The Devotional – A Look at the Book #658

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Is there more than one truth in the world around you? Maybe you have not thought about this, but there was a day when Pilate the governor of Jerusalem did and said to Jesus; “what is truth?” Jesus identifies “truth” as His Voice and if you hear His voice… you know the Truth. John 18:37-38.

I was reading an article in the March 2012 issue of, the voice of the Martyrs and I find that there is an alarming battle going on. This is not a battle that we are ignorant of here in the United States of America, nor is it a battle that believers are ignorant of, but it is a battle that we believing and unbelieving sweep under the rug and claim that it does not exist. Dr. Tom White writes this small paragraph. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. Although the Indonesian constitution guarantees religious freedom, Islamic radicals have gained influence in all levels of government during the last twelve years. In the last two years, at least 59 churches have been attacked, burned or vandalized. In addition, the Ministry of Religious Affairs is now considering a bill that would further limit the ability of Christians to practice their faith. If enacted, the “Religious Tolerance” law would regulate proselytism, religious holidays, funerals, religious education and construction of places to worship. The sun may still be shining over “Ole Glory” these days; but I sincerely believe that there is an emblem that has surfaced just over two years ago that is prepping the citizens of this nation to envision a merging of religion and government much like that of Indonesia. The emblem is a circle of blue, with a half moon over red and white stripes, currently used at opportune times by influential people within our current administration.

James 4

Of course the paragraph above involves people and nations, life and property, freedom and liberty. All people of all nations are affected in various degrees by this war. Yet this is not the wars and fights that the apostle James is referring too in this chapter. Yet these wars and fights come from the same source. The battle that has gone on since the beginning is the war between our Creator and the created being God identifies as Satan.

Now we do not have time to go into the fall of Satan when he was the anointed cherub called Lucifer in Isaiah 14:12-19 and perfect when created in Ezekiel 28:14-19; that is perfect until iniquity was discovered in his heart. Also note that at the moment this iniquity was discovered, Jesus who is God dethroned Lucifer as the anointed cherub and shot him out of heaven like a bolt of lightning. Luke 10:17-20. But there is enough scripture here for you to do a study on your own. 

Verse 1-3 – The battles referred to by James are from our own source of reference; you know those emotional desires of selfish content. We often come away from a conversation or encounter with someone with thoughts that build strong illusions of being mistreated in some way. Our minds race with murderous convictions, coveting thoughts of gaining the upper hand the next time of encounter. This inward practice of wound licking derails our ability to pray. The battle is not the LORD’s but our own, then when we do remember to pray our direction of prayer is not outward to glorify God, but inward to spend on our own selfish pleasure. God does not answer these prayers, can you blame Him?

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #657

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Jesus prayed for His disciples before He returned home with His Father; He also included all believing people in that prayer. Believing people? What does believing mean? Those who believe in Jesus Christ through the Word of Scripture written by the disciples who gave witness of Him, these are the Believers. John 17:20 and 1 John 1:1-4

Religion speaks of war… have you noticed that? War with God, war with angels, war with people and war with yourself; religion speaks of unrest, anger and fear. So if there is unrest in our souls these days it is because we live in a religious culture that wars against God; Romans 1:28-32. The angels as the man Eliphaz in Job 4:12-21. Your friends and self, Proverbs 27:1-9 or if you have time all of chapter 27. What should we do? Seek the LORD while He can be found. God calls this nation to repentance. For thus says the LORD to this nation. Seek Me and live. Amos 5:4-15. Some will say that God had Israel in mind when He had Amos pen these words. True ole chap! But while you sit on your laurels and say those things, remember that religion was the cause of Israel’s failure to evangelize and in our current day our religion reeks of the same odious condition.

James 3

I am not sure where we are in this chapter so I will pick up at verse 8. Have you ever said something to someone and wish that you had not said it? If you are honest with yourself you will say; yes. Yes I have! James clearly says that this tongue is not tamable and also that it is full of a deadly poison. Did you notice that James does not say that the tongue is poison, but that it is full of poison! So where would this poison come from? The recipe is found in the heart; this is where we cook and cool the poison we spread with our tongue, waiting for the opportune moment to strike.

Have you not noticed how easy it is to bless God one moment and then as if, or maybe in the same breath unleash a curse on someone. Now the tongue sounds responsible, but again it is not the tongue that is bitter, but the heart that is a vigilant oppressor. So blessing and cursing ride on the same expressive outlet; our tongue.

Nature does not have this problem, spring water is and always will be spring water, just as the fig tree will always produce figs (unless the LORD curses it!) Matthew 21:18-19; but in this we need to understand that the fig tree did what was commanded of by the LORD, it did not produce another kind of fruit such as the wagging of the tongue will always do.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #656

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Do you weep over your unbelieving children, in many this is a hard truth; we watch as they find happiness in things that are temporal. We help them pick up the pieces when the temporal melts like the thin ice it is. We point them again to Jesus who has overcome the world. John 16:25-33. 

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and the nature’s God entitled them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving there just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security…

Yes this is the beginning statements found in “The Declaration of independence” the Congress of 1776, then the thirteen States of the United States of America. The last sentence of this great work of freedom and independence reads

And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

The thought in my mind is that a reoccurring evil is present with us these days. Not a nation like Britain, but a history of men who desire to dictate government from their own evils. Refusing to enforce laws for the good of the people and enforcing laws on economy and prosperity that destroy freedom. Laws that fatigue citizens into submission, exposing our freedoms to the watchful eye of an enemy who in these days stand in our cities and town, mocking our Constitution and have absolutely no regard for being legal on all fronts.

I do not know what you may think about this, but if you did give it just a little thought you might not have to “spike” your hair today or hide behind the ornaments hung on your face, lips and tongue. I believe that we should memorize the Declaration of Independence and memorize James Chapter Three. This just may help us get back to the basics of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Of course this is not the solution… but it is a start!

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #655

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Some people fill positions and have no thought of doing a good job. Their actions speak volumes but their production book is full of blank pages. The world does little to encourage productivity, even to the point of hating those who do. However, God uses this worldly condition to perfect His Love and Joy in His disciples. John 15:9-17

The other day the washing machine water valve shut and for the first time in years I heard a familiar sound of old; a water hammer. Well that is what it is called on submarines. The vocabulary of the military person is much different than that of the civilian, but as a side note. With our military becoming more and more liberal and full of men and women who are citizens of other countries, much of the old command and response language of the military has fallen by the wayside. A water hammer on a submarine is not a good thing since it will tell the enemy where you are, so when I heard this sound in my home I immediately began to reminisce of another sound. The rapid release of the air relief valve when the air compressor is pumping more air into the system then required. Often the sound is like that of a machine gun. Once we had a few marines on board our sub and we were taking them somewhere (who knows where?). One of the Machinist Mates ran the air compressors to the point of releasing the relief valves, scaring all of the marines. We all thought of how funny that was, except when we found the Officer in Charge of those marines, knocked out and bloody. He had been asleep and the noise caused him to bolt out of bed, he banged his head on some piping and his injuries were significant. The rub! Ephesians 5:1-7 sets the pace for walking in love as followers of God and we sometimes forget that we are in the LORD’s army.

James

James 3:3-4 – It is awesome what can be done with a little effort and a lot of pain. Placing a bit in the mouth of most any animal will control them, but I would not try it on a lion or tiger; you might get bit. And as you know, the technique works well on horses, ponies and other like animals. We are able to get these animals to do what we want with a small item weighing about a pound, controlling an animal that weighs nearly half a ton. Then we have those large ships at sea, so large and weighty often weighing in at over a thousand metric tons being steered by a rudder weighing less than 2 tons.

James 3:5 – I heard on the news recently of people who claim to be somewhat of a military hero, with ribbons, badges and decorations to back up their false stories. One such individual is said to pastor a church! All of this nonsense does not just happen. The clothes, ribbons and decorations did not just one day land on the body of that individual and oops; he or she made up a story to tell. No! That is not how it happened. A lie comes from the heart, it is thought through carefully. Then before it is told; it must be told to one’s inner being. A person must lie to themselves first, then when believed it can be told to others who will believe it too.

You may say and so people have said that these types of lies are gross errors committed by pathological liars and that the little so called white lies we commit daily have no bearing on this. Also white lies would never start a forest fire, but do these lies encourage health or destroy health. Proverbs 12:17-22. One demonstrates his or her wisdom and foolishness by the use of the tongue. Proverbs 15:1-2. David says in Psalm 12:3-4 that the liar allows his or her tongue to be the lord of their life. In Psalm 73:8-9 says that the liar scoffs at the heavens while his or her tongue walks through the earth. I reckon you could call that person a dirty mouth, or one who starts a forest fire. You choose!

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #654

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

When seeking to accomplish a task greater than one can legally do, a person or group may say; “I come in the name of so-in-so who has the legal authority. Emergency personnel do this all the time and their works prove who they are, just as Jesus does in John 14:7-11

Power in simple human terms is defined as motive or potential but I believe that this is looking at the energy of the word from the bottom up and not as God does from the top down. Notice if you will the statements of Jesus in Matthew 9:1-8. First He forgives the sin of the paralytic and He is charged with blasphemy by the ambulance chasers. Jesus replies; “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, your sins are forgiven you, or say, arise and walk”? (Arise and walk looks easier, but the statement lacks power and is not easily justified). Then Jesus says, “That you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house”. Jesus uses faith in His Father and neutralizes the scribes accusations by using the same power used in forgiving and healing the paralytic. So does this provide ample information about the power of God? By His Word, God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1. By His Word, He rebukes the wind and the sea and there was a great calm, Matthew 8:23-27. By His mercy we are not consumed, because His compassions toward us do not fail, Lamentations 3:22-23. The apostle Paul puts the power of God into action with the words; “LOVE never fails.” Walking in the power and authority of God with our neighbor, friend or loved going in the healing power that overcomes the world… faith working through love. A power that works from the top down; 1 John 4:17 through 1 John 5:1-5.

James

James 3:1 – For all teachers of the Living Word of God this is a verse that can be very alarming. Early in my personal relationship with the LORD Jesus I knew nothing of this verse. Then while preparing to teach in Hartford, CT one Friday evening I stumble across the words, “receive a stricter judgment. I though! Oh boy… I am in trouble now! As time has gone by (30 plus years) the LORD has calmed my heart over this subject and I hope that for all teachers of the Living Word of God that your heart is calm. Remember, Jesus calms all storms.

James 3:2 – none of us are perfectly mature, but in more places than here in the Epistle of James we are challenged to be perfect and complete and to be ready in season and out of season to give convincing evidence of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because there is, as the Day of the LORD draws nearer a falling away of many who will not endure the solid foundation of DOCTRINE. Many already today have fallen from truth and have turned aside to contemporary fables, calling for reformed theology as if it were necessary. Bah! Humbug!

What is necessary then? Should we bridle the tongue and force ourselves to speak only from the KJV as some would dictate? I do believe that all of these translations of the Living Word of God has placed a dark and confusing cloud over doctrine, but again 2 Timothy 4 does not mandate us to teach from just the KJV, but as the apostle Paul charges Timothy by challenging him to endure the affliction of those who apply a stricter judgment to simply do the work of the evangelist and fulfill the ministry that God has given you. This same charge applies to all who preach the Word.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #653

Meditate on this!

Faith without works is dead, so is love without hope. James 2:17 and 1 Corinthians 13:13

Have you notice your life in a personal way? I mean that you are with you all day long, seven days week, twenty fours a day; equaling one thousand four hundred and forty minutes daily. You simply cannot get away from you. No matter where you are or whatever you are doing… there you are, period! The apostle Paul has a lot to say about the body, our personal body and the body of the church, notice! 1 Corinthians 6:18-20. Run from immorality; sins as these are done within the body, also the body is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. Immorality and holiness cannot share the same temple. 1 Corinthians 9:27 it is necessary to discipline our personal body, we discipline others and we expect them to shape up while we remain or become disqualified. From this platform the apostle steps into the church, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22. Just as we personally must flee immorality, the church as a whole body must flee idolatry. Then in 1 Corinthian 11:17-29 we are remembering the holy sinless body of Christ as it was broken for the unholy sinful body of each personal body within the church. As we are responsible in fleeing sins which cripple the personal body, so the church is responsible to flee sins that cripple the church body. This results in a sanctified body of believers who abide personally and corporately as a church in faith, hope and love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Finally; what is sown a natural body in weakness and dishonor will one day be glorified and raised in power, a spiritual body with power. 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.

James

James 2:14-26 – There is faith and there are works, but works does not produce faith and faith of itself does not produce works. I sort of want to stop here and be done with the subject, not because I feel that I don’t understand, but because there is so much confusion in Christendom. We reach out to the brother or sister in need. We seldom tell someone to depart in peace without providing some provision; but we do at times, when we feel used or abused as a person or church, stop providing further help.

People do this commonly, even the unbelieving people reach out to help and will stop helping when they feel used and abused. Matthew 7:1-25 whatever you want others to do to you, you must be willing to do the very same thing to them… Matthew 7:12. However, faith takes a more positive or solid foundation to stand on. Jesus says that everyone who hears these saying of His and does them is like a wise person who builds his or her house on the firm foundation of faith, so we must hear Him and not our listen to our own way which may dictate differently.

And you say, I know all of that so what is the point? Faith/works is stepping out of the comfort of what is normal to mankind. Hebrews 11:1 faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen; or as the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, love for God and people produce works that are backed by faith. Faith, hope and love produce works pleasing to God, this is the fruit of the Spirit of God who motivates you and me to do biblical good works.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #652

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

There is but one command to align the church of God with the glory of God. I believe we are still seekihg to get that command in the cross hairs of our faith. John 13:31-35

A diving officer on a submarine must have first hand confidence on several levels before he submerges the ship. He must know the weight in tonnage; the Ship’s Diving Officer who is normally the Supply Officer will provide this information for the diving officer who submerges the sub after leaving port. This is just one small vital statistic along with other essentials; like air and hydraulic pressure systems, electrical and nuclear power systems. The list of vital information does not stop; communication and administration, all departments must be ready. There are many hatches, valves and other openings throughout the ship that need to be shut, for example; torpedo tubes. All watch stations will report to the diving officer when they are ready to dive, then the Chief of the Watch will report to the Diving Officer that all departments are ready to dive and that he has a straight board, meaning that all hatches, valves and openings are shut. All of this takes time; the ship will not be submerged until all is ready. There are at least two more factors before the Diving Officer can dive the submarine. He must also know from his Quartermaster of the Watch that the ship has enter a depth of water sufficient for diving, and he must have the Captain’s permission. You may say wow! That is a lot of responsibility to place on one man’s shoulder and your remark would be right and wrong! The crew of the United States Submarine is a qualified assembly of men who submerge the ship. The Diving Officer has faith in his qualified crew who report their readiness to dive. When the Trumpet Sounds and the dead in Christ raise first, then we who are alive will be caught up to meet Him and them in the air, this will be because the Bride of Jesus Christ is ready to meet their LORD. The Holy Spirit will agree with the season of time and God the Father will give the okay; the time and season is right, John 13:31-35; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 and Revelation 4:1-4.

James

James 2:1-13 – James uses the rich and the poor to evaluate faith. The assembly of today’s church is no different, but there is a greater depth too this partiality than many of us care to think about. Many of us brothers and sisters in Christ show partiality in other ways; because of personality traits or cultural differences we isolate people. We look for stumbling blocks to place in our way so that we do not have to mingle. The church family suffers under conditions like this as found in 1 Corinthians 3:1-4.

There is nothing new under the sun of the New Testament church, we stumble in the same things that all churches have stumbled over during the last two thousand years and we wonder why we are still waiting for the LORD’s return. Our remarks and ways of dealing with people, whom God has saved, make our churches lack in faith and power. While we do not cripple the power of God to save, we willingly cripple the ones He does save and maybe this is where we get into trouble. LORD! You saved who? Now she is in my church and in my face at least once a week; well okay… I just will ignore her! 

Our partialities are evil in that we willing separate and form little pockets of friends that seem to be okay to fellowship with. While this is partially seems okay it leads to evil. In using the rich and the poor as an example; but not using the monetary element. A rich faction of saints in the word may not be rich in faith, thus the poorer person who is striving to fit in may be rewarded since they may be richer in faith. Faith demonstrates value to God when we love our neighbor as our self. Mercy triumphs over judgment, thus we have liberty to live within the boundary of the New Commandment. John 13:31-35. Partiality is a murderer and an adulterer in the life of the weaker saint who is affected by it.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #651

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Most of us do not like a confrontation. It is like seeing the snowball at the top of the hill gathering speed and density. Nothing can be done to get out of the way; yet for purpose and plan you stand your ground, the hour has arrived; God is glorified and so has JOY. John 12:27-36 and Psalm 22:1-31.

During the early days of submarine duty the boat I was on was stationed in Spain, we swapped crews about every one hundred days. While the ship was in port being fitted out for the next patrol at sea we would have opportunity to go ashore and meet the local people. Most of the men went to the attractions that sailors like most, but there were a few of us who went to a place called Victory Villa. Yes I know that I have talked about this Villa before, but it is worth another mention. No longer are the Polaris Class submarines home ported in this small town called Rota, but the area is still very active with the U.S. Navy and other branches of the service. Ever so often I visit the Villa by internet and over the years this outreach to the military is being very effective in furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of the things I miss most about those days is the close family effect of having all things common as described in the Book of Acts. Outreaches and missions have this framework and the evidence of Acts 4:32-37. To some degree our local churches have lost this joy of the LORD, Revelation 2 and 3 give us an account of all churches from the day of Pentecost until the rapture of the church found in the very next chapter of Revelation, Revelation 4:1-4.

James

James 1:21-27 – The Word of God is like seed and as we have said before; the Holy Bible makes many references to this truth. Luke 8:4-15 and notice Luke 8:11. If we intend to plant the Word of God in our soul then we must be willing to lay aside all filthiness and abundance of wickedness. (Now why would James say that we are filthy and wicked?)… Because it is true, go look at your natural makeup in the mirror. Not a glance but a sincere look! We have an abundance of evil lurking within our natural mind and you very well know it.

Being meek is not cowering and waiting for the axe to fall; meekness understands our bankrupt condition before our Holy God. Meekness is the bottom wrung of the ladder of repentance, the turning away of everything that distracts us from doing the Word. If we are distracted in the least way we will only hear the Word and we will be deceived. There are many hearers of the Word and there are few doers. Doers of the Word of God know who they are in Christ; hearers on the other hand forget. They forget the cost to God for their salvation. Repentance is not forgetting who you are, repentance is not returning too who you are.

The law of the Living Word of God is liberty, liberty to continue being a doer or in other words to continue to grow in faith that produces works which is blessed of God. Religion does not provide the liberty to be blessed of God. Religion does not go beyond the call of duty simply because it forgets to be a doer. You may say; “I see religion feeding the homeless and visiting the widows in their distress so what do you mean? The motions of religion are nothing more than unrepentant people who have forgotten who they are before God. The works that religion does is not rewarding or blessed.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #650

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

The Holy Bible clearly states that all people will die; I have not met one person who has or can make this statement false, but I have met One Person who has died and who is risen again. Read the question He asked Martha in John 11:26, then prayerfully answer the question as Martha does in John 11:27. For context read John 11:17-27.

One time in a snow storm I was attempting to make it to work. The vehicle was new with less than fifty miles on it, as I exited off the interstate I noticed two cars against the guard rails with the drivers outside waving their hands and arms franticly. Tapping the brakes I noticed that the vehicle had no traction and did the very same thing those two men did, I tried to push the brake pedal through the floor board. Of course this only made things worse. Shooting up a prayer; “LORD… we just bought this car, LORD make those men move out of my pathway… LORD help! About that time there was traction and the car shot to the left avoiding the crash and into a few inches of soft snow. It all happened so fast, the men in the pathway did not move and surely I would have hit them. Now many would attribute this to some natural cause, like a clear area on the pavement, but why didn’t the other vehicles find this area as well, I was right in line with their paths. I would much rather give God the glory and praise Him for answering my plea for help. Does God say for naught? Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, that you do not know” Jeremiah 29:12 or 33:3 No God means what He says to us, but it does require faith to believe Him and please Him. Hebrews 11:1-7.

James

James 1:19-20 – James is writing to the dispersed tribes of Israel; his brethren. As he did not understand at the time that his epistle would end up as a preserved canon of the Living Word of God, we should not be critical or ignore the epistle for the truth contained in it. Being swift to hear is a constant problem among peoples of all nationalities. No one listens and why is this? “I know! I know!” this is not the definition of being swift to hear, but it is a fool hearty expression of being swift to remain ignorant.

Another critical problem of mankind of all cultures is the over powering effects of people who have a condition of the lips, I call… “Motor mouth”, before you finish your first sentence, you hear the all too familiar sound of ignition. Then there you are suffering through the “S” curves and the red lights of “no need to go there”. These are people who are not good stewards with the details of life, since their detail is based on their narrow minded view of life and not the Word of God even if they use the Word to prove their point.

Left unchecked, this type of individual will always give way to wrath; wrath is different than anger that does not lead to sin. Wrath and rage never takes into account the conditions that cause anger to develop; wrath and rage do not comprehend conditions. The truth is wrath and rage do not comprehend anything other than to express ones emotional revolt to circumstances; circumstances that would normally produce the righteousness of God in the trials of life. Qualities of character are not evaluated by emotional reactions to the details of life. These characteristics are developed by faith in the exceedingly great and precious promises of God, which is not a motor mouth event, but a grace/faith event. 2 Peter 1:2-11.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #649

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Imagine having something you’ve enjoyed all of your life, only to find that a major portion of it has been stolen from birth! Jesus is the only one who can restore or rebirth that which was taken by the thief. Why? Jesus is the only One who laid down His life and picked it up again for you… this is the Abundant Life to us who believe. John 10:7-18

Now what about yesterday… why was the email late. My answer is: I don’t know! I did hit the send button at 7:30AM and even watched the necessary functions and felt assured that all was normal. But as you well know I resent about 5:30PM. I wanted to say something about the many ways of manipulating people these days. For example; if you are out to purchase a vehicle you will be taken advantage of by “honest John’s” dishonest training. Or, if you plan on making a change from cable to satellite television, phone or internet services you need to be very careful. Those who you deal with to acquire changes which you desire for the better are shrewd; they are trained to exact from you every penny of what they learn from your mouth. Key phrases used; do you still have a loan on your trade-in?” Your answer, “no”, the next question, “Great, how much was your monthly payment when you had the loan?” The ticket price is not the bottom line, but what you can afford to pay out on a monthly basis. If you answer the question the salesperson knows how much you can afford, monthly. On the other side of the coin; “how much are you currently paying for your internet, telephone and cable? Again, it is not what the monthly cost should be, but what you can afford each month to pay. If you tell them they will offer you a packaged “bundle” that is just a bit cheaper and good only for twelve months. Proverbs 22:1-7. Good stewardship in all areas of life means that you will not be a slave to worldly greed.

James

James 1:17 – I do not know of anyone who does not wish to receive a gift, even though someone may play down getting a gift, when one is received you will see them light up. Now there are different reasons why people shun the idea of having a gift. We have no time to get into these, but what we do have time for is that when a gift is received by anyone… it is most always conceived of as good. Yet in the good; the world around us produces material gifts that are not perfect since there is with the gift in many cases a shifting shadow or a variation of mystery.

Does this carry over into our faith in God? Most certainly it does so faith is the foundation of things (gifts) hoped for and faith is the confidence needed (Hebrews 11:1) when the object is not seen. Worldly gifts are seen with the eye, touched with the hand and realized by our other avenues of perception. In other words we see the limits of material gifts. So to take the next step in the gifts that God provides to each of His children is to understand that God is not limited.

James 1:18 – For example; by His own will He brought us out of the domain of darkness and placed us into the Kingdom of Light; the Father of lights (my little light will shine). By His Word of truth, of which we responded too when we heard of the good news, (Acts 4:10-12). There is no variation in the gospel of Jesus Christ; there is only one message. Jesus Saves, Jesus Saves! Thus we are; along with everyone who believe… the first fruits! In the Spirit we produce the aroma of fresh fruit. Ephesians 5:1-2.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #648

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

Is it a trap or is it a sincere question? Would you tell me again how it is that you can see? You know this is the third time you have asked me… so do you want to be like me? The truth John 9:3 and the truth rejected John 9:34 (John 9:1-34)

Short stories about life is what I like to do, but not just to relate an event in my past or in the past of someone else but also to show people who may not know it but God is actually intimately involved with our lives because He loves us. For example; in a Christian magazine I read of a young couple who were travelling one early morning just before dawn on a country road. The road was a two lane highway through the tobacco farm land of Kentucky. The young man driving was in his early twenties, he and  his young bride were on their way home from a wonderful honeymoon in Pennsylvania. They were about an hour from home and he had decided to take this short cut through the rolling hills. He was speeding, about twenty miles an hour over the limit. Suddenly he had the urge to slow down, he ignored the urge. Again a stronger urge came as he approached the next hill. This urge was so strong he decided to stop the car. Just over the hill a little girl of two or three years old was standing in his pathway. He could hardly believe his eyes and his young bride screamed as the car approached the little girl… stopping no more than a few inches from her. The farmhouse just a few yards from the road was dark, but the screeching of the tires caused someone to wake and the lights came on. After all calmed down, the young man knelt where the little had stood and gave thanks to God, who warned him of the little girl who woke up and wandered from her home early that morning. Jeremiah 29:11-12

James

James 1:13 – It does require some thought… does God tempt us? The answer to that question is so simple that it is almost an insult for me to ask it. The answer is emphatic – NO! Okay, then it must be the devil! Again the answer is; although not as emphatic – no! The conditions for temptation, or we could say the climate for temptation is a constant and closed system in this world in which we live. Or, we can say that mankind is tempted because it is a natural reaction and his or her nature to do so. Temptation then cannot come from an outside source, it must come from within. 

James 1:14 – James says that temptation comes from our own desires and enticement. We do not like to be reminded to own up to our own private desires and enticements do we? We like to say that the buck stops next door. You know, my friends’ desire enticed me and yada, yada, yada! We are drawn away from what; James? We are drawn away from God and as our own personal desires increase the enticement to be independent of God’s love overpowers the moment.

James 1:15 – A desire fully developed will result in some action from the one with the desire. With all of the tripwires in the public eye about giving birth these days, I will use a different analogy here. “Joy is found in the bosom of people who have victory over temptation. Death is found in the bosom of people who allow temptation to boil over. Sin is death! Do not be deceived my beloved as James says in verse 16.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #647

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

There is a difference in seeds, even a child can tell this difference. The Word of God is clearly identified as Seed. One notable difference between godly Seed and ungodly seed is faith… faith working with the Word. There is no working faith in religion even though there may be some of the seed. John 8:37-41.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick Proverbs 13:12, this is a hope that the world uses as a standard rule. “Awe… just give it time and it will heal” well not exactly; this hope is the hope of the ungodly who carries despair too the grave and while it may be the answer for the natural man; it is not the answer for that soul of the natural man that lives forever and is the property of God. The unsaved person lives in a continual state of hopelessness. Say what Jesse? I said that ungodly people who you and I know live in a continual state of hopelessness. The houses (or more clearly… their tents) of these relatives and neighbors live in are located on; Lonely Lane, Discouragement Avenue, Fear Road, Guilty Way, Temptation Cul-de-sac, Worry Boulevard, Procrastination Project, Jealousy Annex, Failure Highway, Resentment Route and Anger Alley. All of these pathways lead to an eventual dead end (the tent meets the grave). The apostle Paul clearly states in Acts 20:26 that he is innocent of the blood of all men. What does he mean and is he reflecting on an Old Testament report from God through one of His Prophets? Turn with me to the book of Ezekiel 33:1-11 and see why the apostle says he is innocent. Now the question for all of us is; can we say as the apostle does that we too are innocent, or is there a gap in our true testimony of being saved by grace; Ephesians 2:1-10 and if there is what would that gap look like? I believe that it would not look like Matthew 5:9 – Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. We tend to leave positional truth out of our testimony; thus we fail the full counsel of God Acts 20:27 and Ephesians 2:6-7.

James

James 1:9-11 –If our faith is unstable in the Word of the Living God, as anything you might consider as unstable; it will fail unless the instability is corrected. Human resources are not stable so the rich and the poor are alike. One glories in his lack and the other is humbled and both the poor and the rich fade into nothing with time. Job 14:2. The first recorded incident of this is found in Genesis. Abel offered a sacrifice of Faith while Cain offered a sacrifice of works. One work was solid, the other unstable. Genesis 4:1-15

James 1:12 – James is not jumping from one thought to another as some might think, his message is clear in that the circumstances of life play an important role when it comes to trial or temptation. His message is that we should profit from trials and be encouraged when temptation comes. Remember earlier he said; “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials”. We tend to avoid trials and temptation at all cost and rather rich or poor (it matters not) we will be tempted and the trials of life will be the driver.

What is the crown of life that James speaks of here, Job 5:17 identifies the crown as the “joy of the LORD” when we are corrected by the Almighty. Luke 6:12-13 identifies the crown as the “joy of the LORD” in time and eternity. Hebrews 10:36 identifies reward as a promise from the LORD. And James 5:11 identifies the identity of the crown as “endurance”.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #646

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!

No one is exempt; we are all made to grow up in the world around us… unbelief is ramped in us; being of the world we get along well. Yet and when we come to Jesus through faith in Him; we begin to testify in His Name and we testify that the works of the world are evil. Therefore; even our family will hate us, not because of who we are; but because of who He is. John 7:1-9

Thoughts about Life

Still no picture, my scanner is refusing to cooperate. Here is a thought for all you dieters out there. In Ukraine we ate very well, but here is what is odd… I lost four pounds; you could blame it on the work and yet I work just as hard here at home and the weight will creep up. This is what I think, or my opinion which counts little in the scheme of things. For breakfast most mornings we had meals that here in the US we would have a dinner time. Mash potatoes, maybe a piece of fish or pork a fresh vegetable, bread, dessert and a drink. For lunch we had borsch, fresh vegetables, cheese and a drink and for the evening, late in the evening we had a breakfast type of meal; pastry. Sort of reminded me of a reward at the end of the day for a job well done. Why, do I tell you this… the village was very small and poor, everyone knew each other and it was their normal way of life, the village was called Letki village in the Brovary region, an area of Kiev about ninety minutes from Kiev. However, in Kiev the homes, restaurants and business were very up to date. Electricity, running water and all the latest appliances; also there were one or two plats of homes around this little village where the affluent people who worked in Kiev lived. These homes also had all the pleasures of the modern twenty first century. Here is the rub; should the American way of life crumble many would suffer, but there would be isolated pockets of prosperity, the only difference… our breakfast would still be in the morning, it is simply a cultural thing.

James One

James 1:5 – As I have said many times… I love the Word of the Living God; even when I find myself out of the control of the Holy Spirit, I love the Word of God, it is His Word that does not fail that calls me back. God gives wisdom to those who will ask, Colossians 2:1-3 describes this wisdom. There is no limit to the wisdom that God gives His children. What you learn today from just one verse of scripture will be larger than life and what you learn tomorrow from the same verse will be even larger. I know this by experience and anyone who seeks and ask this of God will say the same thing. Proverbs 2:1-4

James 1:6 – I love prerequisites in the Living Word of God; “but let them him ask in faith” Do we really understand? Testing and trail (the circumstances of life)… we are not capable of reacting to tests and trials in a trustworthy manner. We actually know this, that without the help of God’s wisdom… we fail. One of our largest enemies is not the devil, but our emotions. When our emotional revolt sounds the alarm, temptations creeps in; then the devil takes over and our faith takes the double minded seat at the back of the bus.

James 1-7 – Now we have all been in this failure, you know well the outcome. Our walk in the Spirit becomes unstable; not only in the circumstance that brought us to this point but other areas of life suffer too. We receive the recompense of our lack of faith and the congregation; family; friends and our own person suffers. The antidote: In all our ways, acknowledge Him. Let not mercy and truth forsake you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart, and so find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the LORD (faith) with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:3-6.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #645

by Jesse Abel

Meditate on This!

Being alone in a crowd is often the case for the child of God. We stand alone, not because of who we are; but because our image (reflection) is restored to godliness through the grace of God in Christ. Our conduct, conversation and character reflect Jesus; thus we may find our self in conversations like that of; John 6:60-71.

Thoughts about Life

I thought I would try to get a picture of the Ukraine church on the email today, so this may take up most of my time. This is something I should try in the evening when I have more time… so I have changed my mind. I am however looking over some of the pictures and you know what happens when you do that, time flies and nothing is accomplished. If you have ever given it thought, you might be interested in how these folks lived routinely. Running water was only found in what we would call a mud room and at the well outside. There was an out house and a larger room behind the out house where a continual fire burned that heated water. In this room we would bathe. One half bucket of cold water mixed with a quarter bucket of hot water. Then you would pour this over your head, soap down and then do the same water mixture and process to rinse off. Of course this took a little getting use too, but we did and learned to enjoy these new ways of getting things done that; here in the U.S. we sort of take for granted. A little food for thought here! Could we Americans ever face the day of no running water and poor electricity? Most of the Ukrainian men were nuclear engineers while Russia controlled that small nation. When Russia pulled out of Ukraine they took everything with them. Ukraine went from a stable economy to a very poor one overnight. Now we do not have a nation controlling us; we have a nation of which we have very little control of… and this is to OUR SHAME – we the people and yes it can happen to us too.

James One

The epistle of James is very practical, he teaches his readers to understand that God’s plan is for us to pursue faith. Notice what he says in verse three; God tests faith, now a good question would be; Is this a faith of ours to begin with or does the faith that God test belong too or originate from another and are we to take on that character of faith over our personal faith? Our faith is imperfect but God does expect us to respond to Him in faith. Acts 3:16 –  notice that there is additional faith, faith that comes to us through Jesus that provides perfect soundness… physically, spiritually and mentally.

The KJV of Galatians 2:16-20 helps me to see that my faith needs a boast, noting just verse sixteen: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law:  for by the works of the law shall no flesh be Justified”. I see this as very important in our process of sanctification. Growing in faith; faith that is not of our self but in the faith of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-11

James 1:4 – Endurance or perseverance are two words that do not fit well in our normal frame of reference. We like to have things happen NOW. Don’t you know it is lunch time… go to the bathroom after we eat”! “I don’t have any patience with you; you take too long to change the station on the TV; etc, etc, etc”! These imperfect conditions, although minor in the eyes of most children of God are very visible to a casual observer on any Sunday morning. How can we say that we are maturing as believers, when our actions shout silently to our brother or sister; “I have not patience with this moment, I’m leaving”.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #644

Meditate on this!

How strong is the testimony of one man? Even Jesus in His humanity stated that if He witnessed of Himself that it would not be true, nor would be the witness of another man such as John the Baptizer. So the appeal of humanity for good works even when the sin barrier is removed; must be to a Higher Court, a Perfect Witness… God! John 5:31-37.

Thoughts about Life

One of the thoughts that crossed my mind while in Ukraine was how this poor community could come together and build such a nice church. I know that they waited on the LORD and I know that God provided, but I had noticed a brightly gift wrapped box that seemed to be visible in the pastor’s home and in the church whenever there was a service. The pastor and the congregation used the box to collect money from gifts received from missionaries. The money was not counted and remained a secret to everyone. This was foreign cash that did not immediately go into a collection cycle for the general and building fund. If there was a specific need for the building, like something that was not budgeted the box would be opened. It was no surprise to us Americans that the one time we witnessed the opening of the box, there was just enough money in the box to meet the need. The pastor’s son Timothy, who was about ten years old then; beamed with excitement that the amount in the box covered the need at hand. The time of praise and worship that followed the one opening of the box that we witnessed was awesome. It is in areas of the world like these that the Power of the Holy Spirit is more visible. Acts 2:40-47.

James One

Verse 1 – James the half-brother of our LORD writes his epistle to the Jewish nation which has been scattered, resulting from persecution. The epistle is most likely one of the earliest and very likely the first written epistle of the New Testament Canon around AD 60. There are many tools available if you desire to search out the historical truth of this dispersion of the Jews, so I will leave that up too you as you desire. I want to jump right into the spiritual application; which for me is most important.

Verse 2-3 – A simple but powerful statement by this apostle as he writes, he does not say… if you the brethren; fall into trials, but says when we do, so he does not even assume that we may or may not. Thus trials are an everyday event for all believers; Jew and Gentile alike. Trials are circumstances of life and if you are alive and I believe you are since you are reading this. A circumstance (trial) will occur in your life today. It may be an old one that resurfaces; or one that you know is coming or even one that you are living through at this very moment.

Well let’s not forget the opening statement of James which is the second verse. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” The world around us apart from God cannot experience “JOY” so if we turn to the world to fix our problems of circumstance, it will only be a temporary season or time of peace and not the permanent “joy of the LORD” that the apostle is speaking of. Now as we discuss the epistle we will be looking at; joy, faith, works, wisdom and other critical issues that we sometimes set aside when the trials (circumstances) of life overwhelm us.

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #643

by Jesse Abel

The Devotional – A Look at the Book #643

Meditate on this!

After the wedding in Cana and the Passover in Jerusalem, Jesus returned to Galilee. Now, He was not seeking to have Himself honored above his Father’s Plan. His purpose was to reveal the hardness of heart found in familiar surroundings; such as religion and relatives,  John 4:43-45 and Matthew 13:53-58.

Thoughts about Life

Even though I was on the local fire department for a number of years and climbed to the roof tops of several chimney fires, I have always been fearful of height. Yet here we were in Ukraine, in a small village where this new church was being built. There was not one manufactured ladder in the building, all of the climbing and walking about near the ceiling was done with makeshift scaffolding and ladders put together from excess wood. None of these climbing devices were balanced or safe, yet most of us climbed around on these objects as if all was well. The pastor who spent most of his time high up on the scaffolding asked me to join him one day when his partner was on another project. I went to the top and the swaying of the platform was so bad I actually felt sea-sick. I could not go any further and came down. Later that day the scaffold collapsed with the pastor on board. We all came to his rescue and he had hurt his leg. In all; this did not seem to bother him, after the repair of the scaffold he was back up there putting in the ceiling. Just to let you know, I was putting in ceiling too, but it was on the lower sections of the sanctuary and the “dropped ceilings” in the class rooms and hallways. Ecclesiastes 9:10 I like the word device in this passage since I feel that staying off that scaffold kept me out of the grave for the time being.

Ecclesiastes 12

Verse 9 – Well here we are at the end of a wonderful section of God’s Word. If you have ever been outside of God’s Will for your life while being saved. Then as His child you know first hand what King Solomon is saying in these final words of his book. The preacher is not wise in his own making. 2 Chronicles 1:1-12, God granted to Solomon his request for wisdom, God honors all such prayer; see also James 1:2-8. The only prerequisite is that the person asking must ask with solid faith. Those that have know that the wisdom that comes to them is of God and they also know that it is not lost when walking in darkness, just as one knows that they have not lost salvation.

Verses 10-11 –  The wisdom that Solomon projects to his readers was not only godly, it was also tested by Solomon. In his natural mind, he practiced sin as he said for a season of time, but his wisdom did not leave him – Ecclesiastes 2:9-11 in this he pondered and sought out another book; Proverbs. He states that he to used acceptable or delightful words of upright truth in all his books. Words like those that challenge the reader. Also; words that are like well driven nails, solidly fixed in the object with purpose; words that come from one Shepherd of truth and love; this must be true as the books are in the Living Word of God.

Verses 12-14 – Lastly, know this; of making many books, which many seem to do! We search for wisdom; there is no end and of the much study we do wear out our ambition of living life in the flesh. The conclusion of the matter… no matter how far you take life in the flesh or in the Spirit, it is the WHOLE duty of man to FEAR God (He alone is awesome) since He alone will bring every work to His judgment Seat for evaluation. Sin is not an issue; but evil is… what is done under the sun will be evaluated, the flesh profits nothing, only what is done in the Spirit will be rewarded. 1 Corinthians 3:5-17.