Bible League: Living His Word Though the LORD is on high, yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar.— Psalm 138:6 NKJV As our verse for today says, the Lord God is on high. Indeed, He sometimes calls Himself "the High and Lofty One" (Isaiah 57:15). He deserves that name because He dwells in heaven above. He not only dwells there, He dwells there seated on a throne. How do we know this? We know because Isaiah saw Him. He said, "I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1). The Lord God is on high and from His throne there He rules and reigns over all things. Although the Lord God is on high, although He dwells in heaven seated on a throne, He regards the lowly. He is not so high and lofty that He is out of touch. He takes note of those who are lowly and loyal to Him. He comes down to their level and comes close to them. The Bible even says that "the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9). It works the other way too. The Lord not only comes down to the level of the lowly, but the lowly may rise up to the presence of the Lord. They may enter into, and even dwell in, His secret place. "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). The lowly have the attention of the Lord God. It's not that way for the proud. Although the Lord God knows them, He knows them from afar. He does not condescend to their level, or come close to them. Why would He? They couldn't care less about Him. They are not lowly or loyal. They have decided they are high enough to justify going their own way. Thus, the only time the Lord deals with them is to resist them and oppose them (James 4:6). The lowly, in contrast, understand the place of humanity in the great scheme of things. They understand that the Lord God is high and that people should lower themselves before Him. And because they understand this and accept it, they have access and fellowship with the Lord God wherever He is, high or low. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNahum Nahum 1 -- The Vision of Nahum: An Oracle about Nineveh; The Majesty of God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Nahum 2 -- The Armies of God Overthrow Nineveh NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Nahum 3 -- The Miserable Ruin of Nineveh NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 13 Revelation 13 -- The Beasts from the Sea and from the Earth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Turn away from evil and do good.Search for peace, and work to maintain it. Insight Too often we see peace as merely the absence of conflict, and we think of peacemaking as a passive role. But an effective peacemaker actively pursues peace. He or she builds good relationships, knowing that peace is a by-product of commitment. The peacemaker anticipates problems and deals with them before they occur. When conflicts arise, he or she brings them into the open and deals with them before they grow unmanageable. Challenge Making peace can be harder work than waging war, but it results not in death but in life and happiness. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Deuteronomy 32:5 The spot of his children.What is the secret spot which infallibly betokens the child of God? It were vain presumption to decide this upon our own judgment; but God's word reveals it to us, and we may tread surely where we have revelation to be our guide. Now, we are told concerning our Lord, "to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on his name." Then, if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing on the name of Jesus Christ. If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ's name--that is, simply from my heart trust myself with the crucified, but now exalted, Redeemer, I am a member of the family of the Most High. Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege to become a child of God. Our Lord Jesus puts it in another shape. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to his own sheep, not to others. As soon as he appears, his own sheep perceive him--they trust him, they are prepared to follow him; he knows them, and they know him--there is a mutual knowledge--there is a constant connection between them. Thus the one mark, the sure mark, the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in doubt, are you uncertain whether you bear the secret mark of God's children? Then let not an hour pass over your head till you have said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart." Trifle not here, I adjure you! If you must trifle anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter: your health, if you will, or the title deeds of your estate; but about your soul, your never-dying soul and its eternal destinies, I beseech you to be in earnest. Make sure work for eternity. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Peter 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."Jude 1:14,15 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, • to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." Revelation 1:7 BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. • Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Titus 2:11-13 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, • instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, • looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 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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