Saturday, January 16, 2021

Pursue Others as God Pursued You


BIBLE MEDITATION


“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT


The Lord Jesus said, “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault” (Matthew 18:15). You say, “He’s the one that did wrong. If he wants forgiveness let him come and ask for it.” But Jesus said, “No, you go to him.” Whether you are in the right or whether you are in the wrong, as a child of God, you are to go to that individual. Isn’t that what God did in the Garden of Eden? Adam and Eve sinned against God and the Bible tells us that God came looking for them: “Adam, where are you?” (See Genesis 3.) That was not the voice of a detective. That was the voice of God, who pursues us to forgive us.


ACTION POINT


Stop right now and ask God to show you if you have an unforgiving spirit toward someone. Then, in His power and strength, grant forgiveness. It’s going to be impossible in your strength, but remember, God does the impossible.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Words for the Wind


“Do you think that you can reprove words, when the speech of a despairing man is wind?” (Job 6:26)


In grief and pain and despair, people often say things they otherwise would not say. They paint reality with darker strokes than they will paint it tomorrow, when the sun comes up. They sing in minor keys, and talk as though that is the only music. They see clouds only, and speak as if there were no sky.


They say, “Where is God?” Or: “There is no use to go on.” Or: “Nothing makes any sense.” Or: “There’s no hope for me.” Or: “If God were good, this couldn’t have happened.”


What shall we do with these words?


Job says that we do not need to reprove them. These words are wind, or literally “for the wind.” They will be quickly blown away. There will come a turn in circumstances, and the despairing person will waken from the dark night, and regret hasty words.


Therefore, the point is, let us not spend our time and energy reproving such words. They will be blown away of themselves on the wind. One need not clip the leaves in autumn. It is a wasted effort. They will soon blow off of themselves.


Oh, how quickly we are given to defending God, or sometimes the truth, from words that are only for the wind. If we had discernment, we could tell the difference between the words with roots and the words blowing in the wind.


There are words with roots in deep error and deep evil. But not all grey words get their color from a black heart. Some are colored mainly by the pain, the despair. What you hear is not the deepest thing within. There is something real and dark within where they come from. But it is temporary — like a passing infection — real, painful, but not the true person.


So, let us learn to discern whether the words spoken against us, or against God, or against the truth, are merely for the wind — spoken not from the soul, but from the sore. If they are for the wind, let us wait in silence and not reprove. Restoring the soul, not reproving the sore, is the aim of our love.



John Piper 

January 16

1 These are the generations of Esau (that is, Edom).
2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite,
3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.
4 And Adah bore to Esau, Eliphaz; Basemath bore Reuel;
5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the members of his household, his livestock, all his beasts, and all his property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went into a land away from his brother Jacob.
7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together. The land of their sojournings could not support them because of their livestock.
8 So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir. (Esau is Edom.)
9 These are the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir.
10 These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.
11 The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
12 (Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz.) These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.
13 These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
14 These are the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.
15 These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz the firstborn of Esau: the chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,
16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.
17 These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son: the chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
18 These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: the chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the chiefs born of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, Esau's wife.
19 These are the sons of Esau (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.
20 These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.
22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan's sister was Timna.
23 These are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.
24 These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah; he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father.
25 These are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.
26 These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.
27 These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
28 These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29 These are the chiefs of the Horites: the chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,
30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan; these are the chiefs of the Horites, chief by chief in the land of Seir.
31 These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, before any king reigned over the Israelites.
32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, the name of his city being Dinhabah.
33 Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.
34 Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
35 Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned in his place, the name of his city being Avith.
36 Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.
37 Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the Euphrates reigned in his place.
38 Shaul died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
39 Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar reigned in his place, the name of his city being Pau; his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab.
40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans and their dwelling places, by their names: the chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,
41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,
42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,
43 Magdiel, and Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom (that is, Esau, the father of Edom), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. - Genesis 36

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 
2 I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." 
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. 
5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. 
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. 
7 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. 
8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. 
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. 
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. 
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.  - Psalms 16

20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."
21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?"
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,
25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.
27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.
28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.
30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda.
33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed.
34 And Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed." And immediately he rose.
35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, "Please come to us without delay."
39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them.
40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.
42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.
43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. - Acts 9:20-43

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - Matthew 6:25-34

Friday, January 15, 2021

Praise God Through the Alphabet


This was fun but hard!!



Almighty, Ancient of days, Alpha

Beginning, Bread of life

Christ Alone, cross, Chosen One, call sinners to repentance 

Death to life

Eternal, Everlasting, End, Emmanuel 

Faithful, 

God, grace 

Hallelujah, Hosanna, High Priest

Incarnate, I Am

Jesus, Jehovah 

King

Lord, love, Lamb of God, light

Magnificent, Melchizedek, Messiah, Master, mercy 

Near drawing

Omnipresent, Omega 

Ever Present help, Prince of peace, power of God

Quench our thirst 

Redeemer, Rabboni

Strong, bright Star, salvation, sight to the blind, substitute, Son, stumbling block to the Jews, set apart, sustainer, Son of man

Timeless

Unequaled

Victory 

Wonder, Worthy, Witness, wisdom of God

X

Yahweh 

Zealous

Listening in the Silence


When you can barely breathe in the midst of turmoil, listen in the silence.

He is there.

Drawing you.

Calling you to be still and know that He is God!

He is faithful!


"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"  - Psalm 46:10


1 For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. 

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.  - Psalm 62:1-2


For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.  - Psalm 62:5


Do You Have Real Security?


BIBLE MEDITATION


“Give us this day our daily bread.” Matthew 6:11

 

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT


A philosopher once said, “To whom little is not enough, nothing is enough.” I know what I want and I know what you want. I want to have some money in the bank and I want to have something there so that when tomorrow comes, then I don’t have to worry about it. Isn’t that what you want? We call that security. Question: is that really security? Who is more secure—the man who has a warehouse full of stale bread that the rats or thieves can get, or the man who has a father who is a very, very rich baker?


ACTION POINT


Begin your prayer time today with the Lord’s Prayer and ask Him to help you be content. Bow before Him in humble adoration of His provision in your life. Then, share the Bread of Life with someone who is hungry today.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Freeness of Grace


But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4–6)


The decisive act of God in conversion is that he “made us alive together with Christ” even when “we were dead in our trespasses.” In other words, we were dead to God. We were unresponsive; we had no true spiritual taste or interest; we had no spiritual eyes for the beauties of Christ; we were simply dead to all that ultimately matters.


Then God acted — unconditionally — before we could do anything to be fit vessels of his presence. He made us alive. He sovereignly awakened us from the sleep of spiritual death, to see the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The spiritual senses that were dead, miraculously came to life.


Ephesians 2:4 says that this was an act of “mercy.” That is, God saw us in our deadness and pitied us. God saw the terrible wages of sin leading to eternal death and misery. “God, being rich in mercy . . . made us alive.” And the riches of his mercy overflowed to us in our need. But what is so remarkable about this text is that Paul breaks the flow of his own sentence in order to insert, “by grace you have been saved.” “God . . . made us alive together with Christ — by grace you have been saved — and raised us up with him.”


Paul is going to say this again in verse 8. So why does he break the flow of his own sentence in order to add it here? What’s more, the focus is on God’s mercy responding to our miserable plight of deadness; so why does Paul go out of his way to say that it is also by grace that we are saved?


I think the answer is that Paul recognizes that here is a perfect opportunity to emphasize the freeness of grace. As he describes our dead condition before conversion, he realizes that dead people can’t meet conditions. If they are to live, there must be a totally unconditional and utterly free act of God to save them. This freedom is the very heart of grace.


What act could be more one-sidedly free and non-negotiated than one person raising another from the dead! This is the meaning of grace.



John Piper