A verse for 7/31/12

Eph 1:4  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Col 1:22  he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

Heb 10:10  …. we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Php 2:12  Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Php 2:13  for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

I trust that you can see that the word of God teaches us that it is God who is working in us to complete our sanctification! And if God is doing it then it will get done. Don’t try to gain God’s blessing by your merit, you’ll never make it.

Love you all and I pray for all who read this.

A verse for 7/30/12

Heb 10:9  then he added, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He does away with the first in order to establish the second.

Heb 10:10  And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Arthur Pink said; “The great mistake made by most of the Lord’s people is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.”

To live by grace is to live solely by the merit of Jesus Christ. To live by grace is to base my entire relationship with God, including my acceptance and standing with Him, on my union with Christ. It is to recognize that in myself I bring nothing of worth to my relationship with God, because even my righteous acts are like filthy rags in His sight (Isaiah 64:6). Even my best works are stained with mixed motives and imperfect performance. I never truly love God with all my heart, and I never truly love my neighbor with the degree or consistency with which I love myself.

A verse for 7/29/12

Lev 19:11  "You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.

Lev 19:12  You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.

Lev 19:13  "You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired servant shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

Lev 19:14  You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

Lev 19:15  "You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

Lev 19:16  You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

Lev 19:17  "You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.

Lev 19:18  You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Allow me to paraphrase, and do it like Paul used love in 1 Corinthians 13 and say “Love does not.”

Love does not steal, it does not lie, it does not deceive. Love does not profane God’s name. It does not defraud nor rob its neighbor. It does not hold the wages of a hired man overnight. Love does not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block in front of the blind.

Love does not pervert justice, nor show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great. Instead, it judges its neighbor fairly. Love does not slander another, nor do anything that endangers his life.

Love does not hate its brother, nor seek revenge, nor bear a grudge, but rather treats its neighbor as itself.

Love is the motivation for our obedience, we don’t keep the law to gain blessing from God!

A verse for 7/28/12

1Jn 5:3  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

We are never told that we can live anyway we like and go on sinning, as Paul says with strong exclamation in Romans 6:2  By no means!

A verse for 7/27/12

2Co 5:14  For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;

2Co 5:15  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Living by grace instead of by works means you are free from the performance treadmill. It means God has already given you an “A” when you deserved an “F” He has already given you a full day’s pay when you worked only an hour. It means you don’t have to perform certain spiritual disciplines to earn God’s approval. Jesus Christ has already done that for you.

You are loved and accepted by God through the merit of Jesus, and you are blessed by God through the merit of Jesus Christ. Nothing you ever do will cause Him to love you any more or any less. He loves you strictly by His grace given to you through Jesus.

How does this emphasis on God’s free and sovereign grace make you feel? Does it make you a little nervous? Does it seem a bit scary to hear that nothing you do will ever make God love you any more or bless you any more? Do you think, Well, if you take the pressure off like that and tell me all of my effort will never earn me one blessing, then I’m afraid I’ll slack off and stop doing the things I need to do to live a disciplined Christian life?

The Bible sees the possibility that the grace of God can be misunderstood and even abused. It speaks of “godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality” (Jude 4). Anticipating the question, “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Romans 6:1) The Bible also warns us not to use our freedom to indulge the sinful nature. (Galatians 6:13) And just keep on reading!

A verse for 7/26/12

Rom 9:20  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

Rom 9:21  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

I know that we all have times that we think that others get more of God’s blessing than we do. Some are more gifted in spiritual abilities, other people seem to succeed with little effort, and then there are the ones that never have any problems or concerns, and on and on. “But who are you, O man, to answer back to God?”