Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Jeremiah 47:6-7 (KJV) No Other Grace But Jesus

Jeremiah 47:6-7 (KJV)
O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still.How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.
It is, I believe, an example of wondrous kindness that the very same prophet pronouncing this judgment would also beg that the judgment be stopped.
It is even more remarkable when we consider:
  • That the recipient of this judgment was an enemy of Israel and had been for generations. 
  • That the executioner of this judgment had also judged Jerusalem
The child of God wishes no evil on anyone, not even his greatest enemies. We long to see them:
  • Reconciled to God
  • Forgiven 
  • Changed and united with the people of God
And so we pray
Yet there is a truth that cannot be escaped; those who are not united to Christ in saving faith have no option but the wrath of God.
  • There is no other grace but Jesus 
  • There is no other salvation but the gospel
  • There is no other prayer that can deliver one from this judgment except the humble prayer of repentance, calling upon Christ for salvation
Christians don’t want any to suffer this wrath, but we are bound to warn all that, except they repent, they shall likewise perish.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Jeremiah 47:6-7 (KJV) No Other Grace But Jesus

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Monday, January 30, 2017

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (KJV) Persecution Stinks

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (KJV)
We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
Persecution stinks.
None of us like it.
  • It hurts 
  • It’s stressful
  • It is easy to make mistakes under the pressure of persecution
We may dislike it most when it is someone else, someone we care about, who faces it.
Paul was a persecuted man himself but in this instance his concern was for others who endured persecution. Others he loved. Others he had led into the circumstances leading to their persecution. His reaction is priceless to the believer today. Paul didn’t fret and grieve over their trials and persecution; he thanked God.
Please note thank he wasn’t thankful for their suffering, but for their testimony in the suffering. Paul used three words to describe their testimony:
FaithThey believed God. Faith motivates a Christian response to life circumstances. We believe God and we therefore behave according to His Word.
CharityCharity isn’t simply giving to the needy. These were needy Christians. Charity is the love a Christian has for his or her church and the members of it.
PatienceFaith is believing God but patience is trusting God. The Christian can be patient and wait on the Lord knowing that God will settle all accounts justly.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

2 Thessalonians 1:3-4 (KJV) Persecution Stinks

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

1 Thessalonians 5:14 (KJV) God Said So

1 Thessalonians 5:14 (KJV)
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 
Wouldn’t it be something to live in a community where everyone was exactly what you wished them to be? I’m not so sure because I imagine that I would wish them a bit wrong.
Oh well, it’s not reality anyway.
In a world filled with unruly, feebleminded and weak believers there are also even many more who are not believers.
What do we do?!
The Bible answer is to be patient.
The practice of patience is, as much as anything, a practice of trust. In the world’s view it would probably be trust that everything will work out eventually. Even if it doesn’t work out the way they wish, life will go on.
This is probably why we see an increasing level of panic in the world. They no longer believe life will go on.
  • Climate change
  • Political unrest 
  • Religious contention 
is, in their mind, threatening to destroy life as they know it.
The Christian has no such reason to lack trust, and therefore, patience. Our trust is in the Lord and we trust His Word. He has a plan and we are assured He has not lost control of that plan. We can be patient with all men because we believe God knows them and, regardless of their position toward God, He has them in hand.
It is all going to work out.
God said so.



To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

1 Thessalonians 5:14 (KJV) God Said So

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 (KJV) Mind Your Own Business

1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 (KJV)
And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
The exercise of our faith, like that of our muscles, always tends to make it stronger. The believers in the church of Thessalonica had been required to exercise their faith and it had built in them a great church.
Yet greatness isn’t reason to settle. A strong man won’t stay strong unless he continues to exercise. Even so, Paul urged this great church to greater greatness. Paul urged them on in four areas:
That ye increase more and moreThey must not settle but strive for increase in all areas of godliness and testimony.
That ye study to be quietThis interesting phrase is defined by the remainder of the verse and simply means to work at minding our own business in a peaceable manner.
That ye walk honestly toward them that are withoutThis quiet manner will translate into an irreproachable testimony toward unbelievers. They may not agree with us but they should find no reason other than faith to fault us.
That ye may have lack of nothingWhen a man minds his own business he can be sure his own business will be better off.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 (KJV) Mind Your Own Business

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Jeremiah 44:16-18 (KJV) The Reason to Obey God

Jeremiah 44:16-18 (KJV)
As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee.But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.
What a snare men set for themselves. Truly the god, who is the mind of the corrupt men, reasons to their own harm.
God had warned them not to worship those false gods and do that thing that He hates. They countered that they would not obey God for two reasons:
  • When they had disobeyed in the past, they had plenty 
  • When they had done as God said in the past, they had suffered
To them it was all about their own experience. They took the short view. They looked at what was in the moment. They missed the fact that God’s promises work on a different timetable.
God countered by reminding them that the reason they had lost the Promised Land was the disobedience of their fathers. Judgment had not come instantly but it had come. Blessings come in the same manner.
Any one of us can find reasons why obeying God’s Word doesn’t make sense. The reason to obey it is just one, “it’s appointed unto man once to die and after this, the judgment.”[1]
[1] Hebrews 9:27


To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Jeremiah 44:16-18 (KJV) The Reason to Obey God

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Thursday, January 26, 2017

1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 (KJV) Knowing It, Or Enduring It?

1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 (KJV)
That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.
Paul had been forthright with the members of the new church in Thessalonica. Not only he, but they, would suffer persecution for their faith.
  • It had been this way since Cain killed Abel. 
  • It was the testimony of the history of the Jews 
  • Jesus had been persecuted- and executed 
  • So had Stephen 
  • So had James 
  • Every one of the living Apostles had experienced persecution 
  • Paul himself was not new to this trend
There was no reason these Christians, though Gentiles by blood, should expect differently.
But knowing it and enduring it, are two very different things.
Paul was concerned for them.
As a preacher, I witness many times when people in our church endure hard times, often because of their faith. I know, as they do, that this is a part of life on this planet and especially of the Christian living on this planet.
That doesn’t make it any easier.
As their pastor, I feel a sort of kinship with the Apostle who:
  • Wanted to know their how their faith was holding up
  • Wanted to establish them in their faith and 
  • Wanted to comfort them in their faith
Generally there is little more that we can do. But doing this is enough.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

1 Thessalonians 3:3-4 (KJV) Knowing It, Or Enduring It?

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

1 Thessalonians 2:2 (KJV) The One To Whom We Must All Give Account

1 Thessalonians 2:2 (KJV)
But even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of God with much contention.
Paul had arrived in Thessalonica after being beaten and thrown in jail for his ministry there. It would have seemed reasonable for him to take a bit of a break after that sort of treatment.
Not Paul.
Thessalonica turned out to be as tough a work as Philippi had been. That did not deter the Apostle. He preached the Word of God with boldness and truthfulness even in the face of contention.
The ministry of Paul in Thessalonica was short lived, but it was effective. Souls were saved and a strong church was established. It had to be strong to withstand the persecution it’s members experienced.
Paul never second guessed his tactics or wished he had done things differently. He only reminded them of his ministry and pointed them to the One to whom we must all give account.
Paul didn’t handle every situation the same and we should not expect others to handle things the same as we believe we would have. Every person in every situation is responsible for one thing, to serve, “…not as pleasing men but God which trieth our hearts.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

1 Thessalonians 2:2 (KJV) The One To Whom We Must All Give Account

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 (KJV) Followers to Leaders

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 (KJV)
And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia.
The Word of God has such great things to say about the church of the Thessalonians. It is a model church in so many respects. This is amazing when we realize that Paul spent less time there than in any of the other churches he planted. It is even more amazing when we remember that this was a heavily persecuted church.
How does such a church become the kind of leading church that it was?
A clue is given in our verses for meditation and thought. Notice that they were followers before they were an example.
They were followers of the LordIt should go without saying that believers must be followers of God. Still so many professing Christians have no idea what it means to follow the Lord. Christianity must be more than planting a Christian title on activities that are clearly of the world.
They were followers of PaulNotice that Paul puts that before following the Lord. Of course this is not to say following a preacher is more important than following Jesus. The point is that a true follower of the Lord is submissive to his preacher.
They were ensamples to the brethrenThe followers became worthy of a following.
This is the natural order of God. Followers focus on following, not leading. Before they know it, without even knowing it, they have a following of their own.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 (KJV) Followers to Leaders

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Monday, January 23, 2017

Colossians 4:5-6 (KJV) Seasoned Speech

Colossians 4:5-6 (KJV)
Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
The context of seasoned speech lies in relationship with those who are not believers, without the family of God, if you will. The Bible instructs us, in these relationships, to:
  • Walk in wisdom, 
  • Redeem the time, and 
  • Speak with grace 
so that we know how to answer every man.
We ought to want to reach those who are not believers and lead them to believe. Faith is passed on. One believer gives their faith to another so they may believe. The process can be painstaking.
There are two principles that this passage teaches us to apply to our answers to every man:
First, our answers ought to be wiseIn this case that means prepared in the sense of being studied and well thought out from the Scriptures. Too often our words come from a knee-jerk, preconceived position that can’t be defended biblically.
Second, our answers ought to be graciousRomans 14 reminds us that every one of us will stand alone before God. Every one must have their own convictions. No one has the right to force their convictions upon another, and all of us must be careful to not let our personal convictions become a stumbling block for others.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Colossians 4:5-6 (KJV) Seasoned Speech

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Jeremiah 39:11-12 (KJV) God Has Not Forgotten

Jeremiah 39:11-12 (KJV)
Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
Jerusalem wasn’t as populated in Jeremiah’s time as now but it wasn’t little then either. The city was significant enough that Babylon wanted to take it.  And yet, in a city of that size, Nebuchadnezzar was aware of Jeremiah, a preacher turned prisoner.
John Gill says he must have heard about Jeremiah, “by one or another of his generals.” It is likely that the news of Jeremiah had been shared by those Jews who had already surrendered to the Babylonians.
I am thinking of those faithful ministers and preachers of God’s Word. Perhaps they feel imprisoned in their current circumstances. Maybe they believe that their work has gone unheeded and unnoticed. Jeremiah most certainly felt that way.
The lesson in this passage is that we haven’t been forgotten. No matter how dark one may feel the dungeon of his circumstances is, God has not forgotten.
Keep the faith.
By and by, in the fullness of His time, God will deliver you and reward you at the same time.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Jeremiah 39:11-12 (KJV) God Has Not Forgotten

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Colossians 3:1 (KJV) Where Christ Sitteth

Colossians 3:1 (KJV)
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
“Where Christ sitteth” 
What an amazing thought!
Seek those things which are… where Christ sitteth. 
  • God is there. Christ is at his right hand
  • Righteousness is there
  • The Spirit of God is there
  • Angels are there
  • Those who have gone before are there
  • Our mansions are there
  • Our promises are there
  • Our inheritance is there
  • The fulfillment of God’s plan for us is there
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Colossians 3:1 (KJV) Where Christ Sitteth

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Friday, January 20, 2017

Colossians 2:18 (KJV) Beware the Beguiler

Colossians 2:18 (KJV)
Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
There is a manner in which those who pretend to be people of faith intrude themselves into things of which they know nothing: Pharaoh’s magicians who, seeing Moses perform miracles, gave an imitation performance only to see their snakes devoured by Moses’ or the seven sons of Sceva who, seeing Paul cast out demons, attempted the same and were beaten by those very demons.
Such is the case of those who, seeing a demonstration of true faith, practice a form of the same in every imaginable way:
  • Some attempt a Christian-like practice
  • Some attempt a completely different practice of faith
  • Some try their hand at the faith of no faith
In the end, every intrusion into those things of which they have no knowledge, finishes the same way. It ends in destruction and doom.
These people are often clever and sacrificial. They frequently bring some degree of confusion to those who are new to honest Christian faith because they seem:
  • so confident, 
  • so willing and 
  • so similar to believers in many ways
The Bible warns us to beware of them. Trust God’s Word and that alone.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Colossians 2:18 (KJV) Beware the Beguiler

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Jeremiah 38:18-20 (KJV) Set Aside Those Fears

Jeremiah 38:18-20 (KJV)
But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.
What a strange thing it is that Zedekiah should be more afraid of the Jews than of Babylon, whose might was already deemed to be greater than his own, or God, who Jeremiah had prophesied would not help him unless he surrender to the Babylonians.
Zedekiah reminds me of the average professing Christian. He was interested in the Word of God. In many ways he was sympathetic to the cause of those in the ministry. But he was physically unwilling to put aside his rational fears and simply obey the Lord.
Why Zedekiah was this way is only ours to speculate. I imagine it was for many of the same reasons people come week after week to hear the Word of the Lord but, in the end, make few changes in their lives to comply with that Word.
  • I think they want to believe the Word but they do not. 
  • I think it sounds plausible in their heart but their flesh will not allow them to trust in it. 
  • I think they want to secretly keep the preacher on their side in case he is right but they aren’t willing to risk if he is wrong.
This leaves the preacher to do just what Jeremiah did. He pled for the king to set aside those fears and obey the voice of the Lord.
May many heed this plea!
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Jeremiah 38:18-20 (KJV) Set Aside Those Fears

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Philippians 4:2 (KJV) No Reason To Be At Odds

Philippians 4:2 (KJV)
I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
Verse two serves to demonstrate the cohesion of the entire book of Philippians and reminds us not to read passages of the Bible in a fashion that isolates any passage from the whole. This verse draws is back to Philippians 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
It is as if the Word of God had been addressing the manner of, and reasons for letting the mind of Christ be in us when, after fully covering the subject, a direct appeal to two persons specifically is made.
In what is the nearest hint at a problem in the church at Philippi, two members of the church Euodias and Syntyche are called out and implored to “be of the same mind in the Lord.
  • It may have been a problem those two struggled with. 
  • It is more so a problem people struggle with today. 
But we have ample and good reasons to be of the same mind. We have examples and we have the help of the Holy Spirit.
There is no reason for members of the same church to be at odds in issues of faith and practice.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Philippians 4:2 (KJV) No Reason To Be At Odds

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Jeremiah 35:18-19 (KJV) Don’t Throw Instruction to the Wind

Jeremiah 35:18-19 (KJV)
And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
The Rechabites obeyed because they obeyed.
  • They weren’t forced to obey. 
  • They did not live in conditions where they could not but obey
They had means and opportunity to disobey and yet they didn’t.
Such character is lacking among so many. It was lacking in Israel in that day and lacking among Americans in our day.
Notice that they didn’t require some “Eleventh Commandment” in order to obey. It did not require “chapter and verse” (although such passages exist) to keep them from drinking alcohol, they didn’t drink wine because their fathers had taught them not to.
Now God promised that, despite the upheaval Israel was about to experience, “Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me…” There is, of course, a supernatural answer to this promise but there is also a practical one; those who obey what they are taught will obviously be those who survive catastrophes much more frequently than those who throw instruction to the wind.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Jeremiah 35:18-19 (KJV) Don’t Throw Instruction to the Wind

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Monday, January 16, 2017

Philippians 3:3 (KJV) The True Circumcision

Philippians 3:3 (KJV)
For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
The Word of God makes this very clear distinction between those who are the circumcision (the separated and belonging to God) and those who are not.
  • The one places confidence in the flesh, the human ability to perform 
  • The other does not.
There are at least three areas where the wisest of souls understand they must not put confidence in the flesh:
In the area of salvationThis is the primary subject of the text. The Jews believed they were the people of God because of their own deeds. Circumcision itself was an act of the flesh. How ironic that they trusted the flesh through the act of cutting away that flesh.
Salvation is never earned by some fleshly act, even a well-intentioned and sacrificial one. It is only accomplished by faith in the work of Christ and the promise of God.
In the area of accountabilityThe Christian, who is discerning, learns early that he is incapable to make right choices and sound spiritual decisions on his own.
  • He needs the Holy Spirit. 
  • He needs the Word of God. 
  • He needs his church to provoke and push him in the right way.
In the area of their childrenAs they grow, we want to trust our children. Love for them often blinds us to the weaknesses of their flesh and a degree, I think, of laziness lulls us too often to put misplace confidence in them.
Godly parents work hard at:
  • Watching their children, 
  • Supervising their activities and 
  • Guiding their relationships 
when done early, consistently and lovingly children appreciate this guidance.
Those cut away from this world and dedicated to the Lord put no confidence in the flesh but lean on the Spirit and those gifts God has given to lead us in the godly walk.

To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Philippians 3:3 (KJV) The True Circumcision

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Philippians 2:4 (KJV) An Interest in Others

Philippians 2:4 (KJV)
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Barnes Notes has some very good stuff with regard to this verse. I will use it without much comment.
My version will be highly abbreviated.
“Do not let your care and attention be wholly absorbed by your own concerns, or by the concerns of your own family. Evince a tender interest for the happiness of the whole, and let the welfare of others lie near your hearts. This, of course, does not mean that there is to be any improper interference….
  • We are not to be “busybodies” in the concerns of others
  • We are not to obtrude our advice where it is not sought
  • We are not to find fault with what pertains exclusively to him. 
  • We are not to be gossips about the concerns of others.
Where Christian duty and kindness require us to look into the concerns of others, there should be utmost delicacy.
However,
  • We are to feel that the spiritual interests of everyone in the church is, in a certain sense, our own interest. 
  • There are circumstances where it is proper to look with special interest on the temporal concerns of others. 
  • we should seek the welfare of all others in a spiritual sense.”
Barnes’ commentary is much more detailed. This gives a good sense of what he meant to convey.
To my readers:
I would love to hear from you. Leave comments below.
For this and more than 3700 earlier Daily Visits with God visit Marvin McKenzie’s blogger page. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.
If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others

Philippians 2:4 (KJV) An Interest in Others

Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at Bible Baptist Church Fundraiser. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.