Verse of the Day 1/1/09

Through the Bible - Genesis 1-2, Matthew 1

Happy New Year,

I'll start the year off with a quote from a Charles Spurgeon New Year's sermon: "They that are full of the joy of the Lord never find life grow weary. Getting near to Christ, you will partake in his joy, and that joy shall be your strength, your freshness, the newness of your life. God grant us to drink of the eternal founts, that we may for ever overflow.” —Charles Spurgeon,
May you be "full of the joy of the Lord" in the coming year. A necessary ingredient for "partaking" in this joy is to get to know Jesus Christ better. The way to get to know Him better is through His Word, prayer; then living out what we learn in our lives.

January 1 obviously is a day of beginnings. In the Bible, in the reading plan above it is also about the fullness of time. For a little bit about that we'll go to Galations 4 for today's verse.

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. NKJV

In Genesis, God created the universe in His time, at the right time. In Matthew we read where He brought His Son into the world and we see where Jesus begins His ministry in God's timimg, in the fullness of time. Barnes notes," The sense is, that the time which had been predicted, and when it was proper that he should come, was complete. The exact period had arrived when all things were ready for his coming."

Now may be the fullness of time for you to receive Christ as Saviour, or to return to Him, in either case it is the time to grow in Him.

I would encourage you to read through the Bible this year. If not the whole Bible why not start with the New Testament. This will average to be about 20 verse a day and will only take a few minutes. Spend time in His Word daily, pick a verse from the passage, write it down, carry it with you, let it work in your life. As Spurgeon noted, may it bring joy, freshness, and newness to your spiritual life that will abound in your daily walk.

I'll be reading through the New Living Testament this year. Many of the verses will be from the NLT as well as my standard, the New King James Version (NKJV).

May God bless you in the coming year. May you not feel like a slave to sin but "an heir of God through Christ" (Gal. 4:7) this year.

In Christ,
Mike
mikevw@bellsouth.net

Gal 4:1-8

Sons and Heirs Through Christ

4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.


NKJV