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Proverbs 26:18
As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death,
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This scripture is tied to the one after it which refers to a mad man who causes much problems for his neighbor in the attempt to deceive him while being caught says that he was only joking. This is actually part of what jesting is considered to be. Many men and women will speak a line to the opposite gender that can be taken in more than one way and when confronted in anger over it, they say they didn’t mean it that way or that they were only joking when in all reality they were testing the waters so to speak. Evil.
The only way to find deliverance and come out of this death style of attempting to live is to choose to believe in Christ and His work on the cross, as there He overcame every evil thing that would ever come against man. Our faith in His work there, always allows the Holy Spirit to bring the deliverance we need to experience. We are not called to be like our parents or friends, but to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). Jesus makes all things new every day and I’m oh so thankful for that!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the Firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the Adoption, to wit, the Redemption of our body (Rom. 8:23).
Several things are said in this Passage, all of extreme significance to the Believer.
First of all, we are told here that we only have the “Firstfruits of the Spirit,” which refer to the fact that all that Jesus did at the Cross is not yet available to us. As stated, we only have the “firstfruits.”
Everything that man lost in the Fall, and everything that Satan did in his revolution against God, which continues unto this hour, all, and without exception, were addressed at the Cross (Eph. 1:10). And, to be sure, what we now have is more than enough to live as we ought to live and be as we ought to be. Of that, one can be doubly certain!
Second, this Passage tells us that the struggle of faith is ever with us while we wait for the Redemption of the body, i.e., “the Glorified Body.”
Upon reading the information that Paul gives us regarding victory in Christ and the Cross, many Believers immediately sense in their spirit that this is right. They set out to anchor their Faith exactly as it ought to be anchored, i.e., in Christ and the Cross, and then immediately run into Satan, which oftentimes results in failure. Many then think that the Cross doesn’t work.
They have been led to believe that, from the moment they correctly register their Faith, there will never again be another problem. That’s not the case at all.
While we may fail, the Cross never fails. This means that if we, in fact, do fail, and, to be sure, every one of us will, at least in one way or the other, this shows that our faith is deficient. It’s never really as strong as we think it is. And even when our faith is strong, we may misunderstand the struggle of this conflict.
Let me give you an Old Testament example:
The Lord told Moses that he was to inform Pharaoh that the Children of Israel must be released from Egyptian bondage. Moses obeyed the Lord; however, Pharaoh didn’t budge. It didn’t matter what the Lord had said. Moses had to appear before Pharaoh seven times demanding the release of the Children of Israel (Ex. 5:1-2).
Just because your Faith is properly anchored doesn’t mean the Evil One is going to fold and buckle. Satan will try your Faith, just as Pharaoh tried the Faith of Moses and Aaron.
Second, instead of letting the Children of Israel go, Pharaoh doubled their burden. Heretofore, he supplied the straw, and they made the brick. Now they must supply their own straw and continue to make just as many bricks as always (Ex. 5:4-13).
Once your Faith is properly anchored, Satan may very well double the temptation against you; however, the Lord will only allow that to last for a period of time. Faith must be tested, and great Faith must be tested greatly! If you, dear Reader, fail, as most do, you should ask the Lord to forgive you, get back up, and start back on your course. The difference in now and before is that you are now on the right road. Victory will ultimately be yours. Before, that definitely was not the case!
Because of the extra work load, some Israelites began to turn against Moses and Aaron (Ex. 5:19-23). To be sure, the possibility definitely exists that some of your Christian friends, even your Christian relatives, will turn against you.
Why?
The Message of the Cross exposes the flesh, false doctrine, even everything that opposes Christ; therefore, it arouses the hostility in the natural man — Christian or no! This will be the unkindest cut of all. But, if you stay the course, the course of the Cross, Victory most definitely will be yours — a Victory unparalleled. Moreover, Romans 8:23 also points to the time that is coming, when the struggle will be completely over, and we will be with Christ, with a Glorified Body. That time is closer now than ever!”
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
As a Christian we have a right to expect God’s blessing but we have the higher purpose to pursue righteousness. To focus primarily upon the temporal blessings of this life will rob one of the more important everlasting virtues that God wants to sow and grow in the heart. Much of the body of Christ is being taught to pursue earthly goods, positions, or power. Are not all these things which the world pursues? Is not the hea...rt and mind of those who do not serve Jesus focused on temporal blessing? I believe that God blesses His people and meets their every need. I believe that He has a desire to elevate the individual in every aspect of life. But the primary purpose of redemption is to be conformed into the image of the God who saved us. When we pursue being changed into the image of Christ we open ourselves up to blessings that will not hinder God’s primary purpose. Covetousness (where we replace the love of God with the love of things) will choke the goodly seed planted by the Spirit. Be careful to seek Him first and let Him add to your life the truths that will provide true contentment and Godly fulfillment.
Matthew 6:33 - But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Proverbs 26:19
So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?
Deception is no game except with the devil and he plays for keeps. We are to love and care for our neighbor and not to deceive him, and when we are caught in such foolishness, we are not to attempt to turn it into a joke, but rather to repent. The Christian is to speak the Truth. Those who refuse to speak the Truth are those who have trained their tongue to speak lies so they can deceive their neighbor (Jeremiah 9:5), and when trapped in their own lies and deception, they attempt to turn it into a joke, but in all reality it is the sport they are trapped in themselves by Satan.
Coming to God through faith in Christ and His Redeeming work at Calvary is the only thing that can cause one to love his neighbor and to speak the Truth. Every object of faith outside of the cross of Christ only causes deception as the Sin Nature deceives and puts to death the child of God (Romans 7:9-11, Revelation 3:1-6). The preaching of the cross is the power of God to us who are saved (1 Corinthians 1:18), but to those who are perishing it is foolishness, as they trust in their own fleshly sport!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself (Himself) makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He Who searches the hearts knows what is the Mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the Saints according to the Will of God (Rom. 8:26-27).
The “intercession” the Holy Spirit makes for us is not the same as the intercession made by Christ for us. The intercession made by Christ concerns sin (Heb. 7:25). As someone has well said, “Were it not for the constant, never-ceasing intercession by Christ, all on our behalf, we wouldn’t last out the day.” How true that is!
The type of intercession made for us by the Holy Spirit concerns the help that we need in order to live a holy life, i.e., that which we have been discussing in previous devotions. This involves the manner in which the Holy Spirit works on our behalf. If we go wrong and fail, Christ then serves as our Intercessor, but, at the same time, the Holy Spirit desires to show us why we failed, which always involves faith improperly placed, which, of course, has to do with the Cross.
The phrase, “With groanings which cannot be uttered,” does not refer to the Holy Spirit groaning, but rather to Believers, which pertains to that which comes from the heart and cannot properly be put into words. The overriding goal of the Spirit is to carry out the Will of God in our lives, not our personal will; in other words, the Spirit is not a glorified bellhop, as some have been led to believe.
To have the help of the Holy Spirit is to have the help of God, for the Holy Spirit is God. This means the help we receive is perfect and more than enough. He knows exactly what we need, why we need it, how much of it we need, etc.
The word “infirmities” in the Greek is “astheneia,” which means “feebleness of body or mind, frailty, disease, sickness, weakness.” These are things that Believers face constantly. When we try to pray about them, oftentimes we don’t really know how to pray. However, if our Faith is properly placed, and we continue to speak of Christ and the Cross, this will give the Holy Spirit latitude to work. To be sure, He will make things right.
As we keep saying, the reason we have so little help from the Holy Spirit is because our faith is improperly placed. That is the sole reason. He will not penalize us for any other situation. If we properly place our Faith in Christ and the Cross, then we will have His full help and His full intercession, and our entire life will function 100 percent better.”
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
There will be times in every life when we will find the need to escape the harrowing experiences of life. We will all search for a place that can protect us from the daily dilemmas that devastate the heart and do damage to the soul. Some may search out a place of solitude, a place of quiet, a place of silence, where they attempt to sort out their thoughts, emotions, and conclusions. Others may look to a place of activity or diversion in order to drown out the battering ram of incoming pain and lack of clarity. But I have found that true peace of the heart cannot be sustained by running away from trouble. Neither does activity of a different kind calm the constant cares of my soul. But when I retreat into the presence of the Lord I find true solace, wise counsel, committed companionship, and peace of mind. In His presence I secure the answer to my need. It comes rolling quietly atop the waves of my storm, causing my tortured spirit to become settled and assured. So when I am disturbed, shaken, or unsure, I run once again to His perfecting presence, where I find grace to help in time of need.
Psalm 16:11 - Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Proverbs 26:20
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
As wood is needed for certain fire, so there has to be a talebearer for strife to exist. Without the wood the fire will go out and without the talebearer the strife will go away. Where there is confusion and every evil work taking place, we can know that first envy and strife through the talebearer has shown up and opened the door (James 3:16).
There is only one answer for the talebearer‘s tongue, and that is to have a new heart through faith in Christ and His atoning work on the cross. Without that specific born again conversion, and that faith daily, there will be no end to the strife in the talebearer‘s life. We are to avoid these individuals and find ourselves among those of like precious faith, that being the faith of the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20).
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
“Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself (Himself) makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And He Who searches the hearts knows what is the Mind of the Spirit, because He makes intercession for the Saints according to the Will of God (Rom. 8:26-27).
The “intercession” the Holy Spirit makes for us is not the same as the intercession made by Christ for us. The intercession made by Christ concerns sin (Heb. 7:25). As someone has well said, “Were it not for the constant, never-ceasing intercession by Christ, all on our behalf, we wouldn’t last out the day.” How true that is!
The type of intercession made for us by the Holy Spirit concerns the help that we need in order to live a holy life, i.e., that which we have been discussing in previous devotions. This involves the manner in which the Holy Spirit works on our behalf. If we go wrong and fail, Christ then serves as our Intercessor, but, at the same time, the Holy Spirit desires to show us why we failed, which always involves faith improperly placed, which, of course, has to do with the Cross.
The phrase, “With groanings which cannot be uttered,” does not refer to the Holy Spirit groaning, but rather to Believers, which pertains to that which comes from the heart and cannot properly be put into words. The overriding goal of the Spirit is to carry out the Will of God in our lives, not our personal will; in other words, the Spirit is not a glorified bellhop, as some have been led to believe.
To have the help of the Holy Spirit is to have the help of God, for the Holy Spirit is God. This means the help we receive is perfect and more than enough. He knows exactly what we need, why we need it, how much of it we need, etc.
The word “infirmities” in the Greek is “astheneia,” which means “feebleness of body or mind, frailty, disease, sickness, weakness.” These are things that Believers face constantly. When we try to pray about them, oftentimes we don’t really know how to pray. However, if our Faith is properly placed, and we continue to speak of Christ and the Cross, this will give the Holy Spirit latitude to work. To be sure, He will make things right.
As we keep saying, the reason we have so little help from the Holy Spirit is because our faith is improperly placed. That is the sole reason. He will not penalize us for any other situation. If we properly place our Faith in Christ and the Cross, then we will have His full help and His full intercession, and our entire life will function 100 percent better.”
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
The blessings of the Lord are both spiritual and physical. I believe that God desires to give good things to His people. However, there is an overemphasis today in the body of Christ on the physical and tangible blessings of the Lord. To hear some people preach, you would think that the total sum of why Jesus died was to make human beings rich in goods. Very little is spoken of relative to the need the believer has for overcoming power to defeat present sin. The faulty picture is painted that indicates that everyone with true faith should be rich financially. This is not Biblical Christianity! This is covetousness covered over with scripture. In this life the believer is not to be driven by the desire to possess finances and temporal assets. We are to be in pursuit of spiritual victory over every weight and sin that does so easily beset us. We are too long for souls to be added to the Kingdom of God. When these are our primary pursuits, we open ourselves to the complete blessings of God. While some will never be rich in goods, all can be rich in true biblical faith. Covetousness is to be identified and eliminated from the believer’s heart by the help and grace of God.
1 Timothy 6:10 - For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Proverbs 26:21
As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife.
As it takes coals to have burning coals, and as it takes wood for fire, so it will take a contentious man to kindle strife. Once you’ve been around this a few times, as deceiving and subtle as it is, you will learn who the contentious folks are. Most of the time they attempt to talk about what it is they themselves are bound in, and they only stir up contention behind the scenes.
Those who actually have their faith in the sacrifice of Christ, and not just words, or head knowledge, they will find the deliverance of Christ from this bondage and the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ will give them a whole new vision and discernment mostly to keep an eye on their own selves!! The message of the cross is a personal cross for us each, and from the cross never comes envy or strife, but rather there they have been put to death!!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us (Rom. 8:37).
If we follow what the Holy Spirit gave to the Apostle Paul, thereby ordering our lives accordingly, which refers to Faith being properly placed in Christ and the Cross (I Cor. 1:17-18, 23; 2:2; Gal. 6:14), then we are assured of the fact that we are not only “conquerors,” but also “more than conquerors.” We must, however, always remember that it is “through Him Who loved us.” We cannot be conquerors any other way.
“Through Him” refers exclusively to His atoning Work at the Cross, which totally and completely defeated the Evil One, and did so by atoning for all sin (Col. 2:14-15). “More than conquerors” is what the Lord wants His People to be. But this modern generation of Christians represents, I’m afraid, the most defeated generation since the Reformation.
Why?
Although more books have been written on faith in the past several decades than possibly the balance of the Church Age put together, virtually all of these books and tapes are worthless, because they direct the faith of the Believer to something other than Christ and Cross. As a result, “more than conquerors” is not what is happening, but rather “more than conquered.” Satan has not only “conquered” this generation of Christians, but even “more than conquered” them, making abject slaves of them, which means that the sin nature runs wild.
Let me say it this way:
It is absolutely impossible for the Believer, be he the Pastor of the largest Church in the land or the Evangelist drawing the biggest crowds, to maintain victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil, if such a Believer doesn’t know God’s Prescribed Order of Victory.
That Prescribed Order is:
1. The Cross of Christ: Everything we receive from the Lord, irrespective as to what it is, comes to us strictly from Christ as the Source and the Cross as the means.
2. Our Faith: Every single Believer is to place his Faith exclusively in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross, never separating the two. And when we speak of the Cross, we are speaking of the benefits which come from that Finished Work, and which will never cease.
3. The Holy Spirit: Once our Faith is properly placed, the Holy Spirit, Who works exclusively within the parameters of the Finished Work of Christ, will then make of us “more than conquerors.”
The guiding power of God’s Word is a constant that I have learned to depend upon. When questions arise, when doubt or confusion abounds, a return to the stability of God’s Word always brings comfort and direction. When the truth in God’s Word is coupled with the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit, we will see what we need to see, we will hear what we need to hear. His Word is a reliable guide through every issue of life. Truly His Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I am desperate to be led by Him and not by my own mind, not by my emotions, not by my will. His Word provides me with the encouragement I require, the rebuke sorely needed, and the leading that I am desperate to find. The word that I need is not always found immediately but it never fails to appear when I continually seek guidance from the Bible. So day after day I have returned to this source of instruction, reproof, and divine guidance. When I find myself reeling, confused, and desperate for direction, I simply cry out, " Oh Lord, lead me once again by Your Word! And He always does!
Psalm 119:15-16 - I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. (16) I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Proverbs 26:22
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Words are painful as they come from a talebearer as they stir up strife, and this pain can be a very deep and tormenting pain. Some people are oppressed due to allowing the talebearer‘s words to form thoughts that take them into the oppression. We are always, as Christians to remember that we are in the hands of the Lord, and everything is working for our own good (Romans 8:28), even though it doesn’t feel like it many times. This is the very picture of Christ on the cross. It appeared that He was defeated, but He was instead the Conqueror!
The talebearer is always eventually revealed as just that, and once known for that, it is less likely anyone will believe them as they once did. We trust Christ to heal every deep hurt and pain that we will ever experience, and He is exceedingly and abundantly able to do more than we could ever ask or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20). We are tied together with Him through faith in His blood!! His Word reigns far above the words of the talebearer!
Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!
"Who are Israelites; to whom pertain the Adoption, and the glory, and the Covenants, and the giving of the Law, and the service of God, and the Promises; Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, Who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen (Rom. 9:4-5).
The Apostle Paul was accused of being disloyal to Israel and to the Promises made to it through the fathers. The Doctrine of Justification by Faith, apart from works, common to all men, whether Hebrews or not, seemed to set aside those Promises. The problem, therefore, was to reconcile the Grace of God in Justification with the special privileges granted to Israel. The resolution of the problem is found in the Doctrine of the Cross, and the Cross alone!
The Apostle begins by affirming his deep love for Israel. Far from despising them, he loved them as much as Moses did. He points out that all the privileges belong to them, and argues that the sovereignty of God admits the Gentiles to these privileges, thereby enriching Israel’s glories instead of nullifying them.
This section, Chapters 9 through 11 of Romans, begins with Paul’s sorrow over Israel’s failure (9:1-5), and it closes with Paul’s joy over Israel’s future (11:33-36). The main reason, however, for these three Chapters is not to prophetically analyze Israel, although a prophetical analysis is readily given. The reason is something else altogether, which we will deal with in the next devotion.
Dealing first of all with the Prophetical analysis given in Chapters 9 through 11, the Apostle, by the Holy Spirit, reiterates the Prophecies of old by predicting Israel’s Restoration. He said, “For I would not, Brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery (what has happened to Israel), lest you should be wise in your own conceits (the Gentiles were not pulled in because of any merit or righteousness on their part, but strictly because of the Grace of God); that blindness in part is happened to Israel (Israel is the “mystery” of which Paul speaks), until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in (refers to the Church; in fact, the Church Age is even now coming to a close).
“And so all Israel shall be saved (when the Church Age ends and the Second Coming commences, then Israel will accept Christ and be saved): as it is written (Isa. 27:9; 59:20-21), There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer (Jesus Christ will be the Deliverer), and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Christ will deliver Israel from the Antichrist, and, more importantly, will deliver them from their sins):
“For this is My Covenant unto them (a Promise), when I shall take away their sins” (as stated, it will be done at the Second Coming [Zech. 13:1]) Rom. 11:25-27."
Since 1948, when Israel once again became a nation, all the events up until now, have to do with the fulfillment of these things here discussed by Paul, which will continue until the Second Coming, when Israel will accept Christ. We are, therefore, coming down to the end of the Age.”’
—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”) Donnie Swaggart
You cannot win a struggle with sin but you can win the fight of faith! Many today are attempting to overwhelm sin through a series of works or man-devised routines. How foolish! Sin was such a devastating reality that it took God sending His only begotten Son from heaven to earth to destroy its power. If it were possible for man to overcome sin by some action, some sacrificial act of kindness, or some habitual regimen, then God would never have had to sacrifice His Son to defeat the power of sin. All men would have had to do was to be given instruction as to the required action, and they would have been able to defeat sin themselves. The believer is responsible to live free from sin, now that Jesus Christ has defeated sin’s power through His death on Calvary. We do so by placing our faith in that which God has designated. The believers’ faith is to ever rest in Christ and Him crucified. Then, the Holy Spirit can work on our behalf and eliminates every nuance of sin that remains within our beings. We can destroy the potential of sin in our lives by fighting the good fight of faith. Jesus won the victory over sin for us at Calvary.
Romans 8:3 - For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
