Bible League: Living His Word They spread a net for my feet—I was bowed down in distress. They dug a pit in my path—but they have fallen into it themselves.— Psalm 57:6 NIV Many in the unbelieving world may see Christians as easy targets for bullying. We seem mild-mannered, turning the other cheek, and slow to anger. But just as Goliath underestimated David, those people don't really know who they're dealing with. They fail to realize that you're a child of God, called by Him and on assignment from Him. He has plans for the earth and you figure into them. He needs you to implement them. Jesus told us to pray, "your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). As a result, it's dangerous for people to mess with you, because they can find themselves in opposition to God Himself. The pharisee Gamaliel recognized this in dealing with Peter and the apostles. He said, "... if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" (Acts 5:38-39). Think about that when the distress they bring down on you gets to levels hard to take. Think about who's on your side. You may be bowed down before them for the moment, but the moment is just a moment. Ask yourself where you'd rather be—on the side of your enemies or on the side of God? Put that way, the answer is easy. It's always best to be on God's side, no matter what. You may be bowed down for the moment, but when you're on God's side anything can happen. He can turn things around in a moment. Maybe it's true. Maybe people have dug a pit in your path. They had better watch out, however, or they'll fall into it themselves. They had better watch out that their hatred and contempt for you doesn't blind them to the very pit they dug for you. They may, for example, try to expose you as being incompetent, but in the process, be exposed as incompetent themselves. They may try to expose you as being corrupt, but in the process, be exposed as corrupt themselves. God seems to like making use of irony. He arranged for Hamman to be impaled on the very pole he had set up for Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10). Today, there may be some pits in your path. You may be worried about them. Nevertheless, take heart! You're not the one who should be worried. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingGenesis 46, 47, 48 Genesis 46 -- Jacob and His Family Move to Egypt NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 47 -- Jacob to Goshen; Israelites Multiply; Joseph and the Famine NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 48 -- Jacob's Illness; Manasseh and Ephraim NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 14:22-36 Matthew 14 -- John the Baptist Beheaded; Jesus Feeds Five Thousand, Walks on Water NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And she made this vow: “O LORD of Heaven's Armies, if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime, and as a sign that he has been dedicated to the LORD, his hair will never be cut.”Insight Be careful what you promise in prayer because God may take you up on it. Hannah so desperately wanted a child that she was willing to strike a bargain with God. God took her up on her promise, and to Hannah's credit, she did her part, even though it was painful. Although we are not in a position to barter with God, he may still choose to answer a prayer that has an attached promise. Challenge When you pray, ask yourself: “Will I follow through on any promises I make to God if he grants my request?” It is dishonest and dangerous to ignore a promise, especially to God. God keeps his promises, and he expects you to keep yours. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 119:37 Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way.There are divers kinds of vanity. The cap and bells of the fool, the mirth of the world, the dance, the lyre, and the cup of the dissolute, all these men know to be vanities; they wear upon their forefront their proper name and title. Far more treacherous are those equally vain things, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. A man may follow vanity as truly in the counting-house as in the theatre. If he be spending his life in amassing wealth, he passes his days in a vain show. Unless we follow Christ, and make our God the great object of life, we only differ in appearance from the most frivolous. It is clear that there is much need of the first prayer of our text. "Quicken thou me in thy way." The Psalmist confesses that he is dull, heavy, lumpy, all but dead. Perhaps, dear reader, you feel the same. We are so sluggish that the best motives cannot quicken us, apart from the Lord himself. What! will not hell quicken me? Shall I think of sinners perishing, and yet not be awakened? Will not heaven quicken me? Can I think of the reward that awaiteth the righteous, and yet be cold? Will not death quicken me? Can I think of dying, and standing before my God, and yet be slothful in my Master's service? Will not Christ's love constrain me? Can I think of his dear wounds, can I sit at the foot of his cross, and not be stirred with fervency and zeal? It seems so! No mere consideration can quicken us to zeal, but God himself must do it, hence the cry, "Quicken thou me." The Psalmist breathes out his whole soul in vehement pleadings: his body and his soul unite in prayer. "Turn away mine eyes," says the body: "Quicken thou me," cries the soul. This is a fit prayer for every day. O Lord, hear it in my case this night. Daily Light on the Daily Path Deuteronomy 32:9 "For the LORD'S portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance.1 Corinthians 3:23 and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 1 Corinthians 6:19,20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? • For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. Deuteronomy 4:20 "But the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today. 1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. Hebrews 3:6 but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house-- whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. 1 Peter 2:5 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. Malachi 3:17 "They will be Mine," says the LORD of hosts, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." John 17:10 and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. Ephesians 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 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. |
    |