Safe in Heaven, 144,000 Tribulation Saints, who are Israelites, have made it through the Tribulation Week without suffering martyrdom and have been Pre-Wrath Raptured before the final Seven Vial Judgments (Revelation 16) are poured out at the end of the Seventieth Week of Daniel. “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father’s name written in their foreheads” (Revelation 14:1 KJV). Roughly speaking, this would be akin to the head of state (Christ the Lamb) greeting hostages, who have returned from captivity from an enemy country. These are the same 144,000 sealed in Revelation 7. All of this indicates that there will be an enormous number of Israelis saved immediately after the Pre-Tribulational Rapture, which means evangelistic efforts in Israel must be effectively reaching out to Israelis prior to the Tribulation. Support and pray for those ministries. The faithfulness of God to preserve all of His Saints presently from temptation, is also able to do so during the Tribulation. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13). Remember, the 144,000 are the “firstfruits” (Revelation 14:4) of the nation of Israel, who will “be born at once” (Isaiah 66:8) at Messiah Jesus’ Second Coming. LORD, You are the same God now and forever. Demonstrate Yourself strong on behalf of Your people now and Your 144,000 later. In Jesus’ name, return quickly. Amen and amen.
Temptation
Iniquity of the Parents
“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them [graven images], nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me” (Exodus 20:5 KJV). The sins of the parents are punished in the children, though it now becomes the children committing the sins. When we actively engage in the same sin as our parents, we become guilty of a collective sin. Then, it is appropriate to confess and repent of our collective sin. God gave permission for the children to be tempted and afflicted by the sin of their parents. Why to the third and fourth generation? Poetic prose? Sin is a hard thing triggering God’s anger, but “His anger endureth but a moment” (Psalm 30:5), moderating unto the third and fourth generation, demonstrating His mercy. Parents, leave no unconfessed, impenitent sin to plague your children, for they will be tempted to imitate you and likewise be punished.
What’s Wrong With Hedonism?
To begin, what is hedonism? “HEE” + “duh” + “ni” + “zuhm” A devotion to pleasure or happiness as its highest good is hedonism. “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things” (Philippians 3:19 KJV). As a created being, our purpose cannot be for the service of self as our highest pleasure, but the service of God. Not just philosophically but practically and functionally, we cannot seek pleasure simply for the sake of pleasure. Disciples do not seek merely the fulfillment of our senses, but the fulness of God. “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Allow not the satan’s temptation to substitute your God given needs for your reason for existence. Only the Spirit of God can keep us safe. LORD, keep Your people as the apple of Your eye focused upon You, the apple of our eye. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen and amen.
Casting Out Demons
Plain Christians can cast out Satan from their presence by simply resisting him (James 4:7) and his temptations. One of the “signs [that] shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils” (Mark 16:17 KJV); but, be warned, in supernatural warfare, sometimes “this kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29 KJV). LORD, prepare Thy people for overcoming the Wicked One. Amen and amen.
Resisting the Devil
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 KJV). Anyone submitted to God can make Satan flee from them by simply and firmly resisting his temptation to do wrong or not do right. He will flee because he knows he cannot defeat the LORD God Almighty to whom you are humbly submitted under the shadow of His wings. Never resist the Devil alone, in your own name, for we are as nothing against this supernatural godlike enemy, but through our God, we shall do valiantly! Amen.
Our Jōb Moment
Our Jōb moment of why me is more common to man than we think. We are our Sovereign God’s possession to do with us as He pleases, but like David, we had rather fall into God’s hands than the hands of the enemy. “And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man” (2Samuel 24:14 KJV). In the end, Job quit defending his own righteousness and began acknowledging God can do what He thinks best. “I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted” (Job 42:2 NET). At the beginning, Jehovah had acknowledged Job as “none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth [turns away from] evil” (1:8). God has a higher opinion of you than you think. He is willing to preserve us from day to day temptations. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer [allow] you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1Corinthians 10:13 KJV). He taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13 KJV). We are His children, and our Father knows best. Let us remember He is the High King of Heaven, acting in the best interests of His Kingdom, but He remembers our frame as dust. O LORD, be merciful to Your children, “Nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (26:39). Amen and amen.
James 1 Commentary
Practical Christian Wisdom from the New Testament Book of James
A Letter of Practical Christian Wisdom
Introduction (1:1)
Verse 1: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings” (James 1:1 NIV).
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1 NIV) tells us that the writer of this letter was James, a younger half-brother of Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 13:55). Once a bonafide skeptic (Mark 3:21) of the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14) of his Older Brother, James had now been transformed to become His ardent supporter, humbling himself not only as a “servant [Greek, doulos, slave] of God” (1:1 NIV), but equally, a bond servant by choice of Jesus, who he now admits to be the Jewish Messiah and his master. James’ choice of calling himself a “servant of God” (1:1 NIV) is consistent with the teachings of Christ. “Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am, My servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves Me” (John 12:26 NIV). We are servants of the Lord with the benefit of God directing our choices in life. Remember, we are not here to figure out how to use God, but how He can use us. This epistle or letter was addressed to the “twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (1:1 NIV), since the Early Church was originally Jewish converts returning to their homes from the Acts 2 Pentecost, as well as, to the converted Jewish brothers and sisters “scattered among the nations” (1:1 NIV) by the persecutions of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 8:1). NT scholars date this epistle as sometime before 62 AD, when James was martyred by King Herod (Acts 12:2). The Romans did not destroy Jerusalem and the Temple until 70 AD. “Greetings” (1:1 NIV) is the expected salutation, since this is a letter.
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