The Thing Which is Good

Monday, September 7, 2026

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28 KJV).

On this Labor Day, we talk about work, “the thing which is good.”

In this day and age of increasing “government assistance,” people are becoming less and less aware of our hard work being the Lord Jesus’ preferred method of the source of our incomes. While the physically and mentally disabled are obvious exceptions, the God of the Bible expects all of us to contribute labor in order to provide for ourselves. For children and young adults, even being a student in school is work enough!

Observe the doctrine being communicated in today’s Scripture. The grace life does not merely teach us to quit doing bad things, but it also instructs us to start doing good things (Titus 2:11,12). Once a thief trusts the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for his sins, then God expects that thief to quit stealing and find a job so he can provide for his needs!

The God of creation calls work “the thing which is good” (today’s Scripture). Work is not something to be avoided; it is something to be embraced for the Lord’s glory!

When the Lord Jesus Christ put the first man, Adam, on earth, that man had a divine commission. Adam was not to simply loaf around and do nothing: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Adam was to protect that garden, to till its ground, to prepare it for Jesus Christ to come down and dwell in with he and Eve (because of sin, that earthly kingdom over which Jesus Christ will rule is still awaiting fulfillment!).

Saints, may we work to provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and may we work to help those who truly are needy (today’s Scripture). In the words of God the Holy Spirit, that is “good!” 🙂

Saints, please remember this work of the ministry requires monthly financial support to operate (Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Those who prefer electronic giving can donate securely here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux. Anyone who wishes to donate by regular mail can visit https://333wordsofgrace.org/contact-us-mailing-address-for-donations/ for details. Thanks to all who give to and pray for us! Unfortunately, since our ministry audience is so large and our ministry staff is so small, I can no longer personally respond to everyone. Thanks so much for understanding in this regard. 🙂

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #98

Saturday, August 29, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Bear in mind that Sabbath-Day keeping is part of the Law of Moses. In the prophetic program, resting on Saturday reminded Israel of her role in the LORD God’s purpose and plan in creation as touching the Earth (Exodus 20:8-11). Yet, in the mystery program, our Apostle Paul writes, “… for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Also, “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18). When we “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we appreciate how we the Church the Body of Christ are under the operating system of grace, “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2).

Furthermore, we the Body of Christ are God’s heavenly people (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6,7). It would therefore not make sense for us to have one day a week set aside to remember God’s earthly program. For this reason, there is no spiritual value in keeping the Sabbath during the Dispensation of Grace: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16,17). This is the only time Paul in Romans to Philemon ever mentioned the Sabbath by name!

In fact, the Law-obsessed Galatians were warned about their theft of Israel’s religious calendar: “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years. I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain” (Galatians 4:9-11). This is not a compliment! Beloved, do not confuse Sunday church attendance with Sabbath-Day keeping! In the Bible, the Sabbath Day has always been and will always be Saturday. To say and/or believe otherwise is to advertise Bible ignorance, and countless churches and schools today are woefully uninformed or misinformed about this too….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #84

Saturday, August 15, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Remember, spiritual gifts—various capacities or abilities the Holy Spirit gave men in the absence of a completed Bible—were first with Israel. Consequently, Israel definitely took notice when Paul’s Gentile believers were possessing and exercising these spiritual gifts during Acts (as in 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14). It was therefore important that these Gentiles not misunderstand or abuse those sign gifts, for then God’s doctrine would not be clearly communicated to Israel; to wit, if used in the energy of the flesh, spiritual gifts would serve as Satan’s tool to deceive and divide. This is precisely what wrecked the testimony of the Corinthian church… and what still afflicts a great many of our modern assemblies!

In the Bible, tongues was the most abused spiritual gift, so the Holy Spirit devoted one whole chapter to it (chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians). Even today, 20 centuries later, millions of souls are still mixed up here—and, we fear, some are content to remain where they are, lest they be forced to acknowledge their denomination or theological system is false. It would thus profit us immensely to use dispensational Bible study to set the record straight. Remember, Israel is destined to be a kingdom of priests, and the gift of tongues will be crucial in their sharing God’s words with the Gentiles in their native (human) languages: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). The confounding and institution of the world’s languages go all the way back to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). God will reverse such confusion in Israel’s literal, physical, visible, earthly kingdom by enabling Israelites to speak these intelligent human languages without them having to learn them.

Alas, man’s flesh always moves him to ultimately corrupt even that which is good….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #70

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Since Israel refused to walk by faith in the Abrahamic Covenant—thereby repeating Abraham’s sin of depending on the flesh (works/Ishmael)—her people accepted the Old Covenant (Law of Moses) by promising to completely obey the LORD so as to become His people (Exodus 19:3-8). Amongst the 613 commandments He issued them at Mount Sinai, the Fourth was: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

The Sabbath is a “sign,” the sign or symbol of the Old Covenant: “Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:16,17). Israel was ordered to quit working every Sabbath (Saturday!) and remember why God Himself had rested on the first Sabbath in Genesis 2:1-3: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Remember, Israel plays a role in glorifying that God of creation, and this they do in the Earth. The Sabbath loops toward the ages to come, the kingdom “rest” of God’s earthly program (the kingdom of the Gospel of the Kingdom) (Hebrews 3:7–4:11).

Israel has yet another covenant, and yet another related “sign….”

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #66

Saturday, July 25, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

What was the significance of the healing miracles and casting out of devils of Moses’ ministry, Christ’s earthly ministry, and the 12 Apostles’ ministry in early Acts? It was more than simply to help people escape suffering or entertain them with supernatural demonstrations. God was communicating sound Bible doctrine by fulfilling centuries-old prophecies of the Old Testament.

“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us…. And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity” (Isaiah 33:22,24). When God would found His earthly kingdom, there would be no physical disability or disease: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing:…” (Isaiah 35:5,6). Once Messiah (Christ Jesus) arrived, there would be a proliferation of healing miracles—as well as casting out of devils (evil spirits that rendered Israel unclean, unfit for God’s service): “And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land” (Zechariah 13:2). It would be the very earthly kingdom God intended for Adam and man before the Fall, before there were satanic activities on Earth and before there was the curse of sin and sickness on Earth. Hebrews 2:4 recalls early Acts: “God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?”

If Israel was to be used of God, not only did her people need to be cleansed of sin and delivered from Satan, they had to see proof that they would be God’s kingdom of priests. Thus enters the Davidic Covenant, and yet another sign….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #59

Saturday, July 18, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Observe Ephesians 1:1-4: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:….” Father God chose to use believers in Christ as His servants. These believers belong to the Church the Body of Christ, and their servanthood relates to the heavenly places and a plan God had before the foundation of the world.” Previous to putting Adam or man on the Earth, God conceived the formation of a heavenly people. This heavenly group would receive His life, eternal life, for the purpose of glorifying Him.

Titus 1:1-3 amplifies: “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;….” God promised “eternal life” concerning a specific company of believers—and these are the members of the Body of Christ. At the “due time” (1 Timothy 2:5-7), He made known His Word (the mystery or secret) through preaching—Paul’s preaching. The focus has thus moved from Christ’s earthly ministry to Christ’s heavenly ministry, with Christ from Heaven’s glory using another Apostle (sent-one) and another minister (servant) to be His spokesman.

With Satan participating in his own defeat at Calvary (1 Corinthians 2:6-8), he is now embarrassed, so his evil world system (including theological and denominational systems) ensures God’s mystery remains a mystery. Paul’s unique ministry is seldom recognized. However, for those of us who want to see, we can surely see it….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #58

Friday, July 17, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

For centuries, denominationally-minded people have needlessly struggled with what Calvinists (“Reformed” theologians) have titled “limited atonement.” Did Jesus Christ die for all people, or only for “the elect” (chosen ones)? Look at the proof-texts. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28; cf. Mark 10:45). “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28; cf. Mark 14:24).

Clearly, as the Lord Jesus Himself stated, the above verses “limit” His shed blood to “many.” Observe well that this is “many,” not “all.” Rather than defining this terminology according to our own meanings, we will be Bible students and search for cross-references. Isaiah 53:8 is one such helpful verse: “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” This is Messiah (Jesus Christ), of course, as Acts 8:30-35 applies Isaiah 53:7,8 to Him. Christ was “stricken” (wounded, experienced suffering) for the “transgression” (crossing into the forbidden area, overstepping the boundary) of Isaiah’s people—and Isaiah’s people is Israel.

Originally, Calvary was restricted to Israel because, in prophecy, Israel is first, for Israel is the recipient of those Old Testament covenants (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 3:24-26; cf. Matthew 1:21; Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; Mark 7:27; Luke 19:9,10; John 4:22; Acts 2:14,22,36; Acts 5:31; Romans 15:8). However, with Paul’s commissioning, Christ’s crosswork is “for all:” “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time [Paul’s ministry!]. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not; ) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity” (1 Timothy 2:5-7). What once was true, is true no longer because of a dispensational change.

Paul is the “due-time” testifier of some news God kept secret to outwit Satan….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #57

Thursday, July 16, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

One superb demonstration of skill involves the art of distraction. Waving one hand so people concentrate on it, while manipulating objects with the other hand which they are not watching, is the work of a proficient magician. The LORD God did something similar when His purpose and plan for man took Satan by surprise!

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). From Genesis 1:2 onward, the Bible focuses on “the earth… the earth… the earth…,” as God is forming an earthly people to use for His praise and glory. Of course, in Genesis chapter 3, after Satan initiated a rebellion against God in Heaven, Adam and Eve followed Satan to introduce a rebellion against God in Earth. Satan subsequently defiled both realms of creation, Heaven and Earth, with sin.

While God was forming that earthly people—first Adam and Eve, then of the nations, and finally of the nation Israel—He enticed Satan to pay attention to that earthly program. As Satan corrupted Adam and Eve, the nations at the Tower of Babel, and the nation Israel throughout the rest of the Old Testament (by drawing them away from the Law of Moses), the Devil was unaware that God was keeping a secret. That secret was His purpose and plan for restoring Heaven to Himself, and it was not revealed or unveiled until Paul’s ministry: “Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:…” (Colossians 1:24-27).

Let us see how “rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15) resolves many “problem” passages….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #54

Monday, July 13, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Long before Paul’s ministry, the LORD God of the Bible was gracious or favorable toward man—giving man what he could never obtain by his own efforts, and working to do for man what man was powerless to do for himself. For example, He in His grace provided Adam and Eve with food: “And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16,17). Or, once they sinned, He gave them physical and spiritual clothes: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21). Lastly, grace or unmerited favor spared Noah from perishing in the Great Flood with the rest of the sinful world: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD” (Genesis 6:8).

When we come to Paul’s ministry though, God exhibits His grace in an unprecedented way: the Gospel of Grace (and the Dispensation of Grace) is unmerited favor Father God gives to man in spite of man just murdering His Son (Jesus Christ)! This had never happened before in human history. Moreover, that grace extends to every nation without distinction, for Israel (His nation in rebellion) now reckoned amongst the Gentiles can also receive grace and peace instead of wrath and war. Plus, faith alone—and not membership in a special religion (Judaism)—is necessary to be in good standing before Him.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:23-26). This is the Good News which God kept secret until Paul….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #49

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Recall how, in the opening chapters of the Book of Acts, the Little Flock (Israel’s believing remnant, the Messianic Church) preached sermons that anticipated the imminent wrath and judgment of God on unbelievers. As per Psalm 2:1-8, the order of prophecy was: (1) Jesus Christ’s rejection and crucifixion by unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles united in satanic conspiracy (verses 1-3), (2) God’s response of wrath and war against those Jews and Gentiles (verses 4,5), and (3) Jesus Christ’s reign over the nations in the Earth (verses 6-8). (Remember, Acts 4:25-28 sheds some light here.) Anyone familiar with the Hebrew Bible during that time expected nothing but an uninterrupted unfolding of successive prophetic events, one coming right after the other.

Therefore, what startled the world was this. As Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven and sat at His Father’s right hand (Acts chapter 1), and then stood to prepare to make His enemies His footstool (defeat them) in Acts chapter 7 (cf. Psalm 110:1; Acts 2:34-36), He never actually came back in that flaming fire and vengeance. While unbelieving Israel blasphemed against the Holy Ghost and silenced Spirit-filled Stephen via stoning (Acts 7:54-60; cf. Matthew 12:31,32; Mark 3:28-30), one of those unbelievers present was Saul… who later became the Apostle Paul!

Years afterward, Paul wrote: “And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting” (1 Timothy 1:12-16).

In Acts chapter 9, Christ indeed came back—but in an un-prophesied (secret) return of “grace and peace” to save and commission Saul/Paul, His chief enemy in the Earth….