Bible League: Living His Word For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.If you are a Christian, then you have been baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). As a result, the Holy Spirit now dwells within you (II Timothy 1:14) and, according to our verses for today, you can expect Him to lead you and guide you through life. There are two fundamentally opposed ways that we can live and be led. We can live and be led according to the flesh, or we can live and be led according to the Spirit. "Flesh" is the Apostle Paul's metaphor for the sinful spiritual state of human beings apart from Christ. If we live according to the flesh, then we will set our minds on the things of the flesh (Romans 8:5). We will be led by the wants and desires of our sinful spiritual state and we will live in hostility to God and to His laws (Romans 8:7). Following this way leads to death. If, on the other hand, we live according to the Spirit, then we will set our minds on the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5). We will be led by the Spirit into a relationship of peace with God and obedience to His laws. Following this way leads to life. Although as Christians we have the Holy Spirit within us, although the Holy Spirit is there to guide us, we do not always follow the lead of the Holy Spirit. We sometimes follow the lead of the flesh. Instead of taking the time to find out what the Holy Spirit is saying, we hastily and impulsively move forward in accordance with the misguided wants and desires of the old sinful spiritual state. We suffer as a consequence. When the decision must be made, when the crossroad looms ahead, or when the crisis strikes, resist the haste and impulsivity of the flesh and take the time to pray for the guidance that the Spirit has for us. Get quiet before God, look deep within, and get ready for what the Spirit will reveal to you. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading2 Samuel 10, 11, 12 2 Samuel 10 -- David Defeats Ammon and Aram NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Samuel 11 -- David and Bathsheba NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 2 Samuel 12 -- Nathan Rebukes David; Solomon Born NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 19:29-48 Luke 19 -- Zacchaeus Converted; Parable of the Ten Minas; Triumphal Entry; Driving Traders from Temple NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Trustworthy messengers refresh like snow in summer.They revive the spirit of their employer. Insight It is often difficult to find people you can really trust. A faithful employee (“messenger”) is punctual, responsible, honest, and hardworking. This person is invaluable as he or she helps take some of the pressure off his or her employer. Challenge Find out what your employer needs from you to make his or her job easier, and do it. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Songs 2:12 The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.Sweet is the season of spring: the long and dreary winter helps us to appreciate its genial warmth, and its promise of summer enhances its present delights. After periods of depression of spirit, it is delightful to behold again the light of the Sun of Righteousness; then our slumbering graces rise from their lethargy, like the crocus and the daffodil from their beds of earth; then is our heart made merry with delicious notes of gratitude, far more melodious than the warbling of birds--and the comforting assurance of peace, infinitely more delightful than the turtle's note, is heard within the soul. Now is the time for the soul to seek communion with her Beloved; now must she rise from her native sordidness, and come away from her old associations. If we do not hoist the sail when the breeze is favorable, we shall be blameworthy: times of refreshing ought not to pass over us unimproved. When Jesus himself visits us in tenderness, and entreats us to arise, can we be so base as to refuse his request? He has himself risen that he may draw us after him: he now by his Holy Spirit has revived us, that we may, in newness of life, ascend into the heavenlies, and hold communion with himself. Let our wintry state suffice us for coldness and indifference; when the Lord creates a spring within, let our sap flow with vigor, and our branch blossom with high resolve. O Lord, if it be not spring time in my chilly heart, I pray thee make it so, for I am heartily weary of living at a distance from thee. Oh! the long and dreary winter, when wilt thou bring it to an end? Come, Holy Spirit, and renew my soul! quicken thou me! restore me, and have mercy on me! This very night I would earnestly implore the Lord to take pity upon his servant, and send me a happy revival of spiritual life! Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 145:15 The eyes of all look to You, And You give them their food in due time.Acts 17:25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; Psalm 145:9 The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. Matthew 6:26 "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; Psalm 121:1 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? Psalm 123:2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, So our eyes look to the LORD our God, Until He is gracious to us. Isaiah 30:18 Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 25:9 And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." Romans 8:25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. 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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