Bible League: Living His Word For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.If one were to make a summary as concise as possible of the biblical worldview, then one would have to say that it is the authoritative story about, and teaching about, God and His creation. The biblical worldview views God as the creator and redeemer of the creation and, as such, views Him as the central focus and ultimate meaning of everything in the creation. Our verse for today expresses this summary in its own way and it also tells us what our primary response should be to this fundamental state of affairs. First, we are told that all things come from God. This should not be understood in a pantheistic or panentheistic way, as if the creation was in some way a manifestation or part of God's being. Rather, it should be understood in the biblical way. All things come from God because He called them into existence from nothing by His mighty word. Thus, although all things come from God, He is radically distinct from them. Second, we are told that all things are through Him. God not only called all things into existence from nothing, but He also providentially sustains, directs, and governs all things. Apart from God's providence, all things would revert back to nothingness. Creation, to put it another way, is totally dependent upon God's continuing providential control. God is the ultimate divine reality upon which created reality depends for its origin and continuing existence. Third, we are told that all things are to Him. This teaching should also not be understood in a pantheistic or panentheistic way, as if the creation will someday return to the very being of God. Rather, it should be understood in the biblical way. All things are to Him because He determines the ultimate destiny and goal of all things. Thus, although all things are to Him, they will never cease to exist as distinct from Him. Finally, we are told that our response to all this should be to give God the glory. Since God is who He is as described above, He is worthy of receiving all the praise, honor, and fame His central focus and ultimate meaning to the creation deserves. The fundamental existential situation we find ourselves in as human beings was set up by God, not by us, or anything else in the creation. We should be humble enough, therefore, to acknowledge this and give the glory to the one who truly deserves it. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 23, 24, 25 Job 23 -- Job Longs to Appear before God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 24 -- Wickedness is Often Unpunished, but there is a Secret Judgment for the Wicked NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 25 -- Bildad Says that Man Cannot be Justified before God NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 10:24-48 Acts 10 -- Cornelius' and Peter's Visions; Peter Preaches to the Gentiles NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.Insight There are two requirements for coming to God. Like Peter, we must recognize our own sinfulness. Then, like these fishermen, we must realize that we can't save ourselves. Challenge If we know that we need help, and if we know that Jesus is the only one who can help us, we will be ready to leave everything and follow him. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 28:1 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.A cry is the natural expression of sorrow, and a suitable utterance when all other modes of appeal fail us; but the cry must be alone directed to the Lord, for to cry to man is to waste our entreaties upon the air. When we consider the readiness of the Lord to hear, and his ability to aid, we shall see good reason for directing all our appeals at once to the God of our salvation. It will be in vain to call to the rocks in the day of judgment, but our Rock attends to our cries. "Be not silent to me." Mere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers, but genuine suppliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results of prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will--they must go further, and obtain actual replies from heaven, or they cannot rest; and those replies they long to receive at once; they dread even a little of God's silence. God's voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wilderness; but his silence is equally full of awe to an eager suppliant. When God seems to close his ear, we must not therefore close our mouths, but rather cry with more earnestness; for when our note grows shrill with eagerness and grief, he will not long deny us a hearing. What a dreadful case should we be in if the Lord should become forever silent to our prayers? "Lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit." Deprived of the God who answers prayer, we should be in a more pitiable plight than the dead in the grave, and should soon sink to the same level as the lost in hell. We must have answers to prayer: ours is an urgent case of dire necessity; surely the Lord will speak peace to our agitated minds, for he never can find it in his heart to permit his own elect to perish. Daily Light on the Daily Path Matthew 26:44 And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more.Hebrews 5:7 In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Hosea 6:3 "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth." Romans 12:12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, Philippians 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. • And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Matthew 26:39 And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." 1 John 5:14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. Psalm 37:4,5 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. • Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. 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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