The Experiential Key

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

We know that faith in God’s future grace is the experiential key to generosity, because in 2 Corinthians, Paul holds out this wonderful promise: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

In other words, if you want to be free from the need to stash away your money, if you want to overflow with an abundance (of grace!) for every good work, then put your faith in future grace. Trust the promise that “God is able to make all grace abound to you” in every future moment for this very purpose.

I just called faith in future grace the “experiential key” to generosity, so as not to deny that there is a historical key as well. There is a key of experience, and a key of history. When talking about the grace they received, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the historical key of grace, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Without this historical work of grace, the door of Christ-exalting generosity would remain closed. That past grace is an indispensable key to love.

But notice how the past grace in this verse functions. It is made the foundation (Christ became poor) of future grace (that we might become rich). Thus the historical key to our generosity operates by putting a foundation under the experiential key of faith in future grace.

Thus, the experiential key to love and generosity is this: Put your faith firmly in future grace — namely, that “God is able (in the future) to make all (future) grace abound to you” — so that your needs are met, and so that you will be able to overflow with the love of generosity.

Freedom from greed comes from the deeply satisfying faith in God’s future grace.

John Piper 

Jan.12

1 Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east.

2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well's mouth was large,

3 and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well.

4 Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where do you come from?" They said, "We are from Haran."

5 He said to them, "Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him."

6 He said to them, "Is it well with him?" They said, "It is well; and see, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep!"

7 He said, "Behold, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered together. Water the sheep and go, pasture them."

8 But they said, "We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep."

9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess.

10 Now as soon as Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob came near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother.

11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud.

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kinsman, and that he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father.

13 As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he ran to meet him and embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob told Laban all these things,

14 and Laban said to him, "Surely you are my bone and my flesh!" And he stayed with him a month.

15 Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?"

16 Now Laban had two daughters. The name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance.

18 Jacob loved Rachel. And he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel."

19 Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me."

20 So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

21 Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed."

22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast.

23 But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob, and he went in to her.

24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.)

25 And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?"

26 Laban said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.

27 Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years."

28 Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.)

30 So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

31 When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, "Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me."

33 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.

34 Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

35 And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "This time I will praise the LORD." Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing. - Genesis 29

1 When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she envied her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children, or I shall die!"

2 Jacob's anger was kindled against Rachel, and he said, "Am I in the place of God, who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb?"

3 Then she said, "Here is my servant Bilhah; go in to her, so that she may give birth on my behalf, that even I may have children through her."

4 So she gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob went in to her.

5 And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son.

6 Then Rachel said, "God has judged me, and has also heard my voice and given me a son." Therefore she called his name Dan.

7 Rachel's servant Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son.

8 Then Rachel said, "With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister and have prevailed." So she called his name Naphtali.

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.

10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son.

11 And Leah said, "Good fortune has come!" so she called his name Gad.

12 Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, "Happy am I! For women have called me happy." So she called his name Asher.

14 In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes."

15 But she said to her, "Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes also?" Rachel said, "Then he may lie with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

16 When Jacob came from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, "You must come in to me, for I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he lay with her that night.

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18 Leah said, "God has given me my wages because I gave my servant to my husband." So she called his name Issachar.

19 And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son.

20 Then Leah said, "God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons." So she called his name Zebulun.

21 Afterward she bore a daughter and called her name Dinah.

22 Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her and opened her womb.

23 She conceived and bore a son and said, "God has taken away my reproach."

24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, "May the LORD add to me another son!"

25 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country.

26 Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you."

27 But Laban said to him, "If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you.

28 Name your wages, and I will give it."

29 Jacob said to him, "You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has fared with me.

30 For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?"

31 He said, "What shall I give you?" Jacob said, "You shall not give me anything. If you will do this for me, I will again pasture your flock and keep it:

32 let me pass through all your flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and they shall be my wages.

33 So my honesty will answer for me later, when you come to look into my wages with you. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs, if found with me, shall be counted stolen."

34 Laban said, "Good! Let it be as you have said."

35 But that day Laban removed the male goats that were striped and spotted, and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one that had white on it, and every lamb that was black, and put them in the charge of his sons.

36 And he set a distance of three days' journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban's flock.

37 Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks.

38 He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

39 the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted.

40 And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban's flock.

41 Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks,

42 but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

43 Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys. - Genesis 30

1 Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. 

2 Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 

3 May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 

4 those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?" 

5 "Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise," says the LORD; "I will place him in the safety for which he longs." 

6 The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. 

7 You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever. 

8 On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man.  - Psalms 12

39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,

40 saying to Aaron, 'Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.

42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: "'Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 

43 You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.' 

44 "Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen.

45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David,

46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.

48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49 "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 

50 Did not my hand make all these things?' 

51 "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.

52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,

53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.

55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

56 And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.

58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."

60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. - Acts 7:39-60

21 "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'

22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

27 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

31 "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'

32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. - Matthew 5:21-32

Passionate for God and Truth

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” (Romans 3:3–4)

Our concern with truth is an inevitable expression of our concern with God. If God exists, then he is the measure of all things, and what he thinks about all things is the measure of what we should think.

Not to care about truth is not to care about God. To love God passionately is to love truth passionately. Being God-centered in life means being truth-driven in ministry. What is not true is not of God.

Ponder these four sets of texts on God and truth:

1) God Is the Truth

Romans 3:3–4 (God the Father): “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar.”

John 14:6 (God the Son): Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 15:26 (God the Spirit): “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”

2) Not Loving the Truth Is Eternally Ruinous

Second Thessalonians 2:10: The wicked will perish “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

3) Christian Living Is Based on Knowledge of the Truth

First Corinthians 6:15–16: “Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her?”

4) The Body of Christ Is Built with Truth in Love

Colossians 1:28: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.”

May God make us passionate for him and for truth.

John Piper 

God Isn’t Finished With You

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’”... (Jeremiah 18:5-6)

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God the Potter has the clay upon His wheel—but something happens. It’s marred. It’s ruined. Did God make a mistake? The problem is not in the hands of the Potter. The problem is in the clay. Now, what could be the problem in the clay? First, there might be some rock, some hidden impurity keeping the vessel from becoming what it ought to be. There may be some hidden impurity in your life, marring what God wants to do. Or it may just be that the clay is not broken enough. The clay is too stiff. The clay does not yield to the hand of the Potter. What is clay to do in the hand of the potter? We are to yield.

ACTION POINT:

Are you yielded? Can God form and shape you and make out of you what He wants? We must be willing to say, “Lord, You are the Potter, I’m the clay; mold me, make me after Thy will” (from the hymn “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”). Have you said, “Lord, here I am. Make of me what You wish. Do with me what You will”? Most of us dare not dream what we could be if we would allow God to have His way in our lives.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Jan.11

1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am."

2 He said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death.

3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me,

4 and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die."

5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it,

6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father speak to your brother Esau,

7 'Bring me game and prepare for me delicious food, that I may eat it and bless you before the LORD before I die.'

8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice as I command you.

9 Go to the flock and bring me two good young goats, so that I may prepare from them delicious food for your father, such as he loves.

10 And you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies."

11 But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing."

13 His mother said to him, "Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, bring them to me."

14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared delicious food, such as his father loved.

15 Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

16 And the skins of the young goats she put on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.

17 And she put the delicious food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 So he went in to his father and said, "My father." And he said, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"

19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me."

20 But Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success."

21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not."

22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands. So he blessed him.

24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answered, "I am."

25 Then he said, "Bring it near to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you." So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son."

27 So he came near and kissed him. And Isaac smelled the smell of his garments and blessed him and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed! 

28 May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth and plenty of grain and wine. 

29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!" 

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me."

32 His father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son, your firstborn, Esau."

33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, "Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."

34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me, even me also, O my father!"

35 But he said, "Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing."

36 Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?"

37 Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him lord over you, and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?"

38 Esau said to his father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. 

40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck." 

41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

42 But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself about you by planning to kill you.

43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice. Arise, flee to Laban my brother in Haran

44 and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away-

45 until your brother's anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one day?"

46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I loathe my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women like these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?" - Genesis 27

1 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women.

2 Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother's father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother's brother.

3 God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples.

4 May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you, that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings that God gave to Abraham!"

5 Thus Isaac sent Jacob away. And he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

6 Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he directed him, "You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women,"

7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram.

8 So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father,

9 Esau went to Ishmael and took as his wife, besides the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham's son, the sister of Nebaioth.

10 Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran.

11 And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep.

12 And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

13 And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, "I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring.

14 Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

15 Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. For I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

16 Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

17 And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."

18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.

20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,

21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God,

22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you." - Genesis 28

1 In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a bird to your mountain, 

2 for behold, the wicked bend the bow; they have fitted their arrow to the string to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart; 

3 if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" 

4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD's throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man. 

5 The LORD tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence. 

6 Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. 

7 For the LORD is righteous; he loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold his face.  - Psalms 11

1 And the high priest said, "Are these things so?"

2 And Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 

3 and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.'

4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living.

5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.

6 And God spoke to this effect-that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.

7 'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.'

8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 "And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him

10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.

11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.

12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.

13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.

14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.

15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers,

16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 "But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt

18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.

19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.

20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house,

21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.

22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

23 "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.

25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.

26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?'

27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?

28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'

29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

30 "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.

31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:

32 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

33 Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.

34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.'

35 "This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'-this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.

37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.'

38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. - Acts 7:1-38

13 "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. - Matthew 5:13-20

What Might Happen to You on the Potter’s Wheel?

BIBLE MEDITATION:

“Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?’ says the Lord. ‘Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!’”... Jeremiah 18:5-6

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:

God the Potter has the clay upon His wheel—but something happens. It’s marred. It’s ruined. Did God make a mistake? The problem is not in the hands of the Potter. The problem is in the clay. Now, what could be the problem in the clay? First, there might be some rock, some hidden impurity keeping the vessel from becoming what it ought to be. There may be some hidden impurity in your life, marring what God wants to do. Or it may just be that the clay is not broken enough. The clay is too stiff. The clay does not yield to the hand of the Potter. What is clay to do in the hand of the potter? We are to yield.

ACTION POINT:

Are you yielded? Can God form and shape you and make out of you what He wants? We must be willing to say, “Lord, You are the Potter, I’m the clay; mold me, make me after Thy will” (from the hymn “Have Thine Own Way, Lord”). Have you said, “Lord, here I am. Make of me what You wish. Do with me what You will”? Most of us dare not dream what we could be if we would allow God to have His way in our lives.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

How Believers Will Be Judged

I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12)

What about the last judgment? Will our sins be remembered? Will they be revealed? Anthony Hoekema puts it wisely like this: “The failures and shortcomings of . . . believers . . . will enter into the picture on the Day of Judgment. But — and this is the important point — the sins and shortcomings of believers will be revealed in the judgment as forgiven sins, whose guilt has been totally covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.”

Picture it like this. God has a file on every person (the “books” of Revelation 20:12). All you’ve ever done or said (Matthew 12:36) is recorded there with a grade (from “A” to “F”). When you stand before “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10) to be judged “for what [you have] done in the body, whether good or evil,” God will open the file and lay out the tests with their grades. He will pull out all the “F’s” and put them in a pile. Then he will take all the “D’s” and “C’s” and pull the good parts of the test out and place them with the “A’s”, then put the bad with the “F’s.” Then he will take all the “B’s” and “A’s” and pull the bad parts out of them and put them in the “F” pile, and put all the good parts in the “A” pile.

Then he will open another file (“the book of life”) and find your name, because you are in Christ through faith. Behind your name will be a wood-stick match made from the cross of Jesus. He will take the match, light it, and set the “F” pile, with all your failures and deficiencies, on fire and burn them up. They will not condemn you, and they will not reward you.

Then he will take from your “book of life” file a sealed envelope marked “free and gracious bonus: life!” and put it on the “A” pile (see Mark 4:24 and Luke 6:38). Then he will hold up the entire pile and declare, “By this your life bears witness to the grace of my Father, the worth of my blood, and the fruit of my Spirit. These bear witness that your life is eternal. And according to these you will have your rewards. Enter into the everlasting joy of your Master.”

John Piper