Are You Guided by God’s Truth? / Adrian Rogers

 Are You Guided by God’s Truth?

Hebrews 4
Sermon: 1555 The Word of God

Pray Over This

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:12

Ponder This

The Word of God is such a sharp instrument that if it were a literal sword, it could divide joints and marrow. Since it’s a spiritual sword, it divides the soul and the spirit. Do you know the difference between the soul and the spirit? I was preaching for a long time, and I didn’t know the difference between the soul and the spirit. I just thought that was the invisible part of a human being. You could call it his soul, you could call it his spirit—six of one, half a dozen of another. But the more I studied, the more I found out that the spirit is what makes man absolutely unique and in the image of God.

Plants have bodies, but they don't have souls. Animals have bodies and souls, but they don’t have a spirit. Only Man has a spirit because Man is made in the image of God and God is spirit. “Those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). How important it is, then, that we have an instrument that can divide between soul and spirit.

So much of the trouble we get into in the spiritual world is because we cannot divide between soul and spirit. The reason we don’t divide between soul and spirit is that we do not know the Word of God as we should.

• How have you been guided by God’s truth in the past? How is it guiding you today?
• Why do you think we struggle to use the powerful tool of Scripture in our lives?

Practice This

Write down a verse to memorize this week.

Spotting Hope / ODB

 

Spotting Hope May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you. Psalm 33:22 READ Psalm 33:6–9, 12–22 Oceanographer Sylvia Earle has seen the deterioration of coral reefs firsthand. She founded Mission Blue, an organization devoted to the development of global “hope spots.” These special places around the world are “critical to the health of the ocean,” which impacts our lives on earth. Through the intentional care for these areas, scientists have seen the relationships of underwater communities restored and lives of endangered species preserved.  In Psalm 33, the psalmist acknowledges that God spoke everything into existence and ensured that all He made would stand firm (vv. 6–9). As God reigns over generations and nations (vv. 11–19), He alone restores relationships, saves lives, and revitalizes hope. However, God invites us to join Him in caring for the world and the people He created.  Each time we praise God for the whisper of a rainbow splashed across a clouded, gray sky or the glistening waves of the ocean crashing against a rocky shore, we can proclaim His “unfailing love” and presence as we “put our hope” in Him (v. 22).  When we’re tempted toward discouragement or fear as we consider the current state of the world, we may begin to believe we can’t make a difference. When we do our part as members of God’s care team, however, we can honor Him as the Creator and help others spot hope as they place their trust in Jesus. By Xochitl Dixon How has God used nature to affirm your hope in Him? How can you serve as part of His care team? Loving Creator and Sustainer, help me be a hope-spotter who faithfully serves on Your care team.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT In Psalm 33, the unnamed psalmist calls the righteous to praise God, extolling Him as the Lord of creation (vv. 6-9) and the nations (vv. 10-22). The writer speaks of God’s power in creation: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made . . . . He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (vv. 6, 9). The omnipotent Creator of the universe is also the supreme ruler of history (vv. 10-15) and the providential provider and protector of those who trust in Him (vv. 16-22). K. T. Sim

Every Promise Fulfilled / Alistair Begg

 

Every Promise Fulfilled

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:1

The beginning of the New Testament may not immediately strike us as inspiring. In fact, if someone were reading through the Bible for the very first time and reached the end of Malachi, which points forward with anticipation, their excitement might falter when the next book begins with… a genealogy. They (and we!) might even be tempted to skip Matthew and begin with another Gospel altogether. Keep in mind, though, that the promises God made to His people in the Old Testament all looked forward to their fulfillment. As we read through the New Testament, we realize that in fact it couldn’t open in a more fitting manner, since the genealogy in Matthew draws the line from Abraham to David and at last to Jesus as the one who fulfills all these promises. Similarly Mark, throughout his Gospel, reaches one hand back to the prophets who pointed forward to the one who was yet to come. Mark uses the Old Testament to set the stage for this striking reality, his second sentence beginning “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet…” (Mark 1:2). And the first words he records Jesus as saying are, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” (v 15). Jesus’ disciples had the privilege of witnessing what prophets and kings had longed to see (see Luke 10:24)—a privilege that even now continues through the illuminating work of God’s word. The New Testament shows us that the means by which God’s promises are fulfilled can be summed up in two words: Jesus Christ. God made His promises to Israel using terminology and categories that they understood—words like nation and temple. Christ’s coming redefined Old Testament concepts in light of the gospel: Old Testament prophecies, we discover, are all fulfilled christologically—by and in the person of the Christ. Therefore, instead of looking for a new temple in the state of Israel, we meet with God through His Son, the Lord Jesus; enjoy His presence in each of us by His Spirit; and look to the reality of Christ’s reign to transform our lives both now and forevermore. The coming of the Son of God breaks the boundaries of Old Testament categories. This is not meant to be unsettling for God’s people; it is meant to be thrilling! Christ is the perfect fulfillment of all God’s promises. He is the reality of all God’s great assurances. Wait no more, then, to see how God will fulfill His every promise. We know now that each one was, is, and ever will be satisfied through Christ. He has promised to be with you, to work for you and through you, and to bring you to an eternal kingdom of perfection. There are times when it is hard to hold on to those promises. When those times come, we look back to a man born of Abraham and David’s line, conceived of the Spirit, who was able to announce, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand” and who hung on a cross and rose from the grave so that all God’s promises would become “yes” in Him.

The Way for the New Year / Charles Spurgeon

 

The Way for the New Year

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight.” Luke 3:4

The voice crying in the wilderness demanded a way for the Lord, a way prepared, and a way prepared in the wilderness. I would be attentive to the Master’s proclamation and give Him a road into my heart, cast up by gracious operations, through the desert of my nature. The four directions in the text1 must have my serious attention. Every valley must be exalted. Low and groveling thoughts of God must be given up; doubting and despairing must be removed; and self-seeking and carnal delights must be forsaken. Across these deep valleys a glorious causeway of grace must be raised. Every mountain and hill shall be laid low. Proud creature-sufficiency, and boastful self-righteousness, must be leveled, to make a highway for the King of kings. Divine fellowship is never promised to haughty, high-minded sinners. The Lord has respect to the lowly and visits the contrite in heart, but the lofty are an abomination unto Him. My soul, beseech the Holy Spirit to set you right in this respect. The crooked shall be made straight. The wavering heart must have a straight path of decision for God and holiness marked out for it. Double-minded men are strangers to the God of truth. My soul, take heed that in everything you are honest and true, as in the sight of the heart-searching God. The rough places shall be made smooth. Stumbling-blocks of sin must be removed, and thorns and briers of rebellion must be uprooted. So great a visitor must not find miry ways and stony places when He comes to honor His favored ones with His company. Oh, that this evening the Lord may find in my heart a highway made ready by His grace, that He may make a triumphal progress through the utmost bounds of my soul, from the beginning of this year even to the end of it.

People of Principle / Greg Laurie

 People of Principle

At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king. (Daniel 1:15 NLT)

In ancient Israel, the people had a penchant for idolatry. They turned to false gods again and again. So, God raised up prophets to warn them. But they ignored God’s warnings.

As a result, God’s judgment came. He allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to conquer the southern kingdom of Judah and carry the people away captive to Babylon. Interestingly, idol worship was rampant in Babylon. In effect, God was saying, “You want idols? You’ve got idols.”

King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to find the brightest and best of the young men from among the captives, so he ordered his chief of staff to bring them into his court and school them in the ways of Babylon. In doing so, the king could use them to influence other Jews.

In some ways, it would have been a great honor for them to receive a summons to the palace. But in another way, it meant exposure to great temptation. In the end, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah became a part of the king’s court.

This essentially changed their world overnight. King Nebuchadnezzar ripped them away from their families and friends and placed them in an environment that was hostile to their faith. It is not unlike people who grow up in Christian homes and suddenly realize they’re in a hostile work or school environment. They discover they’re among people who have no interest whatsoever in the things of God.

Not only did the environment change for these four young men, but the king changed their names as well. Daniel’s name, for instance, meant “God is my judge.” But his new name, Belteshazzar, was attached to a false god, Bel.

Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah received the names Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, which also were connected to Babylonian gods.

Although the king could change their names, he could not change their hearts.

These four young men faced heavy-duty temptation. They had the finest education at the most prestigious school, not to mention access to the most delicious food and wine in the world.

King Nebuchadnezzar also immersed them in a system of false gods and idol worship. But he didn’t consider the fact that they had character. He thought they would cave in and do what everyone else did. But they were young men of principle.

Here’s what the Bible tells us about Daniel: “But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods” (Daniel 1:8 NLT).

We don’t know exactly why Daniel refused to eat from the king’s table. It may have been because the foods were offered to false gods. But for Daniel, it was a matter of principle. He didn’t want to do anything that would hinder his fellowship with God.

Daniel and his friends could have compromised very easily. Instead, they made a stand. And by standing their ground in a seemingly small area, it enabled them to stand their ground in a much larger area later in life.

Putting Holes in the Darkness / Ann Graham Lotz

 Putting Holes in the Darkness

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:16, nkjv

One night when Robert Louis Stevenson was a small boy, his nanny called him to come to bed. Oblivious to her summons, he was staring at something outside his nursery window. The nanny walked over, stood at his shoulder, and inquired patiently, “Robert, what are you looking at?” The little boy, without taking his eyes away from the window, exclaimed in wonder as he pointed to the lamplighter who was lighting the streetlamps, “Look, Nanny! That man is putting holes in the darkness!”

You and I may not be able to change the world, but surely each of us can put a hole in the darkness! Turn on the Light! Share what Jesus means to you and give God’s Word to someone else!

All through the ages, men and women have done just that! They have turned on the Light so that a living faith in God has been passed from generation to generation. Not everyone has been attracted to the Light, but one by one people have come to Him for truth, wisdom, hope, salvation, and eternal life.

When God Gives An Assignment / Max Lucado

 

When God Gives An Assignment

Click below to listen to today's devotional

WHEN GOD GIVES AN ASSIGNMENT 

The Bible says that “each person is given something to do that shows who God is” (1 Corinthians 12:7 MSG).

When God gives an assignment, he also gives the skill. Look at your life. What do you consistently do well? What do you love to do?  And what do others love for you to do? So much for the excuse, “I don’t have anything to offer. I can’t do anything.” And enough of its arrogant opposite, “I have to do everything.”

Imitate the apostle Paul who said, “Our goal is to stay within the boundaries of God’s plan for us” (2 Corinthians 10:13 NLT). So extract your uniqueness. “Kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you” (2 Timothy 1:6 NASB). And do so to make a big deal out of God.

Verse of the Day / January 2

Quiet Time...

"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." 

James 1:22-24 KJV

*****

Bible in One Year: January 2

 Bible in One Year: Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2

Will You Go Out Without Knowing? / Oswald Chambers

 

Will You Go Out Without Knowing? He went out, not knowing where he was going. HEBREWS 11:8 Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?” You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely. It is this attitude that keeps you in constant wonder, because you don’t know what God is going to do next. Each morning as you wake, there is a new opportunity to “go out,” building your confidence in God. “…do not worry about your life…nor about the body…” (Luke 12:22 ). In other words, don’t worry about the things that concerned you before you did “go out.” Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is. Do you believe in a miracle–working God, and will you “go out” in complete surrender to Him until you are not surprised one iota by anything He does? Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God. Bible in One Year: Genesis 4–6; Matthew 2

WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS God engineers circumstances to see what we will do. Will we be the children of our Father in heaven, or will we go back again to the meaner, common–sense attitude? Will we stake all and stand true to Him? “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” The crown of life means I shall see that my Lord has got the victory after all, even in me.

Are You a Channel of Truth? / Adrian Rogers

 Are You a Channel of Truth?

Proverbs 23:23
Sermon: 2242 Treasuring Truth, Part 2

Pray Over This

“Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.”
Proverbs 23:23

Ponder This

As a Bible student, you need to measure and test everything you read by the Word of God. You have a grid that everything must pass through. You have a radar. All truth intersects, and one of the tests of any good book is this: When you put that book down, do you begin to think? All genuine truth intersects because all real truth is of God. God did not make you to be a reservoir of facts—He meant for you to be a channel of truth. If you’re growing in knowledge but not growing in grace, you’re going to be dangerous. I’ve met those people. They can split a theological hair into nine separate sections, but they’re not growing in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Some people just want to study methods. You will never get excited about methods unless you learn the truth behind the method. Why do you do this? Are you experiencing freedom? Real truth, as Jesus says, sets you free. In your study, ask yourself these questions: Am I learning humility? Am I sharing grace with others in the process? Am I being set free?

• What is the difference between living as a reservoir of facts and as a channel of truth?
• What truth have you learned recently? How has it impacted you?

Practice This

Speak with a friend in Christ about what you have been learning and discuss how it has affected you.

The Son Also Rises / ODB

 

The Son Also Rises The sun also rises, and the sun goes down. Ecclesiastes 1:5 nkjv READ Ecclesiastes 1:1–11 Ernest Hemingway’s first full-length novel features hard-drinking friends who’ve recently endured World War I. They bear the literal and figurative scars of the war’s devastation and try to cope with it via parties, grand adventures, and sleeping around. Always, there is alcohol to numb the pain. No one is happy. Hemingway’s title for his book The Sun Also Rises comes straight from the pages of Ecclesiastes (1:5). In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon refers to himself as “the Teacher” (v. 1). He observes, “Everything is meaningless” (v. 2) and asks, “What do people gain from all their labors?” (v. 3). Solomon saw how the sun rises and sets, the wind blows to and fro, the rivers flow endlessly into a never satisfied sea (vv. 5–7). Ultimately, all is forgotten (v. 11). Both Hemingway and Ecclesiastes confront us with the stark futility of living for this life only. Solomon, however, weaves bright hints of the divine into his book. There is permanence—and real hope. Ecclesiastes shows us as we truly are, but it also shows God as He is. “Everything God does will endure forever,” said Solomon (3:14), and therein lies our great hope. For God has given us the gift of us His Son, Jesus. Apart from God, we’re adrift in an endless, never satisfied sea. Through His risen Son, Jesus, we’re reconciled to Him, and we discover our meaning, value, and purpose. By Tim Gustafson What occupies your time and what meaning does it hold? How might you change your priorities to follow Jesus? Loving Father, help me find my fulfillment in You.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT The author of the book of Ecclesiastes is unknown, but many Bible scholars believe it’s Solomon. The writer refers to himself as Qoheleth, a Hebrew word commonly translated as “the Teacher,” or “the Preacher” (1:1). As a “son of David, king in Jerusalem” (v. 1), he certainly qualifies. And as a king with the reputation as the wisest and wealthiest, he would’ve lived the themes of the book; hence, he becomes the plausible choice. Regardless of authorship, along with Job, Proverbs, and the poetry books of Psalms and Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes makes an invaluable contribution to the Bible’s Wisdom Literature. Tim Gustafson

Every Task Important / David Jeremiah

 

Every Task Important And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:13 God gave Moses detailed instructions for building a tabernacle (Exodus 25–40). The materials and furnishings for the tabernacle were numerous, all gathered and fashioned by the people in the wilderness—right down to things like tent pegs and cords for securing the curtain around the perimeter of the tabernacle. The Levites were given charge of transporting all these items as Moses led the people from camp to camp in the wilderness.

Recommended Reading: Numbers 4:31-33

Moses went so far as to assign certain Levite clans to carry certain parts of the tabernacle. The Kohathite clan was to carry the most holy parts of the tabernacle (Numbers 4:1-20), but the Merarite clan was given charge of things like “sockets, pegs, and cords” (Numbers 4:32). Which assignment seems more important and prestigious? It doesn’t matter because both assignments were necessary for the glory of God (Exodus 40:34). If God assigns you to carry the tent pegs for Him, do it with joy—it is the gift of God.   There is no work…that does not glisten before God. John Calvin

Behold Your God! / Alistair Begg

 

Behold Your God!

Go on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Isaiah 40:9

During the prophet Isaiah’s lifetime, God’s people had been taken captive into a foreign territory. They were dejected, unable even to sing songs of praise to the Lord (see Psalm 137:1-4). Yet while they were in that state of exile, God came to His people with words of comfort (Isaiah 40:1)—comfort found only in the fulfillment of His promise: that the glory of the Lord would be revealed, not only to Israel but to all mankind. These good tidings were nothing to be quiet about. God’s people were meant to give a triumphal shout, captivating each other with the glory of their hope. Once described as “people who walked in darkness,” they now saw “a great light” (Isaiah 9:2). The distinction between the darkness of this fallen world and the light of heaven is a striking picture that runs all the way through Isaiah, and indeed through the whole Bible. Darkness is a result of disinterest in God, rebellion against Him, and unwillingness to do what He says. There is but one message that shines light into such darkness, refreshing hearts and minds: “Behold your God!” This message is just as relevant to God’s people today as it was in Isaiah’s time. The darkness often feels very heavy and the light sometimes looks very dim. Yet often the message of hope also dawns during uncertain times. God promised, “The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken” (Isaiah 40:5). Ultimately, God fulfilled this promise when He took on flesh and established His presence among us. When John wrote his Gospel, he looked back on the same scene to which Isaiah had been looking forward, saying, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Here was—He was—the Light of the world, and “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (v 5). Isaiah was describing the one who would come—but we, like John, are able to reflect upon the completed work: the promised glory that has now been revealed. God has come to us, breaking through our darkness and bringing salvation. You can behold your God in a manger, on a cross, walking out of a tomb, and now reigning on high. It is not hard to see the darkness—but we must nevertheless look to the light, for there we find hope that casts out fear and good news that is worth heralding. Today, behold your God!