Bible League: Living His Word Some people are telling the message about Christ because they are jealous and bitter. Others do it because they want to help.— Philippians 1:15 ERV There should be no competition in kingdom work. Yet, sadly, there has always been. The Apostle Paul writes that some people tell the message about Christ because they are jealous. They saw how the Lord blessed Paul's ministry efforts and bitterly envied him. When Paul writes this, he is imprisoned in Rome. Taking advantage of Paul's predicament, his competitors did what they could to build their own reputations as successful evangelists. Strikingly, Paul doesn't condemn them. On the contrary! In verse 18, he says, "What is important is that they are telling people about Christ, whether they are sincere or not." Today, I want to draw three lessons from the attitude Paul displays here. Firstly, competition is a given fact, even among workers in God's kingdom on earth. Our verse calls us to investigate our intentions. What is our deepest motivation to be active in church or the mission? Do we only seek God's honor, or are we in because people praise us for our actions? Of course, there's nothing wrong with receiving compliments, but "Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind," as Jeremiah 17:9 says. Let's face it, our hearts are full of deceit. Pray to God to clarify your hearts and show your true intentions, so that all you do will magnify His glory and honor. Secondly, Paul doesn't take offense. He doesn't care about people making trouble for him (verse 17). He also doesn't complain about being incarcerated but rather sees it as an opportunity to bring the Gospel. "All the Roman guards and all the others here know that I am in prison for serving Christ" (verse 13). Paul effaces himself for the sake of spreading the Gospel. That's challenging us! How much are we willing to sacrifice in the service of Jesus Christ? Ask the Lord to detach you from whatever ties you to this world. Follow Paul's example, as he writes in verse 20, "I will let God use my life to bring more honor to Christ." Finally, Paul knows the Gospel will go further despite the people who bring it. That's because, in the end, it's God Himself through the Holy Spirit who makes His Word known. In Acts 6:7, we read, "The Word of God was reaching more and more people." The Word was reaching! My friends, furthering the Gospel doesn't depend on us. That knowledge makes us humble and grateful at the same time. It's humbling to realize that God doesn't need us. Yet, it's deeply gratifying to know that God wants to use us to tell the message about Christ to a world that doesn't know Him. Let us avail ourselves to God for the first time or anew. Let Him use our lives to bring more honor to Christ! By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, the Netherlands Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 65, 66, 67 Psalm 65 -- Praise waits for you, God, in Zion. To you shall vows be performed. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 66 -- Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 67 -- May God be merciful to us, bless us, and cause his face to shine on us. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Romans 2 Romans 2 -- God's Just Judgment; The Jews and the Law NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “Watch out! Don't let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don't let that day catch you unaware, like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.” Insight Jesus told the disciples to keep a constant watch for his return. Although nearly 2,000 years have passed since he spoke these words, their truth remains: Christ is coming again, and we need to watch and be spiritually fit. This means working faithfully at the tasks God has given us. Challenge Don't let your mind and spirit be dulled by careless living, drinking, or the foolish pursuit of pleasure. Don't let life's anxieties overburden you, so that you will be ready to move at God's command. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 65:11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness.All the year round, every hour of every day, God is richly blessing us; both when we sleep and when we wake his mercy waits upon us. The sun may leave us a legacy of darkness, but our God never ceases to shine upon his children with beams of love. Like a river, his lovingkindness is always flowing, with a fulness inexhaustible as his own nature. Like the atmosphere which constantly surrounds the earth, and is always ready to support the life of man, the benevolence of God surrounds all his creatures; in it, as in their element, they live, and move, and have their being. Yet as the sun on summer days gladdens us with beams more warm and bright than at other times, and as rivers are at certain seasons swollen by the rain, and as the atmosphere itself is sometimes fraught with more fresh, more bracing, or more balmy influences than heretofore, so is it with the mercy of God; it hath its golden hours, its days of overflow, when the Lord magnifieth his grace before the sons of men. Amongst the blessings of the nether springs, the joyous days of harvest are a special season of excessive favor. It is the glory of autumn that the ripe gifts of providence are then abundantly bestowed; it is the mellow season of realization, whereas all before was but hope and expectation. Great is the joy of harvest. Happy are the reapers who fill their arms with the liberality of heaven. The Psalmist tells us that the harvest is the crowning of the year. Surely these crowning mercies call for crowning thanksgiving! Let us render it by the inward emotions of gratitude. Let our hearts be warmed; let our spirits remember, meditate, and think upon this goodness of the Lord. Then let us praise him with our lips, and laud and magnify his name from whose bounty all this goodness flows. Let us glorify God by yielding our gifts to his cause. A practical proof of our gratitude is a special thank-offering to the Lord of the harvest. Daily Light on the Daily Path James 5:11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.Psalm 103:13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalm 111:4,5 He has made His wonders to be remembered; The LORD is gracious and compassionate. • He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever. Psalm 121:3,4 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. • Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. Deuteronomy 32:11,12 "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, That hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. • "The LORD alone guided him, And there was no foreign god with him. Lamentations 3:22,23 The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. • They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Matthew 14:14 When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick. Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Matthew 10:30,29,31 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. • "Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. • "So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. 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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