Versaday

But the LORD is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

You need to memorize this verse. This verse has all that the heart could desire. God will establish you. The word means to set you in a certain direction, to confirm you, and keep you in the right way. Secondly, He will keep you from evil; not from problems, sickness, etc. which this world is full of, but from the evil one, that is, the one who would lead you to the ultimate evil of falling away from our precious Savior. God will keep you from this.

Now the REAL good news. GOD IS FAITHFUL. He will not give up on you. He never began a project that he didn’t finish. He doesn’t start to build and then give up. If you truly belong to Jesus, have taken Him into your heart as your Savior, and yet get bogged down in the world and sin, God will deal with you by conviction, problems, suffering and difficulties of all kinds, until you get back on the right path and walk in fellowship with Him. Then if you persist, and still won’t be straightened out, He will take you out of this world, “destroying the flesh that the Spirit may be saved.” 1 Corinthians 5:5. THE LORD IS FAITHUL, HE WILL ESTABLISH YOU, AND HE WILL KEEP YOU.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. 2^nd Chronicles 30:20

King Hezekiah called all Israel to a proper observance of the Passover which for many years had fallen into disuse. Many were ritually unclean and unfit but observed the Passover anyway, which would have brought chastisement for their improper service, but King Hezekiah asked God to pardon the people for their unpreparedness and improper observance of the ceremony. “And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.” This is a good illustration of our own sinfulness and imperfect service to the Lord, who for Jesus’ sake forgives our sin and stumbling and accepts our imperfect obedience and service. Sometimes we walk with Him and then we have the days of heaven on earth, but then we falter, struggle and fall, and then cry out to God who restores us to fellowship. In the words of that blessed old song, “What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief to bear; what a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.” What a gracious heavenly Father. Let us resolve to read the Word, render heartfelt obedience, spend time in His presence, and serve Him with our whole heart.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5:9

God has made a determination about you. If you have surrendered your heart to Jesus, God has purposed for you to obtain salvation and enjoy heaven for all eternity. Think of it! He does not change his mind. He does not vacillate from day to day. He is not of one opinion today, and a different one tomorrow. He is not changeable like the weather vanes on some roof tops that change with the wind. “I am the LORD, I change not.” Malachi 3:6. YOUR hope and opinion may change from day to day, depending on your frame of mind or your feelings, which in turn vary from hour to hour as the strength of your commitment to Christ may vary. But if you have truly received Christ into your heart, God has made and eternal, unchangeable decision about your future. Love Him, thank Him and praise Him. Amen.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11.

In this verse we are called upon to seek the LORD; a duty that is neither tedious nor bothersome, but is a joy and a delight. But how do we seek the Lord? We are told in John 14:6. Jesus said, “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jesus is our High Priest, Heb. 8:1 and 9:11. We come to the Father initially through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and we approach God subsequently through Jesus as our intercessor and high priest. He is the ONLY go between, 1 Timothy 2:5. In the Father are reservoirs of blessing, and springs of refreshing for those who take the time to call upon Him and have learned the joy and blessing of fellowship with Him by seeking his face continually. Father, strengthen and comfort us by your presence as we walk through this valley of trials and tears, we ask in the name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Colossians 3:20

According to today’s verse, children are supposed to obey and please the parents, not vice versa. We have gotten it backwards. Parents are trying please the children and cater to them. Carrying this to excess results in children who become “enfant terrible” who are spoiled, who must have their own way, and who disrespect their parents. We can dispense with the services of a “supernanny” if we will bring up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4. Delinquent parents produce delinquent children. In general, your children respect you, TO THE EXTENT that you DESERVE to be respected.  If we return to “the old paths”, go to church, read God’s Word the Bible, and honor and obey the Lord, we will raise children that rise up and call their parents blessed. Children, young men and young women, honor and “obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.” Colossians 3:20.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 2 Kings 17:39

The Assyrian king had sent foreigners to occupy the conquered land of Samaria in Israel; after many calamities inside Israel, the foreigners who worshipped many heathen gods tried to incorporate worship of Jehova alongside their other gods in order to placate the Lord. Verse 33 says “they feared the Lord while serving their own gods. This is the background for our Verse for today which tells us to reverence and worship the Lord only. There are many people who are conscious that there is a God, and try to placate Him, while at the same time going their own way in their own sins, essentially worshipping the Lord and serving other gods, (themselves). “But the LORD your God ye shall fear”,  and serve not with divided loyalty, but with your whole heart. God is not fooled by divided worship.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris 

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Philippians 3:11

The book of Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible. It certainly poses the oldest question in the heart of man when Job asks, “If a man die, shall he live again?”. Job 14:14. There are many today  who think that we are just animals and that when we die that is the end of everything, but Jesus settled the question when he told Martha, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Physical death is not the end, but the beginning of a long eternity.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. 1 Kings 8:60

At the dedication of Solomon’s great temple in Jerusalem, Solomon prays for blessing on Israel and the temple and concludes the prayer with these words, “that all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.” There is no God but Jehova. All things come from Him and flow back to Him, and our future and our eternal well being are bound up in Him, whom to know is eternal life, as Jesus prayed, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3. Sunrise, sunset; the years go by and lead to the greatest tragedy of all: to spend all our days under the sun, without ever coming to know Him, our Creator, whom to know is life eternal.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Ephesians 4:5

Among Christians there may be many differences of race, age, education, etc., but there is only one LORD. It may seem very liberal and broad-minded to speak of many ways to heaven, but the apostle Peter in speaking of Jesus, said, “There is salvation in no other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. Jesus is the only sacrificial lamb who died for our sins. There is one faith. There are not multiple paths to heaven that we can choose from. There is one Baptism. When we are lowered beneath the water it is a symbol of our death to sin, and our burial, and when we are raised from the water, it is a symbol of our being resurrected to walk in newness of life in obedience to the Lord. There is ONE way to heaven. Jesus said, “ I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE: NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER, BUT BY ME. John 14:6.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris

And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. 2 Samuel 22:2

In the early years of Israel, people sometimes sought shelter from their enemies in caves of the mountainous areas; also they built fortresses on the rocky high places such as at Masada. Here in David’s praise to the Lord he compares the safety and protection of these high, rocky, unassailable places to the security that we have in God. Sometimes we do come under siege, and it seems as if the enemy would destroy us, for the Bible tells us that Satan goes about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. But we just look to Jesus. Outside, the storms of life may be raging, but inside we are sheltered and secure in the Rock of Ages. “From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” Psalms 61:2-3.

Commentary by Francis L. Harris