Bible League: Living His Word Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.At the end of Chapter 15 of I Corinthians, the Apostle Paul proclaimed to the church at Corinth the glory of their final destiny. He proclaimed to them that the "corruptible must put on incorruption" and the "mortal must put on immortality." He proclaimed to them that when this happens "Death is swallowed up in victory." And all of this is because we have the ultimate "victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:53-57). Given the glory of our ultimate victory through Christ, Paul exhorted the church in our verse for today to do three things: First of all, they should remain steadfast and immovable. It was part of Paul's practice in all the churches to warn them that "all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (II Timothy 3:12), and that "after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:29). Despite all of this, the church should stand fast in the faith. Second, the church should always abound in the work of the Lord. The persecution and the savage wolves will be sent by Satan for the very purpose of stopping this work. Nevertheless, the church should stay steadfast and immovable and abound in every work. That is, they should not just do some work, they should do an overabundance of work. The church should do all they can to advance and enhance the Kingdom of God. Finally, the church should know that their labor will not be in vain. Despite the persecution and the savage wolves, the work of the church will go forth and be successful. Jesus' prophecy that the church will be His witness "to the ends of the earth" will come true (Acts 1:8). Further, if the church will remain steadfast and immovable and abound in the work of the Lord, they will reap Jesus' promise of "a hundredfold now in this time" and His promise of "everlasting life" (Mark 10:30). There may be persecutions and savage wolves that have pushed you to the point of giving up your work. Remain steadfast and immovable, for that work is not done in vain. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingRuth Ruth 1 -- Naomi and Ruth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ruth 2 -- Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ruth 3 -- Naomi's Instruction to Ruth; Boaz Accepts Ruth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ruth 4 -- Boaz Marries Ruth and Begins the Line of David NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 11:29-54 Luke 11 -- Instruction about Prayer; Casting out Demons; the Sign of Jonah; Woes upon Pharisees NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion The wise don't make a show of their knowledge,but fools broadcast their foolishness. Insight Wise people have a quiet confidence. Unstable people (fools) feel the need to prove themselves, but wise people don't have to prove anything. They know they are capable, so they can get on with their work. Challenge Beware of showing off. If you are modest, people may not notice you at first, but they will respect you later. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 23:4 I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.Behold, how independent of outward circumstances the Holy Ghost can make the Christian! What a bright light may shine within us when it is all dark without! How firm, how happy, how calm, how peaceful we may be, when the world shakes to and fro, and the pillars of the earth are removed! Even death itself, with all its terrible influences, has no power to suspend the music of a Christian's heart, but rather makes that music become more sweet, more clear, more heavenly, till the last kind act which death can do is to let the earthly strain melt into the heavenly chorus, the temporal joy into the eternal bliss! Let us have confidence, then, in the blessed Spirit's power to comfort us. Dear reader, are you looking forward to poverty? Fear not; the divine Spirit can give you, in your want, a greater plenty than the rich have in their abundance. You know not what joys may be stored up for you in the cottage around which grace will plant the roses of content. Are you conscious of a growing failure of your bodily powers? Do you expect to suffer long nights of languishing and days of pain? O be not sad! That bed may become a throne to you. You little know how every pang that shoots through your body may be a refining fire to consume your dross--a beam of glory to light up the secret parts of your soul. Are the eyes growing dim? Jesus will be your light. Do the ears fail you? Jesus' name will be your soul's best music, and his person your dear delight. Socrates used to say, "Philosophers can be happy without music;" and Christians can be happier than philosophers when all outward causes of rejoicing are withdrawn. In thee, my God, my heart shall triumph, come what may of ills without! By thy power, O blessed Spirit, my heart shall be exceeding glad, though all things should fail me here below. Daily Light on the Daily Path Revelation 22:4 they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.Exodus 33:18,20 Then Moses said, "I pray You, show me Your glory!" • But He said, "You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!" John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. Revelation 1:7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. Numbers 24:17 "I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; A star shall come forth from Jacob, A scepter shall rise from Israel, And shall crush through the forehead of Moab, And tear down all the sons of Sheth. Job 19:25,26 "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth. • "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Psalm 17:15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake. 1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. • Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 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. 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