Bible League: Living His Word Trust in the LORD forever,for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal. How long must we trust in the LORD? How much longer do we have to rely upon the LORD without any guarantees other than what He tells us and promises us? How much longer must we risk looking foolish and gullible? Will today be the final day of our reliance? Must we get past this one last trial before we can stand on our own two feet without counting on the LORD's support? Will today be the last time we will ever have to chance the prospect of great shame and humiliation at the hands of those who mock us for our faith and trust? Or must we wait until Jesus comes? Surely after Jesus comes we will no longer have to trust in the LORD. Everything we have believed in will have come true. Every promise we looked forward to will have been fulfilled. Surely after Jesus comes trust will be obsolete and unnecessary. Our verse for today, however, places no limits on our trust. We must trust the LORD forever. We must trust the LORD today, tomorrow, till Jesus comes, and beyond that unto all eternity. There is no end to trust. There is no point where we will never have to count on the LORD. Even in the next life where everything is perfect we will have to trust the LORD that the good times will go on forever. Why? Why must this be the case? It is because the LORD is the "Rock eternal." It is because He is the Rock upon which everything in all creation rests. He is the non-dependent reality upon which everything else depends for its very existence and well-being. Human beings must trust in the LORD because we cannot uphold ourselves in existence and guarantee our well-being on our own. The Rock eternal is the Creator and we are mere creatures forever dependent upon His gracious providential sustenance. Thus, there will never be a time when we do not have to trust in the LORD. Indeed, it would be foolish and disastrous to place out trust in anything or anyone else. There is no other Rock eternal. There is no other reality that we can ultimately depend upon. Today, then, begin to settle in for the long haul. Trust in the LORD forever. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingIsaiah 7, 8, 9 Isaiah 7 -- War and Tribulation; The Coming of Immanuel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 8 -- Uriah and Zechariah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 9 -- Unto Us a Child Is Born; Judgments upon Israel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Galatians 4 Galatians 4 -- We are not children of the handmaid, but of the free woman NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.Insight What did Paul mean when he said that our bodies belong to God? Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want with their own bodies. Although they think that this is freedom, they are really enslaved to their own desires. When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit fills and lives in us. Therefore, we no longer own our bodies. “Bought . . . with a high price'' refers to slaves purchased at auction. Christ's death freed us from sin, but also obligates us to his service. Challenge If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to violate the building's rules. Because your body belongs to God, you must not violate his standards for living. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Zechariah 11:2 Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen.When in the forest there is heard the crash of a falling oak, it is a sign that the woodman is abroad, and every tree in the whole company may tremble lest to-morrow the sharp edge of the axe should find it out. We are all like trees marked for the axe, and the fall of one should remind us that for every one, whether great as the cedar, or humble as the fir, the appointed hour is stealing on apace. I trust we do not, by often hearing of death, become callous to it. May we never be like the birds in the steeple, which build their nests when the bells are tolling, and sleep quietly when the solemn funeral peals are startling the air. May we regard death as the most weighty of all events, and be sobered by its approach. It ill behoves us to sport while our eternal destiny hangs on a thread. The sword is out of its scabbard--let us not trifle; it is furbished, and the edge is sharp--let us not play with it. He who does not prepare for death is more than an ordinary fool, he is a madman. When the voice of God is heard among the trees of the garden, let fig tree and sycamore, and elm and cedar, alike hear the sound thereof. Be ready, servant of Christ, for thy Master comes on a sudden, when an ungodly world least expects him. See to it that thou be faithful in his work, for the grave shall soon be digged for thee. Be ready, parents, see that your children are brought up in the fear of God, for they must soon be orphans; be ready, men of business, take care that your affairs are correct, and that you serve God with all your hearts, for the days of your terrestrial service will soon be ended, and you will be called to give account for the deeds done in the body, whether they be good or whether they be evil. May we all prepare for the tribunal of the great King with a care which shall be rewarded with the gracious commendation, "Well done, good and faithful servant" Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.1 Corinthians 15:57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrews 2:14,15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, • and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Romans 6:8-10 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, • knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. • For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Romans 6:11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 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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