Bible League: Living His Word Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.God chooses who will be saved. Ephesians 2:8 says, "God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God." It follows from this truth that God must also determine the criteria He uses to choose who will be saved. And, according to our verse for today, one of the main criterions He uses is foolishness. The ones He chooses are usually the ones that the world considers to be foolish. I Corinthians 1:26 says, "Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world's eyes." Why? Why does God do it this way? He does it in order "to shame those who think they are wise." He wants those who think they are wise from the world's point of view to be proven wrong. He wants them to realize how foolish their "wisdom" actually is. He also does it so that "no one can ever boast in the presence of God" (I Corinthians 1:29). God does not want anyone to be saved who thinks that they deserve it; who thinks God had to save them given their wisdom. Another main criterion God uses to choose who will be saved is powerlessness. The ones He chooses are usually the ones the world considers to be powerless. I Corinthians 1:26 also says that few of those who were chosen by God were "powerful or wealthy when God called you." Why? Why does God do it this way? He does it in order "to shame those who are powerful." He wants those who are powerful from the world's point of view to be proven powerless. He wants them to realize that their power has no control over His choice. He also does it so that the powerful cannot boast in His presence. God does not want anyone to be saved who thinks that their power somehow gained them salvation; who thinks that God was somehow forced to save them given their power. God is the sovereign Lord of the universe. He controls all things and determines their destinies. The universe depends upon Him and revolves around Him – not the other way around. He proves His point by choosing those the world considers least likely to be chosen. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingObadiah Obadiah 1 -- The Destruction of Edom; The Day of the Lord Is Near NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 8 Revelation 8 -- The Seventh Seal: Seven Angels with Seven Trumpets NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.Insight We tend to think that doing wrong is sin. But James tells us that sin is also not doing right. (These two kinds of sin are sometimes called sins of commission and sins of omission.) It is a sin to lie; it can also be a sin to know the truth and not tell it. It is a sin to speak evil of someone; it is also a sin to avoid him or her when you know he or she needs your friendship. We should be willing to help as the Holy Spirit guides us. Challenge If God has directed you to do a kind act, to render a service, or to restore a relationship, do it. You will experience a renewed and refreshed vitality to your Christian faith. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Jeremiah 2:2 I remember thee.Let us note that Christ delights to think upon his Church, and to look upon her beauty. As the bird returneth often to its nest, and as the wayfarer hastens to his home, so doth the mind continually pursue the object of its choice. We cannot look too often upon that face which we love; we desire always to have our precious things in our sight. It is even so with our Lord Jesus. From all eternity "His delights were with the sons of men;" his thoughts rolled onward to the time when his elect should be born into the world; he viewed them in the mirror of his foreknowledge. "In thy book," he says, "all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them" (Ps. 139:16). When the world was set upon its pillars, he was there, and he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. Many a time before his incarnation, he descended to this lower earth in the similitude of a man; on the plains of Mamre (Gen. 18), by the brook of Jabbok (Gen. 32:24-30), beneath the walls of Jericho (Jos. 5:13), and in the fiery furnace of Babylon (Dan. 3:19, 25), the Son of Man visited his people. Because his soul delighted in them, he could not rest away from them, for his heart longed after them. Never were they absent from his heart, for he had written their names upon his hands, and graven them upon his side. As the breastplate containing the names of the tribes of Israel was the most brilliant ornament worn by the high priest, so the names of Christ's elect were his most precious jewels, and glittered on his heart. We may often forget to meditate upon the perfections of our Lord, but he never ceases to remember us. Let us chide ourselves for past forgetfulness, and pray for grace ever to bear him in fondest remembrance. Lord, paint upon the eyeballs of my soul the image of thy Son. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 80:18 Then we shall not turn back from You; Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. Romans 8:26,27 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; • and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 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, Psalm 119:93 I will never forget Your precepts, For by them You have revived me. John 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 2 Corinthians 3:6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. John 15:7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 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. 1 Corinthians 12:3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 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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