Bible League: Living His Word The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith.— 1 Timothy 1:5 NLT Some teachers lose sight of the basics of Christian instruction. They get side-tracked in the teaching of meaningless speculations that don't do much more than cause controversy and waste time (1 Timothy 1:4). True Christian instruction, on the other hand, gets people back on the track of what's important in life. For example, it inspires people to be filled with love. It inspires them to be filled with the kind of love that has the features the Apostle Paul mentions in our verse for today. First, true Christian instruction will lead to love that comes from a pure heart. Love that comes from a pure heart is more than just an external expression of love. It's genuine love because it comes from the heart that has been purified by the blood of the Lamb. As such, it is a love that is no longer dominated by selfish ambitions and evil desires. It is love that is in line with the Lord God's first and second commandments about love. Second, true Christian instruction will lead to love that comes from a clear conscience. A clear conscience is that which has been purified by the blood of the Lamb, and is unburdened by guilt and shame. This is important, because guilt and shame stifle the expression of love. The person burdened by them holds back from the love of God and the love of people because of a feeling of unworthiness. True Christian instruction, however, liberates people from guilt and shame with teaching on confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Finally, true Christian instruction will lead to love that comes from genuine faith, based on the truth that God loved us first (1 John 4:19). Without the guidance of faith in God, love is nothing more than the self-centered concern of the one who loves. True Christian teaching shows us that love must be based on much more than the arbitrary whim of an individual person. True Christian teaching will focus its hearers on the pure love of God that flows into us and then out to the world. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 22, 23, 24 Psalm 22 -- My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 23 -- The Lord is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 24 -- David's Psalm of Glory to God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 20:1-16 Acts 20 -- Paul in Macedonia and Greece; Eutychus Raised; Paul's Farewell to Ephesian Elders NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”Insight Jesus was sending 36 teams of two to reach the multitudes. These teams were not to try to do the job without help; rather, they were to ask God for more workers. Some people, as soon as they understand the gospel, want to go to work immediately contacting unsaved people. Challenge This story suggests a different approach: begin by mobilizing people to pray. And before praying for unsaved people, pray that other concerned disciples will join you in reaching out to them. In Christian service, there is no unemployment. God has work enough for everyone. Don't just sit back and watch others work—look for ways to help with the harvest. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 1 Kings 18:40 Let not one of them escape.When the prophet Elijah had received the answer to his prayer, and the fire from heaven had consumed the sacrifice in the presence of all the people, he called upon the assembled Israelites to take the priests of Baal, and sternly cried, "Let not one of them escape." He took them all down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. So must it be with our sins--they are all doomed, not one must be preserved. Our darling sin must die. Spare it not for its much crying. Strike, though it be as dear as an Isaac. Strike, for God struck at sin when it was laid upon his own Son. With stern unflinching purpose must you condemn to death that sin which was once the idol of your heart. Do you ask how you are to accomplish this? Jesus will be your power. You have grace to overcome sin given you in the covenant of grace; you have strength to win the victory in the crusade against inward lusts, because Christ Jesus has promised to be with you even unto the end. If you would triumph over darkness, set yourself in the presence of the Sun of Righteousness. There is no place so well adapted for the discovery of sin, and recovery from its power and guilt, as the immediate presence of God. Job never knew how to get rid of sin half so well as he did when his eye of faith rested upon God, and then he abhorred himself, and repented in dust and ashes. The fine gold of the Christian is oft becoming dim. We need the sacred fire to consume the dross. Let us fly to our God, he is a consuming fire; he will not consume our spirit, but our sins. Let the goodness of God excite us to a sacred jealousy, and to a holy revenge against those iniquities which are hateful in his sight. Go forth to battle with Amalek, in his strength, and utterly destroy the accursed crew: let not one of them escape. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.2 Corinthians 7:11 For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. Ephesians 5:9,10 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), • trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. John 14:16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 2 Corinthians 8:2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. 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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