The Devotional - 101 - The United States of America

A Thought for the Day – 101 – The United States of America

 

Proverbs 31:1-9 – As the name is searched out about a king in the Holy Bible by the name of Lemuel and his mother who spoke to him about his character and duties as king. I find the name interesting in that this name Lemuel is the name of Solomon and means “belonging to God”. Makes me want to know more!

 

Comments and challenges

Yesterday I mentioned that I would be considering going to the Google Blog to send out the devotional; there was no response from anyone. So beginning tomorrow August 01, 2013 everyone will need to RSS or however you do it these days log into: http://jesse225c.blogspot.com/ to read the devotionals since these will not come by email any longer. The sending of over 100 emails each morning is becoming difficult. I do not know how others do this without complications, but if I find out soon enough or if I see that folks are having difficulty with the blog, I will seek to research this further. Thank You!

There is an increasing number of public issues that are developing that are being swept under the carpet… so to speak; so I am going to begin revealing stuff as I see it and ask God to help me back up these things with scripture. I do believe that we are behind the power curve in our national duties as citizens of the United States of America. Like most of us who say we are Americans, we need to be careful with that statement and here is what I mean.

For months now, even a year I have sought to say just that, that we the people are citizens to the United States of America; therefore we are not Americans of the Americas as peoples of the North and South American Continuants. There is a BIG difference in these terms. My main effort is this: peoples of the United States of America do not entertain the thought of identifying or incorporating nationals of other peoples, tribes, cultures, migrants or other various illegal groups who abide on the soils of these continents as members or citizens of the United States of America.

Our national heritage, language and our Constitution did not permit and strongly opposed the infiltration of foreigners. The government also formed statutes of checks and balances to prevent our nation from becoming a third class nation; like the nations found in our so called America of the Americas today. We are blending in nicely and if we are not careful we will be absorbed into these cultures very soon. It may from a human viewpoint be too late.

Like most of us today we are being bombarded by every political “watchdog group” all conservative patriotic groups and even some high ranking politicians. All seeking donations to help them fix our nation, our government and our society; these even have surveys that ask the same questions. The surveys are of little importance since there is no one who (with any clout) will analyze the input, so these entities are only interested your donations.

My conclusion is this… PRAYER is the only solution to our national woes, not money or motivated groups. Folks we are in the lament stage of asking God to intervene. God is the only hope for the United States of America. Just as king Lemuel’s mother spoke boldly to her son, but also fondly in that she showed affection in calling him the son of her womb. We the people of this United States of America need to let God know that we are FOND of our Nation, fond of our constitutional government; our sons and daughters who lived and die to defend our freedom and fond of our God who can and will protect our national heritage if we call out to Him.

We cannot just roll over and sleep like the drunkard found in the parallel verses of Proverbs 23:19-35, we need desperately to cling to the challenge in the two verses above; Proverbs 23:17-18.

The Devotional -100 - Family

A Thought for the Day – 100 – Family

 

Proverbs 30:7-9 – The two main things that cripple mankind is falsehood and poverty. These are never removed totally in one’s life; but through prayer and petition to the LORD God. He will prescribe the path to follow. Also there is a caution in that there is trouble in too much or too little, therefore be wise as this may be a cause for cursing, now do not say “been there done that!” but say “Amen” it means the same thing, it just sounds more holy.

 

Comments and challenges

Today I am seeking to change over from Yahoo to AOL, I spent the morning creating a new account with the latter email account and this is the new email address: jess.abel01@aol.com anyone interested in receiving the Devotional by email can contact me through the new email address. For a while I will continue with Yahoo, but for some reason unknown to me the Yahoo email is breaking down.

It is already late in the day, so I believe this should be short so hang on to your hat and let us see what the LORD can do in a short period of time.

I like those prison epistles of the apostle Paul and the epistle to Philippi is one of them so we will take a look.

Most of us who read these devotionals have never felt the pain and despair of being locked up in prison cell or even imprisoned in the local jail for a day or weekend. I used to go and bail out my father every Friday, when I was a teenager in Florida. It was a joke really; on Friday’s he would go out and get a snoot full of beer and the wait for the local police to pick him up for being drunk.

After bringing him to the station they would place him in the cell for an overnight stay. Then the three officers on duty in the station would move the mailing table into the cell with my dad and in the cell they would play poker into the wee hours of the morning. Around 5:30 my mom would get the call that my dad was in jail again and to send someone to pick him up. My mom would wake me up and down to the station I would go. After collecting his belongings, he and I would walk home as if we were just out for a morning walk.

Now that story does not have a happy ending, my dad died in July of 2003; as far as I know, he did not know the LORD Jesus Christ as his “Personal Savior” I am looking at the eulogy that I presented on his day of burial, sometimes stuff just seems to choke you up since comments made can be so foolish when you know what to say and don’t say it. Like in my discourse I said: “Once I fell asleep in the shower; so I used that as an excuse to join the U.S. Navy; my dad was in the Second World War in the U.S. Army. I say that just to say… this is how far apart we were throughout our lives together”.

We never hide our battle scars well, but it is not the battle scars of war that I am projecting here; it is those scars of being raised in a family where there is no HOLY BIBLE, these scars are exposed and translated into the lives of every one of the future generations. The Holy Bible says to the third and fourth generations. See Deuteronomy 5:6-16.

So what has all of this to do with the incarceration of the apostle Paul and Philippi?

His life was centered around the Holy Bible as a Jew first, but his religion as a Pharisee was aimed at works involving the Law of God and not at faith in God, after his conversion to Christ circa 33/34AD inherited a new family. This family’s character is reveal by the apostle Paul as he writes to them in his epistle to the Philippians.

I wish that I had time to write out the whole epistle, it is full of personal encouragement and testimony of the love that the apostle has for the children of God. I do challenge you to take the time to read the epistle today. Philippians is only four short chapters. You see; most of my family is unsaved, only I am the one who left that family of unbelief in God and turned to Jesus. Now I am also full of encouragement; so I encourage you to join us by believing in Jesus Christ and be adopted into God’s family.

Well there is little else to say, except Romans 8:31-39, this works for me and it will work for you too, all you need to do is believe.

The Devotional -099- Oh! Just the thought of it is JOY!

A Thought for the Day – 099 – Oh! Just the thought of it is JOY!

 

Proverbs 29:1 – Which would you prefer; to be corrected by another human, or be corrected by the Living God? My preference… the Living God since He alone is Just and fully Righteous. While I may harden my heart in the matter (my choice)! His unselfish love is the only forgiveness that can restore my soul for His Namesake (Psalm 23). Don’t be naïve and be destroyed without remedy. Jesus says; “Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in Me”.

 

Comments and challenges

We have talked a little about Justification and Sanctification so this morning let’s talk a little about Glorification! It is that time in the future when this physical body will be laid to rest in the grave (or) if we are alive when God calls home His church, more popularly known as the rapture; or as scripture reveals in the epistle’s of the apostle Paul; that we all shall not die (or sleep) as he says, but that we shall be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed, 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. The apostle also calls this a hidden mystery.

Now he does not say that the mystery is hidden from the church (this would be you and me) and we need to remember this because it is a dividing line in major church doctrines across this land. The apostle is saying that the words he is communicating to you and me (the True Church of Jesus Christ); are not to be considered mysterious, these words are plainly revealing that in the Old Testament, which include over ninety percent of the information in the four gospels that the translation of the saints of God off of the earth will happen at God the Father’s appointed time in the future.

We will let scripture back this up, I like scripture don’t you? Scripture does not lie; it is the absolute Truth of God to everyone who believes. Acts 1:4-8 in these few verses, Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will come to the Church on earth and individually fill the existing believers – verse 5; then in verse 6 his disciples wanted additional information about the future kingdom authority coming to earth. In verses 6 and 7 Jesus; the King of kings plainly says that this information belongs to God the father, even Jesus as King of kings was not privy to this information.

Now this is important point in glorification; our ministry on earth is to receive the power of the Holy Spirit of God and be a witness of the death and resurrection of Jesus. We are called for this purpose just as the disciples were called way back in AD 33/ 37. We are to be witnesses of Jesus, even to the end of the earth. Now the scripture also reveals that the earth will someday have a; God planned ending. If you believe in some kind of evolutionary process, then you do not believe in God the Father; Acts 1:4-8.

God the Father HAS CONTROL of His Creation; NOT man. Any human that concludes that ANY evolutionary process is true is rejecting the gospel of God. That is: if he or she is involved in a New Testament church; any pulpit commentary becomes false teaching and stands on the doorstep of the abyss. Revelation 20:11-15. Now you may say… “WAIT JUST A DOGGONE MINUTE” these are the works of UNBELIEVERS” well true, but let me ask you a question. “If God has control over Creation (including the death and resurrection of His Son) and you being a primary part of creation, do not believe that God created you according to His Plan and Purpose; who is going to win that argument?” So I say to the others: Beware do not be deceived by the philosophies of unprincipled men. Colossians 2:8.

We cannot choose what we want to believe, we must believe the whole “good news” it begins with Acts 1:4-8 and other related passages and the good news continues through the death of Jesus Christ for the “sin of the world”. In the Person of Jesus Christ all of the fullness of God dwells; He is the One God revealed to mankind during His ministry on earth for the purpose of defeating, Satan, Sin and Death Colossians 2:9-10. Why? It is simple really! Note: Matthew 28:1-20 if Jesus were not God manifested in human flesh, He would not have Risen from the grave.

This sacrificial death was agreed to in eternity, before the creation of the heavens and the earth, speaking to Israel through the prophet Isaiah, God says in Isaiah 46:8-12 (Please read it) God the Father promises salvation to come to Israel, this was around 700 BC, well are you saying that this is a long time. Not to God! The apostle Peter says plainly that a thousand years to God is as one day, (2 Peter 3:8) so God’s plan and purpose for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ at that moment in time was less than a day away on God’s prophetic calendar. More tomorrow! On God’s time table, Jesus died and rose again less than two days ago, so for Him the Rapture of the church could be sooner than you are willing to admit or prepare for. I am ready; “Oh glorious day, glorious day, Jesus is coming to earth again… what if it were today? Are you ready!

The Devotional - 097- In Love, Fear is absent

A Thought for the Day – 097 – In Love, Fear is absent

 

Proverbs 25:6-7 – in the hub of our mind it is possible to desire greatness; like to be third in line to a kingdom or some other public desire. Don’t be hasty for positions that God has appointed for others since their desire may be; to be where you are. Both you and his greatness are as common as the prince who is third in line.

 

Comments and challenges

You have often read over the years that I love the Word of God and daily I am in the Word of God looking around for some thought or idea that can be applied to my soul. Either to share with myself (selfish I know) or something to share with others. This is tremendous joy to my soul to search out a theme or thought that comes from God’s Holy Word. So until the day when God calls me home and as long as my fingers can move across this key board and as long as you are willing to read what I write; I will always challenge us (as I am challenged too) to observe the Word of the Living God with love.

Now here is one of those thoughts that dart through my mind that I feel the need to place on paper. If you are married then you will understand, if not; maybe you are thinking of marriage. If not that then think of some very important person in your life whom you have “set apart” from everyone else. You know; like a parent or both parents, a brother or sister (that could be pushing it) or a best friend. Okay you have the picture of sanctification, good! It is love.

I believe that the Holy Bible is alive with God, I believe it is infallible (this means that I believe that the Holy Bible is not capable of error). So to be honest, if I believe that the Holy Bible is alive and absent of error, then I believe that when I am in the Word of God that I am abiding with Christ, when I am in the Spirit and in Christ, then as such I am being sanctified in the grace and knowledge of Christ, which is a calling or command of God from His Word to everyone who is born of God. Notice these few verses of scripture: John 1:1-18

Now you have to open your Bible and READ those verses, daily when I write, I also read and I THINK about what the Word is saying to my soul. Now sometimes if it is a very familiar passage and I do skip over the words quickly (this is to my shame) even because the familiar words still speak and still bring comfort, joy and wisdom; so (like I challenge you) I should read the entire passage. God has not skimped with US; He has abundantly provided peace and comfort to you and me. Why should we even think to skip a moment of reading HIS Word?

Our subject this morning is Sanctification, yesterday we ended I believe with a passage that goes like this: “Be diligent to present your-self approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth”. 2 Timothy 2:15; when I first came to the church that I go to; that was in June of 1975; written in the cement walkway was that verse. Today that verse of scripture is written in my soul, along with other wonderful challenges; like 2 Peter 3:14-18; AND 1 John 1:1-4 I really enjoy these sections of scripture and many others.

Sanctification is a process, I have studied for years and have all sorts of certificates to prove that, but those studies were not sanctification, those studies simply helped me know the various theologies that millions of others have applied to the Word of God over the centuries. Yes; these studies mean important things to the way we worship and believe God, but these studies do little in sanctifying or presenting oneself approved to God. While these studies are needed if one is called to pastoral leadership or teacher; this in-depth study is not needed in sanctification. So here is the challenge.

Since 2008 I have been publishing a daily devotional, this has caused me to personally involve myself with the Living Word of God and not just an academic exercise; let me just say; this has turned out the better for me since while God is interested in the world (John 3:16) He is also interested in you and me personally (Jeremiah 29:11). Don’t you like peace and hope? Let me just say too that, this provision of God is GRACE, He does not have to provide us with His Word to live and grow in Him, but He does because He LOVES us. Honestly there is nothing greater than the love of God.

So I confess daily to you that Jesus is the Son of God, I do not see God daily through my earthly eyes, but I do love to tell you that God abides with us in a very personal relationship. God has given us His Spirit in order that we can know that He abides with us in Spirit and in Truth. There is no fear in Loving God since being sanctified in Him is simply Him perfecting us in grace. Oh my! The thought of this sends joy to my soul. There is no fear in love. 1 John 4:12-18.

The Devotional - 096 - Sanctified, what's that

A Thought for the Day – 096 – Sanctified, what’s that

 

Proverbs 24:13 -14 – In our day we eat a lot of chocolate and in Solomon’s it was honey. But it is not what enters the belly and sweet to the taste that is important since it will be eliminated. Knowledge and wisdom of God is sweet to the soul, also causing confidence since it will be retained.

 

Comments and challenges

With so many spell checkers, we still manage to misspell a word now and then and it gets by. Which word was that? It was the subject for today… SANCTIFYING or better Sanctification! This in fact is what Solomon leads us to this morning in Proverbs 24:13-14. All too often we want the sweet things of life; you know, a good job, a good husband or wife, good children, a good neighborhood and on and on it goes. Even to the point of identifying ourselves as Mr. and Mrs. Goody, from Goodyville USA.

There are many temporal problems with this sort of mindset and if you have been on the planet long enough… you like me know firsthand knowledge that life under the sun is full of labor and disappointment. Now hang on because here is another one of those statements that may need qualification. There are two avenues to live life. One: Under the sun, or Two: Above the sun. Solomon has a lot to say about this in his book Ecclesiastes (The Preacher). But within these two avenues of life there are those modifications to make labor easy and disappointment less.

Living in this world without our Creator God as one’s foundation is full of labor and disappointment, it is for the most part handled by these folks as fate. Fate is often modified with religious do’s and don’ts, but there are those who even reject religion and just accept life as it comes, one disappointing or labor intense event after another until life is over.

Then there is the other modifier; the person who accepts that they are created by Creator God, but and because of labor and disappointment fail to handle life according to the knowledge of God that is available to them through His Word. These too fall into religious practices of do’s and don’ts. Both groups are basically the general public in the world around us. Guess what? We are or were a player in one of those groups.

Now I am going to have to close soon since I am in one of those labor intensified moments in time, but and because I seek to be a good steward of my public time I need to stop for now. What we will be looking at is a third group of folks and our responsibility as believers in Jesus Christ to be sanctified in the grace and knowledge of Him. This is the lifelong study sanctification by the Word of God, I like what the apostle Paul has to say to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:15. Sanctification is a daily process of study, approved by God.

The Devotional - 095 - Are you Justified

A Thought for the Day – 095 – Are you Justified

 

Proverbs 22: 20 – Ever go to a banquet and run into someone who has had a bit too much to drink or eat? If you have said no to this question; then you do not know a “winebibber”. Even though these folks may seem funny or polite; God has said, do not mingle with them for the reward of their activity is poverty. These gluttons of wine and food are an abomination to God.

 

Comments and challenges

I always start out thinking that this will be just a short devotional, but that is not always the case; yesterday was a short one; who knows what today will produce?

We recently have shared or devoted our thoughts in justification and sanctification of those folks who are “in Christ” but what about those who are not? Most of this sharing has focused on “faith” and faith is certainly one of the most important doctrines in the Holy Bible. Faith it central subject in Justification: “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” Acts 16:31 “you and your household” completes the verse but not the context that incorporates this moment in time. Acts 16:25-34.

I don’t know about you, but have you ever heard all of the whining over this portion of scripture? How is it that the Philippian jailer and his family; or for that matter all those Philippians that the apostle Paul writes to in his epistle later in his ministry are saved. These seem so devoted to the LORD Jesus. How is it that my family is not saved, how is it that I am the only one out of the other thirty five in our overall family that is saved?

Let’s take a brief look at the context of Acts 16:25-34. Have you ever been in a great earthquake? If your answer is no like mine, then we really do not know the conditions surrounding the Philippian people. Some of us have witnessed being in a tornado and the destruction to one community and not the other, so it is with an earthquake. Some areas are heavily damaged and others are not. Well this is just a brief on some of the surrounding conditions when terror strikes and events like earthquakes hit.

The first thing we see is that God uses these events in people’s lives to reveal His glory. The glory of God is to reveal His love, yes I said love! Love for the unsaved Philippian jailer, the men in the jail and love for the unsaved people at Philippi including the immediate family of the jailer. Many of whom over the course of rebuilding their city heard the message of the gospel as it spread through the city and believed. Like tornadoes, earthquakes are no small event Romans 8:22.

With all of the opposition growing against Paul and Silas the devil thought his anger was sufficient to destroy the message of the gospel, but God is greater. The one thing that we should always remember is that when people come to be saved as those in Philippi, Satan become very aggressive and it is sometimes necessary at move on as Paul and Silas did. But the church of Jesus Christ was established in this city and as it turns out it is church called the “faithful” church in Revelation 3:7-13.

You see it is events like earthquakes and severe storms that can bring “one or several; even a whole community to believe in the Gospel of God, but do not be naïve or simply afraid to think this through. It does not a take a traumatic event to know and believe the gospel of God. All it takes is… now as Charles Stanley would say: “NOW WATCH THIS! “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, and you will be SAVED” This is justification! Or we could say this is the faith that God is looking for in you and me.

Our sins are removed in the death and resurrection of the LORD Jesus Christ. Note this: we are to put off those things that are seemingly lawful to do in today’s human earthquake of sin and to put on the love of God. You cannot do this without Christ, it is His Righteousness in His resurrection from the grave that God is pleased with and if you do not have His Righteousness abiding in you, you are dead to God; but on the other side of that, you are humanly alive to SIN, SATAN and HUMAN DEATH, which is eternity without God. 2 Peter 1:16-17

There is this song I love to sing: “Cheer up my brother, live in the sunshine; we’ll understand it… Oh by and by!” and this is called “Sanctificating faith” Coming attractions, so don’t go away.

The Dvotional - 094 - Just what is Spirituality

A Thought for the Day – 094 – Just what is Spirituality

 

Proverbs 22:9 – Where is your eye today? Is it aimed in the direction of the lust of the flesh; or has pride overtaken your duty to walk spiritually with the LORD. If so you need to cease from this activity. How is it that you do not ask why? Because you know why; but there is a problem ahead, someone you know is in need and without the bountiful eye of the Spirit of God you will miss God’s intended blessing for you.

 

Comments and challenges

When we go to any function, Christian or Secular we knowingly involve our self with people. In the Christian get togethers we believers tend to relax our guard and move freely through the groups of saints without thoughts of lust or pride and I believe that these are the two main avenues that can trip up a saint of God at any given moment. Pride can cause dissipation, anger and separation and lust will cause weaker saints to stumble and even fall from the grace of God. Sin always develops in the mind before it is expressed through the heart as the soul, where the Holy Spirit dwells is bypassed.

In the secular realm the saint of God is a more aware of his or her surroundings and the uniformed clothing of the Helmet of Salvation is the Spirit who is guiding us, the Girdle of Truth is causing us to stand in integrity, the Breastplate of Righteousness is Christ in us our hope. Our shoes of the gospel of peace are prepared to go to the one who we have been praying for. Our shield of faith is in front of our eyes to keep us from the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. We feel that we are ready because we are fulfilling the command of Ephesians 6:10-18 and Romans 13:11-14.

Then all seems well, in the Christian activity or in the Secular one, there is another side of the coin. It is the person whom you may have met before who is charming; they often are new to the gathering and always seem to be alone at tables or outside the group. Your heart responses; oh I need to go talk to her or him and let them know they are a part of the group or function. We should be warned and take with us another person, don’t go it alone it is an evil to go it alone. It is not sin at this point, but it is a potential for sin and that is why I call it evil, meaning sin is present.

You say; hogwash I can handle those situations, okay maybe you have been doing okay, sin has no mercy, it destroys ones relationship with God; immediately; and the your recovery is not immediate; why expose the intended person to lust. That person will react to your advances. If our intention is a prideful remark in a one on one conversation this sin will cause separation and dissipation if not checked quickly, it often is spreads to others, even to the point of division within the church or secular relationships.

Of course if your conversation with another is lustful, the reaction of the other person may be positive, they may have been waiting for just the opportunity to get involved. These are evil moments in the lives of people; both the unbelieving and believing can get caught up in evil. Now I am not talking of things that we do not know, but I am talking about our failures in the things that we do know. These often happen and to say that these things do not happen we are being “artless” in our walk daily walk with the LORD.

Artless is another way of expressing the condition or definition of being naïve. Being naïve is KNOWINLY skirting the edge of responsibility and in the case of the saint, we have the responsibility to walk in Wisdom; that would be carefully or as Ephesians 5:15-21 states; CIRCUMSPECTY wow; now there is a word that can take a bite out of your upper lip! Circumspectly has this meaning; to be careful or cautious. In this passage of scripture there are at least five commands to carefully in the Holy Spirit. So I challenge you to take a few moments in time today to study our responsibility to be spiritually minded at all times and in all activities. THE LORD IS AT HAND.

The Devotional - 092 - Grace Gospel

A Thought for the Day – 092 – Grace gospel.

 

Proverbs 18:22 – He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD. If you have been married for any length of time you know that your wife is not a THING. But you also know that you have obtained FAVOR from the LORD. So in every moment with her, remember she is a gift of GRACE or someTHING beautiful that you do not deserve.

 

Comments and challenges

Every day is a different, is it not? Today I am in a hurry the days agenda is packed with things to do. Well enough of that let me get to it. When I was a young boy; well that was so long ago that I do not remember the exact age but maybe around nine. My mom and I were walking to my school on a cold day, all bundled up and sort of bent over pushing our way against the wind. We stepped into the street, the car to our left was stopped at the stop sign, no problem but then as we moved to the middle of his vehicle, the man stepped on the gas.

Pushing against us the car was picking up speed, our screaming and yelling had no effect, the windows of the car were closed and the man was watching the traffic to his left approaching. As a last ditch effort I threw my school books at his windshield. The noise startled the man and he stepped on his brakes. The moment was a horror, but it was over and we were safe once again. My mom and I did not know the LORD Jesus Christ as our Savior at that time and my mom at 91 this past July 14^th still does not know the saving grace of LORD Jesus.

How is it that some believe in Jesus to be saved and some do not? The answer is: Personal choice! There is much clerical controversy over this important life changing experience. None of us seem rightly qualified to accomplish a full understanding of the Gospel of the Grace of God which is available to every soul who is born into this world. As humans we can and do look at the saving grace of God from a human viewpoint and this is WRONG. From this viewpoint we develop doctrines that include obstacles; or better put “stumbling blocks”.

These obstacles come in the form of “works” to earn ones salvation, this would be seeking to gain God’s grace or favor by doing good in addition to believing the message of the gospel. On the other side of this problem are “limits” to salvation, such as; a limited number of believing people, chosen by God who will by His own authority atone for those He selects out of the world to be with Him in eternity. So these are the main two doctrines in Christianity today, and folks to be very blunt. BOTH OF THESE SYSTEMS OF THEOLOGY WILL LEAD THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THESE BELIEFS STRAIGHT TO HELL.

People who are working fervently to be pleasing to God with good works and people who believe that they have been selected to spend eternity with God because they are of some conviction that God has a special interest in their person or religion are standing in the cold in front of the car, ready to be tossed into the grave without the true gospel, these folks are without Christ and without hope. Let me say that I can hear the AMEN from those you who are saved by grace.

So now if salvation is not from works and not from a limited atonement controlled by God what is it? First of all, this is not salvation by the words of Jesse, it is salvation by the words of the Living Word of God; any Holy Bible will reveal this saving grace of God to you. Let me say this quickly… if you are using Bibles that are rewritten by men who remove the Deity of Jesus Christ from the words of the original transcripts of the written word of God then you ARE in trouble. Bibles that are reworded to present Jesus as nothing more than a spirit or half-brother of Satan are garbage and need to be burned.

Now I am very adamant about this and before I run out of time and paper, let me show you why. It is sort of simple really, no doubt the religion of work and the religion of limited atonement controlling beliefs; if God who truly is the Father focused in these theologies, there would be little need for Jesus. But Jesus makes a few statements to help you and me, or to keep you and me from making these critical errors.  John 8:42-47; John 14:1-6 and from God the Father we hear these words when Jesus was ordained for ministry (baptized by John the baptizer) Matthew 3:13-17. If you have time read John 1:1-34.

 

Those are all familiar passages from the Holy Bible; there are many more, the most popular of all is another comment about the Son of God, which is spoken by the Son Himself. Speaking in reference to His mission to earth as God and man in the flesh, He says” For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. And of course that verse of scripture is John 3:16. Did you notice the words WHOEVER BELIEVES?

Let me take you to a statement of the apostle Paul speaking to the Galatians, Galatians 2:16 – “KNOWING that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by FAITH in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

So this is what I believe from scripture, scripture that has not been tarnished by the hands of unprincipled men but scripture authorized by God Himself. The simple but powerful verse of John 3:16 speaks boldly that there is no such thing as limited atonement and secondly Galatians 2:16 speaks just a boldly about any system of works to gain access to heaven. To put the finishing touches on this; this is what I believe and I will go to my grave or enter the rapture of the saints of God with this thought. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20. When I came to know this, I was simply like the Philippian jailer (as he is referred to) notice Acts 16:25-34.

I once saw a billboard that said something like this: KNOW CHRIST AND KNOW LIFE; NO CHRIST AND NO LIFE. Well there is truth written there but the gospel of the Grace of God is greater than the words of MAN. Grace has appeared to ALL men to resist ungodliness and receive salvation, such as written once again by the apostle Paul in Titus 2:11-15 so my speech to you will always be seasoned with grace (saving grace) but I will always use salt by speaking with the authority found in the Living Word of God and truly I favor your relationship, fellowship and your friendship, so do not despise what I am saying… take the time and search it out, it is a subject that your soul longs to be comforted with.

The devotional - 089 - Soul Search

A Thought for the Day – 089 – Soul Search

 

Proverbs 15:1-3 – What I find so interesting in the Living Word of God is that it does not matter what you read from scripture, or how many times you read it; it is still refreshing, still encouraging and always a blessing. Did you notice in verse three that God keeps His eye on evil and good, do not mistakenly assume that what you do is hidden from God.

 

Comments and challenges

 

Do you know that having a devotion time with the LORD God does not take long and this time spent with Him can set your day in blessing that when you lay your head down on the pillow at the end of the day you will say to your soul.

“Soul, you have been blessed beyond words today”!

This morning before I began this devotional I thinking of something to write about and I was reminded of SIN, we all sin do we not and if you believe that you do not sin I would say that you are arrogant and full of selfish pride and this my friend is SIN. This is not my human interpretation or definition of sin, it is God’s; let me show you.

“This is the message we have heard from HIM (Jesus, who is God) and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all” 1 John 1:5

God is not good or evil; He is Holy (set apart) therefore Proverbs 15:3 is correct. He sees from His Holy Kingdom of Light; ALL things going on in our good and evil kingdom of darkness. The scripture above states clearly that there is no darkness in Him. The question I have for you, the one that only you can answer to yourself and what God already knows about you!

Are you hiding something from yourself, your loved ones, are you ashamed in some way about your dealings with others? These are signs of wrong doing against people and SIN against God. Notice Psalm 51:3-4. Now the passages I am referring to this morning are directed at those men and women who are believers in Jesus Christ and I know that I am speaking to some who say they know Jesus, but lack the faith needed to be biblically saved and to both the saved and unsaved I say; “Listen Up!” God knows you better than you know yourself.

Do not take offense at this but open your heart to the Bible and notice Truth. I think that verse 6 and 7 of 1 John 1 brings this out clearly an speaks to the universal church as well as the local church and personally to each believer; in that not all who say they know Jesus, know Him as God; that is who He is. God calls us to walk in the Light and if we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and truth is not at work in us; we are not practicing truth we are practicing darkness which is a lie.

Now this is not hard to understand, but if we are practicing darkness it is easy to ignore. Now why should I bring this up at all? Well just look around your little area of life! Each of us have our own weight to bear (that would be life’s baggage) if you believe in Jesus; then He alone is the resurrected Savior who has already bore your sin, that baggage has been removed you do not need a special church blessing, or a confession to some man like yourself. I like what Isaiah says of God’s response to King Hezekiah when He repented. Isaiah 38:1-22, please note verse 17.

Hezekiah speaking: “Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness; but You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back”.

I have barely scratched the surface of what needs to be said, but it is time to wrap this up today. Let me be clear; what I am saying is concerning our national condition of rebellion against the Creator and even the condition of our so called Christian Churches. In our churches we are practicing darkness while preaching the LIGHT and in our nation our darkness is like that of the adulterer who eats and wipes the mouth and says “I have done nothing wrong!” Proverbs 30:20.

The Devotional - 088 - Destiny

A Thought for the Day – 088 – Destiny

Proverbs 12:17-22 – Most people would not like to displease the LORD God; yet most people do not really KNOW His Holy Character. So for them to tell a lie it is as easy as opening their mouth. The lie whether small or great is disgusting to God; harmful to the listener and always produces evil. Yet there are those who promote life and liberty and who love justice; these men and women are those who do not LIE.

 

Comments and challenges

One day this devotional shall come to an end, I do not dread the day but like the man who motivates me to continue, he has temporarily stopped his column due to illness. Most every time the magazine Israel My Glory comes I read his article and the encouragement from his words, motivate me. His name is Zvi Kalisher; I am looking at a picture of him and his family that was taken some years ago. In the picture there is his wife and four children. A comment from the editor is that they now have fifteen grand-children.

Zvi lives in Israel, so does his family, we often view Israel and those opposing Israel as threats to our safety if we were to travel there. Our stay of course would most likely be limited to one or two weeks and the fear of our safety may be a factor to keep us from enjoying the time to learn more in depth knowledge of the Holy Land. This fear is to our shame, really.

Men and families like Zvi live and harvest Israel’s future, even the ultra-Orthodox Jews who study under the false teaching of the Rabbis they faithfully follow. Zvi has a ministry to lead these men to Jesus and I like how he does this, we who live in this country are harvesters of our future also. We also have men who oppose God and listen to the false teachings of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness like the Rabbis in Israel. Romans 1:18

So here is the RUB. There is much unrest in Israel and the threat of death is all around these folks, yet they continue to strive in unbelief and those alive in Christ continue to thrive in belief. We here in the United States witness the striving of those in unbelief and continue to see those who are alive in Christ and prosper. Even under the developing unrest in our nation and with the threat of terrorism and death all around.

Now WHY is that? Is the fate of life or death in the hands of the one who has life, is he or she the one who controls life? Does false religion control life? Does faith in God control life? No but these do control destiny. Yet as nations and people who are countrymen we live and we die, some through terror and most through natural cause. It is God who controls when life meets death and not we who are fearful of traveling and unrest in countries near or far.

I am reminded of two separate occasions in this country where the husband and wife died in automobile accidents here in Connecticut. One was long ago around 1974; a sailor who I knew, was drunk and driving in the wrong lane going against the traffic hit a car head on, killing a man and his wife who were here on vacation from Israel. And just recently within the past month the very same thing happened to another couple from Israel who was on vacation. So it is not terrorism that we should fear; is it? I am sure that if we were citizens of Israel we would see similar events in their news. We have no control over living or dying, but we do have opportunity to place our faith in God who controls destiny.

It is interesting what Titus has to say in Titus 2:11-15 our concerns are first to be trained in the truth; the truth that speaks of the saving grace of God that has appeared to all men; He is the Great God and Savior the LORD Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us. He alone is the blessed hope. He alone is the coming glorious One who will appear either by death or by the Rapture of His Saints, and please know this; that whether it is physical death or the Rapture of the church… it will be SOON! So why look at all the wars and rumors of wars as if we will be involved in some terrorist expression of hate. Keep looking to Jesus who is the Author of Faith, Hope and Love. Now, lest you forget I am reminding you that we have been talking about these three sanctification gifts of God over the past few days.

Yes we as people under the sun have personal faith, personal hope and personal love, but under the sun these attributes are connected with good and evil, no one would deny that. When we come to faith in God through Jesus Christ our personal faith, hope and love are endowed by the Holy Spirit to guide us into being sanctified in Christ who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame and is now in the presence of His Father. Our faith, hope and love is now governed by Him, we are not our own anymore, we are His. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.  

Cast off those shingles of fear and apply the grace of God our Savior as the soothing balm He provides to live life abundantly. John 10:7-18.

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The Devotional -087 - Be of Good Cheer!

A Thought for the Day – 087 – Be of Good Cheer

Proverbs 11-24-31 – People are reward conscious; but there is a price on every reward. Those who seek good; are pleasing to the LORD; they will flourish and find favor. Those who seek evil; are not pleasing to the LORD; they will not prosper and find trouble.

 

Comments and challenges

A day in the life of any person can be a life changing event, it seems that my mind this morning is focused of a day back in 1975, May 21^st to be exact; I was thirty-five and my life was a mess. My wife at the time was fed up with my life as a husband and father, she had good reason; since I was a drunk and I was abusive to everyone I ran into, including family.

Many know my testimony of coming to faith; to clarify, that would be; coming to faith in God through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ for my sin. A good passage of scripture to reveal this sacrifice is found in the first chapter of the Gospel of John, verses 29-34. Simply put; if you are alive today and reading this devotional, you are a sinner and member of the world. “Behold! The LAMB” Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

The mind of all humans cannot comprehend the impact of such wonderful news as this. The truth is that ALL reject this wonderful offering of forgiveness, until the Holy Spirit of God disrupts their life style. Literally God the Holy Spirit had been chasing me for several years, placing believers of Jesus Christ in my life and daily convicting me of sin, righteous and judgment. The same chase that is going on in YOUR life if you are NOT delivered from the sin of the world; I know that God is chasing you and so do you; Notice John 16:5-15.

With my family gone, my desire was to commit suicide, so with a moment in time I opened a window on the third floor of a building I worked in and proceeded to jump out. In my mind as I built up the courage to jump, the LORD prompted me that I had never given Him a chance to prove His love for ME. At least twice He got my attention that moment in time. “Behold, Jesse… I AM the LAMB of God, I have already forgiven you of your sin. Romans 5:8. God was telling me personally that He loved me.

“Okay, LORD can you get me a bible and I will follow you!” I closed the window and went back to work. Almost immediately the phone rang. Myrtle, a local insurance adjudicator called again for additional information on an accident claim we were working on. She picked up on a change in my outward expression. “Jesse, what is going on with you, you’ve changed in your behavior from when we talked earlier”.

“I was studded” how could this be I thought? I was confronted with telling a lie, or to tell the truth? Well Myrtle, I was just going to kill myself by jumping out the window in the empty room next to this one, but God has changed my mind, He said He did not want me to do that but to give Him chance to prove His love for me. I asked Him to get me a Bible”.

Her immediate response was; “Oh Jesse, my father is a Gideon and distributes Bibles to hundreds of places, just this morning he stopped by my office and placed a whole case of Bibles at the foot of my desk. Come on over and get one”. My ears heard those words and my heart burned with thoughts of belief and unbelief. Myrtle and I had never talked about God I only knew her by the phone and had never met her. Yet God had placed her in my life for this right moment in time. We met later in the day and she gave me a Gideon Bible, I used it for several years. I met Myrtle’s father who took me under his wing until he went to be with the LORD the following year.

If you are a member of the “sin of the world” you are not alone but it is the power of this world that keeps you from seeing the kingdom of heaven and prevents you from the love of God that overcomes the grip that this world has on you. Before Jesus willingly sacrificed His Life for the sin of the world, He explained to His disciples who at this point in their life were still in the sin of the world. For them He said; “be of “good cheer”. What? Why should they be cheerful, He was leaving them and going away? Don’t be foolish today and let God go away from you this moment.

I leave you with the last two verses of John 16; “indeed the hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own and will leave Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace in this world. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of GOOD CHEER I have overcome the world!”

You see, when Myrtle recalled me that morning I had received the PEACE to live apart from the sin of the world through Jesus Christ and Myrtle being a believer in Jesus herself recognized the voice of one filled with the PEACE of God and the Good Cheer of being in Christ. Romans 5:1-5 – Please have yourself a Godly day today, if God is not in your day it will just be another day of sin in the world and unrest.

Hebrews 9:28 - so Christ was offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for Him shall He appear a second time without sin unto salvation.  Jesse <><