Alan

I didn't even know that this website had devotionals until a few days back. As mentioned by Alan, it is the Father who does the "pruning" so that we can bring forth MORE fruits in due season. And in that parable -- Jesus said that we can do NOTHING unless we "abide" in Him. The Roman Catholics and their pedophile priests put so much time and effort into "purifying" themselves, when all the while they're heaping judgment unto themselves with their self-righteousness which is a stench in the nostrils of our Lord God.
God Bless!

Thank you very much on the growth of the soul after salvation. As you pointed out, the growth of the spiritual life after salvation is a natural, and mysterious, aspect of our walk with Christ. The words of the Lord Jesus in John 3:8 are as true today as the day the Lord spoke it to Nicodemus.
"To use another scriptural metaphor he abides in the vine (Jesus), and because he abides in the vine, and not because he is toiling, but rather because he is growing, he brings forth fruit.  Fruit is always because of growth and not growth because of the fruit.  The fruits of the Christian’s character are not manufactured things, but living things that have grown from the secret germ.  In short they are the fruits of the living Spirit. "
"Fruit is always because of growth," is  a natural result of a person abiding in Christ, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fuit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." John 15:4 As you pointed out, the fruit in the Christian's life is a natural result of a saint abiding in Christ.
Thank you again on the devotion of the lilies of the field, Matthew 6:28
Alan 

Good sermon and an excellent lesson in sound doctrine. It is sad that liberal thinking is so easily acceptable and comfortable to receive and live by.  Its no wonder that some churches fall so easily and  the congregation is made weak. 
 
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Gal.6:1 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: Eph. 4:13

Thank you for uploading the sermon on Acts 15:12-41.
I appreciate what you said at the conclusion, "All the while the primary goal is not to harm and keep pure the gospel ministry, in spite of any unresolved personal differences. "
 

Many times when someone is mean to you and harms you and you love them and pray for them it works. Maybe always but sometimes it just take long time and you may never know it.
I wish all people could live in peace together and love God and all others and take good care of nature and animals. I believe that when you love God then that is what you want in your heart.
 
 

What if one reason for suffering is for all believers to unite and pray together loving each other and glorify and love God and Jesus. With lot of people together it is easier to make good changes in this world in God's name. Then others will want to join too.
It also makes people rely in God and make you want to help others more after experiencing their pain.
If God answers my prayer now then I will surely tell others of God's goodness and love and seek to help others who suffer with new positivity that with God's help anything is possible. 

I appreciate reading your summary of Leviticus 18. The same moral sins listed in the Law of the Old Testament, Leviticus 18 as one example, are still still an abomination in the sight of an Holy God.
The immoral customs of the land of Egypt, the world, is not, repeat not, to do practiced among the saints in any dispensation or in any any country. "After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances." Leviticus 18:3 
The Apostle Paul stated, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
When I have time I will listen to the full sermon.

John,
Thank you very much for uploading this sermon on Leviticus 20. I do appreciate your devotion on holiness, sanctification and being godly in the sight of God.
As you aptly brought out, the evil life style, and the abominations, of the heathen in the Old Testament is still evil and abominable in our society under the New Testament. As God abhorred the evil sexual acts, and the practices, of the world in the Old Testament so does God abhor the evil sexual acts in the New Testament.
The message reminded me of 1 Corinthians 10:6, "Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.” and Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
May the Lord bless you as you remind your congregation of the holiness of God, the wickedness of the customs and abominations of our society, and the sanctification of the righteous.
Alan

John,
I am glad to know that the devotion on Joseph and his Brethren was a blessing to you.
Alan

I appreciate your kind thoughts and how the Lord used it in your life. The story is also to me very thought provoking every time I read it.
As you mentioned, envy and hatred will destroy any saint. Envy and hatred in the lives of the lost will prevent them from realizing the truth of the Gospel (just like the Pharisees).
The envy and hatred in the lives of the 11 brothers of Joseph also caused their relationship with God to be afar.  Those who hate the truth, and the bearer of the truth, need to realize their problem, ask forgiveness, and try to develop a closer relationship with the Lord in the process. We see the development of this process of asking forgiveness from Joseph (a type of Christ), and then a closer relationship with the Lord, as the story of Joseph develops. And, I am happy to say, as time develops, we will see this process in the live's of the Jewish remnant in the Tribulation Period as they come to the realization that Jesus is the Messiah.
For our non-Chinese speaking friends, xie xie is the Romanized English for 'Thanks,' in Chinese. The Chinese character (word), for 'xie xie' is: 謝謝
Alan

Glad to hear that the sermon was a blessing to you. I am still learning more about Joseph and his walk with the Lord.
I also noticed in the lives of several men in the Old Testament that had a similar attitude.
When Samuel was a child, and God spoke to him, Samuel said, "... Speak; for thy servant heareth." 1 Samuel 3:11
Isaiah said, "... Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8
The attitude of some of the most godly men of God is simple, humble, and noteworthy.
Alan

Well done, Brother Alan. 
I enjoyed this. 

Thanks Alan,
Oh the deep, deep love of the Lord to gather us all, lame, blind, deaf and broken into His family/
Blessings, Marilyn.

Thanks for the nice comments folks, it is appreciated. 

Thank you for your kind words Jim.
As you mentioned in Luke 16:12, one of the tests in the life, in the life of the unbeliever, and the believer, is for God to see how we treat the possessions, and well-being, of other people. If we are are not faithful in what another man has; how can we be faithful in what God wants to give us?
Paul the apostle further stated, "Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful" 1 Corinthians 4:2 a steward is to faithfully take care of another man's possessions and faithfully do the duty of another man. Paul is primarily stating this conduct of a man's character to the minister of the gospel. Therefore, as stewards of the grace of God, as stewards of the proclaiming of the gospel of God,  we are to be found faithful in our personal conduct, in the ministry, and in doctrine.

Thank you Alan, this was a blessing to me. In reading this devotion I was drawn to contemplate the exact opposite of the character that Joseph showed throughout his life. To the wise Christian Joseph's life and upright lifestyle are much more than examples of how a Christian should live; they should also serve as examples to those who may have a tendency to let their feet slip just a little. Those who do so forget that it is not man they deal with, but they are dealing with an Omniscient God who sees and knows and justly rewards everything.
There are extremely negative consequences for an unjust steward that could follow him his entire life and negate any work attempted for The Lord:  Num. 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
 Luke. 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 

Ronda,
Thank you very much for your comments. It is a blessing to my heart to know that the devotion was a blessing to you.
I also appreciate your dedication in trying to bring others to Christ and His righteousness. As you stated, so many in the Charismatic Movement (the leaders and the followers),  as so caught up in emotions, seeking wealth, health, and the things of the world, they miss the eternal blessings of salvation and the righteousness of Christ.
Keep up the good work in witnessing; in person and online.
As always, I do enjoy your comments and testimony on how the Lord is using you in these last days.
May the Lord bless and keep you.
Alan and the Mrs.

Thank you for the Chinese lesson as well as the teaching, brother Alan.

And brother Jim, What a wonderful joy to have been used of the Lord to help lead Wu Cheng to salvation in Jesus! It's been a while since I have felt that thrill of exhilaration and pure joy that we get when someone isn't just interested, but actually believes and accepts Christ, even more when they (as had did) has the desire to evangelize his Chinese friends and family. (And as you said, his thirst for God's word being insatiable, you knew he truly had come to Christ). While there have been several people take an interest in God's word lately as I witness to the unsaved world, sadly, they are soon "turned off" (so to speak) when they find out that God isn't going to guarantee to grant their every wish nor fix all their worldly problems. 

I spent a good deal of time answering (with scripture) questions from a secular  friend. She had (sadly) been watching a TV evangelist and was under the belief she would be healed and receive riches and prosperity in this life if she found a "prayer partner" to "pray in agreement" with her. It angers me greatly the harm that these false teachers and wolves have done. It was rather a long ordeal trying to deprogram her. And so I first started with the gospel. Sadly, she wanted to SKIP that.... and as you know we can't do that. Over the course of a few weeks, I then also explained to her that God doesn't work like waving a wand over us and fixing all our problems here on earth... but rather I took her to the scripture pertaining to eternal rewards instead. There is much more to this account, but in a short summation she really wasn't interested in eternal salvation, she (sadly) still was of the belief she is a "good person", even though I'd used much scripture to explain to her that we are all sinners in need of a savior, and all our good works of what we call righteousness are like filthy rags to God. I explained Rom.3:10 to her, and many others. I also explained that Jesus was the one and only acceptable propitiation (payment) for our sins, etc.  She just wanted interested... she wanted immediate gratification, and all her worldly problems fixed "right now". She'd been brainwashed by the TV evangelist into believing if she just had someone to "pray in agreement" with her, all her worldly woes would be over :(   She wanted immediate health and wealth... she didn't want to admit she was a sinner in need of  savior, and there are no short-cuts to that! She wasn't willing to believe that Jesus died for her sins, was buried and rose the third day (1 Cor.15:1-4), in fact as long as she still thinks she is a "good person", it's not likely she will see her need for salvation at all, no matter the scriptural warnings. 
And that is one of the "better" experience I've had of late... most often I am cussed out, threatened, given "facebook jail" (24-72 hour bans) for posting Bible verses that offends anyone, and mocking... always the mocking from those who believe their "god" is false science (1 Tim.6:20). I truly hope it is not this way for everyone, and that there are still some coming to Christ in the world. These are truly the perilous last days forewarned of in 2 Tim.3:1-7,13. Not just that, but a marked increase in those whom God Himself has turned over to a reprobate mind (Rom.1:18-32).  Receptivity of the unsaved is at an all time low that I've ever seen in my lifetime. And hostility towards the gospel, or even any of God's word, is also increasing greatly. Nonetheless I will keep posting the gospel and scripture to the unsaved world in the places they most need to hear it, it may be that I plant or water, and it's up to God whether there be an increase. 

Maranatha!

Jim,
Thank you for your testimony concerning your relationship with Wu Cheng. We are very thankful that you were able to led him to a salvation experience with the Lord Jesus. Sometimes, as with Wu Cheng, due to their background, culture, religion, ancestor worship, and other situations, their salvation experience is often dramatic and life changing.
It was also a blessing to hear that your personal relationship with Wu Cheng was a blessing in your heart and life. I am sure that you were a blessing to Wu Cheng as he was to you. A Christian Chinese as a friend is a wonderful blessing.
Chinese is a very hard language to learn: both spoken and written. Deep within the history of the Chinese race is the work of God among them to bring them to Christ. Although written Chinese is a complex language; as you said, it is a wonderful language, and God has His hand in it in order to show His love to the Chinese race. In eternity we will understand the work of God in all of the races of the world and spend eternity renewing friendships as you had with Wu Cheng.
I am sure that all of us enjoyed hearing your testimony.
Alan
 
 
 

A Ranch in the Colorado Mountains near Guffey, Colorado

 
 
Linux - GIMP 2.8
Photo by Alan
May the Lord bless all of you.
Alan

Jim,
Thank you for your testimony concerning your relationship with Wu Cheng. We are very thankful that you were able to led him to a salvation experience with the Lord Jesus. Sometimes, as with Wu Cheng, due to their background, culture, religion, ancestor worship, and other situations, their salvation experience is often dramatic and life changing.
It was also a blessing to hear that your personal relationship with Wu Cheng was a blessing in your heart and life. I am sure that you were a blessing to Wu Cheng as he was to you. A Christian Chinese as a friend is a wonderful blessing.
Chinese is a very hard language to learn: both spoken and written. Deep within the history of the Chinese race is the work of God among them to bring them to Christ. Although written Chinese is a complex language; as you said, it is a wonderful language, and God has His hand in it in order to show His love to the Chinese race. In eternity we will understand the work of God in all of the races of the world and spend eternity renewing friendships as you had with Wu Cheng.
I am sure that all of us enjoyed hearing your testimony.
Alan
 
 
 

If all of that is contained in the characters of what we would call one "word", what a wonderful language it must be. The lesson, as you have laid it out is the heart and core of the Gospel message to all mankind, regardless of race or language. Thank  you for using this wonderful example to teach of the perfect sacrifice of God in the person of Jesus Christ. Your post reminded me of what I write below, which I consider a high point in my life.
Twenty years ago I had the privilege of working with a brilliant Chinese scientist who had been a professor of Plasma Physics at the University of Beijing. His name was Wu Cheng and we became very close during the time he and I worked together at a remote research site in Alaska. His English was poor and he felt a need to learn the language better so that he could communicate better with our staff and researchers. This resulted in my offering to teach him English and he, in return would teach me Chinese. lol...the result was a 50% success rate, he learned English and I failed in Chinese miserably.
But through our friendship we became close friends, with him visiting my house for dinners and casual conversation about each others lives. He was able to teach me many things in regard to Chinese culture and I was able to do the same for him. I have had very few friends in this life that were as close as he and I became. This friendship and mutual sharing of cultural differences and similarities led him to become extremely interested in my life as a Christian and Christianity in general. He attended church with me on Sundays as well as mid-week services.
In our time together we had many many opportunities to not only talk about my faith, but to actually hold Bible studies, which he thoroughly enjoyed. Before long his interest in my religion and walk with our Lord bore fruit. Our friendship, his keen interest in Christianity, as well as his professional thirst for truth as a scientist, was the mechanism that God used to bring him to Christ. His conversion was very obvious to me; he developed an insatiable thirst for God's Word as well as a burning desire to be able to take God's word to the Chinese people once he returned to China. He spent a lot of time devising ways to be able to bring Bibles back with him when he finally had to return to China.
I thank God for the opportunity to use a working environment to develop a friendship resulting in the salvation of a soul that had never heard the Gospel message. Wu Cheng went to be with our Lord shortly after his return to China. I will miss him here, but rejoice that our parting is but for a short time. We will renew our friendship and fellowship once again in the land that is fairer than day, for death has given way to victory. 

What a blessing...and a very timely one too!  I had just read this account in Mark 6 this morning!  Yesterday, I had been praying specifically about some trials that I've been struggling with, and so I believe the Lord has comforted, reassured, and encouraged me with this account of Jesus in both Matthew and Mark today!  Truly....praise Him from Whom all blessings flow!  It's so very exciting to me when there is no question that the pecious Saviour has answered my prayers.  Proof positive...AGAIN...that He is ever there for me!  I'm praising Him for working in and thru you, Alan....to put forth this devotional!  I'm blessed beyond words, and greatly encouraged!  Thank you!

Many times the storms of life are the catalyst that causes people to look to the only hope of salvation that can carry them through the storm. Peter is a fine example of Christian life experiences; though the storms of life may at times cause us to falter, our faith in our Savior God will always carry us through.  Ps 119:116  Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
Thank you for this fine devotion Alan; we all need to be reminded that He who created and upholds all things is more than able to hold us up amid the storms of life.

Thank you for this sermon Bro. Alan. The life and actions of Joseph are always an inspiration to me and a joy to teach and meditate on.
His attitude in service to God are exemplified in his submissive three words, "Here am I." This gives us a graphic example of a life totally dedicated his service to his God.