The Devotional - JAS014

The Devotional

Comment:

All of us like sheep have gone astray, there is not one of us righteous in our own estate, no not one! Yes we find in Isaiah 53 and in 1 Peter 2 similar words of exhortation to urge the wandering saints and the world to return to God. In all the Holy Bible; with the exception of Genesis 1, the commands, statutes, precepts and judgments of God are readily visible to anyone who seeks to know the righteous standards of living under the blessings of God and being freed from His curse. Since the fall of mankind and the curse, it is God’s Will, Plan and Purpose to reconcile, or we can say, to restore a friendly relationship with mankind. In our nation we are experiencing a MAJOR shift of mankind’s rebellion to establish human righteousness as the measuring stick for right and wrong. Some may be saying in their heart, “so what is wrong with that, isn’t this shift good for humans?” NO! Man cannot attain purity in righteousness so he must submit to some higher authority, that authority in this case is human rule. The government is made up of human righteousness resulting in total collapse, the epitome of failure rather than the utopia of success. The weeping Prophet, Jeremiah as he received word from God says this in Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call unto me, and I will answer you, and show you great and might things, which you do not know.”

Challenge: James 5:13-20

Does it seems strange to anyone, that all of us have specific needs? No it is not strange at all! Humanly, we reach out through government programs and funding to relieve the poor, we also do this for our sick and injured. Yet the Holy Word of God claims that all one really needs to do if they are suffering is to submit to God and pray; to be reconciled to God. The other side of this thought is there are people who are cheerful and if you are a cheerful one, sing praises of hymns, psalms to the LORD and glorify His Name, to be cheerful is to have victory over sin, Satan and death.

We ought to return to the Church of Jesus Christ and put away from us our lenient desire to call on or use the assistance of human government. The church is more than capable of praying over the sick and injured. In the LORD’s Name and the gifts of the Spirit of God we can confidently say it is God who strengthens the week, who feeds the poor, who heals the broken hearted. Now this is not a system of WORKS, but of FAITH. We need to know that the human government is established to WORK out a society that is best suited to make all life equal. This then is not success it is failure.

In a government society, faults, sins and trespasses are overlooked, even applauded. Laws to promote every kind of evil protect the sorcerer, the sexually immoral, the murderer, the false religions and the liar. We can scratch our head in a bewildering way and say, “we should know better!” but here is the problem. The laws of the land we live in are reformed by the sorcerer, the sexually immoral, the murderer, the idolater and the liar; so how can we expect that anything good will come out of such a corrupt government?

In the church of Jesus Christ there is forgiveness, immediate restoration to the Creator through the Son of God who is The Creator’s Own Son, who is also the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world – John 1:29, there is in addition to this initial forgiveness – ongoing forgiveness through to power of God as promised in the first chapter of 1^st John 1:1-10. There is always a need of praying for one another, extreme needs occur daily to pray for healings and spiritual restoration of our own life and the life of others. The apostle James says this; “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails (provides strength and help) much.

The Holy Bible is full of testimony regarding the help available from God to all who will call upon Him. Individually and corporately God hears and answers the prayer of those in need. Be wise and do not wander from the truth, yet should you wander be confident of this, that when you turn back to the LORD. Someone will help you from your error and deliver your soul from death and cover a multitude of sin.

The Devotional - JAS013

The Devotional

Comment:

As being older than yesterday, I see that I am being more cautious of where I place my feet today. Yet, I cannot forget that I am still much younger than tomorrow; that is physically speaking. So what is all of this meaningless double talk? We are living in a world laced with deception and deception is the ability to take the meaning of anything real and turn it into a fake reality. Counterfeit is when we forge something to imitate what it is not. Nationally we are a people one year shy of 240 years. Instead of wisdom and knowledge we seem to have a national alzheimer condition as we are rapidly forgetting yesterday, we have no vision of tomorrow and we really do not care that the future of our children’s nation is on the brink of total ruin.

Challenge: James 5:7-12

The apostle James in his epistle is speaking to his nation. Although scattered throughout Asia offers hope to the twelve tribes of Israel by providing an example of faith in God through trials. He says in James 1:2 – knowing that the testing of YOUR faith produces patience (endurance). Now as he begins to conclude his message of a working faith he reminds his brothers and sisters in the LORD of this patience again. Verse 7 – Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the LORD. See (observe) the farmer who waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

Today while we as a nation remain in our land it seems there is little we are willing to do to overcome the socialistic push to engulf our national freedom and liberty into a system of man-made laws that fail the test of real liberty. Freedom and justice for our national future will be bondage and neutrality and counterfeit. Men and women with deliberate purpose are already in place to control the future life of this nation by the laws of man apart from any knowledge of God. If this is true then what must we do; who Fear the LORD? Knowing that our view of living in the substandard laws of man are deceptive works that deliberately take the reality of life before God and replace His Law with the laws of man, again what shall we do?

The one thing that we who Fear the LORD ought to do is “stop grumbling” grumbling only feeds the fire of condemnation. The LORD God; He is aware of all things past, present and future. Instead of grumbling we should be remembering this. “Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done. Saying My counsel shall stand – Isaiah 46:9-10.

There is NO double talk with God. As one pastor and friend used to say. “all of the Word of God is “YEA AND AMEN” (see Psalm 119:158-160). The writer of Hebrews, along with James and all of the prophets of old clearly understood this; that Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the First Messiah and the LAST) is the same yesterday, today and forever – Hebrews 1:8. You see “Truth” cannot be changed into a lie no matter how mankind may seek to counterfeit this. The best that mankind can expect from his deceitful effort to change the Law of God into the laws of man is the DAY of meeting with the Judge when the King of kings and the LORD of lords (Revelation 19:16) steps through the door from eternity and back into time.

The LORD is compassionate and merciful to all who endure, blessed are the poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are of a pure heart, those who are peace makers and those who are persecuted. Matthew 5:1-10 takes on REAL meaningful TRUTH as James says “count it all JOY brethren. Now please read Matthew 5:11-12. Do not swear at your fellow man who is deceived and being deceived, instead let your “yes be yes and your no be no, lest you criticize and fall into judgment, yourself.

The Devotional - JAS012

The Devotional

Comment:

Few people are exempt from the woes of money. Money is needed in our society to live and move about freely, yet money is not the life blood of survival in ANY family, community, town, city, state or Entity in the United States of America. If the statement above is TRUE and I personally believe it is, then just what does a nation such as ours need to be prosperous? You may think that there is not enough time on the agenda, enough ink in the pen or enough paper on the planet to answer the NEED of returning to prosperity for the United States of America. Think again! All that “We the People” need to do is to return to the LORD. Are we seeking a sign of the times in which we live? If we are, the sign is now old news. The sign is in our face, but like the forest is not seen for the multitude of the trees within, so too is our blindness! 2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV – if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. The Church of Jesus Christ is God’s Entity, a real existing place here in the United States of America, but and because of sin that quenches the Spirit of God within the church our society as a nation is crumbling, for the love of money, it is the root of all evil. Thus the church today is full of error and greed – 1 Timothy 6:3-10.

Challenge: James 5:1-6

“Where, oh where, are you tonight? Why did you leave me here all alone? I searched the world over and I thought I'd found true love. But you met another and pthhp! You was gone.” A disgusting song sung by Roy Clarke in the days of Hee-Haw. Say what? Yes the song is disgusting so don’t be foolish and look up the full lyrics. But rather weep and mourn for the miseries of the riches that have corrupted our nation and church. The razzle and dazzle of entertainment is all we do.

Nationally our thirst for professional sports, casinos, pleasure parks and a host of distracting entertainment has separated the family, technology has destroyed the family; and drained our personal and national resources. The national church, seeing this has adopted similar ways to reach the ears and the one dollar coin spins on the pulpit as it hypnotizes the church into a sleep. A little sleep a little slumber and the folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man – Proverbs 24:30-34.

The national and personal accounts of gold and silver are corrupted, even used for corrupted purposes all of this will be a WITNESS against us in the judgment. Nationally, all of these works will be eaten up by fire, a treasury of wood, hay and stubble. Those who have labored and lost to the greed of nation and church who were fleeced will cry out and reach the ears of the LORD of Hosts *SABAOTH! (A military epithet of our God and Savior). Yes the LORD is displeased with the nation and His Church.

We have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; we have fattened our hearts and we are ready for the slaughter. Are you ready? ‘Turn and live says the LORD’. Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them: as I live says the LORD. In have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn form his way and live. TURN, turn form your evil ways! For why should you die, O nation and church?”