Alan

Actually, I do not "call" pastors "they handle the word of God deceitfully".  I bring a charge against them for handling the word of God deceitfully. 

And the word of God fully supports the charge I bring against them.

When I answered the call to preach in 1988, I answered the call to preach the word... not man's opinion.  The word of God reveals that those pastors' who use Malachi 3:8-10 or any other Old Testament Scripture or passage that describes tithing as "proof-text" that the saved in Christ today are required to tithe their monetary income in the New Covenant  Church, to be handling the word of God deceitfully.

Not once in the entire Bible is anyone told to tithe their monetary income to the House of God... not once.  And yet, so many pastors continue to deceive with their using Scripture out of context to teach the monetary tithe requirement that is totally foreign to the word of God.

Shame on pastors that deceitfully use passages that speak of an agricultural tithe required of the children of Israel to teach a monetary tithe of their congregations today.  They are not rightly dividing the word of truth.

And shame on pastors that defend the deceitful pastors.

Thank you Alan. I prayed the prayer of praise and Thanksgiving to our situation and these folks are digging their own hole and jumping in.

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

Thank you for your thoughts in this excellent devotional Alan. I find it extremely interesting that Joseph's brothers could not overcome their envy and hatred even when family and brotherly love should have intervened. And so it is with the Christian; the world will hate the truth and the bearer of that truth. The truth has cost millions of Christians their very lives in the past, and will do so again during the persecutions of the tribulation period.
xie xie again Bro. Alan, a very thought provoking devotional. May God richly bless you as you serve Him in that far away land.

Brethren,
Hope you like the accompanying photo.
The Red Peacock Flower
or sometimes referred to the Red Butterfly Flower
the National Flower of the island of Barbados

Fortunately for us on Taiwan, the Peacock Flower grows wild. The photo is for you to enjoy, is not copyrighted, so use it as you please.
God Bless!
Alan
 

Brethren,
I hope the hymn, 'Sweet Hour of Prayer,' is a blessing to you.
Sweet Hour of Prayer
by William Walford and Tune by William Bradley
 
God bless!

One of the best expositions...if not the best exposition that I've ever seen regarding salvation in the Old Testament. One thing jumped out at me, and though I've read it countless times, I've somehow missed it up until now...
Heb 9:14-15
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
Thank you Dave.

Well done Bro. Dave. This shows beyond doubt that works, or any combination of works and faith cannot possibly save. It also reinforces the controversy regarding how and if the OT saints were saved.
Faith was, is and always will be the vehicle to God through His salvation. It is by God's Grace that anyone is ever saved, and then only through faith.

Thank you for the devotion.
I enjoyed your thoughts. We do need to meditate on how God sees us as we really are. On how God is compassionate for us, and give this compassion to others, in order to help them as God helped us. Maybe this is the spirit of Matthew 10:8, "... freely ye have received, freely give." 
 

Babies most certainly do not go to Hell. This is false. In 2 Samuel 12:23 it says, " But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me. David was  going to see him in Heaven that is why he said, I shall go to him.  Absalom on the other hand probably did not go to Heaven that is why David mourned so much. 2Samuel 18:33 And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
This was a much different response than with the baby that died. There was a lot less hope.
2 Samuel 18:18 Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up for himself a pillar, which is in the king's dale: for he said, I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto this day, Absalom's place.
Another person who went to his own place was Judas. That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. Acts 1:25

WOW!!!! EVER LEARNING?.........
 

Psalms is a great book, which covers a variety of subjects. If I remember right, it is the most read book of the bible (?) or atleast devotionally. But then again I think "modern Christianity" mostly reads the bible only devotionally (as opposed to doctrinally or instructionally). Meaning many professing Christians don't really read the bible, but they will read Psalms as a "devotion". But David wrote most of the psalms and he was a "man of war". And many Christians don't realize they are in a war, and they lack the doctrine and instruction to fight in this war.
Many Christians (whether if they are truly saved or not) don't know their weapon very well (the bible, sword of the Spirit). It's like they are hiding in the trenches and and don't know how to reload their rifle, so they read the "instruction manual" as a devotion! And then only a few Christian soldiers are out on the front lines fighting in the war, and doing all the work. But just as soldiers receive badges, Christians receive crowns. I've heard a good sermon illustration about war and the Christian life. And its true, i can it see for myself as i compare it and as i continue in my walk, im gonna see some battle scars and brethren that have died in this war.
Still i myself need to stay challenged to stay in the fight as it gets discouraging. There will be rest soon, until then i shall keep my "feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" as people are still breathing and need to hear the gospel and be saved. Even the lost sinners play a part in this war and don't even know it... Their way of surviving is just pain selfish. No one can save themselves, and there's no life outside of Jesus Christ.
Ecclesiastes 8:8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.

Brethren,
"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass." Psalm 37:4 & 5
As we trust in the Lord, delight ourselves in Him, commit our ways of life, our way of living, ourselves to the Lord; the Lord can mold us, change us, and restore us to a thing of usefulness. The Lord can change the evil desires of our hearts for good; and then bring to pass those good desires of our heart.
My friend, brother Stafford, "Faithfully Restored," made another video on the restoration of a 1940's Lowboy Chest. The video gives a graphic illustration of how God, the master craftsman, can restore a person from a life of decay and mis-use, to a life of usefulness, purpose, and beauty. The video is a blessing to my heart and I hope to your heart as well. I do want to thank brother Stafford for sending me the video for my devotion.
Here is the link to brother Stafford's website for videos on his furniture restoration with biblical applications.
  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV5HTN_favhjRSX5Ttxm77w/videos
May the Lord bless all of you.
Alan
 
 

Brethren,
I do hope that the devotion on 1 Kings 15:11-15, 'Right in the Sight of the Lord' is a blessing to your heart and an encouragement as you walk with the Lord.
Hope you enjoy the accompanying photograph with the 1 Kings 15: 11 scripture verse as a visual reminder.
Cedar Tree Clothed with Snow.
 

Note on the photo. I am in the process of learning how to edit my photos with the
Linux Gimp 2.8 Photo Editor. If you have any problem uploading the photo please let me know.
As before, all of my photos are not copyrighted and are are available as you see fit.
May the Lord bless you all.
Alan

Brethren,
I do hope the inspriational music is a blessing to you.
Alan
 

This verse has always given me great peace and has brought to mind the hymn:  My Anchor Holds.

well done and beautiful craftmanship.

Brethren,
Brother Stafford is an antique furniture restorer. He has made some excellent videos on the correlation of restoring antique furniture and the restoration of the soul, after salvation, in the heart of the believer.  I informed Brother Stafford that if he would like to add any of these videos to any of my devotions that he may do so.
Brother Stafford informed me that the videos are not copyrighted and also informed me that I may add them to the devotions myself.
I want to thank Brother Stafford for using his talents for the Lord and graciously letting me use his videos to give a visual demonstration on the work of the Lord in the heart of the believer.   
The videos give a visual representation of the restoration of a cane rocking chair can visibly show us how the Lord can restore, or recover, the abilities in the heart of the believer that the world, or Satan, took away from us. Just like David was able to defeat his enemies and recover all; the Lord can restore us to usefulness and give us victory in this life.
The Rocking Chair:
May the Lord bless all of you.
Alan

Brethren,
Brother Stafford is an antique furniture restorer. He has made some excellent videos on the correlation of restoring antique furniture and the restoration of the soul, after salvation, in the heart of the believer.  I informed Brother Stafford that if he would like to add any of these videos to any of my devotions that he may do so.
Brother Stafford informed me that the videos are not copyrighted and also informed me that I may add them to the devotions myself.
I want to thank Brother Stafford for using his talents for the Lord and graciously letting me use his videos to give a visual demonstration on the work of the Lord in the heart of the believer.   
The videos give a visual representation of the restoration of a cane rocking chair can visibly show us how the Lord can restore, or recover, the abilities in the heart of the believer that the world, or Satan, took away from us. Just like David was able to defeat his enemies and recover all; the Lord can restore us to usefulness and give us victory in this life.
The Rocking Chair:
May the Lord bless all of you.
Alan

It looks fine with me. Thank you.

Bro. Alan, I hope I did not mess anything up since i was able to edit your original work. It looks right to me, but you will have to check it on your computer.
After the last time I edited a post that was not mine and messed it up, I am reluctant to try it again.

Thank you Bro. Alan. This seems to be a subject that is only lightly touched upon. I am glad you enjoyed it and really appreciate your added comments.

Thank you for this devotion Alan, it was a blessing. I found it well done and right on the money regarding the various "types" in both individuals as well as circumstances.

Excellent points!  Here is another.  Back to the passage concerning the Lord building His church.
Matthew 16:18:  "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."
What is the rock spoken of here?
Matthew 16:15-16:  "He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?   And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."
The rock concerns Peter's profession of faith in Jesus Christ, it is the Lord Jesus.  One making this profession of faith may be added to the church by baptism.

Brethren,
I do hope that you like the accompaning photo.

 
The photo was taken by me, it is not copyrighted, and you may use it as you wish.
May God richly bless all of you.
Alan