Bible League: Living His Word "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?"— Isaiah 43:19 ESV The Lord is doing a new thing in your life. The Lord is doing something for you that is completely different. It's something that you've never seen before, something you've never expected or seriously considered, something really wonderful. True, the Lord has done wonderful things for you in the past, but this will surpass them all. It's an all-new level of life. The new thing will raise you up from the dust and lift you up from the ash heap. It will increase your honor and give you a seat in the presence of those in authority (1 Samuel 2:8). How do you know this? How can you be sure? First, it's the kind of thing the Lord is always doing. The Lord is in the business of redeeming and restoring His people. New is His stock and trade. New is what He's all about. He doesn't leave you behind in the past. He doesn't leave you in the pit you have dug for yourself. He listens to your cries for help and draws you out of the pit. He sets your feet on a rock, thereby making your steps secure. Then, appropriately enough, He puts a new song in your mouth, a song of praise to Him (Psalm 40:1-3). Second, you can be sure because you can already see it springing forth. It's not a pipe dream. It's not a fantasy. It's a real deal in the making and its first manifestations are already showing up. The Lord doesn't promise and not deliver. The Lord is not a trickster. Indeed, the Bible says that the person who trusts in Him is blessed, not cursed (Psalm 40:4). You can be sure that the new thing is real because the Lord is the kind of God who performs wondrous deeds for His people, the kind of God that even multiplies His wondrous deeds for them (Psalm 40:5). You do see it, don't you? If you don't, then you need to look more closely. You need to look more closely with the eyes of your faith. After all, it's your faith in the Lord that spurs Him on to do new things. It's your trust in Him that moves Him to draw you out of pits. New things aren't just for anyone. They're for those whose hearts are fully committed to Him. Open the eyes of your faith, then, and look closely for the new thing the Lord is doing for you. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 50, 51, 52 Psalm 50 -- The Mighty One calls the earth from sunrise to sunset. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 51 -- David's Psalm of Repentance (2Sa 12) NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 52 -- David's Psalm Fleeing Saul (1Sa 21) NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 27:1-25 Acts 27 -- Paul Sails for Rome; Storm and Shipwreck NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs. You won't be able to say, ‘Here it is!' or ‘It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God is already among you.” Insight The Pharisees asked when God's kingdom would come, not knowing that it had already arrived. The kingdom of God is not like an earthly kingdom with geographical boundaries. Instead, it begins with the work of God's Spirit in people's lives and in relationships. Challenge Still today we must resist looking to institutions or programs for evidence of the progress of God's kingdom. Instead, we should look for what God is doing in people's hearts. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Romans 8:33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?Most blessed challenge! How unanswerable it is! Every sin of the elect was laid upon the great Champion of our salvation, and by the atonement carried away. There is no sin in God's book against his people: he seeth no sin in Jacob, neither iniquity in Israel; they are justified in Christ forever. When the guilt of sin was taken away, the punishment of sin was removed. For the Christian there is no stroke from God's angry hand--nay, not so much as a single frown of punitive justice. The believer may be chastised by his Father, but God the Judge has nothing to say to the Christian, except "I have absolved thee: thou art acquitted." For the Christian there is no penal death in this world, much less any second death. He is completely freed from all the punishment as well as the guilt of sin, and the power of sin is removed too. It may stand in our way, and agitate us with perpetual warfare; but sin is a conquered foe to every soul in union with Jesus. There is no sin which a Christian cannot overcome if he will only rely upon his God to do it. They who wear the white robe in heaven overcame through the blood of the Lamb, and we may do the same. No lust is too mighty, no besetting sin too strongly entrenched; we can overcome through the power of Christ. Do believe it, Christian, that thy sin is a condemned thing. It may kick and struggle, but it is doomed to die. God has written condemnation across its brow. Christ has crucified it, "nailing it to his cross." Go now and mortify it, and the Lord help you to live to his praise, for sin with all its guilt, shame, and fear, is gone. "Here's pardon for transgressions past, It matters not how black their cast; And, O my soul, with wonder view, For sins to come here's pardon too." Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 18:39 For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Chronicles 14:11 Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You." 2 Chronicles 18:31 So when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, they said, "It is the king of Israel," and they turned aside to fight against him. But Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him, and God diverted them from him. Psalm 118:8,9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in man. • It is better to take refuge in the LORD Than to trust in princes. Psalm 33:16,17 The king is not saved by a mighty army; A warrior is not delivered by great strength. • A horse is a false hope for victory; Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength. Ephesians 6:12,13 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. • Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 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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