Versaday

If ye know these things happy are ye if ye do them. John 13:17

Sometimes people feel good about the plans they are making……..which they will never follow through on. One day I was urging a man to accept Christ into his heart but he would not. He said that later he would. As he walked away he said, “You know, I feel better already.” I don’t know if he ever got saved. Like so many things, just knowing or planning is not enough. The follow through is everything. It’s like prescription medicine. It does you no good unless your medicine is taken. Luke 11:27,28 tells of a man who heard Jesus’ teachings and said “Blessed is the womb that bare thee”- in other words, His mother. Jesus said, “Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” The blessing is in the application. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. Deuteronomy 2:3

A compass makes a circle. The Israelites had for a long time been circling the area of Mt. Seir instead of going directly to the promised land after they had escaped from Egypt. Now if you go around in a circle three things happen. 1 You waste time. 2. You waste energy. 3. You end up exactly where you started. You may have been circling your own Mt Indecision. “I’m going to start a new plan….tomorrow. I’m going to really change…. tomorrow. I’m really going to serve the Lord….someday. And on it goes, around and around. You have circled this mountain long enough. You’ve wasted enough time. It is time to move on. Elijah said it perfectly: “How long halt ye between two opinions? If the LORD be God, follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment. Exodus 23:2

To follow a multitude is to go along with the crowd. Young people are especially susceptible to this, but it is a temptation to all of us. It doesn’t matter if  we call it peer pressure, or following public opinion; it amounts to “go along to get along.” If rap music with brutal lyrics is what the group feels is “cool” then that is what many follow. If tattoos are the rage, that is what seems so important. “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 19:28. We belong to the Lord and God calls us to be a holy people, obedient to Him and devoted to His Word. “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 6:17. Phillip P. Bliss wrote: “Dare to be a Daniel, Dare to stand alone, Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known. You can follow the multitudes to do good. David said:

“I went with the multitude to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept holyday, (Sabbath). Psalms 42:4.  Find your  fellowship with God’s people. Amen.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night. Exodus 14:20

As the Egyptians pursued the Israelites to destroy them after the exodus from Egypt, God caused a great cloud to appear between them which gave light to the Israelites and darkness to the Egyptians. On the one side of the cloud there was pitch darkness, and on the other side there was abundant light. The Gospel is like that. “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:23,24. To the unsaved the Gospel is darkness, but to the saved it is light. To the unsaved it is dull, dreary, and tedious, but to us who are saved, it is a joy, it is delightful, it is honey out of the rock. What is it to you?

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation. And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him: and the LORD shut him in. Genesis 7:1,16

If it had been Noah who shut the door of the ark, and sealed it, then when the torrential rains pounded the ark and the waves tossed it about, he might well have wondered if it were secure. But the LORD closed the door and shut him in. Will the door open or leak? I think not. That is the way our salvation is. It is not our doing. It is God’s work. GOD sent his Son, JESUS suffered for our sins and died in our place, and the HOLY SPIRIT baptizes us into the body of Christ. A threefold cord is not easily broken, especially when it is divine.

When the storms of life are raging and our little bark is tossed about by the violent waves, we are safe and secure because salvation is God’s work. When you hover about the door, and wonder if it will hold, it may be that you feel that you are the one who closed and sealed the door. If that were so, you have good cause to be concerned. You need to trust in Christ, commit to the Father and rest in the Spirit. It is He that called us, it is He that saved us, and it is He that shut us in. All honor, glory and praise be to Him. Amen.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. Matthew 21:22

This promise is very comprehensive, but He is the Lord, and with him all things are possible. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:6. God has ordained that faith be the key that unlocks the storehouse of God’s blessings. How many battles have been won, how many problems solved and blessings received by the prayer of faith. Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” Mark 9:23.   

You should take courage, and rejoice. God has many blessings in store for you and they are received with the hand of faith. Prepare your heart, extend your arm, and open your hand. Amen.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris 

Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. Acts 5:29

The disciples had been forbidden to teach in the name of Christ, or anything about him, which gave rise to the response in today’s verse, “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Christ crucified, as the only way of salvation, is not a popular doctrine, and from the beginning attempts have been made to prevent its’ spread, and to silence those that spoke in the name of Jesus. Thank the Lord for those warriors of the cross who were faithful to God, and chose persecution rather than to disobey God. Christians are to be law-abiding citizens, but whenever there is a conflict between man’s law and God’s command, our answer must be that of the disciples in today’s passage, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. Deuteronomy 1:21

After their long wanderings in the desert, the Israelites were on the threshold of the promised land. The Lord told them, “I have set it before you, go up and possess it, don’t be afraid nor discouraged.” In your own life you may have been wandering in the desert of doubt, hardship, or various problems, like John Bunyon’s pilgrim in the Slough of Despond. God says to you, “Rise up! Leave this desert of doubt, fear, procrastination, and failure. The promised land is before you, but you  must enter it by faith, work, courage and prayer. God has given you the tools and the wherewithal to resolve these conflicts, and it is just a matter of obeying Him, and using the means he has provided. Victory and fulfillment are before you. “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: GO UP AND POSSESS IT.”

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

We love him, because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19

In our original state before conversion to Christ, we do not love God; the reason being that we want to govern our own lives as we see fit; do as we please with no rules or interference. This is the creed of the world. This selfish rule of conduct is the root of ALL the sin and the resultant problems and suffering in the world. When we were in this state, clutching our idols of self-love, God LOVED us, and sent his Son to save us from such a miserable condition and its’ eternal consequences. He first loved us and gave Himself for us to redeem us. How can we help but be moved by such love as is manifest by a crucified Savior? How can we do less than to worship, honor and love Him who gave Himself for. “We love him, because he first loved us.”

But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. Matthew 14:27

The disciples were in a raging storm in the middle of the Sea of Galilee between 3:00 and 6:00 A.M., (the fourth watch of the night). In the midst of the fierce storm as their boat was being tossed by the waves, they saw Jesus walking on the water, and thinking it was a spirit, they cried out in fear. Can you imagine the panic and fear that must have possessed them? Then they heard the familiar voice of the Savior, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.” The tempests that rage around us may be of a different type, such as deadlines, debt, health issues, finances etc., but they are just as real and just as frightening. When these storms are bursting all around us and threatening to inundate us, how wonderful it is to hear the master’s voice, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”

Commentary by Francis L. Harris