Luke 15:24 (KJV) Sheep, Silver, and Souls

Luke 15:24 (KJV)

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

I’m thinking of how little value we sometimes place on things of great value.

The shepherd loses a sheep but rejoices when it is found.

I have raised animals for the better part of my life:

• Horses
• Sheep
• Pigs
• Chickens
• Quail
• Cattle
• Cats
• Dogs

A fact of farming and ranching is that animals are lost. If a person doesn’t have the fortitude to keep them healthy and the heart to expect some losses, animals aren’t for them.

But no cattleman wants to lose an animal. They are valuable for food, for income, and, frankly, they are just plum enjoyable to be around.

The woman loses her coin but rejoices when it is found.

We live in such a wealthy society in the United States that this can be challenging for us to comprehend. Frankly, there are very few coins we can imagine having much worth.

But remember the woman who cast in two pence, and it was all her living? This coin could easily have constituted a year or more’s income. It could have been a tenth of all she expected to possess for the remainder of her life. It could have been, in her world, irreplaceable.

And that brings us to the prodigal.

Having little value for animals or income, it is hardly surprising that there would be some who place little value on people and relationships.

We’re living today in a time when whether a baby’s life has value is considered a legitimate debate. People who think of themselves as bright, educated, moral, and honest are willing openly to demand that abortion should not only be legal but is, in many cases, the most moral thing to do. After all, if the baby’s life is an inconvenience, wouldn’t it be unfair to force that child to live in surroundings where he is considered so?

Of course, we Christians are appalled at such thinking.

But are we not guilty of the same kind of heart when we take such a casual view of the eternal soul as to debate whether Christians ought to witness or not? Haven’t we become callous to the value of the soul when we refuse to participate in missions giving or outreach events in our church?

Value! Rejoice whenever it is restored!

#ValueOfASoul #LostAndFound #Luke15v24 #ReachTheLost #DailyVisitwithGod

Sheep, Silver, and Souls: The Way We See Value

What do you value enough to seek, protect, and rejoice over when it is restored? Share your thoughts in the comments.

For more Bible studies, daily devotions, and practical lessons from the Word of God, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

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 7200 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.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
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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. 

Luke 15:24 (KJV) Sheep, Silver, and Souls

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxcY4thP15Wt0DrqvtDUtVw3v83iXOijWj?si=8L94DAqWG5gbyn78

Psalms 14:2-3 (KJV) Hope for Every Sinner

Psalms 14:2-3 (KJV)

The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.

They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

This passage is cited in the New Testament.

Romans 3:10-12 (KJV)
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

(I elected to provide a bit of context in the Romans passage.)

So we have this passage in the Scriptures not once, but twice. When God speaks, it is important. When God repeats Himself, we do well to pay attention!

And notice the conclusion of the Lord:

• They are all gone aside.
• They are all together become filthy.
• There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

If this were anyone other than the Lord, I would say that they are exaggerating. God doesn’t exaggerate.

• All means all. 
• None means none.
• There is not one among men who understands and seeks God.

Know what God did about that?

He became man and dwelt among us.

He became the One.

And that One, Jesus Christ, became the righteousness of every man and took upon Himself the sin of all men.

#Psalms14v2-3 #NoneRighteous #JesusChristOurRighteousness #AllHaveSinned #SeekGod

Hope for Every Sinner: The One We Needed

Psalms 14 reminds us that “there is none righteous, no, not one”—but God did not leave mankind without hope. Jesus Christ became man and became the One.

What stands out most to you from Psalms 14:2-3? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

For more Bible teaching, daily devotionals, and practical studies from the King James Bible, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

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 7200 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.

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 14:2-3 (KJV) Hope for Every Sinner

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxdVkorpzdj68PHjJnPFYybcInWFvYYfGY?si=M7BRm1OtorCgeiAM 

Psalms 13:3 (KJV) Hope for Dark Days

Psalms 13:3 (KJV)

Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

Here is a prayer I think common among believers, though perhaps not expressed in the same words.

Consider and hear me, O LORD

It is a prayer request in itself that God would even take notice of our prayers. How thankful I am for the assurances in the Word that He does.

Lighten mine eyes

There are two possible interpretations that I am aware of. The first is, “Lighten mine eyes,” as in restore my health. Jonathan and Saul’s men’s eyes were lightened when they tasted of the honey. 

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

The second application would be that God would illuminate our eyes to see His truths and light the path that we take through dark days. Spiritually speaking, Christians often do go through dark valleys. This world is no friend to us. The world, the flesh, and the devil often lead us into paths so dark and confusing they could spell our end, except that God guide us through them.

Sleep the sleep of death

There is sleep, and there is the sleep of death. David’s psalm asks that he not sleep the sleep of death—at least not before the Lord’s time. But even then, the sleep of death is but sleep. It is nothing to be feared. It is, for the believer, the door into life eternal. It is as necessary as our nightly rest. And it is to be looked upon with favor when it is the appropriate time to sleep.

#Psalms13v3 #GodHearsPrayer #LightenMineEyes #TrustGodInDarkDays #HopeOfEternalLife

Hope for Dark Days: God Gives Light

Have you ever prayed, “Lighten mine eyes,” when the way ahead seemed dark? Share in the comments how God has helped you through a difficult season. 

For more Bible studies, devotional thoughts, and practical teaching from the Word of God, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

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 7200 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.

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 13:3 (KJV) Hope for Dark Days

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxK8TnwpxLqrPSyLArVxzNHS5i1NKnUv6q?si=bufo9QbO8nFfSbls

Psalms 12:7 (KJV) Pure Words Preserved

Psalms 12:7 (KJV)

Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.

Psalm 12 has a lot to say about words. David writes about men who “speak vanity.” He mentions flattering lips, a double heart, and a tongue that speaks proud things. They are so confident in what they say that they boast, “With our tongue will we prevail.”

Then David gives us the contrast.

Psalm 12:6 (KJV)
The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Men speak vanity, but God speaks pure Words. Men flatter, but God tells the truth. Men speak with a double heart, but there is nothing double about the Word of God. Men boast that their tongues will prevail, but the Words of God endure.

Then David says, “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

John Gill did not believe “them” referred to the Words of God. He believed David was speaking of the poor and needy mentioned in verse 5. But Gill tells us something else that caught my attention. Aben Ezra believed “them” referred to the words of verse 6, and Aben Ezra lived around the year 1100.

That means the debate over Psalm 12:7 is older than the King James Bible by hundreds of years. Reading this verse as a promise of the preservation of God’s Words is not some interpretation invented by modern King James Bible defenders. Men were discussing this interpretation centuries before the King James Bible existed.

I understand the grammatical argument Gill makes, and I understand why he followed Kimchi and interpreted the verse as referring to the poor and needy. But I believe the context points us to the Words of God.

Look at the Psalm. Men speak vanity, flatter with their lips, speak with a double heart, boast with their tongues, and trust in their own words. Then, right in the middle of all that corrupt speech, David says, “The words of the LORD are pure words.”

That is the contrast. The wicked have their words, and God has His Words. Their words are vain, flattering, proud, and corrupt, while His Words are pure. Immediately after telling us that His Words are pure, David says, “Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

I believe that means exactly what it says. God did not give His Words to one generation and leave the generations that followed to reconstruct what He might have said. He gave His Words, He kept His Words, He preserved His Words, and we have His Words today.

The words of men come and go with their generation, but the Words of God are preserved from generation to generation.

#Psalm12v7 #WordOfGod #KJV #BiblePreservation #DailyVisitWithGod

Pure Words Preserved: An Ancient Bible Debate Older Than the KJV

What do you believe Psalm 12:7 is promising to preserve—the poor and needy, the Words of God, or both? Leave a comment and tell me how you understand the passage. 

For more Bible studies, devotionals, and KJV-centered teaching, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

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 7200 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.

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 12:7 (KJV) Pure Words Preserved

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxKrPoFIXQ2NumcDvgU9X7kYZcO3x7FExe?si=QuxOW5C96-Sx6Dy3