THE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Always give God the credit He deserves
“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Proverbs 3:6 (KJV)
Devotion for today
No matter what is going on in your life or in your surroundings, God has intentionally placed you in this. He has and always will ‘have your back’. Take time and try to understand and recognize why God has put you or us in these particular situations. Seek Him. Once He reveals this to you or just gives you an inkling of insight, you will have an idea on how to move forward.
From Genesis 11: Terah’s Descendants
Genesis 11:27-29 (KJV), “27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. 28 And Haran died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldees. 29 And Abram and Nahor took them wives: the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.”
Now to continue with Genesis 12
Move on in life, break ties and allow God to begin a new
Genesis 2:24 (KJV), “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Ephesians 5:31 (KJV), “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.”
Genesis 12:1-3 (KJV), “1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.”
Habakkuk 2
Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV), “Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”
This brief statement from the prophet Habakkuk is one of the most important, and most quoted Old Testament statements in the New Testament – Paul used it to show that the just live by faith, not by law – Being under the law isn’t the way to be found just before God, only living by faith is
Romans 1:17 (KJV), “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”
Hebrews 10:38 (KJV), “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
Galatians 3:11 (KJV), “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.”
2 Corinthians 10
Paul is going to face the Corinthians Christians that have said things against him, firmly but mightily in God
2 Corinthians 10:1 (KJV), “Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 (KJV), “3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;).”
Ephesians 6:13 (KJV), “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.”
Though some of the Corinthian Christians have criticized Paul with language unfitting of a Christian, Paul refuses to confront them in like manner
2 Corinthians 10:4 (KJV), “(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;).”
The following is an excerpt from an early Christian writing that described Paul
[1]“A man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked.”
Paul diagnoses the problem with the Corinthian troublemakers. They are looking only at the outward appearances, and by outward appearances, Paul was weak and unimpressive
2 Corinthians 10:7 (KJV), “Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? if any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s.”
Proverbs 3
Allow the instructions of God, as disseminated by Solomon, lengthen and strengthen your days
Proverbs 3:1 (KJV), “My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments.”
Some translations replace the word ‘commandments’ with ‘law’, in either case…
Brown-Driver-Briggs – 1. instruction: a. human:: of a father.
Solomon is instructing us to not forget what he is telling us
- Allow God to give you the understanding He has to allow you to maneuver your way through life
When those obscure incidents come along and we don’t have a clue what’s going on
Proverbs 3:5 (KJV), “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Proverbs 2:6 (KJV), “For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”
2 Timothy 2:7 (KJV), “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”
1 Corinthians 2:12 (KJV), “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know [understand] the things that are freely given to us of God.”
Don’t give anyone else other than God the credit for any achievement or success you have in life
Proverbs 3:7-9 (KJV), “7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. 8 It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. 9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.”
Proverbs 3:6 (KJV), “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
The tree of life
(1) What is the tree of life? (2) How did we lose it? (3) How can we get it back?
(1) WHAT IS THE TREE OF LIFE?
Genesis 2:9 (KJV), “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
More details concerning the tree of life come after Adam and Eve’s sin
Genesis 3:22 (KJV), “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.”
God’s intention was to give Adam and Eve eternal life in existence with Him. It was a mercy that God kept us from the tree of life. By barring access to the tree of life
(2) HOW DID WE LOSE IT?
Genesis 3:24 (KJV), “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
God showed compassion in His omniscience. Knowing that, because of sin, earthly life would be filled with sorrow and toil, God graciously limited the number of years men would live. To live eternally in a sinful state would mean endless agony for humanity, with no hope of the relief that comes with death.
(3) HOW CAN WE GET IT BACK?
To understand God’s wisdom and apply it in life grants us a way to the tree of life, eternal happiness and fruitfulness with Him
Proverbs 3:13 (KJV), “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.”
Proverbs 3:18 (KJV), “She [wisdom] is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.”
Proverbs 11:30 (KJV), “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.”
Proverbs 13:12 (KJV), “Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire [wisdom] cometh, it is a tree of life.”
Proverbs 15:4 (KJV), “A wholesome tongue [wisdom] is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”
Romans 11
Even though the Israelites had initially rejected Jesus, this does not mean that God have up on them
Romans 11:1-2 (KJV), “1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew.”
Israel’s rejection gave leeway to the Gentiles and gave them the riches, how much more would God give His people
Romans 11:11-12 (KJV), “11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. 12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”
Remember what Jesus told the multitude on the mount
Matthew 6:26 (KJV), “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?”
Paul told the Gentiles if God can accept them into His kingdom, how much more would He allow His people back in
Romans 11:23-24 (KJV), “23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?”
[1] Cited in Kruse
Grow in the Word of the Lord 