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Friday, February 3, 2012

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #641


by Jesse Abel

Meditate on this!
And Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” John 3:5-8 clearly establishes two believing prerequisites for entrance into the kingdom of God. One – you must be physically born and; Two – you must be Spiritually born. Any theology that does not teach this is of the devil.

Thoughts about Life
Some days the thoughts of what to write about seem to be locked away and that I can never find the right key on the ring to get the door open. This is one of those days! To tell the truth it is because of the struggle that goes on between the flesh and the Spirit. I am looking at Romans 7:7-12 where the apostle Paul explains his struggles with the flesh when it is more operational in a moment of time then the indwelling Spirit. I have to agree! “Oh wretched man that I am!” who will deliver me from this body of death? If you think about this statement, you might clearly see why the apostle says such a thing. A walk in the flesh is like the stagnant water in a pond with no life and the stench of sin like sitting in a bag of garbage on ninety degree summer day. This is serious and I need to understand as the apostle challenges. “I thank God – through Jesus Christ our LORD!” So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. I need to stop being mindless and make a conscious response to return to the power of God in the Spirit. Only then will I notice the footsteps on the beach of one Person, the imprints in the sand show the extra weight as He carries me to the water; the washing of the water of the Word to remove the stench of sin once again. This is a Titus 3:1-8, moment and I thank God for it.

Ecclesiastes 11
Verses 7-10  – The days of our youth are filled with memories of sunshine and pleasant days, there are even days of our adult life that are beautiful moments locked away and to remember now and then. I am reminded of many of those days this very moment, but also with those memories there is the mixture of darkness. We tend to remember our dark days since these follow so closely to the brighter more pleasant one. Like good and evil; pleasant days and dark days travel the same path.

Walking as a young person in the ways of ones heart is what most of us do, we use the things of the world and make our heart merry. The heart says good job, you are a faithful servant so whatever you fix your eyes on; go ahead and do it. The pleasure of the flesh will be your reward. 

“Now wait just a moment!” your eyes may see and cause you to do, but God is standing by watching too! He will bring all you do into judgment one day. If there is sorrow in your heart over this, then that is a good thing. In other words, it is a good thing to have a bit of vexation in your mind in the prime of your life as this may cause you to put away the evil from your flesh. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 1 John 2:28-3:1-3

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