Philippians 2:9-11
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2 shows us the Ultimate Example of the life God desires us to live. Jesus made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant. Would others describe us as a servant today? Because Jesus humbled Himself being found in fashion as a man and was obedient even unto the death of the cross, God exalted Him. Luke 14:11 “For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” God The Father chose to honor and exalt His Son by giving Him a Name that is above every other name. He chose the Name of Jesus for a reason. The very Name of Jesus describes the reason why He came…Jehovah Is Salvation. Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” In the world today the Name of Jesus is being pushed out of everything. Though the world may want to avoid Him, they will not get to Heaven without Him. He is the Way, the Only Way. He is the Truth. He is the Life. No one come the unto the Father, but by Him. But when Jesus is received and welcomed in, anything is possible. At the Name of Jesus, the Name of Jesus, Sins chains are broken, the captives set free; At the Name of Jesus, the Name of Jesus, Hell trembles, and Satan must flee. Pamela Hall Find rest in His Name today. Find boldness in His Name today. Find peace in His Name today. Proclaim His Name today. There’s just something about His Name! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus There's just something about that Name Master, Savior, Jesus Like the fragrance after the rain Jesus, Jesus, Jesus Let all heaven and earth proclaim Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away But there's something about that Name. Bill & Gloria Gaither Bible Reading: I Samuel 17 | Romans 15 | Psalm 101
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Ephesians 2:8-9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” These verses are often used in soul winning or witnessing situations. They simplify salvation, and help us display to others that God’s grace can save them by placing their faith in what He did for them, and realizing that there is nothing they can do on our own to get to Heaven. What Truth that is! How often when we use these verses in times of witnessing do we forget that the Truth here applies to us just as much as the person we are trying to win to the Lord? God saved us by His grace. God saved us through our faith in what He did for us. There is nothing that we can do on our own to get to Heaven. There is no amount of works we can do. Salvation was a Gift to us! Remind yourself today of the grace that God gave you that day you trusted in Him. Remember the faith that you placed in Him alone that day. Recognize again that you could never earn it on your own. Realize that you still possess the Gift you received that day, and nothing can take it away from you. Restore the joy of your salvation today. If we will daily remind ourselves of our salvation experience, it will encourage us to share our story with others. The greatest witnessing tool that we have in our possession is the fact of what Jesus did for us! Tell your story with someone today. Bible Reading: I Samuel 16 | Romans 14 | Psalm 100 Proverbs 31:30-31
“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.” We live in a world where people are consumed with their outside appearance & their reputation, while unconcerned with the condition of their heart. Most people desire to be seen and known for their looks and their worth. Women today are surrounded by pressure to wear the latest style and put on the newest makeup brand. Fashion magazines fly off the shelves as women seek to find out what the new trend will be this season, and they prepare accordingly. A virtuous woman does not focus on the trends of fashion or beauty. “Strength and honour are her clothing.” Though she wants to look her best for her husband, and the Lord, she does not desire to be noticed for her looks. God does not look on the outward appearance, He looketh on the heart. He tells us that these virtuous women are hard to find, and their value is worth more than precious rubies. Since virtuous women are a rare find, God tells us that we should praise them. Yet, the virtuous woman does not seek, request, or expect to be praised. She works out of love for her family, and allows the fruit of her labor to earn any praise she receives. She simply serves without expectation, knowing that the results are left up to the Lord which blessed her with the opportunity. Jameson Faucett Brown explains it this way, “The result of her labor is her best eulogy. Nothing can add to the simple beauty of this admirable portrait.” A virtuous woman’s beauty shines from the inside out. If you are blessed to have a virtuous woman in your life, tell her how you notice her service. Show her how much she means to you. Actions speak louder than words. Seek to be a virtuous woman today. Serve the Lord with gladness as you take care of the family He has blessed you with. Labor with strength and honour in the ministry He has given you. Allow the results of your labor to speak for you. All that we accomplish in this life is because He has enabled us. Bible Reading: I Samuel 15 | Romans 13 | Psalm 99 Proverbs 31:10-29
v.10 - “Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.” Virtuous women are a rare find. If God brings someone’s name to mind, praise God for them and their presence in your life. Learn from them. Glean their wisdom. God has given them to you for a reason. v.13 - “She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.” A virtuous woman willingly serves wherever she is needed. v.14 - “She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.” A virtuous woman will go wherever she is required. v.15 -“She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.” A virtuous woman provides for her family and those she serves with. v.16 -“She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.” A virtuous woman is careful to consider with the Lord’s guidance. v.17 - “She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.” A virtuous woman asks the Lord to strengthen her so she can be used of Him. v.18 - “She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.” A virtuous woman takes a Godly pride in the ministry God has given her. v.19 - “She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.” A virtuous woman endures the work regardless of the repercussions. v.25 - “Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.” A virtuous woman allows others to see her worth without promoting herself. v.26 - “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.” A virtuous woman allows God to guide her thoughts and words. v.27 - “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.” A virtuous woman redeems the time God has given her, and uses it for His glory. v.28 - “Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.” A virtuous woman is praised by her family for the testimony she has. v.29 - “Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.” A virtuous woman sticks out among the crowd. Her life speaks for itself. When King Solomon pinned these Words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he was referring to his mother…Bathsheba. What an example of the forgiveness that can be found from God if we will simply confess our sin! When Bathsheba’s name is mentioned, what is the first thing you think of? Most likely David. This was the woman whom David looked upon with lust from his rooftop. That lust brought forth sin. That sin when it was finished brought forth death. But God forgave David when he confessed his sin and asked the Lord to cleanse him. Bathsheba’s repentance is not documented in Scripture, yet in Proverbs 31 we find these principles that she taught to King Solomon. Bathsheba is a picture that God can bring you out of any circumstance and use you for His glory! She raised her son Solomon, teaching him and admonishing him and God used him as the King of Israel. Your greatest contribution to the Kingdom of God may not be something you achieve, but someone you raise. Bible Reading: I Samuel 13-14 | Romans 12 | Psalm 98 Ephesians 6:1-2
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;).” God points out to us through the Scripture that this is not only one of the commandments, but if we follow and obey this commandment we receive something in return… Ephesians 6:3 “That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” We find that these verses refer back to the Old Testament when God gave Moses the Law. Exodus 20:12 “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.” It appears that of the Ten Commandments, this is the only one that has a conditional blessing attached. If we will honour our parents, God will not only make things to be well with us, but He will also increase the days of our life. May we all honour and bless our parents while we have them in our lives. Far too often we see those who have lost their parents wishing they had done more for them, spent more time with them, and showed how much they loved them. As Mother’s Day approaches, take the time to love on those around you. Honour them. Bless them. God promises to bless us as we bless them. Bible Reading: I Samuel 11-12 | Romans 11 | Psalm 97 Luke 10:40-41
“But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:” Martha was overwhelmed by her misplaced priorities. She had lost her joy in serving by being distracted by the demands she put on herself. Can you relate with Martha? In our fast paced, on the go, busy society we tend to get wrapped up in the details that don't really matter instead of focusing on what is most important, or slowing down to spend time with those we love. Martha loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him, yet her focus was on the particulars instead of His presence. How often do we set aside time to spend with the Lord only to find ourselves busy and troubled about other things instead? Or maybe we are so busy that we do not even set time aside to spend with Him. Jesus told Martha “But one thing is needful…” Every thing else in life is not needed outside of His presence. When will we realize that when we leave Him out, we are the ones who are left without? We are nothing without Him, and in order to walk with Him and shine our lights for Him, we must spend time in His presence. In John 12:1-2, we find Martha still serving, but yet she was seated at the table with Christ, along side her sister and brother. Martha had learned to be always abounding in the work of the Lord without forgetting about the Lord of the work. Be busy working for the Lord, but be careful not to be so busy that you neglect to spend time with Him. We will render ourselves ineffective if we allow ourselves to be serving without sitting at His table. Let us learn from Martha’s example, and remind ourselves daily the words of Christ to her, “But one thing is needful…” Bible Reading: I Samuel 9-10 | Romans 10 | Psalm 96 Galatians 6:9
“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Have you ever been exhausted? Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and maybe even spiritually, exhausted. The word weary in our text today literally means to be utterly spiritless, or exhausted. The Lord knew that through our journey we would find ourselves at times to be utterly exhausted in every aspect of our lives. He led the Apostle Paul to pin these words of warning to us so that we could guard ourselves against becoming weary or exhausted. The latter part of the verse gives us a great reason to not grow exhausted in the fight… “for in due season we shall reap”. He tells us that eventually the well doing will pay off, and we will reap what we have sowed. But we will only get to reap those rewards if we do not faint along the way. Our reward may seem to be delayed, maybe even until we get to Heaven, but God promises us that He will bless us for our good works. Don’t quit today, Christian! Guard your heart. Stand against the wiles of the devil no matter what he throws your way. Look to the Lord for the strength to press on and pursue the victory. We can have victory by renewing ourselves through God’s Word everyday. II Corinthians 4:16 “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” We can have victory by constantly asking the Lord for help. Luke 18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” We can have victory by resting in the Lord. Psalm 37:7 “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him…” Matthew 11:28-29 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” We can have victory by being stedfast and unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. I Corinthians 15:57-58 “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” If you are becoming exhausted, seek the victory today. Bible Reading: I Samuel 7-8 | Romans 9 | Psalm 95 Matthew 16:26
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Christ gave His life on Calvary in order to save the souls of men. He did not hold anything back. He gave it all in order to save us from spending eternity in the Lake of Fire. How much is a soul worth to you? How much would you give to win a soul to Christ? We can give our time, our talent, our treasure. Whether verbally or by a Gospel tract, we must tell others the Truth of the Gospel. What would those that are in hell right now say? If they doubted it before they experienced it, they now know what lies ahead for those who reject Christ. They are right now facing the punishment for their sin. They did not accept Christ’s payment, and chose to pay the debt themselves. How much would they give to have another chance to trust Christ? The greatest love we can share to those around us is to share the Gospel with them. We can do all the good things we can, but if we do not share the love of Christ by telling what He did for them, we have failed miserably. Where are our tears for the lost? We must weep over those that do not know Christ. Psalm 126:5-6 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” We must endeavor to reach the lost before its eternally too late. We must tell the Good News of the Gospel with those who have not heard. Those that have heard, we must warn again. We must weep. We must sow the Seed of the Gospel. We must give our lives so that others may know Christ. If we don’t, who will? How much is a soul worth to you? Bible Reading: I Samuel 5-6 | Romans 8 | Psalm 94 Deuteronomy 32:12
“So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god before him.” Israel did not lead themselves out of Egypt, nor sustain themselves in the midst of the wilderness. The Lord God Jehovah led and sustained them. It was by God’s power, and His alone, that they were brought out of Egypt. Remember the ten plagues? Only God could have done each of them. He showed His mighty power by creating plague after plague in order to get Pharaoh’s attention. Remember the Red Sea? The Lord parted the waters and made a way for them to cross over on dry ground. It was also by God’s power, and His alone, that they were sustained for 40 years in the midst of the wilderness. Remember the manna He sent each day? Miraculously, their clothes and shoes never wore out. He led them in a Pillar of Cloud by day and a Pillar of Fire by night. Deuteronomy 2:7 “For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.” Just as the Lord led them, provided for them, and sustained them through the wilderness…He wants to lead us, provide for us, and sustain us through the wildernesses of our lives. He is willing and able to do all of this and more for us…”exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think”! Yet, we continually choose to allow other things to take His rightful place in our lives. We often get our mind and focus on the things of this world, and what our flesh desires that we make strange gods out of every day things. Remember the molten calf that Aaron and the children of Israel made while Moses was up on the mountain? Our desire for television, career, music, family, social media, children, phones, ambition, sports, popularity, entertainment, etc., often takes the place of time we could be spending with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What could God do if every Christian yielded themselves to be led by the Lord alone? We would see revival like never before. If you feel like you are at the banks of the Red Sea with no where to turn, God can make a way for you where there is no way. Allow Him to part the waters of your situation, and praise Him as you walk across on dry ground. May we take time today to refocus our hearts and minds on Him alone, and allow Him to lead us, to guide us, to provide for us. May we remove the strange gods from our lives, and begin “Looking unto Jesus…”. Look unto Him today, and Him alone! Bible Reading: I Samuel 3-4 | Romans 7 | Psalm 93 Galatians 5:1
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” In New York Harbor on Liberty Island stands our nation’s iconic symbol of the freedom that America has to offer, the Statue of Liberty. She is often referred to as Lady Liberty, holding tall a torch with broken chains at her feet. As immigrants came over from foreign lands seeking freedom, she was a welcoming sight. If you have ever visited New York City and caught a glimpse of her radiance, she beams with patriotism; especially from Liberty Island beneath her as she towers above thousands of tourists each day. As much as she stands as a symbol of the freedom we have in our country, she is also a great reminder of the liberty we have in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul knew what the liberty found in Christ can do for a person. When he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, he was set free from the bondage of his sinful life. He went on to preach of that same liberty all across Asia and Europe, and pinned countless examples of that liberty under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit throughout the pages of the Bible. If you feel like you have a yoke of bondage around you, you can be set free through Christ Jesus. John 8:32 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free…If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” God wants to set us free through Jesus Christ in salvation, but He also provides us freedom to serve Him by loving those around us. He has called us into liberty! Galatians 5:13 “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” Today seek to yield to the liberty that is found in Lord. Allow Him to guide you. Allow Him to give you boldness to stand and shine your Light for His glory. II Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Bible Reading: I Samuel 1-2 | Romans 6 | Psalm 92 |
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