The Devotional

Papa “J” says

The rich man considers his domain as a fortress of safety, but there is more safety in a Name where the righteous run to and are safe! Proverbs 18:10

Ever go window shopping? Of course you have! The best place to do that today is in our malls where you can window shop for anything under the sun. The next best place is on the internet and in this shopping mall you truly need to be careful for in this mall you will find “everything” under the sun. It is not usually our eyes that desire this type of shopping but our mind. This is where the thoughts and intentions of the heart develop a plan or purpose to put our feet and arms in motion. The bible has a lot to say about window shopping, the water that flows from our heart is like the water that Jacob tainted. Genesis 30:37-43. Jacob's heart was like that of the streaked or spotted lambs in his dealings with Laban. Jacob did a lot of window shopping, in fact; if you look at his life you see that he obtained his possessions by observing what he wanted, then he connived his way through life to get what he wanted. Yes, he did find favor with God, but it took him a long time to trust God for grace. Even in Israel's old age he was still seeking to work things out in the flesh rather than trusting God. Genesis 42:35-38. Also see Proverbs 6:16-19.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 14:26-40 There should always be order in the church, God is not author of confusion but of peace, and this should be evident in all churches of the saints. How is it then that everyone thinks that what they have; a Psalm, a revelation or a word, but seems to cause more confusion than exhortation and edification?

Mainly, we fail to be faithful with the small things, Matthew 25:21 and Luke 16:10 encourage us to be found faithful with the little before we can be faithful with the larger more impressive spiritual needs of our life in Christ. The problem is that many try to override this principle and become something that they are not spiritually ready for.

Of course, all of this exhortation by Paul is overlooked because people want to remain ignorant of spiritual growth and to these he simply says that there will be those who will desire to remain ignorant and to those who do, let them remain in that capacity. What are we to do? To desire with earnest a heart to prophesy and never to forbid the speaking of tongues. (this means that the spiritual need of tongues is relevant even today. Spiritually speaking, most are not spiritually mature today to use this spiritual ability. So let all things be done decently and in the order of purpose. God will straighten all of this out soon.