Bible League: Living His Word Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.What does it mean to have zeal? It means to have a fervent and eager desire for something. It is to be intense, enthusiastic, and passionate about something. Zeal is something that the Apostle Paul said we should never be lacking in. As Christians, we should always be zealous. We should never be apathetic and indifferent. Zeal, however, is not always a good thing. It can come from wrong motives and it can be misdirected. Before Paul was converted he was full of zeal, but it was fleshly, sinful zeal. It was the kind of zeal that caused him to persecute the church (Philippians 3:6). He thought he was being zealous for God, but his zeal was not based on a proper knowledge of God (Romans 10:2). In our verse for today, Paul equates zeal with spiritual fervor. The zeal he has in mind, therefore, is not the fleshly zeal of his earlier days, but the zeal born of the Holy Spirit. This kind of zeal is fervent and eager desire for the things of the Lord, not for the things of the flesh. Christians have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and they can expect to be filled with zeal and passion for the things God has called them to accomplish in life. However, just as the Holy Spirit can be quenched (I Thessalonians 5:19), our zeal can be quenched. The cares and concerns of life and the opposition of the enemy can get to us and undermine our zeal. That's why Paul feels the need to encourage the Roman church to never lack in zeal. Although our zeal is born of the Spirit, we have some control over it. We can decide to let the zeal we have been given by the Spirit flow freely in our lives, despite the zeal-quenchers. The zeal we have been given is meant to help us serve the Lord. Since the Lord is Lord over every area of life, we can expect the zeal of the Spirit to help us in every area of life. We can expect to be zealous friends, mothers and fathers, educators, business people, etc. Above all, we can expect to be zealous in our roles in the church and in the spread of the gospel. Today, let us fire up our zeal for the Lord and the things of the Lord in every area of our lives. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Kings 21, 22 1 Kings 21 -- Ahab Takes Naboth's Vineyard Due to Jezebel's Plot NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Kings 22 -- Ahab Warned by Micaiah, Slain at Ramoth Gilead; Jehoshaphat King of Judah; Ahaziah King of Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading John 3:1-21 John 3 -- Jesus Teaches Nicodemus: You Must be Born Again; John's Testimony about Jesus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “But there is no peace for the wicked,”says the LORD. Insight Many people cry out for comfort, security, and relief, but they haven't taken the first steps to turn away from sin and open the channels to God. They have not repented and trusted in him. Challenge If you want true peace, seek God first. Then he will give you his peace. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon John 1:14 The only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.Believer, you can bear your testimony that Christ is the only begotten of the Father, as well as the first begotten from the dead. You can say, "He is divine to me, if he be human to all the world beside. He has done that for me which none but a God could do. He has subdued my stubborn will, melted a heart of adamant, opened gates of brass, and snapped bars of iron. He hath turned for me my mourning into laughter, and my desolation into joy; he hath led my captivity captive, and made my heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Let others think as they will of him, to me he must be the only begotten of the Father: blessed be his name. And he is full of grace. Ah! had he not been, I should never have been saved. He drew me when I struggled to escape from his grace; and when at last I came all trembling like a condemned culprit to his mercy-seat, he said, Thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee: be of good cheer.' And he is full of truth. True have his promises been, not one has failed. I bear witness that never servant had such a master as I have; never brother such a kinsman as he has been to me; never spouse such a husband as Christ has been to my soul; never sinner a better Saviour; never mourner a better comforter than Christ hath been to my spirit. I want none beside him. In life he is my life, and in death he shall be the death of death; in poverty Christ is my riches; in sickness he makes my bed; in darkness he is my star, and in brightness he is my sun; he is the manna of the camp in the wilderness, and he shall be the new corn of the host when they come to Canaan. Jesus is to me all grace and no wrath, all truth and no falsehood: and of truth and grace he is full, infinitely full. My soul, this night, bless with all thy might the only Begotten.'" Daily Light on the Daily Path Ecclesiastes 1:2 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity."Psalm 90:9,10 For all our days have declined in Your fury; We have finished our years like a sigh. • As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away. 1 Corinthians 15:19 If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. Hebrews 13:14 For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. Malachi 3:6 "For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. Philippians 3:20,21 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; • who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Revelation 4:8 And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, "HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME." 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. |
Click for Video Devotionals     |