A Devotional Look at the Book #548

A Devotional Look at the Book #548

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Personal and National Sin: J. Vernon McGee – On biblical discernment once said: “Satan never gets very far from the Bible. Every one of the cults, even Satanism, uses the Bible.” With secular humanism gaining such ground today… even false religions face intolerant persecution.

Good Morning

I do not remember exactly how old I was, maybe ten, but I remember one morning when my mom was walking me to school. In those days, not many automobiles had curved windshields since the technology was not complete to this point. As we traveled from block to block, I was complaining about the books I was carrying. We did not have back packs in those days either, but we did have book satchels; only I did not have one of those because we could not afford one. My mom thought I should stop complaining since she was pregnant and as she put it, “making the baby upset”! About that time we stepped onto the street. A car had come to a stop to our left and we thought that it was okay to cross. As soon as we got to the middle of the hood of the car, the driver started to make a right hand turn. We attempted to yell at the driver, but for whatever reason he heard nothing. The car began pushing us with increased motion and I took all of my books and hurled them at the windshield. With a loud slap the one heavy book that caused most of my complaint was now a life saver. As the book smacked the windshield the man behind the steering wheel stopped his car; apologized and life goes on without an injury. Some of us today have forgotten or have never learned that there several reasons to stop at stop signs and some crosswalks; you’ve just reviewed one of them. After thought: Books are printed to be read and not to be complained about, also books can be used in a pinch to ward off dangers; thus we should be thankful to carry them. So, quit complaining because you are upsetting the baby! This is another thought that seldom surfaces in the thoughtless and selfish minds of the people of our nation these days of out lives.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – The lumps and bumps of the Christian way of life can be very critical for the believer in the LORD Jesus Christ who fails to observe the Invisible Attributes of God. This outward and visible body of ours is perishing; even moment by moment. You know as I do that we are not as good as we look as some of us would like to believe. Even on a good day, we have those hidden blemishes or reoccurring aches. In the words the apostle; the outward man is perishing. This earthen vessel does not inherit the kingdom of God, it does not need too since we already have the treasury of the power of God in us via the Holy Spirit. I just can get over this! Wow!

Looking on the outward decay can be a heavy weight! So STOP IT and look to the treasure that we have in this earthen vessel (verse 7 and the power of His resurrection) we can see that our affliction is but for a moment compared to the background view we have of Jesus who is in eternity waiting to receive us. Thus we have a far greater expectancy of living with Jesus who is not seen then what we do see at the present time. “Living for Jesus a life that is true; striving to please Him in all that I do.” The song written by Thomas O. Chisholm and taken from the passage in 2 Corinthians 5:15

So many thoughts about life and the pursuit of it; yet I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 3 and Matthew 6. Time has but a moment compared to the backdrop of eternity with Jesus Christ. In time He shares with us His Character through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (in part) so that this earthen vessel can experience the Joy of the LORD and endure the sufferings of this present day. One day soon He will say to us: Enter into the JOY of the LORD; a fullness of things that are not seen as yet; but OH what a day when Living for Jesus will be changed to Living with Jesus. Matthew 25:21

A Devotional Look at the Book #547

A Devotional Look at the Book #547

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Personal and National Sin: Psalm 119:86 All of the challenges of life are experienced and explained in the Living Word of God. The Holy Bible is this Living Word; containing Commandments, precepts, judgments, laws, testimonies, statutes and the Fear of the LORD; even His Promises that fail not.

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

In my early days as a sailor I was stationed in Newport, Rhode Island. The ship I was on was moored to one of the two piers there. A forecast of a hurricane heading toward New England caused all the ships docked in Newport to leave port and find anchorage in the Narragansett Bay. By the time we reached our assigned area the winds had become strong. I was assigned to one of the whale boats and my duty was called; “Bow Hook” this meant that I would take a long pole with a hook on the end of it and reach out to grab hold of the anchor buoy and then hold the buoy to the boat while others jumped from the boat to the buoy. The task was nearly impossible and having no experience at doing this made impossible... non-existent. Sort of like; “Big Buoy” vs. “Little Hook” of course the big bully (I mean buoy) was winning the battle. One sailor broke his arm trying to get onto the buoy; all of us had bumps and bruises from being banged up each time the buoy pulled away from the boat and then slammed back into it. Eventually, we were able to too secure the ship to the buoy. When we returned to the ship our bumps and bruises were tended too and each of us was given a shot of brandy. For a full day we rode out the storm. This was my very first exposure to the dangers of ocean and bay weather and my very first taste of brandy to quench fear that things could get out of control and life could end. In those days the Navy gave a shot of brandy to sailors who survived troubling experiences at sea. Every detail of life is covered in the Holy Bible; please note Proverbs 31:6-7

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:13-15 – It is interesting to look around at all the churches in the United States; have you noticed the “different faiths”? Some believe in the literal lifting up (rapture) of all saints before the seven year Tribulation; some believe in a mid-rapture and some believe in a rapture at the end of the tribulation and many churches are looking to usher in the new heavens and earth without a rapture at all. Then there is faith in a man like a pope; faith in a denomination like a Baptist or Methodist. Faith in the Law and works; faith in grace, faith in losing your salvation and just plain faith. Are you confused yet? I am! There are not many faiths and one message; there is only one faith and one message!

Shall we forget so quickly? We have this excellent power in these earthen vessels which really tells me that it is not the power of any of these man made faiths that get us anywhere. The truth is that all religious faiths do not have enough power to make a light breeze that blows in the direction of eternity. Notice what the apostle Paul says here in verse 13 according to that which is written; we have all received the same spirit of faith, just as he has said in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 and Ephesians 4:1-4.

What is this faith? It is common to all of us who believe; in that this faith rests in excellent power that rose up the LORD Jesus from the grave. We then can rest in this excellent power of God; in that He who raised Jesus up, will also raise us up with Jesus and we will all be present with Him in eternity. Notice too that it is the grace of God that accomplishes this in order that God who deserves the glory; receives the glory since it is not any work ethic developed or believed on by the religious efforts man. Hebrews 3 and 4 detail this faith/rest ministry.

A Devotional Look at the Book #546

A Devotinal Look at the Book #546

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Personal and National Sin: We do not think too much about the effects of sin in our lives these days, but it is evident to the one who observes. The individual, the neighborhood, the community, the state and the nation collectively suffer from something; God calls it SIN...it is time to get back to the basics! Psalm 117:1-2

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

It is high noon; evening is just six hours away. There will be a wedding in the morning, but first there must be two funerals to witness. Most all marriages are a day of joyful celebration; the bride and groom exchanging vows and if you are married you remember that day. Whether you are happy in your marriage or unhappy that day is remembered in very accurate detail as it is a part of who you are. Problems develop in marriage for a number of reasons; the number one and two reasons are money and infidelity. Some would argue that these are the root cause of most divorces, but the root of the problem runs deeper. It is because the man and woman did not did not die to themselves, there were no funerals to witness. As real as life is; marriages are when two: ONE Man and ONE woman agree to die to themselves and become ONE. Not only by contract, promise or covenant as to the agreement of the local assembly of town and relatives; but also spiritually as promised and covenanted by the Word of God. In Genesis 2:8-25 our great God and Father ordained marriage as a covenant of TWO (one man and one woman) becoming ONE. In Ephesians 5:22-33 the apostle Paul confirms that the marriage of a man and woman is as serious as the marriage of Christ and His Bride – the Church. Just as the church is one with God, our marriages are to be one with each other as well. If our marriages have not witnessed the funeral of dying to self; we will have trouble waiting at the very end of the honeymoon. It is not too late if your marriage is suffering. Some of us die hard, but go ahead – die to yourself and let your spouse come to the funeral, then go to his or hers as well, you'll be glad you did.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 – I am not sure but I believe that there are not too many of us; myself included who take time to be holy. In this section of scripture the apostle Paul gives us the best definition of what holiness is all about. He starts out by stating that within these earthen vessels we have the perfect power of God available for every good work, so that what we do in the likeness of Christ is not from these earthen vessels but from the excellent power of God in us.

In this thought lies victory over every encumbrance and suffering that we children of God may face; in other words we are often cast down; but we are never conquered. Example: If you have been a child of God for very long you actually know this truth. You have witnessed to someone and felt the pressure; even you have been crushed by others for your words or even perplexed at some response by your sibling or child. Yes, persecuted by people but not forsaken by God who comforts us.

The child of God who walks in the excellent power of God carries with them at all times the dying body of Christ; and now you say… what is so joyful about that? Hang on! We also carry about the Life of Christ in this earthen body. This is the outworking of spiritual power. Being delivered daily to death for the sake of the gospel of Christ; that the life of Christ may be manifested through our spiritual way of life in our mortal life; death is at work and so is life. Does this sound confusing? Maybe Philippians 3:10-11 and Romans 8:17 will help. Even 1 John 2:28-3:1.

A Devotional Look at the Book #545

A Devotional Look at the Book #545

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

Personal and National Sin: Since Righteousness is lacking in this country; foolishness has become our disgraceful national pastime. Proverbs 14:34

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

Many call the Holy Bible mystical, a book of lies, ancient writings, and host of other characteristics that are simply false. Most of these people acquire this nonsense from relatives as they grew up. Others who are searching for meaning in life obtain these thoughts from the erroneousness observations of friends or various religions they've come in contact with. Yet, when you really get to know the people who hold these views you will find that they all hold this statement of unbelief and it is found in the Bible. “Who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” Romans 1:32. The saints of God know these people very well, they are your neighbor, maybe a parent, your boss or a close friend; maybe they are someone you even go to church with or sit next to in church. These are the people of Romans 1:18-31. If you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you; then you are always exhorted from scripture to recognize that you are the workmanship of God; to esteem for love's sake those unbelieving people and believing brothers and sisters around you. To be at peace; but too warn the unruly, to comfort the faint hearted; but too lift up the weak. To be patient with all; but too enjoy the LORD; to pray always; but too give thanks always. To listen to prophecy; but too test the work; to hold fast to that which is good; but too abstain from the evil conduct of the world around you. If you are not doing this, then you are willingly quenching the work of the Spirit of God. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-21. The unbeliever cannot read the bible because it reads them. The saint who is lazy in being a good steward over their spiritual house has forgotten that they are a walking temple of God which the unbelieving world can clearly read. 1 Corinthians 3:16-23.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 4:1-6 – What is this ministry that we who are born again have? It is the ministry of mercy; is it not! The unbelieving person can preach, teach and exhort the doctrines of the Holy Bible… religions do this all of the time. But the one truth that religion cannot reproduce in the soul of man is MERCY. Mercy is granted to all who place their faith in the grace of God through the death and resurrection of God’s Son Jesus Christ. Mercy is living in the state of forgiveness and if you live it; then you can extend mercy to others.

We have openly renounced the hidden things of shame have we not! Or do we still handle the Word of the Living God deceitfully? There is a difference in the countenance of the hypocrite and the saint of God. The one in the mask may smile with the outward appearance of mercy; but behind the mask is rottenness of heart and a soul fat with the god of this world. Thus the gospel remains veiled and they perish because these souls have not known or received MERCY, this is the spiritual blindness or the veil over the gospel.

We are identified as preachers of Christ Jesus our LORD; we are servants of God for the sake of the gospel of Christ who is living through us therefore we do not preach ourselves but Christ. For it is God who commanded Creation into existence by the Word of His mouth. God spoke: His powerful Words became flesh and dwelt among us. We believed the Living Word and now we too live out the Living Word via the Holy Spirit who lives in us. To God be the glory as our face reveals the face of Jesus Christ… which is the ministry of MERCY!

A Devotional Look at the Book #544

A Devotional Look at the Book #544

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

The coins in your pocket: Some people never spend the change in their pocket. Be it lazy or embarrassing the excuse will be heard; but the bottom line is that most have forgotten how to count. James the half-brother of Jesus states something similar in his epistle! James 1:23-24

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

The responsibility of keeping the devil out of our family life is large. For example: When I was an unbeliever, I allowed myself to follow the lifestyle of my father and uncles. Drinking, smoking and just being one of the “good Ole boys” I did not know that this activity was an open door for the devil to be a bed partner. He just did not go away! He was there in marriage and he was there at the hospital as I observed our newborn children. He was there when our family drifted apart. He was and is the master of destruction and death. I could place the blame on him, but if you look close enough you will find that it was me who enjoyed the devils company. So many of us go down that road, arm and arm with the devil. Not caring who we hurt, not caring for the wife or husband whose heart is broken. Not even caring for our children, since everything we do in real terms is a sacrifice to the devil. Believers and unbelievers alike get caught up it this. The divorce rate of people who claim to be born-again is as high these days as that of the unbeliever. As people of God we need to stop self righteous sins and assume responsibility for our actions. James 4:7-10 speaks clearly to this issue. Never close the door of communication with God! Humility before God cures worldliness and suffocates the devil with those we love.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 3:13-18 – I like my hope in God and in His eternal matters; I expect that this hope or confidence will grow. I suppose you could identify hope in God as progressive revelation of Him as He provides more light to see Him more clearly. This is a relational matter between you and God Himself; but it is also a responsibility of the church to bring this truth to light in each of us. (Matthew 16:18) Both the church and the person stand on the rock of their faith by the confidence found in hope. Hebrews 11:1 and the remainder of chapter eleven that “The Faith” from the dawn of creation until now and into the future is “the only hope” for mankind.

It is unique to me that such a simple item like a veil describes the total heart condition of believing and disbelieving in God. It is also just as unique that God can use whatever means necessary; such as, the Old and New Covenants to get His point across. Like for the unbeliever living currently these days who are under the Old Covenant Law of Moses, (2 Peter 1:19) until the day dawns and the morning star arises in their heart and the light of the New Covenant reveals the Mercy and Grace of God for the very first time. This is exciting to me in that it helps me understand that unbelievers cannot see God until the veil is removed.

Coming to the LORD Jesus not only removes the veil of blindness to the grace of God, but it also provides liberty to live in the Spirit of God. 2 Corinthians 3:17 is one of my favorite verses. “Now the LORD is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the LORD is there also is liberty”. Along with verse 18 we can know by hope and faith that our unveiled face will reflect the glory of God to those around us who are saved; but will be veiled to those perishing around us until the Spirit of Christ opens the eyes of their souls.

A Devotional Look at the Book #543

by Jesse Abel

A Devotional Look at the Book #543

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

The coins in your pocket: How much is six pence worth in British currency? 0.11 cents American! 0.22 cents Canadian; or 0.75 cents American? There could be more than one right answer. Matthew 6:24

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

As a sailor before May of 1975 I staggered from one circumstance of life to another. For example; I thought it might be nice to sell mutual funds as a part time job while stationed in Hawaii. The income was good and I was having happy times. Then I thought it might be good to own a pizza restaurant, so I bought one. Hard work but I had good help. I had some selfish ideas so I stepped on people; some were employees and some were people who invested in mutual funds. I was happy! Yet; I was also unhappy since I treated people roughly I was treated the same in return and I always thought that I was right and they were wrong… so I was miserable. Why? Because I could not get people to like MY SELFISHNESS! I reckon you could say I was miserably happy. This way of life was and is today the way of life for many people; staggering from one moment of temporal happiness to another moment of temporal misery. Words like happiness and misery are scarce in the Holy Bible since these are a temporal condition of physical life laced in sin. So every person who answers the call of God is lifted out of this temporal condition and placed into the family of God where the focus is always on Eternal Joy found only in the Person of Jesus Christ and His Righteousness. Learn to be joyful and stop being miserably happy forever. Matthew 7:7-14

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 3:7-12 – I am encouraged and I hope you are as well. The paragraph above was not intended to parallel with these verses in Second Corinthians; but do! Well the LORD always has His way and I am so thankful for that. The question that I find myself asking here is: Does the Old Covenant have no hope? It seems to me that the apostle is saying that the Commandments of God written on stone; even as glorious as it is to Moses and the people of Israel is a ministry of death as in passing away. A no hope covenant: Please note: Romans 7:10; Exodus 34:1

We also know that the presence of God speaking with Moses; gave Moses a holy countenance because of the LORD’s glory and as time moved forward that countenance would fade away. Exodus 34:29-35 so the picture of the countenance of the Old Covenant had from the beginning a temporal overcast and I believe that this is good for us to know. The New Covenant is the final Covenant because it has eternal Promise and joy. Placing both covenants face to face we can easily see that one is temporal and one is eternal: One is the ministry of death; written and engraved on stone. No one can fully obey the Law of God except God Himself. The other is the ministry of the Spirit promising and fulfilling eternal life to all who believe.

I see that Acts 4:5-12 answers any questions I might have. There is a lot more to this thought in these final verses of chapter three and we will be covering these in the next day or two. I just would like to mention that we should be meditating on this section of scripture for more insight and blessing. I do love the Word of God and I hope you do too; because if you love the Word; you are loving Him who spoke it into existence. 1 John 1:1-4. Joy exceeds happiness by an eternity.

A Devotional Look at the Book #542

A Devotional Look at the Book #542

by Jesse Abel

A Thought for today by Papa “J”

The coins in your pocket: Nine dimes and two nickels will always add up to a dollar; but just spend them today and note the result… about forty cents worth of hot air if you buy Bazooka! Better to seek and save for the kingdom of God. Luke 12:31-34

A DAY IN THE PAST, THE PRESENT OR THE FUTURE

The world around us is familiar but can react in unfamiliar ways; the things we know about people are normal but can generate abnormal results. Want to have skill in living through certainty and uncertainty; of course you do! We hear people say: “Pray as hard as you can”! What does that mean? Or we hear ourselves say; “Yes! I trust in God” but if we could have an instant replay of the following events of the day we would find less trust and more gut. So why is this true more often than not? Is it possible that we have no skill in living? Study intently the Book of Proverbs; learn to trust in the LORD; but with your heart and not with all of your might, we have no strength to pray or trust consistently. In Proverbs 3:5 the voice of Solomon is loud and clear on this subject… a good heart is not hard and the trusting soul does not lean on a gut feeling. But the good heart leans only on the Word of God. Is this thought serious? I think it is very serious since I believe that as a nation; we have failed the test of trusting God in all of our ways, thus He is no longer directing or making for us a smooth path. Proverbs 3:6.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 3:4-6 – I think that we often forget that the focus of the Holy Spirit in the ministry of the apostle Paul is to the church as a corporate group of believers and not to people individually as too one. Yet I do not mean to say that we should only look at the Word of God as a corporate message; as it is a personal letter from God to His children. To slice and dice the Word of God in this manner would make the message false, like in some religions that do not permit their congregations to read or study scripture.

Also, we have those religions that confuse and distort the Living Word of God by leaders who do not rightly divide the Word of God. 2 Timothy 2:15, we should notice that dividing the Word of God is scriptural; as in what doctrines pertain to the church and too which ones that pertain to the individual person. Also dispensational divisions, since it is God who equips His ministers with the New Covenant message, the message will always be through our trust in Jesus toward God and not the other way around which is of the letter rather than the Spirit.

Has the apostle talked of this issue before to the Corinthians? Yes, I believe he has! In fact; I believe that he; under the Power of the Holy Spirit developed an entire doctrine of the subject in 1 Corinthians 12-14 note; he starts out this doctrine of Spiritual unity within the church with the words. Now concerning “Spirituals” brethren, I do not what you to be ignorant. 1 Corinthians 12:1. Please note that the word “gifts” in this passage is in italics and is not present in any manuscripts. This brings up an important thought of study. Spiritual abilities such as explained in chapters 12-14 are given to the church to distribute to the congregation and not given to individuals to use as personal ministries. Spiritual injury results in many by the misuse of the Word of God as in the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.