Morning Devotional August 27, 2017

John 21:15-17

“15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”


Pastors, are you feeding the Lord's sheep today? Will you stand and proclaim the Word of God to the people our Lord has entrusted to your care? Will you remind the Lord's people of His commandments and the consequences of not following those commandments?
II Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
Child of God, will you go where the truth is taught? Will you make the extra effort even when there is no true church in your town or area? Or will you give in to the ways of the world? Will you flock to the first building you see that has the word church in the name? Will you follow the entertainment crowd?
Church members, are you faithful with your attendance? What about your tithe and offering? Does your pastor know how much he is appreciated he is by the people God has given to his care? Or are you a backslider? A trouble maker in the church? Are you one who is constantly trying to undermine the pastor and elders because they preached on your pet sin?
Pastors have an awesome responsibility. They have been entrusted with the care of the Lord's local flock. Yet so many pastors never understand the full importance of their position and therefore never take their position seriously. While parishioners sit back and laugh and the mistakes they see in their pastor and ridicule him for the doctrines he teaches from God's Word that they disagree with.
We have a people today in the Lord's churches that prone to follow the lust of the world before they will follow the commandments of God. Many a pastor has been silenced from teaching the whole council of God because he is afraid of the people. Many a church member have over stepped their bonds and taken the leadership of the pastor and made it a mockery.
Many of the Lord's churches are entrenched with the world and have no desire to follow God. They follow the “IN” crowd. The crowd of spoiled brats that our forefathers warned about. Like the Israel and Judah in the book of Jeremiah, they have committed spiritual adultery with the religions of the world. They have bowed down to Baal during the week and on Sunday claim to come to worship the Lord. Is God hearing their prayers? Will He listen to a people who have left their first love?
O pastors, I encourage you to stand firm. Preach the Word in all boldness. When the people seem to not listen or refuse to hear, preach the Word of the Lord anyway!
O Christian, if you are not in a church that preaches the truth, leave now and find one that does! Flee all teachers of false doctrine. No church close by? How far are you willing to drive? Is driving a distance not an option? Pray the Lord makes a way.
O church members, support your pastor! Let him know how appreciative you are for him. If you have a disagreement with something he is teaching, go to him, but be ready to present scripture for what you believe is true. If you have no scripture maybe you should consider that he is right and you are wrong. Study these matters before you complain.


Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional August 13, 2017

2 Peter 2:1-3

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.”


O how we have to be careful today. Many false prophets and wolves in sheep's clothing are about to destroy the Lord's churches.
God's Word is clear. There is only one gospel. The gospel taught to us in His Word. No other gospel, no matter how good it sounds, will do. Salvation by the His free gift of grace through the faith He has given us in Him. Praying a sinners prayer at an “old fashion alter” will not do. Works by the hands of ones self will never amount to anything. Our salvation and our life after salvation must be all of God or it is nothing!!!
This doctrine of works by man and this doctrine of man pulling himself up by his own boot straps is satanic. The very doctrines that satan believes can put him on the same plain as his creator. What a shame that God's people and our Lord's churches would fall for such a false teaching.
Those that are teaching these things are only out for self gratification. The numbers of church members and money in the church coffers and their own pockets is the lust that drive such false teachings.
O child of God, follow not after the doctrines of devils. Look to Christ and His commandments. Follow God's Word!!! Try the spirits. Study to shew thyself approved unto God.


Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional August 11, 2017

James 4:13-17

“Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”


Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional August 4, 2017

Jonah 4:1

“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.”


Child of God, have you ever experienced what Jonah did? I think at some point in our lives we all have. We become so spoiled at times with the blessings of our Heavenly Father. When He calls us to go do His work and it does not turn out the way we thought it should we through a “pity party” for ourselves.
We see Jonah do just that in this book. Jonah has written off the people of Nineveh as not worthy of God's grace and mercy. Yet we see God proof otherwise.
O how often we do this? We forget God said He is a not a respecter of persons. O how often we forget our Lord's great commission to His churches. To go preach the gospel to all the world. And yet we comfortably set back in our life of ease, praying the Lord will send someone else to do the job He commanded us all to do.
Now, don't misunderstand here. Not everyone is called to go to a foreign land to preach to the lost. Not everyone is called to preach or teach in the local assembly. But we are all commanded to share the gospel with our family and friends and neighbors and to support those who are called to go out further than we are. But are we? Do we do the commandments of God? Do we love Him as much as we say? Enough to follow where ever He leads?
As Jonah did, many times we see the Lord save a person or a group of people that we had given up on. In our high-mindedness we wrote them off as not worthy of the free gift of grace from our Heavenly Father. But what makes us think we were worthy? Was it not our Lord that made us worthy? Can He not make them worthy also if they are His elect? What makes us a respecter of persons? Is their sin so much more than ours that God cant save them? Have we forgotten the words of Paul?
1 Corinthians 15:10
“But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”


Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional August 3, 2017

2 Corinthians 5:7

“(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)”


Our faith is written about much in God's Word. God tells us over and over to walk by faith, to strengthen our faith, etc. But where does this faith come from? Why do we have such a horrible time walking by faith? How do we strengthen our faith?

Hebrews 12:2

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Our faith comes from none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. Without His free gift of salvation we would have no faith. Remember, even in the Old Testament. From Genesis to Malachi, God was teaching His people to walk by faith and not by sight. From the writings of the creation to the stories of Noah and Abraham and even the very laws God gave to Moses were all lessons in faith. Faith in things to come. Faith that the Messiah was going coming to save His people from their sins.
Yet God's people rebelled and forsake the faith He had given them and sought after the false religions of the world. Religions based on sight and not faith. Only by the grace of God did He preserve a remnant in that day. A people who would carry on the truth of His Word while the nations of Israel and Judea committed adultery against God and followed false gods and false doctrines. And all the while claiming to be God's people.
But what about today? Do we not see a similar situation? Do we not see God's people following the world and walking by sight instead of by faith? How often are we all caught up in this walk of sight?

Hebrews 11:6

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”


Are we truly seeking God today? Have we strengthened our faith by studying His Word? Or are we living by sight in the lust of the world?
I pray we will all seek His face today and that He will strengthen our faith through our studying of His Word and through our constant pray with our Heavenly Father as we seek to walk in this life by the faith our Lord has given us.


Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional August 2nd, 2017

Colossians 2:8

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

Yesterday we discussed following horoscopes and other religions. Today let us look at “Modern Christianity”.

We see so many pastors and teachers today following after the motivational speakers of the business world. My thought on this? I believe these pastors and teachers see the fame and fortune these speakers have and began to lust after those things. We see so many “churches” following after the modern business models for growth. They seek to grow the church role by the latest tricks and fancies and schemes of the business world. All to add to the church coffers and to build up the fame of the pastor. And all this they do in the name of Christ. Or so they say.

Here is a few verses from our Lord on this matter:

Matthew 6:24

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

1 John 2:16

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

James 4:4

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”


These are just a few. There are many more verses where our Lord warns us of following after the world and not after Him. The philosophy of the world has no place in the churches of our Lord. Yet we see so many turning from the Word of God and seeking after the ungodly. Yes, their quotes and ideas sound nice and promising. But consider the source. Are they of God? If they are not of God then why follow them? Why waste time preaching and teaching something other than God's Word?
Some will say we need to be on the same level as the lost so we can reach them. According to God's Word, how does that make any since at all? Is it not God who gives the increase? Is it not God and only God who has the power to save lost souls? Then why seek methods and ideologies outside God's Word? God plainly tells us in many places how to reach the lost. The best way is to simply preach the gospel. Why not just follow the Great Commission and preach the gospel to the whole world?
Is God's Word so out dated that it is no longer effective? How arrogant for us to think our ideas and schemes are better than God's plan. What a shame for God's people to think their ways are better than His. No wonder our nation is in the shape it is in today! No wonder the Lord's churches are slowly dying. God's own people have turned their backs on their Lord and Savior and followed the lust of the world. We are seeing first hand the great falling away Paul spoke of.
I believe it would do us all good to go back and read the book of Jeremiah. See what happens to a people who turned their backs on God and refused to repent. Do we think we are better than they?


Praise ye the Lord!!!

Morning Devotional August 1st, 2017

Colossians 2:8

“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”


In our day and time we so many turning to horoscopes and eastern mysticism and quoting from men who were /are far from anything godly. The sad thing is God's own people are playing around with this. It is rare to find a news paper without horoscopes. Even some of the games we see played on social media delve into this. We see God's people quote from Buddha or Confucius or others of the like.
Horoscopes give a false hope. The Eastern religions give quotes that sound good but notice many of these quotes can be found in God's Word. Same meaning just worded a little different. So why would we go outside of God's Word for a false hope and for “feel good” sayings?
Many look to the “great” philosophers of Rome and Greece and of the old world before Christianity. Why? Is God's Word not enough for us? Does not God's Word fulfill our appetite for knowledge? Did not God tell us His Word was all we would need?
O the shame of the modern pastor who will stand and preach from the writings of one of these I have mentioned. Forsaking the teachings of our Lord and Savior!!!
Remember, these other things and people I mention are not of God. Horoscopes are witchcraft. These men from these Eastern religions worshiped other gods and not the true God. They teach/taught from the ideas of man not from the Word of God. Though there words sound nice and rewarding, study from where they come. If it is not from God then leave it alone. If it is not from God it is not for His people.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God. Flee the ways and the thoughts and the ideas and the teachings of this old sinful world. Remember who you are and who you belong. We are not our own, we have been bought with a price. A price none of use could have paid ourselves. A price only God, our Heavenly Father was willing to pay and only He could afford. The price? His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. Without this price being paid we would be just like rest of the world. Dying in our sin. Wallowing in the mire of deceit. Heading for an eternal torment. O what a Savior!!! O hallelujah!!! Praise His name we are His and He is ours!!!


Praise ye the Lord!!!