BBD 02.21.22 Within and Without (New)
Quote from Forum Archives on February 21, 2022, 2:08 pmPosted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Since June 8th 1998, this is
the 1839thThe Burning Bush Devotional
21 February 2022
Within
and Without
Walk in wisdom
toward those who are outside (them that are without – old KJV), redeeming
the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. –
Colossians 4:5 NKJV.
It is clear that the apostle Paul is speaking in these verses about
those who are outside or without a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Why are there those who do not know Jesus as their
Savior? Some have still not heard the truth about eternal life that Jesus is,
as Jesus Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” That is at least one reason for us to be sure that anything
that we say in the presence of unbelievers should be of a nature that is
beneficial to their turning to Christ. That is why Paul adds, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt….” As Ephesians 4:29 says, and I like the way the NIV puts this, “Do not let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those
who listen.”
Another reason that there are still those who are outside or without a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ is they do not find what Jesus has to offer
attractive. To them the offerings of the world are far more attractive and is
what they desire to seek.
Once after sharing my testimony with a young couple,
they rejected Christ. The reason they gave was that they would have to give up
dancing because the church they would attend did not believe you should dance. (Although, I don’t remember
“Thou shalt not dance” as being one of the Ten Commandments, but of course dancing with someone other than your husband or your wife in an immoral way would be sinful.) Dancing
was far more important to them than what Jesus was offering. I pray that at
some point in time in the 30 something years since, that they have come to know
Jesus as their Savior.
Some people reject Jesus because they find alcohol or drugs or sex
outside of marriage more attractive than Jesus. Some people are too busy making
money to be bothered with the distraction of putting their faith in Jesus. The
world has a whole arsenal of attractions that many consider to be better
options than living a life for Jesus.
Another reason that I have encountered for rejection of Jesus is that
they could never be good enough to be saved. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that this is not true, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.” Yes, as Romans 3:23 tells us “we all have sinned” and fall short of the perfection of God.
The truth is that if we had to be sinless in order to be saved, none
would be saved. Only Jesus has lived a sinless life as Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in allpoints tempted as we are, yet without sin.” No, we just have to come as we are, sinful creatures,
and fall upon the mercy of Jesus to forgive us of our sins. Jesus takes us just
as we are and then begins to change and transform us to look more and more like
Him (Romans 8:29).
If you are outside of faith in Jesus, meaning you have never prayed for
Jesus to forgive you of your sins and be your Lord and Savior. God is calling
you! As Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, “Behold,I stand at the door and
knock.If anyone hears My voice
and opens the door,I will come in to him and
dine with him, and he with Me.” Open up
the door of your heart, pray and ask Jesus to come in; ask Him to forgive you
of your sins, and be your Savior and Lord. I did exactly that nearly 52 years
ago and I have never regretted the best decision I have ever made in my life! And
you won’t either!
Copyright © 1998 - 2022. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998, the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Visit the
Burning Bush website:
The Burning Bush websites are
celebrating 23 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to subscribers
across the world. At one time there were 18,000 subscribers in more than 70
countries to the devotional but that has now shrunk to around 8,000.
You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.
There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right-hand corner of all of the pages.
Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at
the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page.
Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.
Please pray about the
situation in Ukraine with the Russian troop buildup on their border.
Please also pray about the
situation in Canada.
Please pray for God to touch and
bring about His will in these lives: Martha and John W.; Alan Medders; Norman
Cupp; Georgia Bronnert; Caleb Freeman; Pat S.; Buck & Barbara Wright; GWEN
PRUET; James Perkins and his wife; Vonnie; Evi Porter; Jennifer Burge; Kinsey
W; Addison; JoJo, Bailey and Nicky; Ralph and De Chapman; Hilary; Cody
Stahlman; Patsy M.; Brandy and Jadyn’s Dad; John W.; Patricia Rohman and Lisa Butler
who has had a stroke; Scott J.; Karla W.; Clayton T. and Sarah; Clark S.; Lana
Bass; Matthew Collins; Marjean C.; Bradley E.; Fern McVey; Nannie R.; Sarah
Anderson; Beverly J; Larayne S. and Shonda Hutson.
(Please pray for 10-year-old Jo Jo
Stahlman who was saved last night at our church. Please pray that she will grow
rapidly in the faith and that she will be protected from evil.)
Please pray for the coronavirus
COVID19 pandemic to come to an end. Pray for treatments and a cure for the
virus to be rapidly found and deployed. Pray for all those afflicted to be
healed and for our leaders to have supernatural wisdom and ability to lead us
through this pandemic.
Please pray for an end to the
rioting, looting, wanton destruction, and the racial hatred in the USA and that
it will be replaced with peace and love. May God help the USA! Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of
course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. Having back surgery in a few weeks. 03.18.18
I accepted the call to be the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Elk City,
Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for this church.).
You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com
If you enjoy the devotional please
recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.
Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.
You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.
You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Since June 8th 1998, this is
the 1839th
The Burning Bush Devotional
21 February 2022
Within
and Without
Walk in wisdom
toward those who are outside (them that are without – old KJV), redeeming
the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. –
Colossians 4:5 NKJV.
It is clear that the apostle Paul is speaking in these verses about
those who are outside or without a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Why are there those who do not know Jesus as their
Savior? Some have still not heard the truth about eternal life that Jesus is,
as Jesus Himself says in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” That is at least one reason for us to be sure that anything
that we say in the presence of unbelievers should be of a nature that is
beneficial to their turning to Christ. That is why Paul adds, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt….” As Ephesians 4:29 says, and I like the way the NIV puts this, “Do not let any
unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those
who listen.”
Another reason that there are still those who are outside or without a saving
knowledge of Jesus Christ is they do not find what Jesus has to offer
attractive. To them the offerings of the world are far more attractive and is
what they desire to seek.
Once after sharing my testimony with a young couple,
they rejected Christ. The reason they gave was that they would have to give up
dancing because the church they would attend did not believe you should dance. (Although, I don’t remember
“Thou shalt not dance” as being one of the Ten Commandments, but of course dancing with someone other than your husband or your wife in an immoral way would be sinful.) Dancing
was far more important to them than what Jesus was offering. I pray that at
some point in time in the 30 something years since, that they have come to know
Jesus as their Savior.
Some people reject Jesus because they find alcohol or drugs or sex
outside of marriage more attractive than Jesus. Some people are too busy making
money to be bothered with the distraction of putting their faith in Jesus. The
world has a whole arsenal of attractions that many consider to be better
options than living a life for Jesus.
Another reason that I have encountered for rejection of Jesus is that
they could never be good enough to be saved. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that this is not true, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s
handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do.” Yes, as Romans 3:23 tells us “we all have sinned” and fall short of the perfection of God.
The truth is that if we had to be sinless in order to be saved, none
would be saved. Only Jesus has lived a sinless life as Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all
points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” No, we just have to come as we are, sinful creatures,
and fall upon the mercy of Jesus to forgive us of our sins. Jesus takes us just
as we are and then begins to change and transform us to look more and more like
Him (Romans 8:29).
If you are outside of faith in Jesus, meaning you have never prayed for
Jesus to forgive you of your sins and be your Lord and Savior. God is calling
you! As Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, “Behold,
I stand at the door and
knock.
If anyone hears My voice
and opens the door,
I will come in to him and
dine with him, and he with Me.” Open up
the door of your heart, pray and ask Jesus to come in; ask Him to forgive you
of your sins, and be your Savior and Lord. I did exactly that nearly 52 years
ago and I have never regretted the best decision I have ever made in my life! And
you won’t either!
Copyright © 1998 - 2022. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998, the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Visit the
Burning Bush website:
The Burning Bush websites are
celebrating 23 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to subscribers
across the world. At one time there were 18,000 subscribers in more than 70
countries to the devotional but that has now shrunk to around 8,000.
You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.
There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right-hand corner of all of the pages.
Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at
the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page.
Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.
Please pray about the
situation in Ukraine with the Russian troop buildup on their border.
Please also pray about the
situation in Canada.
Please pray for God to touch and
bring about His will in these lives: Martha and John W.; Alan Medders; Norman
Cupp; Georgia Bronnert; Caleb Freeman; Pat S.; Buck & Barbara Wright; GWEN
PRUET; James Perkins and his wife; Vonnie; Evi Porter; Jennifer Burge; Kinsey
W; Addison; JoJo, Bailey and Nicky; Ralph and De Chapman; Hilary; Cody
Stahlman; Patsy M.; Brandy and Jadyn’s Dad; John W.; Patricia Rohman and Lisa Butler
who has had a stroke; Scott J.; Karla W.; Clayton T. and Sarah; Clark S.; Lana
Bass; Matthew Collins; Marjean C.; Bradley E.; Fern McVey; Nannie R.; Sarah
Anderson; Beverly J; Larayne S. and Shonda Hutson.
(Please pray for 10-year-old Jo Jo
Stahlman who was saved last night at our church. Please pray that she will grow
rapidly in the faith and that she will be protected from evil.)
Please pray for the coronavirus
COVID19 pandemic to come to an end. Pray for treatments and a cure for the
virus to be rapidly found and deployed. Pray for all those afflicted to be
healed and for our leaders to have supernatural wisdom and ability to lead us
through this pandemic.
Please pray for an end to the
rioting, looting, wanton destruction, and the racial hatred in the USA and that
it will be replaced with peace and love. May God help the USA! Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of
course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. Having back surgery in a few weeks. 03.18.18
I accepted the call to be the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Elk City,
Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for this church.).
You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com
If you enjoy the devotional please
recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.
Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.
You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.
You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org