The Devotional - A Look at the Book #700

by Jesse Abel

We have been studying Spirituality as an absolute reality for the children of God. The apostle Paul makes it clear. “This I say then; Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” Galatians 5:16. Since the Spirit of God dwells in the temple of every believer… walk in your temple. This is the glory of the New Covenant. 2 Corinthians 6:11-18

When I was on submarines I was the protestant lay-leader and I enjoyed the title of “Bible Thumper” and each Sunday morning when we held services someone would come by in the stealth mode and tape a sign on the outside of the door that said: “Bible Thumper Time, do not disturb”. Sometimes we would try to find out who the man was but he was very good at his game.

Anything can be a distraction from our relationship with God and as simple as a little sign, if given the room to grow can turn into a festering distraction. One of the men in service became irritated with the sign and would get up and check for it. He would remove it when found, not only did this distract him, but the rest of us as well. The crackling of the paper being wadded up along with the disturbing of chairs and noise of the door being opened and shut was soon an irritation that was not tolerated by the rest of us and the offensive remarks caused us to nearly lose that brother. In fact; that service would have been cut short, had we not prayed and ask the LORD to regain our Spiritual needs.

I was reminded of this event when reading 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 the other morning in our devotionals before going off to work. The apostle is warning us to be sensitive to the consciences of ourselves and others. In the chapter he uses food and idolatry, but the same issue can be applied to most anything we do as children of God. Like the sign… Bible Thumper, do not disturb. The sign means absolutely nothing to anyone, not even to the person who hung it, but in the hands of spiritual wickedness in high places, it is an effective tool to destroy the weaker believer and irritate the stronger one. Ephesians 6:10-18.

We are often distracted from the “Joy of the LORD” because people (knowingly and unknowingly) do things that rattle the weak believer and aggravate the mature one. In church we take a moment to cleanse our hearts before the LORD; this is a good thing to do. However and even before we go off to church we should take a moment and look to see if we are a distraction to others. In some cases the distraction is so obvious that the eyes of many are distracted and the message of the joy of the LORD (which is in every service) is lost.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #699

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 699

Many treat the LORD as a fast food restaurant. We come to the call box make our request; draw near to Him and receive forgiveness. Then, we wipe our mouth and soon forget who we are; in Christ. This means that we have forgotten some of the response found in James 4:1-9, false humility and pride promote strife rather than the intended grace and peace which bring about the Joy of the LORD.

Many of you know that I just switched computers, now you would think that this is no big; to some it might be easy but for those like me who are not computer savvy, it can be mentally painful. I have all the tools on the computer as I had on the older one, but it seems these are in different locations and the reactions are not the same as the old and the program managers say; “that is because it is newer and better”. Maybe true, I’ve not figured that out yet.

One of the tools (major in my thoughts) is that I cannot get www.filehorde.com/jesse to work as it did in the past since that blog spot does not recognize Microsoft Word thus I cannot get the scripture verses to pop up as these did in the past. Why, take this time to tell you? Well again I am looking for help. I am wondering if there might be another site that I can use.

Let’s go back to Philippians. I love the Word of God and yes I’ve said this before, but if you say that you love Someone, it would not be very good if you said it only once in a lifetime. I know some out there is thinking… well Jesse the Bible is just words! Bah-humbug to you dear friend; have you not noticed. Genesis 1:3 “and God said”, or John 1:1 “and the Word was God” and 1 John 1:1 you might just as well read that verse on your own, John is speaking of Jesus. So! Which what is easier to say? I love the Word; or I love Jesus, His Father and the Holy Spirit.

Now back to Philippians. The apostle was in prison during the writing of this epistle, he was imprisoned twice in his lifetime but there is no way of telling whether this letter was written in the first or second imprisonment, but this has no effect in the message. The message of this epistle at least for me is the potential of the joy of the LORD available to every believer. Scofield references that the key verse is Philippians 1:21, I like that too, however I like this as a key passage; Philippians 2:5-11

One of the attributes of joy in the LORD is found in verse 4 of chapter 2. “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also the interests of others. This means that we have to take into account verse 3 as well. Selfish ambition and conceit is not a humble mind or attitude. The mind of Christ esteems others over His own interests and we should be like minded. This brings verse 2 into focus. If there is any consolation in Christ, any comfort of love, any fellowship in the Spirit, if any affection and mercy; these will only be accomplished by those of us who abide in the gospel of Jesus Christ, obedient to the point of death. I love the Word of God in context.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #698

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 698

Ever notice the aftermath of a happy moment? Many times these moments have a following of sadness even depression. God's Servant is the LORD... Notice Isaiah 42:1-4 and Matthew 12:18-21. Are you a bruised or broken reed in this world today. Let Jesus be your joy and comfort.

I have met a few people in my life who will not crack a smile, some have been friends but mostly not. The primary reason they do not become friends is because I will go out of my way to try and make them laugh out loud; you know since they won't smile they do not laugh either.

I work with two such individuals and recently I needed to go to a auto dealership of another manufacturer to get a part. When the technician open the box (the non-smiler is he), the object in the box looked like a nineteen sixties "pot pipe" Thats all I needed to make a comment about the tech smoking pot on the job. He must have been thinking the same thing. He smiled and for the first time in six months I saw the smile. I felt the victory... mission accomplished.

Here is the rub! All of us have issues in life, none of us are exempt from those experiences that have the power to dump us overboard into the angry seas of life. Most folks will overcome these issues in time, but almost always there are deep or heavy ladened side effects. These do not go away and when something happens to remind us of our past issues the side effect will short circuit the event so that the full impact is diverted.

Yesterday in a serious conversation with another individual we were discussing the gospel, the individual; my neighbor is not saved but he was hearing, with interest about Jesus, His death and His ressurrection. As we talked I would notice that he was allowing the short circuits of his life to divert the full impact of the LORD's message.

I asked him to stop and let the full impact of God's love work through his past life and for the first time in ten years I saw the "man" next door. I also learned something... we see people everyday, but do we really see them, or do we see who they want us to see? What we see in most people, we do not like; but God sees them differently. He sees the man or the woman whose soul is crying to be filled with God's peace and mercy.

Here is what I learned; we who know Jesus personally need to see the people around us as God sees them; even as seen through the eyes of men like Ezeliel, Isaiah, James and Paul. Each of these men have made statements that show you and me how to sincerely share the Love of God, notice: Isaiah 43:1-5; Ezekiel 18:19-32; Romans 10:1-13 and James 4:7-10.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #697

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 697

Jesus explained for three plus years that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Was that because He was on earth; or because the Holy Spirit was and is an indwelling gift to everyone who would believe in Him? 2 Corinthians 3:15-18

People become good at what they do because they are interested in what they are doing. Having an interest in anything requires time. For example; the apostle Paul did not receive wisdom of the things pertaining to God by some magical event. In fact; his conversion on the Damascus road was more traumatic and life threatening then we think.

Struck blind and totally knocked out of commission for three days and he did not eat or drink during that time... this was no small matter. The only Spiritual Truth that was added to his resume was that what he was doing was sin and that he was at physical, spiritual and mental war with the One whom he thought he was serving. Acts 9:1-9

Paul was educated in the theology of the Pharisee Sect of Judaism; his teacher was a highly respected man and teacher named Gamaliel (Note Acts 22:3 as the apostle gives his testimony). So why do I bring this out? Before Saul's conversion, he was full of the wisdom of the Old Covenant, but not according to the knowledge of knowing God. His wisdom was based on man's wisdom as man teaches; 1 Corinthians 2:1-16 is a good read on this subject.

After his conversion Saul who is called Paul did begin to preach, but he did not immediately begin to teach. With all of the knowledge of the Old Covenant and his training in Judaism, he went again to Damascus. This time he stayed there and re-studied the Old Testament scrolls; for three years he studied about Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the scrolls. Galatians 1:11-24.

Any reference that Paul makes concerning the study of scripture is from this three year period in Damascus; i.e. 1 Corinthians 15:3. So here is the joy resulting from the statement of Jesus back in Acts 9:15-16. The apostle came out of this Old Testament study while in Damascus with the Wisdom of God that we find written in the New Testament. Romans; Corinthians, 1-2; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; Thessalonians 1-2; Timothy 1-2; Titus and Philemon.

God in His Wisdom demonstrates His love to you and me in ways that goes beyond our earthly comprehension. Like Paul who was converted who says in most of his epistles; God's love for each of us will abound more and more when we are willing to discern the scripture. We are to be filled with all the fullness of God, which are the fruits of righteousness of Christ to the glory and praise of God. With the joy of the LORD... read Philippians 1:3-11

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #696

The kingdom of God is not physical... it is spiritual. Now I could just leave that statement alone and let you deal with it as you see fit; but notice how the apostle Paul explains this wonderful truth. "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Roman 14:17

The epistle of Philippians is filled with the joy of the LORD so we should take a look at the Book. One of the thoughts that come to mind is that grace and peace always precede joy. Righteousness is grace in action. In other words, God grants grace to all of His saints to live in the Righteousness of Christ, their LORD. Philippians 1:1-2

For me the JOY of the LORD is like finding gold and the epistle to the Philippians is like a gold mine. At minimum there are seventeen direct references to the joy of the LORD. With confidence and joy the apostle prays for those he remembers. Do we do that? Well our prayers are a one on one communication with our Father; however we should seek to remember each other before the LORD, daily and with joy.

Also our confidence in one another should be as strong as the confidence that the apostle has for the saints on his list (if he had a list). If Christ is in us the work which began with Him will be completed by Him and that work will be rewarded by Him in the future day of the LORD. Philippians 1:3-6

Does this mean that we have no responsibility to actively walk in the Righteousness of the grace of God? Absolutely not! In fact; if we fail the disciplines associated with grace, we fail in Christ-likeness and when we fail here, we will fail to know the JOY that God has purposed for us to have daily.

A friend refers to God as her Papa, while we may think this is strange, it is not strange at all. I heard of a man who is CEO of the one of the largest companies in the world who places a white handkerchief in the breast pocket of his suit coat. Not to be stylish, but to provide a visual for him to see that he must stay pure as His Savior is pure. Philippians 4:8-9

For me; I find that just thinking of the rose that is trampled on the ground, He took the fall and thought of me. Song of Solomon 2:1. Each time like my friend and this CEO when we think on the truth these symbols of remembering come to the forefront we are immediately filled with the JOY of the LORD. There are a multitude of truths in the Holy Bible to help us to remember and rejoice in the LORD.

The word ABBA (papa) is found only three times in the Holy Bible; Mark 14:36; Papa Father all things are possible for You, take this cup away from Me, nevertheless not what I will, but what You will. Romans 8:15 we are adopted children of God and He expects us to refer to Him that way. 1 John 2:28 through 3:3. Now for Galatians 4:6; I truly believe that if you stifle the Spirit of God by disregarding that we are God’s children (His saints) then we will miss many of the rewards that Abba has for us.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #695

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 695

by Jesse Abel

A kingdom is an entity that projects authority and the power to govern. What is comforting to me is that the Kingdom of God has the power to govern over all of creation and is victorious over all of the living and the dead in time and eternity. Make no mistake; the power of Satan is limited to govern only in time and only over the dead. Luke 10:17-20

On board a submarine some years ago I was challenged by the Executive Officer to give a lecture from the SOARM (Ship’s Organization and Regulation Manuel) to my duty section. I chose a regulation near the end of the manual called. "Worship Services" well, because the XO as he is routinely called said that I could choose any of the regulations.

I saw this as an opportunity to talk about the needs of the ship and the people on board. I used; 1 Timothy 2:1-3 as a platform. The lecture was scheduled after the evening meal; my duty section included one third of the crew. During most of these lectures you see people talking and sleeping rather than listening. This evening, every eye was wide open… their eyes were fixed on me and the man who was standing directly behind me… the XO! Also present were a few of his officers; those in my section.

When I finished I went to my office in MR1 (Machinery Room 1) for you land lubbers. The phone rang. The voice on the other end was that of the XO, Chief Abel; get up to the Wardroom immediately. He was not happy and I was immediately flooded with a joy that is unexplainable. I knocked on the wardroom door. The door flew open and the XO grabbed me by the shirt and pulled me in. With his face boiling, he said; "I dare you to use my training time to preach about your God to my men, I ought to punch you square in the face!" To my surprise I said, "Well, XO if it will make you feel better; go right ahead." He released his grip on me and stumbled backward. After a bit of threatening remarks, he said. "Go, to your office and make a list of all who were at the lecture and apologize to each of them personally for talking about your God." I turned and walked out the door; my spirit now rejoicing that I had permission to go and follow up on that lecture to each person. The joy of the LORD was so rich at this moment in time that; again it simply is not explainable.

Back in my office I was going over the list of attendance when the phone rang again. It was the XO, his voice was calmer. "Chief; I want you to come up to my stateroom right now." "Yes Sir, I am on my way." I knocked on the XO’s door and out came only his hand, "I apologize Chief, please accept my apology and shake my hand." My mouth did not work right again; "No sir, I will not shake your hand until I explain my God to you. His door swung open and he said; come in and sit down.

Thus this man heard the gospel of Jesus Christ (Maybe for the first time) but here is the point; the fiery trials and the sufferings we face are not events that we walk alone in. we are blessed with the joy of the LORD the moment we enter the fire. 1 Peter 4:14 is real for every believer, for time and eternity, why?

Because Christ is the object of reproach and as these events play out we glorify God in His Name. Many of us saints have firsthand knowledge and experience of the joy and rejoicing that goes on in the soul of those under the Authority and Power of the Holy Spirit as He glorifies Christ though us. 1 Peter 4:12-16 carries the eternal weight of glory to the saint in time to the unbelieving who do not know that their blasphemies are already forgiven.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #694

The Devotional – A Look at the Book 694

A precious faith is a faith that is one of a kind. Faith in religion or in one’s personal character is not precious at all. For example; during the reformation many were martyred in the name of religion. Currently, a famed religion martyrs many Christians and Jews. The only precious faith is the One that is found in the perfect Righteousness of our LORD Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:1-4

Have you ever given thought to your life in Christ? Recently I was wondering about loving God from a pure heart. A good conscience and a sincere faith is the high calling of God’s command for all believers, 1 Timothy 1:5. If you ask people about their faith, they respond with yes, I love God and I have faith… I believe them and you should too. However here is the rub; how sincere is one’s faith.

You and I are not the ones whom God has called to judge another’s faith as earlier in the epistle of Romans the apostle discusses this very point; do not judge lest you be judged yourself, also in Romans 12:1-21 this whole chapter is dedicated to our behavior to one another as believers and the use of our Spiritual gifts as a spiritual service to God in order that we would prove what is good, acceptable and perfect; that being the will of God.

Using the ministries of God for purposes that do not edify one another as the apostle Paul notes in 1 Timothy 1:1-11 is giving heed to disputes of false doctrine which destroys faith. Our churches today in this country fail to meet this powerful command. People walk away from many services on Sundays without having their conscience and heart challenged to maintain a sincere faith and faith without sincerity is not a faith that expresses the joy of the LORD.

Notice what the apostle Peter has to say in 1 Peter 1:3-12 as he focuses his attention to our heavenly Inheritance. By God’s abundant mercy we are born into His living hope, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is not something that is possible for you and me to have unless God Himself gives it too you. Also once He has given it, He keeps it for you by His power, not yours or mine. I certainly know that within me there is no power to keep anything. I am weak, but He (God) is strong. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

There is a ton of joy here in Peter’s first epistle and I am poorly touching on a bit of it as he discusses election, but the apostle’s key verse and the one that I wish for us to see is verse eight.

“Jesus Christ; whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.”

1 Peter 1:5-7 explains why; those who are sincere about their faith will grieve through the various trials of life their faith grows, a faith that is much more precious to them then life and prosperity in the world that will one day perish. But this grieving will not hold up. At the return of Christ and when our soul sees Jesus this inexpressible joy will be expressed as a new song; as the one we will sing in Revelation 5:8-14… Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.