Turning Point – Devotion

 

 

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14

Anglican pastor John Stott said, “Pride is your greatest enemy, humility is your greatest friend.” When it comes to the national revival we need in the family of God, pride is the greatest obstacle. Humility is the open doorway. It’s impossible to confess our sins if we’re not humble enough to recognize and acknowledge them.

Is there a sinful habit quenching the Holy Spirit in your heart? Is there an attitude that is grieving Him? Could it be a secret life of pornography, bitter attitudes of anger toward someone, lack of physical discipline when it comes to eating or drinking, impure sources of entertainment, or neglect of church and Bible reading?

We can’t accommodate recurring known sin and at the same time experience revival. Ask God to show you the changes you need to make today.

We are to humble ourselves. Should we not be humbled by the fact that after receiving so much love we yet transgress? O Lord, we bow before Thee in the dust and own our grievous ingratitude. Oh, the infamy of sin!

54. Revelation 3:14-17

 

 

Rev 3:14-17  “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

What causes “Lukewarm”, unconcerned, unresponsive, unmoved, coolness, uninterested, passionless, complacency….. in lives of those who call themselves Christians? We could start a list which would turn out to be quite lengthy, but at the root is something substantial and it is affecting the lives of those so inclined.  God’s Word is full of examples and warnings about forgetting God and things of God which leads people to being lukewarm at best and completely useless and void of any good at its worst. 

it escapes their notice

who intend to make My people forget

and forgot the Lord their God

For My people have forgotten Me,

And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.

and forget what is decreed

I forget to eat my bread

all the abundance will be forgotten

I have forgotten happiness.

And my intimate friends have forgotten me.

I am forgotten as a dead man

And forgot the God who gave you birth.

But they forgot the Lord their God

They forgot His deeds

did not remember the Lord their God

And did not remember Your wondrous deeds

They did not remember Your abundant kindnesses,

“Now consider this, you who forget God,

But they forgot the Lord their God

For you have forgotten the God of your salvation

And have not remembered the rock of your refuge.

They quickly forgot His works;

They have forgotten the Lord their God.

It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God

has forgotten his Maker

then watch yourself, that you do not forget the Lord

 so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen

“Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God

They did not remember His power,

Paul said to keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ, stand firm, and be fully committed because of the grace, mercy, and love God has shown through His Son, Jesus. When a person is drawn by God to knowledge of the need for salvation, redemption, and forgiveness I doubt it is ever a subtle thing. When we are exposed to this need it is only because of God revealing it to us. 

Think about that for a bit. The creator of everything, almighty, everlasting, ever-present, all-powerful, unlimited…… reaches out, knocks on the door or our heart and speaks truth of our sin and need for salvation, asking to come into our hearts. Who are we that “God” would do such a thing? And yet, people take it so lightly. I can hardly write this without humbly bowing as low as I possibly can get, for the presence of His holiness in light of my sinfulness leaves me speechless. Were we to just get from God, a visit and a knock on the door, with nothing said, it would be beyond our wildest dreams that He would even think to stop and knock at our heart’s door.    We might say, Who’s there?, or Go away, I’m busy, or just not even give concern and turn a deaf ear to it. But it says God knocks and speaks. Wow! The God of all there is in the universe, knocks on your heart’s door and speaks, asking to come in. 

Sometimes I hear pastors give an invitation to come to Christ like this, “if you want what Jesus offers, If you are feeling like something is missing in your life, If you want a change because things are not going well for you, with all heads bowed and eyes closed, raise your hand, I am not going to embarrass you, I just want to pray for you, Ask Jesus to come in and He will.”

I have heard this type of invitation from more than one pastor. There is no speaking of sin and the need for forgiveness or repentance. There is talk of benefits in your life now and eternal life. 

When Peter proclaimed the word of God on the day of Pentecost the people were cut to the heart and said, “What must we do?” Peter said, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  There was no “with your heads bowed and eyes closed raise your hand”.  There was no embarrassment from those who understood their need for forgiveness of their sin to ask what they needed to do. Their hearts were cut and bleeding out, as it were, and they needed immediate attention for they knew they were dying and as close to death as a person could get. If a pastor is worried about someone being embarrassed for seeking “What must I do” then the pastor is not proclaiming the need for salvation, but rather a shallow gospel of what can I get out of this deal. Raise your hand so I can pray for you. I can’t even come close to understanding this in light of an invitation for salvation.  Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ”

How is a person to understand the depth of the punishment Christ endured was exactly what they deserve? How is a person to understand the holiness of God without understanding sin and its ugliness and the need for repentance? 

Too often pastors want to show numbers. People who raised their hand and people who got baptized. Too often pastors do not want to offend people by talking about sin so they talk about comforting thoughts of the promises of God that are bestowed on believers. They do not talk of sin in light of the holiness of God and the need for repentance as this will make people uncomfortable. You can fill up the seats by making people comfortable about their lives. How many lives crab hold of this shallow invitation without a single conviction of sin? I am sure there are those, over time, and through the Holy Spirit have come to a saving grace knowledge of Jesus Christ, but it is not because the pastor proclaimed the Word of Truth boldly. 

How easy is it to forget God when there is no thought of sin, no understanding of the penalty, and no repentance? How easy is it to neglect the Word of God and things of God when there is no understanding of the need for forgiveness?  When God is only proclaimed as a reservoir of benefits and freely giving out blessings, without the knowledge of a person’s sins and the due penalty before a holy God, then the shallowness of their need will manifest in their life. There will be no light of Jesus Christ shinning. In fact, people seeing them and hearing them proclaim they are “Christian” will not see much difference in their lives as their own. If this is all they see what is the need for the benefits and blessing from God they already have worldly peace, prosperity, good health, a nice family, a good job, and help others when they desire to do it. They will not hear from the Christian who repented when they became aware of sin, that their sins were forgiven, how they lived prior to salvation, how they are filled with the Holy Spirit, how they are growing in understanding and knowledge of the grace, mercy, and love of God. 

Without an active discernment, knowledge, and awareness of sin and its sinfulness in light of the holiness of God, there will be no growth and maturing (sanctification). God will be forgotten. The world and what it has to offer will become the norm. The signs of the times will pass them by and when the bridegroom returns I wonder if they will be watching and ready. 

How are they to understand Hebrews 10:31. “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God”?  How are they to understand God’s grace, mercy, and love if they do not understand His judgement, wrath, anger, hell, and torment? 

There should be no shallowness in the understanding of sin. When we understand it then the Gospel of Jesus Christ, repentance, forgiveness, and salvation set our hearts and minds on the great cost bore by Jesus that was our just reward for our sins, and the great grace, mercy, and love of God.  Instead of forgetting God our hearts and minds are seeking to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions. 

You can not understand the depth of God’s blessings without understanding the depth of your sinfulness.

Turning Point – Devotion

 

 

Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord…. “In those days ten men from every language of the nations shall grasp the sleeve of a Jewish man, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”
Zechariah 8:22-23

It has been ruled by Canaanites, Egyptians, Jebusites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Ottomans, and British. It has been destroyed at least 2 times, besieged 23 times, captured 44 times, and attacked 52 times. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and is holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It remains the most contested piece of real estate in the world—Jerusalem—the so-called “City of Peace.” 1

The most besieged city in the world will indeed become a city of peace when the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) sets up His Millennial Kingdom: “And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east…. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:4, 9).

Remember to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem” (Psalm 122:6) as she awaits the arrival of the Prince of Peace.

Indeed, the destiny of the world is tied to the future of Jerusalem.

53.z. Revelation 3:20

 

 

 Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

2 Corinthians 6:2    For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

 Luke 12:36-37    and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

 Matthew 25:10    And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.

 Luk 13:25  When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.

(Rev 3:20) Many of us are familiar, I dare say, with the devoutly imaginative rendering of the first part of these wonderful words, which we owe to the genius of a living painter. In it we see the fast shut door, with rusted hinges, all overgrown with rank, poisonous weeds, which tell how long it has been closed. There stands, amid the night dews and the darkness, the patient Son of man, one hand laid on the door, the other bearing a light, which may perchance flash through some of its chinks. In His face are love repelled, and pity all but wasted; in the touch of His hand are gentleness and authority. But the picture pauses, of course, at the beginning of my text, and its sequel is quite as wonderful as its first part. ‘I will come in to him, and sup with him, and he with Me.’ What can surpass such words as these? 

Who knocks? The exalted Christ. What is the door? This closed heart of man. What does He desire? Entrance. What are His knockings and His voice? All providences; all monitions of His Spirit in man’s spirit and conscience; the direct invitations of His written or spoken word; in brief, whatsoever sways our hearts to yield to Him and enthrone Him. This is the meaning, in the fewest possible words.

There is a revelation in the words, dear friends, of an infinite long-suffering and patience. The door has long been fastened; you and I have, like some lazy servant, thought that if we did not answer the knock, the Knocker would go away when He was weary. But we have miscalculated the elasticity and the unfailingness of that patient Christ’s lore. Rejected, He abides; spurned, He returns. There are men and women who all their lives long have known that Jesus Christ coveted their love, and yearned for a place in their hearts, and have steeled themselves against the knowledge, or frittered it away by worldliness, or darkened it by sensuality and sin. And they are once more brought into the presence of that rejected, patient, wooing Lord, who courts them for their souls, as if they were, which indeed they are, too precious to be lost, as long as there is a ghost of a chance that they may still listen to His voice. The patient Christ’s wonderfulness of long-suffering may well bow us all in thankfulness and in penitence. How often has He tapped or thundered at the door of your heart, dear friends, and how often have you neglected to open? Is it not of the Lord’s mercies that the rejected or neglected love is offered you once more? and the voice, so long deadened and deafened to your ears by the rush of passion, and the hurry of business, and the whispers of self, yet again appeals to you. (MacLaren)

Christ still graciously, by his word and Spirit, comes to the door of the hearts of sinners. Those who open to him shall enjoy his presence. If what he finds would make but a poor feast, what he brings will supply a rich one. He will give fresh supplies of graces and comforts. In the conclusion is a promise to the overcoming believer. (Henry)

The Saviour when he approaches man as represented under the image of knocking at the door: that he desires to be admitted to our friendship; and that he recognizes our freedom in the matter. He does not obtrude himself upon us, nor does he employ force to find admission to the heart. If admitted, he comes and dwells with us; if rejected, he turns quietly away – perhaps to return and knock again, perhaps never to come back. (Barnes)

There are two aspects of Jesus’s love, knocking to get our attention and speaking to give us reason to open the door to our hearts. 

There are two choices possible: 

  1. The knock is heard and the voice is listened to. 
  2. The knock and voice are rejected.

There are two outcomes possible:

  1. Eternal life – Heaven
  2. Eternal torment – Hell

I do not fully understand the knocking and speaking that occurs within the hearts and minds of every person. I do know that every person will have the door to their heart knocked upon by Jesus and every ear will hear His invitation to let Him in. It is in this that either acceptance or rejection occurs. How many times will Jesus knock and speak to the hearts and minds of the lost? How many will continue to turn a deaf ear to the knocking and voice of Jesus and reject His offer to come in?   

Can you imagine the sight, of Jesus, the Son of God, standing at your front door knocking and saying “I am out here and want to come in and be with you” and you fully knowing who is knocking on your door, refusing to get up and open the door? The Son of God is standing at your door and you are too comfortable, too busy, too attached to things of this world, too………..

Do not reject His visit to your heart’s door. Do not turn a deaf ear to His voice calling out to you. 

53.y. John 3:16-17

 

 

Good News –  Gospel –  Repentance –  Forgiveness –  Redemption –  Salvation –  Eternal life

Jhn 3:16-17   “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

  Condemn –  Perish –   Saved –  Eternal Life   

Jhn 3:19  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

Loved Darkness –  Evil –  Judgment

Rom 1:20-22  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

Invisible Attributes –  Eternal Power –  Divine Nature –  Clearly Perceived – Creation

Without Excuse –  Did Not Honor God –  Did Not Give Thanks To God – Futile Thinking – Foolish – Darkened –  Fools

Rom 1:24  Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity

Rom 1:28-31  And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Lusts –  Impurity –  Debased Mind –  Unrighteousness –  Evil –  Covetousness –  Malice –  Envy –  Murder –  Strife –  Deceit

Gossips –  Sladerers –  Haters of God –  Insolent –  Haughty –  Boastful –  Inventors of Evil – Disobedient – Foolish – Faithless

Heartless –  Ruthless

Rom 1:32  Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Rom 3:18  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

 Psalms 36:1   Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes.

 Proverbs 8:13    The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

 Proverbs 23:17     Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day.

No Fear of God – Pride – Arrogance –  Evil – Perverted Speech –  Envy

Psalm 119:78. May the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie; But I shall meditate on Your precepts.

Isaiah 45:16   They will be put to shame and even humiliated, all of them

Jeremiah 17:13.  O Lord, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You will be put to shame.

Ezra 9:6  and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.

Job 8:22  “Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,

Daniel 12:2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

 Psalms 35:26   Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity! Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!

Arrogant –  Ashamed –  Lie –  Humiliated –  Forsake You –  Embarrassed –  Guilt –  Hate you –  Disgrace

Everlasting Contempt –  Disappointed

How can the Gospel be preached, spoken, and offered without the proclamation of the need due to our sin? God’s grace, mercy, and love are truly blessings beyond our imagination. We do not fully understand their depth and width due to our limited understanding of the absolute Holiness of God, yet our need for them in light of our sin. 

We begin to scratch the surface of it when we begin to understand Sin. Without a basic understanding of sin, there is no application for the Gospel in our lives. We can not understand the basis for God’s grace, mercy, and love. There is no reason to fear God. Without this basic understanding of sin being jointly proclaimed and declared with the Good News of Jesus Christ people will shallowly come to God seeking the benefit of eternal life, but not for the forgiveness of Sin. The need fo repentance will not be recognized. The brutality and cruelty of all the physical violence Jesus bore on His body will not be understood. The penalty He bore was OURS! It was due to our SINs! His agony and death to redeem us and give us eternal life. How can the need for the Gospel be presented without the declaration of Sin?  It can not.

A person should feel shame, guilt, hopelessness, despair, conviction, worry for their souls, helplessness, unworthy, fear, judgment, etc…. in light of the Holiness of God and hearing of the Gospel when the understanding of sin is exposed to their hearts and minds.  The fullness of God’s grace, mercy, and love is only understood in the light of His holiness and our sinfulness. Sanctification, growth, and maturing in a Christian’s life continue in this understanding of sin and holiness until their death. 

Turning Point – Devotion

 

 

For they are spirits of demons, performing signs, which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty…. Together to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon.
Revelation 16:14, 16

Napoleon Bonaparte is reported to have called the plain of Jezreel “the most natural battleground of the whole earth”—a place where “all the armies of the world could maneuver their forces.” This vast plain in central Israel spreads out from the base of Mount Megiddo. Mount in Hebrew is har—added to Hebrew megiddon it results in Armageddon, the site of the final battle when Christ returns to judge the nations and establish His Kingdom on earth.

This battle will occur at the end of the seven-year Tribulation when Christ returns to earth from heaven with the armies of His saints. Most of the nations of the world, deceived by the Antichrist, will array themselves to fight against Christ but will succumb to His judgment (Revelation 19:11-21). Following this victory over evil, Christ will inaugurate His thousand-year, righteous rule centered in Jerusalem.

Thank God today that a final battle is coming when righteousness will triumph over evil—and peace will prevail.

53.x. Colossians 3:1 Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

 

If you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

–Colossians 3:1

How do you maintain your focus as a citizen of heaven while you’re still a resident of earth? It all comes down to understanding what it means to be heavenly minded. In Colossians 3:1–2, Paul wrote, “Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”

You may have heard the popular criticism that some Christians are so heavenly minded that they’re of no earthly good. But that’s a false dichotomy. The only way we will be any earthly good is by being heavenly minded–as long as we understand what that means.

Most of us think of our lives in two parts: life on earth right now and life in heaven after we die. We imagine a line of demarcation between the here and now and the hereafter. But when Jesus spoke about eternal life, He was not talking about a period of life that begins the moment you die. He was talking about a quality of life, not a quantity of life. Eternal life begins the moment we’re saved and extends beyond the grave into eternity.

So what does it mean to “keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,” as Paul said in Colossians 3:1? It doesn’t mean focusing on things in heaven, such as the angels, pearly gates, and streets of gold. No, to be heavenly minded means to set your mind on Jesus Christ and to become like Him so that you can experience the same joy He experienced here on earth. Even when people were seeking to destroy Him and the world was collapsing around Him, Jesus experienced inexplicable joy. He had fulfillment in His earthly life and assurance about His future because He was in a right relationship with His heavenly Father.

Paul was saying you don’t have to wait until you die to enjoy the benefits of heaven; you can experience the same quality of life that Jesus experienced by becoming like Him. To be heavenly minded simply means to conform your affections, attitudes, and actions to those of Jesus Christ. When you’re a heavenly minded Christian, you love what Jesus loves, think like Jesus thinks, and act like Jesus acts in every situation. Being heavenly minded is not about your location in life; it’s about the foundation of your life, and that is Jesus Christ.

__________________________________________

What is missing in this devotion is the ultimate purpose, reason, and meaning of “Heavenly minded” – “Seeking Things Above”.  The purpose, reason, and meaning  – “To honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions – all of the time”.

53.w. Isaiah 26:3-4

 

 

Isa 26:3-4  You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

 Isaiah 57:19-21    creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD, “and I will heal him.  But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt.  There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

 Psalms 85:7-8   Show us your steadfast love, O LORD, and grant us your salvation.  Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

 Micah 5:5     And he shall be their peace.

 John 14:27    Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

 John 16:33   I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

 Romans 5:1    Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 Ephesians 2:14-16     For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility  by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,  and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

 Philippians 4:7    And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Isaiah 31:1   Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the LORD!

 Psalms 9:10     And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

 Jeremiah 17:7-8    “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.  He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

 Romans 4:21   fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.

 That day, seems to mean when the New Testament Babylon shall be levelled with the ground. The unchangeable promise and covenant of the Lord are the walls of the church of God. The gates of this city shall be open. Let sinners then be encouraged to join to the Lord. Thou wilt keep him in peace; in perfect peace, inward peace, outward peace, peace with God, peace of conscience, peace at all times, in all events. Trust in the Lord for that peace, that portion, which will be for ever. Whatever we trust to the world for, it will last only for a moment; but those who trust in God shall not only find in him, but shall receive from him, strength that will carry them to that blessedness which is for ever. Let us then acknowledge him in all our ways, and rely on him in all trials. (Henry)

‘Peace, peace;’ the repetition of the word denoting, as is usual in Hebrew, emphasis, and here evidently meaning undisturbed, perfect peace. That is, the mind that has confidence in God shall not be agitated by the trials to which it shall be subject; by persecution, poverty, sickness, want, or bereavement. (Barnes)

The word “perfect” is not in the Hebrew text, it is there “peace, peace”; which is doubled to denote the certainty of it, the enjoyment of it, and the constancy and continuance of it; and as expressive of all sorts of peace, which God grants unto his people, and keeps for them, and them in; as peace with God and peace with men, peace outward and peace inward, peace here and peace hereafter; and particularly it denotes the abundance of peace that believers will have in the kingdom of Christ in the latter day. (Gill)

Pathway to Victory – Devotion

 

 

 

If you seek [wisdom] as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will discern the fear of the LORD and discover the knowledge of God.

–Proverbs 2:4–5

If you want to get a grip on God’s Word, you have to listen to the preached Word of God, you have to read the Word of God, and third, you have to study the Word of God.

There is a difference between a tourist and an explorer. A tourist goes to a city, hits the high points, and then moves on. But an explorer takes time to navigate the city and ask questions in order to get the most out of their visit. In the same way, to get the riches and the benefits of reading the Bible, you need to study it.

There are four tools every Christian should have in order to understand the Bible:

  1. Study Bible. A study Bible not only has the text of God’s Word, but it also has explanatory notes, articles, and charts that will help you understand what you’re reading.
  2. Concordance. A concordance is an alphabetical listing of every word in the Bible, along with the instances in which each word appears. For example, if you look up love in a concordance, it will list every verse in the Bible that uses the word love. Concordances typically show you what the original Greek or Hebrew word meant as well.
  3. Bible dictionary. A Bible dictionary is like an encyclopedia in one volume. Let’s say you’re reading about the temple, and you wonder, What did the temple look like in Solomon’s day? You can look up “temple of Jerusalem” in a Bible dictionary and see the different versions throughout history.
  4. Commentary. As you dig deeper into God’s Word, you may want to buy a commentary on each book you study. But to start out, I recommend getting a commentary on the entire Bible. If you have difficulty with a verse, you can look it up and see what scholars have said about it.

Many years ago, I visited the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College. The center had a display case filled with interesting things, but one item that caught my attention was a Bible that had been given to Albert Einstein. On the flyleaf was an inscription: “Straws on the surface flow, but he who would search for pearls must dive below.” It doesn’t matter how smart you are–if you want to discover the riches of God’s Word, you have to dig beneath the surface.

Turning Point – Devotion

 

 

Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29

The question then is, how do we build a person? First, think of how we would tear down a person. By harsh criticism, negative comments, discouraging or disparaging words. So how would we build up a person? By encouraging words, helpful actions, motivational or nurturing speech—according to the needs of the moment. The goal is to “impart grace to the hearers,” which means to benefit the person rather than corrupt the person. When constructing a building, individual parts are added according to need: lumber, bricks, wire, plumbing, paint, and more. Each part plays a role in constructing the house. And speech can do the same thing by adding a timely and beneficial word that will add to a person’s growth and development.

Look for an opportunity every day to impart grace to someone by using timely and beneficial words.