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 The reading for day 86 was 1 Peter through 3 John.
1:3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wow! What an awesome thing God has done for us in salvation! He has secured an inheritance for us in heaven. We are kept by the power of God. This sounds like a very secure salvation to me. My palce in heaven is held there by God Himself.
2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: Check this out...God chose us so that we would bring Him glory! It wasn't anything desirable in us, it was what He desired to show through us. 2:20 For what glory [is it], if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer [for it], ye take it patiently, this [is] acceptable with God. 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: This is another example from scripture that says we are called for the purpose of suffering. 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. We should be looking for suffering to come. If we are living a godly life we will encounter suffering and when we do we should consider ourselves blessed by God for what He has brought into our lives. 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. I think that if I knew what these verses truly meant I would be transported to heaven to stay with the Lord forever. I can't think clearly enough to even sort out all the wonderful things that are said here. This is one of the most wonderful things in scripture. Think on it for a while. Please share any thoughts you have on these verses. 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love [of God], because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren. 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels [of compassion] from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. 3:20 For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things. Praise the Lord, amen, hallelujah!
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119:10 With my whole heart I seek thee; let me not wander from thy commandments! Psalms 119:10 RSV How often can I truly say those words? With my whole heart I seek you. This is my prayer today. That God would keep my heart from wandering, that I would seek him with my whole heart this day, and that I would continue to trust in His work for me. "Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above." (Come Thou Fount) Amen.
God bless!
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The reading for day 85 was Hebrews and James.
2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Jesus came in the flesh and died so that the devil would be destroyed. So...has this been accomplished? Jesus died right? So has this goal been met? Is the devil destroyed? If so, in what sense? If not, then what does this passage mean and when will it be fulfilled? My personal opinion is that the devil has been destroyed at least in the sense that his power over death has been taken away from him by Jesus. What do you think?
I think that verse 11 of chapter 4 is very interesting. It says, 4:11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
We should labor to enter rest. We have to keep working until we stop :-) This seems verys obvious but it must not be if we have to be told. If we keep on following after Christ, we will find rest. If we don't, we won't.
In chapter 12, the author of Hebrews write, 12:4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.
Is this speaking of persecution or personal purity? I've normally associated this verse with persecution, but my most recent reading may have led me to believe otherwise. Immediately after this verse, the author goes into a teaching on God's discipline of His children. 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
This begs the question, what are we to resist? (v4) Are we to resist sin? I would say that is probably the correct answer. When we give in God disciplines us as we would our own children. Correction comes through pain administered by the hands of the father. How can we know when God is disciplining us or simply letting us go through a trial for refinement? I think this is different than James chapter 1 where he says, 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 1:3 Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
One is the result of sin and the other is to improve our faith. What do you think?
4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth [it] not, to him it is sin.
I think that verse pretty much speaks for itself :-)
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The first 2 chapters of 1Thessalonians is about how the gospel was brought to the Thessalonian people and how Paul is impressed with them and how Paul and they suffered while they were together. The interesting thing to me is what Paul tells them at the beginning of chapter 3: 3:1 Wherefore when we could no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left at Athens alone; 3:2And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellowlabourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: 3:3 That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. Paul tells them that hos suffering were "appointed". In other words, his suffering was planned ahead of time. Anyone who thinks that God does not bring suffering on his people for his glory is not paying close enough attention to what the scripture says. Paul basically says that the Thessalonians shouldn't be surprised to see him suffer. He says in the next verse "see....I told you it was coming" (my paraphrase). Our suffering as Christians is for God's glory and our good. We don't like to think of God as causing our suffering or planning it out for us ahead of time. What do we do when we encounter suffering in our lives? Do we get depressed or do we thank God for an opportunity to experience growth even through pain?
Chapter 1 of 2Thessalonians takes things a step further. 1:4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 1:5 [Which is] a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
Suffering is a gift from God that shows to the world that He has found us worthy of the kingdom! He sends us trials and then gives us patience and faith to endure them!
1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are about how a man of God should conduct himself, how the people of the church should live, the qualifiactions for various positions in the church and how people should conduct themselves when gathered together. I think the main thing in all of these books can be found in chapter 1 of 1Timothy.
1:5 But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned:
If the end result of the teaching of the church is "love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (NASB), then the church is doing a good job.
Philemon is a beautiful letter written by Paul on behalf of his friend. Onesimus had apparently run away from Philemon, who was his master, and had found Paul. Paul led Onesimus to Christ and had a deep love for him. He didn't want to send him away, but Onesimus had to be reconciled to his master and Paul wanted to make sure he got a warm reception. Onesimus ran away as a lost slave, he returned as a slave of Christ and brother of Paul and Philemon. Its a real life example of what happens to all of us as Christians. We start out as slaves of sin and end up as slaves of righteousness. What a glorious freedom it is to be chained to Jesus :-)
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Imitation
Chapter 5 of Ephesians tells us to be "imitators of God." Isn't it interesting how Paul always tells us to do something that, at the very least, seems impossible? In verses 2-4 of chapter 5, Paul tells us what imitating God looks like. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 5:3But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 5:4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
The most important thing about imitation is found in verse 2. How do we imitate God? We do what Jesus did. We love and we give ourselves for others. What a concept! What would our churches be like if we all imitated God? What would it look like if Christians were willing to die for each other? How could you impact your community by showing love to your neighbor? Maybe it would help us in our pursuit of unity.
Joy
Go through the book of Phillipians and count how many times the word joy, or some form of it, is used. Did you do it yet? I counted 16. How many did you come up with? When I read through Phillipians it just really jumped out at me that we need joy in our lives. No matter what the circumstances, we should have joy oozing from our pores :-) 4:4Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice.
How often should we rejoice? Always! Paul was so full of joy even in his times of suffering that he can say 4:12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 4:13I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
What good would suffering do if we didn't have joy while going through it? What good would being prosperous do if we didn't have joy? Joy is an integral part of our Christian walk. I hope that I can say with Paul that I "rejoice in the Lord always."
Life
Colossians is one of my favorite books of the Bible, but because if I continue to go through these books chapter by chapter I will never get done, I'm only going to highlight one verse from Colossians. Chapter 3 verse 3 says, 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. My life that I now live is not mine. I'm dead. My life is hidden with Christ. No one can steal it away from Him. My life is in God, but not only is it in God, it is hidden in God. It is in God with Christ. I don't know that I could ever mine the depths of what this verse means. God is truly amazing!
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