Bible League: Living His Word "People will make weapons to fight against you, but their weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you, but anyone who speaks against you will be proved wrong."The LORD says, "That is what my servants get! They get the good things that come from me, their LORD. It pays to be a servant of the Lord, for one receives His great and mighty promises. Among them are the promises of our verse for today. Although there may be times when the weapons used to fight against us seem to prevail and there may be times when those who speak against us seem to succeed, we may grasp hold of these promises in faith and overcome. Our faith may use them as armor against the Enemy's attacks against us. Our faith may use them as shields to stop the "burning arrows that come from the Evil One" (Ephesians 6:16). The weapons that people make to fight against the people of God are not always the material weapons of war. The weapons could be anything. They could be spurious lawsuits, theft of something of value, the refusal to pay that which is due, the betrayal of a trust, unjust laws that undermine religious liberty, and a whole host of other possibilities. Although these weapons may be permitted for a time to prosper against us, they are ultimately doomed to failure. Just as the Israelites found a way of escape through the Red Sea, we shall find a way of escape as well. Further, the things that people say against the people of God are not always the boasts and threats of the armies arrayed before them. The things they say could be anything. They could be false accusations in a court of law, lies about our character, booming denunciations, deliberate misinterpretations of our intents and purposes, cheap put-downs in public, and a whole host of other possibilities. Although the things that are said may be permitted for a time to prosper against us, they are also ultimately doomed to failure. Just as the Lord rebuked Satan for accusing Joshua the high priest in Zechariah's vision (Zechariah 3:1-3), so shall the Lord rebuke those who speak against us. We are not fair-game for the weapons and words of those who come against us. The servants of the Lord are protected by the great and mighty promises of Isaiah 54:17. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingJob 1, 2, 3 Job 1 -- Job's Holiness; Satan's First Test: Loss of His Children and Goods NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 2 -- Job's Second Test: Job Loses His Health NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Job 3 -- Job's Lament NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Acts 7:1-19 Acts 7 -- Stephen's Speech, Stoning and Death NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion “For you ignore God's law and substitute your own tradition.”Then he said, “You skillfully sidestep God's law in order to hold on to your own tradition.” Insight Jesus wasn't against all tradition, but he was against those who made their traditions as important, if not more important, than God's Word. Good traditions shine a spotlight on God's Word, move us to obedient service, and help our hearts sing. They explain and reinforce the teachings of God. God's Word should always be the focus, and tradition a means of bringing that Word alive. Challenge Celebrate your traditions with the prayer that Christ would be exalted. Change your traditions if they become more important than God's Word. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Luke 11:27, 28 A certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.It is fondly imagined by some that it must have involved very special privileges to have been the mother of our Lord, because they supposed that she had the benefit of looking into his very heart in a way in which we cannot hope to do. There may be an appearance of plausibility in the supposition, but not much. We do not know that Mary knew more than others; what she did know she did well to lay up in her heart; but she does not appear from anything we read in the Evangelists to have been a better-instructed believer than any other of Christ's disciples. All that she knew we also may discover. Do you wonder that we should say so? Here is a text to prove it: "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and he will show them his covenant." Remember the Master's words--"Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you." So blessedly does this Divine Revealer of secrets tell us his heart, that he keepeth back nothing which is profitable to us; his own assurance is, "If it were not so, I would have told you." Doth he not this day manifest himself unto us as he doth not unto the world? It is even so; and therefore we will not ignorantly cry out, "Blessed is the womb that bare thee," but we will intelligently bless God that, having heard the Word and kept it, we have first of all as true a communion with the Saviour as the Virgin had, and in the second place as true an acquaintance with the secrets of his heart as she can be supposed to have obtained. Happy soul to be thus privileged! Daily Light on the Daily Path Numbers 10:33 Thus they set out from the mount of the LORD three days' journey, with the ark of the covenant of the LORD journeying in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them.Psalm 31:15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me. Psalm 47:4 He chooses our inheritance for us, The glory of Jacob whom He loves. Selah. Psalm 5:8 O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me. Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. Proverbs 3:6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. Psalm 23:1,2 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. • He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 103:13,14 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. • For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. Matthew 6:32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 1 Peter 5:7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 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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