Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding. What the wicked dreads will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
Proverbs 10:23-24 ESV
Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.
Acts 13:38-39 ESV
Proclaiming the Forgiveness of Sins through Jesus Christ – FormerAtheist58
Run to Jesus – Sovereign Grace Music
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The infinite, eternal God works within time and space to sovereignly bring about his perfect plan. Wait on Him. Trust Him. He’s worthy.
Acts 10:17-18 ESV β Now while Peter was inwardly perplexed as to what the vision that he had seen might mean, behold, the men who were sent by Cornelius, having made inquiry for Simonβs house, stood at the gate and called out to ask whether Simon who was called Peter was lodging there.
Trust the God of Perfect Timing β²οΈ β€οΈ β – FormerAtheist58
How Great Thou Art – Stephen McWhirter
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Acts 9:4-5 ESV β And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, βSaul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?β And he said, βWho are you, Lord?β And he said, βI am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
John 15:19 ESV β If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Don’t be surprised if the world hates you. As a Christian, you should expect persecution. If your life is easy, if you never have to defend your faith, if no one is accusing you of being stupid for following Jesus, you need to get out more! Take a risk. Speak the name of Jesus. Refuse to hide your light under bushel. Remember, it’s really HIM they’re persecuting.
Who are they Persecuting? YOU or JESUS? – FormerAtheist58
By Faith – Keith and Kristyn Getty
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There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.
Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.”
Acts 8:18-22 ESV
Are You a Spirit-Led Follower of Jesus Christ? – FormerAtheist58
That’s Who I Praise – Brandon Lake
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Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Acts 4:18-20 ESV β βSo they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.’β
I, too, can’t help but speak of what I’ve seen and heard, what I’ve experienced first hand. I’ve been changed by the risen Christ. I’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit. And I can’t keep it to myself. How about you?
Trust in the Lord with all your Heart – FormerAtheist58
“yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”
Proverbs 2:3-5 ESV
βAnd now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,
Acts 3:17-19 ESV
Heavenly Father, Draw men and women around the globe to cry out to You, to seek wisdom diligently, to search Your Word like they would mine for gold and diamonds. Let us be ignorant no more. We are without excuse. You have revealed Yourself in creation and in the scriptures. Equip us and send us out as mature believers, to be faithful teachers and heralds of this good news. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Want Wisdom? Repent and Seek
Jesus, We Repent – Stephen McWhirter
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I remember as a new believer in Christ, 30+ years ago, needing to be taught how to pray. Have you ever felt that way? Do you feel that way now? Do you wish you knew how to talk with God? The scriptures are a great place to learn, especially Colossians.
I’m praying for my children, but you might be praying for yourself, your husband, your future husband, or someone else altogether. I hope these words help bend your heart and life toward God.
Heavenly Father, thank You for each of the children that You have given me as well as their spouses and children. Each of them is a gift from Your good hands.
I pray that their hearts will be encouraged and knit together in love with one another and with You. I pray that they may reach all the riches of the full assurance of faith through the understanding and knowledge of Jesus Christ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Protect them from those who want to deceive and confuse them with worldly philosophy and plausible arguments. Give them insight through Your Holy Spirit and through Your written Word. Please, Father, be with them while we are apart. Put strong Christians into their lives. Help them to walk faithfully in Christ, being rooted and built up in Him, established in their faith as they have been taught, with hearts full of thanksgiving.
Grow their faith in Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church and all things, and in whom the whole fullness of deity dwells. Help them to hold fast to Him from whom the whole body is nourished and knit together that they might grow wise and strong in heart, mind, and body.
Help them to put off their fleshly desires and put on Christ, being clothed in His righteousness and made alive with Him. For Your glory and the building up of the body we pray, in the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
The sixth advent devotional in βFrom Creation to Christβ along with Luke 6. If you donβt have your own copy, you can order your own a Kindle version instantly, while you wait for the paper copy to arrive.
When we read the story of Jacob dreaming about a ladder set up on earth reaching to heaven, let’s pay careful attention to Genesis 28:13-14, where the Lord repeats the promise He had made to Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, telling Jacob that, “The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring. Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
I was reminded of Galatians 3.
“And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” β¦ Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. β¦ But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Galatians 3:8, 16, 25-29 ESV
Friends, though there are many children of Abraham, there is only one ladder by which anyone can reach God, that is Abraham’s one offspring, Christ, the Son of God.
Then, turning to Luke 6, I noticed in verses 17 and 18 that “[Jesus] came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.”
According to Got Questions, “Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities north of Israel.” And in Luke 10:13, Jesus compares the cities of Galilee (Chorazin and Bethsaida) with these Gentiles cities, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.” (You can read more about Tyre and Sidon in Matthew 11:20-24, Matthew 15:21-28.)
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) It is by faith in Him that we can come to the Father now and for all eternity. All the nations will be blessed through the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, through Messiah Jesus, the Promised, Long-Awaited Seed.
Heavenly Father, I pray that You will use me to bless the nations of the world. Draw all men to Yourself by faith in Jesus Christ, Your Only Begotten Son. Send Your children out to preach the good news in the corners and in the marketplaces, from the rooftops and through the airwaves. Bring the nations in! We want heaven to be filled with every nation, tribe, people, and tongue to the praise of Your glorious name. In the Name of Jesus Christ who is the Only Way to You, Father, we pray. Amen.
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