Titus 2:15 (KJV) Living a Life Worthy of Respect

Titus 2:15 (KJV)

These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

Paul counseled Timothy 1 Timothy 4:12 (KJV) Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

The similarities between the books demands that the two instructions be considered together. The counsel to Titus informs the counsel to Timothy. It is not simply his age in play here; it is His behavior. On the other hand, his counsel to Timothy must not limit our understanding of the counsel to Titus. The youth are not the only persons who might behave in an immature manner.

Here’s the point I think of the passage. It is impossible to make anyone not to despise us. There is no authority we might ever possess to prevent another man from despising our positions, our preferences, or our persons. People are so fickle they might choose to despise another person just because they think it’s fun to do.

What we do have control of is whether we give them cause to despise us.

1 Peter 3:14-17 (KJV)
But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye:and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and beready always to givean answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
For it isbetter, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

If I am to be despised, let it be for well doing rather than evil doing.

#ChristianLiving #BiblicalWisdom #SpiritualGuidance #FaithfulLiving #ScripturalInsight #RighteousSuffering

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.

For this and, more than 6000 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:
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Titus 2:15 (KJV) Living a Life Worthy of Respect

Psalms 137:7 The Spiritual Significance of Jerusalem

Psalms 137:7 (KJV)

Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom[1] in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.

Jerusalem is a city, a physical location. As such it is no more special or preferred than any other…

Except that this is the city God chose for Himself.[2]

Jerusalem represents

• The true God
• The worship of God

Jerusalem represents

• The love of God reaching man
• The Word of God speaking to man

Jerusalem represents

• The salvation God offers to men
• The Saviour God gave to men

Jerusalem represents

• The land in which Christ preached
• The place where Christ paid for our sins

How could we then forget Jerusalem?

We ought to pray for the peace of Jerusalem in memorial for the Saviour who gave Himself there.

#JerusalemChosenByGod, #CityOfSpiritualSignificance, #JerusalemSalvationSymbol, #PrayForJerusalemPeace, #ChristInJerusalem

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[1] (Edom was a half relative to the Jews and the home of Herod, who built the Temple of Jesus’ day. But they were not friendly towards Jerusalem. Perhaps the equivalent in our day is the NewIFB, Steven Anderson, and those following who, though claiming a benefit from Jerusalem (salvation through Christ) have animosity and even hatred for the Jews.)

[2] 2 Chronicles 6:6 (KJV)
But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.

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.

For this and, more than 6000 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

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

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. 

Psalms 137:7 The Spiritual Significance of Jerusalem: A Place of Redemption

Psalms 135:15 (KJV) Unmasking the Modern Idol

Psalms 135:15 (KJV)

The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.

I recently had a conversation with a person who challenged me that I should spread a message of love. She said, and I’m quoting her, “God is not hell and condemnation.”

This concept, that God is love, is an idol every bit as much as the ones the Psalmist wrote against. The modern idol is the work of men’s mind rather than his hands, but it is just as worthless.

A god of love, without judgment, without a standard of righteousness, is a useless god. I think that’s the point of the idol. It leaves its followers free. It can’t see their deeds. It can’t hear their idle words. It can’t rebuke their sin. It –  well, it can’t condemn them.

Here’s the problem. The followers of these idols become equally powerless. Having claimed the power to create their own gods, they bow down to them and become the victims of the fruit of unrestrained sin.

Psalms 135:15 (KJV)
For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

Let those creators of idols rail all they wish.

I know that our Lord is above all gods.

#GodIsAboveAll #TrueFaith #RighteousJudgment #FaithOverIdols #SpiritualInsight

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.

For this and, more than 6000 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

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

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. 

Psalms 135:15 (KJV) Unmasking the Modern Idol: Rising Above the Idol of Love

1 Timothy 4:14 (KJV) The Gift of the Ministry: A Sacred Calling

1 Timothy 4:14 (KJV)

Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

John Gill draws a beautiful picture of this “gift” when he writes, “What qualifies men for the work of the ministry is a gift from God: it is not of nature, nor is it mere natural abilities and capacity; nor is it any thing acquired, it is not human learning, or the knowledge of languages, arts, and sciences; nor is it special saving grace; for a man may have all these, and yet not be apt to teach, or fit for the ministry; but it is a peculiar and distinct gift,[a] it is a gift of interpreting the Scriptures, and of dispensing the mysteries of grace to the edification of others; which, when it meets in a man with all the rest before mentioned, makes him very considerable: and this gift is in a man; it is a treasure put into earthen vessels, a good treasure in the heart, out of which a good minister of Christ brings forth many good things, things new and old, both for the delight and profit of men: and this gift is by no means to be neglected; this talent should not be hid in the earth, or wrapped up in a napkin; it should not lie dormant and useless, but should be stirred up, cultivated, and improved, as it may by reading, meditation, and prayer.”

The weight of the ministry is of such magnitude that it must not be taken lightly. At the same time, for those gifted for this work, it is a remarkable treasure. The gift does not originate from prophecy; rather, I consider the prophecy of this passage to be the recognition of the gift of God on this person by the members of the church to which the gifted individual belongs. Neither is the gift the result of the laying on of hands by a counsel of pastors; this act is merely an acknowledgment of doctrinal agreement and fellowship through such an agreement.

This warning is one to be seriously considered. If we are so gifted, it would be negligent not to use it for God’s good purpose.

[a] I suspect that those men in the ministry who do not view it this way do not possess this gift but have rather embraced a business model. This would explain a lot given the current condition of so many churches.

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.

For this and, more than 6000 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

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

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 Timothy 4:14 (KJV) The Gift of the Ministry: A Sacred Calling

Psalms 132:15 (KJV) From Provisions to Blessings

Psalms 132:15 (KJV)
I will abundantly bless her provision: I will satisfy her poor with bread.

The land God promised to Israel was indeed a good land, flowing with milk and honey.[1]

There was provision there. There was goodness. There was water. There were houses and fields. There were walls for fortification. And there were natural defenses. Israel, Jerusalem in particular, was and still is a uniquely supplied place. By that time, they had also been granted good leadership and godly worship. What more could a people ask for? 

They could ask for the blessing, the presence, and the help of God. In so many respects, I see similarities in the United States. The natural resources here, the vastness of the land, and the heritage we have in our Constitution have left us well supplied and abundantly provided for. But provisions mean little without God’s blessing.

Similarly, there are parallels in the Christian family. Those things God has given to the Christian: Salvation, Hope, the local church, friendships, family, the Bible, and Eternal security. Who can help but be thankful? However, even these can be squandered, unappreciated, and even less effective than they are intended to be by God unless He blesses them.

Oh, how we need God to bless our provisions today. We need Christians who are blessed with anointing to witness, blessed to overcome their sin, and blessed to be salt in their world. 

Thank God for all He has provided. 

I’m asking God today to “abundantly bless” those provisions.

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[1] Exodus 3:8 (KJV)
And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

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.

For this and, more than 6000 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

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

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. 

Psalms 132:15 (KJV) From Provisions to Blessings

Psalms 130:7 (KJV) Redemption Without Borders

Psalms 130:7 (KJV)

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

I can hear the reformed fellows now. “You can’t use this passage to apply to Christianity. It says it’s for Israel.”

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable..”[1]

With the Lord is “plenteous redemption.”

• He is able to save to the uttermost
• He is able to save all who call upon the Lord
• He is able to save wherever they call upon the Lord
• He is able to save entirely
• He is able to save eternally
• He is able to save equally man, woman and child
• He is able to save no matter the sin

With the Lord is plenteous redemption. 

-It is whole, complete. 
-It is not through some spiritual “payment plan.” 

• 
  
• -It is paid in full
• -It is paid forever and
• -It is paid for all who put their trust in Him

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[1] 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

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.

For this and, more than 6000 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

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

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. 

Psalms 130:7 (KJV) Redemption Without Borders