Our Bible passage, and devotion, comes to us, today, from . . .
• Jeremiah 17:7-8 •
““But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. (8)They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit.” (NLT)
There are great rewards for individuals who place their trust in Jesus, and makes Him the Lord of their lives. Here are just a few:
Changed Life.
Hope.
Favor.
Strength.
Peace.
Plus many other blessings that are spoken of in God’s Word.
Don’t live out verses five and six (read Jeremiah 17:5-6).
Trust in the Lord and live the Blessed Life Now and Forever.
Today, I want you to read, and get a good understanding of . . .
• Matthew 5:21-26 •
“You know our ancestors were told, “Do not murder” and “A murderer must be brought to trial.” But I promise you if you are angry with someone, you will have to stand trial. If you call someone a fool, you will be taken to court. And if you say that someone is worthless, you will be in danger of the fires of hell. So if you are about to place your gift on the altar and remember that someone is angry with you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. Make peace with that person, then come back and offer your gift to God. Before you are dragged into court, make friends with the person who has accused you of doing wrong. If you don’t, you will be handed over to the judge and then to the officer who will put you in jail. I promise you will not get out until you have paid the last cent you owe.” (CEV)
• Is there someone that you need to make things right with?
Today, our Bible verse, and devotion, comes to us from . . .
• Matthew 24:35 •
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (ESV)
The Word of God is more sure and lasting than heaven and earth. We can build, with more assurance upon the Word of God, than we can upon the pillars of heaven, or the strong foundations of the earth.
The Bible, God’s Word, in 1 Peter 1:24-25 says . . .
“All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the Word of the Lord remains forever.” And this Word is the good news that was preached to you.” (ESV)
And in Luke 16:17, the Word says . . .
“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.” (ESV)
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (17)that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (ESV)
📖 ‼️ GOD’S WORD IS TRUE ‼️ 📖
✝️ ALL SCRIPTURE:
• Every Word in the Bible, has been spoken, or given, by God.
✝️ BREATHED OUT BY GOD:
• The Apostle Paul uses the phrase, “is given by inspiration of God” (KJV), or “breathed out by God” (ESV), to point out the fact that the Scriptures come straight from God.
• Although God used people to produce the Scriptures (2 Peter 1:20–21), the Scripture’s ultimate origin is God.
✝️ PROFITABLE:
• The Scriptures are very valuable because it corrects false teaching while building up believers to live godly lives.
• The Scriptures are valuable because they point the sinner to Jesus, and save them from eternal punishment.
✝️ TEACHING:
• After starting the church in Ephesus, Paul appointed Timothy to lead the new church.
• Teaching God’s Word was Timothy’s primary task in Ephesus. He served as their pastor (1 Timothy 4:6, 13).
✝️ REPROOF:
• The Holy Scriptures were used to rebuke false teachers, and warn those who believed their false teaching, to turn to Jesus (1 Timothy 6:3–10).
✝️ CORRECTION:
• The Scriptures were used to help believers grow in godly behavior.
✝️ TRAINING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS:
• The above phrase describes training in doing what is right, or righteous.
• The Word of God was Timothy’s tool to teach those who once believed erroneously, to now believe in the Lord God, and follow His ways.
✝️ EQUIPPED FOR EVERY
GOOD WORK:
• Scripture is profitable because…Scripture helps believers fulfill the work of the ministry (2 Timothy 4:1–5).
• The Holy Scriptures, God’s Word, is a gift to His people.
• Father God hasn’t left believers to try to figure out how to be like Him, or carry out His will, but He has given us His Word, The Bible, to instruct, and equip us, for doing His good works here on earth (Ephesians 2:10).
After all this, I’ll leave you with the same words I left a few days ago:
When we look to God’s word, we find many scriptures that illustrate God’s unfathomable love for us and His sovereignty over our lives.
Below are seven scriptures that show us that God not only has a plan, but that His plan is good, perfect and always right on time.
1.) Genesis 28:15 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
2.) Genesis 50:20 “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to keep many people alive.”
3.) Psalm 138:8 “The Lord will accomplish what concerns me; Your faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting; Do not abandon the works of Your hands.”
4.) Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven—”
5.) Isaiah 43:18-19 “Do not call to mind the former things, Or consider things of the past. Behold, I am going to do something new, Now it will spring up; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.”
6.) Habakkuk 2:3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It hurries toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it delays, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay long.”
7.) Jeremiah 29:11 “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
God’s plan may not look like my plan, and that can be a hard truth to swallow; however, when I understand His plans are far better than anything I could come up with, that truth becomes a blessing. God’s word shows me over and over again how His plans always prevail.
I may not know what the future holds, but I know that God holds my future, and ultimately, He wants good for His children.
“You know the teachings I gave you, and you know what you heard me say and saw me do. So follow my example. And God, who gives peace, will be with you.” (CEV)
Today, this verse is saying to us to not only follow the Apostle Paul’s teachings, but to follow all the teachings that are in The Word of God, The Holy Bible.
🎚 Read the Word 🎚 Follow the Word 🎚 Do the Word 🎚 …and the God of Great Peace Will Be With YOU Always!
Aren’t you ready to serve the Lord faithfully; to know the Bible, and serve the Lord completely?
Come on . . . Get in The WORD!
Have a Great Weekend, and I hope you’re planning on attending Church on Sunday.
As always, you are Invited to …
Family Life Assembly of God
We are a Christ Centered, Bible Teaching, Spirit Filled Church designed with you in mind. — Check Us Out!
GPS Location: 12481 NE 23rd Street Choctaw, Oklahoma
Stingy believers, and church goers, limit their giving to the church, and call such savings good economy; however, little do they know, that in doing so, they are causing themselves to become poor.
Their excuse for not giving to the church is that they must care for their own families, and their own homes; however, they forget that to neglect the house of God is a sure way to bring poverty upon themselves.
• Haggai 1:9-11 •
“You expected much, but received only a little. And when you brought it home, I made that little disappear. Why have I done this? It’s because you hurry off to build your own houses, while my temple is still in ruins. (10)That’s also why the dew doesn’t fall and your harvest fails. (11)And so, at my command everything will become barren—your farmland and pastures, your vineyards and olive trees, your animals and you yourselves. All your hard work will be for nothing.” (CEV)
God has a method by which He can cause our endeavors to succeed beyond our expectation, or He can defeat our plans. By a turn of His hand He can steer our vessel in a profitable channel, or run it aground in poverty and bankruptcy.
The Bible says that the Lord enriches the generous and/or leaves the miserly to discover that withholding from the Lord leads to poverty.
In my life as a pastor, I have noticed that the most generous Christians have always been the happiest, and the most prosperous. I have seen the generous giver rise to financial levels of which he never dreamed — On the other hand, I have as often seen the mean, ungenerous soul, descend to poverty, because of their stinginess.
Selfishness, stinginess, looks first at home, but godliness seeks first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. In the long run, selfishness is loss, and godliness is great gain.
In Matthew 6:33-34, Jesus tells us to…
“But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what He wants. Then the other things will be yours as well. (34)Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself…” (CEV)
Here is a powerful Word concerning our Lord’s faithfulness toward His children.
• Isaiah 54:10 •
“For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.” (NLT)
This verse speaks of a new covenant promise that the Lord promised the nation of Israel; however, it’s also a covenant promise for all people today, (for those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.)
It’s a promise of Love, Mercy, Faithfulness and Loyalty that will come to all people at the ultimate fulfillment of Salvation accomplished by Jesus, the Messiah. (See Isaiah 16:5 & 55:3)
Have you accepted Jesus, and are now privileged to our Lord’s Love, Mercy, Faithfulness and Loyalty?
Jesus loves us all and desires to have an ongoing relationship with each of us.
Pastor H. Gene Allen 