Tag: God

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Devotionals

THE FATHER APPOINTED CHRIST AS ‘HEIR OF ALL THINGS’: WHY? HOW?

July 30, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE FATHER APPOINTED CHRIST AS ‘HEIR OF ALL THINGS’: WHY? HOW?

“God. . . .hath in these last days. . . appointed heir of all things.”

See Heb. 1:1,2, A.V.

“God spake ‘by His Son,’ should rather be “IN His Son,” according to the original. For “the same God who formerly spoke IN the prophets has now spoken IN His Son. This places Jesus in the prophetic line as One of the prophets and messengers of God.”

“The Son is said to be ‘appointed heir.’ Some have taken this to mean that the time will come when the Father will ‘resign’ His throne and ‘relegate’ Himself to a secondary, and the Son will take over the kingdom permanently.”

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Devotionals

HOW AND BY WHOM DID GOD SPEAK?

July 29, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

HOW AND BY WHOM DID GOD SPEAK?

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers [early patriarchs] by the prophets.”

Heb. 1: 1, A.V.

“As the original reads, God spoke IN [rather than by] the prophets, which suggests that God did not use these prophets as mere mechanical instruments, as one does in blowing a horn [or trumpet], but that while the Lord spoke, human lips framed the words and clothed them in human language.” Andreaaen, The Book of Hebrews, p. 45.

Another apostle states the same truth in these words: “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were MOVED by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Pet. 1: 21 (See verses 19,20).

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Devotionals

OUR INDIVIDUAL STANDING BEFORE GOD

July 26, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

OUR INDIVIDUAL STANDING BEFORE GOD

“And He said to them, you will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal Yourself!’ Whatever we have heard in Capernaum, do also here in Your country. Then He said, ‘Assuredly [verily, verily, KJV], I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his country.’”

Luke 4: 23,24, NKJV. (Read verses 16-30).

Then He added, “But of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and to none of them was Elijah sent, but ONLY to Zarepath, in the land of Sidon, unto a WOMAN WHO WAS A WIDOW. And there were MANY LEPERS IN ISRAEL in the time of Elisha the prophet; and NONE of them was cleansed, BUT only Naaman, the Syrian.” Luke 4:23-27, R.V.”

“By this revelation of events in the lives of the PROPHETS, Jesus met the questionings of His hearers. The servants whom God had chosen for a special work were not allowed to labor for a HARDHEARTED and UNBELIEVING people.”

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Devotionals

JESUS’ CHILDHOOD: THE ONLY PERFECT EXAMPLE OF CHRISTIAN CHILDREN

July 24, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

JESUS’ CHILDHOOD: THE ONLY PERFECT EXAMPLE OF CHRISTIAN CHILDREN

“And the child grew, and waxed in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the GRACE of God was upon Him.” “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.”

Luke 2:40,52, A.V.

“The childhood and youth of Jesus were spent in a little mountain village [not in a palace, castle or gated community]. There was not a place on earth that would not have been HONORED by His presence. The palaces of kings would have been privileged in receiving Him as a Guest. But He PASSED BY the homes of wealth, the courts of royalty, and renowned seats of learning, to make His home in obscure and despised Nazareth.”

“Wonderful in its significance is the BRIEF record of His early life [Luke 2:40 quoted]. In the sunlight of His Father’s countenance, Jesus increased with wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man….”

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Devotionals

PRESUMPTUOUS MISHANDLING OF GOD’S WORD PREPARES FOR SPIRITUALISM

July 22, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

PRESUMPTUOUS MISHANDLING OF GOD’S WORD PREPARES FOR SPIRITUALISM

“Bind up the testimony, seal the law among My disciples. . . . And when they say to you, Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter, should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead in behalf of the living? To the law and testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light (of truth) in them.”

Isa. 8:18,19,20, NKJV.

“In the days of Christ the leaders and teachers of Israel [the Jewish nation] were powerless to resist the work of Satan. They were neglecting the ONLY means by which they could have withstood EVIL SPIRITS. It was by the Word of God that Christ overcame the wicked one.”

“The leaders of Israel professed to be the expositors of God’s Word BUT they had studied it only to SUSTAIN their traditions, and enforce their man-made observances. By their interpretations they made it express sentiments that God has NEVER given.”

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Devotionals

THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER’S GIRDLE OF TRUTH

July 17, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER’S GIRDLE OF TRUTH

“Stand therefore, having your loins [of the mind] girt about with truth.” 

Eph. 6:14, A.V. (See verses 10-18).

“There is absolutely no safeguard against evil but truth. No man can stand firm for right in whose heart the truth does not abide. There is only one power that can make and keep us steadfast [in the truth]—the power of God, imparted to us by the grace of Christ [through the Holy Spirit.

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Devotionals

THE FUNCTION OF GRACE IN THE LAW THAT GOVERNS HIS KINGDOM

July 16, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

THE FUNCTION OF GRACE IN THE LAW THAT GOVERNS HIS KINGDOM

“Receive, I pray thee, the Law of His mouth, and lay up His words in thine heart.”

Job 22:22, A.V.

“Everything in nature, from the mote in the sunbeam, to the worlds in high, is under law. And upon obedience to these laws the order and harmony the natural world depend.

“So there are great principles of righteousness to control the life of INTELLIGENT beings, upon CONFORMITY to these principles the WELL-BEING of the universe depends.

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Devotionals

FROM SLAVE TO SIN, TO A PRINCE OF GOD

July 14, 2020

FROM YOUR PASTOR’S DESK:

FROM SLAVE TO SIN, TO A PRINCE OF GOD

“And He (Christ) said, thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince has thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed.”

Gen. 33: 28, Authorized Version.

“Because of the deception practiced to secure his father’s blessing, intended for Esau, Jacob had fled for his life, alarmed by his brother’s deadly threats. After remaining for many years as an exile, he had set out, at God’s command, to return with his wives and children…to his native country. On reaching the borders of the land, he was filled with terror by the tidings of Esau’s approach as the head of warriors, doubtless bent on revenge. Having sent his family away, that they may not witness his distress, Jacob remains alone to INTERCEDE with God.” GC 616.

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