Bible League: Living His Word The LORD your God is in your midst,a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. We are never alone. We are believers in God and He is in our midst. Of course, the omnipresent God is everywhere within the created order. For believers, however, God is present in a special way. God dwells with us in our midst. God says, "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people" and He says, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters" (II Corinthians 6:16;18). What does this mean for us? For one, it means that there is a mighty God in our midst who will save us. It means that there is an almighty God in our midst for whom nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) and it means that this almighty God is willing to save us. We have no reason to fear, then, because "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31). It also means that our almighty God will rejoice over us with gladness. God is not put out by being in our midst. It is not something that He resents and endures. He enjoys it. He enjoys being with us and He rejoices over us. The prophet Isaiah says, ". . . as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" (Isaiah 62:5). It's good to know that our almighty God likes being with us. Further, it means that He will quiet us with His love. We are excitable creatures. All the cares and concerns of life can upset us. We are prone to fear and worry. Our faith tends to dissipate under pressure and we may emphatically express our fears and worries frantically. God, however, quiets us. He quiets us with His loving presence. Although our problems may remain for a while, His loving presence comforts us and quiets us down. Finally, our almighty God exults over us with loud singing. It is difficult to imagine an almighty God so elated about us that He jubilantly exults over us with triumphant joy and loud singing. That, however, is what our verse for today says about our God. It is a very good thing to have God in our midst. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingDaniel 9, 10 Daniel 9 -- Daniel's Prayer and Gabriel's Answer NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Daniel 10 -- Daniel Terrified by a Vision, Comforted by the Angel NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 John 2 John 1 -- Persevere in faith and love; Have nothing to do with evil NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.Insight The task of church leaders is to help people mature in Christ. Cooperative followers greatly ease the burden of leadership. Challenge Does your conduct give your leaders reason to report joyfully about you? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 1 Corinthians 1:28 Base things of the world hath God chosen.Walk the streets by moonlight, if you dare, and you will see sinners then. Watch when the night is dark, and the wind is howling, and the picklock is grating in the door, and you will see sinners then. Go to yon jail, and walk through the wards, and mark the men with heavy over-hanging brows, men whom you would not like to meet at night, and there are sinners there. Go to the Reformatories, and note those who have betrayed a rampant juvenile depravity, and you will see sinners there. Go across the seas to the place where a man will gnaw a bone upon which is reeking human flesh, and there is a sinner there. Go where you will, you need not ransack earth to find sinners, for they are common enough; you may find them in every lane and street of every city, and town, and village, and hamlet. It is for such that Jesus died. If you will select me the grossest specimen of humanity, if he be but born of woman, I will have hope of him yet, because Jesus Christ is come to seek and to save sinners. Electing love has selected some of the worst to be made the best. Pebbles of the brook grace turns into jewels for the crown-royal. Worthless dross he transforms into pure gold. Redeeming love has set apart many of the worst of mankind to be the reward of the Saviour's passion. Effectual grace calls forth many of the vilest of the vile to sit at the table of mercy, and therefore let none despair. Reader, by that love looking out of Jesus' tearful eyes, by that love streaming from those bleeding wounds, by that faithful love, that strong love, that pure, disinterested, and abiding love; by the heart and by the bowels of the Saviour's compassion, we conjure you turn not away as though it were nothing to you; but believe on him and you shall be saved. Trust your soul with him and he will bring you to his Father's right hand in glory everlasting. Daily Light on the Daily Path 2 Corinthians 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.Isaiah 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. Romans 5:19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. Titus 3:4-7 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, • He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, • whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, • so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Jeremiah 23:6 "In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, 'The LORD our righteousness.' 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. 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