Isaiah 40:8
“The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” When everything else around us is withering and fading away, the Word of God will stand. What a comforting thought that can bring us a godly confidence as we walk with the Lord. Regardless of our circumstances, we can rest in the Truth of God’s Word, for It will never fail us. The Apostle Peter took from this passage in Isaiah during his discourse of the Word of God at the beginning of his first epistle. I Peter 1:25 “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” Peter understood that even in the midst of the trial of your faith we can rest in the fact that God’s Word will endure forever and when we have a desire for the Truth we can grow through the trials. Bible Reading: II Kings 17-18 | Ephesians 3 | Psalm 141
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Joshua 1:8
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” We all want to succeed in life. Many have failed at their attempt to find success because they are looking in all the wrong places. Success is not found in attending the right school, securing the right career, or marrying the right spouse. Even being a member of the right church will not make you successful. Real success is found by developing Biblical principles in your life. In our verse today, we find a Biblical equation for success. Moses had just died, and the Lord is speaking to Joshua, the new leader of the children of Israel. Reflect On The Book. “but thou shalt meditate therein day and night” Sometimes the Lord will lay a verse or phrase on your heart that seems to stick with you all day. The more you ponder over it, the more God reveals the Truth of His Word. When you go to study out the verse, you then find more verses that go right along with the thought and context of the Scripture. This is meditating on The Word. Simply reflecting on the Truth of God’s Word, and then beginning to attempt to apply it to your life. The more we reflect on God’s Word, the more prosperous we will be and the more direction we will find. Obey The Book. “that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein” Once we observe a Truth within the Word of God, we must apply it to our lives by simply obeying. There are conditional promises all throughout Scripture that guarantee us something from the Lord if we will simply obey the condition. If we trust in the Lord with all our hearts, and lean not unto our own understanding, then acknowledge Him in all our ways, He promises to direct our paths. When we observe and obey what God has given us in the Scripture, we will find good success. Joshua’s life serves as an example of this Truth for us. He obeyed what the Lord told him to do, and He achieved success as he led the children of Israel. It was Joshua who led the Battle of Jericho. It was Joshua who led Israel into the Promised Land. He observed the Lord’s commands and was successful because of his obedience. What could God do in our lives if we will simply observe His commands and be obedient? Bible Reading: II Kings 15-16 | Ephesians 2 | Psalm 140 Acts 17:11
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Paul and Silas had left Thessalonica, and arrived in Berea. The Berean people greeted them differently than the Jews of Thessalonia. Rather than set an uproar amongst the city, many of the Bereans chose to receive the Truth of the Gospel and many of them believed. Some believed in Thessalonica, but many believed in Berea. We sit under the sound of the preaching of the Word of God on a weekly basis, and many of us believe the Truths of the messages our pastors preach unto us so faithfully. However, some choose not to believe and receive. Many stop their walk with the Lord not far past their salvation experience. Yes, they are saved and on their way to Heaven, but they choose to not receive the Word and apply it to their lives. As we enter the doors of the sanctuary and sit down in our seats are we ready to receive the Word? Or do we only come out of obligation or the desire to be seen? We’ve all seen churchgoers who sit in a pew physically, yet their attention is elsewhere…the cares of life get in the way of their focus or the entertainment of their news feed seems to win their concentration. Perhaps we’ve all been there before too. When you open the door to the church house, ask yourself… When you open your Bible, ask yourself… Am I ready to receive the Word? We must open our hearts and minds to receive the Word of God. If we are ready to receive the Word, God will bless our efforts. He will speak to our hearts with just what we need at that exact moment in our lives. Expect to hear from God, and He will answer. Be ready to receive so that you can give. God loveth a cheerful giver, and what better gift than the Truth of the Word? I Peter 3:15 “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:” Bible Reading: II Kings 13-14 | Ephesians 1 | Psalm 139 John 5:39
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Here we find Jesus in the temple rebuking the Jews that went to John the Baptist as he shined his light as the forerunner of Jesus Christ yet they did not believe. He was not the Light, but it was his task to bear witness of the Light of Christ in the darkness of the world around him. Is this not our job as well today? We can learn much from John the Baptist. He never pointed to himself, but he pointed people to Christ. He thought of himself lowly, so much so that he said he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of Christ’s shoes. He was humble. The Jews of our text had witnessed the outcome of the man who was healed at the Pool of Bethesda. They saw him who had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years now walking carrying his bed on the Sabbath. They harassed him, saying he it was unlawful. They persecuted both the healed and the Healer. Then the Preacher of all Preachers uses them as an example for all of us today. We read of Him telling them that the privilege of searching the Holy Scriptures is not limited to just one group or a few people. Jesus tells these Jews who did not believe John’s message that the Scriptures tell of how to obtain eternal life. These people had boasted of reading the Scriptures daily, yet they missed the message. Matthew Henry said, “It is possible for men to be very studious in the letter of the Scripture, and yet to be strangers to the power and influence of it.” There were men like this during the days that Christ walked on this earth, and there are still likeminded people within our churches today. They read, study and search the Word for their own glory – to prove how much they know. They glorify themselves instead of the only One worthy of glory, honour, and praise. Let us allow this group to be an example to us of what to avoid in our walk with the Lord. James 1:22-26 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.” I Corinthians 2:9-10,14 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God…But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” We can experience the power and influence of the Word of God through yielding to the Holy Spirit as we read, as we study, and as we search the Scriptures. Bible Reading: II Kings 11-12 | Galatians 6 | Psalm 138 John 15:7
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” Jesus speaks of His Words in each of the 4 Gospel accounts. Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Mark 13:31 “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” Luke 21:33 “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.” The Lord doesn’t have to repeat Himself to make something true, yet we find this same Truth pinned in three of the Gospel accounts. Those that do not believe in the preservation of the Scripture must not have these verses in whatever version they have chosen to read. When you change your Bible, you change your doctrine. Praise the Lord for how He has preserved His Word to all generations so that we can have the Word of God today! He goes on in the Gospel of John to bring to light the Truth that the Jews had the writings of Moses, who wrote of Christ’s coming, yet they chose not to believe that He was the Messiah. John 5:46-47 “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” How many Bibles sit in homes within the freedoms of America, yet they are never opened to be read? God’s Word cannot abide in us if we do not read it. We must not only read. We must study. We must search. Read. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Study. 2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Search. Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Let His Words abide in your heart today, and every day. Bible Reading: II Kings 9-10 | Galatians 5 | Psalm 137 Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” The Apostle Paul instructs us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that we should allow the Word of God, the Bible, the Scripture to influence everything we do. As the Word begins to influence us, we should also allow it to inhabit us…to “dwell” in us. God wants us to make His Word the central point of our lives, and that within us the Truth of the Scriptures would abound in such a way that it is overflowing from our lips…”richly in all wisdom”. When we allow our lives to be saturated with Biblical Truths, we can then begin to “admonishing one another”…to warn and exhort because of our love and care for each other. A godly friend will counsel you if they are led by God to do so. There will not be a critical spirit involved, but God can use a loving, concerned friend to help you. Proverbs 27:6 “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Proverbs 18:24 “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” We must be willing to be a friend to someone, because we need someone to be our friend. Allow God to use the godly friends that He has placed in our life to help you. Show yourself friendly. You never know when someone will need a friendly word or deed to brighten their day. God may just use that word or deed to begin a friendship that you need for your current season of life. Take the time to admonish someone through the Truth of the Word of Christ today. God will give you a song to sing, and grace in your heart. Bible Reading: II Kings 7-8 | Galatians 4 | Psalm 136 Philippians 2:16
“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.” Why should we pace ourselves? Because we have the privilege and duty to hold forth the Word of Life to this lost and dying world. If we do not shine forth the Light of the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ who will? There is someone that only you can reach. There is a song that only you can sing. There is a purpose that only you can fulfill. Run With Purpose I Corinthians 9:22-27 “To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Labour With Purpose I Corinthians 15:58 “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.” God will enable us to run this race that is set before us with patience so that in the day of Christ we can rejoice that we have done all we can for Christ. Run & Labour to finish well! Bible Reading: II Kings 5-6 | Galatians 3 | Psalm 135 Isaiah 40:31
“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” When a runner sets out to run a marathon, they do not sprint off the starting line. They get a good place in line and then they set a pace in order to finish. They have trained themselves to run with patience the long race that is set before them. If they do not train ahead of time, they will not be able to run for long before they have to walk or stop before they faint. Have you ever been weary in the race? Do you feel as if you are about to faint? We see in our text today an order of effectiveness to our service to the Lord. In those times when we feel as if we are about to faint, we must slow down and walk with the Lord developing an endurance for the race that is set before us. We must build up our strength in Him in order to run this race. We can renew our strength by waiting on Him. In those times when we want to do things by the way of our flesh, we need to stop and wait for His direction. We must stand still and let Him be God. While we wait we can develop strength to endure within the race. Psalm 27:13-14 “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” We cannot see His goodness until we believe. We cannot receive strength until we wait on the Lord. Have courage today. Walk with the Lord. Don’t faint in the middle of the race. Build up your strength and endurance so that you can run and not be weary. Wait on the Lord. He will give us the strength we need to continue to serve Him. Bible Reading: II Kings 3-4 | Galatians 2 | Psalm 134 Psalm 18:6
“In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.” David knew what he needed to do amidst the sorrow and distress he was facing. He knew that he could call upon the Lord. David cried out in faith, knowing that God was going to hear not only his voice, but also his cry for help. The very ears of Almighty God heard each word that David spoke to Him. It is a comforting reminder that just like God heard David’s prayers, He hears ours. We need only to call upon Him and cry out to the God Who hears and answers prayers. Psalm 130:1-2 “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” In the Epistle of James we find the Truth “ye have not, because ye ask not”. The same is true in times of distress and sorrow. We cannot be rescued if we do not ask for help. The Lord’s ears are open to our cry, we need only to stop and simply ask Him to intervene. Bring your supplications to Him today. Philippians 4:6 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Bible Reading: II Kings 1-2 | Galatians 1 | Psalm 133 Romans 12:1
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” When the fears and doubts of life assail, it is time to reevaluate what we investing in. How do we spend our time and energy? We find here at the beginning of Romans 12 direction for how to find our purpose within the will of God. In the first verse we see some ways to invest ourselves in the Lord’s Will. Invest By Sacrificing. Paul is pleading with the church at Rome to give themselves to the Lord to find His purpose for their lives. When we present our bodies as a living sacrifice, we must be yielded. A living sacrifice has the ability to get up off of the altar, and lets face it…we have all been there. We yield ourselves to the will of God only to pick ourselves back up off of the altar as we get up off our knees. Instead, we must invest ourselves in finding God’s will for our lives by spending time in prayer and reading our Bible. The Scripture we read and supplications we plead will help us to live holy lives that are acceptable to God. Invest By Serving. As we sacrifice our own will, God will give us the desires of our heart that line up with His will for our lives. As He directs us, He will provide for us. Within this provision we will find opportunities to serve. We can serve Him by serving others and showing Christ’s love for them by shining our light. He may give us opportunities to do great things for Him, but oftentimes before the “big” things come, He will allow “little” occasions to see if we mean business. Are we willing to sweep the floors of the church without an audience? Clean the bathrooms? Take out the trash? Open a door for someone? Give an offering to the missionary that presented their work? Let someone else have “our seat”? It is as much our reasonable service to do these things as it is to sing in the choir, go soul-winning, pass out a tract, or do a devotion. God desires us to be willing to serve when no one else is watching and when no one else shows up. It is reasonable for God to ask us to anything for His glory. He chose to willingly leave His throne in Heaven to come and die for our sin. Can we not do our reasonable service for Him? Take account today of how you are investing. How are you sacrificing? How are you serving? Remember your reasonable service today. Bible Reading: I Kings 21-22 | II Corinthians 13 | Psalm 132 |
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