Al's Devotional

And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.  And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.  And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.  And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.  Rev 10:8 -11       " He had in his hand a little book open ."   I. The ambassador who beings it. Much may be learnt concerning any message that is sent by an earthly monarch from the character and rank and insignia which belong to the messenger. He who brings God's ...

And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:  And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,  And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.  And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.  And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,  And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:...

And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.  And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.  And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:  For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.  Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:  Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.  For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.  When Jesus heard these...

When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.   Luk e 7:9  The increase of faith I. FAITH IS THE CONDITION OF THE EXERCISE OF GOD'S POWER UPON US—a condition, let it ever be borne in mind, of God's own making, and springing wholly out of God's own wisdom and love to us. For, I ask, What is faith? and I reply that, speaking generally, faith is sympathy with God—it is the receptive attitude of the soul—it is the laying open of the whole being to the influence of God. If I would keep the tender flower from the frost, I must cover it up and wrap it round to shut out the icy touch that would freeze up its life. But would I quicken it with the sun I must take away all barriers and let its blessed rays stream in. Unbelief covers up and closes the soul: faith opens it to the sunshine. II. FAITH IS THE MEASURE OF GO...

Luk e 4:41 And demons went out of many, crying out and saying: Thou art the Messiah, the Son of God. And he rebuked them, and suffered them not to say, that they knew him to be Messiah .  (Murdoch) And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ .  (KJV) Not willingly, nor of themselves, but at the word and command of Christ, who ordered them to depart, crying out and saying ; as they left the bodies, of men, and not with any goodwill to Christ: thou art Christ ; the true Messiah, that was of old promised and prophesied of, and has been long expected to come: the Son of God; the only begotten Son of God, possessed of the same perfections with God his Father; and particularly of almighty power, of which they were convinced by his dispossessing them; and he rebuking them, suffered them not to speak ; for he needed ...

This is worth the read. ~Al Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins ; Luk e 3:2 -3     The river Jordan rises in the Anti-Lebanon, to the north of Jerusalem. Imagine that you are looking, as your glance may be directed towards me, to Jerusalem; yonder on your right is Hermon. The river Jordan rises in the Anti-Lebanon range, 1,700 feet above the sea level. There are many streams that contribute to it in its first flow, it is disputed which of them is the real source. The streams gather; they enter the waters of Merom, the first little lake. From that they pass, and, after a course of a few miles, they enter a larger lake, and one more familiar to us all, and endeared to us all, the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Galilee. They pass through this lake, which is itself ...

Luke 4:14-30 THE GOSPEL OF THE JUBILEE. The whole address has the ring of an inaugural message; it is the voice of an opening spring, and not of a waning summer. " This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears " is the blast of the silver trumpet announcing the beginning of the Messianic year, the year of a truer, wider Jubilee. Jesus has now fairly embarked upon His Messianic mission, and He begins that mission, as prophecy had long foretold He should, in Galilee of the Gentiles. The rumor of His wonderful deeds at Cana and Capernaum had already preceded Him thither, when Jesus came once again to the home of His childhood and youth. Going, as had been His custom from boyhood, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day (St. Luke is writing for Gentiles who are unversed in Jewish customs), Jesus stood up to read. "The Megilloth," or Book of the Prophets, having been handed to Him, He unrolled the book, and read the passage in Isaiah (Isa 61:...

Dear All, This is truly a gem.  It is from the Expositor's Bible around 1890.  There is a wealth of wisdom here, and is well worth your while to read. God Bless, ~Al Proverbs 26:1-28 THE FOOL " As snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not seemly for a fool…A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the back of fools. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit. He that sendeth a message by the hand of a fool cutteth off his own feet, and drinketh in damage. The legs of the lame hang loose: so is a parable in the mouth of fools. As a bag of gems in a heap of stones, so is he that giveth honor to a fool. As a thorn that goeth up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools. As an archer that woundeth all, so is he that hireth the fool and he that hireth them that pass by. As a dog that returneth to his vomit,...