Bible League: Living His Word As the rain and the snowcome down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Our father in heaven is the Lord God of heaven and earth. What He says goes. He speaks and things happen. By His creative word He brought all things into being. By His providential word He upholds, directs, and governs all things. His word does not return to Him empty because it failed to achieve what He wanted it to achieve. Rather, it accomplishes what He sends it out for. What is true of God's creative and providential word is also true of His word as written down in the Bible. It accomplishes what He wants to accomplish with it. What does God want to accomplish with the Bible? He wants to turn the world back to Him. He wants to tell people how they can get back into proper relationship to Him. Humankind fell into sin and became alienated from God. God had a plan to redeem the world through Jesus Christ and the Bible, in both its Old Testament and New Testament, tells us about that plan. And God's written word is not failing to achieve what He wants to achieve with it; it is not returning to Him empty. What began as a small movement in an obscure corner of the Roman Empire has advanced from there throughout the whole world. What began with a few people in an upper room in Jerusalem has advanced from there to include over two billion people. Jesus' prophetic parables have come true. The small mustard seed has become the largest plant in the garden (Mark 4:30-32). The yeast has worked its way throughout the dough (Matthew 13:33). All of this is because God's written word has accomplished what it was intended to accomplish. And God's written word will continue to achieve what He wants to achieve with it until the full number of people are brought into the church. And all of us who read and hear the words of the Bible, who speak and proclaim the words of the Bible, participate in the accomplishment of its purpose. Bible in a Year Old Testament Reading1 Samuel 25, 26 1 Samuel 25 -- Samuel Dies; David Marries Abigail NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB 1 Samuel 26 -- David Spares Saul a Second Time NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Luke 16:19-31 Luke 16 -- The Parables of the Shrewd Manager, and the Rich Man and Lazarus NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor;only fools insist on quarreling. Insight A person who is truly confident of his or her strength does not need to parade it. A truly brave person does not look for chances to prove it. A resourceful woman can find a way out of a fight. A man of endurance will avoid retaliating. Foolish people find it impossible to avoid strife. Men and women of character can. Challenge What kind of person are you? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Joshua 2:21 She bound the scarlet line in the window.Rahab depended for her preservation upon the promise of the spies, whom she looked upon as the representatives of the God of Israel. Her faith was simple and firm, but it was very obedient. To tie the scarlet line in the window was a very trivial act in itself, but she dared not run the risk of omitting it. Come, my soul, is there not here a lesson for thee? Hast thou been attentive to all thy Lord's will, even though some of his commands should seem non-essential? Hast thou observed in his own way the two ordinances of believers' baptism and the Lord's Supper? These neglected, argue much unloving disobedience in thy heart. Be henceforth in all things blameless, even to the tying of a thread, if that be matter of command. This act of Rahab sets forth a yet more solemn lesson. Have I implicitly trusted in the precious blood of Jesus? Have I tied the scarlet cord, as with a Gordian knot in my window, so that my trust can never be removed? Or can I look out towards the Dead Sea of my sins, or the Jerusalem of my hopes, without seeing the blood, and seeing all things in connection with its blessed power? The passer-by can see a cord of so conspicuous a colour, if it hangs from the window: it will be well for me if my life makes the efficacy of the atonement conspicuous to all onlookers. What is there to be ashamed of? Let men or devils gaze if they will, the blood is my boast and my song. My soul, there is One who will see that scarlet line, even when from weakness of faith thou canst not see it thyself; Jehovah, the Avenger, will see it and pass over thee. Jericho's walls fell flat: Rahab's house was on the wall, and yet it stood unmoved; my nature is built into the wall of humanity, and yet when destruction smites the race, I shall be secure. My soul, tie the scarlet thread in the window afresh, and rest in peace. Daily Light on the Daily Path Deuteronomy 18:18 'I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.Deuteronomy 5:5 while I was standing between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD; for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain. He said, 1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Numbers 12:3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.) Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. Philippians 2:5-8 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, • who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, • but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. • Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Hebrews 3:5,6 Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later; • but Christ was faithful as a Son over His house-- whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end. 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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