The Devotional - A Look at the Book #846

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Under the sun, this is where man lives thus it is natural to plan for profit in this kingdom. God’s plan is better. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you Matthew 6:25-34.

 

Good Morning

 

Speaking of kingdoms we are not yet finished with the kingdom of heaven. I have a question that often pops up in my mind and that is; is the kingdom of heaven on earth today? Most people would say no; these would be the secular unbelieving men and women who do everything within their power to disprove the existence of God. Religion does not believe that the kingdom of heaven is at hand because it is always seeking to work its way there.

 

So for me to be satisfied in my mind that the kingdom of heaven is at hand I cling to verses of scripture that prove this to me; such as 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 and 2 Corinthians 3:16-17 and sandwiched in between these two portions of scripture are chapters 12, 13 and 14 of 1 Corinthians which for me is the Church who makes up the spiritual body of Christ on earth.

 

Well we could say more; but let’s move on. While I was going over the kingdom of heaven I was reminded of another kingdom. The kingdom of the devil and his fallen angels who battles the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven daily, we should take a look at this kingdom to, but not right now.

 

Looking into the kingdom of God, I am reminded of C.S. Lewis and the tales of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair; The Horse and His Boy; The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle. These works of fiction about all four kingdoms where mankind can be; place the reader’s mind at times within these kingdoms. The books are still very popular today and worth the read.

 

The hub of action is the kingdom of God, nothing happens in this entire universe without the approving wisdom coming from the Throne of God. Isaiah seeks to come to grips with this wisdom in the year that king Uzziah died. He saw the LORD, can you imagine his thoughts. It is a good thing he tells us what he was thinking. “Woe is me, for I am a dead man (destroyed), he knows that no one sees God and lives and yet in the vision he is present with God. Isaiah 6:1-8.

 

Here again we could spend a lifetime searching out the kingdom of God, the throne room, the ministering angels, the colors within the kingdom and a host of other valuable bits of wisdom. This throne room is once again described in Revelation 4:1-11 and even the apostle Paul was taken up to the ‘third heaven’ as he puts it. The kingdom of God exists and one day and for the rest of eternity those of us who have believed in Jesus, we will observe this wisdom and realm forever. For me; the thought of this cause my brain to shake in awe.

 

There is plenty of proof of the kingdom of God and there is promise after promise that we who are seeking the city whose builder and maker is God, we will be there. I don’t know about you, but I get all goose-bumpy and the joy of this thought is so overwhelming. The Jerusalem of today is tormented with sin, Satan and death, but the New Jerusalem of tomorrow, which is a construction project of God in eternity is coming; Revelation 21 and 22. Be there, or the other option; be a flare.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #845

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

There is a song of many years ago that contained these words, “His Banner over us is Love” and the question that keeps surfacing in my mind is; “Have those who are called by His Name all but forgotten this?” Revelation 2:1-7

Good Morning

Now you would not notice this as I do, but it is evident that when I stick to the Love of God and the Cross and the Risen LORD, I get many responses from folks and to these men and women I say. Thank you!

As you know there is no greater place to be on this planet then to be near to the LORD’s will and plan for life; our life personally and life both in heaven and on earth. Matthew 6:9-10, some would have us believe that Jesus did not come in the flesh. The disciple who is the apostle John says this teaching is from one who is antichrist. 2 John 1:7-11

I notice that the LORD Jesus in His life was always interested in the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of earth it is in these three kingdoms where life is found. We can take a look at the gospels to see this, so let’s see where this word search will lead us. I am excited and I hope you are too!

Matthew records the words of John the Baptizer: Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:2 and then he quotes from the book of Isaiah in Isaiah 40:3.

Do we think about the intensity of this thought in the hearts of these men? John who was the messenger heralding the news that Jesus who is the Representative of heaven is coming to earth. Or that of Matthew and all of the disciples of Jesus who are the eye witnesses of knowing God’s Son who came to earth.

Notice too, the LORD’s method of teaching His disciples to pray was not singular in His opening expression, He said; “In this manner, therefore pray” “Our Father” “Our” speaks of knowing and communicating with these kingdoms and that I should not be selfish, certainly the needs of me are very much the same as yours and those around us.

I also notice that in this instruction on prayer that God is God, THERE IS NONE ELSE our Father has the only kingdom where RIGHTEOUSNESS and HOLINESS dwell. His kingdom is called the Kingdom of God and its location is IN HEAVEN. Now this is not uncommon knowledge us, but it is uncommon for the people of earth to believe or communicate this truth.
This first kingdom we briefly observed is; the kingdom of heaven. It is the Person of Jesus Christ who is God in human flesh. He is not an angel notice that the scripture says that; He Jesus created all of the angels. I say then; look at Colossians 1:16 and notice the words of this verse along with verses in the context – Colossians 1:9-17.

So there is then this common thread of evidence in the gospels that whenever the LORD’s disciples or Jesus Himself says that the “kingdom of heaven is at hand” they are talking to you and me about repenting from the false doctrines of religion. And to know that Jesus began His ministry with those very words of the kingdom of heaven being at hand, Mathew 4:17 and 23. Jesus is then, the visible kingdom of heaven on earth.

I took a moment to look in the concordance at the word kingdom, it is found 55 times in the gospel of Matthew alone. I reckon we will be looking at this word search for a while. I feel as though we are taking a trip on a voyage, after all we are, notice Hebrews 11:13-16. Wow!

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #844

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

When you open a vanity there is an immediate odor of revelation with the contents inside. Yet as the investigation proceeds the evidence that demands a verdict is one of vanity; cosmetics of false beauty and of little eternal value. Ecclesiastes 1:2

 

Good Morning

 

Jesus is alive, do we think about this truth as we ought? Probably NOT! At the moment I am listening to our past Cantata that celebrates the Risen LORD Jesus. I know that for the most part the people who read this are those who have truly experienced the LOVE of our Living God, but I also know that there is that ONE, maybe even YOU who has never known God’s personal love for you.

 

My words and this short message cannot make you know the love of God as you should, all this little note can do is point you to HIM. So take this moment and look in your mind’s eye.

 

Where do you see JESUS? Do you see Him being scourge by Roman soldiers? Do you see the crown they placed on His head? Do you see the wooden cross where He willing gave His life for you?

 

Let me ask you another question; this information is not good news unless you are like the Roman Soldiers, Pilate and the Pharisees who hated HIM; is it? In fact; it is not good at all. If you live in the United States of America you no doubt have heard this news before, if you’ve not heard it then you must live in a closet.

 

Of course; it you live in another country, like where some of our missionaries minister the words they preach help you understand that Jesus Christ died for your sins is NEWS, but it is not good news and more information is needed.

 

I heard of two Russian Soldiers who experienced the Love of God and went to an underground church for the first time only to hear the message of the LORD’s Crucifixion. Hearing that Jesus died on the cross caused one of them to stand up and scream. “I knew it, I just knew it; they have killed my Savior!”

 

The service was temporarily stopped as the pastor came to the side of the soldier and explained that Jesus who was crucified and sacrificed for the SINS of the world and for this soldier too, was not dead, that death and the grave could not keep HIM.

Leaping for joy, the soldier understood that just as Jesus died according to the scriptures, He also is alive again according to the scriptures. All of the Law of Moses, the Psalms and the Prophets do not speak of a dead Savior, but reveal to you and me that the Risen LORD is truly alive. Luke 24:44-53.

 

Now that is GOOD NEWS, yes it is true; we must see Jesus, we must behold Jesus who is the LAMB of God, slaughtered for the SINS of you and me and all the rest of the world. Yet, we do not need to behold Him in this slaughtered state of being all the time. The scriptures also reveal to us the LOVE of our God who LIVES. 1 Peter 1:5-12 .

 

Because if you have experienced the LOVE of God, His passion, death and resurrection will always be fixed in your mind’s eye while you walk about on this planet that He created for you. Yet again, we see Him this way no longer we see HIM Risen, this then is Good News (joy) made full or complete. 1 John 1:1-4

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #843

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

 

Everything in life has two stories behind it; one story of good that gains a small remnant and the second of evil that gains a large following. Matthew 7:13-14

 

Good Morning

 

Last evening my wife and I were watching Ravi Zacharias. The broadcast was one of his “Let my people think” events in 2005. The context of his message was riveting and his audience was from what we could understand a mixture of the saved the unsaved men and women that you and me bump into daily.

Now I have nothing to say verbatim about his message since my retention of things has become somewhat like the rubber band that has lost elasticity. So with that said, I will launch out with a personal observation or two of his message, rather than trying to quote something he said.

 

He covered many topics and people of the past that have influenced the world around us over the last few hundred years. For example: He spoke of Dr. Billy Graham and his family and he spoke of a onetime companion and friend of Dr. Graham; Charles Templeton. Both of these men began ministries of evangelism and one turned away from God, no need to guess who!

 

Okay, herein is the Rub: in an interview with Charles Templeton a few years ago someone asked him about his decision to turn away from Jesus. As the interview ended, Mr. Templeton was asked if he was content with his decision to turn away from God and his answer was and with tears. “No, no I am not content at all; I miss Jesus”.

Now as I said earlier, this is not a quote, I have heard about Charles Templeton from other sources and both stories agree. Yet, below is a quote from Wikipedia about another wanderer from the faith.

 

Prone to wander Robert was. He left the Methodists and became a Baptist. Later on, having become a close friend of Joseph Priestly, he was accused of becoming a Unitarian. Priestly and other Unitarians denied the full divinity of Christ. However, in a sermon he preached after he supposedly became a Unitarian, Robinson clearly declared that Jesus was God, and added, "Christ in Himself is a person infinitely lovely as both God and man."

 

Robert died on this day, June 9, 1790. Had he left the God he loved? A widely-told, but unverifiable, story says that one day as he was riding in a stagecoach a lady asked him what he thought of the hymn she was humming. He responded, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."

 

Robert Robinson wrote the Hymn; “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” and today this is a very popular hymn in many churches across this land. In churches that are “falling away” falling into religion and falling away from Jesus. The land is saturated with failed churches and the majority of never return to God whom they once loved.

 

In our churches today we need to take inventory. How many rules and regulation do we have in place instead of HIS LOVE? Count up the programs, policies and promises and see if these fulfill the Commandment to LOVE ONE ANOTER! Jesus who is rich in Righteousness and pure in Holiness is standing outside the door in many churches that are fallen. Revelation 3:14-22

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #842

by Jesse Abel

 

A Word from Papa “J”

 

The commercial: The guy and the girl are setting at the bus stop playing a game on their “smart” phones. The guy loses and complains, the girl laughs. The little old lady also sitting and waiting for the bus calls him a whiner. My perception: One third of the world will brag, one third will whine and the other third will criticize. Romans 2:1

Good Morning

 

Some people claim that they prefer to be alone, to work alone and to do things solo. We call them loners; some folks are so much of a loner that you cannot borrow anything from them. So I asked myself this question: Why is it that someone can be branded with the title of loner, yet another cannot even borrow a moment of the loner’s time?

 

All answers to mankind’s emotional makeup are found in the Word of God and most if not all answers are found in the first book of the Holy Bible called Genesis. Did you know that the very first emotional obstacle in our human makeup that God determine to be a problem for us was, yes you guessed it! LONELINESS

 

Genesis 2:18 – God provides for mankind so his every need is fulfilled in Christ and for Christ. If I chose to reject any of the needs that God provides it is not God who dropped the ball, it is me. Colossians 1:19-20 gives us insight to the fullness of God through Jesus.

 

So here is the rub, if there is one! Until one comes to faith in Christ, we are needy people, when Christ is believed on the empty void in our heart is satisfied with His presents via the Holy Spirit. Until then the soul is lonely and needy, Ecclesiastes 3:11 and 2 Corinthians 3:17.

 

Neediness is like a spilt bag of marbles on a slightly tilted surface, we cannot seem to catch up with all the needs of life as these roll away gaining speed. This is a weakness and this is where loneliness has its most dangerous moments.

 

Without help our scurry to grab the needs of life (and believers do this too) without giving thanks to God who meets all our needs, that person becomes abusive and cynical. So when God observed that it was not good for mankind to be alone, He was not just looking at loneliness, He was also looking at all of the “one another’s” that He teaches us throughout His Holy Word.

 

The apostle Paul puts it this way: For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you – 2 Corinthians 13:4 in this many of us fail the test. 2 Corinthians 13:5 since we rely on the flesh to meet our expectations and not on the power of God to meet our needs.

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #841

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

To the one who does not understand the love of God; the fear of the LORD and delighting in His commandments must seem like… “Heads He wins and tails we lose” but for those who understand His love; luck does not exist, but grace does. Psalm 112:1-10

Good Morning

Zvi is a man in Israel who ministers the love of God to the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem. Every other month I receive a magazine published by the Friends of Israel Ministries called Israel My Glory. I wait patiently for the stories in this publication, but I especially wait for the stories from Zvi.

True, if you read him like I do you find that each time the events in the story are pretty much the same as the one previously and one might say… so what’s the point, or more bluntly; so what? The point is simple really; there is only one message to share with the religious and the lost souls that God loves.

Zvi goes to the market place, to the synagogues and the neighborhoods and ministers; he is well known and often persecuted for his love for God. That is, out in the public he is attacked but in the privacy of his home, this is where the rubber meets the road as J. Vernon McGee would often say.

Like Nicodemus, the Orthodox Jews show up at Zvi’s home and privately seek to know the truth.
Religious people have no rest, no peace and no hope and are often confused with scripture. For example religious people may be able to quote John 3:16, or know that God is love, they may also repeatedly pray the LORD’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 or they may be such as these Jews who believe the writings of the Rabbi in their sect who follow the dead.

Religion is the plans of man, plans that can never fulfill the promises of God to its followers who may never find rest for their soul. Proverbs 19:21 and other scripture will stir up the religious persons mind and cause them to seek counsel and then with the power of the Holy Spirit, you or me; like Zvi can lead them to the whole counsel of God. We then, like the apostle Paul should not shun the sharing of the gospel with counsel from the Word, Act 20:27.

Confusion with God comes from a lack of faith in God and the promise of His rest for the soul is lost, Hebrews 4:1-9. Have a Godly Thanksgiving… everyday!

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #840

by Jesse Abel

A Word from Papa “J”

What ever happened to “Hot Apple Pie and a Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream?” Many of us would say nothing at all! It is not really the pie or the ice cream is it? It is the THANKSGIVING given to our Creator and God that should come first; this is the missing component!

Good Morning

Just the other day I saw a commercial on the television where a duck was handing out money to some guy in a boat, then the boat developed holes and the duck used all of its extremities to stop the leaks, finally the motor on the boat, if it had one conked out and the duck stuck its head into the last remaining hole and use its beak and lungs to propel the boat to shore. AMAZING!

We live in a world of fantasy and deception. We applaud the impossible and ignore the practical. Instead of being satisfied in life, we have become like a well-known rich man who once was asked. “How much more money do you need to feel satisfied that you have enough?” His answer: “Just a little more!” We upsize everything and then complain when the waist-line expands, or is that “the waste-line”? That is most of the things we stand in line for, is a waste!

I am not a prophet, or the son of a prophet. I am simply reading in Isaiah 6:1-13, and I will break in at verse 9.

And He said, “Go, and tell this people: Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive. Make the heart of this people dull, and the ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest the see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return and be healed.”

Then I said, “”LORD, how long? And He answered: “Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without a man, the land is utterly desolate, The LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. But yet a tenth will be in it, and will return and be for consuming, as a terebinth tree or as an oak, whose stump remains when it is cut down, so the holy seed shall be its stump.”

If there is to be a future for the United States of America, it will not be like the one of our past. We are changing, but there will be a remnant… so the holy seed is the remaining stump. Are you found in the stump, or will you be like the chaff which the wind will drive away?

Isaiah 6:13 – The LORD says that the remnant will be for consuming and you say will then maybe I do not want to be a remnant and be consumed. All of our forefathers who stood up to the British and fought to gain our independence were persecuted and consumed for the freedoms that we have so corpulently abused. THE STUMP, if you chose to be a part of; will in a like manner be consumed. Yet, I cannot think of a better diet for our future.