April Devotion

IT’S WHO YOU KNOW
“Through Him” Ephesians 2:18

AN OLD SAYING

No one seems to know for sure the origin of that old saying, ‘It’s not what you know but who you know that matters.’ I think most of us have heard it, however. Most often it is employed when someone or some group believes that someone or some group has received favorable treatment because of a connection with someone who has influence. We have all heard about folks using the influence of others to:

• Secure a job over a more qualified applicant
• Gain admittance into a college or university in the place of other more qualified students
• Use political influence to gain advantage in some way

We could go on and on with examples, but you get it.

THE KEY IS ACCESS

When folks benefit in this way it is usually because of access they or someone assisting them have to a person who has influence because of their position, family or financial means. A phone call is made or a whispered conversation is held and the deed is done. The fix is in. And the more power or influence the person has the greater the assist can be.

ACCESS IN THE BIBLE

Access is not just available in the natural. Scripture talks about the access a believer has. It is not to a well-connected person who can assist us temporarily, but our access is through the Spirit to, “The Father” (Ephesians 2:18). No questionable means have to be employed to benefit from it. It is not tapped into by a whispered phone call or a deal made in the dark. No rather the Bible says, “We have access by faith” (Romans 5:2). The faith God has dealt to every man a measure (Romans 12:3). And not only is there no shame associated with this access, Scripture tells us to use our God-given faith and the access it affords with boldness and confidence (Ephesians 3:12). Because that access grants us:

• The grace wherein we stand – Romans 5:2
• Reason to rejoice in hope of the glory of God – Romans 5:2

So let the world keep their temporary access to mere men who they know. I’ll stick with the access I have to the God of the universe who I know.
Bro. Jim Maynor

Faa login para compartilhar, curtir, comentar, etc !

February Devotion

DIVINE FULFILLMENT

“Fulfill” Matthew 5:17



LESSONS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT



I am dismayed by many who are saying we should ignore the Old Testament as many younger folks are turned off by a God who sanctioned and actually commanded His people at times to go to war with their enemies. And in case you think this is a fringe view, it is the position taken by the pastor of the second most attended church in America. The best response to the immature demands should be increased instruction in the Word rather than acquiescence to people’s unwise requests. The Old Testament has so much to teach us. I cannot even begin to catalog all we can receive from studying its pages. However, I will mention two of its most important lessons.



God, who is holy, demanded of His people that they obey His holy law in order to be in relationship with Him and receive His blessings.
Man was completely unable to fulfill that command because of the weakness of His flesh and the evil present in his carnal nature.


If you accept Scripture as God’s Word, the truths contained in these two lessons are irrefutable. They illustrate the rock and the hard place, the irresistible force meeting, the immovable object that mankind faced once sin entered the picture through Adam’s willful, disobedient action in defiance of God’s instructions. And man was unable to solve this problem: full stop. It is the Old Testament that makes this so clear.



THE ANSWER TO THIS DILEMNA IS FOUND IN THE NEW TESTAMENT



And these two lessons, found in the Old Testament, lead us directly to the heart of the New Testament. This dilemma had to be solved, to allow mankind to have the relationship with God that He desired for us to enjoy. And so Jesus came.



FULFILLMENT NOT DESTRUCTION



But Jesus, who never broke one tenant of God’s law, said He did not come to destroy the law or toss the Old Testament into the trash can. The law laid out in the Old Testament is where we learn the difference between behaviors that please God and those that displease Him. Those lessons are not meant to be discarded. They should rather be studied. Because what Jesus did by fulfilling the law, released us not from the wisdom of the law, but from the penalty due us when we break it. By not breaking the law, Jesus was able to become the sacrificial penalty for our sins in a way the animal sacrifice system of the Old Testament never could. His sacrifice eternally does away with the penalties demanded by the law when we sin. Believers should embrace the Old Testament, as it was the path to the New Testament. Praise the Name of Jesus!

Faa login para compartilhar, curtir, comentar, etc !

A needed reminder today:

The challenge:
Ephesians 6:12-13
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The strategy:
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Faa login para compartilhar, curtir, comentar, etc !

Psalm 136:1
O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Faa login para compartilhar, curtir, comentar, etc !

In the Old Testament God repeatedly reminded His people as they waited on a promise He had given them to come to pass to not be discouraged. I think He would say that to us today

Faa login para compartilhar, curtir, comentar, etc !