Morning, July 9
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Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all His kind deeds—  — Psalm 103:2
Bible League: Living His Word
"If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him."
— John 12:26 ESV

If you're a Christian, then you're a servant of Jesus Christ (Romans 1:1). If you're a servant of Jesus, then you're also a follower of Him. Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is deliverance from the slavery of sin, but the deliverance is not a release to do whatever we want. It is a release to become a servant and a follower. Followers of Jesus, therefore, live lives of self-sacrifice. Jesus himself lived a life of self-sacrifice. Indeed, He made the ultimate sacrifice at the cross (Philippians 2:6-8; Mark 10:45). Like Jesus, His followers are expected to surrender any self-serving and self-seeking desires they may have. We are expected to follow His example.

Understandably, as followers of Jesus we will be where He is. Where is Jesus? Bodily, Jesus is in heaven (1 Peter 3:22). Although we can't be with Him bodily at this time, we can be with Him spiritually. Indeed, spiritually, we are already seated with Him "in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 2:6). Spiritually, we reign with Him over the earth (2 Timothy 2:11-13). Wherever Jesus effectuates His reign over the earth, wherever He works to expand the Kingdom of God in the various areas of life, we will spiritually follow Him. We will take up our unique, individual positions behind Him. We will be where He is, because we will have spiritually followed Him to where He wants us to be in those areas. We must be observant and pray to find out where He is working and what He wants us to do there.

Following Jesus has many rewards. In our verse for today, however, the Apostle John singles out one reward in particular. He tells us that the Father will honor us. We will be honored, perhaps not by men, but in accordance with the service to Jesus that we have rendered.

Labor with Jesus and work for the reward that does not perish or fade (1 Peter 1:4).
Bible in a Year
Old Testament Reading
Job 40, 41, 42


Job 40 -- Job Humbles Himself to God

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Job 41 -- God's Power Shown in Creatures

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Job 42 -- Job Confesses; God Makes His Friends Submit; God Blesses Job

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


New Testament Reading
Acts 15:22-41


Acts 15 -- The Council at Jerusalem; James' Support; Barnabas and Paul Part Ways; Second Missionary Journey begins

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library.
Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion
“No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.”
Insight
When the light of the truth about Jesus illuminates us, it is our duty to shine that light to help others.
Challenge
Our witness for Christ should be public, not hidden. We should not keep the benefits for ourselves alone but pass them on to others. In order to be helpful, we need to be well placed. Seek opportunities to be there when unbelievers need help.
Morning and Evening by Spurgeon
Psalm 103:2  Forget not all His benefits.

It is a delightful and profitable occupation to mark the hand of God in the lives of ancient saints, and to observe his goodness in delivering them, his mercy in pardoning them, and his faithfulness in keeping his covenant with them. But would it not be even more interesting and profitable for us to remark the hand of God in our own lives? Ought we not to look upon our own history as being at least as full of God, as full of his goodness and of his truth, as much a proof of his faithfulness and veracity, as the lives of any of the saints who have gone before? We do our Lord an injustice when we suppose that he wrought all his mighty acts, and showed himself strong for those in the early time, but doth not perform wonders or lay bare his arm for the saints who are now upon the earth. Let us review our own lives. Surely in these we may discover some happy incidents, refreshing to ourselves and glorifying to our God. Have you had no deliverances? Have you passed through no rivers, supported by the divine presence? Have you walked through no fires unharmed? Have you had no manifestations? Have you had no choice favors? The God who gave Solomon the desire of his heart, hath he never listened to you and answered your requests? That God of lavish bounty of whom David sang, "Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things," hath he never satiated you with fatness? Have you never been made to lie down in green pastures? Have you never been led by the still waters? Surely the goodness of God has been the same to us as to the saints of old. Let us, then, weave his mercies into a song. Let us take the pure gold of thankfulness, and the jewels of praise and make them into another crown for the head of Jesus. Let our souls give forth music as sweet and as exhilarating as came from David's harp, while we praise the Lord whose mercy endureth forever.

Daily Light on the Daily Path
Zechariah 3:4  He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, "Remove the filthy garments from him." Again he said to him, "See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes."

Psalm 32:1  A Psalm of David. A Maskil. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered!

Isaiah 64:6  For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

Romans 7:18  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.

Colossians 3:25  For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.

Colossians 3:9,10  Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, • and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him--

Philippians 3:9  and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,

Luke 15:22  "But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;

Revelation 19:8  It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Isaiah 61:10  I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

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.

Evening July 8
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