Bible League: Living His Word "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority."After Jesus Christ's resurrection He appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days and gave them many convincing proofs that He was alive. At what was probably His final appearance to them He told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). When His disciples heard this they asked, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel" (Acts 1:6)? Jesus responded with the words of our verse for today. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we live by faith. We follow Jesus' command that "whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours" (Mark 11:24). We know that Jesus wants us to bear fruit in life, "fruit that will last," and we know that our prayers are meant to help us bear fruit (John 15:16). Given this, we ask God for things in prayer. We believe for things to come to pass. We believe for things to come to pass that will improve life and advance the Kingdom of God. We expect God to answer our prayers. Although God may not have given us a specific time, like the disciples of Jesus we may nevertheless couple our expectations with an expected timeframe. We may not only pray and believe for something to come to pass, we may gratuitously expect it to happen by a certain time. If the time comes and goes, then we may be disappointed. We may believe that we have failed to have sufficient faith. We may believe that what we were praying for was inappropriate in some way. We may even want to give up on our prayer. The Bible, however, has another explanation for the situation. God sets the times and dates by His own authority, not us. We may expect something by a certain time, but God is the one who actually determines the time. God gave Abraham the child he had faith for "at the appointed time" (Genesis 18:14); God sent the Messiah the Jews were praying for "when the set time had fully come" (Galatians 4:4); and God will answer our prayers by lifting us up "in due time" (I Peter 5:6). We believe the mountains will move, but God decides when they will move. Today, therefore, don't give up on your faith and your prayers, for they will surely be answered in due time. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEzekiel 40 Ezekiel 40 -- New Temple Area: Gates, Courts, Rooms NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Peter 5 1 Peter 5 -- Elders to Feed Their Flocks; the Young to Obey NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.Insight How was Jesus made perfect through suffering? Jesus' suffering made him a perfect leader, or pioneer, of our salvation. Jesus did not need to suffer for his own salvation, because he was God in human form. His perfect obedience (which led him down the road of suffering) demonstrates that he was the complete sacrifice for us. Through suffering, Jesus completed the work necessary for our own salvation. Challenge Our suffering can make us more sensitive servants of God. People who have known pain are able to reach out with compassion to others who hurt. If you have suffered, ask God how your experience can be used to help others. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 3 John 1:3 For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.The truth was in Gaius, and Gaius walked in the truth. If the first had not been the case, the second could never have occurred; and if the second could not be said of him the first would have been a mere pretence. Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame; but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body. In us truth must be a living force, an active energy, an indwelling reality, a part of the woof and warp of our being. If it be in us, we cannot henceforth part with it. A man may lose his garments or his limbs, but his inward parts are vital, and cannot be torn away without absolute loss of life. A Christian can die, but he cannot deny the truth. Now it is a rule of nature that the inward affects the outward, as light shines from the centre of the lantern through the glass: when, therefore, the truth is kindled within, its brightness soon beams forth in the outward life and conversation. It is said that the food of certain worms colours the cocoons of silk which they spin: and just so the nutriment upon which a man's inward nature lives gives a tinge to every word and deed proceeding from him. To walk in the truth, imports a life of integrity, holiness, faithfulness, and simplicity--the natural product of those principles of truth which the gospel teaches, and which the Spirit of God enables us to receive. We may judge of the secrets of the soul by their manifestation in the man's conversation. Be it ours today, O gracious Spirit, to be ruled and governed by thy divine authority, so that nothing false or sinful may reign in our hearts, lest it extend its malignant influence to our daily walk among men. Daily Light on the Daily Path James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. 2 Peter 1:5-10 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, • and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, • and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. • For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. • For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. • Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; • not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 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     |