Bible League: Living His Word Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. One of the main benefits of being a Christian is that one does not go through life without help from above. The divine being goes with us through life and helps us. To use the vernacular, He "has our back." When the issues of life must be addressed, the LORD is there to help us address them. Although we may stumble, we will not fall, for the LORD upholds us with His hand (Psalm 37:24). It is for this reason that we will not be disgraced. Left to ourselves and our own devices, the chances for humiliation and disgrace increase exponentially. After all, we are human, all too human. It seems to be part of the very essence of humanity to make fools of ourselves. Left to ourselves, our walk through life is one of constant stumbling, falling, and wandering off the tried and true ways of life. The LORD, however, keeps us from embarrassment, keeps us from becoming the butt of jokes. The advantage of knowing that God has our back, then, is that it gives us great confidence. We can go forth in life taking all the risks and chances life requires for any kind of movement forward without worrying about our reputations, without worrying if we will become an object of scorn. As our verse for today says, we can set our faces like flint. We can firmly make the decisions and take the steps necessary to go forward in life without wavering and vacillation. We will inspire confidence in others, and we will encourage them to go with us, when they see the firm resolve in our faces. Some think that walking with God reveals personal weakness and incompetence. They think that only those without talent and ability rely on the LORD for help. From the Bible's perspective, however, those that think this are proud – and God opposes the proud (James 4:6). Indeed, the proud are the ones most likely to fall and suffer disgrace. In contrast, the Apostle Paul says, "Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame" (Romans 10:11). Life takes courage and confidence. Life takes firm resolve and decisiveness. Today, seek the help of the LORD – and you will receive all of these things. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 142-144 Psalm 142 -- I cry with my voice to the Lord. With my voice, I ask the Lord for mercy. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 143 -- Hear my prayer, O Lord. Listen to my petitions. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 144 -- Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who teaches my hands to war NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 10:14-33 1 Corinthians 10 -- Warning to Avoid Israel's Fate and flee from Idolatry; Freedom of believers NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory.Insight What did Jesus mean when he said “they bring me glory”? God's glory is the revelation of his character and presence. The lives of Jesus' disciples reveal his character, and he is present to the world through them. Challenge Does your life reveal Jesus' character and presence? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Jeremiah 17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed."I have seen his ways, and will heal him." Isaiah 57:18 It is the sole prerogative of God to remove spiritual disease. Natural disease may be instrumentally healed by men, but even then the honor is to be given to God who giveth virtue unto medicine, and bestoweth power unto the human frame to cast off disease. As for spiritual sicknesses, these remain with the great Physician alone; he claims it as his prerogative, "I kill and I make alive, I wound and I heal;" and one of the Lord's choice titles is Jehovah-Rophi, the Lord that healeth thee. "I will heal thee of thy wounds," is a promise which could not come from the lip of man, but only from the mouth of the eternal God. On this account the psalmist cried unto the Lord, "O Lord, heal me, for my bones are sore vexed," and again, "Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee." For this, also, the godly praise the name of the Lord, saying, "He healeth all our diseases." He who made man can restore man; he who was at first the creator of our nature can new create it. What a transcendent comfort it is that in the person of Jesus "dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily!" My soul, whatever thy disease may be, this great Physician can heal thee. If he be God, there can be no limit to his power. Come then with the blind eye of darkened understanding, come with the limping foot of wasted energy, come with the maimed hand of weak faith, the fever of an angry temper, or the ague of shivering despondency, come just as thou art, for he who is God can certainly restore thee of thy plague. None shall restrain the healing virtue which proceeds from Jesus our Lord. Legions of devils have been made to own the power of the beloved Physician, and never once has he been baffled. All his patients have been cured in the past and shall be in the future, and thou shalt be one among them, my friend, if thou wilt but rest thyself in him this night. Daily Light on the Daily Path Exodus 16:15 When the sons of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.1 Timothy 3:16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory. John 6:33 "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world." John 6:49,51,55 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. • "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." • "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. Luke 16:17,18,21 "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. • "Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries one who is divorced from a husband commits adultery. • and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man's table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. Exodus 16:17,18,21 The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little. • When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat. • They gathered it morning by morning, every man as much as he should eat; but when the sun grew hot, it would melt. Matthew 6:31-33 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' • "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. • "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 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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