1 Peter 4:5 (KJV) Ready, Able, and Willing

1 Peter 4:5 (KJV)

Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

We shall, without a doubt, give an account to “Him that is ready.”

It is the Lord. He is ready to judge.

Ready in the sense of able
His hand is not shortened. He is completely capable of judging both the quick and the dead, the saved and the unsaved.

Ready in the sense of prepared
There is nothing left to do. He has planned it and prophesied it. He has only to perform it.

Ready in the sense of willing
The judgment of the saved is called “the judgment seat of Christ.” 

It is a judgment of deeds done in the body and not of sins. They have already been judged and executed on the cross of Jesus Christ.

The judgment of the lost is called “the Great White Throne judgment.”

Only those who have been made white in the blood of the Lamb will escape it. Even death and hell will be resurrected to face it.

It is for this cause the gospel is preached to the dead[1] so that they might have the opportunity to repent, turn to God, and place saving faith in Him before it is eternally too late.

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[1] Those lost and without Christ. The Bible says that they are dead in trespasses and sins.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. 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

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 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, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Peter 4:5 (KJV) Ready, Able, and Willing

1 Peter 3:6 (KJV) The Same Truth in Both

1 Peter 3:6 (KJV)

Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.

As a very young pastor, I remember this text coming up in many conversations. Perhaps it was because people tested me to see if I stood on the Word. Some might have hoped they could break me so that I would permit them to compromise the Word. It might also just have been that I was a young married and attracted mostly young marrieds into our church. At any rate, it seems like it hasn’t been an issue for me to address for many years.

It is so settled in my mind that I could be tempted to see it as insignificant.

But it is significant. The roles of the husband and the wife are clearly defined in the Old Testament and the New. The husband is to be the head of the home – even if he is the spiritual head. No other model for marriage will work.

Incidentally, my Old Testament reading began today with, Numbers 30:13 (KJV) 
Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.

Nothing changed between the Jews of the Old Testament and the Christians of the New. Those who believe and obey God’s Word see the same truth found in both.

By the way, and to the point I wish to make, this principle carries forward. It’s true not only of the subject of marriage but that of every doctrine of the Bible. The whole Bible, rightly divided, is profitable to all.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. 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

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 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, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Peter 3:6 (KJV) The Same Truth in Both

Numbers 29:1 (KJV) Picking Up Sticks

Numbers 29:1 (KJV)

And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.

 

The phrase “servile work” repeats throughout this chapter. The Strong’s dictionary has this as a double emphasis “do no work work.” According to Strong’s dictionary, the Hebrew word for servile is work of any kind. The context, I am sure, means that sort of work that is employment. Service work. Work that produces income or livelihood.

 

I know there is the case of the man picking up sticks on the Sabbath.

Numbers 15:32 (KJV)

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.

 

I wonder if he might have been doing it to sell rather than just caring for his family?

Jesus made it very clear, and the Jews had long established by the time of Christ, that some forms of work were not to be considered servile work. It was perfectly acceptable, for instance, 

 

To rescue an animal on the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:11 (KJV)

And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?

 

Do ministry on the Sabbath

Matthew 12:5 (KJV)

Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

 

For Jesus to heal on the Sabbath

Matthew 12:10 (KJV)

And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.

 

Jesus applied that to doing well on the Sabbath

Matthew 12:12 (KJV)

How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.

 

Though they were not to gather manna on the Sabbath, the manna that had been collected the day before would have to be prepared and served on the Sabbath.

 

Everyone needs a day of rest, both for the sake of the body and for the sake of worship. But that day of rest must not be legalistically taken to mean that nothing, at all, may be done on that day.

 

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. 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

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 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, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Numbers 29:1  (KJV) Picking Up Sticks

Numbers 28:2 (KJV) Me, My, Mine

Numbers 28:2 (KJV)

Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.

We can’t place upon God the same standards we would put on others because God is the standard setter.

God can be jealous and righteous. I cannot.
That’s because there is none like or beside God. I could never expect someone to put me above all else in the world because I am not above all else in the world. God is.

God can be vengeful and righteous. I cannot.
That’s because God is the standard of righteousness. He is sinless, just, and holy. He alone determines good and evil and the consequences and rewards of each.

I notice in our text that God speaks of

• My offering
• My bread
• My sacrifice
• Unto me

God can claim these things and focus our attention on Him alone because He is alone. There is none else besides Him.

The temptation to compare ourselves with God results from the original sin and a product of the corrupt nature. Satan was correct when he said that the day Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they would become “as gods, knowing good and evil.” They did not become Gods, only as gods.

Everything belongs to God. Praise God! He graciously provides for us.

May we then obediently worship Him.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. 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

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 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, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Numbers 28:2 (KJV) Me, My, Mine

1 Peter 1:1 (KJV) Strangers. And Scattered

1 Peter 1:1 (KJV)
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

Peter wrote “to the strangers” and lists those places they were “scattered throughout.”

• We know there were churches in Galatia and Asia
• The Spirit had forbidden Paul to go to Bithynia
• Aquila and Pricilla were from Pontus
• Cappadocia is mentioned in Acts chapter two

I am confident this letter was addressed not to individuals but to churches scattered throughout those areas. There would be almost no way the letter could have successfully reached scattered individuals. But churches, though small and insignificant, in the world’s eyes, would have been networked as believers.

We are scattered throughout this world, and we are strangers in the world, but we are not alone in the world.

• There are other believers and
• There is the Word of God
• There is the indwelling Holy Spirit

Don’t lose sight of them.

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. 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

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 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, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

1 Peter 1:1 Strangers. And Scattered

James 5:11 (KJV) Happy To Endure

James 5:11 (KJV)

Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

We count them happy which endure.

The volume of verses supporting this passage are so numerous that I hesitate to begin to illustrate lest I find no place to end.

The gist of the thought is that those prophets who endured to the end are held in high esteem. 

• Their testimony of faith is an encouragement to us.
• Their steadfastness in the face of trial and even death, is a blessing to those who are currently suffering for their faith.

We trust and believe that they are today and forever will be in a place of blessing beside the Lord

Jesus addresses this in the beatitudes.[1]

The Apostles rested upon this in their hours of persecution.[2]

The Word of God explains in Hebrews 12:11 (KJV)

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

While those who endure may not seem to be happy amid distress, afterward, thank God there is an eternal afterward, the fruit of such trouble is more precious than any amount of gold on earth.[3]

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[1] Matthew 5:10-12 (KJV)
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

[2] Acts 5:41 (KJV)
And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.

[3] 1 Peter 1:7 (KJV)
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. 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

Donate to our cause of “Reaching a world of souls with the Word of God.”

For this and, more than 5600 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, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

James 5:11 (KJV) Happy To Endure