Bible League: Living His Word All we like sheep have gone astray;We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. The thing about sheep is that they tend to wander. They stray from the flock and from the care of the shepherd. It is not in their best interests to do this, but they do it anyway. Our verse for today tells us that people are like sheep. We wander from the people of God and from the care of the Lord. It is not in our best interests to do this, for we were made to belong to the people of God and we were made to be guided by the Lord, but we do it anyway. The primary difference between sheep and people is that sheep are not morally responsible for their wandering. We, on the other hand, are morally responsible. We have made conscious, irresponsible decisions to wander from the people of God and from the care of the Lord. It can rightfully be said of us that we have sinned and we are sinners. Instead of following the Lord and following His way, we have turned away and we have gone our own way. As a result of our sin, the Lord holds us accountable for our actions. Since we are morally responsible beings, it is perfectly just for the Lord to hold us to account. It is perfectly just for Him to punish us for our sin. The trouble with this is that if we had to pay the penalty for our sin we would have to continuously pay it for all eternity. This is because there is no way that we could ever change our sinful spiritual state on our own and return to a state of perfect righteousness before the Lord. Given this, the Lord decided to pay the penalty for us. He did not have to do this, but he did it anyway. God the Father laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all; and Jesus, God the Son, took upon Himself the responsibility of paying the penalty for our sin. As the Apostle Paul put it, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (II Corinthians 5:21). The Lord truly loves us. In order to bring us back into the fold, Jesus, God the Son, allowed Himself to be mocked, beaten, flogged, crucified, and pierced. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 7, 8, 9 Job 7 -- Job Declares His Life Seems Futile NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 8 -- Bildad Shows God's Justice to the Good NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 9 -- Job Acknowledges God's Justice NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 7:44-60 Acts 7 -- Stephen's Speech, Stoning and Death NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”Insight How can you “receive the Kingdom of God like a child”? Adults considering the Christian faith for the first time will have life experiences that take them way past the ability to be as innocent as children. Jesus does not ask us to put aside our experiences, but he does require a change of attitude: adult self-sufficiency must recognize its need for the sovereign God; adult moral defensiveness must humble itself before the holy God; and adult skeptical toughness must soften before the loving God. Children do not feel supremely powerful, perfectly righteous, or totally autonomous. These are adult fantasies. Challenge Coming to Jesus means to accept his goodness on your behalf, confess your need, and commit your life to his tender guidance. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Isaiah 14:10 Art thou become like unto us?What must be the apostate professor's doom when his naked soul appears before God? How will he bear that voice, "Depart, ye cursed; thou hast rejected me, and I reject thee; thou hast played the harlot, and departed from me: I also have banished thee forever from my presence, and will not have mercy upon thee." What will be this wretch's shame at the last great day when, before assembled multitudes, the apostate shall be unmasked? See the profane, and sinners who never professed religion, lifting themselves up from their beds of fire to point at him. "There he is," says one, "will he preach the gospel in hell?" "There he is," says another, "he rebuked me for cursing, and was a hypocrite himself!" "Aha!" says another, "here comes a psalm-singing Methodist--one who was always at his meeting; he is the man who boasted of his being sure of everlasting life; and here he is!" No greater eagerness will ever be seen among Satanic tormentors, than in that day when devils drag the hypocrite's soul down to perdition. Bunyan pictures this with massive but awful grandeur of poetry when he speaks of the back-way to hell. Seven devils bound the wretch with nine cords, and dragged him from the road to heaven, in which he had professed to walk, and thrust him through the back-door into hell. Mind that back-way to hell, professors! "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith." Look well to your state; see whether you be in Christ or not. It is the easiest thing in the world to give a lenient verdict when oneself is to be tried; but O, be just and true here. Be just to all, but be rigorous to yourself. Remember if it be not a rock on which you build, when the house shall fall, great will be the fall of it. O may the Lord give you sincerity, constancy, and firmness; and in no day, however evil, may you be led to turn aside. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Chronicles 4:10 Now Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my border, and that Your hand might be with me, and that You would keep me from harm that it may not pain me!" And God granted him what he requested.Proverbs 10:22 It is the blessing of the LORD that makes rich, And He adds no sorrow to it. Job 34:29 When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn? And when He hides His face, who then can behold Him, That is, in regard to both nation and man?-- Psalm 3:8 Salvation belongs to the LORD; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah. Psalm 31:19 How great is Your goodness, Which You have stored up for those who fear You, Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, Before the sons of men! John 17:15 "I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. Matthew 7:7,8 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. • "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Psalm 34:22 The LORD redeems the soul of His servants, And none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned. 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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