Daily Devotions

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  • #891317
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    133 DAYS ON A RAFT

    Daily Devotional

    Amazing Facts Audio Daily Devotional
    AN AMAZING FACT: In November 1942, a 25-year-old Chinese seaman named Poon Lim was working as a steward on a British merchant ship called the S.S. Ben Lomond. After leaving Capetown, the vessel was torpedoed by a German U-boat near South Africa’s coast. As the ship sank, Poon Lim grabbed a life jacket and jumped overboard just as the ship’s boilers exploded. Poon Lim floated around naked in the Atlantic for two hours, then spotted an empty life raft and pulled himself aboard.
    That was the beginning of one of the most amazing sagas of survival at sea ever recorded. He was thankful for the meager supplies in the life boat—a canvas sail, chocolate, a bag of sugar, some flares, a jug of water, a tin of hard biscuits, and a flashlight. Seven days into his ordeal, he frantically tried to get the attention of a ship, but it just passed by. Then he spotted seven U.S. Navy patrol planes. He sent up flares, but they did not see him. A German U-boat spotted him, but chose to leave him to fate instead of rescuing (or killing) him.

    Poon Lim could have given up and died, but instead decided to use his skills and limited supplies to stay alive. He rationed himself a biscuit and few mouthfuls of water a day. He made a fish hook from the flashlight spring, used hemp from the rope line, and a piece of biscuit for bait. When he caught a fish, he cut it with a tin-can knife and dried it. He swam daily to keep his muscles fit and body clean, while watching for sharks and staying tethered to the boat. He caught rainwater in a piece of canvas. When a storm spoiled his fish and fouled his water, Lim, barely alive, caught a bird and drank its blood to survive. Another time he hooked a 30-pound shark and ate the liver.

    On April 5, 1943, when he staggered ashore in Brazil, he’d lost 20 pounds. Poon Lim survived a record 133 days alone on the Atlantic. He said, “I hope no one will ever have to break that record.”

    Jesus said, speaking of the last days, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). In our sin-plagued world, we face difficulties like waves of the sea. But if we cling to Jesus, He will keep us afloat through every trial and give us the strength to endure.
    KEY BIBLE TEXTS
    But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew 24:13

    #891382
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    NANOROBOTS

    Daily Devotional

    AN AMAZING FACT: Years ago, Hollywood produced a movie about a submarine-like vessel and crew that were shrunk to microscopic proportions and injected into a human. Careening through the blood stream, the ship faced numerous obstacles before reaching the brain and wiping out a tumor. However farfetched that was, scientists are working to create tiny robots that can move through a human body to perform a variety of medical procedures.
    For example, Italian researchers have designed a new, pinhead-size, radio-controlled camera pill. The camera pill is designed to swallowed and flow through your digestive system while flashing a tiny strobe and snapping pictures. But this camera pill is immense compared to what is on the drawing board!

    Have you ever heard of nanorobots? To give you an idea how small a nanorobot is, a meter is about 39 inches, but a nanometer is only a billionth of a meter. Nanotechnology is a new field that seeks to make machines millions of times smaller than what we now use. Nanotechnologists want to create nanorobots, commonly called nanobots, that could be injected into the body and programmed to seek out cancer cells and destroy them with a precision that a scalpel could never achieve.

    Imagine a small machine, no bigger than a germ, traveling through the bloodstream, powered by the system’s natural glucose, killing cancer cells one at a time. How much better that would be than chemotherapy, which kills good cells as well! Nanobots could break up kidney stones, clean out plaque-filled arteries, and kill viruses and unwanted bacteria. The potential is endless.

    Though scientists are still a long way from creating them, just remember that 20 years ago it required a building full of computers to accomplish what a handheld computer can do today!

    Right now it is possible to have Jesus “in you.” The Bible refers to the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). Jesus said, “Abide in Me, and I in you” (John 15:4). But how? His Word says, “If we love one another, God abides in us” (1 John 4:12). He also tells us, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6:56). If we live in His love, keep His commandments, accept His sacrifice and His Word, and stay connected by spending time with Him each day, He will remain in us, giving us eternal life.
    KEY BIBLE TEXTS
    At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. John 14:20
     

     

     

     

    #891395
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi To all

    WHEN IT COMES TO SALVATION, ARE SINCERITY AND ZEAL ENOUGH?

    Daily Devotional

    One of the sincerest religious people in the Bible was Saul of Tarsus. He explained his credentials by stating, “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today” (Acts 22:3).

    But his fervor took a sudden turn: “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prison both men and women, as also the high priest bears me … from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished” (vv. 4, 5).

    When it came to salvation, the man who would become the apostle Paul didn’t need more zeal. He needed a converted heart. We can sincerely try to do what we think is right, but it might be very wrong. That’s why we must come before the searcher of all hearts; we must expose ourselves to Bible truth and ask God to convict us of sin. Unless we repent and turn from self, our best efforts to do right are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). The most respected religious teacher in Israel, Nicodemus, was told quite directly by Christ that he needed to be “born again” (John 3:3).

    Zeal and sincerity are not bad in and of themselves, but in an unconverted heart they can lead us astray, like in the life of Saul. If we were to replace the word zeal for “my best efforts” and then ask, “Will not my best efforts save me?” the Bible answer is “No!” Even good works will not save us. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

     

    KEY BIBLE TEXTS
    Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 2 Timothy 1:9
     

    #891419
    Berean
    Participant

    Daily meditation

    23 October 2021

    THE SWEET WILL INHERIT THE EARTH

    Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth! (Matthew 5.5)

    ON SOME OCCASIONS Christ spoke with great authority. His words served their purpose with overwhelming force, leaving the overwhelming sense of the Speaker’s greatness. Compared to him, human strength seemed reduced to nothing. All his listeners were deeply touched. Their minds were awed because Christ was reiterating the orders of the finest glory. When he bade the world listen to him, all remained fascinated and amazed, minds convinced. Every word he spoke found its place, and those who heard him believed and received the words they had no strength to resist. He was giving proof that he was the light of the world and the authority of the church, asserting his preeminence over all.

    Jesus places meekness among the first qualities required to enter his kingdom. Her life and character reveal the divine beauty of this precious grace.

    Human nature always seeks to put itself forward and to surpass others, but the disciple of Christ sheds himself, his pride, his spirit of domination. Silence settles in his soul. He abandons himself to the will of the Holy Spirit and no longer seeks to obtain the first place; his ambition is no longer to draw attention to others, but to stand at the feet of the Savior.

    The humility of the heart, the meekness, which is the fruit of the presence of Christ in us, this is the true secret of blessing. “He glorifies the poor by saving them” (Psalm 149.4). It is pride that has opened the door of the world to sin; it is through him that our first parents lost the domination of the earth, their kingdom. By his selflessness, the Savior redeemed what had been lost and He declared that we must overcome as He overcame. It is by humiliating ourselves and by abandoning ourselves to him that we will become heirs with him, when the meek “inherit the earth.” “

    #891464
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    AREN’T HEALTH LAWS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT ONLY INTENDED FOR THE JEWS?

    God’s health laws are actually found all over the Bible. In the New Testament, we read, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). The Scriptures show a high priority in caring for our health. God gave us these guidelines because He knows what is best for the human body. “The Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve us alive” (Deuteronomy 6:24).

    Jesus’ death on the cross redeems us from sin, but it did not change what is deemed healthy or unhealthy. If pork is listed as something unhealthy before Christ died, it doesn’t really make sense that Calvary suddenly makes eating swine’s flesh healthy. Actually, the notion of “clean” and “unclean” animals goes all the way back to Genesis, long before there were any Jews. Noah was given instructions about clean and unclean animals (see Genesis 7:2); he wasn’t a Jew.

    We wrongly assume that our walk with God is somehow a spiritual-only exercise that has nothing to do with our lifestyle. But as our text points out, the Lord is interested even in what we eat and drink. God doesn’t create meaningless rules to make our lives miserable. He loves us. “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

    Modern science confirms that the guidelines in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 provide a diet that lowers the chance of disease. If we eat meat, we are taught to eat only those animals that have a split hoof and chew the cud, and fish that have both fins and scales, and to avoid birds of prey. A Christian will guard his appetite and not consume things like hogs, squirrels, rabbits, catfish, eels, lobsters, clams, crabs, shrimp, oysters, and frogs.

    The apostle Paul reminds Christians: “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). It’s still good advice.

     

    KEY BIBLE TEXTS
    “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
    1 Corinthians 10:31

    #891548
    Berean
    Participant

    Daily meditation

    25 October 2021

    THE MERCIFUL WILL GET MERCY

    Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy! (Matthew 5.7)

    BY NATURE MAN has a cold, indifferent, skittish heart. When he manifests a spirit of mercy or forgiveness, he does not do so on his own, but only under the influence of the Spirit of God. “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

    God is the source of all mercy. He is called “merciful and compassionate” (Exodus 34.6). He does not treat us according to our sins; he does not ask us to be worthy of his love, but he fills us with his largesse so that we become it. God is not vindictive; he does not seek to punish, but to save. The very severity which he sometimes shows in his interventions is aimed at the salvation of the wicked. He longs to relieve men of their ailments. […] All those whose heart sympathizes with Infinite Love will seek to heal instead of condemning. The presence of Christ in the soul is a source that will never run dry. Where he dwells, his goodness will be overflowing.

    When he hears the call of the lost, of those who are tempted and of the unhappy victims of misery and sin, the Christian does not ask himself: “Are they worthy?” “, But rather:” How can I be of use to them? In the most degraded, the most defiled men, he sees beings for whose salvation Jesus died. […] The merciful are those who have compassion on the poor, the afflicted and the oppressed. […]

    Whoever has consecrated his life to God for the salvation of his fellows is intimately united with the one who has all the riches of the universe. His life is linked to that of God by immutable promises. The Lord will not fail him in the hour of suffering and distress. “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches, with glory, in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19) Also, in the final struggle, the merciful will find refuge in the mercy of the compassionate Savior and will be received into eternal dwellings .

     

    #891562
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi To all

    Daily meditation

    October 26, 2021

    THOSE WHO PROVIDE PEACE ARE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD

    Blessed are those who bring peace, for they will be called children of God! (Matthew 5.9)

    JESUS ​​IS “the prince of peace” (Isaiah 9.5); his mission is to restore to earth and to heaven the peace which sin has banished from them. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5: 1) Whoever consents to renounce sin and to open his heart to the love of Christ participates in this heavenly peace.

    This peace cannot be obtained by any other means. Received in a soul, the grace of Jesus subdues the enemy, calms the fight and fills the heart with love. He who is at peace with God and his neighbor cannot be unhappy. Envy will have no hold over him, any more than suspicion or hatred. The man who is right with God enjoys peace from above and spreads blessed influence around him. The spirit of peace will descend like dew on hearts worked and weary of the struggles of this world.

    The disciples of Jesus are sent out into the world with a message of peace. Whoever, unaware of the influence of his holy life, naturally reveals the love of Christ or who, by word or deed, leads a man to renounce sin and to give himself to God, “brings peace” .

    And “happy are those who bring peace, for they will be called children of God”. The spirit of peace that dwells in them is proof of their communion with Heaven. The good smell of Jesus surrounds them. The fragrance of their life, the beauty of their character reveals to the world their quality as sons of God, and men understand that they have been with the Savior. “Everyone who loves is born of God” (1 John 4.7). “If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him”, but “all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8.9,14). “The remnant of Jacob will be among many peoples like dew from the Lord, like drops of water on the grass: they do not rely on man, they do not depend on the children of men ( 52). “(Micah 5.6)

    #891566
    GeneBalthrop
    Participant

    Berean…..Again , who “IS”  your,  “First” Love?   is it Jesus Christ,  God the Father , or both?
    The answer should tell you a lot about yourself.  Rev 2:4.

    peace and love to you and yours………gene

    #891569
    Berean
    Participant

    Gene

    It was through contact with warm and loving Christians that I discovered God’s love for meand for all.
    Looking back, I know that Jesus is the great revealer of this immeasurable love of the Father.
    The Father and the Son are ONE, and we can love the Father only through the Son who gave himself up for us. We love him because he loved us the FIRST in Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit.

    #891570
    GeneBalthrop
    Participant

    Berean……you still avoided the question,  it was the Father that so loved us that “HE” , gave “HIS” SON , nowhere does it say the Son loved us or the world so much he,  the Son gave his only Soul for us,  In fact Jesus ask God the Father to take his dying command away from him.  So it wasn’t because of Jesus’ great love for us,  he gave up his soul unto death, now was it?

    Let me help you with this Berean,  it was because of his (Jesus’),  “first love”,   for the Father  that he in “Obedience ” to the Father Will , he gave himself up for our sins.

    So again the question you need to really answer and so does everyone else here “IS” who is your ” FIRST LOVE” . WHO do you really put in “FIRST PLACE”, ahead of everything that exists , WHY CAN’T YOU SIMPLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION?,   it’s because you really don’t know, Right?  Don’t feel alone, I don’t think any Trinitarian can answer it either.   Rev 2:4.

    peace and love to you and yours Berean…………gene

    #891571
    carmel
    Participant

    Hi Gene,

    YOU: Berean……you still avoided the question,

     it was the Father that so loved us that “HE” , gave “HIS” SON ,

    nowhere does it say the Son loved us or the world so much he,  the Son gave his only Soul for us,  In fact Jesus ask God the Father to take his dying command away from him.

    Me: Ephesians 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to God for an odour of sweetness.

    You:  So it wasn’t because of Jesus’ great love for us,  he gave up his soul unto death, now was it?

    Isaiah 6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

    Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us?

    And I said:

    Lo, here am I, send me.

    9And he said: Go, and thou shalt say to this people: Hearing, hear, and understand not: and see the vision, and know it not.

    Answer Gene: WHY DIDN’T THE FATHER GO HIMSELF?

    NO FATHER NO SON, NO SON NO FATHER!

    John10:30 I and the Father are one.

    You: Let me help you with this Berean,  

    it was because of his (Jesus’),  “first love”,   for the Father  

    that he in “Obedience ” to the Father Will , he gave himself up for our sins.

    So again the question you need to really answer and so does everyone else here “IS” who is your ” FIRST LOVE” . WHO do you really put in “FIRST PLACE”, ahead of everything that exists , WHY CAN’T YOU SIMPLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION?,   it’s because you really don’t know, Right?  Don’t feel alone, I don’t think any Trinitarian can answer it either.   Rev 2:4.

     

    Let me help you with this: 

    Mr. Gene! Read:

    luke  13:6 He spoke also this parable:

    A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and

    he came seeking fruit on it, and found none.

    7And he said to the dresser of the vineyard:

    Behold, for these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none.

    Cut it down therefore: why cumbereth it the ground?

    8But he answering, said to him:

    Lord, let it alone this year also,

    until I dig about it, and dung it.

    9And if happily it bear fruit:

    but if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

    You:  it was the Father that so loved us that “HE” , gave “HIS” SON ,

     

    Gene answer: WHO LOVED THE FIG TREE:

    A CERTAIN MAN OR 

    THE DRESSER?

     

    Peace and love in Jesus Christ

     

    #891572
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    Daily meditation

    October 27, 2021

    THE PERSECUTED RECEIVE THE KINGDOM

    Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! (Matthew 5.10)

    JESUS ​​DOES NOT PROMISE his disciples the glory and the riches of the earth, nor even a life without trials; he offers them the privilege of walking with him on the narrow path of renunciation, faced with the contempt of a world which ignores him.

    The Redeemer of mankind had to face both the adversaries of God and of man. In a ruthless plot, evil men and angels of darkness ganged up against the prince of peace. Although his words and actions were imbued with divine compassion, his dissimilarity from the world was such that it aroused fierce hostility. Because he condemned the evil passions of our nature, he aroused cruel enmity and opposition. It will be the same for all those who will live godly in Jesus. There is an inevitable conflict between righteousness and sin, love and hate, truth and lies. When, by his life, a man brings out the love of the Savior and the beauty of holiness, he removes subjects from the kingdom of Satan; the prince of darkness then seeks to bring it down. Persecution and mockery await all who are filled with the Spirit of Christ. The character of persecution changes with the times, but the spirit which provokes and animates it never changes; it is he who, from the days of Abel, has always sought to destroy the elect of the Lord.

    Those who want to live in harmony with God will find that the reproach of the cross has not ceased. The authorities, powers, and wicked spirits in heavenly places are ganged up against all who desire to obey the law of heaven. Therefore, instead of being a cause of sorrow, persecution should be a cause of joy for the disciples of Christ, because it proves that they are following in the footsteps of their Master.

    Through trials and persecution the glory and character of God are revealed to his elect.

    #891573
    Berean
    Participant

    Gene

    Yes it is true, it is the love of God the Father for us which is “the first” love “.
    Jesus gave himself up for us, out of love for the Father (first love) and for us.
    It can only be so, for God the Father is the source of all life in the universe, and all honor and glory go to Him first.

    #891580
    GeneBalthrop
    Participant

    Berean……….God the Father must be your “ONLY” “FIRST LOVE”. .  You would be surprised how many don’t really know that brother.  You see that was the downfall of the Church at Ephesus, Jesus said, except they repent, They would lose their position.

    You see there should be for all of us “only” one “First” love,  for us all and it should be for God the Father, then next for everyone else even the “man” Jesus Christ , who loved the Father before us and even before himself also,  and out of that “first love” he “obeyed the “Will” of the Father, even to the point of his own death.  The same thing applied to Abraham, who out of love for God offered up his Son, in obedience to him,  therefore God knew Abraham put Him first in everything he had even before his sons life.  No one can ask more of a man then to lay down his life in “OBEDIENCE ”  TO HIM.  All those who put their lives to death in obedience to the Will of God are precious in his sight.    Remember what Samuel told King Saul ,  “obedience” is better then sacrifice. 

    There is “only” “ONE’ God, and ONE “MEDIATOR ” between God and men , the “MAN” Jesus Christ.  Therefore I bow my knee to Jesus Christ , “TO THE GLORY OF GOD,” WHO IS MY “FIRST LOVE”.

    peace and love to you and yours Berean……….gene

    #891581
    GeneBalthrop
    Participant

    Carmel……I see you still like to insert your own words into scriptures,  But you never really answer anything asked  of you,  even a simple thing as the “who is your “FIRST LOVE”.   is it Jesus Christ or God the Father, or both.  As I said a True Trinitarian can’t honestly answer that question, but it is a very important question according to Jesus,  Rev 2:4,  so who is your first love Carmel.  It shouldn’t take a bunch of rabbit holes to answer that,  simple question right?

    peace and love to you and yours………gene

    #891583
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    Daily meditation

    28 October 2021

    THE OUTRAGES ARE BLESSED

    Blessed are you when they insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil falsely about you, because of me. (Matthew 5.11)

    OF ALL THAT LIVE among men, no one was more defamed than the Son of man. He was mocked, he was overwhelmed with sarcasm because of his unwavering obedience to the principles of the holy law of God. Hated without a cause, he courageously and calmly faced his enemies, declaring that reproach was part of the Christian’s legacy. He taught his disciples how to ward off the arrows of wickedness, urging them not to be brought down by persecution.

    Slander can tarnish reputation, but it cannot tarnish character. God keeps him in his care. As long as we do not consent to sin, there is no human or satanic power that can defile our soul. The man whose heart leans on God is as steadfast in the hour of the cruelest trial and in the most disheartening circumstances as in the time of prosperity, when the light and favor of God seem protect him. His words, his actions, his motives can be misunderstood, distorted; it does not matter to him, since he has greater interests at stake. Like Moses, he is patient, “seeing him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27), looking “not at things visible, but at those which are invisible” (2 Corinthians 4:18). […]

    Jesus sees everything that is misunderstood or falsified by men. His followers can rely on him patiently and with confidence, though mistreated and despised. For all that is secret will be revealed, and those who honor God will be honored by him in the presence of men and angels.

    “When you are insulted and persecuted” says Jesus, “rejoice and be glad (54). “(Matthew 5:11, 12)

    Great will be the reward given in heaven to those who have been persecuted and oppressed to bear witness to the Savior. As the world seeks the goods of the earth, Jesus shows them the heavenly reward. And he does not place it only in the future life, but already here below (55).

    (54. Blessed are those who, “The Beatitudes,” p. 33, 34.
    55. Ibid., P. 35.)

    #891584
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    LUXOR LIGHT

    Daily Devotional

    AN AMAZING FACT: The beam of light shooting straight up from the top of the pyramid-shaped Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas is the brightest manmade light in the world. The powerful ray of light is produced by combining 39 of the brightest Xenon lights made, each as big as a washing machine. Each light costs about $1,200, and the electricity to power them all runs around $50 an hour. Using computer-designed curved mirrors to focus the light, the intense beam generates over 42 billion candlepower of light, bright enough to read a newspaper 10 miles up in space.
    On a clear night Luxor’s Sky Beam is visible to airplanes up to 250 miles away. You can understand why pilots flying around Las Vegas must be very careful to avoid passing directly over the Luxor beam, or they can be temporally blinded by a blazing white flash in their cockpits. To produce this much light and cool the beacon housing requires approximately 370,000 watts of power.

    No matter where you are in the Las Vegas Valley, you can see this light. Some local residents actually find comfort in seeing the bright beam shining up into space at night. Others find it to be a directional point, helping them if they get lost. Sadly, the brightest manmade light in the world is mostly wasted. When the Las Vegas desert air is dry and clean the beam does not strike any dust or clouds. It shines straight out into empty space, unseen.

    The Bible teaches there is another even brighter light that is mostly unused. The Scriptures tell us, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Brighter than the intense Luxor Sky Beam, the Bible points us to something beyond the immensity of space. It is a reliable guidance system that gives us comfort and direction in our darkest moments. We when spend time reading the Bible, no light will ever be wasted.
    KEY BIBLE TEXTS
    And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:3

    #891588
    Berean
    Participant

    Hi to all

    IS THERE REALLY A DANGER THAT MANY CHRISTIANS WILL BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD WHEN JESUS RETURNS?

    Daily Devotional

    Jesus makes it very clear that several things can trap and destroy Christians. He even told a story to illustrate His warning: “It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning—lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping” (Mark 13:34–36).

    Let’s consider the traps in Luke 21:34 along with Jesus’ warning in Mark. The first item is “carousing.” The original word comes from two Greek words, one for “head” and the other for “to sway or toss about.” The idea is that we can become so busy in life, so intoxicated with our adrenaline-driven schedules, that we lose our ability to think clearly. This rat race of constant running keeps us from spending daily time with Jesus.

    Drunkenness, of course, speaks of the result of drinking alcoholic beverages, but it can refer to any addiction. People who have numbed their minds through pornography, illicit sex, romance novels, gambling, alcohol, drugs, movies, food, or evil companions are clinging to dependencies that keep them from Bible study, prayer, and Christian fellowship. They live in an unreal world trying to fill a void in their life that only Jesus can truly fill. Even the everyday cares of this life can so consume us that we don’t put first things first.

    Finally, Mark 13 warns us that we can be spiritually asleep. It might be the biggest problem today. When a person is asleep, he doesn’t really know he is asleep. Taking our relationship with Jesus for granted can make sleepwalkers of those who, unless miraculously wakened, will sleep past the moment of truth.
    KEY BIBLE TEXTS

    And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. Luke 21:34

    #891612
    carmel
    Participant

    Hi Gene,

    You: Carmel……I see you still like to insert your own words into scriptures,

     But you never really answer anything asked  of you,

    ME: First and foremost Gene, go back and read my post AGAIN and answer the

    TWO QUESTIONS I ASKED YOU PLEASE.

     You: even a simple thing as the “who is your “FIRST LOVE”.

     is it Jesus Christ or God the Father, or both. 

    ME: Hereunder Gene is Rev. 2:1-4, something that for your own corrupted reasoning and intentions, simply to quench your personal thirst, and never interested in the actual context of scripture, you never produced.

    You simply focussed on the phrase “FIRST LOVE” AND IGNORED COMPLETELY THE CONCEPT OF THIS PARTICULAR PARAGRAPH AND AT THE END YOU ALSO IGNORED THIS PHRASE “FIRST LOVE  AND REPLACED IT WITH THE PHRASE ” FIRST PLACE!

    YOU RESPECT SCRIPTURE LESS  THAN A MERE PAPERBACK!

    KJV. Rev.2:4 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

    2I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3And hast borne, and hast patience, and for MY NAME’S SAKE hast laboured,

    AND HAS NOT FAINTED. 4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee,

    because thou hast left thy first love. 

    Me: Gene, when Jesus reproved the church at Ephesus, and He chided them for having left their “first love”, Jesus wasn’t saying that they didn’t DO THEIR WORK AS THEY SHOULD. In fact, He applauded them for being upstanding people who have “perseverance and have endured for

    HIS name’s sake, and have not grown weary”.

    But what He was saying is that they had left their “first love.”

    They no longer regarded Him as first in their hearts or in their lives. In Colossians, we read of Christ’s preeminence over all things.  Nothing ESPECIALLY ON THIS PLANET,  less than FIRST is where Jesus Christ belongs in our HUMAN lives ON THIS PLANET.

    WHICH IS THE FATHER’S PLEASURE!

    THE FACT THAT JESUS INHERITED

    ALL THINGS!

    Read hereunder Mr. Gene.

    John15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. (or else no Father)

    As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5I am the vine; you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit:

    for without me you can do nothing. 

    Gene as clear as crystal JESUS MUST BE YOUR FIRST LOVE!

    that’s what the Father wants in order for

    THE FATHER ALSO BE YOUR FIRST LOVE  BOTH NOW AND ON THE LAST DAY OF THE LORD! READ:

    6If anyone abides not in me, (FIRST)

    he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up,

    and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.

    7If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask whatever you will,

    and it shall be done unto you.

    8In this is my Father glorified;….

    John5:23 That all men may honour the Son,

    AS they honour the Father.

    He who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, who hath sent him.

    NO CHRIST NO FATHER, NO FATHER NO CHRIST!

    OK, Mr. Gene!

    Now read THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE TO SMYRNA:

    Rev.2:8 And to the angel of the church of Smyrna write: These things saith

    the FIRST and the Last, who was dead, and is alive:

    Answer Gene Please:

    IS JESUS CHRIST 

    FIRST IN ALL THINGS?

    Peace and love in Jesus Christ

     

     

    #891615
    Berean
    Participant

    Thank you Carmel for keeping it simple.

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