Monthly Archives: March 2021

I die devotionals, Nathan Dooley

Do not withhold good | P3-V27

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The Rewards of Wisdom

Proverbs 3; I die daily devotional.

26 For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, ”When you have it with you.

At the core of our verse today, I experience the idea—of complete willingness—to give at my fullest capacity without the expectation of return for the good that is due.

If we were to compare to each other what “good” looks like, we’ve missed the reward of our wisdom. We are not to withhold good from those to whom it is due based on the power of others, but what does the verse tell us? When it is in your power to do it. So it’s important that we understand our own resources or gifts that can give good to those to whom it is due. So only focus on what is within your own capacity to give good, not within the capacity of peers doing in like fashion as you by their own ‘good’ given to those whom it is due.

I think the best practical understanding of this is what Jesus taught:

Matthew 25:34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’  37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;  42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

RESOURCE

Proverbs 3 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father  corrects the son in whom he delights. 13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. 14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. 19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. 21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, 22 So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. 23 Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, ”When you have it with you. 29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. 30 Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. 31 Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. 32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. 33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. 34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. 35 The wise will inherit honor, But fools  display dishonor.

COMMENTARY

Chapter 3

Matthew Henry (P3-V27) Commentary
True wisdom consists in the due discharge of our duty towards man, as well as towards God, in honesty as well as piety, and therefore we have here divers excellent precepts of wisdom which relate to our neighbour.

  • I. We must render to all their due, both in justice and charity, and not delay to do it (v. 27, 28): “Withhold not good from those to whom it is due (either for want of love to them or through too much love to thy money) when it is in the power of thy hand to do it, for, if it be not, it cannot be expected; but it was thy great fault if thou didst, by thy extravagances, disable thyself to do justly and show mercy, and it ought to be the greatest of thy griefs if God had disabled thee, not so much that thou art straitened in thy own comforts and conveniences as that thou hast not wherewithal to give to those to whom it is due.’ Withhold it not; this implies that it is called for and expected, but that the hand is drawn in and the bowels of compassion are shut up. We must not hinder others from doing it, not be ourselves backward to it. “If thou hast it by thee to-day, hast it in the power of thy hand, say not to thy neighbour, Go thy way for this time, and come at a more convenient season, and I will then see what will be done; to-morrow I will give; whereas thou art not sure that thou shalt live till to-morrow, or that to-morrow thou shalt have it by thee. Be not thus loth to part with thy money upon a good account. Make not excuses to shift off a duty that must be done, nor delight to keep thy neighbour in pain and in suspense, nor to show the authority which the giver has over the beggar; but readily and cheerfully, and from a principle of conscience towards God, give good to those to whom it is due,’ to the lords and owners of it (so the word is), to those who upon any account are entitled to it. This requires us,
    • 1. To pay our just debts without fraud, covin, or delay.
    • 2. To give wages to those who have earned them.
    • 3. To provide for our relations, and those that have dependence on us, for to them it is due.
    • 4. To render dues both to church and state, magistrates and ministers.
    • 5. To be ready to all acts of friendship and humanity, and in every thing to be neighbourly; for these are things that are due by the law of doing as we would be done by.
    • 6. To be charitable to the poor and necessitous. If others want the necessary supports of life, and we have wherewithal to supply them, we must look upon it as due to them and not withhold it. Alms are called righteousness because they are a debt to the poor, and a debt which we must not defer to pay, Bis dat, qui cito dat–He gives twice who gives speedily.
I die devotionals, Nathan Dooley

For the Lord will be your confidence | P3-V26

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The Rewards of Wisdom

Proverbs 3; I die daily devotional.

 25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.

Now see, this be what I’m talkin-bout!

CONFIDENCE

The treasure of confidence is not found without much humility, and humility is not found without much discipline, and the way we find discipline is by finding the love of God. So to find the treasure of confidence, we must first believe there is God because without belief in God—what meaning and value is there in the treasure of confidence?

Wisdom teaches from experience the knowledge of confidence. Look to Job:

Job 31:24 “If I have put my confidence in gold, And called fine gold my trust, 25 If I have gloated because my wealth was great, And because my hand had obtained so much; 26 If I have looked at the sun when it shone, Or the moon going in splendor, 27 And my heart was secretly enticed, And my hand threw a kiss from my mouth, 28 That too would have been a guilty deed calling for judgment, For I would have denied God above. (bold/italics/underline – mine)

Job knew the nature of his heart where his friends did not; Job did not put his confidence in material possessions or in the words of his friends—hence the reason for his rebuttal—but in himself, until God revealed Himself to him [Job]. Do you remember what happened to Job when God revealed Himself? Let’s take a look:

Job 40:1Then the Lord said to Job, 2 “Will the faultfinder  contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” 3 Then Job answered the Lord and said, 4 “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. 5 “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.” (italics – mine)

Job was in shock by fear of the Lord because of what he had no understanding of, and was thus enduring the discipline of God considering the report of his reaction, but the discipline wasn’t over just yet for Job, was it, after that first answer? Let’s see what becomes of Job at his final remark to God:

Job 42:1 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
2 “I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
4 ‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.” (bold/italics/underline – mine)

Job had heard of God by the hearing of his ear, but now he had met with his eyes the very Person who gives us confidence—Jesus Christ! Job retracted and repented! The friends of Job misrepresented God and were in need of forgiveness, and when Job prayed for his friends became blessed more than when he was when he first believed. Why? Because Job not only knew God in Word, but in Sight by faith! Job obtained the treasure of CONFIDENCE!

So by our believing in Jesus the Lord, we have confidence to live in the authority of His Name. How? By us not only believing in God with our ears or mouths, but in sight and deed of the gospel. We have seen God by the revelation of Jesus Christ—the Son of God! We have the treasure of confidence to repent by the grace and mercy of God, and the forgiveness of sins when we confess our sins to Jesus, the Lord and Savior!

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (bold/italics/underline – mine)

Thank you Lord our God for the mercy bestowed upon us by supplying the forgiveness of sin through belief in Jesus Christ, and healing us to a right mind by the gift of the Holy Spirit. I pray we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

RESOURCE

Proverbs 3 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org
1 My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; 2 For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. 3 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. 9 Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine. 11 My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, 12 For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father  corrects the son in whom he delights. 13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. 14 For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. 17 Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. 19 The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. 20 By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. 21 My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, 22 So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. 23 Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. 24 When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. 25 Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; 26 For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, ”When you have it with you. 29 Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. 30 Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. 31 Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. 32 For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. 33 The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. 34 Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. 35 The wise will inherit honor, But fools  display dishonor.

COMMENTARY

Chapter 3

Matthew Henry (P3-V26) Commentary
The harms that surprise us, unthought of, giving us no time to arm ourselves by consideration, are most likely to put us into confusion. But let not the wise and good man forget himself, and then he will not give way to any fear that has torment, be the alarm ever so sudden. Let him not fear the desolation of the wicked, when it comes, that is,

  • [1.] The desolation which the wicked ones make of religion and the religious; though it comes, and seems to be just at the door, yet be not afraid of it; for, though God may make use of the wicked as instruments of his people’s correction, yet he will never suffer them to be the authors of their desolation. Or rather,
  • [2.] The desolation which wicked men will be brought into in a moment. It will come, and timorous saints may be apprehensive that they shall be involved in it; but let this be their comfort, that though judgments lay waste generally, at least promiscuously, yet God knows who are his and how to separate between the precious and the vile. Therefore be not afraid of that which appears most formidable, for (v. 26) “the Lord shall be not only thy protector to keep thee safe, but thy confidence to keep thee secure, so that thy foot shall not be taken by thy enemies nor ensnared by thy own fears.’ God has engaged to keep the feet of his saints.
Nathan Dooley, Psychology

THE FIRST LETTER OF NATHAN

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Nathan, a bond-letter by the Spirit of grace, in Jesus Christ, to those in all nations online of the same kind of faith as mine, just as the apostle Peter testified, and the apostle Paul wrote (NASB): 2 Cor 3:2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all people, 3 revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4 Such is the confidence we have toward God through Christ.

comMON GROUND

Alright look, don’t get it twisted! I’m just another average “joe” (human being) using the available recourses by the grace of God provided me to preach and teach The Word of God. So don’t be thinking any crazy thoughts like, “Yo, Nathan is trying to make himself out to be an apostle”; no, no, no, that couldn’t be further from the truth—so “scratch” that nonsense out yuh mind! We’re in the 21st century, not the 1st century—alright!

Listen, as you already know, I’m just as unworthy as the next person telling you about the good news, the testimony of God through the revelation of Jesus Christ—the Son of God—by reason of God our Father choosing Jesus to be His only Begotten Son as the Word of God in the flesh and blood of Jesus the Nazarene. And so grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord.

Bear with me, I’m still a young man who just happens to feel old, but the fact of the matter is, milk. That’s right, MILK! Just as the bond-servant Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, teaches in his 1st letter: 1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 and like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, 3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.

I was once one way, a way of disobedience; that way is described as malicious, deceitful, hypocritical, lustful, and prideful. I’m positive the list can go into the direction of Hell, but thanks be to God for supplying faith in His Son, Jesus, for what you are now reading as a result of my repentance from that way of death, to life eternal. Now I write to share my cup of faith, that you might believe.

Pure milk is my choice sustenance as it symbolizes The Word of God I believe in, and is at work every day in my soul, like the meaning of providence; Jesus Christ is the true source of my spiritual growth in respect to salvation. However, it’s come to my attention just how much milk I need while handling what the writer of Hebrews’ describes as “meat“. Therefore, I needed a place that was quiet and empty, a place like the moon.

I can see the Earth off in the distance, and beyond Earth is a combination of darkness and light, Hell and Heaven. The question posed by time was one of visions and dreams, throughout my stay in flesh and blood, “Where will you be, by where you are now?”

PERSEVERANCE

So… I thought to myself in respect to the grace of God present with me, “Why not mimic my role models of the faith and write letters as a testimony to my process of progress—and or quite possibly, regress, if unrepentant—in my endeavor to live in obedience to the knowledge of the truth by the power of the Holy Spirit and glory of God through faith?”

After all, the Scriptures are the compass in every man and woman’ soul to Christ our Lord, Jesus; we with eagerness, yet with patience, wait with anticipation, the day of our salvation. Therefore, it’s by the Spirit of grace through the body and blood of Jesus Christ we find ourselves in a new covenant that proclaims repentance unto salvation.

Our common ground is established by grace in the knowledge of the truth through Jesus Christ our Lord, having been born of a descendant of David according to flesh, was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness. Jesus is the Son of Man at the right hand of God as the living Word of God that mediates between God and mankind according to the Scriptures, and no one can come to the meaning of salvation but through Him.

For the longest time I thought that I was saved from my sin by simply believing in Jesus, having ‘prayed the prayer’ that would seal me for all eternity, but there was a problem’! I not only grew up within a church that taught once saved always saved by Jesus coming into my heart, but that that idea was encouraged even though sin kept on being practiced, which posed in me another question tilling away at my soul, “Where is the disciplinary action to correct my sin if I’m truly saved?” So I continued in that idea of being “saved” until realizing the truth; I wasn’t saved, but ignorant and deceived.

So now we’ve arrived at a place of cultivation for repentance that leads to life! You remember that parable… well …let me just bring it—Luke 13:6 And He [Jesus] began telling this parable: “A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. 7 And he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘Look! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?’ 8 But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, leave it alone for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; 9 and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.’”

COMPASS TO CHRIST

The parable teaches that there is no partiality with God, and unless all come to repentance, we will all likewise perish, having been cut down. And how we repent is not by some little prayer we pray thinking it was the prayer that saved us so we can continue in our sin, no, but believing in the truth that Jesus equips us with the spiritual capacity through faith by the Holy Spirit to endure discipline of which causes our repentance. When repentance is exercised in faith, the fruit is obedience by a changed mind.

To believe in Jesus means to deny ourselves even to the point of death by reason of righteousness revealed in the behavior of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So it’s not that we keep on sinning after we believe in the good news of God by the revelation of Jesus Christ, but that we acknowledge how we are presently choosing to be separated from the power given us to repent—condemned by our own nature and desire of sin demanding the experience of lust in this world.

Remember, it’s by way of reminder; the letters of the bondservants and apostles stir up our sincere mind by way of reminder. While we are believing in Jesus we have our way of escape from temptation through the experience of discipline in the Holy Spirit to resist the nature of our flesh that desires sin, and by putting to death the desire of our nature to sin through enduring discipline, obedience then is our result by the Spirit manifesting righteousness in our behavior.

Thank you Lord our God for the mercy bestowed upon us by supplying the forgiveness of sin through belief in Jesus Christ, and healing us to a right mind by the gift of the Holy Spirit. I pray we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.