Verse of the Day - Deuteronomy 29:29

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. ~ Deuteronomy 29:29 (NIV)

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The New Living Translation (NLT) says it this way:

"The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. We are not accountable for them, but we and our children are accountable forever for all that he has revealed to us, so that we may obey all the terms of these instructions."

You can't be held responsible for what you don't know, right?

Your boss can't expect you to provide a report on Project XYZ, if he never sent the email asking for it (although some people think we should be mind readers :-). When kids are very little, we don't discipline them for putting the cat in the toilet, unless we've told them it's wrong to flush Fluffy (or anything else that breathes and/or has value! :-)

Knowledge initiates accountability. And God is the creator and keeper of all knowledge. He is also the creator of law, of right and wrong. There were things He kept secret from His people in Old Testament times, but He told them what He needed them to know. And He gave them the law to establish accountability.

Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. ~ Romans 3:19-20

God's ways of right and wrong didn't all need to be written down by Moses in the Ten Commandments; God's morals are written on human hearts. Otherwise, why would Cain have feigned ignorance when God asked him where his brother, Abel, was, after he had killed him in cold blood? (Genesis 4:9) The law of Moses wouldn't be revealed for centuries. Cain knew because it was written on his heart.

Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. ~ Romans 2:14-15

Knowledge initiates accountability. And accountability requires compliance. And boy, do we fall off the compliance mark!

We're no better than Cain, when we hate our brother, because Jesus said that anger and hatred is like murder in your heart (Matthew 5:21,22). Don't think you hate your brother? Think about it...Democrats vs. Republicans, Whites vs. Blacks, Christians vs. Muslims, and on and on the divisive chasms go. Verbal mud-slinging is rampant, and physical clashes are on-going in so many parts of the world. There is so much hatred of others' views and backgrounds, and it can easily becomes hatred of them.

Need I go on about lying, revenge, greed, idolatry, lust, etc?

Knowledge initiates accountability. And accountability requires compliance. Lack of compliance leads to dismissal or correction.

We humans are in a predicament with sin. We're out of compliance with God's righteous ways, and we can't lift a finger to get it right, no matter how hard we try, because the sin is embedded in the fiber of our being. We cry out for change, but we can't change ourselves...not for long, anyway. The wheels of our lives keep falling into the same grooves of sin, time and again.

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ Paul, in Romans 7:21-25

God's secret revealed is Jesus. Jesus is the correction for the lack of compliance we have through our accountability from knowledge! He is the answer to our sin problem.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. ~ Romans 6:23

God showed us His love for us by providing the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins, to cover our failures of God's holy ways. That perfect sacrifice is Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Amen!

...beep..."You may now turn over this cassette and listen to Part 2 of this gospel presentation..."...beep...:-)

I didn't know today's VOTD would turn into a message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I thought it was going to be about how God reveals truth to us over time, in our walk with the Lord. But God had other ideas. I guess we all need reminders of why we need Jesus, and where our hope for eternal life lies -- the basics, you know? May God bless the reading of His Word, and may you know the joy of your sins forgiven. (If you aren't sure where you stand with God, please post a comment to me, so we can talk about this.)

God bless you today, as you go through your day and think about the Lord. Shane Barnard said it well in this song ...

When I think about the Lord
How He saved me,
How He raised me
How He filled me with the Holy Ghost
How He healed me to the uttermost...

When I think about the Lord
How He picked me up
And turned me around
How He set my feet
On solid ground...

It makes me want to shout,
Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!
Lord, you're worthy
of all the glory,
and all the honor
and all the praise!

It makes me want to shout,
Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!
Lord, you're worthy
of all the glory,
and all the honor
and all the praise!

~ When I Think About The Lord, by Shane Barnard

Love,
Joelene

Verse of the Day - 2 Corinthians 5:16-17

So we have stopped evaluating others by what the world thinks about them...What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
~ 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (NLT)

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It's amazing what modern medicine can accomplish! Cardiac Cath Labs and Angiography Suites are commonplace in hospitals today, where doctors can radically alter the heart and associated arteries through minimally-invasive procedures that have people up and at 'em in no time! Just amazing.

But what can cure the spiritual heart of a person? Can a doctor take a catheter and hone out anger and bitterness from a person's heart? Is there a procedure to remove the buildup of arrogance and pride from the arteries of the mind?

Only Jesus changes the inside of a person, not where blood flows through veins, but where thoughts and attitudes flow through the spirit. And it is truly a divine miracle that can turn a heart of stone into a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). You probably know some people that were very hard of heart and yet the Lord softened them like butter in a microwave, and the change is radical. There is no other explanation except that God did a miracle in them. Or maybe that hard person was you.

Regardless of whether we are radically saved out of a hardened lifestyle, or gently persuaded by the Holy Spirit out of a "good" lifestyle, all are changed when the Lord comes inside to live! There are none good in this life -- I don't care if you never break the speed limit and always pray before meals and brush your teeth three times a day and never say a single swear word. None good...no, not one.

God looks down from heaven on the human race
to see if there is one who is wise
and who seeks God.
Everyone has turned aside;
they have all become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one. ~ Psalm 53:2-3 (Holman)

There is certainly no righteous man on the earth
who does good and never sins. ~ Ecclesiastes 7:20 (Holman)

All sin and fall short of God's glory (Romans 3:23). All need a Savior (John 3:16). All are changed from death to life, from old to new, by the power of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:16).

So, are you showing the change?

Well I got myself a T-shirt that says what I believe
I got letters on my bracelet to serve as my ID
I got the necklace and the key chain
And almost everything a good Christian needs, yeah
I got the little Bible magnets on my refrigerator door
And a welcome mat to bless you before you walk across my floor
I got a Jesus bumper sticker
And the outline of a fish stuck on my car
And even though this stuff's all well and good, yeah
I cannot help but ask myself--

What about the change
What about the difference
What about the grace
What about forgiveness
What about a life that's showing
I'm undergoing the change, yeah
I'm undergoing the change

Well I've got this way of thinking that comes so naturally
Where I believe the whole world is revolving around me
And I got this way of living that I have to die to every single day
'Cause if God's Spirit lives inside of me, yeah
I'm gonna live life differently

I'm gonna have the change
I'm gonna have the difference
I'm gonna have the grace
I'm gonna have forgiveness
I'm gonna live a life that's showing
I'm undergoing the change
~ The Change, by Steven Curtis Chapman

Love,
Joelene