2008-07-06T03:23:17Z http://honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org/atom.aspx Quick Blog tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-07-04:a45933ae-0b6b-4001-a0a1-a93b4a89d819 Victor Knowles 2008-06-26T09:32:47Z 2008-07-04T01:10:00Z Today is July 4, Independence Day, so I am going to take a break from our current study to wish all of my readers a happy 4th of July!

Psalm 33:12 says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He has chosen as His own inheritance."

In 1892 the U.S. Supreme Court declared, "Our laws and our institutions must necessarily be based upon the teachings of the Redeemer of Mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent, our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian."

Just this week the presumptive Democratic nominee, who is running for the highest office in the land, presumptuously declared that America is not a Christian nation but is also a Hindu nation, a Muslim nation, etc. America's founding fathers would never have made such an untrue and uninformed statement. Alexander Hamilton said, "I have a tender reliance on the mercy of the Almighty; through the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a sinner. I look to Him for mercy." Patrick Henry declared, "This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed." Benjamin Franklin (at the Constitutional Convention, June 28, 1787): "We have been assured, sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel." Is America being led back to Babel?

Hymn/Prayer: "Our fathers' God, to Thee, Author of liberty, to Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright with freedom's holy light; protect us by Thy might, Great God, our King!"
(Samuel F. Smith, "America").]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-07-03:66a2abe3-fc01-41f6-9dd9-a4fd2bf11c68 Victor Knowles 2008-06-26T09:06:08Z 2008-07-03T01:49:00Z "But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light" (Eph. 5:13 NASB).

On Saturdays I try to dust the house. Sometimes I do a good job and sometimes I don't. A room may look fairly presentable in the dim light. But pull back the curtains and let the full light of day come in and then all the imperfections are exposed by the light. So it is in the lives of those who are flirting with sin. The light of God's Son and the light of God's Word will make manifest their true character. The Message reads: "Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ." This is why authentic biblical teaching and preaching is so important.

Crime scene investigators have come up with a special light that reveals all kinds of stains - evidence left in a room by those who committed a crime and thought they were getting away with it. Normal light does not reveal the evidence, but special light does. "For light is capable of showing up everything for what it really is" (Phillips). The light of God's Word can even make us into children of light. "It is even possible (after all, it happened with you!) for light to turn the thing it shines upon into light also" (Phillips). This doesn't happen to everyone (for some resent the light), but thank God it happened to you and me!

Prayer: Father of light, we give thanks for the light that exposed our sin and makes us right with You. Through Christ we pray.]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-07-02:b56f7951-cfac-4ae3-903c-f803939b6215 Victor Knowles 2008-06-26T08:47:32Z 2008-07-02T01:23:00Z This is the 550th "Honey from the Rock." I trust that you are being edified from these weekly Bible studies. Let me hear from you today.

Our verse for the day reads: "It is degrading even to speak of the things continually done by them in secret" (Eph. 5:12 TCNT). Yesterday we learned that we are to "expose and reprove and convict" (Amplified) those who engage in the deeds of darkness. This takes boldness and courage. But it also takes wisdom and discretion. Because "it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret" (NKJV).

The Christian reprover must walk a fine line. He does not want to become lascivious in describing or denouncing lasciviousness. I once read an expose of pornography in a Christian journal that was pornographic in its details. I don't get that journal anymore. I have heard sermons preached that went way over the line (in my judgment) in defining things that some people practice in private. I believe that secret sins must be rebuked, but it is better to speak in general terms rather than in graphic language. I believe that is what Paul did when he wrote about such sins. Go back and look at Eph. 4:26-31  and Eph. 5:3-5.

Prayer: Holy Father, give us wisdom when we rebuke that which offends You. Through Christ we pray.]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-07-01:ad9ec11c-23d5-4cc9-8952-65c3d9aa2e4f Victor Knowles 2008-06-26T08:23:04Z 2008-07-01T01:02:00Z "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them" (Eph. 5:11 NKJV).

God created us for fellowship with Him and for fellowship with His people. John wrote to fellow Christians: "that you may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (1 John 1:3). There is a sanctioned fellowship and there is an unsanctioned fellowship - "fellowship with the fruitless deeds and enterprises of darkness" (Amplified).

We should "steer clear of the activities of darkness" (Phillips). Paul does not specify what these activities are, but if one is filled with the Spirit of God he or she will know in his or her spirit what those things might be. Ephesus was the home of the temple of Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was a center of pagan idolatry and immoral practices. Ephesus was also famous for its magical arts. True believers did not take part in such deeds of darkness; in fact, they exposed them for what they were. We must have the courage to do the same today. The NEB says, "Show them up for what they are."

"What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God" (2 Cor. 6:14-16 NKJV). You and I are called to things that are higher and nobler. Let us live up to our heavenly calling.

]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-30:9004324f-523b-4bc1-aeaa-21b4d42ecda4 Victor Knowles 2008-06-25T16:05:01Z 2008-06-30T03:48:00Z When I was a little boy I tried to figure out what pleased my father and mother. As I grew older that became more apparent. My mom wanted a son who kept his room tidy! My dad wanted a son who did a job right. Still later I learned what brought pleasure to my parents - a son who first of all did what pleased the Heavenly Father.

Our text today reads: "Let your lives be living proofs of the things which please God" (Eph. 5:10 The NT in Modern English). Weymouth's translation reads, "Learn in your own experience what is fully pleasing to the Lord." This is the theme we have been on ever since January when we began with Romans 12. When we offer our lives as living sacrifices to God and are transformed by the renewing of our minds "then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will" (Rom. 12:1-3 NIV).

The context will tell us what pleases God - living and acting as children of light. Tomorrow it will tell us what surely does not please Him - taking part in the deeds of darkness. God does not leave us in the dark as to what pleases Him. He has given us His very Word to read, study, ponder, delve into, meditate upon, and most of all, live out in our lives. The 10 Commandments, the Beatitudes, indeed, the Sermon on the Mount, the faith chapter (Heb. 11), the love chapter (1 Cor. 13), on an on the list of "recommended reading" could go. God is pleased when he sees faith working by love.

Prayer: Lord, let my life be a living proof of the things which please You!]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-27:90b96aaa-2039-469a-b559-2e4c3c3b7151 Victor Knowles 2008-06-25T15:44:25Z 2008-06-27T03:29:00Z We have all heard of the fruit of the Spirit. But have you heard of the fruit of the light? Our text today reads: "(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth)" [Eph. 5:9 NIV].

The KJV translates this "the fruit of the Spirit" but most translations use the word "light" (or "Light") instead. Jesus, of course, is the Light of the world. And His followers are the lesser lights. John the Baptist said he was not the light but that he came to bear witness to the true light that would give light to everyone (John 1:8,9). We are "light reflectors." I like the way the TCNT puts it: "For the outcome of life in the Light may be seen in every form of goodness, righteousness, and sincerity." J. B. Phillips puts it this way: "The light produces in men quite the opposite of sins like these - everything that is wholesome and good and true."

We are the product of the Light. We are the effect of the Light. One of the first songs I learned in Sunday School was "This little light of mine, I'm going to let it shine." Another song I remember singing was "I'll be a sunbeam for Jesus." I think that's still what Jesus wants me to be. If I am living and acting like a son of Light then I am going to have a positive effect upon others. You can aspire to no greater calling than simply to be a sunbeam for Jesus!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we want to be sunbeams for your Son. Help us every minute of every day to walk as sons and daughters of the Light and be the people You want us to be. Through Christ we pray.]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-26:63eabc86-93fb-4ec8-b021-86ff1f31a972 Victor Knowles 2008-06-25T15:27:29Z 2008-06-26T03:09:00Z "For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light - lead the lives of those native-born to the Light" (Eph. 5:8 Amplified Version).

Once our hearts were full of darkness. We had dark thoughts and committed dark deeds. But then something happened. For Saul of Tarsus it was when a blinding light struck him down on the road to Damascus. Our conversion may not have been that dramatic, but somewhere and at some time the light came on for us. "Now, in the Lord, you are all daylight" (Knox).  We live in the full light of the Lord. His Word has enlightened us. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Psa. 119:105).

Since the Light has dawned upon us, what kind of people should we be? "Live like men who are at home in daylight" (NEB). "Live as men native to the light" (Knox). Some people don't like the light. You will never find them reading the Bible or going to church. But those who love the light will want to spend time in God's word and with God's people. Won't they? A lighthouse sends its beams across the waves. But along the shore are the lower lights. That's us. God needs both. Let us all lead the lives of those native-born to the Light - to the One who said, "I am the light of the world."

Prayer: Father, thank You for sending light into our lives. Help us now to walk as children of light so that those lost in darkness may see a gleam of hope. Through Christ, the Light of the world, we pray.]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-25:67e6a643-1679-4f61-aa32-c1b86d0401da Victor Knowles 2008-06-24T08:48:37Z 2008-06-25T01:27:00Z "Therefore do not be partakers with them" (Eph. 5:7 NKJV).

Christ followers are not to partake of the things that "the sons of disobedience" choose to partake of. In the context (Eph. 5:3-6) that includes the following: "Sexual immorality in all its forms...the itch to get your hands on what belongs to other people...[being] immoral, dirty-minded, covetous..." (The NT in Modern English). Christ never engaged in such behavior and if we are His followers, neither will we. "Have nothing to do with men like that" (ibid).

The church is the pure bride of Christ. Yet from time to time we hear of some in the church actually teaching things that would encourage believers to partake of questionable or even forbidden things. Jesus indicted the church in Thyatira for allowing a woman (Jezebel) to "teach and beguile My servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat things sacrificed to idols" (Rev. 2:20). A similar problem existed in the church in Pergamos where the doctrine of Balaam was taught (Rev. 2:14). This is why it is so important for you to study the Bible for yourself. Sometimes liberal or "liberating" teachings by some in the church can cause believers who are not grounded in the truth to be partakers in sin. You know what is right. Stay on the right path and "do not be partakers with them."

Hymn/Prayer: "I have no help but Thine, nor do I need another arm to save Thine to lean upon; It is enough, my Lord, enough indeed - My strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone" (Horatius Bonar).



]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-24:c51cb9fc-b5ca-4da0-83ca-6ce74a7f818e Victor Knowles 2008-06-19T11:49:07Z 2008-06-24T01:32:00Z "Let no one delude and deceive you with empty excuses and groundless arguments [for these sins], for through these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of rebellion and disobedience" (Eph. 5:6 Amplified Version).

Those who try to justify sin in their own life will often try to convince others that what is wrong is actually O.K. Let's back up a verse and look at this verse in context. "For of this much you can be quite certain: that neither the immoral not the dirty-minded nor the covetous man (which latter is, in effect, worshiping a false god) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Don't let anyone fool you on this point, however plausible in his argument. It is these very things which bring down the wrath of God upon the disobedient" (The N.T. in Modern English, J. B. Phillips).

Such is happening in the church today. A minister I know was carrying on with a woman who was not his wife. The community knew it and the church suspected it. When he was finally confronted he tried, unsuccessfully, to "delude and deceive" the confronter with "groundless arguments" for his own sin. Don't let someone (even a so-called minister of the gospel) tell you that God told him it was all right (for him and for you) to engage in immoral or greedy behavior. The wrath of God will fall on both of you. God has called us to a higher and nobler life.

Hymn/Prayer of Resolve: "I am resolved no longer to linger, charmed by the world's delight; things that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured by sight" (Palmer Hartsough).]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-23:99c624f6-9210-45d7-b932-63cc310652bc Victor Knowles 2008-06-19T11:31:13Z 2008-06-23T01:07:00Z Who in their right mind would forfeit their inheritance? Yet many professed Christians do just that. Our text for today says, "For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person - such a man is an idolater - has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph. 5:5 NIV).

"Forfeit" means "something that one loses or has to give up because of some crime, fault, or neglect of duty." The Christian has a wonderful inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Why would anyone want to mess around and lose that inheritance because of unChristian desires or behavior? Notice that right along with sexual immorality Paul mentions greed - idolatry, for all practical purposes. The world will tell you "greed is good." God says otherwise.

Look at how the Amplified Version translates this verse. "For be sure of this, that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous - that is, who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain - [for] that [in effect] is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Esau wept bitterly when he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. Don't be found gnashing your teeth because you messed around and forfeited your eternal inheritance just to satisfy your sensual senses. Recently I learned of an 80-year-old minister who is divorcing his wife so he can marry a younger woman he has been having an affair with for years. What a bad barter! Why would anyone choose hell over heaven?

Hymn: "Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin; each victory will help you some other to win; fight manfully onward, dark passions subdue, look ever to Jesus: He'll carry you through" (H. R. Palmer).

 ]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-20:98c0ec4d-3fb2-484f-ab1e-e82e5490d15e Victor Knowles 2008-06-19T09:50:27Z 2008-06-20T02:02:00Z There are things we should not talk about. I know that's hard to believe in this day of shock talk radio, incessant talking heads on TV, and ceaseless chatter among carnal Christians- but it is true. Look at our verse for today, Eph. 5:4 (Phillips): "The keynote of your conversation should not be nastiness or silliness or flippancy, but a sense of all that we owe to God."

Here's how others translate speech that is out of order. "Filthiness, buffoonery, ribald jesting" (Conybeare). "Coarse, stupid or flippant talk" (NEB). "Dirty stories, foul talk, and coarse jokes" (TLB). "Filthiness, foolish talking, coarse jesting" (NKJV). Anyone feeling convicted in my audience today? Can you imagine Jesus and the apostles sitting around engaging is such corrupt communication? Rotherham says, "Which things are beneath you." The TCNT says, "They are wholly out of place among you."

So, what's the alternative? "But instead voice your thankfulness [to God]" (Amplified). We owe God tributes of thanks, not trash talk.

Prayer: Now Father create within us a pure heart so that we might be a people of pure speech, always praising You. Through Christ we pray.]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-19:179431df-eb52-445a-808a-bfe7aa239a31 Victor Knowles 2008-06-16T17:32:28Z 2008-06-19T01:06:00Z "But you should not even talk about sexual immorality, or any type of [moral] impurity, or greed. [Note: Possibly "greed" here means "desire for much" of such things.] Such talk is not suitable for saints [i.e., God's holy people]" ( Eph. 5:3 The New Testament: An Understandable Version).

"Sex and the City" is one of the biggest movies of the year, or so I am told. Late night network TV is taken up with comedians who like to joke about sex. Should a Christian be entertained by such? J. B. Phillips' translation says, "Don't even talk about such things." Why? They don't befit the people of Christ (TCNT). "They are improper for God's holy people" (NIV). As our text above says, "Such talk is not suitable for saints." There are conversations that are simply unsuitable for saints.

Sometimes I am embarrassed by what I hear spoken from pulpit. I believe the pulpit demands a measure of dignity and decorum. I have seen older saints of God, especially elderly widows, literally cringe when some things are spoken. And it's not just the younger preachers who are guilty. I remember a men's gathering a few years ago where an older preacher (now deceased) resorted to language that was rude, crude, and even lewd in his "shock sermon." I've never been back to that gathering and don't plan to go in the future. Some subjects are just not fit for Christians to talk about - at church or anywhere else. May we be a people of pure speech.

Hymn: "Nothing between my soul and the Savior, naught of this world's delusive dream; I have renounced all sinful pleasure, Jesus is mine; there's nothing between"  (Charles A. Tindley). 

]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-18:efe3f92e-8fb2-4823-b476-3b00c998bc52 Victor Knowles 2008-06-16T17:00:59Z 2008-06-18T01:41:00Z "[He] gave Himself to God as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, for Christ's love for you was like a sweet perfume to Him" (Eph. 5:2b TLB).

Our "walk in love" began 2000 years ago when Jesus walked the Via Dolorosa, carrying His own cross. We must always remember that our walk of love must be modeled after His. He loved us so much that He carried our sins to Calvary and died for them there. This amazing sacrifice was like a sweet perfume to God. That's why I'm calling today's Bible study "The Perfumed Cross."(This "sweet-smelling aroma" stands in stark contrast with what we will look at in the coming days (vs. 3-6).
 
We are to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Is it a perfumed cross? A sanctified and scented stauros? The Amplified Version gives us an interesting "cross reference" for our text: Ezekiel 20:41. God says, "I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gathered you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles" (NKJV). Those who walk in love and carry the perfumed cross will be pleasing to God and a witness to the world for whom Christ died.

Hymn: "Take up thy cross and follow Me. I hear the blessed Savior call; How can I make a lesser sacrifice, when Jesus gave His all?" (A. H. Ackley)

]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-17:5fd74c7d-7267-4934-82a4-82d0e194b346 Victor Knowles 2008-06-16T11:48:02Z 2008-06-17T01:28:00Z "And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us..." (Eph. 5:2a NKJV).

All of us have stood at a street corner waiting for the signal to flash "Walk with light." Our text today gives us another signal: "Walk in love." Since "God is light" we can indeed "walk with light." And since "God is love" we can also "walk in love." The Norlie translation of Eph. 5:2 says, "Let love guide your footsteps..."

What kind of love should direct our walk? Paul answers: "as Christ also has loved us." Jesus loved His disciples to the very end. His love was patient, kind, and most of all, self-sacrificing. If we are going to "walk in love" we must follow the example of Jesus. We must love one another as Christ loved His own. The Williams translation may have put it best: "Live a life of love, following the example of the Christ."

Hymn: "Walking in footsteps of gentle forbearance, footsteps of faithfulness, mercy and love, Looking to Him for the grace freely promised, happy, how happy, our journey above" (Eliza E. Hewitt)]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-16:208df491-29e9-481a-968d-35f84a714441 Victor Knowles 2008-06-17T14:01:47Z 2008-06-16T17:32:30Z "But you should not even talk about sexual immorality, or any type of [moral] impurity, or greed. [Note: Possibly "greed" here means "desire for much" of such things.] Such talk is not suitable for saints [i.e., God's holy people]" ( Eph. 5:3 The New Testament: An Understandable Version).

"Sex and the City" is one of the biggest movies of the year, or so I am told. Late night network TV is taken up with comedians who like to joke about sex. Should a Christian be entertained by such? J. B. Phillips' translation says, "Don't even talk about such things." Why? They don't befit the people of Christ (TCNT). "They are improper for God's holy people" (NIV). As our text above says, "Such talk is not suitable for saints." There are conversations that are simply unsuitable for saints.

Sometimes I am embarrassed by what I hear spoken from pulpit. I believe the pulpit demands a measure of dignity and decorum. I have seen older saints of God, especially elderly widows, literally cringe when some things are spoken. And it's not just the younger preachers who are guilty. I remember a men's gathering a few years ago where an older preacher (now deceased) resorted to language that was rude, crude, and even lewd in his "shock sermon." I've never been back to that gathering and don't plan to go in the future. Some subjects are just not fit for Christians to talk about - at church or anywhere else. May we be a people of pure speech.

Hymn: "Nothing between my soul and the Savior, naught of this world's delusive dream; I have renounced all sinful pleasure, Jesus is mine; there's nothing between"  (Charles A. Tindley). 

]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-16:d49b3803-1d5b-4282-b200-a4740b518ef5 Victor Knowles 2008-06-19T09:51:21Z 2008-06-16T08:32:00Z "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children" (Eph. 5:1 NKJV).

Yesterday was Father's Day. Most children want to imitate their father. I did. Perhaps you did too. I actually followed in my father's footsteps, becoming a minister of the gospel just like him. The New Testament in Modern English (Phillips) reads, "As children copy their fathers you, as God's children, copy him."

We cannot copy the natural attributes of God for they are non-transferable. God is incomparable, invisible, inscrutable, unchangeable, unequaled, unsearchable, infinite, eternal, all-powerful, ever-present, all-knowing, et al. But we can copy (imitate) the transferable moral attributes of God. Our heavenly Father is a good God. Goodnesses is something we can strive to imitate. God is holy, impartial, and longsuffering. Those are things we can work on. God is love. We can be more loving. God is filled with mercy. We can be merciful. God is truth. We can have a love of the truth and take our stand for truth.

Since we are the children of God, let us imitate our Heavenly Father. Only then can we be the godly people He wants us to be.

Hymn: "Only to be what He wants me to be, every moment of every day; Yielded completely to Jesus alone, every step of this pilgrim way. Just to be clay in the Potter's hands, ready to do what His Word commands; Only to be what He wants  me to be, every moment of every day" (Norman J. Clayton).]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-13:a5e483d8-b7eb-401b-9083-e5cad3054159 Victor Knowles 2008-06-10T10:39:00Z 2008-06-13T01:17:00Z Some years ago there was a church in the town where I was ministering that called themselves the BYKOTA Church. I had no idea what kind of a church they were. One day I asked someone what BYKOTA stood for and they told me the church had named themselves after a passage in Ephesians 4:32 in the King James Version: "Be ye kind one to another." Bingo! BYKOTA!

Every church should be a BYKOTA church in this regard. The solution to all church problems, hassles, fusses, fights, and even splits is found in Ephesians 4:32. "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you" (NKJV). When we are kind to one another there will be no cutting remarks or curt behavior. When we are tenderhearted in our words and actions, there will be no hurt feelings. Most of all, when we can forgive one another of sins committed against us - real, minor or imagined - just as God in Christ forgave us ("readily and freely" - Amplified; "as quickly and thoroughly" - The Message), the church will be one as Jesus prayed it would be. You don't have to have the word BYKOTA on your church sign to be a church that is kind to one another. But you should have the thought in your heart and mind. Kindness, compassion, sensitivity, and mutual forgiveness will make us the kind of people that God can bless.

Hymn: "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above" (John Fawcett).


]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-12:61d06fa5-9110-4a36-91d8-be0ee6670716 Victor Knowles 2008-06-10T10:11:16Z 2008-06-12T01:51:00Z I don't especially like to take out the garbage, but I know that if I leave it in the house it will create one stinking mess. And my wife will not be too happy about it either! The solution? Duh. Take it out! Get rid of it! This is what this whole section of Scripture in Ephesians 4:17-32 is all about. Today we look at verse 31. "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice" (NIV). When God says we are to "get rid of" something, we had best do it! The six sins mentioned in this verse are especially rotten. We need to get rid of them like we would quickly get rid of a splitting, stinking sack of garbage that for whatever reason is still in the house!

Why in the world would we ever want to keep garbage in the house? There is nothing lovely or virtuous about bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice, is there? Why wouldn't you want to get rid of it as fast as you can? Every one of these things is an offense to God and the Holy Spirit and should be to us as well. They reek to high heaven. They will wreck the home or a church.The TCNT says let such things "be banished from among you." Weymouth's translation says they should "be unknown among you." When we recognize sin for what it really is - a bunch of stinking garbage - we will take it out and get rid of it as soon as possible, lest our heavenly house guests (the Godhead) are offended and leave.

Hymn: "Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul; each thought and each motive beneath His control; Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love, thou soon shalt be fitted for service above" (William D. Longstaff).

]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-11:0ea0e5a5-a32e-4e0c-9ce5-e4af5c78ed3a Victor Knowles 2008-06-10T09:49:00Z 2008-06-11T01:31:00Z A few days ago D-Day was celebrated (June 6). The Allied invasion at Normandy led to the deliverance of many who were suffering under the Nazi regime. I was at my sister's home on Normandy Drive in Iowa City on June 6. What a quirky coincidence.

Did you know that you and I should be looking forward to a special D-Day? Consider again Eph. 4:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (NKJV). The Amplified Version expands on this "day of redemption" as follows: "final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin."

Right now, even though we have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, we are still living under "enemy occupation." Satan is the prince of this world. But not for long! Jesus is coming again. And when He comes, we will be delivered once and for all from this world of evil and the eternal consequences of sin - hell. The Holy Spirit has sealed us for this great day! Yet another reason not to grieve Him!

Hymn: "Jesus may come today, Glad day! Glad day! And I would see my Friend; Dangers and troubles would end, If Jesus should come today. Glad day! Glad day! Is it the crowning day? I'll live for today, nor anxious be, Jesus my Lord I soon shall see; Glad day! Glad day! Is it the crowning day?" (George Walker Whitcomb).]]> tag:honeyfromtherock.poeministries.org,2008-06-10:625f58b2-b3a1-4a26-861c-f7380966ce21 Victor Knowles 2008-06-10T09:31:23Z 2008-06-10T01:57:00Z If you are a Christian, and living as such, the seal of God's approval is upon you. Did you know that? The apostle Paul said, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30 NKJV). The Amplified Version has "marked, branded as God's own, secured" for "sealed." Mark it down. God has "branded" you as His very own. He has secured you for Himself by the Holy Spirit.

God has no difficulty in identifying who His people are. "Nevertheless the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal: 'The Lord knows those who are His...'" (2 Tim. 2:19a NKJV). W. E. Vine says, "Indicating ownership, authenticity, security, and destination." However, 2 Tim. 2:19 continues, "...and, 'Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity." Because we have been secured by God for Himself, we do not want to do anything that would bring reproach upon Him, His name, or His cause. We will gladly "give up all iniquity and stand aloof from it" (Amplified). We will do nothing that will grieve the Holy Spirit who has sealed us (in the context, things like lying,  anger, stealing, corrupt talk, bitterness, malice, etc.). 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for caring for us so much that You would seal and secure us for Yourself and all eternity through the Holy Spirit. Through Christ we pray. ]]>