Bible League: Living His Word Also pray for me--that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret truth about the Good News without fear. I have the work of speaking for that Good News, and that is what I am doing now, here in prison. Pray that when I tell people the Good News, I will speak without fear as I should.Paul had some work to do. His work was speaking for the Good News. His work was to represent the gospel of Jesus Christ to Jews and Gentiles. It didn't matter that he was in prison at the time for doing the work. The work was something he still had to do. It was also something that he was still able to do, however limited and difficult, even in prison. Like Paul, we have some work to do. Our work is also speaking for the Good News. Our work is also to represent the gospel of Jesus Christ. We may not be an apostle and evangelist like Paul, we may not have the same level of authority and responsibility, but we have our own individual roles to play. Even if we are in prison like Paul, we must still do the work. Like Paul, therefore, there is something that we need. There is something that we need if we are to fulfill our roles effectively. We need prayer. We need our own prayers and the prayers of our fellow representatives. It is not always easy to represent the gospel. Even in the best of circumstances it is not always easy. We need, therefore, plenty of prayer. We need prayer that words may be given to us. We don't need any old words. Those are readily available. We need special words. We need the words that will be powerful and effective in the hearts of those who hear them. We need words born of the Holy Spirit. Those kinds of words don't just happen. They come as a result of prayer, our own prayers and the prayers of our fellow representatives. We also need prayer that we will speak the words without fear. We need the faith born of the Holy Spirit necessary to overcome fear. We need the faith necessary to not care what people say to us or do to us – even if it is putting us in prison. Today, then, pray for words without fear for yourself and your fellow representatives, especially those in difficult circumstances. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingHaggai Haggai 1 -- The Word of the Lord by Haggai; Haggai Inspires Temple Building NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Haggai 2 -- The Builders Encouraged to the Work by Promise of Greater Glory; God's promise to Zerubbabel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 16 Revelation 16 -- The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath; Armageddon NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away.Insight Peter wanted to rouse the complacent believers who had listened to the false teachers and believed that because salvation is not based on good deeds, they could live any way they wanted. Challenge If you truly belong to the Lord, Peter wrote, your hard work will prove it. If you're not working to develop the qualities listed in 2 Peter 1:5-7, maybe you don't belong to him. If you are the Lord's—and your hard work backs up your claim to be chosen by God (“called and chosen'')—you will never be led astray by the lure of false teaching or glamorous sin. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 7:14 Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.Let us today go down to Bethlehem, and in company with wondering shepherds and adoring Magi, let us see him who was born King of the Jews, for we by faith can claim an interest in him, and can sing, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." Jesus is Jehovah incarnate, our Lord and our God, and yet our brother and friend; let us adore and admire. Let us notice at the very first glance his miraculous conception. It was a thing unheard of before, and unparalleled since, that a virgin should conceive and bear a Son. The first promise ran thus, "The seed of the woman," not the offspring of the man. Since venturous woman led the way in the sin which brought forth Paradise lost, she, and she alone, ushers in the Regainer of Paradise. Our Saviour, although truly man, was as to his human nature the Holy One of God. Let us reverently bow before the holy Child whose innocence restores to manhood its ancient glory; and let us pray that he may be formed in us, the hope of glory. Fail not to note his humble parentage. His mother has been described simply as "a virgin," not a princess, or prophetess, nor a matron of large estate. True the blood of kings ran in her veins; nor was her mind a weak and untaught one, for she could sing most sweetly a song of praise; but yet how humble her position, how poor the man to whom she stood affianced, and how miserable the accommodation afforded to the new-born King! Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendour. Daily Light on the Daily Path Titus 3:4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,Jeremiah 31:3 The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. 1 John 4:9,10 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. • In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Galatians 4:4,5 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, • so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 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. Hebrews 2:14 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, 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     |