Bible in One Year: July 31

 Bible in One Year: Psalms 54-56; Romans 3

Becoming Entirely His / Oswald Chambers

Becoming Entirely His Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. JAMES 1:4 Many of us appear to be all right in general, but there are still some areas in which we are careless and lazy; it is not a matter of sin, but the remnants of our carnal life that tend to make us careless. Carelessness is an insult to the Holy Spirit. We should have no carelessness about us either in the way we worship God, or even in the way we eat and drink. Not only must our relationship to God be right, but the outward expression of that relationship must also be right. Ultimately, God will allow nothing to escape; every detail of our lives is under His scrutiny. God will bring us back in countless ways to the same point over and over again. And He never tires of bringing us back to that one point until we learn the lesson, because His purpose is to produce the finished product. It may be a problem arising from our impulsive nature, but again and again, with the most persistent patience, God has brought us back to that one particular point. Or the problem may be our idle and wandering thinking, or our independent nature and self–interest. Through this process, God is trying to impress upon us the one thing that is not entirely right in our lives. We have been having a wonderful time in our studies over the revealed truth of God’s redemption, and our hearts are perfect toward Him. And His wonderful work in us makes us know that overall we are right with Him. “Let patience have its perfect work….” The Holy Spirit speaking through James said, “Now let your patience become a finished product.” Beware of becoming careless over the small details of life and saying, “Oh, that will have to do for now.” Whatever it may be, God will point it out with persistence until we become entirely His. Bible in One Year: Psalms 54-56; Romans 3

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS The remarkable thing about fearing God is that when you fear God you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God you fear everything else. “Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord”;…

Staying on Track with God / ODB

 

Staying on Track with God Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. Deuteronomy 5:1 READ Deuteronomy 5:1–11 Years ago, a train carrying 218 people derailed in northwestern Spain, killing 79 people and hospitalizing 66 more. The driver couldn’t explain the accident, but the video footage could and did. The train was going far too fast before it hit a deadly curve. The allowable speed limit had been created to protect everyone on board the train. Despite being a thirty-year veteran of Spain’s national rail company, however, the driver had for whatever reason ignored the speed boundary and many people lost their lives. In Deuteronomy 5, Moses reviewed God’s original covenant boundaries for His people. Moses encouraged a new generation to regard God’s instruction as their own covenant with Him (v. 3), and then he restated the Ten Commandments (vv. 7–21). By repeating the commandments and drawing lessons from the previous generation’s disobedience, Moses invited the Israelites to be reverent, humble, and mindful of God’s faithfulness. God had made a way for His people so they wouldn’t wreck their lives or the lives of others. If they ignored His wisdom, they would do so at their own peril. Today, as God leads us, let’s make all of Scripture our delight, counselor, and the guardrail for our lives. And as the Spirit guides us, we can keep on track within His wise protection and devote our lives wholeheartedly to Him. By Marvin Williams When do God’s boundaries seem strict, rather than liberating? How do His boundaries show His love for you? Dear God, help me to show my love for You through my obedience to You. For further study, read God Is Love: Reflection on the Character of God.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT The setting for the book of Deuteronomy occurs after the Israelites’ forty years of wilderness wanderings because of their unbelief (1:3; Numbers 14:33–34). Geographically, the place was the Plains of Moab (Deuteronomy 1:5; 29:1) on the edge of the promised land. The English title Deuteronomy literally means “second law.” The book includes the reiteration, exposition, and interpretation of the law (in Exodus and Leviticus) that was previously given to the Israelites. Deuteronomy is quoted in the New Testament more than eighty times. Learn more about the book of Deuteronomy. Arthur Jackson

Failing to Listen to God / Charles Stanley

Failing to Listen to God

Genesis 3

Listening to God is not a onetime event. We must continually keep His Word before us, or we'll begin to listen to the wrong voices.

In Genesis 2:16-17, the Lord gave a command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But Eve began to listen to another voice and did not hold firmly to her Creator's words. All that Satan had to do was plant a single doubt about God's integrity and offer Eve one appealing advantage of doing things her own way—and she fell for it. He mentioned wisdom, but using her own reasoning, Eve added two more benefits to the temptation: the fruit is good for food and a delight to the eyes.

The schemes of the Enemy have not changed. He still whispers lies and twists truth to convince us that a) God cannot be trusted and b) His ways are not the best. In every temptation, there is a deception about the character and motive of God, plus an attractive promise of a better way.

The world is filled with voices that vie for our attention and influence our thoughts and actions. Throughout the day, consider the messages that are sent your way through the media and people. Consciously begin to compare them to what Scripture says about God and His ways.

Remembering what God says in the Bible is our safeguard against deception and temptation. Daily devotions won't protect us if they're quickly forgotten during the day. Follow Christ's example: be ready with truth in your mind and on your tongue whenever temptation strikes (Matt. 4:1-11).

 

Do You Know the Ways of God? / Adrian Rogers

Do You Know the Ways of God?

Exodus 33:13-14

Sermon: 2381 – Knowing the Ways of God

Pray Over This

“‘Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.’ And He said, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”

Exodus 33:13-14

Ponder This

Moses said, “Lord I want to know your ways.” In reply, God promised to give Moses rest. When you know God’s ways, it is the difference between rest and relapse. You can know God’s works without knowing God’s ways. The land of Canaan represents the believer’s rest. They were to have rest, but they never found rest. Those of us who know God’s ways will live in a perpetual Sabbath, not a seventh-day Sabbath, a 365-day-a-year Sabbath. Every day can be a day of rest if you know the ways of God.

Now, why don’t we know this? Why don’t we have this blessing? There is no blessing without obedience. And there is no obedience because there is no trust. There is no trust because there is no love. And there is no love because there is no knowledge. You can’t trust someone you do not know. And you cannot know someone if all you see is their works and you don’t know their ways. You have to know an individual. You have to know their ways to love them. You have to love them in order to trust them. And you have to trust them in order to obey them. Israel saw the works of God. They saw the miracles of God. They saw the plagues on Egypt. They saw the Red Sea opened. They saw all these things, but they never understood the ways of God, and they never found rest. The difference between knowing the works of God and the ways of God is the difference between rest and relapse.

• How would you describe the difference between knowing God’s works and knowing His ways?
• How can you seek to learn more of God’s ways this week?

Practice This

Spend time with God in His Word and in prayer, seeking to learn His ways and not just His works. Make a list that compares God’s works and His ways.

 

What Confession Really Means / Greg Laurie

 What Confession Really Means

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9 NLT)

It’s important that we know what it means to confess our sin, because our very forgiveness hinges on our understanding of it.

The Hebrew word for “confess” means to “acknowledge.” In the New Testament we could translate it “to agree with someone” or “to say the same thing as another.” We find the term in 1 John 1:9: “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (NLT).

This is essentially saying that if we will agree with God about our sin, if we will acknowledge it for what it is, not make excuses for it, see it as God sees it, and turn from it, then we will be forgiven.

But here’s the problem. Some people believe they’ve confessed their sin when they really haven’t, because they think confession is merely acknowledging their sin. For example, they’ll sin, get caught, and then say, “Okay, I confess that sin. That was a bad thing. I won’t do it again.”

Later, however, they go out and do it again. So they say, “I did it again. I confess that sin.”

That isn’t confession. They’re simply acknowledging their sin. They’re recognizing what is obvious. Confession, on the other hand, means to see sin for what it is, be sorry for it, and turn from it.

There are people who think they’ve confessed their sin and that God has forgiven them when, in reality, God hasn’t forgiven them at all. That’s because they haven’t done it God’s way. They must take that sin to the cross and recognize that it’s offensive to a holy God. Then they must turn from it, stop making excuses for it, and be sorry enough to change.

If you’re willing to do this when you’ve sinned, then God will forgive you.

Final Words / David Jeremiah

Final Words For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption. Acts 13:36   In ancient Greece, an ephitaphios (“upon a tomb”) referred to words inscribed on the outside of a tomb in memory of the deceased person buried within. We know that term today as epitaph, the inscription on a gravestone or tomb in memory of the deceased. Books have been published about famous and unique epitaphs, often in memory of the deceased’s personality.

Recommended Reading: 1 Chronicles 22:1-19

The apostle Paul didn’t intend to suggest an epitaph for King David when he mentioned the long-dead king in a speech in the synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. But his words would have been fitting: “David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep.” Could there be a more succinct, yet powerful, summary of one man’s life? Does God expect any more from any of us than to complete the work He has given us to do?  David was not perfect, but he was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). May each child of God strive to follow David’s example and leave a similar legacy.   We are contributing to a much larger building of the kingdom of God. It’s through this means that we leave a legacy of godliness for the next generation. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

 

Every Knee Will Bow / Ann Graham Lotz

 Every Knee Will Bow

God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

Philippians 2:9-10, nkjv

The Bible says that one day, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10–11, nasb). Whether we want to or not, one day we will all bow before God’s only Son.

Who do you know who has set him- or herself against Christ?

                                                      A school administrator?

                                          A business employer?

                              A secular corporation?

                  A religious institution?

      A political agenda?

A government policy?

An entire culture?

Whoever, or whatever, sets themselves against Christ will find themselves sooner or later on their faces before Him! So . . . bow down now!

Bible in One Year: July 30

 Bible in One Year: Psalms 51-53; Romans 2

The Teaching of Disillusionment / Oswald Chambers

 

The Teaching of Disillusionment Jesus did not commit Himself to them…, for He knew what was in man. JOHN 2:24-25 Disillusionment means having no more misconceptions, false impressions, and false judgments in life; it means being free from these deceptions. However, though no longer deceived, our experience of disillusionment may actually leave us cynical and overly critical in our judgment of others. But the disillusionment that comes from God brings us to the point where we see people as they really are, yet without any cynicism or any stinging and bitter criticism. Many of the things in life that inflict the greatest injury, grief, or pain, stem from the fact that we suffer from illusions. We are not true to one another as facts, seeing each other as we really are; we are only true to our misconceived ideas of one another. According to our thinking, everything is either delightful and good, or it is evil, malicious, and cowardly. Refusing to be disillusioned is the cause of much of the suffering of human life. And this is how that suffering happens— if we love someone, but do not love God, we demand total perfection and righteousness from that person, and when we do not get it we become cruel and vindictive; yet we are demanding of a human being something which he or she cannot possibly give. There is only one Being who can completely satisfy to the absolute depth of the hurting human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord is so obviously uncompromising with regard to every human relationship because He knows that every relationship that is not based on faithfulness to Himself will end in disaster. Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person. If our trust is placed in human beings, we will end up despairing of everyone. Bible in One Year: Psalms 51-53; Romans 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS No one could have had a more sensitive love in human relationship than Jesus; and yet He says there are times when love to father and mother must be hatred in comparison to our love for Him.

 

Sunday Check-in With Dr. Stanley: He’s Got the Whole World

No matter what is happening in our world, we can live with peace and hope because our God is always in control.

Daniel 2:20-22

How many of us have listened to the news and wondered, What in the world is going on? Without a firm foundation of biblical truth, we can easily be overcome with fear and despair. Thankfully, though, Christians can find peace in the knowledge that our God is sovereign over every nation and ruler on earth. 

An omnipotent hand is orchestrating a good and glorious plan: the Lord is the one who “removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan. 2:20). Nothing that the Lord does is carried out in isolation. He’s working all things according to His divine plan. We tend to think that a ruler has to be righteous for God to use Him, but Proverbs 21:1 tells us that the Lord can direct the heart of any national leader wherever He wishes. In fact, He describes two pagan kings—Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus—as “My servant” (Jeremiah 25:9) and “My shepherd” (Isaiah 44:28). Unbeknownst to them, God guided their paths to fulfill His purposes for Israel. 

The Lord’s plans for this world are moving along according to His divine purposes, and no unrighteous ruler can thwart Him. Just remember, “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” 

God's Plan for Marriage is to be Super Glued Together / Adrian Rogers

 God's Plan for Marriage is to be Super Glued Together

Mark 10:9

Sermon: 1175 – How to Prepare Kids for Marriage

Pray Over This

“Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Mark 10:9

Ponder This

The word cleave means to weld, to glue, to fasten together in an unbreakable bond. Marriage is to be God’s super glue. Divorce is a transgression of the will, the law, and the purpose of God. Parents need to teach children that divorce is never an option. Show me two people who begin their marriage with the idea that, if it doesn’t work out, they’ll get a divorce, and I’ll show you two people who are highly likely to get a divorce. Show me two people who begin a marriage with a total commitment of “no matter what,” and I’ll show you two kids who are likely to make it. When you get on the airplane of marriage, you throw away your parachute. If somebody mentions divorce, you give a blank look and say, “What does that word mean? I don’t understand that word. What language is that? We don’t even discuss that. That is not even an option. We don’t even talk about it. It is not God’s will. It is not God’s way. No to divorce.” For this cause shall a man leave his father and his mother, and he shall cleave unto his wife.

• Who do you know that has the type of marriage described in today’s passage?
• Though divorce is not God’s desire, many in the Church have experienced this painful reality. How can you encourage those who have gone through the pain of divorce?

Practice This

If you are married and have a printed dictionary, cross through the entry on divorce and show that to your spouse. Married or not, take one practical step today to bless someone who has experienced the pain of divorce.

God as Man / Ann Graham Lotz

God as Man 

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.

>John 1:10, niv

If we think we can avoid God by pleading indifference toward Him or ignorance of Him, we’re mistaken; both choices are indirect rejection. John makes this point when he states, “He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him” (John 1:10, niv). It would be easier to imagine Ford Motor Company not recognizing Henry Ford, or Microsoft not recognizing Bill Gates, or the United States of America not recognizing George Washington than to imagine man not recognizing his Creator!

Just about everybody you and I know fails to recognize Jesus for Who He is. The majority of the world doesn’t recognize Him for Who He is. The world talks of and teaches evolution as the beginning of all things. The world talks of and teaches about Jesus Christ as a good man or a well-meaning prophet or a revolutionary zealot. But the world does not recognize Jesus Christ for Who He really is: God as Man!

Lower Deck People / ODB

 

Lower Deck People Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. 1 Corinthians 12:22 READ 1 Corinthians 12:12–14, 21–27 A friend of mine works on a hospital ship called Africa Mercy, which takes free healthcare to developing countries. The staff daily serve hundreds of patients whose ailments would otherwise go untreated. TV crews who periodically board the ship, point their cameras on its amazing medical staff, who fix cleft palates and reset club feet. Sometimes they go below deck to interview other crew members, but the work Mick does typically goes unnoticed. Mick, an engineer, admits being surprised about where he’d been assigned to work—in the ship’s sewage plant. With up to forty thousand liters of waste produced each day, managing this toxic material is serious business. Without Mick tending its pipes and pumps, Africa Mercy’s life-giving operations would stop. It’s easy to applaud those on the “top deck” of Christian ministry while overlooking those in the galleys below. When the Corinthians elevated those with extraordinary gifts above others, Paul reminded them that every believer has a role in Christ’s work (1 Corinthians 12:7–20), and every gift is important, whether it’s miraculous healing or helping others (vv. 27–31). In fact, the less prominent the role, the greater honor it deserves (vv. 22–24). Are you a “lower deck” person? Then lift your head high. Your work is honored by God and indispensable to us all. By Sheridan Voysey What happens when you compare your gifts with others? Which “lower deck” person can you affirm the efforts of today? I’m important to You, God. Thank You for noticing me whether others do or not.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT Paul used many metaphors to describe the church; for example, “flock” (Acts 20:28), “field” and “building” (1 Corinthians 3:9), and “dwelling” (Ephesians 2:22). But one metaphor Paul used often is “body” (Romans 12:4–5; 1 Corinthians 10:17; Ephesians 1:22–23; 4:4, 12; 5:23, 30; Colossians 1:18, 24). Some Corinthian believers elevated certain ecstatic gifts (for example, speaking in unknown tongues) above others saying that unless one had these, they weren’t part of the church. Paul refuted this error in 1 Corinthians 12–14. Here he used the body metaphor to promote oneness, unity, and harmony in the church. The church, like the human body, has many parts, but all are needed for the body to function properly. K. T. Sim