Jeremiah 2:13 (KJV) Drink Often

Jeremiah 2:13 (KJV)
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

God accuses His people of two complimentary sins. 

• Forsaking Him
• Creating their own gods

That God calls them “my people” I think gives way for more than Israel. By this time the ten tribes were already done away by Assyria. Looking forward the Bible says, “As many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God.”[1]

Is it possible that New Testament Christians can become guilty of these very sins?

The analogy God used was a fountain of water; He says, “living waters.” More necessary than food is the water we drink. The analogy transports us to John 4 and Jesus Christ. We only need to drink of His fountain once and we will have life forever. But we must drink of Him continuously if we would be a well for others. 

How often do we come to the fountain? 
Have we been guilty of forsaking, abandoning a constant visit at the fountain of living waters?

When one abandons that water we can be sure he will seek another source. 
Water is just too vital to miss. The problem is we can forget where the water comes from. We begin to look for our own ways to provide this essential element. We create plans, structures, systems by which we might meet the need without going to the fountain. But what we make is always archaic, broken and inefficient. It will not meet the needs of others.

---

[1]John 1:12 (KJV)
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2006.

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Jeremiah 2:13 (KJV) Drink Often

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Isaiah 65:1-3 (KJV) Hands Spread Out

Isaiah 65:1-3 (KJV)
I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name.
I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;
A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

The interpretation of this passage cannot be mistaken as the Apostle Paul applies it in Romans 10:20-21
But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.
But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people.

There are two peoples in view:

• The Gentiles unto whom God calls out, “Behold me” though they were not called by His name. 
• The Jews who, though called by His name, are styled as rebellious. 

I was intrigued by that phrase, “I have spread out my hands.”Immediately my mind conjures three pictures:

• The leader who stretches out his hands as if to call people to himself 
• The father who spreads his hands to embrace a loved one and
• The Saviour who stretched out his hands on the cross. 

Perhaps all of these pictures apply. 

God certainly calls the Jews to Himself just as He calls the Gentiles. See Him reaching out to both those who never knew Him and those who have rebelled against Him. 

God too reaches out to embrace and comfort and love all those who will come to Him. What comfort belongs to the Jew and the Gentile who responds to the loving invitation of God the Father. 

All of this is made possible because Jesus spread His hands before the Jews (and under the authority of the Gentile Romans) on the Cross. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. 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.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Isaiah 65:1-3 (KJV) Hands Spread Out

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Matthew 1:1 (KJV) The Living Book

Matthew 1:1 (KJV)
The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

My devotional thoughts today are more philosophical than directly from the text. It is the last few days of this year and today I begin the New Testament afresh. Recently I read an evangelists testimony of having read the Bible through, I think, forty times. He said it is new every time because it is indeed a living book. 

I do not know how many times I have read my Bible through. I have been in the ministry 35 years.[1]I had read my Bible through at least once before leaving for Bible college and I am certain I read it through at least once a year for the first twenty years of ministry.[2]Beginning in May of 2005, I’ve focused more on visiting with God in my Bible reading. Since beginning this regimen I have read the New Testament through almost twice a year and the Old Testament through about once per year. 

I say all of that to say that indeed the Bible is a living book, new with every reading. 

But this term is one I think we need to use caution with. To say that the Bible is a living book is in no way related to the way some scholars say the US Constitution is a living document.[3]The Bible is not meant to be re-interpreted and revised with each new generation and the changing norms of culture. It’s value[4]rests in its immutability. While the sands under the surface of worldwide waters shift, the stars remain constant, giving sailors one thing on which to depend. The Bible is that constant. Its doctrine, its morals, its instruction remains constant, unchanged. People may think differently but God’s message remains the same. Whenever men become lost due to their own wandering, they need only return to the Word of God to find their way to safety. 

What does it then mean that the Bible is living?

• It gives life to those who believe its gospel
• Its great teacher, the Holy Spirit, illuminates it to us as we need it
• With each reading we grow more aware of the depth of its message
• As our circumstances change the Holy Spirit shines light to aide us in navigating those circumstances 
• The more we study it the more able we are to compare spiritual things with spiritual 
• Each new study reveals the meanings of words we never knew before. 

The Bible is a living book because it reveals a living Saviour to living souls. If either is dead the book is dead too. 

---

[1]I was ordained on this day 35 years ago.

[2]I did not keep track but I know I read three of five chapters a day during those years.

[3]A concept of which I am thoroughly opposed.

[4]And, I would argue, the value of the Constitution.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. 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.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Matthew 1:1 (KJV) The Living Book

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Revelation 22:1-2 (KJV) The Tree of Life

Revelation 22:1-2 (KJV)
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

It is intriguing to me that the Bible begins and ends with the tree of life. 

• It begins in a garden with only two people. 
• It ends in a city occupied by countless numbers. 

I do not know how to reconcile one tree on either side of the river. I am also not satisfied with any of the explanations I have read. I think that’s partly the point. What we experience in eternity defies our reasoning and our ability to describe or comprehend. What I am certain of is that the end of God’s plan takes us all the way back to the beginning of God’s plan. God lost nothing but time in man’s fall. And since time is irrelevant to God, He lost nothing. 

Man on the other hand, gains an immeasurable treasure in between the garden and the city. 

• He gains liberty 
• He gains worship
• He gains companionship
• He gains light
• He gains fellowship
• He gains duty
• He gains the universe

The fall of man was not God’s fault. But the fall of man did accomplish God’s purpose. 

I trust God. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. 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.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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Revelation 22:1-2 (KJV) The Tree of Life

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Revelation 21:9 (KJV) The Lamb’s Wife

Revelation 21:9 (KJV)
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

I freely admit there is are challenges to my understanding of this passage, but no more than some of the other ways I have heard it understood. I know preachers who have said things such as, “I am not a ‘Baptist Brider’ because of this passage. I cannot explain how the church and the New Jerusalem are both the bride of Christ.” Other preachers have said this passage proves that there is no such thing as the church, Baptist or otherwise, being the bride of Christ.

I am not a fan of the Baptist Bride label because it has so many different connotations that it does not accurately identify anybody. But this passage is not, in my opinion, an argument against it. 

It occurs to me that a leap must be made to claim the New Jerusalem is the Bride. The angel told John he would show him the Lamb’s wife and I confess that what is described is the city. But I contend that this does not insist the city is the bride. We know from so many other passages that the bride is the church that to leap now to its being a city is too much of a stretch for me to accept. The bride is, in my opinion, who she has always been. The city is where she dwells perhaps. John’s vision became all about the city for sure. But that the bride and the city are the same is, in my mind, not so certain. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. 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.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Revelation 21:9 (KJV) The Lamb’s Wife

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Genesis 3:1 (KJV) Avoiding Deception

Genesis 3:1 (KJV)
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

In Revelation 20, the Bible reaffirms what we learned in Genesis 3; that Satan is a deceiver. We learned that the deceived doesn’t know they are deceived. We also learned that the consequences of our actions are due even though we acted under deception. The thing to do is to avoid the deceiver in the first place. In other words, don’t give place to the devil.

I shared that with my family and was asked how to avoid the deceiver. 

Stick near your support systems 
Eve was deceived when she was not with Adam. God gives us authorities and support. Parents, Pastor, Husband/spouse. The more we trust those who are God given supporters the less likely to be deceived. 

Trust God’s Word
Satan’s first assault was against the Bible, “Yea hath God said?” Anyone or anything that causes doubt in the Word of God should be suspect and completely rejected. 

Commit to a Bible preaching church 
One that believes the Word of God they preach is perfect. God has created us to be community beings. Isolation or association with those outside of such a church will certainly lead to deception. Frequent association with people equally committed to such a church is likely to repel deception.

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. 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.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Genesis 3:1 (KJV) Avoiding Deception

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Revelation 20:2-3 (KJV) The Deceiver

Revelation 20:2-3 (KJV)
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

That the devil is a deceiver is no surprise. This is a truth taught repeatedly in the Word of God. When I read this chapter three things concerning this deceiver come to mind:

Imagine a world where he cannot deceive
What a wonderful time. You would think that, having experienced this; no one would ever wish to be deceived again. But that’s thing, those who are deceived don’t know they are deceived. 

Deceived or not, there are consequences for following Satan
The deceived may not be aware they are being deceived but the Bible gives us plenty of resources with which to avoid the deceiver. The way to prevent being deceived is to stay clear of the deceiver. 

Satan will, in God’s own time, be locked away forever 
I am not privy to God’s purposes in giving him place today. I simply want to draw near to God and trust in His powerful plan. 

To my readers:
First of all, thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. Secondly, I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and more than 4400 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. 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.

For more resources from Pastor Marvin McKenzie visit http://puyallupbaptistchurch.com.

My books are available at:
My author spotlight at Lulu.com:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/marvinmckenzie

My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Revelation 20:2-3 (KJV) The Deceiver

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Please consider helping our church’s teen department by signing up for cash back shopping at http://www.dubli.com/M04VB. This program has three levels of participation, the first being completely free.