The Devotional - 1478 - The who, of who you are

The Devotional – 1478 – The who, of who you are

Psalm 119:17-24 – Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me. My soul breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times. You rebuke the proud--the cursed, Who stray from Your commandments. Remove from me reproach and contempt, For I have kept Your testimonies. Princes also sit and speak against me, But Your servant meditates on Your statutes. Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors. 

Comments and Challenges

 When is the last time you asked the LORD God to deal bountifully with you? No doubt if you have had prayer today; it was today. Prayerful requests like keep me safe as I travel, or give me neither poverty nor riches – feed me with the food You prescribe for me (Proverbs 30:7-9) are common among us believers. Let me ask us all a question. Did we ask this of the LORD God in order to live and keep His Word, or did we ask this of Him for selfish reasons?

Notice too that the writer of Psalm 119 is interested in the eyes of his soul and yes our soul is able to see, but many times the vision is blocked. Worry in the mind or the distraction of some form of evil. The wondrous things of the law of God are found in Psalm 19:7-9, the law of the LORD is perfect, His testimonies are sure, His statutes are right, His commandment is pure. Fearing the LORD is purifying and His judgments are true and righteous.

And do you consider that you are a stranger on the earth, if not then no doubt about it; the restoration of your soul at times is blind to the law of God which is perfect, the testimony of the LORD which is able to make you wise, the statutes of the LORD that always rejoice the heart, the commandments that will open your eyes. And yes to be clean and in the Spirit is to fear God, understanding that His judgments are true and righteous.

The desire to be face to face with our Savior is strong, but it should be understood that the LORD God has prepared a table of His presence in our present state of life, Ephesians 1:3-14. Who can understand this, that through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we can have His presence and assurance, but we must first allow God to cleanse us of those secret faults; now do not say that you have no secret faults! If God knows what these are… so do you.

Instead of letting the world’s powers and persuasions direct your life, let the Word of God dwell in you and you will notice a wonderful blessing and rejoice as your soul expresses that the Testimonies of God are not only a delight but also a wonderful counselor. I do not know about you but I do know about me; if I look to the world power and allow myself to be persuaded in accordance with the world, then when I lay down at night, my sleep is not peaceful.

LORD, teach us to use the resources of our soul and the Power of the Holy Spirit as we look to You, since all else is simply foolishness.  

Daily Devotional - 1477- Promises

Daily Devotional – 1477 – Promises

Psalm 119:17-24 – Someone in my past often said that the promises of God are “Yes and Amen”. What he meant is that God's promises do not fail, nor will His promises ever melt away quickly like a summer snow. The kindness of the LORD and the mercies of God are an ever present help... ALWAYS!

Comments and Challenges

If someone would say to you; I have good news; someday soon I will give you a million dollars. Do not be the one who leaps for joy and says…” my troubles are over” and do not go out and run up a million dollar debt. Why is that? The one, who rules the good news, is also the one who will cause you to return the delicacies of his deception, Proverbs 23:1-5. Good news is not an unfulfilled promise which is nothing more than deceptive food to capture the simple minded fool.

God the Father has provided good news to the hearer through a fulfilled promise; thus all of the promises of God are “yes and Amen” because of this one completed promise. The apostle Paul provides definition for all who have ears to hear this Promise and believe it. Notice if you will 2 Corinthians 1:15, 18-22,

Verse 15 – the words of the Holy Bible are the only words from any so called sacred writing that provide comfort and confidence to the readers spiritual ears, the benefits of reading and believing the Word of the Living God are more in number than all the earth’s sand, Psalm 139:17-18.

The Good News is not an unfulfilled promise, but a completed one in that God has completed this one promise in our life, if this is true and it is; then all of the promises in the Holy Bible which are “many” are fulfilled in the completed promise  of “death and Resurrection” of the LORD Jesus Christ. Note these words of the apostle Paul.

Verses 18-22 – “But God is faithful, our word to you was not Yes and No. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us – by me, Silvanus, and Timothy – was not Yes and No, but in Him was YES. For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen. (Do you not see that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that all the Word of God (spoken or written) is JESUS who says “not my will but Thy will be done; John 6:36-40) see Luke 22:42. For all of the promises of God in Him (Jesus Christ) are YES in Him, and AMEN in Him to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a deposit.

 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” Matthew 5:18 also see 1 Peter 1:24-25. So as long as heaven and earth exist there will be bad news, but the good news is that God has put a limit on this earthly condition by fulfilling ONE promise Therefore we all must give an account of facing the greater good news in that there is no limit to the joys of being in Christ. The process of our so great salvation should not be neglected in any way. (Hebrews 2:3) Living in the Word of God is biblically abiding in justification, sanctification and glorification. Saved people are daily equipped to handle all of life because all of the promises of God are completed in Jesus Christ.

The Devotional - 1476 - The Truth Never Changes

The Devotional – 1475 – The Truth Never Changes

Psalm 119:9-18 – How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You! Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes! With my lips I have declared all the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law.

Comments and Challenges

THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY I WILL BE AWAY, THE DEVOTIONALS WILL CONTINUE ON MONDAY, JUNE 23, 2014 IF THE LORD WILLS OR TARRIES

Speaking of the long suffering (tarry) of the LORD, I was reading in John Gill’s exposition of the Bible on the Book of Hosea and he noted that Hosea was written in 3196 A.M. or more commonly around 800 B.C. and in thinking about this and I do not know if it is factual or not but if you add the 800 years to 3200 (rounding off the years to the nearest 10) we are looking at; from Creation to the Birth of Christ to be around 4,000 years from the creation of Adam. Currently we are at 2014 or roughly 6,000 years from the Creation of Adam; Jesus is coming again!

Thus it is my hope to challenge us this morning to be “Be sober and vigilant”; this a Konia Greek military command found in 1 Peter 5:8. The world we live in makes great strides to put on the false face of sobriety, yet the world is “drunk” with the sin of “pride”. Also the world we live in is not vigilant to the spiritual conflict that the apostle Peter is focused on in his epistle – 1 Peter 5:1-11.

As saints of God and I specifically mean that remnant of human beings who have trusted in the “Good News” that Jesus Christ as promised; died as the Sacrificial LAMB of God to take away the SIN of world (John 1:29) and who Literally arose from the grave (Matthew 24:7) as He also promised. These are the saints of God, man cannot make another man a saint; only God makes saints and He calls them His children or sheep – John 10:7-18

We are responsible as living sacrifices (sheep for the slaughter) Romans 8:18-39 then to God to be self-controlled and watchful. If we lack in being responsible or if we allow our ways to be like that of the world, the responsibility of God the Holy Spirit is not one of leading us down the Spiritual Path, but is now become the disciplined path of correcting the wrong. The world should only look good the unbeliever, when it becomes appealing to the believer he are she is one hundred percent under the same conviction as that of the world.

What is the conviction: a love for the world, rather than a love for God: 1 John 2:15-17 the unbelieving and the carnal believer is practicing a temporal love which will pass away, while the self-controlled and vigilant believer is participating in a loving relationship with God who abides forever. Now I know you are thinking; “the weak believer has an eternal relationship with God the Father through Christ!” and yes he or she does. But I say this… why allow the devil to destroy the rewards of a good work, like your testimony to your children, parents or church family. This work will also carry into eternity – 1 Corinthians 3:1-23 and I especially like verses 18-23. So do not glory in the work of the world’s men, why? Because you belong to Christ and Christ is God.

The Devotional - Tuesday's Blog

The Devotional – Tuesday’s Blog

Psalm 119:73-80 – Seeking the fellowship of eternity minded people is like anticipating the visit of a close personal friend. These are folks who know the testimonies of the LORD, those who FEAR Him too! All sharing in solid fellowship and it is the joy of having eternity in one’s heart! Ecclesiastes 3:11

Comments and Challenges

The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, King of Israel – Hosea 1:1. Although he is classified as one of the Minor Prophets, his prophesy covers a period of sixty years. His style of writing is abrupt (sudden or unexpected), metaphorical (one thing spoken of in place of another) or urgently.

The prophet Hosea is commanded by God to take a wife who is a harlot; an experience few husbands are capable dealing with except by the grace of God. She displays herself as immoral and she ends up a prostitute on the street before Hosea marries her. (Her life at this time is in the hands of a bankrupt world).

In view of the context, just in the first chapter; God allows and provides Hosea with strength; strength that forgives and restores her as his lovely bride. The restoration of Gomer is a perfect picture of God's grace over one sinner or over a nation.

The book of Hosea is a picture of Christ who has regarded our helpless estate, through His blood He reclaims each of us personally and by His Grace he adopts us into His family. Hosea 1:2-9 will give us the picture of Hosea's worldly family. The book is fourteen chapters of Gods compassion and desire to restore sinful Gomer (Israel or any adulterous nation). The redeeming power of God is the forgiving power of Jesus Christ. (Not the church as some theologians or theologies preach or teach).

The Good News (the Gospel) is not 2,000 plus years of God's compassion and desire to restore people and nations to God; the Gospel is as recorded in Revelation 14:6, EVERLASTING or eternal. Like Gomer who experiences the joy and fellowship of Hosea’s family through Justification and sanctification in human life these are the processes of our ongoing spiritual salvation experience. God takes us further though since we are soon to be glorified or everlasting, too.

I would like to study Hosea further, so if the LORD will open that door I will be spending time in this book and other related books of the Holy Bible to challenge the remnant. Not that our nation is going to survive this current trend into the abyss, which many believe is no longer reversible since our national and religious leaders are a melting pot for liberalism and adulterous ways. Yes and “To God be the glory” there is a remnant of people who will not receive the coming “mark of liberalism” and I hope you are one of us.

Daily Devotional - 1476 - Grace or Worry?

Daily Devotional – 1476 – Grace or Worry

Papa J's rules for Livin #105

When it comes to being Spiritual minded many of God’s children are like the absent minded professor.  One day the professor took a lunch break and after returning to his office, he saw a sign on the door that said. “I'll be back in thirty minutes”. So he sat down in the waiting area and waited.

Comments and Challenges

“What happens when we worry? Worry brings tomorrow's difficulties into our present day troubles. God does not allot us grace for tomorrow's difficulties. He only gives us grace for today. When we reach into tomorrow's troubles, we overload or short circuit the sufficiency of God’s grace for the current day. Worry does not take the sorrow or consequence out of tomorrow, only overrides the Mercy and Grace He provides for the current day.  Should I share with you the verse of scripture that clearly says this better than I do? Matthew 6:34

Now here is another question! Have you ever met up with tomorrow? Now don’t mess it up and say: Yes! Since tomorrow always arrives today. For sure, if you ever met up with tomorrow you would run right past it to; today. Like seeking to match two magnets by reversing the poles, the force pushing against the two is so strong they do not meet equally and this is my take on worrying about things that God has already planned for you. Romans 8:28-30.

Look with me at Psalm 40:5 – Many, O LORD my God are Your wonderful works which You have done: and Your thoughts which are toward us cannot be recounted to you in order; if I would declare to speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Another Psalm of David says this about God’s thoughts toward His saints. Psalm 139:17-18 – How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake You are still with me.

If we are out of breath because we have overloaded ourselves over worry, seek to remember that The LORD God has already considered it. Thus worry does not make us ready for the future, but in fact; is the cause for us to be unprepared for what God is doing moment by moment in our life. Look at yesterday as a canceled check and tomorrow as a promissory note. And expend todays grace wisely. There is sufficient time for today’s grace so use it, in fact the thought just hit me that grace is like manna.

Yesterday’s grace is expended, if we seek to gather more grace than is sufficient, it may just melt in our hands. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. Yet should you need more grace for the day do not strive or be full of pride, rest in the LORD because to the humble he gives more grace – James 4:1-10.