Bible League: Living His Word I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.The present era is an in-between time. We are in-between the inauguration of the Kingdom of God on earth at the first coming of Jesus Christ and its complete manifestation at His second coming. Jesus, for example, preached that the Kingdom of God had come to the people of His day (Luke 11:20), but He also said that we should pray "Your Kingdom come" (Matthew 6:10). The fact that we live in this in-between time means that we already see manifestations of God's kingdom everywhere, but it also means that we do not yet see the fullness of the Kingdom everywhere. There is a tension between the already and the not yet. We see great victories, but we also see great challenges and oppositions. We see healings of health, but we still see sickness and death. Given this state of affairs, it follows that the Christian life requires that we be able to handle whatever comes our way; it requires that we be able to handle the already and the not yet. In Philippians 4:10-13 Paul tells the Philippian church that he has learned how to handle one aspect of the already and the not yet. He has learned how to abound with everything he needs and he has learned how to suffer need. He has learned how to be full and how to be hungry. It is in this context that he says "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Paul is not saying that he can do whatever he wants whenever he wants because of Christ's strengthening; he's saying he can handle the already and the not yet of the Christian life. What Paul had learned was how to be content no matter what state he was in (Philippians 4:11). He did not complain when he was in need and he did not complain when he was abounding. Jesus Christ's presence through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit enabled him to stay in control of himself no matter what came his way. Whether in an already situation or a not yet situation, there will be temptations to complain today. Let us learn, like Paul, how to do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingDeuteronomy 23, 24, 25 Deuteronomy 23 -- List of Those Excluded from the Assembly NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Deuteronomy 24 -- Law of Divorce, Leprosy, Justice and Charity NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Deuteronomy 25 -- Laws of Stripes, Oxen, Seed, Modesty, Weights and Measures NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 14:51-72 Mark 14 -- Jesus Anointed; Last Supper; Gethsemane; Judas Betrays Jesus; Jesus before the Sanhedrin, disowned by Peter NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion With God's help we will do mighty things,for he will trample down our foes. Insight Do our prayers end with requests for help to make it through stressful situations? David prayed not merely for rescue, but for victory. With God's help we can claim more than mere survival—we can claim victory! Challenge Look for ways God can use your distress as an opportunity to show his mighty power. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 1 Corinthians 10:12 Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.It is a curious fact, that there is such a thing as being proud of grace. A man says, "I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall." "I have fervent love," says another, "I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray." He who boasts of grace has little grace to boast of. Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, knowing not that the stream must flow constantly from the fountain head, or else the brook will soon be dry. If a continuous stream of oil comes not to the lamp, though it burn brightly today, it will smoke to-morrow, and noxious will be its scent. Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and his strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling. Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men's souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of him; and when that happy day shall come, when he whom you love shall say, "Come up higher," may it be your happiness to hear him say, "Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away." On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, "Uphold me according to thy word." He is able, and he alone, "To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Daily Light on the Daily Path Titus 2:10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.Philippians 1:27 Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; 1 Thessalonians 5:22 abstain from every form of evil. 1 Peter 4:14,15 If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. • Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; Philippians 2:15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, Matthew 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Proverbs 3:3,4 Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. • So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. 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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