Living in right standing with God? That means communing with Him, walking with Him, living for Him, and above all, trusting Him and His promises. Friendship is the marriage of affections.
Thomas Watson. In all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility. Titus Paul wanted Timothy to hold fast to the truth of God, not allowing himself to be divided.
A person of integrity obeys the whole counsel of God every day, in every circumstance. They told the king they would not divide their allegiance, that they would maintain their faith in God and His promises.
That is integrity. Are you a whole person or a fractioned person today? If your beliefs, and therefore your actions, have become divided, gather them back together as you commit to God and His Word.
Integrity of heart is indispensable. John Calvin. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. To first-century leaders in the Roman world, the imagery was familiar: A victorious Roman general returning from battle leading his soldiers and their captives into the city.
Citizens lined the streets applauding while the aroma of celebratory incense filled the air. Paul uses that image to say that Christ leads His followers in a victory procession through every difficulty in life 2 Corinthians The victory over the world, the flesh, the devil, and sin was won by the Cross and the empty tomb.
He did for us what we cannot do for ourselves. We have victory now and for eternity only because of the victory Christ won for us.
Therefore, if we are to experience victory in this life, it will come only as we depend on Him. As Paul wrote in Galatians , the life we now live is the life of Christ in us as we keep our faith in Him.
If you need a victory in your life, begin every day by renewing your faith in Christ in whom all our victories are to be realized. The spiritual battle, the loss of victory, is always in the thought-world. Francis Schaeffer. Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Revelation A great misconception carried by many Christians has to do with the location of heaven.
But the Bible says our eternal destiny is earthly, not heavenly. Somehow, at the end of the age, when Christ has returned to reign and inaugurate the eternal state, this earth will be renovated and a new earth will be the result—a new earth full of righteousness in which pain and sorrow will be absent.
The beautiful imagery of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 lets us know that the new earth will be a place that reflects the glory of God throughout. Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for you if you belong to Him John The New Jerusalem, on the new earth, is that place. Let thy hope of heaven master thy fear of death.
William Gurnall. Now it came to pass in those days that [Jesus] went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. Luke Officially, church historians recognize seven ecumenical church councils held between A. The humanity of Christ, while at the same time divine, is hard to understand.
But thankfully, Scripture gives us illustrations: Like us, Jesus suffered, experienced hunger, required sleep, ate food, and had limits on His knowledge Mark We might think that, if Jesus was truly divine, He would have had no need to pray for knowledge, guidance, or help. Yet He did, following the example of godly men like Daniel in Babylon Daniel Jesus repeatedly said that He only did what the Father showed Him to do John , and prayer was His means.
If Jesus, the Son of God, needed to go to His Father in prayer for strengthening and guidance, how much more do we Psalm ? Prayer and a holy life are one. What is humility? Is it the opposite of pride? But what is the biblical view of humility. If someone compliments you on a job well done, do you refuse to take credit or receive their compliment? Rather, we should think of it soberly and realistically—humbly—and minister accordingly.
How do you view yourself? With pride? With false humility? Or soberly and realistically according to the grace of God in your life? A really humble man…will not be thinking about humility, he will not be thinking about himself at all.
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was turned into the drought of summer. Psalm California is a dry state that needs water to be transported over many miles to population and agricultural centers. Snowfall in the winter and melting snow in the spring are critical factors in replenishing shrinking reservoirs.
In periods of modern droughts, aerial photographs document the receding water levels in reservoirs around the state—shorelines growing wider and drier as water levels fall. Such is the picture David paints with his words in Psalm 32—a drought of spiritual vitality brought on by his own sin.
It was like his soul was being evaporated by the heat of his own guilt and shame. But then the rains of grace came and David confessed his sin and God forgave him verse 5. And he encouraged his readers not to make the same mistake he had made verses Confession and repentance reveal the access to restoration. The way to cover our sin is to uncover it by confession.
Richard Sibbes. I rejoice at Your Word as one who finds great treasure. Earlier this year, a volunteer for a charity in Arizona was going through books donated for a sale.
Someone had used a knife to cut a hole in the middle of the book. Perhaps it would help to think of it in those terms. Use your imagination to see every word of Scripture turning to gold as you read it.
Think of every promise as a precious stone. See the words about Jesus in the Gospels as sparkling like diamonds. Visualize your daily Bible study time like a miser running his hands through a chest of gold. The treasury of Scripture will enrich your mind, refocus your goals, replace your doubts, and redirect your path—but only if you read it and heed it.
Start today! To get the best use out of [the Bible] for daily life,…Give it the best and freshest, not the most tired and dull, hour of the day. Kimber in The Sunday School World , I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside.
May 10th, April 25th, April 5th, March 22nd, March 8th, February 22nd, February 8th, January 25th, January 11th, December 28th, December 14th, November 30th, November 3rd, October 19th, We all encounter situations that test our faith.
Perhaps I am in a circumstance in which the normal reaction would be anxiety and uneasiness. Let it be to me according to Your word.
Take care of me, like You have promised. Now I am casting all my care on You, and I choose to believe. Cast all your care upon God: A practical solution that works. There are many other ways we can demonstrate our faith in our ordinary daily lives. We experience that God is true! She had full faith and confidence in God, but was lowly in her own eyes. After the angel left her, she magnified God who had regarded her lowly state and entrusted her with this great task.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. Mary shows us that those who are small and poor in their own eyes are valuable to God, and He cares about them. All He is looking for is faith!
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