Titus 2:11-13 (KJV) Teaching Us

Titus 2:11-13 (KJV)
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;

The grace of God is instructive. It not only: gives, blesses, frees, relieves, but it also teaches. Never allow your faith to rest in a grace that provides for no growth. 

It teaches us to deny
Grace isn’t a license to sin. Far from it. Grace teaches us to deny and turn from ungodliness and worldly lusts. 

It teaches us to live
And specifically, how to live: soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. 

It teaches us to look
We live today but we look for tomorrow. We can deny and we can live because we look for that blessed hope. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Titus 2:11-13 (KJV) Teaching Us

Titus 1:1 (KJV) True To Our Calling

Titus 1:1 (KJV)

Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

Albert Barnes writes, “The truth, the acknowledgment of which Paul was appointed to secure, was not scientific, historical, or political truth: it was that of religion – that which was adapted to lead men to a holy life, and to prepare them for a holy heaven.”

Those who would serve God must endeavor to remain true to their calling. There are so many causes in this world; some of them worthy, some of them not so much, but all of them vying for our efforts. One might, from time to time, feel guilty that his attention isn’t more focused on these others. No doubt there will be people who insist that they are a part of the preacher’s duty. 

Be steadfast and unmovable in this. 

Our work is to lead men after godliness. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Titus 1:1 (KJV) True To Our Calling

2 Timothy 4:17 (KJV) No Contest

2 Timothy 4:17 (KJV)

Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.

It would have been common for a prisoner, such as Paul, to be thrown to the lions[1]. At his first answer, he was apparently delivered from such a fate. He was also delivered from the demented mind of Caesar, Nero. But I think he ultimately means he had been eternally delivered from that one who pretended to be a roaring lion, Satan. 

Paul knew that he was ready to be offered and that the time of his departure was at hand. He did not mean that his life would be spared. That was not his concern. He was certain that God would deliver him from every evil work, and that He would preserve him unto His heavenly kingdom. 

The lions of this world are nothing in contest with the Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

---

[1] Or some other beast

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

2 Timothy 4:17 (KJV) No Contest

Exodus 33:13 (KJV) A Prayer for Today

Exodus 33:13 (KJV)

Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.

The cry of the child of God, every day, ought to be:

Show me the way 
It is not enough to know that it’s all going to work out in the end. God has a way, a step for us to take each day. May we long to see and walk that way. 

That I may know thee
Praise the Lord He knows us. He has called us, redeemed us, saved us, and adopted us. Let us not stop at that. Let us ask Him that we may know Him. 

That I may find grace in thy sight
Grace to be saved is only the beginning of the grace available to us. Pray that we may find these other graces. 

Consider this nation
No Christian is an island unto himself. His duty is to plead for the souls of others. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Exodus 33:13 (KJV) A Prayer for Today

Exodus 30:38 (KJV) The Sweet Smell Stinks

Exodus 30:38 (KJV)

Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.

Someone has said that imitation is the sincerest form of a compliment. Whether that is true off not, I do know that the devil likes to imitate God. I also know that God does not consider it a compliment (nor does Satan mean it as such).

Those things that belong to God ought to be left strictly to God. In this case, it was the anointing oil. Almost anyone at the time could have made a perfume that smelled like it. Everyone else could have just read the recipe from the pages of the Bible. God said anyone doing so ought to be cut off from the people. 

God does not want imitations of the real. But Satan leads people to imitate the things of God in all sorts of ways

• Imitation Bibles 
• Imitation churches
• Imitation doctrines
• Imitation preachers with
• Imitation anointing 

These things are not only to be discouraged and avoided, but they are also to be identified and cut off from that which is real. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Exodus 30:38 (KJV) The Sweet Smell Stinks

2 Timothy 1:8 (KJV) A Reasonable Investment

2 Timothy 1:8 (KJV)

Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel according to the power of God;

The verse just previous to this is 2 Timothy 1:7 (KJV)
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 

It’s one of those nuggets of gold in the Bible that’s pretty easy to pick up and forget about the rest. 

God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power. Therefore, we have no reason to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord nor of Paul, the prisoner of the Lord. 

Because we have the spirit of love and a sound mind, we too can partake in the afflictions of the Gospel. A sound mind doesn’t run from these afflictions. A sound mind doesn’t shirk from them. A sound mind is fully aware of the price of partaking in the work of the Gospel and counts it a reasonable investment. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

2 Timothy 1:8 (KJV) A Reasonable Investment

1 Timothy 6:7 (KJV) This Is Certain

1 Timothy 6:7 (KJV)

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

All my life, I have heard it said that there are only two certain things: death and taxes. I would not wish to deny that these are certainties. But the Bible tells us of another certainty. When death happens, we can take nothing of this earth with us. This is such a reality that the two major worldviews each have their own way of dealing with it.

Those who believe there is nothing after death choose to, “eat drink and be merry.” 
In other words, they attempt to get as much out of life as they can because they believe when it is done, they have and are nothing. 

Those who believe there is life after death do what they think will yield them the greatest potential in the afterlife. 
This is true of Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christendom. Each has its own teachings on how to accomplish a better life after death. Only one of these religious positions has the advantage of One who died, rose from the grave, and then teaches us to lay up our treasures in Heaven. That is Jesus. 

By the way, the message He left us tells us another certainty, 1 John 5:13 (KJV) 
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God. 

Have you placed faith in Christ such that you know you have eternal life?

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Timothy 6:7 (KJV) This Is Certain

Exodus 25:8 (KJV) Make Me A Sanctuary

Exodus 25:8 (KJV)
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

It seems to me that the key phrase is “that I may dwell among them.” God indeed is everywhere. 

• He is in the mountains 
• He is in the fields
• He is where the oceans and the lakes are

God is there: when we work, when we rest at home, when we conduct our necessary business. 

But God asks us to prepare a place especially for Him. It’s not that He needs it. It is that we need it. We need a sanctuary, a place designed that God dwells among us. 

He is everywhere. He wants us to come to the one place that is dedicated only to Him. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Exodus 25:8 (KJV) Make Me A Sanctuary

Exodus 24:16 (KJV) Even If

Exodus 24:16 (KJV)

And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

Based on this passage, and many others like it, I have to wonder if most of today’s Christians, including preachers, ever really hear from heaven. After God had already prepared Israel to hear from Him, God’s glory rested on the mountain for six days. Six days Moses waited before God called him. And then Moses was on the mountain with God forty days and forty nights. 

• That long, Moses communed with God to get the message. 
• That long, and the people transgressed. 

How many preachers never get God’s message because they believe it’s up to them to keep the people from sinning?

Sin is never the right action. But neither is haste. People fed shallow doctrine but forced to conform to church behavior are no better off than people who have heard no truth. It is much better to get the message directly from God and deliver it to those prepared to listen to it, even if it is a fewer number. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Exodus 24:16 (KJV) Even If

1 Timothy 4:16 (KJV) Save Thyself

1 Timothy 4:16 (KJV)

Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

A Bible student must be careful not to read into a passage, or even a word in the passage, what he wants it to say. The term “save,” and its various forms, must be understood in context. There is more in the Bible than salvation of the soul from hell and to heaven. Those who believe a Christian can lose his salvation or that he must maintain it to remain saved, 

• Miss the point of the Cross 
• Deny the perfection of Christ and 
• Teach heresy in the doing of it 

Gill writes of this passage, “a minister by taking heed to himself, and doctrine, saves himself from the pollutions of the world, from the errors and heresies of false teachers, from the blood of all men, and from all just blame in his ministry.”

He says further, “by being an example to them in doctrine and conversation, a minister is the means of saving and preserving those that attend on him, from erroneous principles, and immoral practices; and by faithfully preaching the Gospel to his hearers, he is instrumental in their eternal salvation; for though Jesus Christ is the only Saviour, the only efficient and procuring cause of salvation, yet the ministers of the Gospel are instruments by which souls believe in him, and so are saved; the word preached by them,”

Timothy was already saved, eternally saved. But by attending to sound doctrine, he could save his testimony and thereby be the better helper of those who came under his preaching. 

The same is true of a Bible preacher today. 

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.

Donate to Bible Baptist Church every time you make an Amazon purchase through this link, https://smile.amazon.com/ch/91-1265824

For this and more than 5100 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

1 Timothy 4:16 (KJV) Save Thyself