God is a Jealous God....

Topics today: God is a Jealous God ...Continued study of God's Character and Valley Baptist Church....Global Impact Conference (GIC)

God is a Jealous God....

The word ‘jealous’ can stir up emotions in a person, can't it? In the biblical counseling ministry I would say myself and many other counselors have been exposed to the ugly fall out of a person that has been consumed with jealousy and/or the victim of it.  Jealousy and envy can make someone check their brain at the door faster than most any other emotion I know. (smile)

A woman wanted to reach her husband on his mobile phone but discovered that she was out of credit.  She instructed her son who was on site to use his own phone to pass across an urgent message to his daddy.  After Junior had called, he got back to Mommy to inform her that there was a lady that picked up Daddy's phone the three times he tried reaching Dad on the mobile.  She waited impatiently for her husband to return from work and upon seeing him in the driveway she rushed out and gave him a tight slap.  Then she slapped him again for good measure.  People from the neighborhood rushed around to find out what the cause of all the commotion was.  The woman asked Junior to tell everybody what the lady said to him when he called.  Junior said, "The subscriber you have dialed is not available at present.  Please try again later."

I rest my case! Ha,ha,ha,ha!

You might ask, “but if God is a jealous God isn't that sin?” God's word says jealousy and envy are sins. And it also says God is not a man that He should lie.  So how do you reconcile those truths?  This is why it is important to be able to look at the word of God in its original language.  The word ‘jealous’, used in scripture regarding God, is the Hebrew word gannâˈ; it is an adjective used only in reference to God in scripture.  Every place else the word jealous is used it is in regard to human jealousy either as a verb gânâˈ which refers to human passionate jealousy or envy, and/or a noun qinˈâh which takes on a wide range of meanings from zeal for God, to anger or envy. The exact meaning of these words is determined by the context.

God is innately jealous for us to love Him instead of spending our time worshiping and loving idols in our lives that cannot meet our eternal needs.

Jealous - God is unwilling to share with any other creature what is rightfully and morally His.

Exodus 20:5 (ESV)
You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Exodus 34:14 (ESV)
For you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

Psalm 78:58 (ESV)
For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

1 Corinthians 10:21-22 (ESV)
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy?

Valley Baptist Church....

This weekend Melinda (graphic designer for Molly Missionary) and I were privileged to be a part of the Global Impact Conference at Valley Baptist Church Searcy, AR.   We represented Pure Joy International during the weekend.  We had an incredible time because God did some incredible things.  The most awesome one for me is that we had been praying for a contact person for our Burkina Faso trip.  Well, guess who set up a booth right next to ours -  a missionary couple from Burkina Faso that is stateside for a few months.  Got to love how the LORD works!  Found out they knew the other woman I had been trying to get hold of from that area who is stateside right now but had not been able to reach. And to top it off, I got a text from that woman while talking to the missionary couple!  With God those chances are 1 in 1!  

We have a location for Tanzania.  We are solidifying cost as of this week.  Working out all the little details that are important before signing on the dotted line!    Please pray with us that we don't miss a thing.  Also, please begin now praying for the teams to come together for both trips and for the missionary women that will be attending the retreats that have no clue yet we are coming.

Love you all so much...

His,

Vickie