Daily Devotional 3-19-2022
1Co 2:4 CSB My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, Neither Paul’s speech nor his preaching were in persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. Some suggest that his speech refers to the material he presented and his preaching to the manner of its presentation. Others define his speech as his witness to individuals and his preaching as his messages to groups. According to the standards of this world, the apostle might never have won an oratorical contest. In spite of this, the Spirit of God used the message to produce conviction of sin and conversion to God.
Daily Devotional 3-18-2022
1Co 2:1 CSB When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. The apostle now reminds the saints of his ministry among them and how he sought to glorify God and not himself. He came to them proclaiming the testimony of God, not with excellence of speech or of wisdom. He was not at all interested in showing himself off as an orator or philosopher. This shows that the Apostle Paul recognized the difference between ministry that is soulish and that which is spiritual. By soulish ministry, we mean that which amuses, entertains, or generally appeals to man’s emotions. Spiritual ministry, on the other hand, presents the truth of God’s word in such a way as to glorify Christ and to reach the heart and conscience of the hearers.
Daily Devotional 3-18-2022
Deu 17:17 CSB He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself. The prohibition against taking many wives was given because many kings married foreign women to form political alliances. If the king followed the Lord he would not need political alliances. Also foreign wives would cause his heart to be led astray to worship their idols. The prohibition against large amounts of silver and gold was intended to keep the king from developing a sense of independence and a lust for material wealth.. All three prohibitions, then, were designed to reduce the king to the status of a servant totally dependent on his Master, the Lord. The tragedy of ignoring these commands is seen in Solomon who broke all three prohibitions.
Daily Devotional 3-16-2022
Deu 17:16 CSB However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the LORD has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ Three things about the behavior of the king were singled out. The prohibition against acquiring great numbers of horses meant that on human terms the king’s army, composed mainly of infantry, would be significantly weaker than an enemy’s army with many chariots and cavalry. Yet this was precisely the point. An obedient Israelite king was to depend not on military strength but on the Lord alone. God had already demonstrated His ability to crush a large superior chariot army. Acquiring horses would mean the people would be going to Egypt, where many were available. Returning to the nation’s former land of slavery was unthinkable.
Daily Devotional 3-15-2022
Mat 5:6 CSB Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. A blessing is pronounced on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: they are promised satisfaction. These people have a passion for righteousness in their own lives; they long to see honesty, integrity, and justice in society; they look for practical holiness in the church. It is “a thirst no earthly stream can satisfy, a hunger that must feed on Christ or die.” These people will be abundantly satisfied in Christ’s coming kingdom: they shall be filled, for righteousness will reign and corruption will give way to the highest moral standards.
Daily Devotional 3-14-2022
2Co 9:9 CSB As it is written: He distributed freely; he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. Charity reaps an eternal reward. A person who “fears the Lord” and gives gifts to the poor, (the Palm that Paul quoted) will be vindicated on the last day. Practical righteousness endures forever not only through the deeds but in the doer as he is progressively transformed into Christlikeness. Ultimately, a believer’s reward is the culmination of the process. The One who supplies what is needed is God alone. God (who supplies seed… and bread) enlarges the harvest (rewards or blessings) that results from righteous, generous living. The riches of righteousness are inestimable.
Daily Devotional 3-13-2022
2Co 9:8 CSB And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; Ultimately Christians can dispense only what they have received, whether material or spiritual. The good work is done through God’s enabling. Regardless of how desperate one’s circumstances, a person who wants to give can do so in dependence on God. Once again Paul sounded the note that man’s inability, by contrast, showcases God’s work. This verse is full of words indicating inclusiveness in God’s enabling: all grace… in all things at all times, having all that you need… in every good work.
Daily Devotional 3-12-2022
2Co 9:6 CSB The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. In verses 6 through 15 the Apostle Paul lists some of the wonderful rewards and benefits of Christian giving. First, he sets forth the law of the harvest. It is a well-known fact in agriculture that a generous sowing of seed is necessary if there is to be a generous harvest. Perhaps the farmer is ready to put the seed in the ground. Shall he sow liberally or shall he take some of the grain and use it as food during the months ahead? The thought here is that if he sows it liberally, he will also reap out of all proportion to what he sows. We should remember this with regard to agriculture—the farmer does not reap the exact amount of grain he…
Daily Devotional 3-11-2022
1Ti 6:10 CSB For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Not all evil in the universe springs from the love of money. But it is certainly one of the great sources of many varieties of evil. For instance, it leads to envy, strife, theft, dishonesty, intemperance, forgetfulness of God, selfishness, embezzlement, etc. It is not money in itself which is spoken of, but the love of money. Money might be used in the service of the Lord in a variety of ways where only good would result. But here it is the inordinate desire for money that leads to sin and shame. One particular evil of the love of money is now mentioned, that is,…
Daily Devotional 3-10-2022
Mat 6:24 CSB “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. The impossibility of living for God and for money is stated here in terms of masters and slaves. No one can serve two masters. One will inevitably take precedence in his loyalty and obedience. So it is with God and mammon. They present rival claims and a choice must be made. Either we must put God first and reject the rule of materialism or we must live for temporal things and refuse God’s claim on our lives.