Bible League: Living His Word Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint;but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom's instruction. People need revelation from God. Jesus said, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God'" (Matthew 4:4). This revelation may be the authoritative revelation that is written down in the Bible and that speaks to everyone who reads it and hears it, or it may be the more personal revelations God gives people in order to guide them through life. Indeed, we need every form of God's revelation so that we will live the lives God wants us to live. How could we live the lives God wants us to live if He never communicated to us in any way? People who do not heed God's revelation are in a sorry state. Our verse for today says that they "cast off restraint." Instead of following the will of God revealed to them, they follow their own way. They are the sheep that Isaiah said have gone astray, each of them turning to their own way (Isaiah 53:6). There is nothing holding them back. There is nothing keeping them from the inevitable destruction that must follow. After all, one does not defy the Lord God of heaven and earth with impunity. There are consequences for disobedience. If we give heed to God's revelation, if we give heed to the wisdom that comes from above, then we will be blessed. How could it be otherwise? God is the sovereign ruler over all things. If we give heed to His wisdom and instruction, we will have gotten ourselves in line with the way that He has set up the world; we will have gotten in harmony with that which promotes life and blessedness. Further, God will be pleased with us for having sought His will – and God is a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). What has God been saying to you lately? What have you taken away from the Bible passages you have read? What personal revelation has He given you? Maybe He has spoken personally to you through the very Bible passages you have read. Whatever form it took, God is revealing His will and His ways. He is sending you "wisdom's instruction." Take heed today and be blessed. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingPsalm 36, 37 Psalm 36 -- There is no fear of God before his eyes. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Psalm 37 -- David's Psalm of Salvation (1Ki 2) NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 23:1-11 Acts 23 -- Paul before the Sanhedrin; Warned of Plot; Transferred to Caesarea NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.Insight Our true value is God's estimate of our worth, not our peers'. Other people evaluate and categorize us according to how we perform, what we achieve, and how we look. Challenge But God cares for us, as he does for all of his creatures, because we belong to him. So we can face life without fear. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Jeremiah 3:14 I am married unto you.Christ Jesus is joined unto his people in marriage-union. In love he espoused his Church as a chaste virgin, long before she fell under the yoke of bondage. Full of burning affection he toiled, like Jacob for Rachel, until the whole of her purchase-money had been paid, and now, having sought her by his Spirit, and brought her to know and love him, he awaits the glorious hour when their mutual bliss shall be consummated at the marriage-supper of the Lamb. Not yet hath the glorious Bridegroom presented his betrothed, perfected and complete, before the Majesty of heaven; not yet hath she actually entered upon the enjoyment of her dignities as his wife and queen: she is as yet a wanderer in a world of woe, a dweller in the tents of Kedar; but she is even now the bride, the spouse of Jesus, dear to his heart, precious in his sight, written on his hands, and united with his person. On earth he exercises towards her all the affectionate offices of Husband. He makes rich provision for her wants, pays all her debts, allows her to assume his name, and to share in all his wealth. Nor will he ever act otherwise to her. The word divorce he will never mention, for "He hateth putting away." Death must sever the conjugal tie between the most loving mortals, but it cannot divide the links of this immortal marriage. In heaven they marry not, but are as the angels of God; yet there is this one marvellous exception to the rule, for in Heaven Christ and his Church shall celebrate their joyous nuptials. This affinity as it is more lasting, so is it more near than earthly wedlock. Let the love of husband be never so pure and fervent, it is but a faint picture of the flame which burns in the heart of Jesus. Passing all human union is that mystical cleaving unto the Church, for which Christ left his Father, and became one flesh with her. Daily Light on the Daily Path Romans 6:10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await 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. Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Hebrews 7:24,25 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. • Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Romans 5:8,9 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. • Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 1 Peter 4:1,2 Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, • so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 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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