Bible League: Living His Word The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more.— Zephaniah 3:15 NKJV Judgement does not last forever. Discipline is not meant to be a way of life. There are limits. There are limits to the Lord's judgment and to His discipline. He uses them as necessary, but His real goal is to dwell in peace with His people. "He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever" (Psalm 103:9). The reason why is that He is "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy" (Psalm 103:8). Contrary to what you might have thought, "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities" (Psalm 103:10). That's how you can know that the bad times are coming to an end. That's how you can know that the grip of your enemy will be lifted. "Behold, all those who were incensed against you shall be ashamed and disgraced; they shall be as nothing, and those who strive with you shall perish" (Isaiah 41:11). You thought you had been cast away, you thought it was going to last forever, but now you can see the end of the hardships and injustice. Instead of the fear and dismay of the past, the Lord is going to help you and uphold you with His righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). Further, the Lord is no longer going to stand far off from you. Just as He came close again to Israel, just as He dwelt again in their midst, He is going to dwell in your midst as well. Once again, it will be a shepherd and sheep situation. Once again, He will make you lie down in green pastures and lead you beside still waters. You will be free from want. He will restore your soul and He will cause you to walk in the ways of righteousness (Psalm 23:1-3). Many will see what the Lord has done for you, and they will put their trust in Him (Psalm 40:3). This disaster will be a thing of the past. You will not have to worry about it anymore, you will stand strong in confidence and assurance. And the Lord Himself will rejoice over you with gladness and with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingProverbs 3, 4 Proverbs 3 -- Don't forget my teaching; but let your heart keep my commandments: NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Proverbs 4 -- Listen, sons, to a father's instruction NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading 1 Corinthians 13 1 Corinthians 13 -- The Greatest of these is Love NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. Insight A healthy Christian community attracts people to Christ. The Jerusalem church's zeal for worship and brotherly love was contagious. A healthy, loving church will grow in numbers. Challenge What are you doing to make your church the kind of place that will attract others to Christ? Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Songs 1:7 Thou whom my soul loveth.It is well to be able, without any "if" or "but," to say of the Lord Jesus--"Thou whom my soul loveth." Many can only say of Jesus that they hope they love him; they trust they love him; but only a poor and shallow experience will be content to stay here. No one ought to give any rest to his spirit till he feels quite sure about a matter of such vital importance. We ought not to be satisfied with a superficial hope that Jesus loves us, and with a bare trust that we love him. The old saints did not generally speak with "buts," and "ifs," and "hopes," and "trusts," but they spoke positively and plainly. "I know whom I have believed," saith Paul. "I know that my Redeemer liveth," saith Job. Get positive knowledge of your love of Jesus, and be not satisfied till you can speak of your interest in him as a reality, which you have made sure by having received the witness of the Holy Spirit, and his seal upon your soul by faith. True love to Christ is in every case the Holy Spirit's work, and must be wrought in the heart by him. He is the efficient cause of it; but the logical reason why we love Jesus lies in himself. Why do we love Jesus? Because he first loved us. Why do we love Jesus? Because he "gave himself for us." We have life through his death; we have peace through his blood. Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor. Why do we love Jesus? Because of the excellency of his person. We are filled with a sense of his beauty! an admiration of his charms! a consciousness of his infinite perfection! His greatness, goodness, and loveliness, in one resplendent ray, combine to enchant the soul till it is so ravished that it exclaims, "Yea, he is altogether lovely." Blessed love this--a love which binds the heart with chains more soft than silk, and yet more firm than adamant! Daily Light on the Daily Path Exodus 13:7 "Unleavened bread shall be eaten throughout the seven days; and nothing leavened shall be seen among you, nor shall any leaven be seen among you in all your borders.Proverbs 8:13 "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 abstain from every form of evil. Hebrews 12:15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; Psalm 66:18 If I regard wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? • Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. • Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. 1 Corinthians 11:28 But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness." Hebrews 7:26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 1 John 3:5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 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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