The Apostle Paul warns us in Ephesians to, “Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness.” But we somehow still think that vile works done in secret won’t hurt anyone but ourselves. Except, our evil conduct done under cover of darkness plainly shows who we are as a person and just how wicked our actions are. This spiritual ignorance and foolish rebellion makes us actually think we’re getting one over on God…and that He isn’t aware of our malicious mischievous. But do you really believe that, or are you completely deceiving yourself? It’s only when we allow the light and truth of Spiritual illumination to fully invade our heart, mind, and soul can we clearly see our evil deeds for what they are and make the decision to move from darkness into the light.
Month: June 2021
Daniel 5:5-6 ” Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.”
King Belshazzar was holding a banquet when he ordered the sacred Temple goblets that king Nebuchadnezzar had looted 70 years prior to be brought out so they could be used by his guests. It was this abominable act where we get the idiom, The writing is on the wall…a rather ominous expression used to predict the inevitability of doom, and failure. The king, along with all his advisors, had no idea what the hand was writing…they only knew it was from Someone vastly more powerful than them, and they were terrified…their knees becoming as weak as water, and their hearts turning to wax and melting away within them. Just remember, God cannot be mocked and all of us will eventually reap what we have sowed. (Galatians 6:7)
Isaiah 43:11-12 ” I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no Savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed – I, and not some foreign god among you. You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, that I am God.”
From the very beginning, God has been very straightforward – first to the Jewish Nation and now to us. First, to make known by divine revelation the hidden mysteries that we would otherwise not know…in order to reveal Himself intimately to us . Next, to rescue and deliver us from evil, darkness, and ourselves that we may be victorious over our fallen sin nature. Finally, God has proclaimed and declared His message loud and clear so that man is without excuse…for it tells us in Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so men are without excuse.” The Almighty God is declaring to us today, “You can not help but be My witnesses to this all,” in hopes that we will in turn say…”Surely this is our God; we trusted in Him, and He saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in Him; let us rejoice and be glad in His Salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)
I Chronicles 16:8-10 ” Give thanks to the Lord, call on His Name; make known among the nations what He has done. Sing to Him, sing praise to Him; tell of all His wonderful acts. Glory in His holy Name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.”
The Ark of the Covenant had been safely returned to the Temple and David was expressing his thanks to God…his heart overflowing with gratitude and praise. Which made me wonder… how many times has my prayer life revolved around beseeching God with my own selfish desires and demands…and little, if any, praise? The Psalms are ripe with verses that declare glory to God. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:1) “I will give thanks to the Lord because of His righteousness and will sing praise to the Name of the Lord Most High.” (Psalm 7:17) So today, I choose to praise rather than make demands and give thanks rather than make requests. For God is so worthy of all my praise.
Jude 1 ” To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ.”
Jude, the brother of Jesus, could be speaking to you today. If when you heard the Gospel Message you felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit and accepted the gift of eternal life through belief in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ…you too were called. Not only summoned to salvation by your Heavenly Father, but deeply loved, valued, and precious in His sight. And because God loves you that much, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die in your place. Therefore, Jude is telling you today that because of your decision, you are, “kept by Jesus Christ”…watched over and kept safe…or as Isaiah 38:17 tells us, “In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back.”
Jeremiah 10:7-8 ” Who should not revere You, O King of the nations? This is Your due. Among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms, there is no One like You. They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.”
In Biblical times, pagan rulers were often thought to have divine authority rather than human authority. Thus idol worship in all its various and sundry forms was part of the heathen nation’s makeup. And because of that, the people followed the false teachings of these man-made idols. But Isaiah 44:20 warned them, “He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him.” …and so this Spirit of delusion spread across their nation… making fools of them all. But we read in Revelation 15:4 that there will come a time when all the godless nations will have to acknowledge and revere God…”Who will not fear You, O Lord, and bring glory to Your Name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous acts have been revealed.” At that moment, none of their worthless idols will be able to save them, and their folly will be plainly revealed to them.
Mark 8:27-29 ” Jesus and His disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way He asked them, ‘Who do people say I am?’ They replied, ‘Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.’ ‘But what about you?’ He asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ.’ “
If the majority of the crowds that followed Jesus thought He was the re-carnation of someone else…why did His disciples believe differently? What did they have privy to that the others didn’t? Simon Peter summed it what when he replied to Jesus in John 6:69, “We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God.” Over the course of those three years, the Twelve disciples had learned much, they had experienced first-hand miracles and feats of great authority over evil, they had shared in encounters of unbelievable signs and wonders…and through it all, their faith and trust in Jesus grew…to the point that they fully believed He was who He professed. On our own journey with the Lord there’ll be times He’ll ask us the same question…”Who do you say I am?” And our answer will depend on whether we’ve been just a casual onlooker or a true disciple of His.
Job 40:8 ” Would you discredit My justice? Would you condemn Me to justify yourself? “
Can mortal man be more righteous than God? The short answer is, “No!” But we still try to overlay our opinions, feelings, and sentiments onto God’s divine judgment. And when that gets us nowhere, we get angry…or as Job 15:25 says, “He shakes his fist at God and vaunts (boasts) himself against the Almighty.” No man has any power or authority to judge God, that’s because justice is one of His attributes and rooted in His character. (Isaiah 30:18) And when we dishonor Him in order to rationalize our way of thinking…we’re headed for trouble.
II Timothy 4:16-17 ” At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all Gentiles might hear it.”
Paul wasn’t looking for sympathy or pity when he wrote this to Timothy. He was just being very honest. People will forsake us, and leave when the going gets tough. But God will never leave, and His presence will give us strength when we have none left. (Philippians 4:13) Paul was God’s chosen instrument to carry His Name to the Gentiles. (Acts 9:15) He had been called and set apart for a specific work…equipped and enabled by the Holy Spirit…and fully assured that the Lord was by his side every step of the way. Paul had learned early on that people will abandon you, but God won’t.
James 4:1 ” What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? “
Every minute of every waking hour we have an internal battle raging within. It’s the real struggle between sinfulness and righteousness. And many times sin wins out because we simply want our own way. Paul addressed the issue to Titus when he wrote not to get involved in foolish controversies, genealogies, arguments, and quarrels over the corrupted message that was being preached by some in Crete. (Titus 3:9) Verbal disputes seldom win hearts for the Lord, and hitting people over the top of the head with your Bible will never get them to see your way of thinking. We are to rather submit ourselves to the Lord and watch Him contend for us.
Safetypinlove 