The Devotional - A Look at the Book #568

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #568

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

I like the concept of this universe being surrounded by eternity. The thought of this is comforting knowing that God who created us completely surrounds us with His existence that cannot be measured by time. 2 Peter 3:8-9 or Psalm 90:1-17 The LORD is our dwelling place.

Good Morning

People strive at coming up with plans and purposes for living in comfort. Many dedicate their lives to accomplish things like extracting money from people by offering comfort through enticement. What? I thought about the odds of winning the lottery while watching the news this morning. The commercial: “Have you played today?” Someone has taken the phrase; have you prayed today, and changed just one letter in the four words to give those four words a different direction in the matters that pertain to life and liberty. Have you gone mad…? Well the truth is that I wish that were true; then you could just turn me off. Did you know that if you are a Connecticut resident and play the lottery that your chances of winning the targeted reward is greater than 195 million to 1. There are only 3.5 million people who live in the state including children; this means that if everyone of us played the lottery we could expect to win the full amount once every fifty-six years. Now if you extract the children and people like me who do not play, the odds of winning march rapidly up to once every seventy years. As one pastor friend used to say, we are a needy people; the context of this need is not in economy or jobs. He meant and I believe him that we need to return to the basics. We as a nation have become ignorant of truth; we have become dull of hearing, thus we no longer tolerate TRUTH; we now live to believe the impossible LIE! We are the new apostates; like those of the old, as recorded in Jude 1:5-11.

2 Corinthians 9

2 Corinthians 9:1-5 – The mechanical submarine does a maneuver called by the sailors on board; “angles and dangles” which simply means that the sub is capable of doing twenty degree down or up angles; or is capable of dangling in the water like it is hanging from someone’s fishing rod, sort of like the helicopter that dangles over a fixed or moving object. These maneuvers are quite normal for subs but if I were to apply some angle or dangle some enticement over giving back to God what He already owns I should be like those that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 5:21-26. Defilement of truth begins in the heart.

Each of us is encouraged to give and to administer what we give, so this means that we are all responsible for the gift. In other words; it is not the ability to give, nor is it the amount, so the focus then, is not on the giver or the administering, but on the resulting glory to God. Yet with all of this said, there needs to be organization. I dislike using the word champagne since many churches have stuck their angles and dangles in the MUD causing many to jump ship or drown.

In verse one the apostle says that he is going beyond the need to write to the Corinthians about this matter of giving to the saints. He also considers their willingness to participate as valid and has been boasting to the Macedonians. So he is not presenting a new angle for giving to the saints, nor is he dangling any promise before them that has not already been promised by the Corinthians. There are no pledge cards or phony promises, but simply the challenge to do what has already been promised the year before.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #567

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #567

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

The greatest event in history is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is fact and it is truth! The greatest story tale ever told is evolution. It is fiction and it is a lie! So get the facts and get the truth; your eternity depends on TRUTH!

Good Morning

Having the experience of being a submarine sailor is unique, many of my friends who are ex-sub sailors know this and I know too that aviators and astronauts experience similar events. However, since I know a bit more about subs I will focus on what I know; sub sailors are required to be experts in their professional field. These men are mechanical and electrical engineers; electronic, sonar and radar technicians; also communication and navigational technicians. Nuclear and chemical engineers too. Lastly there are administrative, supply and food technicians and let us not forget the leaders. In addition to these professional qualifications these men must know in theory; how salt water can be turned into fresh water. Also they must know how this same salt water can produce oxygen; keep the reactor cool or from the freshly made pure water and create steam to run the turbines that propel the sub through the oceans and seas on her journey. They must also know in practical application; how to make use air systems; how to surface the ship if they were called upon to do so. All of this knowledge is required because the vessel they are on is surrounded by a created element; WATER. So my question to you and even too many submarine sailors is this! Why is it that we earth bound humans of God’s creation know so little knowledge about the created element we call ETERNITY which surrounds our universe. We have much wisdom in engineering and technical matters; any TEXT massager proves this. It is possible that in theory we know about eternity; but many of us do not know the practical application of how to get there. Jesus says that He is the way; He also says that we know how to get there. Notice verse 4 of John 14:1-6. So; get fully qualified or what you do know will be taken away from you. Matthew 25:14-30.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 8:16-24 – Yesterday I used some thoughts from a song… Jesus is Coming Soon and He is; you and I need to be prepared for that day is coming. So… are we prepared? This is a question that does not need to be asked since what can we do to prepare for that day? We cannot cancel the appointment of that day since we do not even know when it will be.

We cannot hide from that day since we do not know where to go and hide. Even if we are dead and our body is in the grave we will be there when Jesus Christ returns to this earth. Please help yourself to this verse of scripture; Hebrews 9:27.

Now you may be thinking… what does all this about the return of Jesus have to do with 2 Corinthians 8:16-24? Again; I am glad you thinking because the church (you and me) are preparing for the return of the LORD Jesus by caring for one another with heart. Exhorting one another with diligence. Praising one another in the gospel. Giving to one another too the glory of God as needs arise. Proving integrity of heart to one another in order that no one is blamed in the administration of gifts. Being diligent to one another proving confidence and having trust worthy messengers from church to church, thus proving our love for one another as we see the day of the LORD approaching. Jesus is coming again… prepare for that day.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #566

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #566

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Love is not a tangible asset, nor is it anything of visible value! Yet love is fiercely defended and monitored by all who seek this spiritual and human connection. So then; love is joined by faith and hope. Two additional attributes of God; without these love does not exist where sin abounds. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Good Morning

Before serving on submarines; was stationed on destroyers. The last destroyer I was on was the USS Gearing DD 710. (1965 through 1969) This was a Reserve Destroyer with 25 to 30 Regular sailors aboard and the rest of the crew were Reservists who would come on board for two week cruises. When there were no Reservists on board the ship’s home port was New London, Connecticut. The Captain would take the ship to Block Island every Wednesday for a little liberty for his small crew. In those days I did not have a personal relationship with Jesus so the Captain and three of his first class petty officers enjoyed these weekly trips to his favorite bar on the Island. Of course I was one of those three. We were branded by the rest of the crew as; “Captain Crunches Bunch”. The captain eventually lost his command because he had no patience waiting for the help of tug boats and pilots. This resulted in several crunching moments going in and out of harbor when the ship would bounce off the pier or another moored ship. Why do I tell you this? Evil is always present with good; the man was a good captain, he had good characteristics of leadership; but he was distracted by pride, impatience and a promiscuous lifestyle. I am so thankful to God who reached down into this runaway lifestyle of four men and snatched me from the pit. Jonah 2:6… Oh LORD, my GOD; I thank you daily for rescuing this runaway slave. Philemon 1:15-16

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 8:16-24 – Troublesome times are here, for the apostle for the Jews and for the church of Jesus Christ. The Judean saints have been persecuted, homes destroyed and farmlands taken away. In the days of this apostle the Jews have little assets left in Jerusalem, all has been taken away. Paul, for at least a year is seeking for the churches of Macedonia, Corinth and others to participate in a giving campaign to relieve this hardship among the saints of God. We should note that his requests for help even went to churches under poverty trials and afflictions like that of the Macedonians.

The hearts of folks then and today are filled with fear, the freedoms that we all hold dear was are at stake. We desperately need to humble our hearts to God; in that He would hear our pleas and deliver us from His chastening rod. As saints we need to awake from our slumbering indifference to the persecution of the universal church of God. If you really want to know what God is doing in the world around us, you need only to look at Jerusalem and the Middle East, all of which is moving into our own backyard.

Jesus is coming soon; maybe it will be this morning; or tonight, maybe even this very noon. The trumpet will sound and all of the dead in Christ shall rise; we who are alive and in the Righteousness of Christ will meet the dead (now alive) in the skies, we will be going to the place where no one dies. We are heaven bound. In the meantime; morning, night or noon our mandate is to show the proof of our love of God to the world by supporting one another by meeting the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? Because Jesus is Coming Soon and His kingdom will be filled with those who support Him. Matthew 25:31-46.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #565

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #565

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Our freedom as a nation is in trouble! I write… “Our freedom as a nation is in trouble” Did you read what I wrote? “Our freedom as a nation is in trouble” he or she that has an eye to read… so let him or her read! OUR FREEDOM AS A NATION IS IN TROUBLE. We have become a nation of fools. Psalm 14:1-3.

Good Morning

The other day I was in Vermont and needed to stop in one of those rest areas that are numerous in that state. What struck me the most was the excellent condition of the building and the cleanliness of every room. I felt comfortable and safe as well so this allowed me the freedom to move around without the feeling of being unsafe. As I looked at the pictures of Vermont landscapes and prominent buildings I heard a small commotion of young people who were busy setting up a table and small display. They had three large boxes of apples of which two were placed under the table and the third one was placed on the table. A little sign on the table read; Vermont Apples – enjoy! I watched some people walk by the display… finally a young lady selected one and took a big healthy bite. The crisp crunch caught the attention of others and one by one people were selecting their favorite apple and the crunching became like that of walking on dry leaves on a cool autumn day with one exception. There was also an audible… ummmm! With the first crunch. Yes! I decided I needed one of those apples too! I also thought that it was right neighborly for those Vermont folks to do that for people they did not know or would even meet. Immediately I felt, a down home warmth that I only knew of when I was a boy growing up in Kentucky and I thought! Where has all of this love of country gone? What have we done as a nation? I returned to the car weeping for a country whose countenance has fallen. Fallen even like that profile of the Old Man of the mountain (Mount Cannon) some years ago. Pray for our nation and for God to deliver us from evil. There is a simple prayer found in Matthew 6:9-13 that you no doubt know by heart; but do not pray in a rote manner… pray sincerely, from the heart! God will hear and respond.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 8:8-15 –We think that we are something special don’t we? I mean; we seek a little self esteem over an issue or two from time to time. You know; like I did this or that; or this happened because I made the right decision. But have you also noticed that it does not take very long until someone comes along and tests the sincerity of those seemingly selfish statements, then the truth is exposed in that our selfish deeds are nothing more than sinful acts of poor judgment.

The life of Jesus Christ is the template that we should be willing to place over everything we do, that though He was rich, yet for our sakes He became poor. Jesus became poor in order that we might become rich. Can we get hold of this truth by faith? Does our heart comprehend this thought at all? Christ Jesus who is rich traded this richness for sinless flesh and became poor, in order for us poor people to become rich. Philippians 2:5-9

There is such a large disconnect in our sinful nature over the matter of giving back to God what He already owns anyway; that we fail. We fail to accept His promises, we fail to experience perfect love, we fail to do His Will because we place fear in front of our steps of faith, we limit an atonement that is unlimited. Note the whole chapter of Matthew 25:1-46 and note that the kingdom of God is not selfish. When this millennium is set up by the LORD the selfish people will not be there.

The Devotonal - Looking at the Book #564

The Devotional - Looking at the Book #564

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Psalm 119:28 – A fallen countenance in the heart can result from several reasons, but when grief enters the soul... there is only one source of revival or rest – The Living word of God! Matthew 11:28-29

Good Morning

The temporal circumstances of the elderly seem permanent and it is depressing to have the feeling that nothing will change. That there is nothing to look forward to and that nothing in life matters anymore. Some of the elderly people I have worked with in the past have these thoughts going on in their minds, continually; this is a maddening oppression that keeps pushing forward; driving them deeper into a mentally depressed condition. If this condition does not put them in the grave; they become bitter so friends and relatives avoid them and the downward spiral of loneliness and separation deepens. If they could only know that Christ has regarded that helpless condition and that He shed His own blood for their soul, they would find peace and purpose for being elderly. Sometimes I get the opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them, but not often. When I do talk with elderly of salvation and witness to them about the LORD Jesus; I notice at least two significant road blocks. Elderly people who have nothing much to do, will momentarily hardened in their heart to hear the gospel. Like a moment of hardening as found in Hebrew 3:8. Their mind is full of distraction caused by the fear of the world which has replaced their fear of the LORD. Second: Even though they have little to do; their mind races against the sound wisdom of the Word of God and they have no peace in their aggressive heart; which is a progressive hardening like that found in Ecclesiastes 8:10-17.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 8:1-7 – Some of my happiest times growing up is when we had little but gave much. Some would say that the depression of our early years caused this. If you have opportunity to watch the rerun episodes of Walton’s during this time of their life you will notice that out of their deep poverty; they were a happy people. Family love; neighborly compassionate and hard working people who gave out of their poverty all that they had to keep going; they are a true story of having all things common.

I do not know what you think of giving, but I do know this; if you have experienced the joy of giving as these Macedonian people did; then you know the church of Jesus Christ and His saints. Again we see the great trials and afflictions of this temporal life. This life is hard and every time we reach for some personal asset to share with God or to give to another human being by the grace of God; we know that we are going beyond our ability to do so. Yet, we do go beyond, not because we are commanded too from scripture; we go beyond because we have first given ourselves to the LORD.

So by the Will of God we reach out to others in order that we might abound in every way; in faith, in speech, in knowledge and in love. We do this so that grace will abound to all we come in contact with. Now have we seen this sort of giving of ourselves before in this epistle? Yes, the theme is found in 2 Corinthians 4:7-15, but the apostle reminds us of this grace throughout the epistle.

The Devotional - Looking at the Book #563

The Devotional - Looking at the Book #563

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Psalm 119:25 A dry and thirsty land is a desert, if you have spent time in a desert you know that by day the heat is depressing, at night the cold is oppressing and there is no rest from these elements. Such is the soul that hungers for revival from the only source of life – The Living Word of God!

Good Morning

I know that submarine life differs from the twenty plus years since I last served aboard one of these fine vessels, but I remember a time in the sonar room when I had an opportunity to be there when a few carpenter fish were active and communicating with each other. So you are saying… What is a carpenter fish? Well, the creature is not a fish at all; but a sperm whale and a group of them together sound like many carpenters banging nails on a roof top. Anyway; these great fish were not to far from our submarine and some of the more experienced sonar men were saying that these great mammals were curious about our size and shape which does resemble a whale. Whether this is true or not is irrelevant, but here is what I believe is important. God has made all things beautiful in it’s time and place. He did this for only ONE purpose and that purpose was to place ETERNITY in our hearts. Ecclesiastes 3:11. Think about being occupied with this thought as you live out the circumstances of your life. Have you ever had a thought about the birth of a child without a thought about eternity? Look at each of the events listed in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and notice that each one is linked to eternity in a very unique and comforting way; then try to deny the existence of God. If you are able to succeed in your denial you will not see the beauty of time in its own time; but you will see the black hole of separation and despair!

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 7:13-16 – Yesterday I had a brief but wonderful moment of talking with the pastor as we played golf and discussed the times of our past. I thought as we talked; I have known this man over thirty five years! That is half of my life time and over two thirds of his. What a joy! And the joy comes not from golf although we both enjoy the game; but the joy is our relationship with each other in Christ. There is such a comfort in this that it is nearly impossible to describe.

He refreshes my spirit, somtimes; even without a word… simply being with him in conversation about our LORD, about family and about that brief moment of singing: “Jesus is coming soon; morning or night or noon” This event and those like it is really what the apostle Paul is referring to here in these few verses of scripture about pastor Titus. Titus has labored in the Corinthian church and the message of a good report is just the news he needs to be refreshed in his spirit.

This is really what living in Christ is all about; we should receive the news of our obedience to God with the confidence that it is God who is at work in our lives and not we ourselves. We have no confidence in the flesh and one of the eye openers to this in the fact that the words we speak to one another find no meaning other than general conversation. But when those words are filtered through the indwelling Holy Spirit in these earthen vessels we gain the confidence that only God can provide; which is comfort in a dying world.

The Devotional - Looking at the Book #562

The Devotional - Looking at the Book #562

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Psalm 119:20 Injustice is all around town, traditions full of deceptive ideals, cultures full of half truths and religion trying to strike a balance in both worlds, the weight of worldly blindness is so great that the heart has no time to recover. There is peace in the justice of God's HOLY Word!

Good Morning

One of the best ways to lose sight of the enemy is for the troops around you to lose sight of the mission in front of them. But I am reminded of a man named Gideon who ended up with three hundred men out of thirty two thousand. He and those three hundred were sent by God to the camp of the Midianites and Amalekites. ( a number of men to large to count) If you know the events of this story, you know that God confused the camp of Midian and everyone drew their sword against each other, and then fled off into the night. The three hundred men of Gideon's army merely surrounded the enemy camp. Made fire in a jar and made a lot of noise, not one of them raised a sword for battle. (Judges 6-8) The Word of God clearly explains to us that the battle is the Lord's. As a young boy, David the future king of Israel knew the battle belongs to the LORD when he fought against the Philistines. (1 Samuel 17:47). In Proverbs 21:31 we are told that the horse is prepared for the battle, but deliverance is of the LORD. We must always be prepared for war, but we must always trust that God will fight the battle for victory. Oh! Before I forget there is at least one other prerequisite. God must be on our side; as a nation I am not so sure we qualify as being on His side since we have allied with Sodom and Gomorriah and our military camps are full of confusion just like that of the Medians and the Amaleks. .

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 7:8-12 – Anytime someone reads the writing of another or hears a message; emotions will enter the mindset when seeking to comprehend. I like to think of the emotions of the unfaithful world as surface ships. These emotions have little depth; but leave a wide and visible wake that will rock smaller vessels that cross wake. Maybe a better example is wearing our emotions on your sleeve. Again, some folks are proud of being identified by a badge of humility or the chevron of intimidator on their sleeve; which is nothing more than the selfish sins associated with unbelief.

However, when people who are faithful to the Word of God hear a message or read commentary related to the Word of God which is focused on truth; the resulting emotions are not like that of a surface ship with a visible and destructive wake; but like that of a submarine where the depth of the water make the wake invisible. Being absorbed by knowledge of the LORD. Who by taking our emotions will season us in personal salvation sanctification! I hope you are following me in this?

The whole of this second epistle of Paul is based on Thee God of all comfort in whom these earthen vessels the Spirit of God dwells. What we see, hear, read and experience; in His sanctifying work as we suffer in every way is not to produce a sorrow like that of the world; producing death to everything it touches. These sanctifying events go to the depth of our soul where the treasure of God’s excellent power dwells; the outward work of this forgives wrong and produces the joy of the LORD. So it is not the wrongful event to focus on like the chevron on the sleeve that cannot forgive, or the badge of humility that goes no deeper than the sleeve it is on.