DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 18:
WORD OF WISDOM
Just because you don't know the answer doesn't mean there isn't one.
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DAILY DEVOTION
A Special Lamb in History
. . . wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has
been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have
come to worship Him."
MATTHEW 2:1-2
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb
of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
JOHN 1:29
Mary's little Lamb was the Christ of Christmas. We have seen the Lamb in
prophecy. Now let's consider the Lamb in history. The lamb of Exodus 12 only
foreshadowed Mary's Lamb. But when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the Lamb
entered history. The wise men knew who He was. That's why they came to
worship Mary's Lamb.
John the Baptist also knew that the One born on Christmas was a special
Lamb. Years later, at the commencement of Jesus' public ministry, John saw
Jesus coming and cried out, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin
of the world!" (John 1:29). I want to say it again: Jesus was a special
Lamb. He was the spotless, sinless, virgin-born Son of God. He was a miracle
Lamb. Someone may say, "I believe the virgin birth is an impossibility."
Well, I do too if you leave God out of it. But I also believe that with God
all things are possible.
That little Baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in Bethlehem's manger,
was and is the eternal, uncreated, self-existing God-the great I AM, the
Word made flesh. The Infinite became an infant. God lay in a manger. We have
seen from prophecy that Mary's little Lamb was a special Lamb and a slain
Lamb. We see that in history too. John the Baptist declared that Jesus would
take away the sin of the world. John was speaking of Jesus' atoning death on
the cross. This is why Jesus was born of a virgin. He had to be virgin born
in order to be sinless. Why was He sinless? So He could make a blood
atonement.
The Bible says it is the blood that makes atonement for sin. A child's
bloodline is established by the father, not by the mother. None of the
baby's blood circulates through the mother's body. Mary was Jesus' earthly
mother, but He had no earthly father. God was the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, so the blood that flowed through the veins of Mary's Lamb was the
very blood of God (Acts 20:28).
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DAILY BIBLE READING
James 1-3 New King James Version (NKJV)
Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3
knowing that the testing of your faith produces [a]patience. 4 But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may be [b]perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave
of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose
that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways.
The Perspective of Rich and Poor
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his
humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no
sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its
flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also
will fade away in his pursuits.
Loving God Under Trials
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved,
he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who
love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for
God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But
each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it
is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with
whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He
brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of His creatures.
Qualities Needed in Trials
19 [c]So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to
speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the
righteousness of God.
Doers-Not Hearers Only
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and [d]overflow of wickedness, and
receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man
observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes
away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks
into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful
hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone [e]among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his
tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27 Pure
and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans
and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Beware of Personal Favoritism
2 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of
glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man
with gold rings, in [f]fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor
man in [g]filthy clothes, 3 and you [h]pay attention to the one wearing the
fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the
poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," 4 have you not
[i]shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to
be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who
love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress
you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name
by which you are called?
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall
love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you [j]show
partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do
not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have
become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will
be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the
one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does
not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and
destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace,
be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed
for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your
faith without [k]your works, and I will show you my faith by [l]my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons
believe-and tremble! 20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith
without works is [m]dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works
when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was
working together with his works, and by works faith was made [n]perfect? 23
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it
was [o]accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of
God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith
only.
25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is
dead also.
The Untamable Tongue
3 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall
receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone
does not stumble in word, he is a [p]perfect man, able also to bridle the
whole body. 3 [q]Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey
us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are
so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small
rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member
and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a
world of [r]iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles
the whole body, and sets on fire the course of [s]nature; and it is set on
fire by [t]hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and
creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man
can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it
we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in
the [u]similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and
cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring
send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree,
my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? [v]Thus no spring yields
both salt water and fresh.
Heavenly Versus Demonic Wisdom
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct
that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have
bitter envy and [w]self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against
the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly,
sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and
every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first
pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good
fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of
righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
