Saturday, August 21, 2010

Doing Good

Comment: Many times our best instincts tell us to get even or repay insult with injury. We must recognize that these natural instincts are not aligned with God's purpose for our life. We are encouraged to not grow tired of showing kindness or doing good. We are reminded not to give in to what our natural instincts might want.


Verse: Galations 6:7-10

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Knowing the Mind of Christ

Commentary: We can only know the mind of God by submitting to the Holy Spirit. Our individual attempts to understand will always fall short. Only through the Holy Spirit can we faithfully communicate and effectively share the wisdom, mind, and love of Christ.

Verse: 1 Corinthians 2

 1When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.[a] 2For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. 4My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.
Wisdom From the Spirit
 6We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9However, as it is written:
   "No eye has seen,
      no ear has heard,
   no mind has conceived
   what God has prepared for those who love him"[b]10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
      The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.[c] 14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
 16"For who has known the mind of the Lord
      that he may instruct him?"[d] But we have the mind of Christ.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Worthy of Our Praise

Comment: We should always have time to lift our voice and give praise. God has blessed us with much more then we deserve and will continue demonstrate evidence of His abundance in our lives. God is most worthy of our praise!

Verse: Psalms 145

 1 [a] I will exalt you, my God the King;
       I will praise your name for ever and ever.
 2 Every day I will praise you
       and extol your name for ever and ever.
 3 Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
       his greatness no one can fathom.
 4 One generation will commend your works to another;
       they will tell of your mighty acts.
 5 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
       and I will meditate on your wonderful works. [b]
 6 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
       and I will proclaim your great deeds.
 7 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
       and joyfully sing of your righteousness.
 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
       slow to anger and rich in love.
 9 The LORD is good to all;
       he has compassion on all he has made.
 10 All you have made will praise you, O LORD;
       your saints will extol you.
 11 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
       and speak of your might,
 12 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
       and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
       and your dominion endures through all generations.
       The LORD is faithful to all his promises
       and loving toward all he has made. [c]
 14 The LORD upholds all those who fall
       and lifts up all who are bowed down.
 15 The eyes of all look to you,
       and you give them their food at the proper time.
 16 You open your hand
       and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
 17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways
       and loving toward all he has made.
 18 The LORD is near to all who call on him,
       to all who call on him in truth.
 19 He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
       he hears their cry and saves them.
 20 The LORD watches over all who love him,
       but all the wicked he will destroy.
 21 My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD.
       Let every creature praise his holy name
       for ever and ever.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Victory!

Comment: The Lord knows us better then we know ourselves. Before we speak a word, before we think a thought, before was make a choice, God is there and knows our hearts. He is there, ready to guide us to victory.

Verse: Psalms 139

 1 O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.
 2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.
 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.
 4 Before a word is on my tongue
       you know it completely, O LORD.
 5 You hem me in—behind and before;
       you have laid your hand upon me.
 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
       too lofty for me to attain.
 7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
       Where can I flee from your presence?
 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
       if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.
 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
       if I settle on the far side of the sea,
 10 even there your hand will guide me,
       your right hand will hold me fast.
 11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
       and the light become night around me,"
 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
       the night will shine like the day,
       for darkness is as light to you.
 13 For you created my inmost being;
       you knit me together in my mother's womb.
 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
       your works are wonderful,
       I know that full well.
 15 My frame was not hidden from you
       when I was made in the secret place.
       When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
 16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
       All the days ordained for me
       were written in your book
       before one of them came to be.
 17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
       How vast is the sum of them!
 18 Were I to count them,
       they would outnumber the grains of sand.
       When I awake,
       I am still with you.
 19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God!
       Away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
 20 They speak of you with evil intent;
       your adversaries misuse your name.
 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD,
       and abhor those who rise up against you?
 22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
       I count them my enemies.
 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
       test me and know my anxious thoughts.
 24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Easy Choice

Comment: Christ has extended an open invitation to all who are facing difficult times. We have a choice and can make our challenges easier. The simple step is to choose Christ. Patiently learn from His example. His "yoke is easy and His burden is light".

Verse: Matthew 11:25 - 28

 25At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
 27"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
 28"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Friday, August 6, 2010

A Purposeful Life

Comment: We should be ready to praise God in all circumstances. His purpose for our life will be revealed through patient study of His word. Through God we can be bold, facing any challenge, living a life focused on the humility and unwavering love of Jesus Christ.

Verse: Psalm 138:1 - 8

 1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
       before the "gods" I will sing your praise.
 2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
       and will praise your name
       for your love and your faithfulness,
       for you have exalted above all things
       your name and your word.
 3 When I called, you answered me;
       you made me bold and stouthearted.
 4 May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD,
       when they hear the words of your mouth.
 5 May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
       for the glory of the LORD is great.
 6 Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly,
       but the proud he knows from afar.
 7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
       you preserve my life;
       you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
       with your right hand you save me.
 8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
       your love, O LORD, endures forever—
       do not abandon the works of your hands.

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Children of Light

Comment: God has called us to a very difficult task, if we choose to pursue it on our own. Instead, we should aim to "find out what pleases the Lord" and ask Him to guide our steps and our thoughts with an obedient heart. He is the parent. We are the child.

Verse: Ephesians 5:1-21

 1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
 3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.
 8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
   "Wake up, O sleeper,
      rise from the dead,
   and Christ will shine on you."
 15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Indescribable Gift

Comment: God has provided us with an indescribable gift. All we have to do is make a commitment to give our best to Him. Giving our best depends on prayer and an attitude that is cheerful, humble, and ready to serve. We are encouraged to "abound in every good work"!

Verse: 2 Corinthians 9:6 - 15

 6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
   "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
      his righteousness endures forever."[a] 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
 12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!