A Look at the Book #475

A Look at the Book #475

by Jesse Abel

Daily Devotional – A Look at the Book #475

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

When I was a child of less than ten years of age a full bucket of beer was ten cents and a gallon of gasoline was six cents. But then people with no sense got hold of our economy. Is it not strange? The people on welfare can still afford both of these commodities… hum! Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

Gilead was a region east of the Jordan River and eighty to one hundred miles north of Jerusalem. In the book of Jeremiah the prophet speaks to the people of Israel concerning the dangers of obscene religion and false teachers; Jeremiah 7:28 through 8:17 and as he goes on through to Jeremiah 8:32 he says is there no balm or physician in Gilead? Now we need to go back to Genesis chapter 37. We see the descendents of Ishmael in Genesis 37:25 coming from Gilead with goods and commodities. The first mention of this region and of an ointment (balm) is recorded in this verse but it is a thought from this passage of scripture that is weighing heavy on the heart of Jeremiah. Joseph who is nearly put to death by his brothers obscene view of religion is about to be sold to a band of Ishmaelites who are involved with a false religion. All religious efforts of man is; in the eyes of the LORD either obscene or false and Jeremiah clearing mourns over the people of Israel because they continually fall into the traps of obscene (idolatry) worship and the snares of false prophets (teachers). Jeremiah 28:1-17. What has this to do with us today? We like the Israelites have forgotten that there is but One soothing Ointment and One Physician; He is Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom Isaiah wrote of in Isaiah 42:1-4 and of whom Matthew spoke of in Matthew 12:18-21. God does not change; He is the same yesterday, today and forever… Hebrews 13:8

1 Peter

1 Peter 2: 11-12– Is your faith in God as solid as the rock? The stone that we read and shared yesterday is the rock that we should be today and hereafter. Now we, who are travelers in a wilderness of darkness, are God’s living pilgrims in a land of Satan’s living dead so to speak. I know; this sounds harsh, but it is true. We have been rescued out of the domain of darkness (death) and placed into the kingdom of God’s Son (life). Colossians 1:9-18.

Do you not feel the war that bombards your soul daily? We are commanded to abstain; this means that there is no excuse to say; “the devil made me do it”. No the devil did not make you do anything, you simply and purposefully failed to abstain. We call this SIN and it is a disobedient conduct of the saint. It is not a conduct of the unbeliever since it is their only way of life. A life that is characterized by the tree of good and evil is the way of the unbeliever and a life of the saint is to be characterized by the Tree of Life which we are to abide in.

When God visits the unbeliever and calls him or her to repentance; how will they know to repent if we; the believer, falls short of the grace of God and sins in the unbelievers face? God is not glorified and the unbeliever stays separated from God. In other words; you have become a stone to stumble over and this hardens the heart of someone who might have been saved, had they seen your good works.