A Look at the Book #448

A Look at the Book #448

by Jesse Abel

Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #448

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to their works. Revelation 20:11-15 – An excerpt from the Plan of the Day; for the coming Day of the LORD.

A DAY IN THE PAST

I do not believe that I ever sought to describe myself as anything other than a culprit in my days as an unbeliever. On one occasion on the USS Searcher the ship was due to put into port on the next day, so the Captain did something thing that made me react in a very poor way. The night before he had received a message stating that my wife had delivered our first child, and he chose not to tell me until the next day when he held an arrival inspection of the crew at 10am. Standing in formation he approached me and in front of all the other sailors; he said. “Seaman Abel, your wife delivered a baby girl yesterday and here is a copy of the message that came in. I chose to give it to you today during my inspection.” I took the message and stepped out of ranks because I could not contain my composure. The Department Head Officer demanded that I get back in ranks and I refused. What could they do, throw me overboard? Later that day I handed the Department Head a request for leave when the ship docked. He refused the leave because I had broken ranks. I grabbed my Boatswains knife from my hip, grabbed his tie and cut it off his neck with a few undesirable remarks. I went to Captains Mast and the Captain granted my leave and the charges were deferred until I got back off leave. After this incident the U.S. Navy changed the regulation of wearing black ties with kakis for all officers and chiefs. I guess some good came from this incident, I know that when I made Chief some years later, I was glad…

James 3

James 3:8 – All of the Word of God is Yea and Amen, in fact; the Holy Bible is absolute truth and throughout the Old and New Testaments you will find the writers claim to the infallible riches of God’s Word and of their unworthiness to proclaim it. Isaiah for example says that he is a man of unclean lips. Isaiah 6:5 and the apostle Paul states clearly that he is the chief of all sinners, 1 Timothy 1:15. Try taming your tongue and you will get bitten. Ask any judge of the courts, or wait for the day of Hebrews 9:27!

James 3:9 – You do not have to look at your neighbor, or the clerk in the store. You do not even need to travel very far to find those who bless God the Father and curse the people who were made in His likeness. Just go look in the mirror, it is that simple. Accountability does not start with the “eye” of man, by the time the eye reacts to the picture the damage has already been done by the tongue.

James 3:10-12 – So I am sure you know all of this since you know your tongue, just as I know mine. We seem to paste on thick the wax of blessing, then along comes the tongue to lick like a flame that melts or spoils the image of blessing. This is the devastating effect of turning light into darkness. The same evil that prevailed in the Garden of Eden is reproduced daily in our lives by the tongue that sits inside a filthy cave, waiting like an asp for a moment to strike. This is not the work of faith, but it is the work of the flesh.