Bible Study

Romans 5:8-9

[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

Colossians 1:13-15

[13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ

[15] He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Acts 2:24

[24] God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

[16] For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

Your Appointment with The Wonderful Counselor

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

MATTHEW 11:28-30

 

PONDER THIS

When people come to me for counsel, I can’t solve their problems. So, I try to lead them to the One who can solve their problems, the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t want them dependent upon me; I want them to know Jesus. He is the Counselor. There is wisdom in His name. He became for us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. (See 1 Corinthians 1:30).

Are you experiencing a problem right now, and don’t know the way out? You don’t know what to do. Every answer seems wrong. I want to recommend my Counselor to you: His name is Jesus.

There is wisdom in His name. He will guide you when you don’t know what to do. He will walk with you when you feel alone. Not only is there wonder and wisdom in His name, but there is worship in that name. All things belong to Him. He made everything. Billions of suns came from His hand when He spoke. Oceans dripped from His fingers. This little planet earth is a speck in the galaxy—just a speck. And yet He made it. If He created all these things, surely His way is better than our way, which has such a limited perspective. We can worship Him, and He will lead us in the way everlasting.

What is something you need God’s counsel about now?

How does God’s sovereignty over all things help you trust Him in the hard situations of life?

PRACTICE THIS

Encourage a friend to seek God’s counsel instead of only seeking human advice. Ask the Wonderful Counselor to show you the path you should take and trust in His perfect plan.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Glory Is the Goal

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:2)

Seeing the glory of God is our ultimate hope. “We rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2). God will “present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 24).

He will “make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory” (Romans 9:23). He “calls you into his own kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:12). “Our blessed hope [is] the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Jesus, in all his person and work, is the incarnation and ultimate revelation of the glory of God. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). “Father, I desire that they . . . may be with me where I am, to see my glory” Jesus prays in John 17:24.

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1). “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

“We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7). “This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). “Those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

Seeing and sharing in God’s glory is our ultimate hope through the gospel of Christ.

Such a hope, that is really known and treasured, has a huge and decisive effect on our present values and choices and actions.

Get to know the glory of God. Study the glory of God and the glory of Christ. Study the glory of the world that reveals the glory of God, and the glory of the gospel that reveals the glory of Christ.

Treasure the glory of God in all things and above all things.

Study your soul. Know the glory you are seduced by, and know why you treasure glories that are not God’s glory.

Study your own soul to know how to make the glories of the world collapse like the pagan idol Dagon in 1 Samuel 5:4. Let all glories that distract you from the glory of God shatter in pitiful pieces on the floor of the world’s temples. Treasure the glory of God above all this world.

John Piper 

Bible Study

Romans 12:12

[12] Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 5:10-11

[10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [11] More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Ephesians 2:18

[18] For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

1 Peter 3:18

[18] For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

The Eye-Opening Wonder of Jesus

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

ISAIAH 9:6

 

PONDER THIS

The baby Jesus was born King. We didn’t elect Him, and we’ll not impeach Him. He is King. He is Lord. Some ask, “Have you made Him Lord?” But you’re too late for that. God has already declared Him Lord. This is His sovereign nobility and right. He is King of kings and Lord of lords. The question is not whether He is Lord but whether you have recognized His place in your life. He is Lord, but do you live like it? Do you stand in awe of Him? If not, the problem is not with Him but with us. Jesus is incomprehensibly wonderful.

A man was riding on a train, looking out the window and saying, “Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.” The man sitting next to him asked, “Why do you think everything is wonderful?” He said, “I’ve been blind. I’ve just had surgery, and I’m seeing things that I had long since forgotten how beautiful they were. They are wonderful to me.” If Jesus is not wonderful to you, you need your spiritual eyes opened to see just how wonderful Jesus is.

How have you recognized Jesus’ position as Lord over your life? What areas are difficult to surrender to Him?

How has your awe of Jesus changed over time? Is this positive or negative? Why?

PRACTICE THIS

Take time to marvel at God whether through prayer, song, or journaling.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

What Is Your Aim?

Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. . . . And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:17)

When you get up in the morning and you face the day, what do you say to yourself about your hopes for the day? When you look from the beginning of the day to the end of the day, what do you want to happen because you have lived?

If you say, “I don’t even think like that. I just get up and do what I’ve got to do,” then you are cutting yourself off from a basic means of grace and a source of guidance and strength and fruitfulness and joy. It is crystal clear in the Bible, including these texts, that God means for us to aim consciously at something significant in our days.

God’s revealed will for you is that when you get up in the morning, you don’t drift aimlessly through the day letting mere circumstances alone dictate what you do, but that you aim at something — that you focus on a certain kind of purpose. I’m talking about children here, and teenagers, and adults — single, married, widowed, moms, and every trade and every profession.

Aimlessness is akin to lifelessness. Dead leaves in the back yard may move around more than anything else — more than the dog, more than the children. The wind blows this way, they go this way. The wind blows that way, they go that way. They tumble, they bounce, they skip, they press against a fence, but they have no aim whatsoever. They are full of motion and empty of life.

God did not create humans in his image to be aimless, like lifeless leaves blown around in the backyard of life. He created us to be purposeful — to have a focus and an aim for all our days. What is yours today? What is yours for the new year? A good place to start is 1 Corinthians 10:31, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

John Piper 

Bible Study

Colossians 4:2

Further Instructions

[2] Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

Ephesians 5:20

[20] giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 4:11

[11] whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Romans 11:36

[36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.