Bible League: Living His Word . . . you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time He will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you. It is difficult for a proud person to submit to authority. Pride prevents submission because the proud person thinks so highly of himself that he believes he should never have to submit to proper authority, never have to suffer the indignity and inconvenience of submission. The trouble with this attitude, however, is that it incurs the opposition of God. There is a reason that the expression "Pride goes before a fall," based on Proverbs 16:18, is commonly used. It's because it happens so often. Pride seems to be an attitude that spurs God on to active opposition to the prideful person. But why, you might ask? Why does God care so much about the attitude of the proud? The reason is that God is the sovereign ruler of heaven and earth. Part of His rule is effectuated through His properly designated authorities in the various social institutions He has established. The proud person challenges the chain of command. In effect, he is opposing God's sovereign rule and God does not sit idly by. Rather, He opposes the proud. Sooner or later there will be an accounting; sooner or later there will be a fall. Perhaps pride is a factor in your life. Perhaps you worry that submission to authority will not work out well for you. The corrective to this concern, the Apostle Peter tells us, is to cast your cares on God, because He cares about you. The corrective is to humble yourself before God, instead of fighting against Him. The reward for this turnabout in attitude is the exact opposite of what the proud receive. Instead of a fall, there is a lifting up. Instead of disfavor, there is favor. At the proper time, authority will be yours and you will not have to struggle against God and man to get it. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingLeviticus 4, 5, 6 Leviticus 4 -- Sin Offerings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Leviticus 5 -- Guilt Offerings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Leviticus 6 -- Regulations for Burnt, Grain and Sin Offerings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 25:1-30 Matthew 25 -- Parables of Ten Virgins, Talents, Sheep and Goats NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion The LORD's promises are pure,like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over. Insight Sincerity and truth are extremely valuable because they are so rare. Many people are deceivers, liars, flatterers; they think they will get what they want by deception. As a king, David certainly faced his share of such people, who hoped to win his favor and gain advancement through flattery. Challenge When we feel as though sincerity and truth have nearly gone out of existence, we have one hope—the Word of God. God's words are as flawless as refined silver. So listen carefully when he speaks. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Matthew 1:21 He shall save his people from their sins.Many persons, if they are asked what they understand by salvation, will reply, "Being saved from hell and taken to heaven." This is one result of salvation, but it is not one tithe of what is contained in that boon. It is true our Lord Jesus Christ does redeem all his people from the wrath to come; he saves them from the fearful condemnation which their sins had brought upon them; but his triumph is far more complete than this. He saves his people "from their sins." Oh! sweet deliverance from our worst foes. Where Christ works a saving work, he casts Satan from his throne, and will not let him be master any longer. No man is a true Christian if sin reigns in his mortal body. Sin will be in us--it will never be utterly expelled till the spirit enters glory; but it will never have dominion. There will be a striving for dominion--a lusting against the new law and the new spirit which God has implanted--but sin will never get the upper hand so as to be absolute monarch of our nature. Christ will be Master of the heart, and sin must be mortified. The Lion of the tribe of Judah shall prevail, and the dragon shall be cast out. Professor! is sin subdued in you? If your life is unholy your heart is unchanged, and if your heart is unchanged you are an unsaved person. If the Saviour has not sanctified you, renewed you, given you a hatred of sin and a love of holiness, he has done nothing in you of a saving character. The grace which does not make a man better than others is a worthless counterfeit. Christ saves his people, not in their sins, but from them. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." If not saved from sin, how shall we hope to be counted among his people. Lord, save me now from all evil, and enable me to honor my Saviour. Daily Light on the Daily Path Isaiah 60:18 "Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders; But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.Revelation 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, • having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, • in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, • in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. 1 Peter 2:3-5 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. • And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, • you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Psalm 65:1 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song. There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, And to You the vow will be performed. 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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