A Devotional Look at the Book #508

A Devotional Look at the Book #508

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

The road map to life in general is not written on the back of your eyelids, so STAY AWAKE! Proverbs 20:13

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

In the early sixties I was on a destroyer that was visiting Italy, we were in Napoli; the time of our visit was less than 20 years after the end of WW2 and there was still evidence in certain places of the war. One of those places was an orphanage and here are some of the things that I remember as a young sailor and unbeliever. The ship was asked to participate in the renovation of the orphanage and I joined about fifty others to go and do the work. Fresh water came to the orphanage by a tanker every day, but we sailors were not allowed to drink it for at least two reasons. One: It belong to the children; and two: it was not safe for us sailors to drink. After the group of children filled their drinking containers; the remaining water was used to wash clothing and dishes. The water that remained was used up by the children to take baths in three available tubs. Another thing that I remember about the building that housed these young people was a couple of rooms in the basement. One was a conference room with table and chairs still in place covered in thick dust; the other was a locker room with the names and ranks of German officers still on the lockers. The building had been used as a sub station or headquarters for the Nazi forces in that area until the allied forces took control. This seemed to me then, as a step back in time; but in my thoughts currently, I think that we as a people of the world have not changed for the better as some would like to believe and even teach. We still have war, orphanages and headquarters focused on this axis of evil. WHY? Mankind loves darkness rather than the Light because their DEEDS are EVIL; John 1:1-13; 3:16-21 and Revelation 20:11-15

2 Peter

2 Peter 2:12-17 – We were discussing the doom of false teachers, but here in the referenced text we will move on to the depravity that characterizes these men and women. The apostle Peter under the influence of the Holy Spirit states that these people are natural minded; such as; found in Jude 1:10 being corrupted by the influence of the natural mind and having no control of God the Holy Spirit and who are condemned by their own devices.

These people work for wages of unrighteousness. These are strong words of warning for those who fulfill the conditions of these passages. Peter says that these men are like loose threads on a tightly wound ball of yarn and that their main purpose in life is to snag other threads and tangle as many as they can by carousing among those they are close to and those who are nearby. They do this in plain sight as well so this means that their deception is very convincing.

Having eyes full of adultery! We want to think this is adultery in the natural state and while it may be a part of the picture, the larger part is the adulterous practice of spiritual adultery since they use the word of God to cover their ongoing obesity for sin. Day and night they do not cease to sin in which they entice others to follow their ways. These having unstable souls likewise seek to cause the souls of others to be unstable as well. In other words; these folks are teachers; but they are teachers who train others to practice unrighteousness; these are called accursed children; I find it interesting that Peter refers to them as children! Which leads us to the next verse for tomorrow, if the LORD tarries?