2025-03-07
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I mentioned that God prepared things for us to do, and that we must prepare ourselves to serve that ministry. To do this, we must be on the road to the spiritual maturity necessary to be effective in carrying out this mission for Him. Part of that is thinking eternally rather than just of earthly matters [COL 3: 1-2]. We live in a fallen world with so much suffering, tragedy, misunderstandings, lying, and other negativity in it, so the need for us to serve God is compelling for a true believer in the Lord. Discernment is quite necessary as we learn in 1 JN 4: 1-3, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that doesn’t acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”
This bold statement can be made because of HE 4: 12, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” In HE 5: 12-14 gives us God’s will in the matter of doing what is necessary to prepare to serve Him effectively. “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
We are called upon to see the truth from a lie, and the Bible—the most consistent book ever written—tells only the truth. God’s own lack of darkness [1 JN 1: 5] reflects the light He wants us to take in, head, heart, and hands. Throughout history, the Lord has had to deal with cults and false teaching of all kinds. Some groups separate families and make it very difficult to exit their community. Some practice polygamy and sex trafficking of their young people. Some keep secrets and are exclusive as to who may know their most holy rituals. Some mix traditional beliefs of mainline churches with total fabrications. Some teach the worship of people-a person or a hierarchy, or worship the sun, stars, animals like cows and snakes. Some worship many gods, and only the Lord Jesus tells us the truth. The truth is there is one God with three personalities, the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit [DT 6: 4-5; JN 6: 35; JN 14: 6; PHIL 2: 5-7; COL 1: 15; JN 1:1-3; LK 22: 66-71; JN 5: 14-18; JN 14: 26-27; JN 16: 13-14; RO 8: 26; MK 13: 11; IS 11: 2; AC 1: 3]. Let me repeat the primary motivation for believing in Jesus, from PR 10: 25, “When the storm swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” Remember this is stated in the OT likely by King Solomon written between 970-931 BC.
What wicked evildoers persist in doing is aptly described in PR 4: 16-17, “For they cannot rest until they do evil; they are robbed of sleep till they make someone stumble. They eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.” They are never happy, nor will they come to a good end. In contrast, we are told in PR 4: 18, “The path of righteousness is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day and in PR 4: 23-27, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths of your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or left; keep your foot from evil.”
PRAYER: O Most Heavenly Lord, You give us just enough in the Scriptures to build our faith, and every part of Your will is for our best eternal interests. Over our history, You have seen how the inherited evil of the original sin and that sinning that we do ourselves, placed mankind in a terrible predicament. You felt mercy and compassion for Your human creation; that prompted You to send Your Son, Jesus Christ, come to earth, be humiliated and scourged, and to give His physical life on the cross so that we who believe in Him could be eternally forgiven. The model of His faithful obedience to You was set for us. We accept this extraordinary grace You extend by showing our reverence and awe by studying the teaching of the Bible and living by it. 2 TIM 3: 16-17, “All Scripture is God-breathed and useful in teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We thank and praise You for the love You have for us and the graceful mercy You show us. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: We will examine the head, heart, hands connection that is right with God’s will. As the Holy Spirit has given me this devotion, He has also compelled the choices I want to make. He inspired Isaiah, in IS 32: 17-18 to show me why I want to live in God’s light. “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. My [God’s] people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” Now, that’s a great description of heaven—a place where we no longer must prove ourselves, are united with our loved ones that have gone on before us, and in the eternal company of our God Who loves us that much. Praise and thanksgiving be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2025. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives