Bible League: Living His Word . . . being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus ChristThere are times when we feel like we have not made any progress at all in our walk with God. There are times when sin rears its ugly head in our lives and, as a result, we feel like we have fallen back to square one. We wish that our lives were unwavering ascents into the fullness of what it means to be a Christian, but the reality seems to be something far less encouraging at times. The good news is that the work of conforming ourselves to the likeness of Jesus Christ is a work in the hands of God. In Romans 8:29 the Apostle Paul says that "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." We may give up on ourselves, but God does not give up on us. He is always working to make us look more and more like Jesus. Indeed, God was the one who initiated the process of becoming like Jesus in the first place. He was the one that "delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love" (Colossians 1:13). And we can't boast about this because "by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God" (Ephesians 2:8). God began the whole process in us and He won't stop working on us. God will complete the work He began in us all the way to the day of Jesus Christ. Our salvation is sure, but we still have the daily battle of putting off sin and becoming more like Jesus. Just as God once worked to save us, He now works to sanctify us. The process of sanctification continues in our lives until we die and in the church as a whole until the day of Jesus Christ's return. If the sin that remains in your life has gotten you down, then take comfort today in Paul's confidence. God has not given up on you. He is working to make you more like Jesus. And since He is God, He will complete the work. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJudges 10, 11 Judges 10 -- Tola; Jair; Jephthah; Philistines and Ammonites Oppress Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Judges 11 -- Jephthah's Covenant with the Gileadites NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 9:1-36 Luke 9 -- Jesus Sends out the Twelve, Feeds 5000, Heals a Boy; Transfiguration; Cost of Following Jesus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion O LORD, what are human beings that you should notice them,mere mortals that you should think about them? For they are like a breath of air; their days are like a passing shadow. Insight Life is short. David reminds us that it is “like a breath” and that our “days are like a passing shadow.” Challenge Because life is short, we should live for God while we have the time. Don't waste your life by selecting an inferior purpose that has no lasting value. Live for God—he alone can make your life worthwhile, purposeful, and meaningful. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.Here a confession of sin common to all the elect people of God. They have all fallen, and therefore, in common chorus, they all say, from the first who entered heaven to the last who shall enter there, "All we like sheep have gone astray." The confession, while thus unanimous, is also special and particular: "We have turned every one to his own way." There is a peculiar sinfulness about every one of the individuals; all are sinful, but each one with some special aggravation not found in his fellow. It is the mark of genuine repentance that while it naturally associates itself with other penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness. "We have turned every one to his own way," is a confession that each man had sinned against light peculiar to himself, or sinned with an aggravation which he could not perceive in others. This confession is unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its force, nor a syllable by way of excuse. The confession is a giving up of all pleas of self-righteousness. It is the declaration of men who are consciously guilty--guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse: they stand with their weapons of rebellion broken in pieces, and cry, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Yet we hear no dolorous wailings attending this confession of sin; for the next sentence makes it almost a song. "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." It is the most grievous sentence of the three, but it overflows with comfort. Strange is it that where misery was concentrated mercy reigned; where sorrow reached her climax weary souls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See how the lowliest penitence gives place to assured confidence through simply gazing at Christ on the cross! Daily Light on the Daily Path Amos 4:11 "I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.Isaiah 33:14 Sinners in Zion are terrified; Trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with the consuming fire? Who among us can live with continual burning?" 2 Corinthians 1:9,10 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; • who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Hebrews 10:31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 2 Corinthians 5:11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. 2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. Jude 1:23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. Zechariah 4:6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. 1 Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 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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