The Devotional

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 325 Psalm 33 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) 1  Rejoice in Adonai , You righteous! Praise is well-suited to the upright. 2  Give thanks to Adonai with the lyre, sing praises to Him with a ten-stringed harp. 3  Sing to Him a new song, make music at your best among shouts of joy. 4  For the word of Adonai is true, and all His work is trustworthy. 5  He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the grace of Adonai . 6  By the word of Adonai the heavens were made, and their whole host by a breath from His mouth. 7  He collects the sea waters together in a heap; He puts the deeps in storehouses. 8  Let all the earth fear Adonai ! Let all living in the world stand in awe of Him. 9  For He spoke, and there it was; He commanded, and there it stood. 10  Adonai brings to nothing the plans of nations, He foils the plans of the peoples. 11  But the counsel of Adonai stands foreve...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 324 Psalm 8 New King James Version (NKJV) The Glory of the Lord in Creation To the Chief Musician. On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David. 1 O Lord , our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have set Your glory above the heavens! 2  Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger. 3  When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4  What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5  For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor. 6  You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, 7  All sheep and oxen—Even the beasts of the field, 8  The birds of the air, And the fish of the s...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 323 Psalm 4 New King James Version (NKJV) The Safety of the Faithful To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. 1  Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. 2  How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah 3  But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. 4  Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah 5  Offer the sacrifices of righteousness and put your trust in the Lord . 6  There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord , lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. 7  You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8  I will both lie dow...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 322 Simeon Sees God's Salvation Luke 2: on 25  And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28  he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 29  “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30  For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31  Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32  A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” 33  And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him....

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 321 Luke 2:8-11 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) 8  In the countryside nearby were some shepherds spending the night in the fields, guarding their flocks, 9  when an angel of Adonai appeared to them, and the Sh’khinah (Shekinah) of Adonai shone around them. They were terrified; 10  but the angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am here announcing to you Good News that will bring great joy to all the people. 11  This very day, in the town of David, there was born for you a Deliverer who is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:8:11 (NKJV) Glory in the Highest 8  Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10  Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tiding...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 320 Psalm 23 New King James Version (NKJV) The Lord is The Shepherd of His People A Psalm of David. 1  The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God Confidence in living is something that we struggle with, internally we are in an uproar with ourselves. We argue and worry in our mind about the i...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 319 Habakkuk 2:1-4 New King James Version (NKJV) The Just Live by Faith 1 I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected. 2  Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. 3  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end, it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. 4  “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God   In Christendom today there is a lot to be said about FAITH. Many good and prominent people in our time have expressed faith. Faith in money, faith in material objects, faith in themselves and faith in scripture. There are a few that I have left out, othe...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 318 The Lamb of God 29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30  This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ 31  I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” 32  And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. 33  I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34  And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God After forty days has pasted and the temptation of Jesus is completed, Jesus returns to where John is baptizing in the River Jo...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 317 John 1:24-28 New King James Version (NKJV) A Voice in the Wilderness (continued) 24  Now those who were sent were from the Pharisees. 25  And they asked him, saying, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26  John answered them, saying, “I baptize with water, but there stands One among you whom you do not know. 27  It is He who, coming after me, is preferred before me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose.” 28  These things were done in Bethabara beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God Isaiah 40:3 Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) 24  Some of those who had been sent were P’rushim . 25  They asked him, “If you are neither the Messiah nor Eliyahu nor ‘the prophet,’ then why are you immersing people?” 26  To them Yochanan replied, “I am immersing people in water, but among yo...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 316 John 1:19-23 New King James Version (NKJV) A Voice in the Wilderness 19  Now this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20  He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21  And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22  Then they said to him, “Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23  He said: “I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Make straight the way of the Lord ,” ’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God I thought we would take a look at the ‘complete Jewish Bible’ This is my first look at this version and it is interesting to me and so I thought it would be to all of us as well. John 1:19-23 Complete Jewish B...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 315 John 1:14-18 New King James Version (NKJV) The Word Became flesh Flesh 14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory , the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15  John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ ” 16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17  For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18  No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God  1 John 1:1-4 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — 2...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 314 John 1:6-13 New King James Version (NKJV) John’s Witness: The True Light 6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10  He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11  He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12  But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God Psalm 19:1-6 1 The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows ...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 313 John 1:6-9 New King James Version (NKJV) John’s Witness: The True Light 6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God 1 Corinthians 2:9 – But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard , Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Darkness is in the world, This is not the darkness of night, nor has it anything to do with the light of the day. The darkness spoken of in scripture is a blanket of deception and fraud. While both words mean the same basically, the word fraud linked together with deception is revealing in this ...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 313 John 1:6-9 New King James Version (NKJV) John’s Witness: The True Light 6  There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7  This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8  He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God 1 Corinthians 2:9 – But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard , Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” Darkness is in the world, This is not the darkness of night, nor has it anything to do with the light of the day. The darkness spoken of in scripture is a blanket of deception and fraud. While both words mean the same basically, the word fraud linked together with deception is revealing, in th...

  The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 312 John 1:1-5 New King James Version (NKJV) The Eternal Word 1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2  He was in the beginning with God. 3  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4  In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not [ a ] comprehend it. The Christ – Meditation in The Wisdom and knowledge of God The Eternal Word of our Creator entered His temporal created world as a baby in a manger, you and I well know the story. The shepherds, the angels, the animals, the Jewish parents, the Gentile wise men from the east who visited the Messiah some two years later… and about that time Herod began his inquiry about the Messiah and we see the events of the other side of history. The death of hundreds of male children of two years old and younge...