Bible League: Living His Word My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.There may be a time when you come to the end of your rope. There may be a time when whatever strength you had for the job at hand ceases to be available to you. You simply run out of gas. You were trying to make something happen in the power of your own strength and now that strength has simply evaporated. The ups and downs of the task have finally gotten to you and the vital resources necessary to take care of business have all dried up. It's not just the energy, however. Your heart is no longer in it either. You can't make up your mind if your heart is no longer in it because you've run out of gas or if you've run out of gas because your heart is no longer in it. Either way, it doesn't make much difference. Your flesh and your heart have failed and you're ready to pack it in. There's a big problem, though. You can't just walk away. You made it happen and now it's all up to you. It's at those times when we have given up trying to do things in our own strength and power that the Christian discovers the spiritual resources available that come from beyond. When we finally give up, God can take over. God can take the place He should have had from the beginning. God can give you the heart and strength you need to revitalize the task at hand, or He can show you the way out of the dead end you created into the task He really wanted you to do from the beginning. It's at those times that we as Christians discover that our portion does not come from ourselves or from this world at all. Our portion comes from above and it is worth more than anything there is on earth. Whatever may happen, whatever jams or dead ends we find ourselves in, we have a portion, a possession, a resource that can help us handle it all. Those who don't know God have their portion here on earth, but our portion is God Himself. If we have God, there is no need for whatever the world offers us. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Samuel 10, 11, 12 1 Samuel 10 -- Saul becomes King NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 11 -- Saul Rescues Jabesh from the Ammonites; Saul Confirmed as King NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 12 -- Samuel testifies to Israel; God sends Thunder and Israel Repents NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 13:22-35 Luke 13 -- Call to Repent; Healing on the Sabbath; Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast; Enter by the Narrow Door NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Pride goes before destruction,and haughtiness before a fall. Insight Proud people take little account of their weaknesses and do not anticipate stumbling blocks. They think they are above the frailties of common people. In this state of mind they are easily tripped up. Ironically, proud people seldom realize that pride is their problem, although everyone around them is well aware of it. Challenge Ask someone you trust whether self-satisfaction has blinded you to warning signs. He or she may help you avoid a fall. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Nehemiah 3:15 The king's garden.Mention of the king's garden by Nehemiah brings to mind the paradise which the King of kings prepared for Adam. Sin has utterly ruined that fair abode of all delights, and driven forth the children of men to till the ground, which yields thorns and briers unto them. My soul, remember the fall, for it was thy fall. Weep much because the Lord of love was so shamefully ill-treated by the head of the human race, of which thou art a member, as undeserving as any. Behold how dragons and demons dwell on this fair earth, which once was a garden of delights. See yonder another King's garden, which the King waters with his bloody sweat--Gethsemane, whose bitter herbs are sweeter far to renewed souls than even Eden's luscious fruits. There the mischief of the serpent in the first garden was undone: there the curse was lifted from earth, and borne by the woman's promised seed. My soul, bethink thee much of the agony and the passion; resort to the garden of the olive-press, and view thy great Redeemer rescuing thee from thy lost estate. This is the garden of gardens indeed, wherein the soul may see the guilt of sin and the power of love, two sights which surpass all others. Is there no other King's garden? Yes, my heart, thou art, or shouldst be such. How do the flowers flourish? Do any choice fruits appear? Does the King walk within, and rest in the bowers of my spirit? Let me see that the plants are trimmed and watered, and the mischievous foxes hunted out. Come, Lord, and let the heavenly wind blow at thy coming, that the spices of thy garden may flow abroad. Nor must I forget the King's garden of the church. O Lord, send prosperity unto it. Rebuild her walls, nourish her plants, ripen her fruits, and from the huge wilderness, reclaim the barren waste, and make thereof "a King's garden." Daily Light on the Daily Path Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,Romans 3:10,12 as it is written, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; • ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE." Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. Job 25:4 "How then can a man be just with God? Or how can he be clean who is born of woman? Hebrews 4:1 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. Psalm 51:3,5 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. • Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 2 Samuel 12:13 Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." And Nathan said to David, "The LORD also has taken away your sin; you shall not die. Romans 8:30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. Colossians 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister. 1 Thessalonians 2:12 so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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