“YOU DO NOT BELIEVE!”

 John 10:22-30                             (ESV)

I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE

“[22] At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, [23] and JESUS was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. [24] So the Jews gathered around HIM and said to HIM, “How long will YOU keep us in suspense? If YOU are the CHRIST, tell us plainly.” [25] JESUS answered them, “I told you, and “YOU DO NOT BELIEVE”. The works that I do in my FATHER’s NAME bear witness about ME, [26] but “YOU DO NOT BELIEVE” because you are NOT among MY sheep. [27] MY sheep hear MY VOICE, and I know them, and they follow ME. [28] I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and NO ONE WILL SNATCH THEM OUT OF THEM OUT OF MY HAND. [29] MY FATHER, WHO has given them to ME, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the FATHER’s HAND. [30] I AND FATHER ARE ONE.””

JESUS said in Ephesians 1:3-10 that “HE CHOSE US BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD”, so HE KNEW us long before we were born!  In John 10:30 HE says “I AND THE FATHER ARE ONE”!  So GOD the FATHER, GOD the SON, and GOD the HOLY SPIRIT fully KNEW us since BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD and CHOSE us anyway?!?

Why were we CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD?  We hadn’t even drawn a breath or done anything to advance HIS KINGDOM?!?  HE CHOSE us to fulfill HIS PURPOSE of using the “least of these” to accomplish HIS PLAN.  Moses was a stuttering person. David was a womanizing person. Paul was a murderer.  Yet HE CHOSE all of them to GLORIFY HIMSELF because HE knew what the outcome would be in their lives.  

Therefore, one must acknowledge that if we are CHOSEN, there MUST be those who are not CHOSEN!  Just as JESUS spoke in Matthew 10:27, “…NO ONE WILL SNATCH THEM OUT OF THEM OUT OF MY HAND”, HE also said in Matthew 10:25 “I told you, and “YOU DO NOT BELIEVE”!  

Has HE CALLED you???  Answer HIM while you still can!!!

“AWAKE, O SLEEPER!”

 Ephesians 5:6-21                     (ESV)

“[6] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of GOD comes upon the sons of disobedience. [7] Therefore do not become partners with them; [8] for at one time YOU WERE DARKNESS, but NOW YOU ARE THE LIGHT in the LORD. Walk as CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT [9] (for the fruit of LIGHT is found in all that is good and right and true), [10] and try to discern what is pleasing to the LORD. [11] Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. [12] For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. [13] But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, [14] for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 

    “”AWAKE, O SLEEPER”,

        and arise from the dead,

    AND CHRIST WILL SHINE ON YOU.”

    [15] LOOK CAREFULLY then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, [16] making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. [17] Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the LORD is. [18] And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the SPIRIT, [19] addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the LORD with your heart, [20] giving thanks always and for everything to GOD the FATHER in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, [21] submitting to one another out of reverence for CHRIST.”

This morning the word “AWAKE” was on my heart as I began my day.  “AWAKE, O SLEEPER” says to me that we all sleep from time to time, but some of us are CALLED to wake up and be USED BY OUR CREATOR for HIS GLORY!  

Are you CALLED to “AWAKE, O SLEEPER” and arise from the dead, AND CHRIST WILL SHINE ON YOU”???  It is “imperative” (Necessary or urgent) that we first “AWAKE, O SLEEPER” before CHRIST WILL SHINE IN YOU”!!!

“FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM!”

 January 10, 2022 is on the top of this devotional on my computer    Sharing AGAIN today because it is speaking to this humble servant !!!

FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM!”

Exodus 14:10-14                       (ESV)

“[10] When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and THEY FEARED GREATLY. And the people of Israel cried out to the LORD. [11] They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? [12] Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.” [13] And Moses said to the people, “”FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM”, and see the salvation of the LORD, which HE WILL WORK FOR YOU TODAY. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. [14] “THE LORD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU, and YOU HAVE ONLY TO BE SILENT.””

RECOGNIZE:: to accept or be aware that (something) IS TRUE or exists

Could it be that when we can’t SEE a way out of a situation that we find ourselves in, we are simply not looking in the proper place for it?  RECOGNIZING the HOLY SPIRIT when HE is leading you can alleviate FEAR from your response and allow you to STAND FIRM!  Rejecting, or just failing to SEE HIM will result in GREAT FEAR, causing life to be lived in defeatism.  For this unworthy vessel, RECOGNIZING that I have been delivered from “the evil one” FOR A PURPOSE is very humbling.  The CREATOR has a PLAN, not just for my life, but for HIS PURPOSE being fulfilled entirely!  

Moses had an encounter with THE ALMIGHTY on “Horeb, the mountain of YHWH” (Genesis 3:1)!  He KNEW YHWH, for THE ALMIGHTY had instructed Moses to get HIS Children delivered from the Pharaoh of Egypt, the most powerful man on earth at the present (Genesis 3:10).  On the other hand, the Children of Israel did not have the same familiarities in hearing from YHWH as Moses, possibly because they weren’t STILL enough to HEAR from THE CREATOR?  They could not RECOGNIZE GOD, because they weren’t looking, NOR EXPECTING HIM, to work on their behalf! 

Perhaps we might experience more frequent, abundant and DIVINE experiences in our lives IF we RECOGNIZED that ALMIGHTY GOD is over EVERYTHING that happens in “this world”(Isaiah 45:22-25)!  GOD provides every “breath” we breathe (Isaiah 42:5)!  Although we have to, BY GRACE, SEE that it ALL comes from HIM, we typically are moving TOO FAST to RECOGNIZE that HE controls everything, AND WE DON’T!!!  We simply need to “FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM” and let YHWH be GOD in our lives!!!

Typically, when we don’t RECOGNIZE the way forward in the situation we find ourselves in, we need to “FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM” and RECOGNIZE that YHWH is directing this show!  Like the Children of Israel in Exodus 14, the path forward might seem to be IMPOSSIBLE for man.  But just as it was when the Israelites were at the Red Sea, and just like when I was in the coma in 2007, I might need to “FEAR NOT, STAND FIRM” and let GOD perform HIS PLAN and let HIM get the GLORY!!!

“THEN THE SONS ARE FREE!”

Matthew 17:24-27                                       (ESV)

The Temple Tax

“[24] When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your TEACHER not pay the tax?” [25] He said, “Yes.” And when HE came into the house, JESUS spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” [26] And when he said, “From others,” JESUS said to him, “”THEN THE SONS ARE FREE”.  [27] However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. “Take that and give it to them for ME and for yourself.””

JESUS (GOD IN THE FLESH) was walking with some of HIS disciples.  In the first portion of Matthew 17, Peter, James and John were with JESUS as HE was TRANSFIGURED, which means “To change the form or appearance of; transform, or to exalt or glorify”!  Peter, James and John were BLESSED to SEE this happened, but don’t we have just as many BLESSINGS?

Later on in Matthew 17, they came to Capernaum and the “tax collectors” inquired whether JESUS paid “the tax”.  Peter replied “Yes”.  Peter’s swift response was typical, for he customarily “spoke without thinking”, something that I have seemingly ALWAYS been guilty of.  JESUS asked Peter a thought provoking question, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?”, to which Peter responded “From others”.  JESUS then ENLIGHTENED Peter with a statement that should TRANSFIGURE us!  

“THEN THE SONS ARE FREE” means that we, THE CHOSEN, are free from the PENALTY for sin!  JESUS followed that up by saying “However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. “Take that and give it to them for ME and for yourself.” 

The WORDS of JESUS are sometimes not given the opportunity to CHANGE my life because I don’t DWELL on them long enough!  “THEN THE SONS ARE FREE” says that WE (Believers) have our sin debt PAID by JESUS, but sometimes we need to pay like everyone else to not offend those who aren’t CHOSEN!  We need to ALWAYS remember however that JESUS paid the PRICE for us to be TRANSFIGURED and be declared “THEN THE SONS ARE FREE”!!!

“YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD!”

 Psalm 138:1-2                           (ESV$

Give Thanks to the LORD

Of David.

    “[1] I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;

        before the gods I sing your praise; 

    [2] I bow down toward YOUR holy temple

        and give thanks to YOUR NAME for YOUR steadfast love and your faithfulness,

        for YOU have exalted above all things

        “YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD”.”

The short video below is a man of GOD speaking TRUTH!

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3316531541972443?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&mibextid=0NULKw

“YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD” has been EXALTED above ALL THINGS by our CREATOR!  Why does most of humanity act as though “YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD” is something that can be recognized IF we choose to?  

King David wrote in Psalms 138:2 “I bow down toward YOUR holy temple and give thanks to YOUR NAME for YOUR steadfast love and your faithfulness, for YOU have exalted above all things “YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD”!  Now King David was “a man after GOD’s OWN HEART” (1 Samuel 13:14), therefore this isn’t just his opinion or feelings.  

Since “YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD” are elevated FAR ABOVE ALL THINGS by GOD ALMIGHTY, why doesn’t the majority of HIS CREATION recognize and appreciate them?  Because there IS NO acceptable answer, I will leave this here, but KNOW for a FACT that ONE DAY we will ALL recognize JESUS as the KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS!  It would be WISE to recognize “YOUR NAME and YOUR WORD” beforehand, because then it will be too late!!!

“MY OWN!”

 John 10:14                          (ESV)

“I AM the good shepherd. I know “MY OWN” and “MY OWN” know ME.”

When GOD was speaking to Moses in Exodus 3:14 HE said “I AM WHO I AM” when Moses asked  how the Israelites would identify HIM when Moses was delivering what GOD was telling Moses to tell them.  In the passage above, JESUS says “I AM the good shepherd. I know “MY OWN” and “MY OWN” know ME.”  We need to understand that the same BEING speaking to Moses is speaking to us in John 10:14!

The importance that JESUS says during HIS earthly ministry “I AM the good shepherd. I know “MY OWN” and “MY OWN” know ME.” only verifies to me that HE KNOWS me because HE CHOSE me BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (Ephesians 1:4), so HE knew then that HE was going to die for me!  

Having my EYES OPENED to SEE HIS sacrifice for me is a very humbling thing, that “I AM WHO I AM” came to earth on my behalf so HE could purchase the sin debt that I accrued and make me a part of HIS “MY OWN” is unfathomable to me, BUT I AM SO GLAD HE DID!!!

“THE DOOR!”

 John 10:1-15                          (ESV)

I Am the Good Shepherd

[1] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. [2] But he who enters by “THE DOOR” is the shepherd of the sheep. [3] To him THE GATEKEEPER opens. The sheep hear HIS VOICE, and HE calls HIS OWN sheep by name and LEADS THEM OUT. [4] When HE has brought out all HIS OWN, HE goes before them, and the sheep follow HIM, for they know HIS VOICE. [5] A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” [6] This figure of speech JESUS used with them, but THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND what HE was saying to them.

[7] So JESUS again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I AM “THE DOOR” of the sheep. [8] All who came before ME are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. [9] I AM “THE DOOR”. If anyone enters by ME, HE WILL BE SAVED and will go in and out and find pasture. [10] The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I CAME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE and HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY. [11] I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The GOOD SHEPHERD lays down HIS LIFE for the sheep. [12] He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. [13] He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. I know MY OWN and MY OWN know ME, [15] just as the FATHER knows ME and I know the FATHER; and I lay down MY LIFE the sheep.”

In John 10:9 JESUS says I AM “THE DOOR”!  If anyone enters by ME, he WILL BE SAVED!  JESUS doesn’t say that HE IS A DOOR, but HE IS “THE DOOR”!  

In John 16:33 JESUS says “I (JESUS) have said these things to you, that IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. In THE WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION. BUT TAKE HEART; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”  “IN ME (THE DOOR) YOU MAY HAVE PEACE”!!!  

In JESUS, we can have PEACE!  But we MUST enter in “THE DOOR” to have PEACE!!!!