The Devotional

What does Papa “J” Say?

A promise that only God can keep. It is when Jesus shook hands with His Father and said. “Yes, I will go and be surety for my friends! Satan then thought, “This now is my hour of revenge, I have snared Him” Proverbs 6:1-2

We really need to take another look at these two verses. Yesterday, to save time I used the Devotional message for later in the day when I would be preaching in the Providence Rescue Mission. I took a copy of the devotional with me to study more intently, to sort of mold it into twenty minutes of the circumstances of life and how the gospel of Jesus Christ has victory over the sins of our circumstances. I never got past verses one and two of Proverbs 6. The Hebrew word for a hand shake, or stricken hands in verse one literally means to slap hands together like giving someone a “high five” Then it was as if the LORD was telling me that there was this agreement in Eternity when God the Father said to Jesus His Son. “I have this plan of redemption for Our lost friends. It will require Your visit to earth in human flesh, where you will give up that flesh for the sin of the world and die. Those who believe will enter into Our friendship and experience the same resurrection as You will have. You have the power to lay that life down and the power to raise it up again. At that meeting God the Father and God the Son slapped a high five and the agreement became a covenant we call the New Covenant. John 15:9-17 and Hebrews 10:5-10

The Gospel of John

John 11:28-37 The last enemy that the human can face is death. The greatest murderer that the history of man has ever known is the master of all murderers. His name is Satan, as we seen in chapter ten we found that Satan is called by Jesus a thief and a killer. First, Satan stole your identity of being created in the image and likeness of God. Genesis 1:26. After this; God in His grace allowed humans to be procreated in the image and likeness of their parents. Genesis 5:1-3.

God found it necessary to remove His Life from you and thus your eternal relationship with God was severed or put to death. This was not enough for Satan, he also through sin destroyed or killed your flesh. Romans 5:12ff. So here is the thought, abundant life found only in the garden before the fall was stolen away from mankind by the work of the devil. Death reigns in the person of Adam. But praise God, the New Covenant allows for those who believe in Jesus to be re-birthed in the resurrection to abundant life through Christ who is Risen. John 10:10

When someone dies, there are so many emotions that take over the body. People mourning the loss of a loved one is a pain that for the moment seems unable to bare. Those standing by to comfort find themselves weeping over the loss too. Jesus weeps, He weeps for you, for you to give Him the life you now live. He, like you knows all to well that you cannot keep it sinless as He kept His and pleased His Father. Give Him your sinful life and He will give you His sinless life in return. Notice what Jesus says in John 12:27-32.

1 Chronicles 7:14 THIS NATION NEEDS TO REPENT, PRAY FOR THE NATION!

The Devotional

What does Papa “J” Say?

A dangerous promise is one that you cannot afford to keep! Standing in the gap for a friend, a neighbor or even a loved one is often a trap. The Prowler takes advantage in these agreements most of the time. Proverbs 6:1-5

We must be free, not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it. James Faulkner (There is little practice of freedom or righteousness! Oh! but we do let our children practice all sorts of sports).

The ostrich is a bird that does not fly, it eats plants and insects. An adult can weight 350 pounds, yet it can run at a speed of seventy miles per hour. It has a very long neck, their entire height from the ground can range from six to nine feet. Their eyes are very large and they can see a great distance. Maybe we should change the Symbol of our Great United States from the American Bald Eagle to the African flightless ostrich. As you may or may not know, the ostrich looks a little overweight like many of us in the United States and when frightened the ostrich will lie flat on the ground or run as fast as it can away from the trouble. Our voice to the nations these days is “flat” and the speed at which we travel in the loss of allies is alarming. Yes, even the eyes of the ostrich are protected from the brightness of sun by large eyelashes. It just seems to me that many people in this great land have eye protection too. They have willingly blocked out the Son of God for the practice of ungodliness. Abortion, same sex marriages, adulteress relationships, drugs, alcohol, pornography and last but not least – disobedience to parents which maybe is the number one cause! Romans 1:18-32 The strength of a nation begins in the home, Romans 1:30.

The Gospel of John

John 11:17-27 The gospel of John is all about the love of God and the Good News. In every chapter and in every paragraph the apostle explains to us his experiences with Jesus. At the end of this gospel, in John 21:7 he writes these words at the beginning of the verse. “Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved...” John is writing of himself, he was so taken by the truth that God loved him that throughout the epistle he proclaims this to his readers. John 13:23 and John 20:2.

As I said at other times, God loves us, even while we sin as Romans 5:8 clearly states, Christ died for us. It is important for us to place in our heart these two facts: ONE, we “all peoples of the world are sinners by birth. The condemnation of just being a sinner is death. TWO, Jesus died for the sin of the world. John 3:15-21. Sinners perish, those who are saved from being sinners are those who believe in the death of Jesus. His sinless death for your sinful death is a trade off that you cannot afford to miss out on.

Jesus said to Martha. “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live, and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” This is the most important question you will ever face in life, after you are dead you will not get a second chance. Speak to God in prayer ask Him to show you this truth and agree with God that Jesus is the resurrection and the life and live with Him eternally. That is His Plan for you, what's yours?