OMBS7/ Up in Smoke

PRAYER - "Jeremiah's Prayer" You may find yourself asking the same questions Jeremiah asked. "Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins." God may not explain why He allows the wicked to prosper, but your questions prove that you believe He knows why. And He does. Jeremiah 12:1 "Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments." PRINCIPALS - "The Men Of Anathoth" The men of Anathoth threatened Jeremiah, saying, "Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand." "I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me." Jeremiah prayed, "O LORD... let me see thy vengeance on them." Never threaten God's anointed. Jeremiah 11:22-23 - "I will punish them: the young men shall die ...their sons and their daughters shall die ...there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth." PRINCIPLES - "Glory In The LORD" "Who is the wise man, that may understand this? ...I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them." Neither wisdom, might, nor riches compare with understanding the will of God. Your only glory is to understand Him.  Jeremiah 9:23-24 - "Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness." PROPHECIES - "God Had To Destroy His Green Olive Tree" Judah's idolatries sorely provoked God. "What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many?" Once, God called Judah "a green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit." But their sins infuriated God. "With the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken." You may have once been a green tree in God's favor, but if you persist in your sins, He will destroy you. Jeremiah 11:16-17 - "For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee." Watch as this Lady is Baptized + her nephew! Up in Smoke

The tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. - James 3:5-6

Words. Use them right and they'll move mountains. Use them wrong and they can cause your entire life to go up in smoke. "Now, Brother Ashcraft" you may say, "I find it hard to believe that major catastrophes can be caused by a few simple words. I just can't see the connection." Look again at the phrase James used. "How great a matter a little fire kindleth!" Have you ever lit a few little pieces of kindling wood and set them in the fireplace beneath a stack of logs? What happened?  Most likely, the fire began to spread first to one log then to another until finally you had a great big blaze going. After it was over, you couldn't go digging around in the ashes to find the kindling that started it all, could you? No! It would be burned. There would be no trace of it at all. The tongue is like that. It first defiles the body, then sets on fire the whole course of nature with a blaze so great that it leaves no natural trace of its origin. The words that started it end up so deeply buried in the ashes that you'd never even know they were there. So, don't ever underestimate the power of your words. I can assure you, Satan doesn't. He works constantly to get you to turn them in a negative direction. He'll fire darts of pain and sickness and discouragement at you just to get you to speak faithless words—words that will eventually send your life up in smoke. Don't let him succeed. Instead, put out that fire by following the instructions in Ephesians 6:16. Do as the Apostle Paul says and "above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." Speak words of faith and stop the fire before it starts today!