KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Wednesday, December 06, 2017
Chapters: II Corinthians 5-9
Message: Stand By Your Faith
Hello My Friend,
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” – II Corinthians 6:14,17-18.
I am starting today’s message with the passage first as they have been playing in my head for a few weeks now. When we see these verses we tend to automatically think that this means that someone saved ought not to marry someone unsaved, but the passage goes beyond that. Not every religion believes the same, even though they say they are Christians, and that can cause a problem in relationships of any kind. There is a very good reason why God wants us to remain separated from those who do not believe the same as we do, it saves us a lot of heartache. So, what happens if you are yoked together with someone that believes differently. Just keep praying and stand by your faith, and God will help you through it, we must not compromise with our faith.
“Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” – II Corinthians 5:6-11,14-15,19.
“For the love of Christ constraineth us;” Constrain; To compel or force; to urge with irresistible power, or with a power sufficient to produce the effect. The more we learn about, and the closer we get to Jesus we no longer what to live the way that the world does, and this is what causes problems if we are yoked together with those believe differently that we do. It is heartbreaking when you give your all to someone who walks a different path than you. Trust me, and you probably already know that you shed many tears, but again, never compromise with your faith. I have even had a guy mimic that he was saved, even got baptized in an attempt to win me over only to discover it was all a lie to get me to accept him into my life. Well, eventually that relationship failed and on top of that it caused a strain between God and I, but God saw me through it and now I am a testimony. You see, compromising with our faith only brings more affliction, we are to receive the grace of God in vain.
“We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed: But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings; By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;” – II Corinthians 6:1-8.
“But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God,” When we think of all the things we have done over the years and how God still accepts us and does not leave us, we can truly understand that it is only by His grace that we are saved. Being saved really is nit a free ticket to allow us to do as we please and not face any consequences for our actions, and while we may not be cast into hell we will have to face some suffering if we do not repent of the things God does not approve of in our lives. Paul explains what repentance does for us.
“For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.” – II Corinthians 7:8-12.
“but that ye sorrowed to repentance:” Deep sorrow always brings repentance, meaning to turns away from the sinful acts we once enjoyed and turns us to the likeness of Jesus. It is sad, but there are many saved people sinful, immoral lives, they do not realize or care that God is right there with them. We are all going to have to face Christ one day, I rather face Him having at least tried to live a decent life serving Him rather than never doing one thing to thank Him for saving my life. It truly is for our benefit that we live a godly life as we dedicate our lives to Christ, not because we have to, but because we are thankful for what He has done for us, not to mention the blessings we receive. Remember, if we are sparse in our faith, God will be sparse with us.
“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” – II Corinthians 9:6-11.
“for God loveth a cheerful giver.” This relates to everything we do for God, not just giving tithes and offerings. God always takes care of us when we are faithful to Him and serve Him willingly. Remember, God dwells in all who are saved, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – II Corinthians 5:17. What this means is that even every ridiculous or stupid thing you ever did before you knew Christ has been wiped clean from your slate. You now have a second chance to do something amazing with your life while you are still here on earth when you live your life with Christ in it. Never let anyone, for any reason make you compromise with your faith. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” – Ephesians 2:10.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” – II Corinthians 5:8.
Today’s Prayer: God, In my attempt to live the best life I can live with You in it I am constantly being tested for my faithfulness to You. While I cannot escape being tempted, I can escape the temptation as You always give me a way out of any temptation. Lord, give me Your power, only You can help me overcome the weakness of my flesh to succumb to those who want me to compromise my faith. Give me your strength, wisdom, and guidance on how to separate from those who want me to compromise my faith. As I patiently wait for You, let me be the example You want me to be. I ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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