January 20, 2023 ~ January 2023 Devotions: "Radiant"

 And so, I continue. . .  

That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving and tell of all thy wondrous works.  Psalms 26:7 KJV 

Matthew 13:41-43 ~ 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. KJV   

Much of Jesus teaching to the multitude was done in parables. These parables of Jesus make up a crucial part of the Bible. Jesus had the wisdom to simplify the profound spiritual truths He had to share with the people in the form of relatable stories that are easy to understand. A parable is a tale about a simple, common subject to illustrate a deeper, valuable moral lesson. 

When I was a younger Christian, these parables helped me a lot to learn and know the Word of God. What better way to share the Gospel with others? Using Jesus' own words, we can make the Gospel real and alive to those who have no clue of its content or its goal. That is to bring others to Christ! Here in this chapter, the Lord shared the parable of the tares, the mustard seed, and of the leaven. If you don't know these parables READ Matthew Chapter 13. They are all there. 

Now Jesus has sent the multitude away (vs. 36) and He is alone with His disciples, and they asked Him, ". . . Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field."  He told them that anyone who sows the Good Seed is ". . .the Son of man; . . .". The world is the enemy and was sowed in wickedness by the devil. One day all will be burned up as the tares are all that offend the righteous and Holy God, Son of God, and the Holy Spirit. The Lord is very clear on their demise! This is where we all can learn the absolute truth from the Son of God Himself as He spoke of the ultimate punishment for all that have rejected Him and the leader of that evilness the devil himself. 

Clearly, we see the reward and the punishment offered by our God through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is so obvious to me, but maybe you cannot see what these verses describe. Jesus has given us the absolute truth with regards to evil and good. . .can you see it? Do you have the absolute knowledge and understanding of your soul's destination when you die, or when He returns to claim His own? Two places, that is it! Heaven for the "good seed", Hell for the tares or the bad seed sown. Only two. There is no in-between place where you can be "prayed into heaven" by those you left behind in death. NO! Once we have died, our spirit will either go to heaven or hell. 

In 2 Corinthians 5:8 Paul tells us ~ "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."  And in Luke 16:23-26 Jesus Himself told us the parable of the rich man and Lazarus the beggar. 23 "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. 26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. The Bible is very clear on that! Those that are saved are going instantly to be with the Lord. 

Folks, you can know without a shadow of a doubt about your final destination, and it is for EVERYONE! Not just a select group.  What did Jesus say in verse 43 of our verses today? "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." 

O that many would heed the call and surrender to the Lord in repentance asking for forgiveness of sins and trusting in Him to save them from hell. That is our daily prayer. If you are saved, are you living for the Lord, or yourself? That selfishness and sin is still prevalent in our lives, but it does not have to rule over your life. Remember the story I shared of the two wolves... Which one are you feeding? The Word of God tells us that in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. If you are saved, serve your Saviour. If you are not saved, be saved today!

HE CARES!

Do You Know HIM?

Lord, help us to be wise, studied up, aware, and faithful to You. Amen.

With love and prayers, 

May we be your faithful Philippians 2:16 Missionaries?

Philippians 2:16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

Tom and Linda Milam

Missionaries to America

and around the world

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUESTS:

• PJ - heart surgery, complications of blood clots in the brain and in his legs
• John Odom - aneurisms. 
• Louise Odom - cancer treatments.
• Imogene Walston - back injury and major mouth surgery.
• Connie - injured back.
• Pastor Greg - blood pressures issues and traveling grace.
• The Echeverria Vallejos family in the homegoing of Patricia's father
• Miss Shirley-health - doing some better and able to help in the print shop some in the last couple of weeks. 
• Please pray for our daughter Lita in her health journey with Guillain-Barré syndrome
• UPDATE: Continue to Pray for Donna Kendall's daughter - pray for swift healing from recent surgery!
• Pray for Richard Rosenmeier family - Passed 1/8/23 Lord, please help and bless the family and friends.
• David Wiles - Cancer
• Pastor Baker - went home to be with the Lord. Please pray for his family and his church
• Pastor Bernard Antonis ~ HEALTH, PRAISE THE LORD for answered prayers - Pray for Mrs. Carolyn as his caregiver and a healing touch on her body.
• These families have lost loved ones to death in the last few months: John Isler, Larry Goodman, Frank Sparks, Lucinda Lane, Randy Rolle, Ruth Kemp, Bill Alley, Keith Cook, Cathy Harrison, Rachel Vance, Gail Tipton, Bob DeSalvio, Gail Tipton, Davis and Tichnell Family, Tudino family, Fuentes Family, DeSalvio Family, Thompson Family
• Carolyn-health 
• Pray for our need for a home here in Florida - We know you have the supply Lord already, help us to be patient. We are moving Saturday once again to a precious saint's home for a couple of Months... at least till May when we will "move again" 
• Pray for Stan Skriloff - cancer and treatments, and pray for his caregiver wife Caren 
• Pray for Connie, healing of her back 
• Pray for Sister Cora and her hip healing from a fall and surgery. Miss Cora HAS PASSED her occupational therapy and is now working on physical therapy. She is excited that God will give her the opportunity to walk outside soon. Praise the Lord! Keep her in your prayers please. We are thankful for this wonderful home for a few months stay till the Lord moves us on.
• Pray for the Printing Ministry and all that goes on with it. BIG issue with our puncher . . . please pray we can resolve that Monday - Pray our paper supply will continue - we are still not able to purchase COVER STOCK, but we praise the Lord for our previous pastor's wisdom in buying several truckloads of this precious product. Only God knew what we would be facing today with shortages, and we have the "widows' mite" we are working from. Pray that Tom and I can work the bugs out of some of our equipment!
• Pray for the Mission Team coming in June that we will be able to finish all the work they will do for the few days they are with us.
• Pray for me and Tom; our health, out strength, and our service.
• Robyn-Health
• Carol and Richard-Health
• Cathy-Health
• Dicky and Debbie Reynolds - health
• 2-month-old great-nephew Evan. Evan is home from the hospital and doing well.
• Marsha-Health and ankle pain
• Sharon J. Her mom Kathryn's health.
• Pastor Johnny J-health and recovery from surgery - recovering well from surgery thank you for your prayers.
• Carol and Richard-Health
• Cathy-Health
• Arlene-Health
• Ruth-Health
• Brian-Health
• Keth Cook Family
• Lucinda Lane Family - pray for my brother Joe. This is a hard transition for anyone, but his health is poor as well.
• Paul Tipton - pray for Bro. Paul who is back on the field in Nicaragua without his helper and bride.
• Penny - special unspoken - pray for her husband Mike - health.
• Bro. Wayne-health - He turned 91 on December 24th, and is still working, but mighty slow :) 
• David Harrison-cancer diagnosis and treatment
• Billy Ward - health and healing
• Benjamin - surgery went well, pray for his recovery which may be long.
• The Toler Family in the homegoing of Donnie
• Elaine - continued good health and strength.
• Linwood - health
• Walter - health
• Pray diligently for all those that carry the title "Caregiver"!
• Sandra Parsons - her call yesterday to encourage the servants at FBC Publications & Printing. 90-year-old pastors' wife, now living alone at her church after her husband's homegoing. Saved 72 years loves the LORD God more today than ever. A real blessing and encouragement. 
• Mary Nutter - Cancer
• Kimberly LaSage - health and her John Peters and family
• Our son-in-love Walter, Granddaughter-in-love Brie, and granddaughter Ava are having birthdays this week!