Bible League: Living His Word They forgot about his power. They forgot the many times he saved them from the enemy.— Psalm 78:42 ERV In the desert, in the wilderness, the people of Israel forgot what God had done for them (Psalm 78:40-42). They forgot how He saved them from the clutches of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They forgot how He parted the Red Sea, led them through it with the water stacked up like a wall on both sides of them, and drowned the Egyptians that tried to follow behind. They forgot how He split the rock in the desert and gave them an ocean of water to drink. Indeed, they forgot all the many things that God had done for them. As a result, they began to grumble and complain. What about you? Have you forgotten? Like the Israelites, you're in the wilderness. You're in your own personal version of the wilderness. You've made the transition from slavery in Egypt, and you've made the trek into the wilderness. Have you forgotten everything God has done for you to get you this far? He didn't part the Red Sea, but what He did do was just as miraculous. You were stuck in slavery to sin with no hope of release. Nevertheless, God released you, and He has been leading you to the promised land ever since. The wilderness, of course, is a desolate place. It's a desert. Life is hard. God is leading you through it to test you. Will you, like the Israelites, forget about His power and the many times He saved you from enemies? Will the hardships of the desert wipe your memory clean? The many miracles He performed on your behalf thus far should be an encouragement to you. They should remind you that He has solutions for any new hardships you may have to face. If you forget about what He has done, however, then you will be tempted to act like the Israelites. You will be tempted to grumble and complain. You will be tempted to give up and talk about returning to Egypt. If you have forgotten, then let this be a reminder to you. Today, remember what God has done for you. Remember the miracles of power. Remember the enemies that were defeated. Remember everything He has done for you to get you this far. For if you remember, you will be encouraged to stick with it all the way to the promised land. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJonah Jonah 1 -- Jonah, Sent to Nineveh, but Flees to Tarshish; Thrown into the Sea and Swallowed by a Fish NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jonah 2 -- The Prayer and Deliverance of Jonah NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jonah 3 -- Jonah Preaches to the Ninevites; They Repent and God Relents NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Jonah 4 -- God Rebukes Jonah for His Displeasure NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 9 Revelation 9 -- The Bottomless Pit and the Army from the East NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. Insight The farmer must wait patiently for his crops to grow; he cannot hurry the process. But he does not take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields. There is much work to do to ensure a good harvest. In the same way, we must wait patiently for Christ's return. We cannot make him come back any sooner. But while we wait, there is much work that we can do to advance God's kingdom. Both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith, looking toward the future reward for their labors. Challenge Don't live as if Christ will never come. Work faithfully to build his kingdom—the King will come when the time is right. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Joel 2:13 Rend your heart, and not your garments.Garment-rending and other outward signs of religious emotion, are easily manifested and are frequently hypocritical; but to feel true repentance is far more difficult, and consequently far less common. Men will attend to the most multiplied and minute ceremonial regulations--for such things are pleasing to the flesh--but true religion is too humbling, too heart-searching, too thorough for the tastes of the carnal men; they prefer something more ostentatious, flimsy, and worldly. Outward observances are temporarily comfortable; eye and ear are pleased; self-conceit is fed, and self-righteousness is puffed up: but they are ultimately delusive, for in the article of death, and at the day of judgment, the soul needs something more substantial than ceremonies and rituals to lean upon. Apart from vital godliness all religion is utterly vain; offered without a sincere heart, every form of worship is a solemn sham and an impudent mockery of the majesty of heaven. Heart-rending is divinely wrought and solemnly felt. It is a secret grief which is personally experienced, not in mere form, but as a deep, soul-moving work of the Holy Spirit upon the inmost heart of each believer. It is not a matter to be merely talked of and believed in, but keenly and sensitively felt in every living child of the living God. It is powerfully humiliating, and completely sin-purging; but then it is sweetly preparative for those gracious consolations which proud unhumbled spirits are unable to receive; and it is distinctly discriminating, for it belongs to the elect of God, and to them alone. The text commands us to rend our hearts, but they are naturally hard as marble: how, then, can this be done? We must take them to Calvary: a dying Saviour's voice rent the rocks once, and it is as powerful now. O blessed Spirit, let us hear the death-cries of Jesus, and our hearts shall be rent even as men rend their vestures in the day of lamentation. Daily Light on the Daily Path Hebrews 4:16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.Philippians 4:6,7 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. • And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" Isaiah 45:19 "I have not spoken in secret, In some dark land; I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, 'Seek Me in a waste place'; I, the LORD, speak righteousness, Declaring things that are upright. Hebrews 10:19,22 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, • let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Hebrews 13:6 so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?" 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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