KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Thursday, January 18, 2018
Chapters: Genesis 19-21
Message: Admit, Accept, and Ask
Hello My Friend,
The modern church is great about telling the world how much Jesus Christ loves them and accepts them no matter who they are, but what they will not tell you is that He is also a just God, and that there is a price for sin. Yes, Christ loves and died for all, but that does not mean He will not judge every soul for their sin, and it does not mean He will save every soul, if we want to be saved from having to pay the price for sin, we must first, admit we are a sinner, second, accept that Jesus died a sinless death to save us, and third, ask Him to save us. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9-10.
As we get closer to the return of Christ things on earth are going to get more corrupt and wicked. Thanks to the courts changing laws that allow marriages of all sorts, we are going to see our nations one by one be destroyed through the wicked and immoral acts of man. Sodom and Gomorrah was like many cities today, full of immorality, fornication and homosexuality was very open and very public in those days, and God had had enough of it. God promised Abraham that He would not destroy the cities if anyone there feared God, so He sent His angels to check it out and see if anyone there was faithful, and discovered how wicked it was.
“And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said, Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” – Genesis 19:12-17.
“lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” Sadly, there are a lot of worldly Christians that are going to lose their lives and everything they have, including friends and loved ones because they will never admitted, accepted, and asked Christ to save them, therefore they will be consumed in their sin. The son-in-laws laughed at, and even mocked Lot, scared and confused, he stopped to look at all he was leaving behind, that is when the angels took hold of his hand and pulled them out of the city, along with his family. However, we learn of the fate of Lot’s wife because looked back and she could not let go.
“And Lot said unto them, Oh, not so, my Lord: Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me, and I die: Behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little one: Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul shall live. And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar. Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.” – Genesis 19:18-26.
“See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also,” You see, there is a price for sin, there always has been, and that is death and hell. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a picture of that is going to happen to the entire world when Christ returns to judge it. The saving of Zoar is a picture of Christ pulling us to safety when we admit we are sinners, accept Him as our Saviour, and ask Him to save us. Again, Christ died for all, but not all will be saved because like Lot’s wife, they will look back. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” – John 3:16-19.
“and men loved darkness rather than light,” You see, this is the reason so many will be consumed in their sin, they not only condone it, they happily live that sinful life. By now, news of Sodom and Gomorrah being destroyed had gotten around the surrounding cities, and while they may not have feared God enough to turn solely to Him, they feared Him enough that they did not want the same fate. Regardless of how many see God as ruthless and merciless, He truly is merciful, and gives all a chance to escape His judgments. After Abraham sees Sodom and Gomorrah up in smoke, he leaves town and settles in Gerar. It was there that the king of Gerar, Abimelech, took Sarah, being led to believe that she was Abraham’s sister, and later got a visit from God.
“And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the south country, and dwelled between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine. So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare children. For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.” – Genesis 20:1-7,17-18.
“Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation?” Abimelech did not want to deal with the wrath of God, especially after what He heard happen to Sodom and Gomorrah. Quite often God uses fear to get people to see that He is serious, He is in control of everything, and He really is merciful. One thing God wants to make clear to the saved is that we are not to be among the unsaved. Yes, there are many saved living with and even married to those whom are unsaved, but this will always cause problems, and a lot of suffering. Now, after all this came to pass, Sarah conceived, and had a son, and they named him Isaac. Already, we find Hagar mocking Sarah.
“And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children suck? for I have born him a son in his old age. And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” – Genesis 21:1-12.
“for in Isaac shall thy seed be called.” While there are many saved that dwell among the unsaved, the time will come when all will be separated, the saved, also known as the sons (and daughters) of God will be saved while the sons of the world will face judgment like no other. The only way we can be saved from this judgment is by admitting we are sinners, accepting that Christ saved us by dying a sinless death on the cross, and asking Him to save us. We are saved by grace, no matter what life we live after we are saved. “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” – James 5:19-20.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;” – Genesis 19:24.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for Your mercy and grace to save a sinner like me. Lord, I want to live my life with You in it, even if that means I have to give up some things or even separate myself from friends and family in order to do that. I know that all the things I do not only impact my life, but others as well, help me to be a Godly influence and a testimony of the great life that can be lived by living to please You and not the world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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