Bible League: Living His Word "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"A father brought his son to Jesus to be healed. He said "if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "'If you can'?"' said Jesus. '"Everything is possible for one who believes"' (Mark 9:22-23). The father responded with the words of our verse for today. There is a spiritual struggle going on within the soul of every Christian. It is the struggle between the sinful self and the Spirit of God. The Apostle Paul, using his metaphor "flesh" for the sinful self, described the struggle this way: " For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other" (Galatians 5:17). Given that everything we do flows from the soul (Proverbs 4:23), it follows that the spiritual struggle manifests itself in every area of life. Since the struggle cuts across every area of life, it's not surprising that it shows up in our faith life as well. Every Christian has been saved by faith. Faith is given to us by the grace of God. It is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). Although we have this faith from God, there is a human component as well. We must exercise the faith we have been given. We must put it into practice (Mark 11:22). The sinful self, however, struggles against putting faith into practice. Through the faith we have been given by the Spirit of God we believe the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe everything the word says and everything it entails. We believe that we "can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13). We believe God "is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine" (Ephesians 3:20). We believe that "in all things God works for the good of those who love him" (Romans 8:28). And we believe many other things from the word as well. The sinful self, however, does not believe. The sinful self struggles against faith. We need help. Like the father of our verse for today, we need Jesus to help us. We need Him to send the Spirit to fill us full so that we can overcome the unbelief of our sinful selves. Lord, we do believe; help us overcome our unbelief! Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzekiel 4, 5, 6 Ezekiel 4 -- Siege of Jerusalem Foretold NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 5 -- Jerusalem's Famine, Plague, Attack, and Dispersion Foretold NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ezekiel 6 -- The Judgment of Israel for Idolatry; Yet will I leave a remnant NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Hebrews 10:1-23 Hebrews 10 -- Christ's One Sacrifice is Sufficient for All Time; Perseverance NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion For when we brought you the Good News, it was not only with words but also with power, for the Holy Spirit gave you full assurance that what we said was true. And you know of our concern for you from the way we lived when we were with you.Insight The gospel came “with power''; it had a powerful effect on the Thessalonians. Whenever the Bible is heard and obeyed, lives are changed! Christianity is more than a collection of interesting facts; it is the power of God to every one who believes. Challenge What has God's power done in your life since you first believed? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon John 15:4 The branch cannot bear fruit of itself.How did you begin to bear fruit? It was when you came to Jesus and cast yourselves on his great atonement, and rested on his finished righteousness. Ah! what fruit you had then! Do you remember those early days? Then indeed the vine flourished, the tender grape appeared, the pomegranates budded forth, and the beds of spices gave forth their smell. Have you declined since then? If you have, we charge you to remember that time of love, and repent, and do thy first works. Be most in those engagements which you have experimentally proved to draw you nearest to Christ, because it is from him that all your fruits proceed. Any holy exercise which will bring you to him will help you to bear fruit. The sun is, no doubt, a great worker in fruit-creating among the trees of the orchard: and Jesus is still more so among the trees of his garden of grace. When have you been the most fruitless? Has not it been when you have lived farthest from the Lord Jesus Christ, when you have slackened in prayer, when you have departed from the simplicity of your faith, when your graces have engrossed your attention instead of your Lord, when you have said, "My mountain standeth firm, I shall never be moved;" and have forgotten where your strength dwells--has not it been then that your fruit has ceased? Some of us have been taught that we have nothing out of Christ, by terrible abasements of heart before the Lord; and when we have seen the utter barrenness and death of all creature power, we have cried in anguish, "From him all my fruit must be found, for no fruit can ever come from me." We are taught, by past experience, that the more simply we depend upon the grace of God in Christ, and wait upon the Holy Spirit, the more we shall bring forth fruit unto God. Oh! to trust Jesus for fruit as well as for life. Daily Light on the Daily Path Ephesians 5:25,26 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, • so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,Ephesians 5:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. 1 Peter 1:23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. John 3:5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, Psalm 119:50 This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me. Psalm 19:7,8 The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. • The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 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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