Bible League: Living His Word And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.Let's say that being called a believer in God, or a follower of God, or a servant of God is not enough for you. Let's say that you want to be called, like Abraham, a "friend of God." What would it take to acquire that appellation? How could you become a friend of God? According to James, Abraham was known as the friend of God for two basic reasons. He not only believed in God and the promises God made to him, but he also acted in accordance with his faith. He had works that flowed from his faith (James 2:22). Abraham believed God when God told him that he would have an heir from his own body and that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:4-6). At that point in time Abraham's prospects for having a child seemed dim. Nevertheless, he believed God's promise. "He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform" (Romans 4:20-21). And as our verse for today makes clear, Abraham's faith in God made him righteous before God. Abraham was justified by faith. The reason why Abraham was justified by faith, however, was because his faith was more than mere lip-service to God. It was a living faith. It was the kind of faith that leads to works. This was revealed when God tested his faith later on by asking him to sacrifice his son on an altar (Genesis 22:1-19). Abraham raised the knife to slay his son, but God stayed his hand, and Abraham's faith in God's promise of an heir and many descendants was completed. He became known as the friend of God (see II Chronicles 20:7 and Isaiah 41:8). Jesus said this with respect to friendship with him, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you" (John 15:14). We can see, then, that friendship with Jesus, as well as with God, comes about when we believe in them and follow their commands. After all, what kind of friend to God and to Jesus would we be if we never did what they said? Although no one in this dispensation will ever be a perfect friend of God, when our faith is a living faith that leads to works we actually are His friends. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingIsaiah 19, 20, 21 Isaiah 19 -- The Burden of Egypt NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 20 -- Prophecy of Captivity for Egypt and Cush NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Isaiah 21 -- Vision of the Fall of Babylon; Prophecies against Edom and Arabia NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Ephesians 2 Ephesians 2 -- You Were Made Alive and One in Christ NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.Insight In morally corrupt Corinth, love had become a mixed-up term with little meaning. Today people are still confused about love. Love is the greatest of all human qualities, and it is an attribute of God himself. Love involves unselfish service to others; to show it gives evidence that you care. Faith is the foundation and content of God's message; hope is the attitude and focus; love is the action. Challenge When faith and hope are in line, you are free to love completely because you understand how God loves. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 66:2 Sing forth the honor of his name, make his praise glorious.It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God or not. Praise is God's most righteous due, and every Christian, as the recipient of his grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is true we have no authoritative rubric for daily praise; we have no commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving: but the law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God; and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had been recorded on the tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of thundering Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian's duty to praise God. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of his life. Think not ye who are always mourning, that ye are guiltless in this respect, or imagine that ye can discharge your duty to your God without songs of praise. You are bound by the bonds of his love to bless his name so long as you live, and his praise should continually be in your mouth, for you are blessed, in order that you may bless him; "this people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise;" and if you do not praise God, you are not bringing forth the fruit which he, as the Divine Husbandman, has a right to expect at your hands. Let not your harp then hang upon the willows, but take it down, and strive, with a grateful heart, to bring forth its loudest music. Arise and chant his praise. With every morning's dawn, lift up your notes of thanksgiving, and let every setting sun be followed with your song. Girdle the earth with your praises; surround it with an atmosphere of melody, and God himself will hearken from heaven and accept your music. "E'en so I love thee, and will love, And in thy praise will sing, Because thou art my loving God, And my redeeming King." Daily Light on the Daily Path Job 23:10 "But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.Psalm 103:14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Lamentations 3:33 For He does not afflict willingly Or grieve the sons of men. 2 Timothy 2:19-21 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness." • Now in a large house there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. • Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. Malachi 3:3 "He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness. Zechariah 13:9 "And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my 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. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. |
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