Bible League: Living His Word "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." — Luke 10:20 NKJV In Luke 10, the Lord Jesus sends out 70 of His followers to heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God to them. Jesus motivates their mission with the well-known words, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few" (v. 2). Although 70 people stand ready to fulfill the commission, Jesus says more workers are needed. Today, this reminder is as relevant as it was in the days of the New Testament. Therefore, pause a while now and "pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:38). While re-reading this chapter, it struck me that Luke writes that Jesus sent the disciples "before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go" (Luke 10:1). I think that is an essential reminder for us as we put ourselves at His disposal. We go where He is about to go. We don't plan out our missionary activities, He does! It's a lesson in dependence, too, but not without a promise: they go "before His face." He sees them when they go out. He follows them with His eyes. We can trust that the LORD will make His face shine upon us (Numbers 6:25) as we go out in His service. The 70 heal the sick, preach the kingdom, and when they return, they are full of joy. "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name," they say in verse 17. Jesus' response is surprising. "Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you." What? They can't rejoice? They are so excited about the great things they have done in His name, but Jesus doesn't want them to rejoice. Why? Could it be that the danger of boasting lurked? The Apostle Paul warns a lot about boasting, so that's definitely something we need to be cautious about. Or maybe the 70 focused too much on the spectacular things that happened, losing sight of what really mattered? That certainly is a pitfall, even today. Our hearts are prone to excitement about miracles, signs, and wonders. Yes, these occur in the work of God's kingdom, but they are not objectives in themselves. Jesus teaches us what really matters. He says, "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." What really matters is that Jesus has brought us salvation through His death and resurrection. Jesus has opened the entrance to heaven for us. Through Him, our names are in the Book of Life. That is our paramount source of joy! Anything else, however exciting, is subordinate to the unfathomable miracle of eternal salvation. Let us rejoice that our names are written in heaven, and may we be instruments in the Lord's hands to add more names to the Book of Life so that His house may be filled (Luke 14:23)! By Anton de Vreugd, Bible League International staff, the Netherlands Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingNumbers 32, 33 Numbers 32 -- Reubenites and Gadites Settle in Gilead NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Numbers 33 -- Summary of Israel's Journey NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Mark 10:1-31 Mark 10 -- Divorce; Let the little children; Rich Young Ruler; Jesus Predicts His Death; James and John's Request; Blind Bart NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion For he issued his laws to Jacob;he gave his instructions to Israel. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, Insight God commanded that the stories of his mighty acts in Israel's history—and his laws—be passed on from parents to children. This shows the purpose and importance of religious education: to help each generation obey God and set its hope on him. It is important to keep children from repeating the same mistakes as their ancestors. Challenge What are you doing to pass on the history of God's work to the next generation? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon 2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for thee.If none of God's saints were poor and tried, we should not know half so well the consolations of divine grace. When we find the wanderer who has not where to lay his head, who yet can say, "Still will I trust in the Lord;" when we see the pauper starving on bread and water, who still glories in Jesus; when we see the bereaved widow overwhelmed in affliction, and yet having faith in Christ, oh! what honor it reflects on the gospel. God's grace is illustrated and magnified in the poverty and trials of believers. Saints bear up under every discouragement, believing that all things work together for their good, and that out of apparent evils a real blessing shall ultimately spring--that their God will either work a deliverance for them speedily, or most assuredly support them in the trouble, as long as he is pleased to keep them in it. This patience of the saints proves the power of divine grace. There is a lighthouse out at sea: it is a calm night--I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm; the tempest must rage about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with the Spirit's work: if it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we should not know that it was true and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, we should not know how firm and secure it was. The master-works of God are those men who stand in the midst of difficulties, stedfast, unmoveable,-- "Calm mid the bewildering cry, Confident of victory." He who would glorify his God must set his account upon meeting with many trials. No man can be illustrious before the Lord unless his conflicts be many. If then, yours be a much-tried path, rejoice in it, because you will the better show forth the all-sufficient grace of God. As for his failing you, never dream of it--hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end. Daily Light on the Daily Path Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.1 John 2:15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. • "But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; • for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight-- 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. • For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, • while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 1 Peter 1:4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. 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