Luke 10:1 (KJV)
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

Jesus called just twelve men to have a unique place in His life and work. These men would be the foundation upon which the churches would rest He, Himself, being the cornerstone. He trained them personally

• By teaching, 
• By example and merely 
• By their fellowship with Him. (Most of the ministry is caught, not taught.)

And He sent them out

But the work of the gospel did not end with them. They were not the only ones appointed, instructed and sent out. In order to seek and to save more, there must be an ever widening circle of people going

• Farther, 
• More frequently, 
• To places not yet touched with the Gospel. 

And so the work continues. It is not just the one church in Jerusalem but multiple churches planted out of Jerusalem. It is not just Judea but Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world. It is not just Jews but people of every kindred and tongue and nation. It is not just two thousand years ago but still today. It is not just the pastors and deacons but every member of a local body of scripturally baptized believers.

Are you a Christian? Count on it, you have been appointed also.

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 4200 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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Luke 10:1 (KJV) You’ve Been Appointed

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Luke 9:49-50 (KJV)
And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us.

It occurs to me that we do not have to be disagreeable to those with whom we disagree. I doubt we ought to have fellowship, as that fellowship will surely compromise the convictions God gives us through His Word. We don’t have to hold hands in ministry goals, as many of the goals of other Christian (and non Christian) organizations differ to the mission Christ gave to the churches He is building. We don’t have to be silent about the differences. It is important really for the mutual benefit of both parties that communication of those differences be clearly communicated.

But we can communicate in an agreeable manner.

• We can communicate politely and at the appropriate times
• We can communicate with civility and without hostility 
• We can communicate out of love and genuine care for the other. 

The very next paragraph in this chapter addresses the issue of our spirit,

Luke 9:53-56
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.

The spirit of the Christian ought to be passionate for the truth but concerned for the well being of others. Even those with whom we disagree.

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 4200 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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Luke 9:49-50 (KJV) Don’t Be Disagreeable

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Luke 8:47 (KJV)
And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately.

There have been many to write on why this woman may have hidden her actions. The deed was not a sinful one, but it was not considered “clean” for a person with an issue of blood to touch another. Jesus was on another task and she might have felt she was presuming too much to stop Him to hear her troubles. Then too, there was such a throng of people pressing Christ she may have thought a quick touch would be more than she could hope for.

Whatever the reasons of her touch, she, who had received virtue, could not be hidden.

It would be good for each of us to think on the fact that we cannot be hid. What we have done, most especially what God has done in us, cannot be hidden.  It is not hid from God and should not be hidden from others.

Matthew 5:16 (KJV)
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

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 4200 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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Luke 8:47 (KJV) It Shouldn’t Be Hidden

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1 Chronicles 29:16-17 (KJV)
O LORD our God, all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own.I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of mine heart I have willingly offered all these things: and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here, to offer willingly unto thee.

One of my summer jobs in high school was driving a wheat truck. I worked for a custom farmer by the name of Turk Ely. Custom meant that he farmed his own land and then hired out to harvest the wheat fields of dozens of other farmers. It meant Turk had the finest equipment. It also meant that our wheat harvest extended weeks longer than many of the other crews.

During harvest I was assigned my own truck. It was mine to keep filled with fuel, oiled, cleaned and lubed and in proper running order. I kept my own things in it. I claimed it as my own throughout the harvest season. Even Turk would refer to it as my truck. It was mine.

Day by day, many times a day, I would position my empty truck where needed and the combines would fill my truck with precious wheat. I would then drive that wheat to an elevator where each load was tested, weighed, dumped and recorded in the name of the owner of that field.

Wait! What! Not in my name?

• It had been put in my truck
• It had been delivered by my hard work and long hours

But it wasn’t mine. I was only the steward of that wheat. It was given to me for one purpose alone; that I would faithfully deliver it to the elevator and record it in the name of the owner.

And my truck? Come the end of the season I parked it in one of Turk’s barns. It too was only mine to steward for a time.

This is exactly how David viewed all that was his. It wasn’t his at all. It belonged to God. What he gave to God was God’s in the first place. Like my giving the truck back at the end of harvest, an act I did cheerfully because I knew all along it was really Turk’s, David gave abundantly and cheerfully to God because he always knew what he had was God’s.

At the end of harvest Turk rewarded me with a handsome paycheck. It was mine for using his equipment to do his work and deliver his wheat into his barns.

What rewards await the Christians who have faithfully used what is God’s to deliver to God what is God’s!

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 4200 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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1 Chronicles 29:16-17 (KJV) Deliver to God What is God’s

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Luke 6:18-19 (KJV)
And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed.And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

The word virtue means “force, strength, power and ability.” like that of dynamite, a word derived from the Greek, virtue. Virtue, according to Aristotle, was to fulfill one’s purpose. In this case virtue went out of Jesus as people came to him. I notice several things:

This was a multitude
That word can be relevant. It’s like the word crowd we often employ in our churches. A crowd can be twenty-five or twenty-five hundred. It just depends on how many we are used to seeing. We do not know exactly how many this multitude is but we do know it is an extraordinary number.

This was the whole multitude
It was not a part or even a majority but the whole. With unanimous consent they all sought to touch Jesus.

They all sought to touch Him
Implying that many could not. It was the desire of them all but it was not in the power of them all to touch him. Time and physical constraints prevented at least some of them.

He healed them all
Though they were limited, Jesus was not. Virtue went out of Him but His virtue is limitless. His power is without measure. His ability is infinite.

Jesus experienced no shortage of force due either to the number, the need or the nearness of the multitude. Those who touched Him were healed. Those who sought to touch him were healed and all of those who sought to touch Him were healed.

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 4200 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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Luke 6:18-19 (KJV) No Shortage of Virtue

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Luke 5:5 (KJV)
And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

Jesus was not an expert fisherman. Peter was. There would have been no earthly reason to obey Jesus. He had not proven Himself as having this wisdom. Peter and the others had not yet grown in faith enough to follow Christ without question.

So there was a question, “…we have toiled all night and have taken nothing.”

I can imagine that they were tired. They had landed their boats and were washing their nets. Jesus was asking them to do extra work. If they let down their nets now, they would have to wash and mend them again before they fished that night. More work – less sleep and, as far as they knew, no reward to show for it.

Nevertheless, at His word, they obeyed. Some would point out it was only half hearted obedience. They let down a net instead of their nets. But they did obey.

We learn almost daily, in our Christian life, that the Lord has something to say about things with which we have to do and about which it seems like our faith has little to do:

• Business
• Family
• Politics 
• Life choices 

How does the Bible, our church and its pastor, and the Lord presume authority in those areas? The lesson of the passage is to answer “Nevertheless, at thy word, I will obey.” Whenever we do, even if half-heartedly, we will be better off.

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 4200 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
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Luke 5:5 (KJV) Nevertheless

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1 Chronicles 22:5 (KJV)
And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

David enjoyed the great blessing of knowing the plan of God for his son, Solomon. It would be his place to build the house of God. David then had the abundant joy of preparing his son for the Call of God in his life. Every parent too has that same blessing; that of raising up and preparing his children for their place in the house of God, which is a local church.

Notice:
David prepared people
He gathered together people and trained them to be masons and carpenters to build the house. A wise parent will gather around his children mentors and examples for spiritual growth.

David prepared materials
Iron for nails, brass and lumber were all set aside for this building. I doubt the spiritual application would be akin to leaving our children an inheritance. It seems best to me to see this as providing our children with the building blocks or a solid faith; doctrine. It can be challenging, even daunting, to train our kids in what the Bible teaches as truth. They have access to so much that is not truth and we might be weak in our own grasp of some doctrines. Do not shirk from this. Learn that you might teach.

David prepared Solomon
A wise parent teaches his children of the will of God for their lives. We may not know all the specifics of God’s will for our children but we can certainly know he wills them to be saved and to be faithful to serve Him in a doctrinally sound local church.

David prepared the princes
I imagine these to be his brothers. But I also assume it to be others of higher rank. I might liken them to Solomon’s friends. A wise parent helps his children choose friendships that build his walk with God instead of challenging it.

David was a man of God by all standards. But he was just one man. His duty was to accomplish more than his own walk and service to God. He was to prepare his children to have the same.

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 4200 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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1 Chronicles 22:5 (KJV) How David Prepared His Son for Life

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1 Chronicles 21:18 (KJV)
Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.

In judgment we find grace.

David’s sin was to be judged of God. All sin is.

• Some more quickly than others. 
• Some more obviously than others. 
• Some more harshly than others. 

David, in this case, was offered three choices;

• Three years famine
• Three months oppression by an enemy or
• Three days of God’s sword

David chose the three days, not because it was the shortest span but because he hoped in the mercy of God. Seventy thousand men fell because of this sin. But then God did a remarkable thing. He stopped his sword in the place He would choose His temple to be built. God gave more than mercy. He gave grace.

In salvation God gives more than mercy. He does more than stop His judgment for our sin.

• He makes us joint heirs with His Son
• He give the Holy Spirit to guide us in Biblical understanding and
• He fits us to a church, an house of God to give worship and companionship. 

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 4200 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:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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1 Chronicles 21:18 (KJV) In Judgment We Find Grace

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Luke 3:2-3 (KJV) The Faithfulness of the Witness

Luke 3:2-3 (KJV)

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;

Luke 3:7 (KJV)

Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Notice the use of the word “came” three times in these early verses of the chapter. 

The word of God came unto John

This was His calling from before his conception. It was bound to happen. 

• God does what God pronounces. 
• God keeps what God promises. 
• God accomplishes what God plans. 

This was not John coming to his own. It was God coming to John. 

And he came … preaching 

That one is given a calling from God does not mean they will be faithful to that call. Praise the Lord for John the Baptist, and countless since him, who have: 

• Heard the Word of God, 
• Been obedient to that Word and have 
• Faithfully preached that Word

The multitude that came forth

Those who are faithful to the Word of God will no doubt see a multitude come to see them and hear from them. That multitude may vary in number and certainly; they will also vary in motive. Not everyone who is attracted to God’s message is attracted for holy reasons. The faithfulness of the witness is tested by those who would: 

• Mistreat the witness, 
• Distort the message or 
• Misapply the application

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 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 4200 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:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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Luke 3:2-3 (KJV) The Faithfulness of the Witness

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Luke 2:17-19 (KJV)
And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

There is a proper place for both responses to the news of the Saviour:

• The shepherds made it known abroad 
• But Mary kept and pondered all these things in her heart 

The evangelist will loudly proclaim that soul winning is a command, not a gift. He will insist that anything short of boldly, perhaps even brashly preaching the gospel to everyone at every occasion is a sin. He has dozens of Scriptures in his ammunition box and he is quick and confident to load them up and fire them.

The Mary types are not likely to be as vocal but they are likely to be every bit as opinionated about their position. They see the damage done by the short sighted vision of those who preach the gospel and leave their converts either to fend for themselves spiritually or else they guide them into churches where just about the only doctrines they will hear are those surrounding soul winning. The problem with this is that, without solid doctrine, these Christians have little base to build their lives, and those of their families upon.

Fact is we need both the evangelists and the thinkers. We probably need them to dwell both in the same person.

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 4200 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:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

Luke 2:17-19 (KJV) The Soulwinner and the Thinker

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