The Devotional - A Look at the Book #826

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Burning buildings have this one thing in common “fire” that never says “I’ve had enough” and the writer of this Proverb also understood that an empty womb longs for new life while the grave thirsts to receive its dead. Proverbs 30:15b-16 this is wisdom neglected by most in this country because we have become the leech with two daughters. Proverbs 15a

 

Good Morning

 

Many, if not most mornings when I sit down to write I do not have a clue of what it is that I will write about. Now you may think this is odd, I know I do; since most folks when writing have a subject that includes a purpose or plan. Yet, while I write this I am reminded that this is not totally accurate since I am being rubbed in my mind with those stories of the past, those current event issues and the main Person of all of these devotionals.

 

So here is the ever present rub! I always have a subject that will usually generate the plan and reveal the purpose. My subject of course is the LORD Jesus Christ. Isn’t He Wonderful! He is the Creator, the Sustainer, the Savior, the Interceder, the King and the LORD. He is even much more than this as Isaiah puts it. “And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:b

 

The Wisdom of God is searchable, but the depth of the Wisdom of God is unsearchable. Have you thought about that? If you are a student of the Holy Bible and I hope you are then you know that there is no reachable depth to His wisdom. The more you study and search the more Wonderful He becomes. I like the way the apostle Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 2:6-16.

 

Here is an interesting thought… at least for me and this is that when you study the so called sacred books of religion (you name it) these writings are limited by DEATH, death in the context of the writings, death to everyone who follows the writer, because the WRITER is already dead and in the GRAVE and therefore these religions are DEAD and without hope.

 

This is not the case with the HOLY BIBLE. Death is available in the Holy Bible if you so choose to have it, but death is certainly not the THEME of the Holy Bible. Notice what Jesus says as recorded by the eye witness account of the apostle John. Of course you need to read so just click on the verses: John 10:10, John 11:25-26 and John 14:6.

 

There is not enough room in the world as we said in a recent devotional to contain the wisdom of God and yet the world is filled with His wisdom. One Sunday School teacher asked his class of first graders if they knew how big God might be. A little girl raised her hand and when prompted said, “God is so big that He doesn’t have to go ANYWHERE” Good answer.

 

Let me ask you this question: “Is this your knowledge of God, is He that omnipresent God who omnisciently provides for you moment by moment because He is the omnipotent God and the immutable God?” Do you have this wisdom of a first grader? Or is your god someone or some thing just as dead as those false prophets who lay in their grave with no power, no wisdom and no presence of mind to escape death.

 

One read of John’s gospel would be sufficient for anyone who is being challenged by God to know Life. As someone has said; "if you do not know Jesus, you do not know Life” or in a more base way someone has said. “no Jesus, no life – Know Jesus, Know Life” the choice is yours of course.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #825

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

“Which way did they go”? Said the farmer to his son; “They went that-a-way pa! No, pa; that-a-way” “Pa are ya hearin me, I said, “them cows went that-a-away, not that-a-way”! Makes sense doesn’t it! Sounds of today and the political fuss of many politicians before an election.

 

Good Morning

 

When I was growing up, now that is a long time ago, but against the backdrop of eternity, only a moment or two; my grandfather would tell me to be thankful that I was born in the United States of America and that I had freedoms that other peoples of the nations around the United States did not have.

Now my grandfather was not perfect, none of us grandfathers are, yet once in a while we say things to our grandchildren that seem to stick to them like fly-paper. That being said and while I watch our nation struggling to cling to our freedom and rights; my grandfather’s voice is sounding loud and clear in the shadows of my mind.

 

A closely related subject to one’s political view is one’s religious view and another thought that my grandfather poked me with was that I was of a certain religion and that I should be proud to be an American and a (name your own) religion. He also said that it was okay to talk about religion and politics; but not in the same sentence. (Sorry papa!)

Now if I have any of this wrong I know that my cousin in Kentucky will correct me since my grandfather died in the mid seventies, but this little tale of the past is relative only to what I am really aiming at to say and not to be taken as literal since my memory is not functioning at best these days, yet my grandfather was very vocal about these subjects.

 

My aim is to show that there are many voices in politics and religion. Everyone from the so called incumbent, his or her challenger and right down to the grandfather in his rocker has some bent on the political or religious way to sway those who will ignorantly listen to their expressions of, “thus sayeth the “swami” or the front porch “autocrat”

 

So here is a solution to the many voices of destruction that this nation is traveling. Matthew 7:1-29. First we must stop sinning and repent of judging and being a hypocrite. Matthew 7:1-6. Second we must humble ourselves before Almighty God and keep asking for renewal, keep seeking for His restoring our needs and to keep knocking on His door of opportunity. Matthew 7:7-12.

 

There are not many ways to a religious utopia, nor are there many ways to secure freedom and purpose for living. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY and that WAY we do know, except that we are a rebellious and stiff necked people. Matthew 7:13-14.

 

As a nation we can heal, but we must be willing to look at those who run our religions and those who run our governments. MOST OF THEM ARE FALSE PROPHETS AND RAVENOUS WOLVES. The sad part is that many KNOW THIS and yet, and because of tradition, family and friends; will trade off their freedoms for HELL on earth before reaching HELL in eternity.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #824

by Jesse Abel

 

A Word from Papa “J”

 

The danger of drifting away from God is an ever present danger in the heart of those who love God, especially to those who like to flirt with the world. By the way…! The world will flirt with you and win; winning over your thoughts, obedience and rebellion. Proverbs 14:11-12

 

Good Morning

 

Well it is obvious to me that I am sitting in a dry desert these days when it comes to writing a few short notes so I have been thinking of what I might do to overcome this thirsting and do better. Truly prayer helps and I could use some help in this area in that you would pray for the LORD to provide His Will to be revealed as I continue writing. I certainly do not want to write anything that oversteps is Will.

 

Hymns have a way with us do they not? Yesterday during our service we sung this hymn; “The Love of God” and was reminded of the effort of many a people who seek daily to express this Love that God has. We believe that we have the perfect message and the strongest motivation to speak. We have the assistance to God the Holy Spirit and even a love for the people who will hear our vociferations and yet at the end of our message is the thought that there is still more work to be done.

 

Every stalk is not a pen, nor is the ocean filled with ink as the song relates, yet every stalk and every molecule of water contains God’s handiwork describing His love for all that He has created. Everything created belongs to God, for example in this song by Frederick M. Lehman he mentions what does reveal the Love of God but that are often overlooked by the world. A world that daily needs the reminder that God is LOVE. 1 John 4:7-11

 

What are these? The tongue, the star, the hell and the guilty pair; God’s SON, the erring child who is reconciled and the story of the Love of God that sin is pardoned. Also years have gone by and time like an old worn out rug is passing away. Thrones and kingdoms have come and gone, and yet men refused to pray. Still the Love of God rings loud and clear, it is measureless, it is as strong today as the day that God revealed it to His Creation of which you and I are a part of.

 

So we have this mandate, this command or commission to fill the world with the Love of God, all of God’s creation does this willingly except for man who has trouble trusting in Your Mercy. But when your love is revealed and trust is invoked, the heart will rejoice and the song, oh the song of the Love of God will flow from the lips, from the pen and from every stalk or ocean deep. Psalm 13:1-6

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #823

A Word from Papa “J”

The road ahead always leads to someplace, yet there are many places on the road where one can go. This to me defines religion and how Jesus explains to His disciples saying: “Enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate that leads to destruction…” Matthew 7:13-14. No doubt it is just coincidence that Jesus directed Ananias to the house of Judas in Acts 9:11… or is it?

Good Morning

Who are some of the people we deem as important in life? Family, a husband, a wife, children, parents, grand-children, grandparents, aunts, uncles and close friends; all of these people affect to some degree the maintenance of life and happiness to those around them. Yet within that mix of loved ones are people with bent views about life that do not line up in ways that produce or meet the needs that one may have.

For example; just down the street from where we live is a couple with two children. The older boy is from the man’s other marriage and the younger from the wife he presently has. These two are often outside when I take a walk with our two dogs. The man’s wife likes to bring her young son out to see the dogs and chat a bit with me. The husband owns a landscaping business and he and I talk shop since I was once in that business too.

Because I talk with both of them and sometimes separately I have gotten to know what it is that makes them close to one another and what it is that keeps them apart. The woman mainly believes in evolution and the man could very easily be of a cultish background. These are two unhappy people who are willing to clash and argue with each other while I am present. Yet when the other is not present there is a sense of need that both express and that is the need to have a friend, someone to communicate with and confide in.

Here is the rub: We need friends and relatives and we need to communicate with them, but there is one communication that belongs to the husband and wife alone and that is the conversation of a bitter heart. When a married heart becomes bitter it is mostly because that heart is left alone to suffer the results of loneliness. And when loneliness pokes its head into places where trouble is; trouble happens.

This is true with children too who need parental communication rather than peer pressure or another adult to confide in. Also know this that though the stranger is called in to provide joy, he or she will not be able to provide, except to provide more sorrow since most would be friends will choose a side.

Wickedness within the household overthrows it, even when the tent of the upright is just down the street. On the surface we laugh and play childish games of hide and seek. (I’ll hide from you the things I do not want you to know, even while you seek to find out) Yes we can laugh and frolic in our mirth; and in all this laughter a heart retains its sorrow while our mirth ends up in grief – Proverbs 14:10-14.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #822

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

The Holy Bible is not a vehicle to wage war on the world; the Holy Bible is the only source of Revelation that God Loves the world. John 3:16 and you say…” I know that”! And I say; “yes you do, but do you know this? 1 John 4:7-11

Good Morning

Over the last five years I have been typing and sending my thoughts and convictions all over the world through a very convenient electronic highway. With friends and acquaintances in Northern Europe and Israel and by those folks; to other parts of the world these daily devotionals have reached a lot of people and to that end I thank God.

I seem to be at a cross road though and wonder if I can continue. Lately I have been rewriting some of the older devotionals and reviewing some of the topical studies of the Holy Bible and thinking that it has all been very exciting for ME, yet there is a developing emptiness that seems to follow the excitement like a shadow. That shadow speaks with an uncomfortable voice that repeatedly says. So what’s the point of all those words of the past and present?

Would it not be better if I just thought about these events and prayed with a heart of thanksgiving over my experiences? Would it not be better if I devoted myself to prayer that God should rescue this failing nation; could I have done something else with all these past stories? Woulda; shoulda and coulda! Well, no doubt I could have, I would have, but I shouldn’t have. Why is that?

Because I have given God thanksgiving for the events of life and the stories that followed; also I thank God for this country, the military, and our freedom still available for YOU and ME. And WE as a nation need to cultivate our recent victories and defeats through real life experiences in order to harvest a new crop of ideas and opportunity for our young people to grow on and thrive as a FREE people. Fresh voices of opportunity laced in prayer to God with thanksgiving.

Starting on November One, I will begin sending the devotional out on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I would be interested if someone would like to join me in the writing of these daily devotionals to fill in for Tuesday and Thursday, then in 2013 launching from this old platform a vitally needed message to the world around us that Jesus is coming again. Revelation 22:12-21.

Well these are my thoughts and my prayer today, let’s see what lies ahead. In the thought of this I am reminded that we should all seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33 and what are those things? Godliness in Life, Righteousness in Liberty and Justice in the pursuit of Happiness as in Christ; nothing else matters.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #821

by Jesse Abel

 

A Word from Papa “J”

 

The Holy Bible is the only Book containing the Words of the Creator. The Holy Bible outsells all books; religious and secular, it always has and always will. Yet, billions of people have NO HOPE for tomorrow. Of course they are right… tomorrow does not exist for many, but eternity does exist for ALL. Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

Good Morning

 

I have told this story before but thought it worthy to tell again since I parallel a lot of events with God’s divine intervention in the lives of people. I truly believe that God is always in the mix of things, we as His created beings should be tuned in since His ongoing involvements in our daily life will Glorify Him and strengthen us with a faithful, rejoicing heart.

 

Some of my first experiences or duties aboard ship was “Jack of the dust” this title is given to the person responsible for making sure that all of the food products are available for the cooks who prepare the meals. When the day is nearly over the leading cook will give the Jack of the dust a list of frozen foods to be removed from stowage; to be placed in the galley for easy access and preparation by the duty cook of the following day.

 

Most all of the meat is frozen and needs to thaw out so the product is taken out of the freezer the afternoon before the day of use and placed in the galley overnight. I was routinely in the freezer moving boxes to find that one box of frozen meat that the cook is looking for and was stacking boxes to my left and right, the ship rolled and the boxes to my right fell and pinned me so that it was impossible for me to move.

 

About an hour past and I had made little progress of freeing myself and I was getting a bit cold and sacred. A steward, one of the officer’s cooks came looking for me to get some provisions for the officers evening meal. He found that the red light was on outside the freezer and opened the door and I called out to him.

 

He was a big man and he was very fast, slinging boxes of meat into the hallway outside the freezer. He was talking to me and using words of encouragement and comfort. Words that I thought were not of his character. When he got to me, he lifted me up and carried me out to the warmth of the outer hallway.

 

Let me ask you a question: Has Jesus lifted and rescued you from this life of sin and death and placed you in the safety of His Kingdom? Psalm 30:1-12. He who was lifted up for us is worthy and capable of lifting us up to Him. John 11:25-26 and John 12:27-36

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #820

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

Over the past fifty years adults have promoted that spanking a child for disobedience is child abuse and maybe in a few cases it could be considered. But just one small thought here that finds its way to the next sentence. What sort of discipline is it when a child is bent on murdering his or her peers? Proverbs 23:13 might just provide the answer. Have we turned our back on God?

Good Morning

A few years ago I was involved with a Sunday School ministry in a local church in Rhode Island and someone asked this question. Are we made in the image and likeness of God, my immediate answer was yes, but I provided no explanation other that what I have been taught. Like most of us we are taught that we are created in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:27

Yes, we have intellect, the ability to think of what is right and what is wrong, we can articulate and effectively express ourselves. This is what sets us above God’s created animals and gives us a finite character that is able to communicate with our infinite Creator God. Apart from the angels we are the only living beings made in this likeness.

When mankind fell his image fell as well; it is simple really! Holiness is eternal; therefore ungodliness which is a lack of holiness has to be temporal. This temporal condition can be restored, but restoration is not restored by any self-help effort of man because all of mankind is now made in the image and likeness of fallen Adam. Genesis 5:3

Truly this is an important subject and do not take it lightly; “So where is the makeup?” or “What mirror should I use to dress up my fallen image?” Should I go to the makeup parlor in Genesis 1:27 and say that I am made in the image and likeness of God, therefore I am okay and so are you? Well no! This is before man's fall.

Should I then go to the makeup parlor found in Genesis 5:3. No again, since this is what our image is, it cannot be improved upon; it is cursed… Jeremiah 17:5-6. We are all made in the image of the first Adam after he fell from grace.

Temporal and tarnished images – sinners is what we are and all of the religious makeup available to mankind today is just a cover up! So, does the BIBLE provide an image that God is pleased with? I am so glad you asked? 1 Corinthians 15:45-49. The first Adam became a natural living being, simply put – this is what we are; “living beings”. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit, simply put – this is the image we need; “spiritual beings” Our renewed image is that of Jesus Christ. John 11:25-26; Romans 12:1-2 and Colossians 1:12-18.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #819

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

Satan’s mind is overwhelmed with hubris; this is the same mindset found in all dictators, radicals and social progressives whose goal is to overthrow any FREE people of countries who are attentive to freedom and consequence. Along with Satan these people have real NAMES and why an individual like Alinsky and an organization called ACORN harvest them. Isaiah 14:12-19

Good Morning

I need to make some changes in the devotional since I am waxing hard on subjects that can be better addressed by others. Once a few years back someone said that my words were of political content and in those days my words were not, but today he would be correct. I do have concern for our nation and I believe all of us as citizens should have a concern for unity and not division.

Many of us turn on our mouth and drive to the nearest conversation; then upon arriving we jam the air around us with such intelligence and noise that our pets have to cover their ears. Why just the other day I noticed both our dogs with their paws covering their ears while my neighbors and I argued over liberals and conservatives. In these kinds of encounters there is no victory and everyone walks away with the attitude of; “boy I’m glad that’s over!”

Yet there is an answer to all of this trouble facing the citizens of this country, the answer is a simple one really. We as a nation need only to show up at the Throne of God in humble and repented prayer. Whenever the nation Israel returned to God, God would intervene and rescue the nation from pending disaster and when Israel failed to repent God would do nothing and Israel always suffered.

So here I am, on one hand wanting to slam each and every one of us for complacency and selfish idolatry because that is where most of us are; but knowing in my heart that we should all fall down prostrate and we should all be like those of Nineveh. We should put on our finest sack cloth and perfume our self with ash dust and repent of the wickedness that we so easily stuff in the face of our Creator.

So I make a change to devote myself to prayer: “O LORD God, how much longer will you hold back your final judgment on our failing nation?” “The wolves that once chased us are now biting and soon these treacherous and self-seeking radicals will have their way. Their pride is overwhelming like a tornado backed by Satan himself. Lord of lords and King of kings I pray that you will deliver this Nation from these present evils; Amen”… please continue, even throughout the day and on into each day hereafter.

Our prayer to God is the ONLY answer; everything else is but NOISE! Nehemiah 9:1-38.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #818

A Word from Papa “J”

If we as the people of this nation had to renew our citizenship once every four years I would imagine that in 2008 thirty six percent of us at voting age could no longer call the United States their homeland! Only 64 percent voted and on a school grading scale a 64 is an “F” so I wonder will we fail again? Proverbs 19:15 we reap what we sow!

Good Morning

Sometimes when I find it hard to put things together on paper I take some time and look at military web sites; ones of the past ships that I have served on. It is very interesting for me to do this, for example; there is LT Sears who was our gunnery officer aboard the USS Gearing DD710 who has written four books about the Navy. The last epic Naval Battle; At war with the Wind; Such Men as These and Pacific Air. While I’ve not read or recommend any of these books and yet having knowledge of the man I would say his material is worth the read.

At the 129^th U.S. Naval Institute Annual Meeting and the 13^th Annapolis Seminar the then, CNO; Admiral Vern Clark gave the opening address. During the address he spoke fondly of Commander Holmberg who was the Commanding Officer of the USS Gearing when Clark was and Engineer aboard as a LT(jg). The short version is that Captain Holmberg was instrumental in the Career of Admiral Clark, since Clark got out the Navy after his initial tour but came back in at the urging of his friend and former Captain.

It is stories like these that keep Americans free. The lives of military men and women who take the fight to the enemy, today is different than in those early days of my life and the lives of the men and women that I have had the pleasure of serving with. Today we have let our guard down; September 11, 2001 and September 11, 2012. Eleven years to the day has significance. Eleven, eleven, eleven; let me be blunt. ELEVEN! Not a film; but ELEVEN!

Today we do not have leaders that will be able to write history without telling a LIE! Today we do not have leaders who at some annual meeting in the future will be able to say that he or she was inspired to go the distance because of other leaders with integrity, today we are a nation failing, fainting and fatigued with cover up, confusion, corruption and a compromised set of values.

Hey, maybe some of you are saying, why don’t you get off the subject Jesse? No, no that is not going to happen until we repent as a nation. And if we don’t repent, well I suppose I will stop then too since there will not be anything produced from this nation worthy to write about. As I have said before, my heart aches for the lost freedom that this nation once enjoyed! Our children do not know anything of our past, thus freedom as it once was is lost. Jesus puts it this way… Matthew 18:6-9.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #817

 

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

Without the blessing a Thanksgiving meal may take days of planning and hours of preparation; yet in one half hour the planning and the meal will soon become waste. So it is with politics when people do not prepare beforehand their future by seeking the Will of God. Proverbs 16:1
Good Morning

My parents decided to move from Louisville, Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio when I was in my early teens; we lived in Ohio about two years and then moved back to Kentucky where after a year I enlisted in the Navy. In Ohio I lived the most rebellious two years of my life, please don’t ask me why since I really don’t know and maybe it was just because I could for the first time in my life… get away with it.

We lived in an area call Sycamore Hill and when going in the right direction the street from the top of the hill descended to the heart of downtown Cincinnati. One morning on school vacation my mom sent me to the store just a couple of blocks from the house which meant that I would be crossing the intersection at the top of the hill and the street that led down the hill.

As I crossed the intersection the bike pedal struck the pavement and turned the bike in the downward direction. Now I had plenty of time to correct the problem. However the view downward looked appealing and diffidently a challenge, so I did nothing to stop my increasing speed.

Soon I was passing vehicles that were going down the hill and in those day people did not tolerate children with a wild hair or two out of place. I past one vehicle and the man scolded me for being so stupid. Today I would agree with him! By the time I got past his car my speed was scaring me so I tried to slow down, the brakes did nothing but make the bike wobble so I released them and let the bike continue.

As I approached downtown I began noticing a couple of traffic lights that were not in my favor of continuing and fear began from my legs and worked its way to my arms and a rigid sense of falling off the bike seemed to take over. “O God; get me outa this and I will never do anything so stupid again” Well I am here today to write this so His Mercy endures forever.

The bicycle was destroyed, not because I hit something or something hit me; but because it was not designed for the abuse it took going down that hill. Here is the rub! As individuals, as a community, as a state and as a nation we are on an uncontrolled downhill rush. I really do not know how to be more blunt. We are very much like rebellious teenage children with our Creator.

As a nation we have shipwrecked our faith in El Shaddai. As a nation we have allowed the many demonic gods of other nations to buy up our churches wherein these so-called, “lamas, las and das” have claimed the lives of our young people and saturated our schools with FOOLISHNESS.

God is not some greasy bald headed fat man sitting around waving at people whom he cares nothing about. God is the ONE who allows you to breathe this morning, the one who provides life to your children you love and the one who delivers you from day to day in safety. He does not need to wave and smile. Why! Because while we are yet rebellious and sinful and He proves His love to us through the death and resurrection of His Son… Jesus Christ. Romans 5:6-11. This is not foolishness it is TRUTH!

O nation… return to the LORD for His mercy endures forever. Psalm 136:1-26

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #816

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

As stated by me many times… “I love the Word of the Living God” the Word of God is the comforting, correcting, counseling and concluding voice to all the living. By definition even the dead will hear the concluding remarks from His Throne. Revelation 20:11-15

Good Morning

I know of a man who died in the late seventies from a very bad heart. When his first heart attack came upon him and knocked out two thirds of its functional capacity he laid in a coma for several days. After he recovered and at his bedside one evening he said; “Jesse, last night someone died in this room; I heard the doctors and nurses working on him!”

I knew that the room he was in was private, an ICU room where there was only room for the bed he was in; a visitors chair and the various medical hookups that are normally found in such rooms. Of course, the night he was referring to was not the night before but the morning a few days before when he was rushed to the hospital with chest pains.

His heart had stopped and the voices he heard were the voices of the doctors and nurses who were busy working on his lifeless body to enable his heart to begin beating again. He survived that moment in time, but it was not the man in the bed next to him, or someone else in the room, it was him whom these medical people were saying… “WE MAY LOSE HIM!”

Some have said that the last perceptive organ to die in the human is the hearing and who really knows and what does it matter anyway. If one dies and “ALL DO” what does it really matter if you hear those last words… “This one is dead!” or “whoops, we let this one slip through our fingers” what can the one dead do about it? Not a thing, but wait… does his soul still speak?

In Genesis 2:7 – Moses writes that God breathed life into Adam and that Adam became a living soul and when Cain murdered his brother Abel, our Creator said to Cain; “What have you done? The VOICE of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.” Genesis 4:10. That voice that is still speaking today… LOUD AND CLEAR! Hebrews 11:4.

Then we must also consider what the apostle John recorded for us in Revelation 6:9-11. He writes that he (John) saw the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and that they (those souls) cried out with a voice. “How long, O LORD, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood…?

The last perceptive organ may be the ear, but what can the ear do to provide eternal life of the body? The last eternal element to leave the dying body is the soul and what can the soul do to maintain physical life? The soul never dies… when it returns to God and it will; will God wipe away the tears as He promises His saints, or will the soul that belongs to God be a cast away in a place reserved for the devil and his angels called the lake of fire and the second death.

These questions, if you have them and no doubt you do are already answered for us in the Living Word of God. John 11:1-27. After all; four days after Lazarus died, He heard the voice of His Creator and came forth from the grave to meet Him. Lazarus ears and his soul heard Jesus.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #815

by Jesse Abel

The Devotional – A look at the Book #815 (draft)

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Jesus clearly states in His opening remarks to the Apostle John that He holds the existence of all things. Utilizing the Greek Alphabet He assures the apostle that He (Jesus) holds the beginning of Creation to the end of Creation in His Power. He was then, He is now and He will always be the Almighty God. Revelation 1:8

 

Good Morning

I do not know if it ever crosses your mind, but from time to time when I read the Psalms or other areas of scripture and the person writing uses words like, “Our God is the God of gods” or other such comments, I find myself taking issue with the writer. I even find myself cringe a bit when I hear those words from the pulpit. Yet I know that the use of euphuisms are important since these statements help identify the corruption that is in the world through deception.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life – 1 John 1:1.

From the beginning of time to the present time and for the time to come the foundation of this truth has and will be challenged. Yet the psalmist states in Psalm 19 that the law of the LORD is perfect, the Testimony of the LORD is sure, the statutes of the LORD are right and that the fear of the LORD is clean.

Now did the palmist say this because he had only people in mind or because he was seeking to give wisdom to people about our Creator? The laws, testimonies, statutes and fear of the LORD are revealed to you and me for these purposes. One to convert us from paganism, to train us in righteousness, to rejoice our otherwise burdened heart and to clean up our sinful heart by teaching us to fear God.

These judgments of the LORD are true and right and when these truths enter our soul, the inner most part of our heart. We come alive in the LORD and literally what more of Him. Now – who is the LORD? Make no mistake – the LORD is Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:2-4. If you wish to fellowship with God, Jesus is God and He is coming again.

He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come LORD Jesus! The grace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you all, Amen. (Written by the apostle John on the Island of Patmos around AD. 96) Revelation 22:20-21.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #814

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Some things are repetitive in life, others but once. Taxes are reoccurring; birth but once! If a plane takes off it must land and is reoccurring. Death too is but once in life; sin is reoccurring, yet the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world and personal salvation is not reoccurring. Once experienced it is sufficient from then through eternity! Revelation 22:1-5

 

Good Morning

 

Not all of the events of life on a submarine are explainable. Have you ever thought of what it takes to place an 800,000+ pound bubble under the water and keep it there (Right side up)? I know that there are those of us that can readily answer that question of thought. Of course there may have been a day in my past when I had a ready answer of how this phenomenon works too but it has long since parted the company of my brain.

Yet, for whatever reason I have retained this; each time a submarine submerges there is a split second of time that is critical. Will the vessel stay right side up, or will it flip over 180 degrees? Some say it is possible to flip over; yet it has never happened.

The Ship’s Diving Officer, normally the ship's Supply Officer will be responsible for ensuring that weights and measures of provisions and newly added machinery are within the vessels capacity to submerge safety. He is also responsible to ensure that the distribution of this weight is properly disbursed so that there is balance.

 

His diving officers are required to know these calculations as well and there are usually six or more of these qualified men on board. When someone is qualifying as a diving officer, the crew will gather at the forward torpedo room and make the ship heavy up front so that the nose of submarine begins to point down. Then as the qualifying diving officer corrects this problem, all of the sailors will go to the engine room section in the back of the ship and make the ship squat down seeking to confuse the officer.

 

Once the new or qualifying officer figures out that it is the crew playing on his emotions then the officer can quickly recover and the activity will stop. Hey! It helps pass the time and it makes good people better at what they are good at. Proverbs 20:18

 

So until the day comes when the lamb dwells safely beside the wolf and the goat and leopard graze safely in the field or the nursing child plays calmly and safely where the cobra dwells; there will be the need for men to go to war and iron will sharpen iron. Isaiah 11:6-10.

 

There is a greater thought to all of this in that there is coming a day… soon! When the Reign of Christ will come and He will Reign forever and ever. Isaiah 11:1-16. Like Isaiah, may you and I be found praising Him on the Day of the LORD. Isaiah 12:1-6

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #813

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #813

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Ever get stuck in the mud? No doubt that if you have a license to drive a vehicle or have grown up on a farm you have. Once you’ve recovered from this gunk; you now have the wisdom to get stuck again. Is it that we have ignored wisdom and followed the foolish way? Ecclesiastes 9:16-18

 

Good Morning

 

In the hamlets, towns and cities all across the Great Land of Liberty there are evidences of a nation that once put God first in all of the activities that bring people to experience the “goose bumps” of living in freedom. Our songs and hymns cause us to well up with a pride and confidence that our nation is or was special.

 

Now this special status is not because of who we are individually, but because we are to be a people united; meaning that no matter how hard one or many might try, we as united people cannot be divided. Who then has the audacity to stick his or her hand into the American Way and seek to take away this freedom of being undivided?

 

Today it has become very easy for the LEAST of any to overtake the VAST of many. Today The United States of America is failing, because WE THE PEOPLE have lost our way to the Throne of God.

 

“How highs the water mamma? Two feet high and risen; son!” Or should it be said this way. “How bad is it old man?” Oh! It is bad, son, it is bad!” and here is just a small example, which really is no example at all… just an observation and my rub on the issue.

 

In one of the local communities of Rhode Island there is a bar room, not a room where lawyers or scribes hang out, but a place where ‘mostly men’ hang out to become inebriated. Some are saying; well what is wrong with that and what do lawyers have to with this? Anyway maybe there is a lawyer or two at this bar too.

 

Surely you are right, no doubt there could be lawyers, doctors and other professionals. But what is so ironic about the bar and the patrons within, is the stone pillar just outside the main entrance. It sort of looks like the tablets of stone that we see Moses carrying as he descends Mount Sinai. Exodus 34:29-35; you can review these Commandments in Deuteronomy 5:1-21.

 

Yes, standing at least four feet high in granite are the Ten Laws of God, these Ten Commandments speak loud and clear about our responsibility to God and Country. I would think that the person going into the bar might feel a certain conviction as he or she passes that stone; but on the way out may find it a comfort to lean on or relieve on.

 

My observation of course and maybe not yours is that we as a nation rise in the morning of life and ignore our Creator, then as the sun sets and we go to our sleep we might just glance at the Bible gathering dust on our nightstand as we close our eyes for the night. And all the while our Creator is calling out, since there are evidences throughout the Land that He has been and still is available to mend and heal.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #812

 

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

The wisdom of the lumberjack is revealed in his axe. The one who uses it wisely needs less strength and time then the one who lacks wisdom. Ecclesiastes 10:10

Good Morning

While I was employed as Director of Housing in a small town in Connecticut, there was a man who lived in one of the Elderly units on the second floor. He was in his early nineties when he moved in and stayed with us for four years. He was a quiet and gentle man and ever so often his daughters would come and take him shopping.

Whenever they would return he always came in with a little doggie bag from one of the local restaurants and it was just a charming sight to see him with the bag or one of those plastic foam containers marching through the hallway to the elevator. I say marching because he was nearly blind and refused help, even from his daughters. Serious business for this gent but really quite comical to those of us who were blessed with knowing him.

Being that it was hard for him to see he would pick his legs up high, like one marching; he did this in order not to trip over things that could be in the way. One day I saw him pass by my office door and said hello! “Hi Jess, I am going for a walk” “yes” I replied; “it is a nice day for a walk” so off he went. It was about ten minutes when the tenant under his apartment came an explained that water was dripping from the ceiling in her kitchen.

I ran upstairs and using my entry key opened the door. I was immediately hit in the face with black smoke and running water over my shoes. My poor gentleman tenant had placed two hot dogs on the stove for lunch and had used the faucet to put some water in the pot to boil the dogs. The Town Fire Department cleaned the smoke and the water from the apartment and my gentleman tenant was so broken up that he cried; “I forgot my lunch, oh! oh! I forgot my lunch” and in this I can hear his mournful wails.

Ever now and then I think of this event as I watch myself advance in age. Now I do not mind getting old and neither should you. God has placed a time and a season for everything under the sun and if we look at life from the burning heat of the day with all of its problems we will always be putting out fires and squeezing out the mop. It is serious business for the elderly to age and but when we work with them and not against them the process is peaceful, joyful and hopeful. Hey! Isn’t that what love is? Ecclesiastes 11:1-14 (mankind under the sun).

Some would say it is because his mom is living with him right now and maybe that is true, but maybe not. There is a certain experience of joy I feel when I am around the elderly and I have always felt this, even when I was young. Maybe it is that the elderly are like children. No threat!

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #811

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Ever have something to say but convicted to not say it? Of course we have; and when we speak and the words roll out of the mouth it is like spilling a can of marbles. Try to pick them all up and we always miss a few. The problem is not that we lose a marble, the problem is that someone will step on the marble, BAREFOOT! And the pain; oh the pain! Proverbs 25:1-25

 

Good Morning

Recently I had a brief conversation with a young man about my faith in God and after my opening statement he said, “Then you will like this story” and yes my ears already large with age, crept up another size. My encounter with the man was forced since I had to deliver a car and he was sequestered to be my ride back to the dealership. How about that big word! It means; set apart or called out.

Before this young man became a salesman, he installed satellite television systems all over New England in private homes. One day after arriving late to an address the customer was outside waiting for him and said; “Hi Walter! Your vehicle broke down didn’t it?” Of course; Walter was taken aback; how did this man know his name and how did he know that; yes indeed the vehicle did break down.

Well there are a number of ways this could happen. The man contacted the satellite company; or the man had input to the local repair shop in the small town, or any other connecting moment of a secular nature that causes one to have foreknowledge. However, the man claimed that he had received a message from God. As a result of this comeback story, everything I intended to say was now made neutral since faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1-2

Now we do live in a world where principalities and powers of the rulers of darkness prevail and if you fail to be fully prepared for an attack you will lose the battle that goes on to keep the unsaved person in the dark. I sought to explain that sight can be of some help, that is to see God at work in the lives of people; but that faith is more important, however I did not do a good work.

The end result is that this young man said, “well I started going back to church; I go at least once a month now, it was a Catholic church but it is turning into a Muslim Mosque so I think I will stop going” I thought to myself… “America, you are upside down in all that you do, is it any wonder that our oil and wine is out of reach” The cost of oil for the lamp exceeds the cost of the lamp and even the local drunk ceases to stagger in the streets as the pocket-change in his or her pocket or purse no longer covers the cost of the wine.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #810

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

It never fails! I have all of these events to write about daily and when I sit down to write, it seems that some bird of prey plucks them from my brain and sits on some peak dangling the thought and taunting me with it. Of course the bird wins; the older I get the more afraid of heights I become. Darn bird!

Good Morning

Warning! Danger ahead! On all interstate roads there is a history of recorded accidents that boggle the mind. In training as a firefighter I sat in on a class that took into account various incidents of hazardous material accidents on our highways. Here is an event that happened several years ago in Connecticut, one that took the lives of three people, the driver of a tanker truck and two state troopers.

On a peaceful Saturday afternoon the tanker was parked just off the shoulder section of Interstate 999 (I changed the route number). A state trooper spotted the rig and pulled in behind. Exiting his vehicle, he proceeded toward the tractor cab only to fall dead nearly half way to the cab, he fell to the ground never to rise again.

A second state trooper was called in since people going by were concerned for what they saw. The second trooper pulled in front of the rig and he too fell dead as he approached the driver side door. The third trooper coming on the scene stopped his vehicle about 100 yards from the incident and used his binoculars to read the triangle signs visible on the back and sides of the tanker.

Toxic poison, lethal if inhaled. One of the containment valves in the tank failed and the gas leaked into the air. While the vehicle was moving there was not a problem; the driver had pulled over for a rest and to eat his lunch which was prepared for him before he left home that morning. A peaceful Saturday afternoon turned tragic and deadly for some who were trained and knew what to do, but failed to do it.

Folks; we the people of this country know what to do! We see the warning signs; our peaceful Saturdays are no longer peaceful. Peace and safety are not commodities that one can purchase off the shelves at a government ran convenience store. We need to read the signs of warning that say continually. TAKING THE NEXT STEP; WILL BE YOUR FINAL ONE. And yet with all the warning, I feel we are rushing headlong into danger.

I have a set of binoculars and I know that the families of most in this country have a set too. The Power of my binoculars is the New King James Version and the sights of this eyepiece all point to destruction for any nation who fails the grace of God by ignoring His warnings. 2 Chronicles 7:14. I wish I had more time, but I have to get going.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #809

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Remember those old cartoons? Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear, stories of Uncle Remus and Walt Disney; mostly these stories were representative of what to do and what not to do in life. Ways in humans of good and evil. It is funny that animals do not live by the charge of Genesis 3:1-24 and the one that did… God knocked his legs off!

 

Good Morning

I hope your day off today is a Godly one, (well maybe you have to work; if so this too should be Godly) since what “good” is a good day if God is not in it? In most all of these devotionals I have sought to place everything that happens to me and those around me in a setting that involves or displays our Creator at work in everything we do.

For example; I bought a new car in February some years ago and took it to work for the first time on a snowy and slippery day. As I exited off of Route 95 I noticed two vehicles in the guard rails and the two drivers were outside of the cars looking over their misfortunes. As they seen me coming down toward them, they were waving their arms, seeking to slow me down.

I was already on my brakes but the care was out of control. I cried out’ “LORD, I just bought this car, look it only has thirty miles on it! Well, LORD let your Will be done.” Just after that quick prayer of turning it over to the LORD. The wheels in the front which were turned hard left gripped the pavement and threw the car up on the soft snow bank on my left away from the cars, the men and the guard rails.

As the vehicle slide through the snow bank, I straightened the wheels and the car rolled back onto the roadway. I waved to the two men and continued on to work as if nothing else mattered. I think of that event because I know that our LORD is involved all that we do and that whatever we ask in accordance with His will… He hears and responses. Now I have told of this event before but it has recently come to mind again, simply because the salesman “Charlie” sold me the car and he has recently gone home to the LORD.

We are not as keen on the death of His saints as we need to be and it is a shame since we are surrounded by life and death daily. While we sorrow and mourn, which is needed; the LORD God sees this as a most precious moment. All souls; even the aborted are tattered and stained by the effects of living in this fallen world return to God who Created them. One that is clothed in the Righteousness of Christ (The Blood of the Lamb).

Are you redeemed by the Blood of Lamb, or does your soul still long for that moment? Come on now; I know you know whether you are redeemed or not and you and God are the only two who know for sure. These thoughts thrill my soul and allow me to know that I serve the Living God. Psalm 116:1-19.

The Devotional - A :Look at the Book #808

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

A Boxer knows what it means to let his or her guard down; but only after the count of ten! In this country we have been down for the count several times and each of us should give thanks to God; for He alone is compassionate and longsuffering. Psalm 86:15

 

Good Morning

How about it; no one I know likes to wring out the mop, let alone wash it clean… who does that? Floors are full of germs, a soiled mop can carry disease, such as; bacteria from food spills in the kitchen, oil spills in the garage, body fluids from the bathroom and contamination from the basement.

Life is not different aboard a ship in the Navy. In the galleys of a ship or mess decks there are food spills. In the engine rooms there are oil spills, in the sick bay there are body fluids on the floor and in the bathrooms, contamination. Things are just a mess, everywhere, yet for the most part a sailor does not have to physically touch the mop head.

After using the bucket wringer he or she simply takes a good section of rope and ties the rope to a stanchion or rail of the fantail of the ship. Then to the handle of the mop and throws the dirty mop overboard. But of course there is always a catch; you must know how to tie the rope to the mop. It takes one clove hitch and two or three half hitches.

Then you trust your knot tying, if done correctly the mop could stay in the water all day, but that might not be a good thing since many of the mop strands would be destroyed from the continual water pounding. So about an hour is all that is required and the mop head is not only cleaned but the salt in the water gives the mop a bleached whiteness and very soft and NO! You cannot do this on submarines!

The mop and the ocean, at least for me is a picture of Christ who cleanses us from all sin and restores life to a useless individual. Examples: John 3:16; John 14:6; Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 9:6; Psalm 86:1-17 and many more. God is LIGHT and in Him is no DARKNESS at all. John 10:7-18

Satan is DARKNESS (death) and in him is no LIGHT (life) and the entire world is held in the sway or grip of Satan. He represents a thief who murders and steals life from the entire world around us and until Christ Jesus the LORD cleanses us we are full of the filth found in every household, business and playground the world over. John 10:7-18

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #807

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

So many people say to me that they only read this little section of the devotional, thus my response of yesterday. Certainly we can do better than that! The idle mind left unchecked is a dangerous weapon of self-destruction. Proverbs 19:15-16

 

Good Morning

There was once a battle of Tippecanoe in 1811, you might have heard of it! A battle of a warrior named Tecumseh an Indian Chief and a man named William Henry Harrison. This was the final battle of a sixty year war; The Indian seeking to defend his homeland from being overrun by the “paleface” and the white man seeking to take away from the Indian his family, his nation and his freedom and pursuit of happiness.

There are few if any children today playing “Cowboys and Indians” since it is politically incorrect as a parent to let your child play this game. It is more humane to let them become obese and experts in video games of different kinds of war; wars that warp the young mind. Also, there are the movies of these two cultures, the Indian and Paleface fighting one another these have faded away and we say and we say; that's progress.

I have a question: Does history repeat itself? The Indian finally gave up and now, we the people of the United States have a similar battle. In sixty, plus or minus five years; somewhere around 1950 someone said, “It is a violation of the separation of Church and State to have the Ten Commandments displayed in our public schools” and with little resistance the Word of God is ripped off the walls and out of the minds of our young people.

Thus the steady regression of what once made the citizens of the United States of America great and full of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness began eroding. Soon, with God's Law removed from the minds of our young adults, came the erosion of our civil laws which govern the nation.

We began killing babes through the choice of abortion; what was once a crime became legal. In order to deal with life young people began allowing drugs to warp their mindsets, rebellion on the college campus and in our local neighborhoods, civil laws stripped out of our local states for more federal control, children killing children and committing suicide and the aggressive erosion of our U.S. Constitution. Many of us are just giving up!

Like Tecumseh and his family we are giving in to evil and we will see the end result. History 101 is about to become – History 101.1 (James 4:13-17)

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #806

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Papa “J” is just a word on the surface of circumstance. With only these few words to guide the day; “well it is like strolling through life with one’s shoes untied”. It is not the laces that make one stumble and fall but it is the complacency of soul in the heart. Proverbs 19:24

 

Good Morning

When I was a child my parents took me to visit my father’s dad in Cincinnati, Ohio. He and his wife owed a small grocery store in one of the neighborhoods of the city. There was little for me to do while we visited and I do not recall ever going to their home; I only remember the store and the small yard in back of the store.

Now what I am about to say may sound harsh to some or a bit comical to others, but my grandfather gave me a beat up old bat and told me to go out back and kill rats. He was not joking; I went outside and was immediately introduced to two rats walking on the fence that fenced off the little yard space.

The rats were large and not afraid of me being there, so I lined up the bat and gave one a swat, to my surprise I hit him and I accomplished my grandfather’s wishes. The other rat scurried off and the task at hand was over. If there were other rats around the message got out that I was good with the bat.

We only visited my grandfather that one time and later while in the Navy I heard that he had died unexpectedly from choking on some food he was eating. However, instead of mourning over him my thoughts immediately went to the little backyard the bat and the rat. It is strange how the heart reacts to the circumstances of life and death.

Lately I have been wondering about our children’s children. What will our grandchildren remember out their grandparents, will they remember that we helped to destroy their freedom of worship, freedom of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? Will they? Or will they remember that we fought for freedom by getting rid of the rodents that are chewing up our Constitution?

There was a day when you could kill a rat and get away with it or even be applauded for it, but in today’s world one might pay a heavy fine, or be imprisoned for harming a not so harmless rodent. But today people are applauded for eradication of unborn babies even while rodents feed on the rotting bodies of those who went before them, since none of these unborn babies are given a decent burial.

This is harsh talk, I know that; but I also know that, “lullaby and goodnight” is never heard from the sleep of death. Since Roe vs Wade… thirty million plus children have been aborted. So a grandfather I never knew or understood may seem to be a harsh man from the eye of my mind! But this I know that he like those aborted babies know eternity better than I do.

For the babies, they have returned to God who created them, He comforts each one and what a joy it is to KNOW that these very short lived individuals are in His permanent presence even now. As for my grandfather, only he and God are aware of his permanent dwelling. Well if it is heaven then the same comfort the children have is his as well. If not then, he is in trouble for his eternity is HARSH! Luke 16:18-31

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #805

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

I like going to different places, but one thing I have noticed in my travels. No matter where you are on this planet; all peoples, tribes and nations seem to have this one thing in common. We seem to be waiting for the return of the LORD. Acts 2:17-21 even so; “Come LORD Jesus!”

 

Good Morning

 

The Navy had a storage and staging area in one corner of a cargo hanger at the Hickam Air Force Base in Oahu, Hawaii. My self and a few other sailors worked there receiving Navy Cargo that was incoming for Pearl Harbor and places beyond, like Guam, Korea, Vietnam and other stations operated by the Navy.

 

One Seaman who worked for me was very impulsive and aggressive with everything he did, it seemed as though the task given him had to be done quickly and it was not long before he managed to drive our one and only forklift off the loading dock on one rainy and slippery morning. Fortunately for him, he was not badly injured.

 

Being aggressive is also like being impulsive, or maybe these attributes in people are the same only being different by duration of time in that the impulse may end abruptly while the aggression make be carried through to the end result and only time will reveal which is and which is not one or the other.

 

So then; I believe that this Nation has seen enough in our current political environment to determine that impulsive behavior is found everywhere. In our local, state and national platforms and revealed to us by lies. If that is true; then in our little corner of the cargo hanger we have the impulsive behavior of many who are about to run off the loading dock, with our economy, our security and our destiny.

 

So then; I believe that this Nation has seen enough in our current political environment to determine that aggressive behavior is found everywhere. In our local, state and national platforms and revealed to us planned agendas. If this is true; then in our little corner of the cargo hanger we are seeing aggressive plans unfolding and driving our economy, our security and our destiny off the loading dock, the results of which are being denied.

 

Now, are my thoughts on this important subject without hope, or am I just another impulsive mouth? Psalm 2:1-12 is provided in the Holy Bible that those who assign them self to false gods and the aggression of false religion can only do so much, since these false gods are limited, not only in power but also by our One true God.

 

In the Revelation Jesus speaks to this end when the future Tribulation comes upon the earth in Revelation 13:1-18. The beast and the false prophet will be limited in power and time to accomplish the tasks of planned aggression on the peoples of the world. So limited success is all that false religions can hope for, so one might say… what has religion have to do with political matters anyway, isn’t there supposed to be separation. ABSOLUTELY!

 

However… GOD is not a religion; He is the Almighty God and on Him alone rests all the kingdoms and powers of this world. He raises up powers and puts them down. He has been doing this perfectly since time began for the human being. Isaiah 9:6-7 explains plainly who He is. He is Jesus the Son of the Living God.

 

By the way… ALL of the so called spiritual leaders of the past are dead and in the grave all of their bones can be found. But there is one who is not a spiritual leader and He came to us in the flesh too and stated plainly that He is God. John 14:7-11. Oh, He died yes, He died for you and for me and for all of mankind, including the false religious teachers and the aggression of false religious and government leaders.

 

But this Man who died for us, is RISEN from His grave. He is alive and evidenced by. John 20:1-31. If you do not take the time to read this Truth and pray for this Nation, then you may just be around to suffer the consequences of this nation falling off the loading dock.

HAVE A GREAT DAY, OR A GODLY ONE; IT IS TOTALLY UP TO YOU!

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #804

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Traveling the World Wide Web highway has a dangerous drawback! The more time you spend touring this unrestricted road, the less time you will spend traveling the Eternal Supernatural highway. Proverbs 15:19

 

Good Morning

 

I remember that when I lived in Hawaii that one day while working in my yard I heard a buzzing sound that seemed to be coming from the curb. On that day I paid it no mind, but as the days past and since I had been alerted to the sound I heard it whenever I drove into the driveway. One day a few days later I decided to find out just what the problem was.

 

Coming into the driveway was a capped pipe that contained the water main valve that supplied water to the house and this is where the noise was coming from. I began working with the cap to see what was making the noise and my neighbor across the way shouted, STOP! Of course I immediately froze in the eighty-five degree weather.

 

He came over and said, in Hawaii, we do not stick our hands in unknown places. I have experience at this sort of thing move away please. Actually he and I did not get along well as neighbors since his son was always fighting with my son and this big Hawaiian and me always argued over the things the two boys did.

 

My neighbor took the cap from the top of the pipe and without hesitation, stuck his hand in the hole and checked the valve. “All is well” he said and then he pulled his hand out. It was full of “fire ants”. He brushed them off and said again. “I have experience” these could have harmed you, I have some chemical to put on them and they will be gone.

I do not know if you give it much thought or not, but if your mindset is to search out the evil in people it will not take you long to find it. Evil is in every person you come in contact with. In those days I liked finding out the evil in people and shunned the good someone might be capable of doing.

Taking a look at the Living Word of God we find in Jeremiah 15:9 and Matthew 15:16-20 we find that the heart of mankind is desperately wicked and full of evil, so you do not have to look very far in a person to find the evil, all you really need to know is that evil is present in all of us.

 

So I am thinking, how many people I know who claim to be believers in Jesus Christ who are actively involved in searching out the resident evil in people, unfortunately I know a few. They search the unbeliever and find all sorts of evil present also they search out the believer and find out that the resident evil in that life is healthy as well. Romans 2:1-9.

 

Allow this sort of judging to go on and on these folks will have very little to do with relationships with one another because they always find fault and reveal their partiality. They may even struggle with their relationship with the LORD Jesus and this is because the LORD calls all of this “I spy syndrome” “Judging” and judging is a sin that is found in RELIGION and not in RELATIONSHIP. Romans 2:10-16.

 

Spiritual vitality suffers greatly when we judge people, judging is almost always initiated for the smallest of reason, but grows into a very large cancer. It is found in families all across the world, even in local neighborhoods and it is found in church families too. Notice what the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:12-17 and give your spirituality a boost in the right direction. If you are prone to search out the evil in people, remember this; if they were to search you out they truly would find in you what you are looking for in them.