John 6:61-69 – “When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?  62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?  63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.  64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”

68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”   NKJV

James B. Coats of Summerland, Mississippi wrote a number of Gospel songs including the classic, “Where Could I Go But to the Lord.”  As with many of the timeless songs of faith, Coats captures a truth that resonates with hungry hearts and people desiring to find true spiritual freedom.

The song begins with the plight of man in the midst of a sinful world and the neediness of human beings.  The first verse also captures the visual that often we are facing the temptations and tempest of life with a sense of aloneness.  In that time of desperation, many realize there is only one place to turn and that is God.  If we are needing a refuge for our soul, a friend to stand with us in all things, and at all times what other source can we turn to but God?

He continues to tug at our heartstrings in the verse, “Neighbors are fun I love ’em, every one.  We get along in sweet accord, but when I face the chilling hand of death…”  In that time of facing eternity, there is only one real source of comfort and strength and that is God.  He draws out of our emotions the joy of life with friends and the wonderful fellowship we have together but when the chips are down and the clouds roll in there is only one true source of strength and that is God.

In our text, Jesus presented some difficult truths that caused many to realize the commitment was more than they were willing to make.  After he and the disciples witnessed the multitude turning away Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?”  It is here that Peter uttered the words that are captured in this song.  Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  Also, we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”  Simply, “Where Could We Go But To You Lord?”

Life is sometimes like a peaceful sea and at other times like a raging tempest with the waves billowing ready to crush our vessel in its anger.  In those times of terror, we realize that outside God there is no safety, but we are sheltered in His arms, and in Him, there is a peace that transcends human comprehension.

God bless you and be with you as you enjoy this wonderful day in Him!

Ephesians 3:20-21 – “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”  NKJV

The Gospel Song was written by Stuart Hamblen, “It Is No Secret What God Can Do” was recorded by almost every major recording artist and has been a favorite of those who love Gospel music for years.

Stuart Hamblen captured the hearts of many when he wrote this tune, and the first verse identifies the reality of human failure.  It seems that with each passing day we are reminded again and again of our inability to hit the mark and how often we stumble in our walk.  In our own strength living the Christian life are an impossibility and something we should never forget.

In the second verse, Hamblen reminded us of how often we long for strength and courage to face the daunting task of life that is before us and how easily we become discouraged.  His words are an encouragement as he declares, “Do not be disheartened for I have news for you.”   It is here that he begins the incredible reminder and source of powerful encouragement as he writes:  “It is no secret what God can do.  What He’s done for others He’ll do for you.  With arms wide open, He’ll pardon you.”  This reminder of God’s incredible longsuffering and tender mercy is so refreshing in our daily struggle to walk before Him and be perfect.

I love how Hamblen then continues as he declares that in God there is no night because He is light, and we are Never alone.  The comfort that no matter where we are, we are at home because we are IN HIM.  He then reminds us that we are more than conquerors through Jesus as he pens the words, “There is no power can conquer you while God is on your side.  Take Him at His promise, don’t run away and hide.”  Why?  Because it is no secret what God can do!  What He’s done for others He will do for you.  He stands before us with His arms of love and mercy wide open calling for us to “Come unto Me.”

As Paul declares in our text, God is able to do Exceedingly Abundantly above all that we can think or ask!  Think about that!  Exceedingly abundantly ABOVE all not some but all that we can think, imagine, or even dare to ask.  That is the God we serve, and His power is immeasurable beyond all human comprehension.  That God does not operate in secret but has openly declared through the words of Jesus in Luke 12:32, “Fear not little flock, for it is My Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom…”   God is more desirous to bless us than we are to be blessed.

Remember God openly showers His love, mercy, grace, peace, protection, and provision upon His children.  Stop living in fear and walk into His arms and receive from Him Life and that more abundantly!

God bless you richly is my prayer!

Psalm 56:8 – “You number my wanderings; Put my tears into Your bottle; Are they not in Your book?”  NKJV

The imagery is powerful regarding God’s response to our tears, hurts, heartaches, and/or sorrows.  He puts them in His bottle.  The suggestion is that your tears are so important to God that he keeps them as a constant reminder and then records them in His book.  That is such a powerful statement my heart melts when I read it and I tremble at the knowledge that God not only sees and hears but is taking steps to deal with our difficulties.

Someone said, “Laugh, and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.”  That is not true for the Child of God for as this passage records, God takes note of our tears, so we are never alone.  We may feel that everyone on earth has forsaken us and no one cares or understands what we are facing and that might be true, but God does.  He is carefully recording each tear, the cause, and the remedy.

The wording of the Psalm suggests that God has a bottle and in that bottle, He keeps the tears we cry as well as the tears of Jesus.  He lists them individually in his book and in due time will respond to wipe away our tears and bring us into his incredible joy.  The Psalmist tells us that “weeping last for the night but joy comes in the morning.”  Then we read in Psalm 116 – “For you, O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.”   Wow! 

Remember what the writer of Hebrews declared about our LORD in 4:15, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  We are then encouraged to “come boldly to the throne of grace”.  That place of grace is where we find mercy in times of need.  Hallelujah!

The Isaacs sing a song entitled, “He Understands My Tears” that I will conclude with.

“It’s hard to believe He still loves me

Knowing how wrong I have been

 When all I can say is, I’m sorry

When all I can feel is my sin.

 

When all I can feel is my sin.

 He understands when all I do is cry

 He feels the hurt that no one can see down inside

 And when the words get in the way I know He still hears

 For He understands my tears.

 

You may not believe that I’m broken

 For all, you can see is my smile

 Oh, but He hears the heart that’s unspoken

 And He gives me strength through each trial.

 He understands when all I do is cry

 He feels the hurt that no one can see down inside

 And when the words get in the way I know He still hears

 For He understands my tears.

 Oh, when the words get in the way I know He still hears

 For He understands when no one else can

 He understands my tears.”

Yes, and as you go through this day go know that no matter what you encounter you are never alone!   

God bless you richly as you enjoy His day of salvation!

Psalm 51:1-2 – “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.  2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”  NKJV

One of the reasons I love the Psalms is their directness and connectivity to the human heart.  This is recorded as possibly being written after Nathan the prophet went in, to David to confront him over his sin with Bathsheba. 

David did not hide from his sin for he knew that God knew, and the weight of his guilt came crashing down upon him.  He recognized that without Mercy he was doomed and therefore he cried out to God.

• Have MERCY upon me.

He makes no attempt to justify his actions or blame anyone or anything else.  His simple request and plea were MERCY.

• According to God’s lovingkindness and mercy.

David understood that God was and is a loving God more willing to forgive than condemn when genuine repentance was offered.

• Forgive, Blot Out and Wash Me.

His prayer was forgiveness, cleansing, and restoration.

In the next verses, the Psalmist cried, “I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is always before me.”  He further states that his sin was, at its very foundation, sin against God.  Yes, we sin toward others, but the root of our sin is missing the mark and in so doing we hurl darts into His heart.  He goes further to identify the depravity of man, not as a justification for sin but a realization of his humanity and that without God’s mercy and help he could not walk uprightly before God.

Then in verses 10-11 we find the powerful cry that we should all pray:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast     me away from your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.”

If that were not powerful enough in verses 12-13, he declares, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.  Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.”

He never asked for Justice as we hear called for so much about today, he asked for Mercy!  I do not want what I deserve I want what the Mercy and Grace of God will afford. 

May God be with you as you live the beautiful day in Him!

2 John 10-11 – “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; 11 for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds.” NKJV

3 John 5-8 – “Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, 6 who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, 7 because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8 We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.” NKJV

Some definitions are appropriate here:

Precept – – Comes from Latin and means to teach.  It is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action.

Principle – – Is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed.  The principles of such a system are understood by its users as the essential characteristics of the system, or reflecting the system’s designed purpose, and the effective operation or use of which would be impossible if any other of the principles was to be ignored.

It is not an easy task to follow biblical directives.  It is one thing to know and understand the biblical directive and another to have the moral fiber and faith to carry it out.  This can sometimes become incredibly murky and filled with shades of gray that an individual truly desiring to fully follow God’s Precepts and Principles could easily become confused.

Example:

Exodus 20:13 – “You shall not murder.” NKJV

The commandment of God against murder is as relevant today as it was when it was given to Moses here in Exodus and should be followed as a precept today.  I believe that we would all agree to that.

Let’s take another to illustrate what I’m saying about murky waters.

Acts 1:4-8 – “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”  6 Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.  8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” NKJV

Look at verse four – – “do not depart from Jerusalem…”  How do we follow that literally today since most of us do not live in Jerusalem?  Do we move to Jerusalem and wait for the empowerment of the Holy Spirit then begin to evangelize?  Do we begin in Jerusalem then move out to the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and then finally be free to go “to the ends of the earth” and whatever land the Lord might have put in our hearts to evangelize?

But there are several principles that we can draw from Acts 1:8 that are essential:

1. The power of the Holy Spirit is essential for effective evangelization.
2. Potential missionaries should begin evangelizing right where they are, before heading off to some foreign field.
3. Reaching the large cities first is a good strategy, so the gospel can ripple out to the countryside.  Reach the masses.

So, we follow Exodus 20:13 as a precept and Acts 1:8 as a principle.  In the passages that we used in our text; we face another dilemma.  Do we follow this as a precept or principle?  I believe that we should be incredibly cautious about accepting anyone into our homes that bring another Gospel other than that of Christ.  I do believe that it is okay to have a friendly discussion with them about the error of their teaching, but we must also be incredibly careful about how closely we align ourselves with them. Likewise taking money from non-Christians for the work of the Gospel should always be done with the certainty that there are no strings attached.

Something to think about:

1. Biblical directives can always be followed by drawing out valid principles.
2. In interpreting Scripture always proceed from then to now.  Take the passage in its historical context to help you determine if it is a precept that transcends all timelines or a principle to follow.
3. In interpreting and applying Scripture it is good to always find as much common ground as possible between the interpretation and the application.  That makes knowing the original setting crucial and why knowing the “Manners and Customs” of the Bible is very important.  We tend to read the Bible with a Western mentality and it wasn’t written to Westerners it was written in the Middle East.

I hope that I have not been too confusing, and may God be with you as you go through your day and always know that just because someone else has a little different understanding of something biblical than you doesn’t make them wrong both of you may need more clarification that God will give in time and with study.

God bless you richly is my desire and prayer this day!

1 Timothy 5:3-8 – “Honor widows who are really widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show piety at home and to repay their parents; for this is good and acceptable before God. 5 Now she who is really a widow, and left alone, trusts in God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day. 6 But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives. 7 And these things command, that they may be blameless. 8 But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” NKJV

America has become a Welfare Nation and the Church has largely divested itself of the responsibility of caring for the needy in far too many cases.  The Bible is quite clear about whose responsibility it is to care for the needy.  It is ours collectively as individuals and as a Church, not the Federal Government.  But, to attempt to avoid being political in a devotional let me address what the Scripture says about caring for the needy.

We are told in Proverbs 19:17 – “He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given.” NKJV.  Additionally, we see in Proverbs 28:27 – “He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.” NKJV

In the passage above we find explicit directions for caring for widows who are truly widows.  Paul goes on to say in verse 8 that anyone who will not care for those of his own family is worse than an unbeliever or as the KJV says “worse than an infidel.”  Compare that to some politicians and public figures who have known families that they do not care for although they themselves are worth millions.  That is not godly.

Paul wanted and believed that God wanted people to work for in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 – “…If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” NKJV God is not interested in us being lazy but diligently involved in being productive.  He wants us to share that which we have with those who are less fortunate than ourselves, but the restriction is that if a person is lazy and refuses to work, they Get No Help and Get No Food!  It won’t take long until they move out of that mentality if we put that policy into place.

As a believer, I should take care of the needy!  The family should care for its own and the church should and could do the job that it has been commissioned to do.  In doing so, I am totally convinced and have proven through the years that God will supply abundantly when this takes place. 

It is high time that we, as believers, take up our mantle of responsibility and as leaders demand that biblical guidelines are followed not giving handouts to those who are unwilling to do anything to better themselves.  We should be about “hand ups” not “handouts” per se.  Anyone can fall on hard times and most of us have experienced that fate.  Yet, most of us have been willing to work at any job to provide for ourselves and our families even if it was beneath our training or skill level and even if it was, in our view, demeaning.  It was temporary!

Like Alan Jackson said in one of his songs, “I’ve shoveled manure till my pride hurt” just to get ahead.  I’ve done many menial and lowly tasks to earn a dollar to buy food, clothes, gasoline, or pay a doctor bill for my children.  I never felt that anyone owed me anything and that if I put forth an effort that God would come through on my behalf and He Always Has!  It was not always in the way I expected it or in the time frame that I requested it but It Always Came Through! 

Therefore, trust God and be willing to get your hands dirty if need be!  Be a doer, not a taker!  One day you will be in a position to be a giver as a result of your willingness to work and your willingness to help others. 

God bless you as you go through your day!

John 10:10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” NKJV

I could go completely political here, but I will resist the temptation and keep my focus on the most important, the spiritual.  We have a complete record called the Bible that identifies the purpose and intent of the devil is to destroy, kill, steal, wound, and discourage.  That same record declares that it is God’s purpose to give life and not just life but Abundant Life!

I am always amazed at how many choose to believe the “lie” of the devil rather than the “truth” of God.  I should not be because man, in human flesh, operates out of his carnal nature with is depraved and base.  It focuses on the immediate, the feelings, and is completely self-centered, whereas the spirit of man attuned to the Spirit of God and receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ operates on a higher plane and God is the center, not self.

No wonder the Bible says that “the pleasures of sin are but for a season.”  I never said that sin did not contain an element of fun in it or pleasure it just said that it was temporary and would not last.  On the other hand, the Life that Jesus comes to bring is Eternal, not temporary. 

We can satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life and perish or we can reach outward and upward to the Life that God offers and Live Forever!  It is a simple choice if you use any semblance of logic or reason.  Even the Scripture tells us “come now let us reason together….”  Showing that the mind is involved in the Salvation experience, for Jesus warned of a man beginning the process of building a house and not counting the cost.  We need to be aware that following God will cost us something with regard to the flesh, but the rewards far outweigh the costs.

So, if you are still wrestling with the decision of trusting and following Jesus or following your own selfish desires please make the choice to follow Jesus.  He is standing at the door now knocking and if you will open the door to your heart He will come in and dine with you and bring you the fruit of Eternal Life!

May God be with you as you go through your day!  Blessings!