Daily Devotional 8-11-2021
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. The Corinthians were urged to stand firm in the apostles’ teaching, unmoved by the denials of false teachers. This certainty, especially concerning the Resurrection, provided an impetus to faithful service since labor in the resurrected Lord is not futile.
Daily Devotional 8-10-2021
1Pe 5:2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; The command Be shepherds was also given by Jesus to Peter. Besides feeding, it includes caring, leading, guiding, and protecting – all duties and responsibilities a shepherd has for his flock. “Overseer” seems to be interchangeable with “elder” and connotes both a spiritual and physical guardianship Peter, through contrasting exhortations, presented both the motive and the manner of one’s ministry. An elder’s motive must be from willingness, not from a sense of external compulsion: not because you must, but because you are willing. Social or financial pressures should not be substituted for the pure motivation to do God’s will and to serve Him freely and eagerly: not greedy for money, but eager to…
Daily Devotional 8-9-2021
1Co 11:30-32 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. (31) But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. (32) Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world. Coming to the Lord’s Supper without that sin confessed brought judgment on the guilty participants. Only by recognizing the unity of the body of the Lord – and acting accordingly – could they avoid bringing “judgment” on themselves. What that judgment entailed was then explained by Paul. In brief, it was sickness and death. The solution was self-examination, self-discipline, and promoting of unity. The alternative was God’s judging, which was a discipline that they were then experiencing. This was not a loss of salvation, but…
Daily Devotion 8-8-2021
Col 1:16-17 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. (17) He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. By Christ all things were created. In Him they hold together (He is the constituting or conserving Cause). Christ is not only the One through whom all things came to be, but also the One by whom they continue to exist. Two other New Testament verses parallel this description of Christ: “Through Him all things were made”, and Christ the Son is the One “through whom [the Father] made the universe”. The Father, then, is the ultimate Source (efficient Cause), and the Son is the mediating Cause of the world. The Son was the “master Workman” of Creation, “the beginning of the…
Daily Devotional 8-7-2021
2Co 10:3-5 For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh, (4) since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments (5) and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. The weapons Paul used were the proclaimed Word of God and prayer, weapons with divine power. In dependence on God these weapons, frail by worldly standards, are able to demolish the arguments and every pretension of the gospel’s foes. Neither the god of this Age nor his henchmen could oppose the knowledge of God on which Paul relied. The object of Paul’s warfare was to make people obedient. Paul was not interested in making them subject to himself or any other man after the…
Daily Devotional 8-6-2021
Rom 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. The sharing of the resurrection life of Christ begins at the moment of regeneration, but it will continue as a believer shares eternity with the Lord. Again as a result we know intuitively, perceiving a self-evident truth. Having experienced physical death once and having been removed from its realm by resurrection life, Jesus cannot die again. In resurrection Jesus Christ was victorious over death and death no longer has mastery over Him as it does over all other human beings.
Daily Devotional 8-5-2021
Rev 6:10-11 They cried out with a loud voice: “Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” (11) So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been. They will cry out to the Lord, asking how long it will be before He will avenge them. In reply each is given a white robe and informed that the Tribulation is not over and that others must be martyred before God’s judgment on the wicked and deliverance of the righteous occurs at the Second Coming. This passage shows that the time period is the Great Tribulation, but not its end. Spirits without…
Daily Devotional 8-4-2021
2Ti 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, (17) so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Paul had just noted that the Scriptures are able to make one wise with regard to salvation, a lesson Timothy had learned long before. But now Paul wanted to reemphasize to Timothy the crucial role of God’s inscripturated revelation in his present ministry. Thus Paul reminded Timothy that all Scripture is God-breathed (“inspired”), that is, God’s words were given through men superintended by the Holy Spirit so that their writings are without error. This fact was virtually taken for granted by the Jews. Then Paul asserted the “usefulness” of the Word. For each aspect of Timothy’s ministry, whatever it might be – teaching (instructing believers in God’s truths), rebuking those in sin, correcting those…
Daily Devotional 8-3-2021
1Pe 3:21 and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also–not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Baptism represents a complete break with one’s past life. As the Flood wiped away the old sinful world, so baptism pictures one’s break from his old sinful life and his entrance into new life in Christ. Baptism does not save from sin, but from a bad conscience. Peter clearly taught that baptism was not merely a ceremonial act of physical purification, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God. Baptism is the symbol of what has already occurred in the heart and life of one who has trusted Christ as Savior. To make the source of salvation perfectly clear Peter added, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Daily Devotional 8-2-2021
Php 4:8-9 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. (9) Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. The Christian life involves proper thinking (what is true, noble, right, praiseworthy, lovely, admirable), but it also includes doing righteous deeds. Since the Philippians knew Paul well, he could ask them to follow his example. They had learned… received and heard from him, and they had even seen the apostle’s conduct. As they put these things (from Paul’s teaching and living) into practice, they would enjoy the presence of the God of peace. When we walk within this boundary of proper thinking & practice them, we shall experience true peace in…