THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
We are given a choice to follow God with His Wisdom or rely on the worldly wisdom given to us at birth
“22 The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. 23 It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.”
Proverbs 10:22-23 (KJV)
1 John 1
Jesus is LIFE
1 John 1:1 (KJV), “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life.”
The Son of God, with whom was from the beginning, was given to us as JESUS
1 John 1:2-3 (KJV), “2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us😉 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
John’s unique message to us
1 John 1:5 (KJV), “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”
Do not deceive yourself thinking you have no sin
1 John 1:8 (KJV), “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
There is only one way to cleanse the sin we are born into and to continually cleanse us
1 John 1:7 (KJV), “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Hebrews 11
Our faith is in God
Hebrews 11:1-3 (KJV), “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good report. 3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”
No amount of works, no amount of money, no amount of charity work, without faith will gain you eternal salvation
Hebrews 11:6 (KJV), “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
THE IMPORTANCE OF FAITH
God, through the pen of the writer, wanted to show the new Messianic Jews how their fathers:
Abraham
Hebrews 11:17 (KJV), “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son.”
Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
Hebrews 11:20-22 (KJV), “20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff. 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.”
Moses
Hebrews 11:23-25 (KJV), “23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. 24 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”
Joshua & Rahab
Hebrews 11:30-31 (KJV), “30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. 31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.”
The writer of Hebrews could go on and on
Hebrews 11:32-35 (KJV), “32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.”
through their unyielding faith in God, endured all trials and still never received the promise
Hebrews 11:39-40 (KJV), “39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”
Jeremiah 15 The Lord Will Not Relent
The Jews continually forsook God no matter what God had given them. When anything started to go awry they immediately sought out different gods. Even the priests began seeking other gods to where there was no one to offer sacrifices to. We are truly blessed that God turned over the High Priesthood to Jesus who became our sacrifice.
Because of their track record, no amount of pleading was going to stop God from going forward
Jeremiah 15:1 (KJV), “Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.”
Proverbs 10 Wise Sayings of Solomon
God rewards those who are not lazy
Proverbs 10:3-5 (KJV), “3 The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked. 4 He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich. 5 He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.”
Try not to put yourself into a situation where a discussion, debate, or anything where you are not able stop and think what to say before you say it
Proverbs 10:19 (KJV), “In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.”
[1] Ezekiel 14 Idolatry Will Be Punished
Reminder: God sent the Babylonians to capture the House of Judah, and He sent the Assyrians to conquer the House of Israel
The house of Israel continued their worship of false idols. The world today also continues to put everything on a plateau higher than God. This shows us that no matter what healing, strength, or wealth we are given, God continues to be forsaken.
Ezekiel 14:4-5 (KJV), “4 Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; 5 That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.”
So how does this concern us today?
Hebrews 13:8 (KJV), “Jesus Christ [God] the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
Keep these words in your heart today
Ezekiel 14:6-8 (KJV), “6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: 8 And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”
How does this apply to us?
Israel was God’s chosen people.
Deuteronomy 7:6 (KJV), “For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.”
We now become God’s chosen people as Paul was conveying this to the Colossians
Colossians 3:12 (NIRV), “You are God’s chosen people. You are holy and dearly loved. So put on tender mercy and kindness as if they were your clothes. Don’t be proud. Be gentle and patient.”
Judgment on Persistent Unfaithfulness
Ezekiel 14:12-13 (KJV), “12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it.”
Ezekiel 14:12-13 (NKJV), “12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: 13 “Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cutoff man and beast from it.”
Compare the two
Trespassing or persistent
Strong’s Concordance (4604) – maal: an unfaithful or treacherous act. Brown-Driver-Briggs – a. unfaithful, treacherous act.
Grievously or unfaithfulness
Strong’s Concordance (4603) – maal: to act unfaithfully or treacherously. Brown-Driver-Briggs – in the matter of the devoted thing.
The word treachery is repeated for emphasis
God tells Ezekiel that no matter who was in the land, the land would be devastated
Ezekiel 14:14 (KJV), “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 14:16-20 (KJV), “16 even though these three men were [a]in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters; only they would be delivered, and the land would be desolate. 17 “Or if I bring a sword on that land, and say, ‘Sword, go through the land,’ and I cut off man and beast from it, 18 even though these three men were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither sons nor daughters, but only they themselves would be delivered. 19 “Or if I send a pestilence into that land and pour out My fury on it in blood, and cut off from it man and beast, 20 even though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live,” says the Lord God, “they would deliver neither son nor daughter; they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.””
[1] He was among the second group of captives taken to Babylon
Grow in the Word of the Lord 