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Eternity in their Hearts

Did you have a nagging mother?  Or, at least that is how you perceived it when you were growing up.  Mothers only mean well.  And so do spouses.  Ahem!  The story is nothing new but we seem to suffer from amnesia when it comes to remembering what was said.  I suppose it is more a mental block caused by paradigm paralysis that prevents us from adopting new mental models of what is good. God has also been speaking.  Are you listening?

Jeremiah 47:5
Baldness has come upon Gaza,
Ashkelon is cut off
With the remnant of their valley.
How long will you cut yourself?

The Philistines were age old enemies of the people of Israel. Their historical cities of Gaza and Ashkelon exist till this day. Much is said of their history through the years and they also have no excuse in not knowing the true and living God. But they chose to serve their god Dagon who we know was brought down by the Ark of the Covenant. This same god has been worshiped with different names but similar design throughout the region. Judgement is upon the Philistines and God used the Egyptians and the Babylonians to do this.

God can use anybody to help us understand that He is God. He can use the unrighteous, if the people of God don't rise up to bring us back to God. He has been and continues to speak to every nation in the world. And therefore no one has an excuse to say God has not called their communities from ancient times (Romans 1:20).  As a people reconciled to God we need to understand how God has been speaking to a particular nation and use that to bridge into their culture and present the gospel and appeal for a verdict. God has put eternity into the hearts of man (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  This book entitled, "Eternity in their Hearts" by Don Richardson is a good contemporary look at this.

Father, I need download for the peoples that are around me.

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