"Proverbs Of Ashes"

"Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, your defenses are defenses of clay." (Job 13:12)

I'm sure I must have written on this before, but it is a "haunting" text, "....platitudes... of ashes...."  My Lord and my God, I hear this so much; may I never utter such.  Job's three friends "wrote the book" on this.  Some of the things they said seem to be "good," yet Father rebuked them sternly at the "end of the discussion."  Could it be that they were saying some "good things" that were not rooted in His Words, but simply, "platitudes," and, "proverbs of ashes," which they picked up in some Bible discussion and/or "worship gathering?"  

When I was a teenager, I was one day saying, "Praise the Lord," several times.  My Grandpa and Grandma Barnette happened to be visiting us.  At one point, when I uttered my, "Praise the Lord," my Grandpa said to me, "Make sure you mean that."  It was a sobering moment for me.  You and I both know that people can utter their, "Praise the Lord," but it not be written in their heart and mind.

So many say the same things "big name" people say, or others whom they admire say, just because, well, others say them.  This is, "....platitudes...of ashes."  They have become popular, "shibboleths," and it is almost as though if you do not get on board with the latest catch phrases, if you don't say what "the prophet is saying," you are not walking "in the Spirit."  This is classic "following the crowd."  This is not what you and I need today.  Say "words" which Jesus has given you, His Words, Words written, "in your heart." 

I can tell you with absolute certainty that if it were not for the Words of Jesus, "God-Breathed," the Bible, I would not have survived the past 46 years.  I did not need, "....platitudes [which] are proverbs of ashes."  I needed the Words of Jesus, which He said if a person hears and obeys, they will be that, "dug deep and laid the foundation on the Rock."  Build on Jesus' Words, "[]our defenses are defenses of clay," will have no place in us, because they will not just belong to others.  They/He will be ours.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I know I may not have communicated well what You have shown me in the text, but I pray You say Your Word to my friend.  Amen.

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* Next Wednesday to DC
* Devotional at:   apfdevotionals.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"To Him Belong Strength And Insight"

"To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are His.  What He tears down cannot be rebuilt....To Him belong strength and insight; both deceived and deceiver are His....He takes off the shackles put on by kings....He silences the lips of trusted advisers....He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into light.  He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them.  He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; He makes them wander in a trackless waste.  They grope in darkness with no light; He makes them stagger like drunkards." (Job 12, NIV)

Flag of Maldives

Maldives was the country to pray for on Open Doors' Prayer Force for today.  One Believer recently told Open Doors, "As long as there is no Bible in my language, there is no hope for my people."  Maldives is ranked 13th on the  Open Doors' "World Watch List," a list of the nations which have state sponsored persecution of the Followers of Jesus Christ.  Their government is Islamic and very authoritarian.  Our text reveals the end of Maldives.  I wonder, however, what will the end be of The United States of America.

I do not quote Job's friends but I do quote Job, because the "friends" received rebuke from the Lord God and Job received affirmation, "....because you have not spoken the truth about Me, as my servant Job has."  Today's text is, "....the truth about Me...."  Our text describes the dealings of the Blessed Trinity among men and nations.  No personage nor nation is outside of the declaration of our text; and this includes America.  "He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and disperses them."  As proud as Americans may be, America is no exception to our text. 

I can frankly tell you that I will not vote for Hilary Clinton nor Bernie Sanders, for some very large reasons: They affirm laws which legalize the murder of the unborn and tout the virtues of homosexuality, lesbianism, and transgenders' access to restrooms of their choice.  They have little or no interest in helping other nations to stay free from global authoritarianism.  Some "intellectuals" may look at this as small mindedness.  They are just examples of, "He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason....They grope in darkness with no light...."  I will vote in November, and so must every Follower of Jesus.  It looks as though the cliche, "the lesser of two evils" will be the theme of my vote as never before.  I exhort the Followers of Jesus in America as well as those of other nations, Do not allow the reprobates to determine who rules in your nations.  Study carefully every party's platform and look for any positions which align themselves with Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.  In America, it is the Republican Party.  Trump is the least like this of any Republican for which I have voted since Goldwater, yet.............. 

Yes, this is a devotional, a devotional to call you and me to our text.  Read it carefully again and see the hand of Jesus in the affairs of men and nations.  See how any individual or nation will fair as they embrace either Jesus Christ and His Kingdom or Satan and his kingdom.  This is a very, very serious matter.  I do not fully understand our text and the implications in the perspective of history, but I do know that, "every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"/King.  

Father, in Jesus' Name, please give me the understanding I need to continue to walk, "in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but include1d a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

Do You "Understand"?

"A man (Hebrew word, "adam," better translated, "mankind") who is in honor, yet does not understand, is like the beasts that perish." (Psalm 49:20)

....literally, "that are destroyed," or, "cut off, ruined."  Isn't it amazing that you can "have it all," yet have nothing?  That is what, "The Word of God," is saying to you and me everyday, to everyone.

The NLT says, "People who boast of their wealth don't understand; they will die, just like animals."  No sugar-coated religious, "name-it-and-claim-it" here, no, "just declare it."  The only, "understand," in the Universe is in Jesus Christ.  The Bible says this many times.  Without Jesus, it doesn't matter how much money one has, how high the IQ, the perceptivity.  Now you know as well as I that most people do not believe this.  Regrettably, too many church-goers do not either.  They may nod their head while the preacher is preaching; they may say a hardy, "amen," but deep down, they look with envy upon those, "in honor," those, "....who boast of their wealth...."

There should never be, not for one moment, any regret about our state in life if Jesus reigns in us and we are abiding in Him.  This is, "A man who...does...understand."  People may look around them, look at their family, work place, culture and not understand what is taking place, but if, while they "look around," they are primarily, "Looking unto Jesus," they understand.  

This may not be an "earth shattering revelation" to you today, but maybe it is a gentle reminder while you are in what the hymn writer called, "where cross the crowded ways of life."  In that "crowd" are those who are living illustrations of today's text.  You, in the midst of that "crowded ways," are of the People who, "understand," the People of "the Book," People of the Cross, People of the Church and Kingdom of God/Heaven, People of Jesus Christ.

Father, in Jesus' Name, only in You do I have any understanding.  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

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Posted By Antipas Prayer Force: to Antipas Prayer Force Devotionals at 5/11/2016 12:53:00 PM

Sorry--It's From Today's Gospel Reading

"So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.'" (Mark 12:43, 44)

As I am writing this, the garbage truck came.  I remember in a sociology class in the university the professor said that people would probably rather give up paying pastors than the garbage collector.  While that sounds harsh, he did not mean it that way.  He was simply stating the current condition in America---------- in the 1960s.  What must it be now?  Giving in Christendom is down across the board, and if you watch "Christian" television, you can see the effects of that.  Asking, yes, even begging for money is on the increase.  The old saying is not cliche.  People will put their money, not where their mouth is, but where their heart is.  Mouth is cheap; heart is "expensive."  Where is your heart today?

You and I do pay for what we have to pay for and what we really want.  Most of us will sacrifice much to get what we want.  The woman in our text, however, gave to the Living Triune God, "all that she had, her whole livelihood."  One might say, "How can that be?"  I don't know, but she did.  Jesus shows us here that, "all she had," she considered to be His.  It is, you know.  I still marvel how over the years our Lord Jesus Christ has provided for us.  I still cannot figure out the "math" of it.  It literally does not "add up" many times.  A preacher once said that "if you give God too much, He can give you change."  One Believing entrepreneur many years ago would give 90% of his income to Jesus Christ and His Church/Kingdom.  When asked how he did it, he replied, "Well, God shovels it in and I shovel it out, and God has a bigger shovel."

Of course the Word of Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than receive," is not necessarily confined to money.  "Consider Jesus," for a moment.  He gave Himself to us.  That is giving, "all [He] had, His whole 'livelihood.'"  In order for you and me to, "enter the Kingdom," to become members of His Body, the Church, Jesus gave up His exclusive "rights" to the Kingdom, even "exclusive" Sonship so that you and I can be called, "the children of God."  Jesus could have been selfish with His relationship with/in Father and the Holy Spirit, but, then again, no He couldn't; He is Jesus.  He chose to share in the relationship with you and me.

Father, in Jesus' Name, may I, "....put in all [I] ha[ve]."  Amen. 
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* 2016 Berlin Mission, October 5-27
* More Developments on the Future of the EU--- Unfolding of prophetic events before our eyes.  Read the story at:  jhs58.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2

"But Christ...the Good Things...."

"But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come....Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."  (Hebrews 9:11, 12)

It can be, "the good things to come," or, "the good things that have come."  It is really both.

It's the Book of Hebrews time of the quarter.  What a Book/Letter/Theology,  "But Christ...."  This is the theme of this Book and The Book.  This is why it is hated by so many, "But Christ...."  This is why it is loved by so many, "But Christ...."

Jesus is, "High Priest of the good things to come," and, "High Priest of the good things," which have come already and were foretold by the prophets.  If there is any good in your past or future, in my past or future, in the past or future of any nation, it is only in, "But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come."  What was the Supreme, "....good things to come..."?  It is found in verse 12, "Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption."  Jesus, "obtained eternal redemption," for you and me, "once for all."

If you are struggling with the reality that you have been, "accepted in the Beloved," Jesus, then take another look at our text.  "....the good things to come," or, "the good things that have come," came to the whole human race in Jesus Christ, "once for all."  When Jesus died on His Cross, He died to, "destroy the works of the devil," to, "obtain eternal redemption," for you and me, "once for all."  The song says, "Tis done, the great transaction's done, I am my Lord's and He is mine."  Walk in Jesus', "once for all," today.  Stop the condemnation, the regrets, the can't-accept-the, "once for all."  That is the only way to enjoy the day.

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for, "But Christ...once for all."  Amen.
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It has come to my attention that a different format of my devotionals may be easier for some to read.  You can access a different "format" at:    apfdevotionals.blogspot.com

Be sure to use "Google."  Some other search engines do not bring it up properly.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

Hebrews 12:2