John 20:17 (KJV) Abba, Father

John 20:17 (KJV)
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

The Christian has cause to be the humblest of all men. Jesus placed us on His own level when He said, “my Father and your Father; and to my God and your God.”

I think the Jews would have interpreted that as that both He and they were Jews. God, they would have said, was both Jesus’ and their Father and God because He is the God and Father of Israel. The average believer in God might say something similar today. He is everyone’s Father and God because He loves everyone and, well, they would not want to admit that anyone is excluded from God. 

It is significant that this passage is after Jesus’ resurrection. While the Jew would be correct in the fleshly sense and the average person would be right in the most general sense, there is something more powerful here. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, His gospel, has purchased for Mary, and for all who are born again, a unique relationship with God. We are joint-heirs with Christ. We are free through the Holy Spirit to call God, Abba, Father. 

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 4800 earlier Daily Visits with God visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

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John 20:17 (KJV) Abba, Father

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John 19:10 (KJV) Yield To Christ

John 19:10 (KJV)
Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

Behold the arrogance of man. Pilate claimed, and I imagine really believed, he had power over Jesus’ life or death. In reality, he was driven wholly by fear:

• He was afraid that Jesus might be the King of the Jews, the Son of God
• He was afraid of the dreams of his wife that Jesus was a just man
• He was afraid that Rome would hear he made the wrong decision 
• He was afraid the Jews would cause a riot over Jesus

In the end, he washed his hands of the whole affair and gave the mob what they wanted. 

He was powerless. 

Men live in a world of self-delusion. Only Christ can break through and reveal us for what we are. 

May we yield to Christ.

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 4800 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.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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John 19:10 (KJV) Yield To Christ

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2 Kings 23:26 (KJV) A Reasonable Warning

2 Kings 23:26 (KJV)
Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.

2 Kings 24:3-4 (KJV)
Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did;
And also for the innocent blood that he shed: for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; which the LORD would not pardon.

I understand that we live in a different time than the Kings. The Cross of Christ changed everything concerning the relationship of man with God. Still, there is a warning here that ought to be considered. Josiah was the godliest king Israel had since David. Josiah even tore down the abominations Solomon had built. But, for the sins of Manasseh, God would not pardon. The cup of iniquity was full. The judgment of the nation was determined. No amount of repentance would change it. 

I understand that God’s mercies are new every morning. I know it is true that any individual can turn to God and receive grace. But mercy and grace can come upon the soul while chastening still comes to the flesh. 

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 4800 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.

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2 Kings 23:26 (KJV) A Reasonable Warning

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2 Kings 21:23-24 (KJV) Leadership

2 Kings 21:23-24 (KJV)
And the servants of Amon conspired against him, and slew the king in his own house.
And the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Amon only reigned two years before his assassination. In such a short period of time, the Bible’s only clue as to what is reign was like is that he did as his evil father had done and that he forsook the Lord God of his fathers. 

I wonder if those servants who conspired to kill him would have done the same to his father if they had had the chance? 

Here’s the thing, 

• as wicked a king as he was, 
• as much as God did not approve of his policies and 
• as much as the people may have wished for a better man on the throne

the people caught and executed the conspirators. 

It is never right, and it will never turn out well for those who stand against God ordained leadership. Even if you don’t like the leader. 

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 4800 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.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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2 Kings 21:23-24 (KJV) Leadership

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John 16:2 (KJV) Come Out of the Synagogues

John 16:2 (KJV)
They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

These days many so-called Christians practice a form of Judaism. When I confront them about it, they try to point out that all the New Testament Christians maintained synagogue worship. They cite Paul’s custom of going first to the synagogues of a city as proof he continued to worship there. 

I would point out that Jesus told His disciples, these very people the modern Judaizers claim to follow, that they would be put out of the synagogues and that they should not be offended by it. 

Paul did, in fact, go to the synagogues. But he did not go there to participate in Jewish worship, he went there to correct and warn them. It never ended well. In every town, he established a local church. He did not encourage converts to unite with the local synagogues. They would not have been welcome. He encouraged converts, both Jews and Gentiles, to unite together in this one new body, a local church. 

This, I am confident, is still the counsel of the Scriptures. 

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 4800 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.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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John 16:2 (KJV) Come Out of the Synagogues

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John 15:20 (KJV) Not Greater Than Him

John 15:20 (KJV)
Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

Here is a key phrase. Jesus, speaking to the Apostles, the foundation of His church, says, “if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

We can always tell those who grow from the preaching of God’s Word, they are those who are convinced that the Word is from God. Those who merely attend church, reject church, or ignore church can be generally said not to believe the Bible and if they do not believe the Bible, they will certainly not believe the preacher of that Bible. 

We are to preach the Word to every creature. That does not mean that every creature will believe and keep it. 

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 4800 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.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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John 15:20 (KJV) Not Greater Than Him

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2 Kings 18:1 (KJV) The Best Men Know That

2 Kings 18:1 (KJV)
Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.

Having read the book of Isaiah and knowing more about Ahaz than what we have in 2 Kings, I read this verse and breathe a sigh of relief. Ahaz is gone! This terrible king is off the throne, replaced by Hezekiah, a good, though imperfect man. 

Hezekiah’s reign is one of revival and trouble. Hezekiah turned Judah back to God and looked Assyria, a nation Ahaz had courted, squarely in the eyes. Hezekiah saw God answer his prayers for victory over Assyria and saw God answer his prayers to give him 15 more years of life. But then he compromised with Babylon and secured the future defeat of his own people. 

Such a good man ended his life thankful that such suffering would escape him and be the lot of his grandchildren. 

No man is perfect, so every man needs grace. 

The best men know that. 

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 4800 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.

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2 Kings 18:1 (KJV) The Best Men Know That

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2 Kings 16:10 (KJV) The Worldliness of Ahaz

2 Kings 16:10 (KJV)
And king Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and saw an altar that was at Damascus: and king Ahaz sent to Urijah the priest the fashion of the altar, and the pattern of it, according to all the workmanship thereof.

The tragedy of this passage cannot be overstated. Ahaz had just received help from Assyria in defeating Syria and Israel. In celebration, he visited Damascus and saw there an altar of the world. Though God had given His children an altar made after His pattern, Ahaz had constructed an altar of a different pattern. He did not get rid of the original, mind you, he just modified it and privatized it. 

Modern Christianity, having seen what is in the world, has now made its form of worship after the pattern of this world. They have replaced God’s design with a copy of the world’s design. They would deny that they have gotten rid of the old, but I insist that they have modified it and given it a small place in the house of their Lord. 

Assyria carried Israel away. Ahaz was partly to blame for that. But Assyria and then Judah were carried away by Babylon. The worldliness of Ahaz contributed to the destruction of Judah. Just so the worldliness of modern Christianity contributes to the fall of its own followers. 

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 4800 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.

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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
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2 Kings 16:10 (KJV) The Worldliness of Ahaz

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John 12:48 (KJV) The Judge

John 12:48 (KJV)
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Jesus said that, in the end, even He would not judge those who reject Him. He said the one judge is the word that He had spoken. Those who reject Him and refuse to receive His word will be judged by that very word. 

So here we have it, the judge of all the earth, and we can hold it in our hand. 

• We can read it, analyze it. 
• We can study it, decipher it. 
• We can memorize and quote it. 

But the one thing we all had better do is receive and believe it. 

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 4800 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:
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My author Page for Kindle/Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/author/marvinmckenzie

John 12:48 (KJV) The Judge

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