Bible League: Living His Word It is not good to be partial to the wicked and so deprive the innocent of justice.— Proverbs 18:5 NIV Do you know a guy like Jack? Jack wants to get ahead in the world. If truth be told, getting ahead in the world is the defining motive of Jack's life. Everything he does is geared to advancing his career. Everything he does must pay off in some way. That's why he hangs around the right people, people that can do something for him. If they are beside or beneath him in the pecking order, they mean nothing. It doesn't matter to Jack if the right people are actually the wrong people. That is, it doesn't matter to Jack if they're actually wicked people. All that matters is that they can do something to move him up the social scale. So, he curries favor with them, showing partiality. Jack's judgment and evaluation aren't governed by right and wrong, but by selfish self-interest. If giving the wicked a pass will pay off in some way, then a pass is what they'll get. If doing them a favor will help him move up the line, then a favor is what he'll do for them. Indeed, so motivated by getting ahead is Jack that it doesn't matter if giving the wicked a pass hurts somebody else. It doesn't matter if the innocent are deprived of justice. Jack would tip the scales in favor of the wicked at the drop of a hat if there was something in it for himself. If someone took the time to look behind Jack, they'd see the bodies of those he sacrificed for the wicked strewn beside the path he took, scattered like pins struck by a bowling ball. Do you know a guy like Jack? Are you like Jack? Our verse for today says that it's not good to be partial to the wicked. Other verses in God's Word emphasize that believers need to uphold the cause of the innocent and the oppressed. "Rescue the weak and the needy," says Psalm 82:4, "deliver them from the hand of the wicked," (See also Exodus 22:22 and Isaiah 61:8). So before we get too judgmental of Jack, let's open our eyes, look in the mirror, and make sure we are not behaving like Jack. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingGenesis 15, 16, 17 Genesis 15 -- God's Covenant with Abram NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 16 -- Sarai, Hagar, and Ishmael NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Genesis 17 -- The Covenant of Circumcision NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Matthew 5:27-48 Matthew 5 -- The Sermon on the Mount; Beatitudes; Salt; Law; Murder; Adultery; Divorce; Oaths; Enemies NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And Abram believed the LORD, and the LORD counted him as righteous because of his faith. Insight Although Abram had been demonstrating his faith through his actions, it was his belief in the Lord, not his actions, that made Abram right with God. Challenge We, too, can have a right relationship with God by trusting him. Our outward actions—church attendance, prayer, good deeds—will not by themselves make us right with God. A right relationship is based on faith—the heartfelt inner confidence that God is who he says he is and does what he says he will do. Right actions will follow naturally as by-products. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel--"HE careth for me." Christian! do not dishonor religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to "Lie passive in God's hands, And know no will but his." O child of suffering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in His providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. There is One who careth for you. His eye is fixed on you, His heart beats with pity for your woe, and His hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning. He, if thou art one of His family, will bind up thy wounds, and heal thy broken heart. Doubt not His grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that He loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! have done with fretful care, and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God. Daily Light on the Daily Path Psalm 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; And confirm for us the work of our hands; Yes, confirm the work of our hands.Ezekiel 16:14 "Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you," declares the Lord GOD. 2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 1 Peter 4:14 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. Psalm 128:1,2 A Song of Ascents. How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways. • When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, You will be happy and it will be well with you. Proverbs 16:3 Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established. Philippians 2:12,13 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; • for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. 2 Thessalonians 2:16,17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, • comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. 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. |
    |