Perspective

We are all frogs in boiling water. It started out lukewarm, comfortable, and calm but the temperature, over time, has slowly been turned up. Its Increasing in temperatures of manipulation, lies, fear, oppression, greed, and selfishness and if we all stay in the water, we will die. This is how temptation works under the direction of the devil. He sees our weaknesses, he see’s where he can create, control and ignite destruction and he slowly, one degree at a time, gets us there. He uses us against each other by influencing our emotions and using our minds to justify an action for his purpose. He has done this time and time again and we keep falling for it!! Sins made from generations before us will continue to create a ripple effect of destruction presently and for our children if we do not WAKE UP. READ YOUR BIBLE. You don’t need to read it from cover to cover to see the repetitive mistakes. Just read one section and compare it to what you are living in now! For example, lets look at King David. About 400 years after Exodus. Most may have heard the David and Goliath story. Its a message with a lot of wisdom and guidance but if you read on, to see the consistencies in that time and compare it to now…..Its undeniable. David had many wives and many children but for the sake of this message, we are going to focus on King David and Bathsheba and their son Solomon. When Solomon succeeded David, David warned him 1 Kings 2:3 And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgements, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turned thyself: 4 That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee a man on the throne of Israel. Well, Solomon was given a great inheritance and God blessed him with much wisdom 1 King 4:29 but as time went on, staying consistent with those before him, he went against God’s warnings from Deuteronomy 16:18-22 and 17:14..Solomon goes against the guidance of God and it brings destruction….the act of going against God does not make God punish him…thats not whats happening here. The guidance was to avoid destruction, just as you tell your children to not touch fire, God was doing that for Solomon. Solomon’s first wife was Pharaohs daughter, God said he must not intermarry… 1 King 11:4 his wives turned his heart toward other gods. Also, in building the temple, it took him 7 years to build the house of the Lord but it took Solomon 13 years to build his own house. You can interpret that he built a bigger more luxurious house for himself, rather for the Lord. In 1 Kings 7 it is mentioned multiple times how costly each element of his house was and I believe the bible was not inferring the actual dollar cost, but the moral, peaceful cost. In his construction, Solomon conscripted laborers from all of Israel. This conscription/ draft, was the seed planting of resentment and the beginning of the fall. Solomon reigned for 40 years. ( theres that number again) He was succeeded by his son Rehoboam and in 1 King 12:2-11 Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel from the 11 tribes, spoke to Rehoboam saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of they father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee by ending the conscription and lowering taxes. Rehoboam consulted old men for advice and they said serve your people and they will serve you. He forsook the counsel and consulted with young men that grew up with him, most likely his friends. People he probably knew would tell him what he wanted to hear. Which was denying Jeroboam’s requests. The reaction to his decision was revolts and the beginning of the destruction of Israel. Lets fast forward!
We discover America 1492….About 400 years ago from today, 1619 slavery begins and the same mistakes start over again.
We are living in that ripple affect that proves that when an action is done under the wrong direction, it lingers and affects more people than a human can interpret but God knows. That is why he created the bible, that is why he sent Jesus, to guide us away from the devils schemes and to save us! We don’t have to stay in this boiling water, we can be lifted out by his hand and cooled with his water through baptism and choosing to welcome his way into our life, under his direction, his will, and his love.