SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/24/2016 10:29 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 Their Claim to Be God’s
Children
Bible Reading &
Meditation Reference: John 8:41b-47
Message of the verses: “They said to Him, "We were not born
of fornication; we have one Father: God." 42 Jesus said to them, "If God were your
Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I
have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43 "Why do you not understand what I am
saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 “You are of your father the
devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in
him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar
and the father of lies. 45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe
Me. 46 "Which one of you convicts
Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 “He who is of God
hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are
not of God.’”
We begin
this SD by looking at the rhetorical question from verse 43 “Why do you not
understand what I am saying?” Jesus knew
the answer to this question, as He knows all things, but we need to look at it
a bit further. We have said that these
people’s father was Satan and that is the first clue we have for them not to
understand the words of Jesus. All of
Jesus’ words are truth, but sometimes people have a difficult time in
understanding the truth because of who their father is. The Bible clearly teaches that those who are
not true believers in Jesus Christ, been born from above through the effectual
call of the Holy Spirit are children of the devil, and do not understand the
things of God. As I mentioned in an
earlier SD when the unbelievers read the Bible it is like them reading someone
else’s mail, and you could also add
that this mail is in a different language.
The Bible teaches us that when we are born we are spiritually dead and
thus cannot understand what the Bible teaches us.
Now we look
at John 8:44 a verse that I look forward to reading whenever I read the 8th
chapter of John for it talks about who is the father of those that Jesus was
talking to and also tells us things about the devil right from the lips of
Jesus. We will look at two paragraphs
from John MacArthur’s commentary and then Lord willing will finish this section
in our next SD.
“Two evil desires
in particular characterize Satan: murder
and lying. He was, Jesus said, ‘a murder
from the beginning.’ The reference is to
the fall, when Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve brought about their spiritual
death and that of the entire human race (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor.
15:21-22). The reference may also
encompass the first murder in human history, that of Abel by Cain (Gen. 4:1-8). Ever since the fall, Satan’s hatred for
mankind has driven him to prowl ‘around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to
devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). He cares nothing
for even the most evil men, those most devoted to his service. They are merely pawns whom he attempts to use
in his war against God. Their attempt to
murder Him proved who Jesus’ enemies’ true spiritual father was.
“Satan is
not only a murder, but also a liar. He ‘does
not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his
own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.’ His convincing lie to Eve, ‘You surely will
not die’ (Gen. 3:4; cf. 2 Cor. 11:3), led to the spiritual ruin of the human race. To this day he continues to deceive people (2
Cor. 4:4), cleverly ‘disguise[ing] himself as an angel of light’ (2 Cor. 11:14;
cf. Rev. 12:9; 20:2-3, 10). Bu rejecting
the truth incarnate (1:17; 14:6; Eph. 4:21), the Jewish leaders unarguably
marked themselves as children of Satan. ‘Because I speak the truth,’ Jesus
declared, ‘you do not believe Me.’ As children of the father of lies they were
unable and unwilling to receive the truth.”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I want to
remember the power of Satan, but also remember that as a believer the words of
John who wrote “Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world.”
My Steps of Faith for
Today: Trust the Lord to continue to
guide me in my preparation for our Sunday school class.
Memory verses for the week:
(2 Cor. 12:10; Psalm 119:27) “10 Therefore I am well content with
weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with
difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” “27 Make me understand the way of Your
precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders.”
Answer to yesterday’s Bible question: “Genesis.”
Today’s Bible question:
“What form of transportation did Abraham’s servant use when seeking a
wife for Isaac?” (Clue: It was not a Ford Mustang.)
Answer in our next SD.
6/24/2016 11:02 AM
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