[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR THURSDAY February 24, 2022


WORD OF WISDOM

The greatest tragedy in life is when we make God seem smaller and smaller
with each passing day.

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DAILY DEVOTION

The Devil's Doctrine


Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a
hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which
God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and
know the truth.
1 Timothy 4:1-3

We must never lose sight of the fact that the devil is a master
counterfeiter. Through the ages, he has successfully convinced people that
the imitations of what God made are just as good as the real thing. So it is
no surprise to read in the Bible that the devil also has doctrine. The
closer to the truth his imitations are, the easier it is for Satan to
convince us that there really isn't any difference. A great deal of false
doctrine is not a direct contradiction of what God said, but comes from
either adding to or taking away from God's doctrine. The end result is a
counterfeit which looks like the real thing but is a deadly lie. God's truth
is not up for revision, and it is true regardless of whether or not it is
popular and accepted.
The ability to discern the truth does not come from our own strength of mind
or wisdom, but from a close and personal relationship with the Word of God.
Before we accept any doctrine as true, we must determine whether it lines up
with what the Bible says. If it does not, it is one of the devil's
doctrines. Paul praised the believers in Berea for their diligent use of the
Scriptures to confirm what he was teaching them. "These were more noble than
those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of
mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so" (Acts
17:11). The more that we know of what God said, the less likely we are to be
taken in by the devil's doctrine.
The more we dwell in the Word of God, the less convincing the devil's
counterfeits will be.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

Deuteronomy 13-15 New King James Version
Punishment of Apostates
13 "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives
you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which
he spoke to you, saying, 'Let us go after other gods'-which you have not
known-'and let us serve them,' 3 you shall not listen to the words of that
prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to
know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul. 4 You shall walk[a] after the Lord your God and fear Him, and
keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast
to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death,
because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of
bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you
to walk. So you shall [b]put away the evil from your midst.

6 "If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the
wife [c]of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly
entices you, saying, 'Let us go and serve other gods,' which you have not
known, neither you nor your fathers, 7 of the gods of the people which are
all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth
to the other end of the earth, 8 you shall not [d]consent to him or listen
to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him;
9 but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put
him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 And you shall
stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away
from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the
house of bondage. 11 So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do
such wickedness as this among you.

12 "If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives
you to dwell in, saying, 13 [e]'Corrupt men have gone out from among you and
enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, "Let us go and serve other
gods" '-which you have not known- 14 then you shall inquire, search out, and
ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an
[f]abomination was committed among you, 15 you shall surely strike the
inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it,
all that is in it and its livestock-with the edge of the sword. 16 And you
shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and
[g]completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your
God. It shall be a [h]heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17 So none
of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn
from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you
and [i]multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, 18 because you have
listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments
which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your
God.

Improper Mourning
14 "You are the children of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves
nor [j]shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 For you are a holy
people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for
Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the
earth.

Clean and Unclean Meat
3 "You shall not eat any [k]detestable thing. 4 These are the animals which
you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe
deer, the wild goat, the [l]mountain goat, the antelope, and the mountain
sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof
split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7
Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall
not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they
chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 Also
the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not
chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh or touch their dead carcasses.

9 "These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that
have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you
shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

11 "All clean birds you may eat. 12 But these you shall not eat: the eagle,
the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after
their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared
owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the
screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher
owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.

19 "Also every [m]creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; they shall
not be eaten.

20 "You may eat all clean birds.

21 "You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the
alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a
foreigner; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.

"You shall not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

Tithing Principles
22 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field
produces year by year. 23 And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the
place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and
your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks,
that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey
is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the
place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you,
when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for
money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your
God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart
desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your
heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall
rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not [n]forsake the Levite who
is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

28 "At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your
produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite,
because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the
fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be
satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand
which you do.

Debts Canceled Every Seven Years
15 "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a [o]release of debts. 2
And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to
his neighbor shall [p]release it; he shall not [q]require it of his neighbor
or his brother, because it is called the Lord's release. 3 Of a foreigner
you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your
brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will
greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to
possess as an inheritance- 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the
Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command
you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you;
you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign
over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.

Generosity to the Poor
7 "If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the
[r]gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not
harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall
[s]open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his
need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your
heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,' and your
eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry
out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall
surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to
him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your
works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never
cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall [t]open
your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.'

The Law Concerning Bondservants
12 "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and
serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free
from you. 13 And when you [u]send him away free from you, you shall not let
him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock,
from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your
God has blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 You shall remember that
you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you;
therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And if it happens that he says
to you, 'I will not go away from you,' because he loves you and your house,
since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it
through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to
your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard to you
when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth a double hired
servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in
all that you do.

The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals
19 "All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you
shall [v]sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the
firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 You and
your household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the
place which the Lord chooses. 21 But if there is a defect in it, if it is
lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the
Lord your God. 22 You may eat it within your gates; the unclean and the
clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only
you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.

Footnotes
Deuteronomy 13:4 follow the Lord
Deuteronomy 13:5 exterminate
Deuteronomy 13:6 Whom you cherish
Deuteronomy 13:8 yield
Deuteronomy 13:13 Lit. Sons of Belial
Deuteronomy 13:14 detestable action
Deuteronomy 13:16 Or as a whole-offering
Deuteronomy 13:16 Lit. mound or ruin
Deuteronomy 13:17 increase
Deuteronomy 14:1 make any baldness between your eyes
Deuteronomy 14:3 abominable
Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
Deuteronomy 14:19 swarming
Deuteronomy 14:27 neglect
Deuteronomy 15:1 remission
Deuteronomy 15:2 cancel the debt
Deuteronomy 15:2 exact it
Deuteronomy 15:7 towns
Deuteronomy 15:8 freely open
Deuteronomy 15:11 freely open
Deuteronomy 15:13 set him free
Deuteronomy 15:19 set apart or consecrate