Bible League: Living His Word Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.Every Christian has been called by God to be a witness of Christ Jesus. We witness, first of all, by doing our part to spread the good news of the great salvation we have in Christ. We also witness simply by living the new life we have in Christ in every area of life. In order to help us do a proper job of witnessing, God has given us the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit helps us spread the gospel and live the Christ-like life God wants us to live. Thus reflecting Christ, in whom is the life that is the light of men (John 1:4), we shine life and light into the darkness that envelopes the world. At times, however, the opposition of the forces of darkness can seem to overwhelm the light of our witness. Even though we know that the darkness cannot overcome the light (John 1:5), even though we know that Christ has overcome the darkness of the world (John 16:33), it doesn't always seem that way. Sometimes, it seems like the darkness has overcome the light. Sometimes, it seems like the darkness is more powerful than the light. It's at times like these that the prayer of Jeremiah in our verse for today is needed, for the prayer reminds us of something important about God. Although the context of his prayer was a specific situation in the history of Judah, it proclaims a general principle about God that applies in every situation and at all times. There is nothing too hard for God. There is nothing that God can't handle. He sends us forth as witnesses for Jesus Christ in the midst of the darkness and the power of His Spirit helps us to accomplish the impossible. That this is the case should be less than surprising to us. After all, God is the Creator of heaven and earth. If He could pull that one off, He can certainly handle the cares and concerns that challenge our witness in life. Today, therefore, shine the light of your witness in the midst of the darkness that surrounds you, for there is nothing too hard for God, there is nothing too hard for Him to handle. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJeremiah 5, 6 Jeremiah 5 -- Jerusalem's Godlessness and Judgment NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jeremiah 6 -- Enemies Sent against Jerusalem NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Timothy 1 1 Timothy 1 -- Warning against False Teachers; the Grace Given Paul NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. Insight Grace is God's voluntary and loving favor given to those he saves. We can't earn salvation, nor do we deserve it. No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God's mercy and love. Without God's grace, no person can be saved. Challenge To receive it, we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is through faith in Christ. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Luke 24:38 Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts?"Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?" The Lord cares for all things, and the meanest creatures share in his universal providence, but his particular providence is over his saints. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him." "Precious shall their blood be in his sight." "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to his purpose." Let the fact that, while he is the Saviour of all men, he is specially the Saviour of them that believe, cheer and comfort you. You are his peculiar care; his regal treasure which he guards as the apple of his eye; his vineyard over which he watches day and night. "The very hairs of your head are all numbered." Let the thought of his special love to you be a spiritual pain-killer, a dear quietus to your woe: "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." God says that as much to you as to any saint of old. "Fear not, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." We lose much consolation by the habit of reading his promises for the whole church, instead of taking them directly home to ourselves. Believer, grasp the divine word with a personal, appropriating faith. Think that you hear Jesus say, "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not." Think you see him walking on the waters of thy trouble, for he is there, and he is saying, "Fear not, it is I; be not afraid." Oh, those sweet words of Christ! May the Holy Ghost make you feel them as spoken to you; forget others for awhile--accept the voice of Jesus as addressed to you, and say, "Jesus whispers consolation; I cannot refuse it; I will sit under his shadow with great delight." Daily Light on the Daily Path John 13:16,17 "Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. • "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.Luke 22:24-27 And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. • And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' • "But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. • "For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." John 13:3-5 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, • got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. • Then He poured water into the basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 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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