Al's Devotional

Beloved,   William Wilberforce was a politician in England during the early 1800's who worked fervently to end slavery for over 20 years.  He was censured by Parliament because of his relentless pursuit.  It occurred to him that his arguments were of a moral, spiritual nature, and the people of England, although claiming to be Christian, really didn't know what they believed.  They were called a Christian nation without knowing what Christianity was, much like our own country.  Because of this, Wilberforce, who was not a theologian, wrote a booklet entitled, A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity .  In this booklet he contrasted the prevailing thought of what the people in general came to believe Christianity was, to the true reality of Christianity as revealed in the Bible and its doctrines.  He init...

Dear All This is a remarkable testimony and exposition of Genesis by C.H. Spurgeon that I am blessed to pass on to you. ~Al And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.  And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,  The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.  Gen 48:14    A bit of history for old and young 1. Our text tells us that Jacob blessed Joseph, and we perceive that he blessed him through blessing his children; which leads us to the next remark, that no choicer favor...

Beloved,   I have been reading several books on doctrine recently and came across this gem.  It is in regard to Satan and fallen angels.  At first I didn't think it would be all that interesting, but I find that as I read, I was compelled to think of the world situation as it stands now. The thing that attracted my attention was the idea that the worlds problems could be solved by the efforts of man.  And the idea that Satan is for so many things.  It occurs to me that Satan is for women's rights to abortion, is for divorce, is for illicit sexual behavior under the auspices of freedom.  All these things, and more, may sound altruistic, but they have their ends in judgment and death.  As the proverb says,   There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.  Pro 16:25    With that in mind, I present this excerpt, ~Al ...

Beloved, Without a doubt the most important doctrine of our salvation is Justification by Faith.  Here is a brief sermonette on the subject by C.H. Spurgeon. God Bless, ~Al And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. Gen 15:6     Justification by faith illustrated by Abram's righteousness   I. How was ABRAM JUSTIFIED?   1. He was not justified by his works. 2. This justification came to Abram not by obedience to the ceremonial law, any more that by conformity to the moral law. 3. The faith which justified Abram was still an imperfect faith, although it perfectly justified him. (1) Imperfect beforehand. Prevarication as to wife. (2) Imperfect afterwards. Taking Hagar in order to effect Divine purpose. 4. So far, then, all is clear: Abram was not justified by works, nor...

Good morning, These are some gems from Thomas Manton, a puritan preacher, on justification and sanctification. ~Al If by any means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead .  Ph ilippians 3:11   ili nipate kwa njia yo yote kuifikia kiyama ya wafu.  Php 3:11    St. Paul in the context reckoned up his gain by Christ Viz., his justification and sanctification ; but his gain reaches further, even to glorious resurrection .   I. The benefit to be obtained by Christ. How is this a privilege since there is a resurrection of the wicked? (Act 24:15). But theirs is one to condemnation (Joh 5:29), and so a fall rather than a rising. Therefore the faithful are only called the Children of the Resurrection (Luk 20:36). The word here is not α ̓ νάστασις , but εξανάστασις, to express the full and blessed resurrection that no evil shall follow (Luk 14:...

Beloved, In my devotionals this morning, I came across these gems by C.H.Spurgeon.  It is a brief account of the prayer of Paul to the Ephesians. God Bless, ~Al That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;  That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,  May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.   Eph 3:16    awajalieni, kwa kadiri ya utajiri wa utukufu wake, kufanywa imara kwa nguvu, kwa kazi ya Roho wake katika utu wa ndani.  Kristo akae mioyoni mwenu kwa imani mkiwa na shina na msingi katika upendo;  ili mpate kufahamu pamoja na watakatifu...

Hello All, This is the first persecution of the Church. ~Al And as they were speaking to the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them,  Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.  Act 4:1 -2     [This is just after Peter and John healed the lame man, and preached in the temple.  It is the first persecution of the church.  Notice that the persecution is coming from the religious leaders. –A.B.]   Being grieved - The word thus translated occurs in only one other place in the New Testament Act 16:18. It implies more than simple sorrow; it was a mingled emotion of indignation and anger. They did not grieve because they thought it a public calamity, but because it interfered with their authority and opposed their doctrine. It means that it was painful to them, or ...

Beloved, " ...who were by nature children of wrath ."  That is a terrifying place to be.  That was where we were, and it is only by the Grace (unmerited favor) of God that we are otherwise.  This should not be a thing of pride, but of the utmost humility, as all around us the terrible evils of the world are being more and more manifest, and even as we would condemn them, we should take care and consider that in condemning them we condemn ourselves.  God is Just, and has every right to condemn us, yet He is Merciful, and turned us from the way of death, not because of who we are, but because of who He is. In Him, ~Al And you hath he revived, who were dead in trespasses and sins;  In which in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:  Among whom also we all had ...

Good morning, Beloved, I am constantly reminded of the importance of word definitions in the Bible.  With that in mind, the word of the day is CONVERSATION.  It is important to read each verse reference, as it builds the complete thought of what this word represents in the Bible. God Bless, ~Al For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ: Php 3:20    Fleshly depravity   Conversation does not mean talking. There is no instance where it has this signification in the English Bible. It means, as the Greek original does, deportment , conduct , character , as in the following passages: 2Co 1:12; Gal 1:13; Eph 2:3; Eph 4:22; 1Ti 4:12; Heb 13:5; Heb 13:7; Jas 3:13; 1Pe 1:15; 1Pe 1:18; 1Pe 2:12; 1Pe 3:1-2; 1Pe 3:16; 2Pe 2:7; 2Pe 3:11. In Php 1:27, conversation signifies citizenship ; so that to have a good co...