Bible League: Living His Word On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.— Psalm 138:3 ESV Imagine this scenario. You were sick. The disease came out of nowhere. It was totally unexpected; and even worse, it dragged on for months. The doctors couldn't find the true cause. They couldn't figure out the proper course of action. At one point, they were ready to give up on you. They kept looking for another doctor that would take the case off their hands. Meanwhile, you had to sit in your hospital bed day after day and endure it all. Maybe you don't have to imagine such a thing; but one thing you'll never have to imagine is the Lord's strengthening in hard times. Nevertheless, in sickness you hung on. You refused to give in to despair and unbelief. Somehow, someway, you said to yourself that a solution would be found. Somehow, someway, the Lord would come through. Or suppose there was at time when you were in financial trouble. Maybe it was your business that turned south. Maybe you got laid off from your job. Whatever it was, the bills began to pile up. The mortgage was in arrears. Your spouse started to get anxious. You began to consider the extreme options: asking relatives for money or bankruptcy. Even so, you stood firm. You didn't quit. You never once stopped believing that the Lord would come through for you. You kept on speaking positively about the situation. Or can you relate to this one? Has there been a time when you were persecuted for your faith? You made no bones about where you stood on the ultimate religious questions. You stood firm on your Christian principles. You thought others would appreciate that, but you were wrong. They thought you were an extremist. They thought you were intolerant. It hurt, but you held on to your beliefs. You refused to look back. Instead, you looked forward to the next chapter of life. You just went out and found another job, a job where they truly appreciated what you stand for. In each of these cases (real or imagined), the Lord has given you something that has helped you a great deal. He has given you what our verse for today calls "strength of soul"—the spiritual strength to stand firm, stay faithful, and persevere through the trials, troubles, and persecutions of life. There is no limit to the strength of soul the Lord provides. In each case, He provides the strength needed to stand. Stand on the Rock. And whenever it gets really hard, He will increase the strength of soul that you need. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingExodus 13, 14, 15 Exodus 13 -- Consecration of the Firstborn; God Leads the People out NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Exodus 14 -- Pharaoh Pursues; The Red Sea is Parted NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Exodus 15 -- Song of Moses and Miriam; The Lord Provides Water NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 19:1-15 Matthew 19 -- Divorce; Jesus and the Little Children; the Rich Young Ruler NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion Satan replied to the LORD, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!”Insight Satan attacked Job's motives, saying that Job was blameless and had integrity only because he had no reason to turn against God. Satan wanted to prove that Job worshiped God not out of love but because God had given him so much. Satan accurately analyzed why many people trust God. They are fair-weather believers, following God only when everything is going well or for what they can get. Adversity destroys this kind of superficial faith. But adversity strengthens real faith by causing believers to dig their roots deeper into God in order to withstand storms. Challenge How deep does your faith go? Put the roots of your faith down deep into God so that you can withstand any storm you may face. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon John 1:16 And of his fulness have all we received.These words tell us that there is a fulness in Christ. There is a fulness of essential Deity, for "in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead." There is a fulness of perfect manhood, for in him, bodily, that Godhead was revealed. There is a fulness of atoning efficacy in his blood, for "the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sin." There is a fulness of justifying righteousness in his life, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." There is a fulness of divine prevalence in his plea, for "He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by him; seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." There is a fulness of victory in his death, for through death he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is the devil. There is a fulness of efficacy in his resurrection from the dead, for by it "we are begotten again unto a lively hope." There is a fulness of triumph in his ascension, for "when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and received gifts for men." There is a fulness of blessings of every sort and shape; a fulness of grace to pardon, of grace to regenerate, of grace to sanctify, of grace to preserve, and of grace to perfect. There is a fulness at all times; a fulness of comfort in affliction; a fulness of guidance in prosperity. A fulness of every divine attribute, of wisdom, of power, of love; a fulness which it were impossible to survey, much less to explore. "It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell." Oh, what a fulness must this be of which all receive! Fulness, indeed, must there be when the stream is always flowing, and yet the well springs up as free, as rich, as full as ever. Come, believer, and get all thy need supplied; ask largely, and thou shalt receive largely, for this "fulness" is inexhaustible, and is treasured up where all the needy may reach it, even in Jesus, Immanuel--God with us. Daily Light on the Daily Path 1 John 3:5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.Hebrews 1:13 But to which of the angels has He ever said, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I MAKE YOUR ENEMIES A FOOTSTOOL FOR YOUR FEET "? 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. 1 Peter 1:17-20 If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; • knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, • but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. • For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 2 Corinthians 5:14,15 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; • and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. 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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