Bible League: Living His Word Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.God chooses who will be saved. Ephesians 2:8 says, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." It follows from this truth that God must also determine the criteria He uses to choose who will be saved. And, according to our verse for today, one of the main criterions He uses is foolishness. The ones He chooses are usually the ones that the world considers to be foolish. I Corinthians 1:26 says, "Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes." Why? Why does God do it this way? He does it in order "to shame those who think they are wise." He wants those who think they are wise from the world's point of view to be proven wrong. He wants them to realize how foolish their "wisdom" actually is. He also does it so that "no one can ever boast in the presence of God" (I Corinthians 1:29). God does not want anyone to be saved who thinks that they deserve it; who thinks God had to save them given their wisdom. Another main criterion God uses to choose who will be saved is powerlessness. The ones He chooses are usually the ones the world considers to be powerless. I Corinthians 1:26 also says that few of those who were chosen by God were "powerful or wealthy when God called you." Why? Why does God do it this way? He does it in order "to shame those who are powerful." He wants those who are powerful from the world's point of view to be proven powerless. He wants them to realize that their power has no control over His choice. He also does it so that the powerful cannot boast in His presence. God does not want anyone to be saved who thinks that their power somehow gained them salvation; who thinks that God was somehow forced to save them given their power. God is the sovereign Lord of the universe. He controls all things and determines their destinies. The universe depends upon Him and revolves around Him – not the other way around. He proves His point by choosing those the world considers least likely to be chosen. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingObadiah Obadiah 1 -- The Destruction of Edom; The Day of the Lord Is Near NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 8 Revelation 8 -- The Seventh Seal: Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.Insight We tend to think that doing wrong is sin. But James tells us that sin is also not doing right. (These two kinds of sin are sometimes called sins of commission and sins of omission.) It is a sin to lie; it can also be a sin to know the truth and not tell it. It is a sin to speak evil of someone; it is also a sin to avoid him or her when you know he or she needs your friendship. We should be willing to help as the Holy Spirit guides us. Challenge If God has directed you to do a kind act, to render a service, or to restore a relationship, do it. You will experience a renewed and refreshed vitality to your Christian faith. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon John 10:9 I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.Jesus, the great I AM, is the entrance into the true church, and the way of access to God himself. He gives to the man who comes to God by him four choice privileges. 1. He shall be saved. The fugitive manslayer passed the gate of the city of refuge, and was safe. Noah entered the door of the ark, and was secure. None can be lost who take Jesus as the door of faith to their souls. Entrance through Jesus into peace is the guarantee of entrance by the same door into heaven. Jesus is the only door, an open door, a wide door, a safe door; and blessed is he who rests all his hope of admission to glory upon the crucified Redeemer. 2. He shall go in. He shall be privileged to go in among the divine family, sharing the children's bread, and participating in all their honors and enjoyments. He shall go in to the chambers of communion, to the banquets of love, to the treasures of the covenant, to the storehouses of the promises. He shall go in unto the King of kings in the power of the Holy Spirit, and the secret of the Lord shall be with him. 3. He shall go out. This blessing is much forgotten. We go out into the world to labor and suffer, but what a mercy to go in the name and power of Jesus! We are called to bear witness to the truth, to cheer the disconsolate, to warn the careless, to win souls, and to glorify God; and as the angel said to Gideon, "Go in this thy might," even thus the Lord would have us proceed as his messengers in his name and strength. 4. He shall find pasture. He who knows Jesus shall never want. Going in and out shall be alike helpful to him: in fellowship with God he shall grow, and in watering others he shall be watered. Having made Jesus his all, he shall find all in Jesus. His soul shall be as a watered garden, and as a well of water whose waters fail not. Daily Light on the Daily Path Ephesians 5:11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals." 1 Corinthians 5:6,7,9-11 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? • Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. • I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; • I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. • But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler-- not even to eat with such a one. Philippians 2:15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 2 Timothy 2:20 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. 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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