Bible League: Living His Word I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Correct me, O LORD, but in justice; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.— Jeremiah 10:23—24 ESV There's something bigger than ourselves in control of the way we walk through life. It's the Lord. The Lord has sovereign control over the way we walk. That's why the Bible says, "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps" (Proverbs 16:9). And that's why it also says, "A man's steps are from the LORD; how then can man understand his way?" (Proverbs 20:24). It's mistaken to think otherwise. It's mistaken to think that we do not exist under the sovereign hand of the Lord. Nevertheless, I see that there is mystery. Believers can go off course. Inexplicably, mysteriously, we can seemingly escape the sovereign control of the Lord and move in a way that is at odds with His revealed will. The Bible calls this sin. Instead of obedience to the will and ways of the Lord, there is disobedience. Instead of harmony with the sovereign Lord of all, there is discord. Since "the way of man is not in himself," no one can fully explain how this could happen, but it happens just the same. You can't blame God for it, for He is holy and good. There's no one else to blame but ourselves. How can this situation be rectified? How can we get our lives back on course? There is only one way. The Lord must correct us. The Lord must, as it were, re—exert His sovereign control and correct the way we have taken. Since "it is not in man who walks to direct his steps," we can't do it ourselves. Ultimately, it is the Lord who must do it. But there is more than one way the Lord can correct us. According to our verses for today, He can correct us in justice, or He can correct us in anger. Justice is what we want, for His anger can destroy us. What we want is a course correction that is tempered by the mercy of the Lord. What we want is a course correction that bring us to a place of reformation and transformation, not to a place of destruction. After all, we are God's children through Christ, and so we can expect His Fatherly discipline that comes from love (Proverbs 3:12). If we have strayed from your will in any way, O Lord, then correct us—but in loving discipline and not in anger, for Jesus' sake. Amen. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 40, 41, 42 Jeremiah 40 -- Jeremiah Set Free by Nebuzaradan, Remains in Judah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 41 -- Ishmael kills Gedaliah; Johanan Rescues the People NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 42 -- Jeremiah Assures of Safety in Judea and Destruction in Egypt NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Hebrews 2 Hebrews 2 -- Pay Attention; The Author of Salvation Perfected in Sufferings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And through him God reconciledeverything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ's blood on the cross. Insight Christ's death provided a way for all people to come to God. It cleared away the sin that keeps us from having a right relationship with our Creator. This does not mean that everyone has been saved, but that the way has been cleared for anyone who will trust Christ to be saved. Challenge We can have peace with God and be reconciled to him by accepting Christ, who died in our place. Is there a distance between you and the Creator? Be reconciled to God. Come to him through Christ. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Psalm 100:4 Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.Our Lord would have all his people rich in high and happy thoughts concerning his blessed person. Jesus is not content that his brethren should think meanly of him; it is his pleasure that his espoused ones should be delighted with his beauty. We are not to regard him as a bare necessary, like to bread and water, but as a luxurious delicacy, as a rare and ravishing delight. To this end he has revealed himself as the "pearl of great price" in its peerless beauty, as the "bundle of myrrh" in its refreshing fragrance, as the "rose of Sharon" in its lasting perfume, as the "lily" in its spotless purity. As a help to high thoughts of Christ, remember the estimation that Christ is had in beyond the skies, where things are measured by the right standard. Think how God esteems the Only Begotten, his unspeakable gift to us. Consider what the angels think of him, as they count it their highest honor to veil their faces at his feet. Consider what the blood-washed think of him, as day without night they sing his well deserved praises. High thoughts of Christ will enable us to act consistently with our relations towards him. The more loftily we see Christ enthroned, and the more lowly we are when bowing before the foot of the throne, the more truly shall we be prepared to act our part towards him. Our Lord Jesus desires us to think well of him, that we may submit cheerfully to his authority. High thoughts of him increase our love. Love and esteem go together. Therefore, believer, think much of your Master's excellencies. Study him in his primeval glory, before he took upon himself your nature! Think of the mighty love which drew him from his throne to die upon the cross! Admire him as he conquers all the powers of hell! See him risen, crowned, glorified! Bow before him as the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the mighty God, for only thus will your love to him be what it should. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 Corinthians 7:31 and those who use the world, as though they did not make full use of it; for the form of this world is passing away.James 1:9-11 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; • and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away. • For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away. Genesis 5:27 So all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died. James 4:14 Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. 1 John 2:17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. Psalm 39:4 "LORD, make me to know my end And what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. 1 Thessalonians 5:3,4 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. • But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 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. |
    |