Bible League: Living His Word But "he who glories, let him glory in the LORD." For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.If we are members of the church of Jesus Christ, if we have roles to play in the church and the kingdom of God, and if we achieve some success in these endeavors, then to whom should we give the glory? And, since the word translated as "glory" in our verse for today literally means "boast," who should we boast about? The answer, of course, is the LORD. It is the LORD who makes all this possible and it is the LORD who should be given the credit. On occasion, the Apostle Paul would boast about the things that he accomplished in the church (II Corinthians 11:16; II Corinthians 12:5). He did this, however, not to lift himself up in the eyes of church members, but to keep them from being led astray by certain false apostles that had infiltrated the church. Further, he never made any claim that what he accomplished was done on his own apart from the LORD. Indeed, he maintained that God's power was made manifest despite his weaknesses (II Corinthians 12:7-10). In order to bolster his teaching on this, Paul quotes the prophet Jeremiah: "he who glories, let him glory in the LORD" (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Anyone who gratuitously commends or boasts about himself is not approved by God. A person who does that is fundamentally mistaken about our place in the world. We are not independent agents who deserve all the credit for whatever we accomplish in life. We are mere "earthen vessels" that God uses in order to make His power and majesty known (II Corinthians 4:7-12). Further, it is whom the LORD commends that is approved by Him. The LORD delights in those who understand Him and know what He does in the earth. The LORD delights in the humble who give Him the credit. They are the ones that He approves of and they are the ones that He commends. The LORD likes to use the humble to accomplish His purposes in the earth because He knows that they will give credit where credit is due. There is no need to boast about yourself and what you have accomplished. If you glory in the LORD and boast about Him, then He will commend you and approve of you in the eyes of the world. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingEcclesiastes 10, 11, 12 Ecclesiastes 10 -- So does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ecclesiastes 11 -- Cast your bread on the waters; for you shall find it after many days. NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Ecclesiastes 12 -- Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 2 Corinthians 11 -- Paul Defends His Apostleship; Paul's Sufferings NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.Insight Christian hospitality differs from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host: The home must be spotless; the food must be well prepared and abundant; the host must appear relaxed and good-natured. Hospitality, by contrast, focuses on the guests. Their needs—whether for a place to stay, nourishing food, a listening ear, or acceptance—are the primary concern. Hospitality can happen in a messy home. It can happen around a dinner table where the main dish is canned soup. It can even happen while the host and the guest are doing chores together. Challenge Don't hesitate to offer hospitality just because you are too tired, too busy, or not wealthy enough to entertain. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Judges 7:20 The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.Gideon ordered his men to do two things: covering up a torch in an earthen pitcher, he bade them, at an appointed signal, break the pitcher and let the light shine, and then sound with the trumpet, crying, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon! the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" This is precisely what all Christians must do. First, you must shine; break the pitcher which conceals your light; throw aside the bushel which has been hiding your candle, and shine. Let your light shine before men; let your good works be such, that when men look upon you, they shall know that you have been with Jesus. Then there must be the sound, the blowing of the trumpet. There must be active exertions for the ingathering of sinners by proclaiming Christ crucified. Take the gospel to them; carry it to their door; put it in their way; do not suffer them to escape it; blow the trumpet right against their ears. Remember that the true war-cry of the Church is Gideon's watchword, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" God must do it, it is his own work. But we are not to be idle; instrumentality is to be used--"The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" If we only cry, "The sword of the Lord!" we shall be guilty of an idle presumption; and if we shout, "The sword of Gideon!" alone, we shall manifest idolatrous reliance on an arm of flesh: we must blend the two in practical harmony, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!" We can do nothing of ourselves, but we can do everything by the help of our God; let us, therefore, in his name determine to go out personally and serve with our flaming torch of holy example, and with our trumpet tones of earnest declaration and testimony, and God shall be with us, and Midian shall be put to confusion, and the Lord of hosts shall reign forever and ever. Daily Light on the Daily Path Proverbs 3:13 How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding.Proverbs 8:35 "For he who finds me finds life And obtains favor from the LORD. Jeremiah 9:23,24 Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; • but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD. Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Philippians 3:7,8 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. • More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, Colossians 2:3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Proverbs 8:14 "Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine. 1 Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, Proverbs 1:30 "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 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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