“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15 KJV). One cannot repent or turn away from what they do not believe to be wrong, and they cannot believe something to be wrong without ceasing that behavior or repenting. The Gospel is the Good News of God giving us a second chance. Taking sides with God against yourself is repentance. Acting like the Gospel is true is believing the Gospel. Ours is to repent and believe, but only the Spirit can give us faith (Ephesians 2:8) and “repentance to the acknowledging of the truth” (2Timothy 2:25 KJV).
Author: Ken
Willingness to Do the Will of God
“Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own” (John 7:17 NIV). Willingness to do the will of God must precede God’s willingness to teach us. Either we impose our will upon God, or we submit our will to His. From the beginning it was so. Angelic or human moral agents from Lucifer to Adam to us, all have the necessity of admitting God is in a position of preeminence over us. Anyone reading the Gospel of John, who is willing to do the will of God, will understand Jesus’ claims of divinity and sacrifice for our sins.
My Way by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra sang My Way (1969), but Paul Anka wrote the lyrics especially for him. Though it became Sinatra’s signature song, he later hated it because he’d come to feel the song to be self-indulgent and self-serving. So true, but it remained a favorite and an anthem for those celebrating their personal accomplishments.
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught [nothing]
To say the things he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
“O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps” (Jeremiah 10:23 KJV). Like Frank Sinatra, may we also reject the sentiment of the song.
Thinness of Skin
Thin-skinned is an adjective for easily offended or touchy, in short, focused on self. If we are overwhelmed with our own problems, then it will be easy not to pay attention to the problems of others. Our disappointment will be their lack of attention for our circumstances, not the long and loud list of offenses committed against them. LORD, deliver us from such self love. “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 KJV).
Hand of the Diligent
“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute” (Proverbs 12:24 KJV). How to rule, while not in charge, be diligent. How to be ruled, though placed in charge, be slothful. God takes care of the diligent, while slothfulness must be ruled. Hope reigns where God rules.
Who Are We Trying to Please?
Faith pleases God because it requires us to trust “Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27 KJV).
Plainness of Speech
“But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37 KJV). Why did Jesus command such plainness of speech? Because saying more or less than the intended words draws attention to the messenger and not the message. This impresses people with our education or lack. As messengers for our Lord, we desire the attention only for Him.
How Long?
A favorite question of the Psalmist to Yahweh was, How long? “We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long” (Psalm 74:9 KJV). Isaiah voiced a similar question. “Then said I, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof” (Isaiah 6:11-13 KJV). May we be that tenth!
Atmospheric Rivers
Californians, remember the past winter’s Atmospheric Rivers of rain? The extreme weather condition pummeled the state, refilled drought stricken reservoirs, and refreshed the mountain snowpack. “Clouds that can dump a lot of rain are more common in a warmer atmosphere,” says climate scientist Dr. llissa Ocko. Christ predicted weather to become more extreme as we approach His return. “For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers [diverse, many] places” (Matthew 24:7 KJV). Christian, we should never be afraid, because our Almighty Father is still on His Throne.
Fulness of Time
“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, (Galatians 4:4 KJV). It was the appropriate time set by God, when it had fully come for Christ to be born to fulfill the righteousness of God’s law. Only when God decides it’s right is the time full. As the tough, old drill sergeant said, “You’re not dead until I TELL you you’re dead!” God grant us the patience to wait for the times You have chosen and the willingness to labor like it should be today. Amen.
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