October 6

John 2:1-11

The Wedding at Cana

[1] On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. [2] Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. [3] When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” [4] And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” [5] His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

[6] Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. [7] Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. [8] And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. [9] When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom [10] and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” [11] This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

James 3:1-12

Taming the Tongue

[1] Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. [2] For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. [3] If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. [4] Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. [5] So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. 

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!  [6] And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. [7] For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, [8] but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. [9] With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. [10] From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. [11] Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? [12] Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.

Ecclesiastes 4

Evil Under the Sun

[1] Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold, the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power, and there was no one to comfort them. [2] And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive. [3] But better than both is he who has not yet been and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.

[4] Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind.

[5] The fool folds his hands and eats his own flesh.

[6] Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.

[7] Again, I saw vanity under the sun: [8] one person who has no other, either son or brother, yet there is no end to all his toil, and his eyes are never satisfied with riches, so that he never asks, “For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?” This also is vanity and an unhappy business.

[9] Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. [10] For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! [11] Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? [12] And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

[13] Better was a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice. [14] For he went from prison to the throne, though in his own kingdom he had been born poor. [15] I saw all the living who move about under the sun, along with that youth who was to stand in the king’s place. [16] There was no end of all the people, all of whom he led. Yet those who come later will not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and a striving after wind.

Jeremiah 12

Jeremiah’s Complaint

    [1] Righteous are you, O LORD,

        when I complain to you;

        yet I would plead my case before you.

    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

        Why do all who are treacherous thrive? 

    [2] You plant them, and they take root;

        they grow and produce fruit;

    you are near in their mouth

        and far from their heart. 

    [3] But you, O LORD, know me;

        you see me, and test my heart toward you.

    Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

        and set them apart for the day of slaughter. 

    [4] How long will the land mourn

        and the grass of every field wither?

    For the evil of those who dwell in it

        the beasts and the birds are swept away,

        because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

    The LORD Answers Jeremiah

    [5] “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,

        how will you compete with horses?

    And if in a safe land you are so trusting,

        what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? 

    [6] For even your brothers and the house of your father,

        even they have dealt treacherously with you;

        they are in full cry after you;

    do not believe them,

        though they speak friendly words to you.”

    [7] “I have forsaken my house;

        I have abandoned my heritage;

    I have given the beloved of my soul

        into the hands of her enemies. 

    [8] My heritage has become to me

        like a lion in the forest;

    she has lifted up her voice against me;

        therefore I hate her. 

    [9] Is my heritage to me like a hyena’s lair?

        Are the birds of prey against her all around?

    Go, assemble all the wild beasts;

        bring them to devour. 

    [10] Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;

        they have trampled down my portion;

    they have made my pleasant portion

        a desolate wilderness. 

    [11] They have made it a desolation;

        desolate, it mourns to me.

    The whole land is made desolate,

        but no man lays it to heart. 

    [12] Upon all the bare heights in the desert

        destroyers have come,

    for the sword of the LORD devours

        from one end of the land to the other;

        no flesh has peace. 

    [13] They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;

        they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

    They shall be ashamed of their harvests

        because of the fierce anger of the LORD.”

    [14] Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. [15] And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. [16] And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. [17] But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.”

Jeremiah 13

The Ruined Loincloth

[1] Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” [2] So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. [3] And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, [4] “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” [5] So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. [6] And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” [7] Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.

[8] Then the word of the LORD came to me: [9] “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. [10] This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. [11] For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

[12] “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ [13] Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [14] And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

    [15] Hear and give ear; be not proud,

        for the LORD has spoken. 

    [16] Give glory to the LORD your God

        before he brings darkness,

    before your feet stumble

        on the twilight mountains,

    and while you look for light

        he turns it into gloom

        and makes it deep darkness. 

    [17] But if you will not listen,

        my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

    my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,

        because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.

    [18] Say to the king and the queen mother:

        “Take a lowly seat,

    for your beautiful crown

        has come down from your head.” 

    [19] The cities of the Negeb are shut up,

        with none to open them;

    all Judah is taken into exile,

        wholly taken into exile.

    [20] “Lift up your eyes and see

        those who come from the north.

    Where is the flock that was given you,

        your beautiful flock? 

    [21] What will you say when they set as head over you

        those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?

    Will not pangs take hold of you

        like those of a woman in labor? 

    [22] And if you say in your heart,

        ‘Why have these things come upon me?’

    it is for the greatness of your iniquity

        that your skirts are lifted up

        and you suffer violence. 

    [23] Can the Ethiopian change his skin

        or the leopard his spots?

    Then also you can do good

        who are accustomed to do evil. 

    [24] I will scatter you like chaff

        driven by the wind from the desert. 

    [25] This is your lot,

        the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,

    because you have forgotten me

        and trusted in lies. 

    [26] I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,

        and your shame will be seen. 

    [27] I have seen your abominations,

        your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,

        on the hills in the field.

    Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

        How long will it be before you are made clean?”

Seeing Others Through God’s Eyes

“Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

2 CORINTHIANS 5:16-17

 

PONDER THIS

Years ago, I heard a story that moved me. Down in Tampa, Florida, a man was driving a high-powered boat under a bridge. He hit a bridge pylon, was thrown out of the boat, and nearly drowned. They fished him out of the water and were giving CPR to him on the bridge, trying to do what they could to save him. Another man stopped when he saw the scene. He thought, “That’s interesting. I want to see what is happening. It looks like people are still working to help him. How epic that I get to see this today.”

And then they turned the man’s face, and the man who’d been crossing the bridge said, “That’s my brother!” When he saw the face of his brother, he was transformed. He said, “Hey, call the ambulance! Keep giving him CPR! You people pray! That’s my brother.” Before, he’d just seen that man on the bridge as any other man; now, he recognized the man as his brother, his flesh and blood.

You need to see every man as your potential brother. You need to see every woman as your potential sister. You need to have this confidence that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” When we fish for fish, we take a fish out of a beautiful life into death, but when we fish for men, we take men out of a horrible life into a beautiful life in Heaven.

Who is a potential brother or sister in Christ in whom you need to invest?

How do you sacrifice and serve your friends and family? How could that be translated in the way you serve a potential brother or sister in Christ?

PRACTICE THIS

Go out of your way to serve a potential brother or sister in Christ today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Justice Will Be Done

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19)

All of you have been wronged at one time or another. Most of you, probably, have been wronged seriously by someone who has never apologized or done anything sufficient to make it right.

And one of the deep hindrances to your letting go of that hurt and bitterness is the conviction — the justified conviction — that justice should be done, that the moral fabric of the universe will unravel if people can just get away with horrible wrongs and deceive everyone.

That is one of the hindrances to forgiveness and letting grudges go. It’s not the only one. We have our own sin to deal with. But it is a real one.

We feel that just to let it go would be to admit that justice simply won’t be done. And we can’t do it.

So we hold on to anger, and play the events or the words over and over again with the feelings: It shouldn’t have happened; it shouldn’t have happened; it was wrong; it was wrong. How can he (or she) be so happy when I am so miserable? It is so wrong. It is so wrong! We can’t let it go. And our bitterness starts to poison everything.

This word in Romans 12:19 is given to us by God to lift that burden from us.

“Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God.” What does this mean for you?

Laying down the burden of anger, laying down the practice of nursing your hurt with feelings of being wronged — laying that down — does not mean there was no great wrong against you. There was.

But it also does not mean there is no justice. It does not mean you will not be vindicated. It does not mean they just got away with it. No they didn’t.

It means, when you lay down the burden of vengeance, God will pick it up.

This is not a subtle way of getting revenge. This is a way of giving vengeance to the One to whom it belongs. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. You lay it down. I will pick it up. Justice will be done.

What a glorious relief. I do not have to carry this burden. It is like taking a deep breath, perhaps for the first time in decades, and feeling like now at last you may be free to love.

John Piper 

The Battle Against Sin and Our Victory

Romans 7:14-25

[14] For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. [15] For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. [16] Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. [17] So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. [18] For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. [19] For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. [20] Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

[21] So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. [22] For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, [23] but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. [24] Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

1 Peter 2:11

[11] Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

1 Peter 5:8-10

[8] Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. [9] Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. [10] And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

1 John 3:5

[5] You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Hebrews 10:4-7

[4] For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

[5] Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 

    “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,

        but a body have you prepared for me; 

    [6] in burnt offerings and sin offerings

        you have taken no pleasure. 

    [7] Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,

        as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

1 John 2:2

[2] He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:14-15

[14] And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. [15] Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

October 5

John 1:43-51

Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

[43] The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” [44] Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. [45] Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” [46] Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” [47] Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” [48] Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” [49] Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” [50] Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” [51] And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

James 2:14-26

Faith Without Works Is Dead

[14] What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? [15] If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, [16] and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? [17] So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

[18] But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. [19] You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! [20] Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? [21] Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? [22] You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; [23] and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. [24] You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. [25] And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? [26] For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

From Dust to Dust

[16] Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. [17] I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. [18] I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. [19] For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. [20] All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. [21] Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? [22] So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?

Jeremiah 10

Idols and the Living God

[1] Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. [2] Thus says the LORD: 

    “Learn not the way of the nations,

        nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens

        because the nations are dismayed at them, 

    [3] for the customs of the peoples are vanity.

    A tree from the forest is cut down

        and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. 

    [4] They decorate it with silver and gold;

        they fasten it with hammer and nails

        so that it cannot move. 

    [5] Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

        and they cannot speak;

    they have to be carried,

        for they cannot walk.

    Do not be afraid of them,

        for they cannot do evil,

        neither is it in them to do good.”

    [6] There is none like you, O LORD;

        you are great, and your name is great in might. 

    [7] Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?

        For this is your due;

    for among all the wise ones of the nations

        and in all their kingdoms

        there is none like you. 

    [8] They are both stupid and foolish;

        the instruction of idols is but wood! 

    [9] Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

        and gold from Uphaz.

    They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;

        their clothing is violet and purple;

        they are all the work of skilled men. 

    [10] But the LORD is the true God;

        he is the living God and the everlasting King.

    At his wrath the earth quakes,

        and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

    [11] Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

    [12] It is he who made the earth by his power,

        who established the world by his wisdom,

        and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. 

    [13] When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

        and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

    He makes lightning for the rain,

        and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 

    [14] Every man is stupid and without knowledge;

        every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,

    for his images are false,

        and there is no breath in them. 

    [15] They are worthless, a work of delusion;

        at the time of their punishment they shall perish. 

    [16] Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,

        for he is the one who formed all things,

    and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

        the LORD of hosts is his name.

    [17] Gather up your bundle from the ground,

        O you who dwell under siege! 

    [18] For thus says the LORD:

    “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

        at this time,

    and I will bring distress on them,

        that they may feel it.”

    [19] Woe is me because of my hurt!

        My wound is grievous.

    But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,

        and I must bear it.” 

    [20] My tent is destroyed,

        and all my cords are broken;

    my children have gone from me,

        and they are not;

    there is no one to spread my tent again

        and to set up my curtains. 

    [21] For the shepherds are stupid

        and do not inquire of the LORD;

    therefore they have not prospered,

        and all their flock is scattered.

    [22] A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—

        a great commotion out of the north country

    to make the cities of Judah a desolation,

        a lair of jackals.

    [23] I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,

        that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. 

    [24] Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;

        not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.

    [25] Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,

        and on the peoples that call not on your name,

    for they have devoured Jacob;

        they have devoured him and consumed him,

        and have laid waste his habitation.

Jeremiah 11

The Broken Covenant

[1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: [2] “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [3] You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant [4] that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, [5] that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.”

[6] And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. [7] For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. [8] Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

[9] Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. [10] They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. [11] Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. [12] Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. [13] For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal.

[14] “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. [15] What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? [16] The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. [17] The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”

    [18] The LORD made it known to me and I knew;

        then you showed me their deeds. 

    [19] But I was like a gentle lamb

        led to the slaughter.

    I did not know it was against me

        they devised schemes, saying,

    “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,

        let us cut him off from the land of the living,

        that his name be remembered no more.” 

    [20] But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,

        who tests the heart and the mind,

    let me see your vengeance upon them,

        for to you have I committed my cause.

    [21] Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—[22] therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, [23] and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”

Are We Salty Disciples?

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” MATTHEW 5:13

 

PONDER THIS

Salt penetrates. You take just a pinch of salt and put it in a jug of water, and the entire jug will be instantaneously salty. We need to be salty disciples. But the problem with many of us is that we’ve allowed our churches to become holy saltshakers while we sit inside and salt the salt. Jesus said we “are the salt of the earth.” He didn’t say we’re the salt of the Church. We need to be separate from sin, but not isolated from sinners.

However, salt can lose its saltiness. Most of the salt in Bible times came from the Dead Sea. They would take it from the Dead Sea, and the sun would shine on it. If it rained on that salt and stayed too long that way, the salt would leach out and leave noxious chemicals. It had no flavor, and it was actually dangerous. If you put it on the fields, it would kill the crops. If you put it down a well, it would poison the water. But they found one good use for that salt: they could put it on the roads, and it would absorb the moisture. That damaged salt was good for nothing but to be trampled underfoot. Jesus said if we lose our spiritual saltiness, we’re not effective disciples.

What does it look like to live as the “salt of the earth”?

Who are some friends or neighbors you are being salt to? Who are some people you could be salt to?

PRACTICE THIS

Show your love for a neighbor or friend and be salt in his or her life today.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Joy Unbound

“I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:26)

That’s what Jesus prayed the night before he died. Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. This is not now our experience. Three things stand in the way of our complete satisfaction in this world.

One is that nothing in this created world has a personal worth great enough to meet the deepest longings of our hearts.

Another is that we lack the strength to savor the best treasures to their maximum worth.

And a third obstacle standing in the way of complete satisfaction is that our joys here come to an end. Nothing lasts. But if the aim and the prayer of Jesus in John 17:26 come true, all this will change. He prayed “that the love with which you, Father, have loved me may be in them.” God’s infinitely well-pleased love for his Son in us!

If God’s pleasure in the Son becomes our pleasure in the Son, then the object of our pleasure, Jesus, will be inexhaustible in personal worth. He will never become boring or disappointing or frustrating.

No greater treasure can be conceived than the Son of God.

Moreover, our ability to savor this inexhaustible treasure will not be limited by human weaknesses. We will enjoy the Son of God with the very enjoyment of his Father. That’s what Jesus prayed for!

God’s delight in his Son will be in us and it will be ours — our delight in the Son. And this will never end, because neither the Father nor the Son ever ends.

Their love for each other will be our love for them and therefore our loving them will never die, nor ever diminish.

John Piper