Bible League: Living His Word For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.When the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, it is done so by human beings. Individual human beings, one might say, take ownership of it and become responsible for it. This does not mean that the gospel is nothing more than the creation of mere humans, for the Apostle Paul says "it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16), but it does mean that those who preach the gospel become its heralds or representatives. It is in this way that Paul can refer to "our" gospel. The gospel he preached was the gospel of an individual herald of the gospel who had made it his own. As is the case for all heralds of the gospel, the effectiveness of Paul's preaching was dependent upon the activity of God. If his gospel was to be something more than mere words, if it was to have a transformative effect in the lives of its hearers, then God would have to be at work in his preaching. And Paul is saying in our verses for today that he is convinced God was indeed at work in his preaching to the Thessalonians and that this must mean God had chosen them to accept the gospel. The reason Paul was convinced that God was at work was the way he experienced his preaching of the gospel to them. He realized that the words he spoke were not mere words, mere theological information, but that they came with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with deep conviction. They came, that is, with the "power of God for salvation," with a sense of the presence and enablement of the Holy Spirit, and with no doubt in his own mind. Although he had made the gospel his own, he sensed that he was not alone. The Holy Spirit was with him. Every Christian is involved in some way, shape, or form, in the spread of the gospel. Today, since we can do nothing apart from Him, ask God to be involved in your part of that great enterprise, just as He was with Paul. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Samuel 27, 28, 29 1 Samuel 27 -- David Flees to the Philistines NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 28 -- Saul and the Witch of Endor NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 29 -- Achish Sends David Away NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 17:1-19 Luke 17 -- Forgiveness and Faith; Cleansing of the Ten Lepers; Second Coming Foretold NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion The LORD detests double standards;he is not pleased by dishonest scales. Insight “Dishonest scales” refers to the loaded scales a merchant might use in order to cheat the customers. Dishonesty is a difficult sin to avoid. It is easy to cheat if we think no one else is looking. But dishonesty affects the very core of a person. It makes him untrustworthy and untrusting. It eventually makes him unable to know himself or relate to others. Challenge Don't take dishonesty lightly. Even the smallest portion of dishonesty contains enough of the poison of deceit to kill your spiritual life. If there is any dishonesty in your life, tell God about it now. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Matthew 27:51 Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.No mean miracle was wrought in the rending of so strong and thick a veil; but it was not intended merely as a display of power--many lessons were herein taught us. The old law of ordinances was put away, and like a worn-out vesture, rent and laid aside. When Jesus died, the sacrifices were all finished, because all fulfilled in him, and therefore the place of their presentation was marked with an evident token of decay. That rent also revealed all the hidden things of the old dispensation: the mercy-seat could now be seen, and the glory of God gleamed forth above it. By the death of our Lord Jesus we have a clear revelation of God, for he was "not as Moses, who put a veil over his face." Life and immortality are now brought to light, and things which have been hidden since the foundation of the world are manifest in him. The annual ceremony of atonement was thus abolished. The atoning blood which was once every year sprinkled within the veil, was now offered once for all by the great High Priest, and therefore the place of the symbolical rite was broken up. No blood of bullocks or of lambs is needed now, for Jesus has entered within the veil with his own blood. Hence access to God is now permitted, and is the privilege of every believer in Christ Jesus. There is no small space laid open through which we may peer at the mercy-seat, but the rent reaches from the top to the bottom. We may come with boldness to the throne of the heavenly grace. Shall we err if we say that the opening of the Holy of Holies in this marvellous manner by our Lord's expiring cry was the type of the opening of the gates of paradise to all the saints by virtue of the Passion? Our bleeding Lord hath the key of heaven; he openeth and no man shutteth; let us enter in with him into the heavenly places, and sit with him there till our common enemies shall be made his footstool. Daily Light on the Daily Path John 10:7 So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.Matthew 27:51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; Hebrews 9:8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, John 10:9 "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. Ephesians 2:15,19 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, • So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, Hebrews 10:19,20 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, • by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, Romans 5:1,2 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, • through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. 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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