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. He should 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 ReadingGenesis 9, 10, 11 Genesis 9 -- The Covenant of the Rainbow NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 10 -- Descendants of Shem, Ham and Japheth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 11 -- Tower of Babel; Shem's Descendants to Abraham NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 4 Matthew 4 -- The Temptation of Jesus; Jesus Begins to Preach, Calls First Disciples, Ministers in Galilee NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “Why are you so angry?” the LORD asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Insight How do you react when someone suggests you have done something wrong? Do you move to correct the mistake or deny that you need to correct it? After Cain's gift was rejected, God have him the chance to right his wrong and try again. But Cain refused. Challenge The next time someone suggests you are wrong, take an honest look at yourself and choose God's way instead of Cain's. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Genesis 42:8 And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him.This morning our desires went forth for growth in our acquaintance with the Lord Jesus; it may be well tonight to consider a kindred topic, namely, our heavenly Joseph's knowledge of us. This was most blessedly perfect long before we had the slightest knowledge of him. "His eyes beheld our substance, yet being imperfect, and in his book all our members were written, when as yet there was none of them." Before we had a being in the world we had a being in his heart. When we were enemies to him, he knew us, our misery, our madness, and our wickedness. When we wept bitterly in despairing repentance, and viewed him only as a judge and a ruler, he viewed us as his brethren well beloved, and his bowels yearned towards us. He never mistook his chosen, but always beheld them as objects of his infinite affection. "The Lord knoweth them that are his," is as true of the prodigals who are feeding swine as of the children who sit at the table. But, alas! we knew not our royal Brother, and out of this ignorance grew a host of sins. We withheld our hearts from him, and allowed him no entrance to our love. We mistrusted him, and gave no credit to his words. We rebelled against him, and paid him no loving homage. The Sun of Righteousness shone forth, and we could not see him. Heaven came down to earth, and earth perceived it not. Let God be praised, those days are over with us; yet even now it is but little that we know of Jesus compared with what he knows of us. We have but begun to study him, but he knoweth us altogether. It is a blessed circumstance that the ignorance is not on his side, for then it would be a hopeless case for us. He will not say to us, "I never knew you," but he will confess our names in the day of his appearing, and meanwhile will manifest himself to us as he doth not unto the world. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 15:55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?"1 Corinthians 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; Hebrews 9:26-28 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. • And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, • so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 2:14,15 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, • and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 2 Timothy 4:6-8 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. • I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; • in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 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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