Bible League: Living His Word If you think you can fool God, you are only fooling yourselves. You will harvest what you plant.It is possible to fool people. It is possible to put up a front that speaks well of you to the people around you, but which has nothing actually backing it up in reality. The goal of the people that do this kind of thing is to reap the benefits of righteous behavior without actually doing anything righteous. A good example of this are people who boast about how much they give to the work of the Lord, but without actually giving anything significant at all. It is not, on the other hand, possible to fool God. God is omniscient and knows everything that is going on in His creation. He sees what people claim to be doing and He sees what they actually do in private (Matthew 6:4). If they try to pull the wool over someone's eyes, He knows about it. God knows our deepest thoughts (Romans 8:27). He knows who is genuine and who is phony. If you try to do the impossible, if you try to fool God, you are only fooling yourself. Since God cannot be fooled, since God sees through the deceptions, to think that you can get away with the fronts and the phoniness is deeply self-deceptive. It is self-deceptive because the people who put up fronts actually think that God does not see, or that God does not care. Although they are well aware of God's existence and nature, they have convinced themselves that God will overlook what they are doing. Even though phonies may receive some short-term benefit from their deception, they fail in the things that really matter. This is because of a law in God's Kingdom: you will harvest what you have planted. That's why, for example, if you have only planted a few seeds, if you have only given a small percentage, then you will only receive a small harvest, you will only receive a small blessing (II Corinthians 9:6). And this law of the Kingdom stands firm no matter what boasts you may have made to the people around you. Thus, we should strive for sincerity and genuineness. Although people may be impressed with the fronts we construct for that purpose, we will never impress the one that really counts. We will never impress God. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingIsaiah 50, 51, 52 Isaiah 50 -- Israel's Sin and God's Help for His Servant NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 51 -- Exhortation to Zion; Affliction and deliverance of Jerusalem foretold NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 52 -- Put on Your Strength, Zion; My Servant Shall Deal Wisely NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Thessalonians 1 1 Thessalonians 1 -- Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.Insight The Holy Spirit gives Christians great power to live for God. Some Christians want more than this. They want to live in a state of perpetual excitement. The tedium of everyday living leads them to conclude that something is wrong spiritually. Often the Holy Spirit's greatest work is teaching us to persist, to keep on doing what is right even when it no longer seems interesting or exciting. The Galatians quickly turned from Paul's Good News to the teachings of the newest teachers in town; what they needed was the Holy Spirit's gift of persistence. Challenge If the Christian life seems ordinary, you may need the Spirit to stir you up. Every day offers a challenge to live for Christ. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Songs 8:6 Love is strong as death.Whose love can this be which is as mighty as the conqueror of monarchs, the destroyer of the human race? Would it not sound like satire if it were applied to my poor, weak, and scarcely living love to Jesus my Lord? I do love him, and perhaps by his grace, I could even die for him, but as for my love in itself, it can scarcely endure a scoffing jest, much less a cruel death. Surely it is my Beloved's love which is here spoken of--the love of Jesus, the matchless lover of souls. His love was indeed stronger than the most terrible death, for it endured the trial of the cross triumphantly. It was a lingering death, but love survived the torment; a shameful death, but love despised the shame; a penal death, but love bore our iniquities; a forsaken, lonely death, from which the eternal Father hid his face, but love endured the curse, and gloried over all. Never such love, never such death. It was a desperate duel, but love bore the palm. What then, my heart? Hast thou no emotions excited within thee at the contemplation of such heavenly affection? Yes, my Lord, I long, I pant to feel thy love flaming like a furnace within me. Come thou thyself and excite the ardour of my spirit. "For every drop of crimson blood Thus shed to make me live, O wherefore, wherefore have not I A thousand lives to give?" Why should I despair of loving Jesus with a love as strong as death? He deserves it: I desire it. The martyrs felt such love, and they were but flesh and blood, then why not I? They mourned their weakness, and yet out of weakness were made strong. Grace gave them all their unflinching constancy--there is the same grace for me. Jesus, lover of my soul, shed abroad such love, even thy love in my heart, this evening. Daily Light on the Daily Path Matthew 6:10 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.Ephesians 5:17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Matthew 18:14 "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 1 Peter 4:2 so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. James 1:18,21 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. • Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 1 Peter 1:16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY." Mark 3:34,35 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! • "For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother." Matthew 7:24,25 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. • "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 1 John 2:17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 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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