This site is dedicated to presenting insightful and helpful Christian Bible-based devotionals that may help one to lead a Christian life to the glory of the Heavenly Father and His Son.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

1 Peter 1:16 - You Shall Be Holy

It is written, "You shall be holy; for I am holy."  - 1 Peter 1:16, World English; see Leviticus 11:44.

The Church must be holy; else God would never deal with them. This principle also applies to the angels; they must be holy in order to have the favor of Jehovah. And so mankind must become holy before they can be pleasing to the Father or have any fellowship with Him. God has a will for the sanctification of the whole world of mankind. But He is not exercising that will at present; He is now seeking only the class which is to compose the glorified Church of the future.  -- Excerpt from "Church Called to Sanctification", Sermon by C. T. Russell. 

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The Greek word for "holy" signifies "set apart", meaning something that is set apart for some special purpose. The same word is also often translated as "saint", which refers to one who is consecrated / dedicated to the service of God. While many may consecrate or dedicate themselves for this or that purpose, or even to God, in the end, it is God Himself, through Christ, that makes one truly holy (consecrated). 

Our own holiness or consecration to Jehovah, our God, can only be through our heart, as we always seek to bring every thought into subjection to Jehovah's will. (2 Corinthians 10:4,5) Such consecration involves constant attention in all our waking hours. It is not something that can be put on for a few hours of this or that service a week. While our minds can have such complete submission to the will of God, we will still, however, fall short in our flesh, because our flesh still has the frailties of the sinful flesh, made sinful due to the disobedience of Adam. Nevertheless, at the same time, what we think, what is found in our heart, will affect our conduct in the flesh, so that the closer we come to perfection in holy thinking, the more our flesh will respond in that direction. (Luke 6:45) Thus, the goal of our mind should be absolute holiness, a mind that is constantly set on and trusting Jehovah and His son. -- Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:7; 1 Corinthians 1:9. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Other comments:

Jesus, through his life, and through the things he taught carried a message of mercy, a message of peace, and even to the Jews who failed to keep the law, he said they were to be holy. The Jews, however, had been for centuries trying to be holy through obedience to law, but they had failed since sinful flesh will always fall short of the glory of God. Now, however, their Messiah had come, and things were different. Jesus' sacrifice of himself provided a way that those Jews could become dead to law, but regenerated as a child of God.  -- RRD.

As new creatures in Christ, we can be fully holy. Nevertheless, this does not mean that we in our bodies of sinful flesh are able to keep God's law in the absolute sense, any more than the Jews. The child of God does not keep God's Law in the sense that we totally and fully no longer have any imperfection of word, thought or actions. Through faith in Christ's sacrifice for us, however, all our imperfections, all our sins, are counted as being canceled due to faith in Christ. Thus, in God's sight, they do not exist. God looks upon us as sinless new creatures apart from the sinful flesh, and thus the new creature keeps the spirit of the Law in the heart, although the fallen flesh will fall short in doing so -- RRD.. 







Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Ephesians 5:15,16 -- Watch Carefully How You Walk

Therefore watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise; redeeming the time, because the days are evil.  - (Ephesians 5:15,16, World English)
The Greek word translated "watch carefully" as used above is not referring only to seeing with the physical eye, but includes the meaning: "to turn the thoughts or direct the mind to a thing, to consider, contemplate, to look at, to weigh carefully, examine" and it also includes the meaning of "turning towards any quarter". For the child of God, it denotes being aware of one's surroundings, not with the thought of experiencing all the evil that is around us, but rather that the new creature is to be on the lookout for recognition of various forms of evil, so that we might use our time wisely in harmony with God's will, and not with that which is evil. Such calls for wisdom that comes, not from man of sinful flesh, but rather from above. (James 3:15,17) Such wisdom seeks to know God's will in all things, and promotes loyalty to God and His Word regardless of circumstances and surroundings. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Other Comments:

Our watchfulness often depends on our ability to "see" things from the correct spiritual perspective. All of those who belong to Christ are at many different levels of spiritual development, and some may be able to see spiritual things more clearly than others. Paul speaks of those who, although consecrated, continue to think as babes in Christ. Often what one thinks up beyond what is written is then thought of as thinking "spiritually". As a result, one may walk according to the carnal wisdom, rather than according to the wisdom of God. 

We are told that we are to be "redeeming" the time. The Greek word "redeeming", as used here, may mean to "take full advantage of". The world offers many distractions from our service to God and Jesus, and such distractions can be time-consuming. We have to be mentally alert so that we do not become carried away with such distractions, and we fail to walk wisely before God. In all that we do, we should be constantly mindful of Jesus, his Father and the righteous principles they have given us in the Bible. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Related:

Because the Days Are Evil

Monday, January 26, 2015

Proverbs 4:32 -- Keep Your Heart

Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life. -- Proverbs 4:23, Green's Literal.

Our physical heart provides the sources of the blood that is pumped throughout our body, sustaining life in our body. The figurative heart pertains to our thoughts, desires, and affections. In proportion as our heart is primarily set on love for our Heavenly Father, our heart will produce righteous thoughts, desires, and affections. Although our body of sinful flesh may offer hindrance, the heart stayed on Jehovah will produce activities that are in harmony with the love of and service of Jehovah. If we do not seek to diligently keep our hearts in harmony with our God through Jesus, some evil ambition will undoubtedly creep in. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

More Comments:

The Hebrew word rendered "keep" is a verb that carries the meaning of "watch, guard, keep". The Hebrew word rendered as "diligence" is a noun that carries several meanings. It can refer to prison or a place of confinement. It can also mean to guard, to watch. These two words together appear to be referring to the thought that we need to protect our heart above all else we might need to guard or give our attention to. Our heart, of course, is referring to our inner thoughts, desires, motives, and ambitions. To the extent that we control our heart, such will be reflected in our actions. 

Jesus stated, "The things which proceed out of the mouth come forth out of the heart, and they defile the man. For out of the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies." (Matthew 15:18,19, World English)  He also stated: "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil, for out of the abundance of the heart, his mouth speaks." (Luke 6:45, World English) Our text harmonizes well with what Jesus said, showing how our heart influences who we are.

From the heart are the issues of life. The Hebrew word rendered as "issues" in the translation above also has a variety of meanings. Brown-Driver-Briggs gives it the following meanings: "outgoing, extremity, source(?), escape". Some translations render this word as "source" in Proverbs 4:32, but this definition may be questionable. Evidently, the only place in the Bible where some give it this meaning is in this verse. Nevertheless, as the physical heart pumps blood throughout our body, providing life, so our inner being, what we think, etc., can lead us on a path of righteousness, resulting in life, or on a path of what is bad, leading to death. Thus, it is indeed essential for us to guard our hearts, that we dwell on what is good in God's eyes, rather than on the foolish and bad thoughts that can lead one away from life.  -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

See also: Daily Heavenly Manna for January 27

Related Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 5:29; Deuteronomy 6:5,6; 1 Chronicles 28:9; 2 Chronicles 12:14; Psalm 22:26; Psalm 31:10; Psalm 57:7; Psalm 139:23,24; Proverbs 14:30; Proverbs 16:1; Isaiah 26:3; Jeremiah 17:9,10; Matthew 5:8; Matthew 9:4; Matthew 12:35; Matthew 15:18,19; Mark 7:21-23; Mark 14:38; Romans 2:5; Romans 10:8; Hebrews 3:8; Hebrews 4:12; Hebrews 12:15; James 1:14,15.

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Saturday, January 24, 2015

* Matthew 6:34 - Don't Be Anxious

Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient. -- Matthew 6:34, World English

Our Lord assures us that if the main thought of our hearts is His service and the promotion of righteousness and an attainment of the Kingdom, which God has promised to them that love Him, then we need carry no anxious cares respecting the future. As His disciples we will have trials and tribulations enough, day by day, and will need daily to lean upon Jehovah's arm as we seek to walk our narrow way. Sufficient for each day will be the evil of itself; and thanks be to God also, we have the promise that daily His grace shall be sufficient for us. -- Based on excerpt from: We Cannot Serve God and Mammon. Watch Tower, February 1, 1898, page 42 (R2259).

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The children of God, in seeking God's Kingdom and His righteousness as the primary thing in their lives, have no need to be anxious about their daily needs. This does not mean that we will have what our sinful flesh may deem to be necessary, but rather it is what God deems necessary according to His Will. Nor does it mean that we can neglect our earthly obligations. And yet, having trust and faith in our Heavenly Father, we should not become anxious about the future. Even the world recognizes that having negative thoughts about the future is detrimental to one's well-being, and this should apply even more so to the child of God whose faith and trust in the Heavenly Father. -- Ronald R. Day, Sr.

Related Scriptures: Exodus 16:18-20; 1 Kings 3:13; 17:4-6,14-16; Job 38:41; Psalm 34:9; Psalm 37:5; Psalm 37:25; Psalm 55:22; Psalm 104:10,11; Psalm 127:2; Psalm 147:9; Ecclesiastes 3:22; Lamentations 3:21-25; Jeremiah 17:7,8; Matthew 6:11; Matthew 6:25-33; Matthew 13:22; Luke 11:3; Luke 12: 24-26; Luke 12:31; Luke 21:34; John 14:27; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 8:32; 1 Corinthians 7:32,33; Philippians 4:6; 2 Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 13:5,6; 1 Peter 5:7.

STRENGTH SUFFICIENT

OH, ask not thou, "How shall I bear
The burden of tomorrow?"
Sufficient for the day the care,
Its evils and its sorrow,
God imparteth by the way
Strength sufficient for the day.

Related (We do not necessarily agree with all statements given):

"Worrying Needlessly"

"A Day At A Time"





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