Sunday, September 29, 2024

Bible Study


Isaiah 49:2


    [2] He made my mouth like a sharp sword;

        in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

    he made me a polished arrow;

        in his quiver he hid me away.


Hebrews 4:12-13


[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [13] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.


2 Corinthians 6:7


[7] by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;


Hosea 6:5


    [5] Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

        I have slain them by the words of my mouth,

        and my judgment goes forth as the light.

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Are You Thankful or Worried?



“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” 

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

 

PONDER THIS


We all need to reflect on the Lord’s provision. If you ask God for more and don’t thank Him for what He’s already done, I doubt your prayers will be answered in the way you hope. Did you know that there’s no higher expression of faith than thanksgiving? And worry is the highest expression of unbelief. It is time to refuse to worry. We can tell God about our worries but thank Him for what He has done and for what He’s already planning to do.


Look at the Apostle Paul. He encouraged a spirit of thanksgiving when he was in a slimy dungeon. Why? Because of the blessing that he had. Sometimes we just have to put things into perspective. We get to feeling sorry for ourselves, and we fail to understand the blessings of God. The word “think” and the word “thank” are related.


Unthankful people are always unhappy people. And some people are grumbly hateful rather than being humbly grateful. I think we’ve all met them. They are filled with bitterness, fear, negativity, selfishness, and self-pity. But we don't take things for granted, we take them with gratitude. If you are in a dungeon, thank Him for your spiritual blessings. If you are in a dungeon, thank Him for the simple blessings. Rejoice in the presence of the Lord; rely on the power of the Lord; and reflect on the provision of the Lord.


What has God provided for you that you often take for granted?

What is an area of life where you struggle to see the blessings of God?


PRACTICE THIS


Lift up to God your gratitude and worries in prayer.


LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Our Good Is His Glory

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)


One common objection to Christian Hedonism is that it puts the interests of man above the glory of God — that it puts my happiness above God’s honor. But Christian Hedonism most emphatically does not do this.


To be sure, we Christian Hedonists endeavor to pursue our interest and our happiness with all our might. We endorse the resolution of the young Jonathan Edwards: “Resolved: To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”


But we have learned from the Bible (and from Edwards!) that God’s interest is to magnify the fullness of his glory by spilling over in mercy to us — to us sinners, who desperately need him.


Therefore, the pursuit of our interest and our happiness, even if it costs us our lives, is never above God’s interest and God’s happiness and God’s glory, but always in God’s. One of the most precious truths in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him — in him!


When we humble ourselves like little children and put on no airs of self-sufficiency, but run happily into the joy of our Father’s embrace, the glory of his grace is magnified and the longing of our soul is satisfied. Our interest and his glory become one.


When Jesus promises in Matthew 6:6, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” this is a reward he wants us to seek. He does not lure us with joy we shouldn’t have! But this reward — this joy — is the overflow of turning away from human praise, and going into our closet to seek God.


Therefore, Christian Hedonists do not put their happiness above God’s glory. They put their happiness in God himself and discover the glorious truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.


 

John Piper

Bible Study


Matthew 6:17-21


[17] But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18] that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


Lay Up Treasures in Heaven


[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


Matthew 6:4-5


[4] so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.


The Lord’s Prayer


[5] “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.


Isaiah 26:20-21


    [20] Come, my people, enter your chambers,

        and shut your doors behind you;

    hide yourselves for a little while

        until the fury has passed by. 

    [21] For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place

        to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,

    and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,

        and will no more cover its slain.


2 Kings 4:33-34


[33] So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. [34] Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm.

Friday, September 27, 2024

Do You Have Strongholds that Keep You from Victory?


“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

2 CORINTHIANS 10:4-5

 

PONDER THIS


What is a stronghold? It’s a fortress with walls of resistance. What types of resistance are in the hearts and minds of people? Arrogance, ignorance, despair—these are the strongholds. Demonic thoughts are organized and mobilized; the demonized armies of Hell are inside that stronghold. Paul said, “That needs to be pulled down.”


And then he mentioned high things. Do you see that? Look in verse 5, “casting down . . . every high thing.” What’s he talking about there? He’s not talking about intelligence but intellectualism—high-minded attitudes and pride. Paul said we are to tear down those walls of pride and arrogance and every thought related to them. We are going to address the root of our pride when we handle it as Paul said. We can’t just destroy the structure. Every brick and every thought must be dealt with.


What is some evidence of arrogance in your life?

How have you dealt with pride in the past? What do you need to change based on this passage?


PRACTICE THIS


Spend the day looking to the interests of others and helping them.



LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Power of a Superior Promise




I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts. (Psalm 119:45, my translation)


An essential element of joy is freedom. None of us would be happy if we were not free from what we hate and free for what we love.


And where do we find true freedom? Psalm 119:45 says, “I shall walk in freedom, for I have sought your precepts.”


The picture is one of open spaces. The word frees us from smallness of mind. “God gave Solomon . . . breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). The word frees us from threatening confinements. “He brought me out into a broad place” (Psalm 18:19).


Jesus says, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). The freedom he has in mind is freedom from the slavery of sin (John 8:34). Or, to put it positively, it is freedom for holiness.


The promises of God’s grace provide the power that makes the demands of God’s holiness an experience of freedom rather than fear and confinement. Peter described the freeing power of God’s promises like this: “Through [his precious and very great promises] you become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:4).


In other words, when we trust the promises of God, we sever the root of corruption and sinful desire by the power of a superior promise.


How crucial is the word that breaks the power of counterfeit pleasures! And how vigilant we should be to light our paths and load our hearts with the word of God!


“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).



John Piper 

Bible Study


Ephesians 6:11


[11] Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.


1 Thessalonians 5:8


[8] But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.


2 Corinthians 13:2-6


[2] I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them—[3] since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. [4] For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.


[5] Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! [6] I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.


1 Corinthians 2:5


[5] so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.