The Devotional - A Look at the Book #574

The Devotional - A Look at the Book #574

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Psalm 111:1-10 – Can you wrap the fingers of your soul around this thought? Jesus never fails! Then my heart races with the thought. I will praise His Name forever, just as His Righteousness, Truth and Judgments endure forever… so are my thoughts of Him; JESUS NEVER FAILS.

Good Morning

In preparation of retiring from the Navy in 1987 I had started a small business of landscaping and minor carpentry work in 1985. It seemed to me that my brother made a decent living at landscaping that I would too. Well to my surprise; I found out that if your body is not use to grunt work it fights back, so by 1988 the efforts of landscaping changed to commercial cleaning. I was able to contract with a few banks, office buildings and schools. It seemed also to be the LORD’s Will for us to move in this direction since the contracts for work were very good. We had several employees and I soon learned that owning a business is a tough business. Employees have needs, (personal needs) and it is not long before you are personally linked to them in that way. Even the slacker that you would like to fire gets treated with considerable care since he has a wife and children. Yes, you might be the boss, but if the LORD is your boss; you are still a servant. Service then takes on a different light, one that leads because he or she has learned to follow first. Our LORD puts us in places that we would never expect and if we are tuned in to follow His voice, we will hear just as Peter heard in (John 21:20-22), then we can apply… Ephesians 6:5-9.

2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:12-13 – I though I would take just these two verses this morning; these seems to fit in the last couple of days. We live and work in communities of people; most of us do not have employment that does not interface with others on a regular basis. You know I can say this now since I went back to work part time and in working now, I see that nothing much has changed in the last two years.

People still classifying and comparing their self with others. One will compare and commend him or her self with another and the verbal and nonverbal badgering begins. Yet I see this as foolishness don’t you since the only measurement these folks have to measure with is their own ability. Do you know what I mean in that the most critical often seem to be the most unqualified, yet because they know how to intimidate by comparing themselves with those whom they walk among they become all the more; the unwise and unproductive.

So as saints and disciples of our LORD Jesus Christ we see and live in these two kingdoms and it is the LORD’s Will that we react within the limits that He has provided. We must not boast beyond measure; there are limits. This does not mean that we should never boast, but it does mean that our boasting should be within the sphere of the kingdom of God and not from the framework of the domain of darkness like the unbeliever. Note also that the apostle in this verse includes you and me with these words. “a sphere which especially includes you.”

God willing… more on Monday.