you the way you are but you. Therefore, if you don't like something about yourself, then change the way you are by doing right. Furthermore, if you are going to continue to be known as a righteous person, then you must continue to live right. Be careful about taking on the mentality that your surroundings and background make you spiritual and righteous. Always stay focused on the fact that the way you live daily determines how righteous and spiritual you truly are. Righteousness is never inherited, it's always lived.

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The Importance of Organizational Structure

Ezekiel 10:11

"When they went, they went upon their four sides; they turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went"

What a great statement, "...but to the place whither the head looked they followed it:..." This comes in the midst of God telling about the cherubim's and their work that they were to carry out. You will notice that there were four sides, and each side had a wheel. However, the only thing they looked to for direction was the head. Wherever the head went, they went. This is why they were able to accomplish a great work for God because they followed the one who was in charge. Though each part was important to the completion of the project, there had to be someone in charge so chaos would not prevail.

One of my favorite pastimes is watching the Blue Angels perform. I got my pilot's license as a young man, so watching this precision team perform is simply amazing. They say that when these men fly their jets, they don't look to where they are going when they are in formation, but they look to the wing of the one who is flying in the front for their leadership. By following the head of their team and his communications, they are able to wow audiences with their precision performances. Yes, there is a danger in this, but there is a greater danger in not following the one who is the head.

For any organization or institution to work properly, there must be someone who is the head. One of the fallacies of today's society is the constant questioning of those in charge. Don't get me wrong, no leader should be given a blank check to do whatever they want, but there must be someone in charge for success to happen. If there is more than one person in charge, then division and dysfunction will come. Someone has to make the final decision, and that person must be the head.

For the home to succeed, there must be a head for everyone to follow. According to the Scriptures, the man is to be the head of the home. Being the head does not make him superior to anyone else, it simply means that he has to be the one who makes the decisions. Men, if you want your home to be successful and work in harmony, then you must fill your role of being the head. That also means that every wife needs to let her husband lead in the home and not try to stifle his leadership with her attitude of displeasure or complete rejection of his leadership. The success of the home depends upon everyone looking to the head.

Likewise, the same can be said for the church. Denominations have destroyed God's structure for the church. We have let denominational heads, college presidents and church boards lead the church when God wanted the pastor to be the head of the church. Yes, the pastor is held accountable by God, but the pastor cannot lead the church to fulfill God's will without the congregation following him as he leads.

There must be someone in charge in any institution or organization. Let's be careful about fighting against scriptural structure in organizations and institutions. This structure is there so that success can be more easily achieved. You need to be sure that you fulfill your role in this structure so that success can be achieved. If you are the head in this structure, then lead and lead properly so that those who follow will not lose trust because of your poor or selfish leadership. If you are underneath the head in this structure, then be sure to follow the one in charge. Don't be guilty of causing division and a bad spirit with gossip or your refusal to follow. If everyone will do their part in the organizational structure, then your goal will be achieved with success.

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The Gold Has Lost Its Shine

Lamentations 4:1

"How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! the stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street."

God asked the Jews a question that every Christian needs to pose to themselves. He asked how the gold of the temple had become dim. This was the temple that Solomon had built. This was the temple that in its early days was magnificent. This was the temple that people would travel from afar just to see the great building that this temple was. Yet, now the Jews had taken the temple for granted, and the magnificence of the temple had become mundane. It was this attitude that caused the Jews to forsake God and the temple, which led to their destruction.

We must be careful about allowing our gold to lose its shine. Humans are creatures of habit, and our familiarity with people and things can cause the value of something to be unappreciated. Christians will join a good church and think it's the best church in the world, yet, after a few years that church is no longer the great church in the mind of that Christian. What happened? The gold lost its shine. In the first months of marriage, a couple will have the belief that they found the perfect person, and yet, as the months progress they see the weaknesses of their spouse and they no longer cherish them as before. What happened? The gold lost its shine. Let me ask you, has your gold lost its shine? Has your pastor lost his effectiveness in your life because the gold lost its shine? Is a friend of a lifetime taken for granted because the gold lost its shine? Is the house that you live in no longer adequate because the gold lost its shine? Is the job where you are employed no longer a good place to work because the gold lost its shine? What gold has lost its shine in your life? What is it that once used to be precious and valuable to you but now is like everything else? How can we avoid allowing the gold of our lives to lose its shine?

First, remember that nothing is perfect. One of the reasons someone or something loses their luster is because we start to see the weakness. Let me remind you that they were not perfect when you were first acquainted. There is no perfect church, spouse, parent, home, employment or person. The longer you are around something or someone, the easier it is to see weaknesses. Don't let the weaknesses cause your gold to lose its shine.

Second, remove the who or what that has removed the shine from your gold. Negative people will point out the flaws of your church and pastor causing them to lose their shine. Are these perfect? Certainly not, but your church and pastor are probably better than most. Be careful about spending time with those who will cause your gold to lose it's shine. Avoid them so that you can continue to enjoy your gold.

Third, remember to look at what you do have. Because we see the negative so quickly, we can forget to look at what we do have. If you want your gold to keep its shine, then you must regularly look at the value of your gold. Your spouse still has great qualities. Your church still is a great church. Your pastor is still a very helpful man. Your home is still a nice home, etc. Look at what you do have, and not at what you don't have to keep the shine on your gold.

Last, don't let familiarity cause you to take your gold for granted. Familiarity with anything or anyone can quickly take away the value. When you first see gold, you will look at it for a long time. However, if you were to handle gold on a daily basis, gold would become just another metal due to your familiarity with it. The same applies to the gold in your life. Familiarity can remove the luster from your gold. Don't let it! Always remember how blessed you are to have it or them. The gold of your life can always keep its shine if you work hard at remembering its value.

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Don't Let Your End be The End

Jeremiah 51:13

"O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness."

The verse above is the prophecy when God told Babylon that their end had come. Though they were a tool in the hand of God to bring judgment upon the nations, their own sins had finally caught up to them. Because they did not deal with their own sins, God told them that their status of being a world power would end. The sad thing about this story is that Babylon did nothing about trying to stop their end. Instead of changing what they did to cause their end to come, they continued in their sin to their own ruin.

The end comes for everyone at some time. For some, the end is that they are near the end of their life because of sickness. Others will see an end come to their ministry because of sin. However, I believe when you know the end is coming, that you should not allow your end to be the end. There are three times in the Scriptures when someone knew their end had come, and in all three cases they didn't allow their end to be the end.

The first person who had the end come was Hezekiah. Hezekiah was a good Christian man whose health left him. The prophet came and told Hezekiah to set his house in order for he was going to die. However, Hezekiah refused to allow the end to be the end. We see his response to the end in 2 Kings 20:1-2 when it says, "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live. Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying," When Hezekiah knew the end was come, he prayed and asked God to extend his life so he could give God more years. Christian, don't ever give up on life. When you know your end is near, pray and ask God to give you more years with the promise that you will serve Him.

The second person who saw their end come was Samson. Samson's end came, not because of health, but because of sin. When he stood at the pillars of the Philistine's temple and heard their scorn, he decided not to let sin get the final hurrah in his life. Instead, he prayed in Judges 16:28, "And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." His prayer was for God to use him one more time. So you have fallen in sin, and your Christian service seems to be over. Don't let your end be the end. Instead, pray and ask God to use you one more time. God is a merciful God Who will delight to use you if you will ask Him.

The last person who saw their end come was the unjust steward in Luke 16. When this steward saw that he would lose his stewardship, instead of giving up, he let the end motivate him to start producing. You never know if God will prolong your end if you will start producing in your end. Instead of sulking about your end, you need to use the time you have to produce. If anything, let your end be the most productive time of your life.

Simply put, when you know your end is come, decide to live until the end. Don't die before your end has come, but do as each of these men did and pray and produce until the end. Even if its only for one more time, don't let your end be the end.

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Stay Put

Jeremiah 42:10

"If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you."

The verse above is part of Jeremiah's prophecy to the remnant who were left after they were invaded and taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar. These people had seen some very hard times. They had gone through famines, wars, invasions, sickness, and a loss of many of their friends and family. However, God told the people to stay put and not to leave. God promised that if they would stay put that He would build and establish them in their land. The whole key was not to pick up and run, but stay put through their hard times to see these benefits.

One of the weakness of many people is impatience. We live in a generation that wants everything right now. With the fast food mentality that many Christians have, many miss out on the greatest blessings because they won't stay put. There is something about somebody who stays where they are planted and waits for God's blessings to come through. Because they stayed, God had the opportunity to fully bless them. I encourage you that no matter what your situation may be to stay put so God can build and establish you.

Let me say to the pastor who is contemplating leaving, stay put. I am a preacher's kid, and I have seen the hardships that many pastors of small churches go through. It can be discouraging watching your church growth go up and down. You watch other churches grow, then you wonder if it is you, or if you are doing something wrong. Pastor, as hard as it may be, please stay put. The grass may look greener on the other side of the fence, but you certainly know that there are problems in every church. If you will stay long enough where you are, you will see that God will stabilize your church and help you to grow.

Church member, let me encourage you also to stay put. Too often we want our church to have everything right now, and because it seems to be going too slow, many church members pack their bags to go across town to the other church. You will never have a stable Christian life if you jump from one church to the next. There must come a time when you decide to stay right where you are and help your church become what God wants it to be. It takes people with a long-term mentality to help churches become what they should be.

Employee, let me encourage you to stay put. Just because another job seems to be better doesn't always mean that its best for you. I am not saying that you shouldn't take a better job, I am just saying that you need to be careful about jumping from one job to the next. It is normally the employee who stays who gets the promotions. An owner is not going to promote someone whose resume shows that they jump every few years. Learn to stay put where you are and decide to build and plant yourself in your present employment.

Married couple, let me encourage you to stay put. Divorce is never an option. Though your marriage may be a little shaky at the present, if you will work through your problems, you will find that your marriage will become that happy marriage that you dreamed of. Strong marriages are not built over night, but they are built over years of each spouse working together to make their marriage what God wants it to be. Those who get divorced and run to the next best thing find that it would have been better if they would have stayed put and worked on what they had. Don't make the mistake of running from your problems, but stay put and see God's blessings on your marriage.

Everyone will have problems in every area of life. It is during those times when you will be tempted to run, but you would be wise to stay put until God has the opportunity to bless you where you are.

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He Made It Again

Jeremiah 18:4

"And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it."

One of the best phrases you will read in the Scriptures is found in the verse above when It says, "...so he made it again another vessel,..." This phrase should encourage every Christian that God can make something out of your life in spite of what you have done. When I read this verse, several things jump out at me that can be an encouragement to every Christian.

First, God is interested in your life. God was interested enough that He could see the mar in the clay. Only someone who is interested will notice there is something wrong. You will notice that it did not say how bad the clay was marred, it simply says that it was marred. The clay could have had a major flaw, but it also could have had a minor flaw. In either case God was interested. The greatest comfort you can take is that God is interested in your life. Though you may not get the time of day from others, there is One Who is interested in you, and that person is God.

Second, God has a plan for your life. The clay was worthless without the potter having a plan for it. Likewise, your life is worthless without God. However, God has a plan for your life and He is willing to work with you. Don't ever underestimate the plan of God for your life. He placed you on this Earth because He has a plan for you. Let God work His plan in your life by yielding yourself to Him.

Third, God never gives up. Though the clay became marred, He started over again. Christian, God will never give up on you. Others may give up on you, but God will simply start over again. Yes, maybe God has had to start again many times, but He will continue to start again because God will never give up on you. God is a longsuffering God, and He knows that it will take time to make something valuable out of your life.

Fourth, God never leaves you. When the clay became marred, the potter didn't throw it away, but he stayed with it until he made it again. When the whole world leaves you, rest assured that God is still with you. Every Christian has the promise that God will always be with them no matter what they have done. When you are in the lowest valley of your life, God will still be with you.

Fifth, no matter what you have done, He can make you again. Thank God that when we have marred our life, He can make us again. Christian, let me remind you that God is a God Who will give you a second chance. As long as you are workable, He will continue to work with you and make you again. Yes, He may have to work a new design, but He will make you again.

Last, the only thing that stands between you becoming another vessel is your yielding to God so He can remove the mar in your life. The eventual goal of God is to make you into another vessel. However, until the mar is removed, you will continue to stay in your current condition. Yes, God can use you in your current condition, but He can use you in a greater way when He makes you into another vessel. Let God remove the things in your life that hinder you from becoming another vessel. Yes, it may be painful to remove the mars in your life, but once they are removed God will make you into another vessel that will bring glory to Him.

You may think that God could never use you, but let me remind you that He can make you again. Even if you have fallen into the deepest pit of sin, God can still make you again. As long as you have breath to breathe, God can make you again into another vessel.

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The Root of All Dysfunction

Jeremiah 7:18

"The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger."

Years ago cars used to have a part called the distributor cap. The distributor cap was the place where the spark plug wires would connect so that you could get spark to fire the engine. Whenever changing the distributor cap, it was important that you get the spark plug wires in their proper order. If you placed them in wrong order, then your car would misfire and often times not start.

I have always been one to do as much work on my car as possible so that I can save money. The first car that I owned was due for a tuneup, and I had this bright idea to do the work myself. When I changed the distributor cap, I didn't pay as close attention as I should have to the alignment of the spark plug wires. When I tried to start the engine, it wouldn't start. After trying for a while to figure out the problem, I asked my father what I did wrong. He came and looked at the placement of the spark plug wires on the distributor cap and noticed that I placed them in the wrong order which caused the car to misfire. Two wires were not where they should have been. Two wires caused the whole car not to run properly.

Most of life's problems are created when we take things out of their proper order. You will notice in the verse above that one of the problems was that the children were leading the fathers. Notice that the children gathered the wood. In other words, they were leading their fathers instead of the fathers leading the children. Most of the problems that Israel faced were when they got things out of God's divine order.

Christian, one of the things Satan constantly tries to get us to do is to take God's order and rearrange it to fit our desires. Satan knows that a dysfunctional society is caused by taking things out of God's divine order. If he can get the Christian to ignore God's diving order, then he can cause the Christian to live a dysfunctional life.

For instance, God's divine order for the home is that the man is to be the head of the home, the wife is to submit to her husband, and the children are to obey their parents. However, when you look at society, you will notice that they have fought against this order. When the wife will not submit to her husband, then she causes the home to be dysfunctional. When the husband won't lead like he should, then he forces his wife to lead, thus creating a dysfunctional home. When the parents follow their children instead of leading them, then the result will be a dysfunctional home. The only way to avoid having a dysfunctional home is to keep God's divine order.

Furthermore, God's divine order for finances is to first pay your tithe, then your bills, then purchase your needs and if anything is leftover, then you can purchase your wants. One of the reasons our society is so dysfunctional in the financial realm is because we have not followed God's divine order. We have spent lavishly on wants and desires, ignoring the bills that would eventually come due, which resulted in a financial meltdown. You cannot avoid financial dysfunction when you mess with God's divine order of finances.

Space won't allow me to go into every divine order that God has for our lives; however, you must be careful about keeping God's divine order in every aspect of your life. If you want your life to be functional and to run smoothly, the only way this will happen is to follow the order that God has set up. Following God's divine order always leads to a happy and functional life.