Verse of the Day 7/31

Verse of the Day 7/31

Psalm 31:14-15^?? But I??trust in you, O??Lord;

????????I say, ???You are my God.???
^15??My??times are in your hand;
????????rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!???? English Standard Version (ESV)

In yesterday's post we considered the Christian "walk", the Pilgrim's Progress, going through life following God through life's joys and challenges.?? Today's verses from Psalm 31 show that overarching attitude of such a pilgrim on life's journey.?? He says "I trust you"; You are my God"; my times are in your hand.

Don Fortner writes:

"My times". That is to say . . .     my ups and my downs,    my health and my sickness,    my prosperity and my adversity,    my wealth and my poverty,    my happiness and my sorrow  --all of these are in the hands of my Lord and Redeemer, who arranges and appoints the length of my days and the darkness of my nights according to His wise and holy will."    In life there are ups and downs; sickness and health; wealth and adversity, happiness and sorrow.  God is there with us through all of them and at times we will have to call for deliverance, for relief, for peace.  All of these can be done while trusting in Him for He is our God and our salvation.  

I'll close with the old Fanny Crosby hymn, she knew something about what it was like, what it took to trust; to seek His rescue and to follow.

1. All the way my Savior leads me,
   What have I to ask beside?
   Can I doubt His tender mercy,
   Who through life has been my Guide?
   Heav???nly peace, divinest comfort,
   Here by faith in Him to dwell!
   For I know, whate???er befall me,
   Jesus doeth all things well;
   For I know, whate???er befall me,
   Jesus doeth all things well.
2. All the way my Savior leads me,
   Cheers each winding path I tread,
   Gives me grace for every trial,
   Feeds me with the living Bread.
   Though my weary steps may falter
   And my soul athirst may be,
   Gushing from the Rock before me,
   Lo! A spring of joy I see;
   Gushing from the Rock before me,
   Lo! A spring of joy I see.
3. All the way my Savior leads me,
   Oh, the fullness of His love!
   Perfect rest to me is promised
   In my Father???s house above.
   When my spirit, clothed immortal,
   Wings its flight to realms of day
   This my song through endless ages:
   Jesus led me all the way;
   This my song through endless ages:
   Jesus led me all the way.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 31:14-16??New Living Translation (NLT)

^14??But I am trusting you, O??Lord,
????????saying, ???You are my God!???
^15??My future is in your hands.
????????Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.
^16??Let your favor shine on your servant.
????????In your unfailing love, rescue me.

Verse of the Day 7/30

Verse of the Day 7/30

Colossians 2:6-7?? As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,??^7??rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.??

New King James Version (NKJV)

As I read through the Bible, day by day, different words will catch my attention, often in relation to things going on in my life or in my mind and my heart.?? Two words stood out as I read these verses.?? First is the word "walk" as it pertains to the Christian life.?? We walk in order to make progress.?? John Bunyan famously wrote of this in his great work "Pilgrims Progress".?? There are ups and downs but the goal, the focus is to move onward and upward in following Christ.

Charles Spurgeon writes, "Walking implies continuance. There must be a perpetual abiding in Christ. How many Christians think that in the morning and evening they ought to come into the company of Jesus, and may then give their hearts to the world all the day: but this is poor living; we should always be with him, treading in his steps and doing his will. Walking also implies habit. When we speak of a man's walk and conversation, we mean his habits, the constant tenor of his life. Now, if we sometimes enjoy Christ, and then forget him; sometimes call him ours, and anon lose our hold, that is not a habit; we do not walk in him. We must keep to him, cling to him, never let him go, but live and have our being in him. "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"; persevere in the same way in which ye have begun, and, as at the first Christ Jesus was the trust of your faith, the source of your life, the principle of your action, and the joy of your spirit, so let him be the same till life's end; the same when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and enter into the joy and the rest which remain for the people of God. O Holy Spirit, enable us to obey this heavenly precept."

Spurgeon brings up many things to keep in mind such as "continuance" and "perpetual abiding"; "perseverence"; clinging and not letting go and having the joy of the spirit.?? Are these things present in my life??? The need to be, if not, this is a wake up call.

The second word that caught my attention in verse was "abounding".?? It is the picture of overflowing.?? There are time in our lives when trials and the circumstances of everyday life can bring that flow of joy to a trickle; hardly abounding.?? When this happens, we need, once again; to count our blessings; come back to Him; be "re-established" in our faith; draw from those roots that have built you up and restore that thanksgiving.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Colossians 2:6-10??The Passion Translation (TPT)

New Life in Christ

^6??In the same way you received Jesus our Lord and Messiah by faith, continue your journey of faith, progressing further into your union with him!??^7??Your spiritual roots go deeply into his life as you are continually infused with strength, encouraged in every way. For you are established in the faith you have absorbed and enriched by your devotion to him!^[a]

^8??Beware that no one distracts you or intimidates you^[b]??in their attempt to lead you away from Christ???s fullness??by pretending to be full of wisdom when they???re filled with endless arguments of human logic. For they operate with humanistic and clouded judgments based on the mindset of this world system, and not the anointed truths of the Anointed One.

^9??For he is the complete fullness of deity living in human form.??^10??And our own completeness is now found in him. We are completely filled??with God??as Christ???s fullness overflows within us. He is the Head^[c]??of every kingdom and authority in the universe!

Verse of the Day 7/28

Verse of the Day 7/28

Romans 5:20-21 God???s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God???s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God???s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. New Living Translation (NLT)

We???ve considered God???s grace a lot recently, and as I read today???s verses in the New Living Translation I couldn???t help but go back to it again. The NLT translation says ???now God???s wonderful grace rules instead???. No matter what we???ve done, when we turn to Jesus, when we turn from our sin, His grace ???overrules???.

Our Pastor Bob sent out a question on Facebook this week asking for everyone???s favorite hymn. Many good choices rolled in from Great is Thy Faithfulness; Holy,Holy, Holy; Count Your Many Blessings; A Mighty Fortress and others. I hadn???t thought of the following until I read today???s verses - ???Wonderful the Matchless Grace of Jesus.

Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin;
How shall my tongue describe it, where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free,
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost,
By it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost;
Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty,
For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled,
By its transforming power, making him God???s dear child.
Purchasing peace and heaven for all eternity;
And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

REFRAIN: Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All-sufficient grace for even me;
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame;
O magnify the precious name of Jesus, praise His name!

"Wonderful Grace of Jesus" combines doctrinal truth with a buoyant melody and serves as a good vehicle for teaching the doctrine of grace. It touches on the availability, sufficiency, and efficacy of the salvation offered by grace through faith in Christ, and so carries an appropriate message for believer and unbeliever alike. Though we should be aware that Lillenas???s own theology may not line up completely with that of most readers , his words do carry the Gospel of grace, making this hymn worthy of the category "Hymn of Grace." Keith W. Ward

Has His wonderful grace reached you? If so, praise His name. If not, seek Him today, turn to Him; pray for that grace today. It is available to you, you are not out of reach.

Blessings,

Mike

Romans 5:18-21 New King James Version (NKJV)

18 Therefore, as through [a]one man???s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one[b] Man???s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man???s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man???s obedience many will be made righteous.

20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, 21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Verse of the Day 7/26

Verse of the Day 7/26

 

Psalm 62:6-7 For he alone is my safe place.
His wrap-around presence always protects me
as my champion defender.
There's no risk of failure with God!
So why would I let worry paralyze me,
even when troubles multiply around me?
⁷ God's glory is all around me!
His wrap-around presence is all I need,
for the Lord is my Savior, my hero, and my life-giving strength.   The Passion Translation (TPT)

 

In yesterday's post we considered how when we are going through trials we are called to consider, to count it as joy, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance.  I read today's verses in The Passion Translation which I've been using for my devotional reading in the New Testament and Psalms this year.  The pause after verse 8 in some translations reads "selah" which means to think calmly about it or as the TPT states, "pause in His presencse".  If we are to stop and consider or count it all joy, it begins with that pause.  It may lead us to pray over God's Word and think about what it means to us.

 

In verse 6 we read that God is our safe place.  It reminds of Psalm 46 where we recall it saying that God is our refuge and "very present" help in times of danger.  He is always near, He is within reach if we will only pause and stop to seek Him.

 

What kinds of trials or perhaps simply frustrations are you facing today.  Read the passage below in any translation.  Pause and think calmly about what God has to say to you in His Word and as you pray.   Then go out into the day and into the fray knowing that He is your safe place.

 

In closing, I'm reminded of the old hymn, "Day by Day and With Each Passing Moment".  It touches on many of the things that we've been considering today.

 

Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear. He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure, Gives unto each day what He deems best, Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2	Every day the Lord Himself is near me, With a special mercy for each hour; All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me, He whose name is Counsellor and Pow'r. The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself He laid; "As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure," This the pledge to me He made.
3	Help me then, in every tribulation, So to trust Thy promises, O Lord, That I lose not faith's sweet consolation, Offered me within Thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, E'er to take, as from a father's hand, One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

Psalm 62:5-8 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁵ My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my ^[a]expectation is from Him.
⁶ He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be ^[b]moved.
⁷ In God is my salvation and my glory;
The rock of my strength,
And my refuge, is in God.

⁸ Trust in Him at all times, you people;
Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

 

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Verse of the Day 7/26

Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father???s wise bestowment, I???ve no cause for worry or for fear. He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure, Gives unto each day what He deems best, Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure, Mingling toil with peace and rest.
2	Every day the Lord Himself is near me, With a special mercy for each hour; All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me, He whose name is Counsellor and Pow???r. The protection of His child and treasure Is a charge that on Himself He laid; ???As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,??? This the pledge to me He made.
3	Help me then, in every tribulation, So to trust Thy promises, O Lord, That I lose not faith???s sweet consolation, Offered me within Thy holy Word. Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, E???er to take, as from a father???s hand, One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Verse of the Day 7/25

Verse of the Day 7/25

James 1:2 ^?? My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!?????? The Passion Translation (TPT)

Looking back over my life it seems that I've been able to deal with some of the bigger "trials" in life (James 1:2 New King James Version) than I do with some of what would be considered smaller things; that in the scheme of life are not that much to get worked up about.?? Reading today's verse in The Passion Translation fits that when it read "when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties".???? Have you been there or perhaps find yourself there right now?

The day may start with a delayed or cancelled flight, wasted time.?? Then an appliance breaks down.?? Perhaps you realize that you forgot about a doctors appointment.?? It can be any number of things; but they all seem to snowball and you let it get to you; steal your joy; take away your peace.?? What are we to do??? Start with prayer, go to God's Word.?? Take that step back and spend some time with God.

I like the older translations that start out with "count it all joy", or "consider it pure joy".???? Counting and considering have to do with stepping back.?? Measuring, counting and considering the situation and life as a whole.?? It looks back on the past and sees God's faithfulness in the large and the small.?? It gives us hope and can lead us back to joy.

Pastor Greg Laurie writes, " God will allow certain circumstances in our lives that keep us dependent on Him. If life were all blue skies and green lights, would we still turn to God in prayer? If there wasn???t any illness in our lives, would we still pray as much? If we never had a need for God???s provision or we never had prodigal children, would we still pray?"

Taking that time opens us up to more of God's grace.?? We sang the following song in church last Sunday, it seemed fitting to go through it again this morning.

Oh, Your grace so free  Washes over me  You have made me new  Now life begins with You    ??It's your endless love  Pouring down on us  You have made us new  Now life begins with You    ??Released from my chains I'm a prisoner no more  My shame was a ransom He faithfully bore  He cancelled my debt and He called me His friend  When death was arrested and my life began

Don't be a prisoner of the trials and the difficulties you see.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

James 1:2-4??New King James Version (NKJV)

Profiting from Trials

^2??My brethren,??count it all joy??when you fall into various trials,??^3??knowing that the testing of your faith produces??^[a]patience.??^4??But let patience have??its??perfect work, that you may be??^[b]perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Verse of the Day 8/21

Verse of the Day 8/21

Psalm 86:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;

????????give your strength to??your servant,
????????and save??the son of your maidservant.?????? English Standard Version (ESV)

We've considered over the past few days how God's great grace is available to us and that the means to this grace is prayer, asking Him for it and He will provide it.?? It is nothing new, many through the ages have realized this and put it into practice.?? In today's verse the psalmist asks for God's grace, for His strength.

Doing a word search for "be gracious" in the ESV pulled up many instances of this.?? From Joseph in Genesis to Moses in Exodus, to David in Psalms and all the way to Peter in the New Testament and to you and I today, the pattern continues.

John Piper writes, "Future grace is the constant plea of the praying psalmists. They pray for it again and again to meet every need. They leave every saint a model of daily dependence on future grace for every exigency."

  They cry out for grace when they need help: ???Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper!??? (Psalm 30:10).    When they are weak: ???Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant??? (Psalm 86:16).    When they need healing: ???Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord??? (Psalm 6:2).    When they are afflicted by enemies: ???Be gracious to me, O Lord! See my affliction from those who hate me??? (Psalm 9:13).    When they are lonely: ???Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted??? (Psalm 25:16).    When they are grieving: ???Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief??? (Psalm 31:9).    When they have sinned: ???O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!??? (Psalm 41:4).    When they long for God???s name to be exalted among the nations: ???God be gracious to us and bless us . . . that your way may be known on earth??? (Psalm 67:1???2).

Are you weak; in need of healing; are you lonely; or grieving; or have you fallen away from God in sin??? Go to Him today, seek His grace for today and for the future.

I'll close with this call from the book of Numbers, you may hear it at the conclusion of your worship service this morning.

Numbers 6:24-26??English Standard Version (ESV)

^24??The??Lord??bless you and??keep you;
^25??the??Lord??make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
^26??the??Lord??lift up his countenance^[a]??upon you and give you peace.

--   In Christ,  Mike    Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com  Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,  in accordance with the riches of God's grace.  NIV    

Psalm 86:15-17??English Standard Version (ESV)

^15??But you, O Lord, are a God??merciful and gracious,
????????slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
^16??Turn to me and be gracious to me;
????????give your strength to??your servant,
????????and save??the son of your maidservant.
^17??Show me a sign of your??favor,
????????that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
????????because you,??Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Verse of the Day 7/19

Verse of the Day 7/19

 

Hebrews 4:16  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  New Living Translation (NLT)

 

Yesterday from Acts 4:33 we considered how God bestows upon us His great grace, His grace "finds us".  Today's verse from Hebrews 4 gives us an idea of just how this grace finds us.  It is not like we just stumble upon it while going about doing our own thing.   God provides this grace in relation to prayer, coming to the throne of grace, boldly with confindence.

 

John Piper writes, "Prayer is the form of faith that connects us today with the grace that will make us adequate for tomorrow's ministry. Timing really matters..... The point is that prayer is the way to find future grace for a well-timed help. This grace of God always arrives from the "throne of grace" on time. The phrase "throne of grace" means that future grace comes from the King of the universe who sets the times by his own authority (Acts 1:7).  

 

Piper offers his own paraphrase for the verse - "Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may find grace for a well-timed help."

 

Isn't that what we need from time to time, "well-timed help"?  Just when we need it most?

 

Just when I need Him, Jesus is near,

Just when I falter, just when I fear;

Ready to help me, ready to cheer,

Just when I need Him most.

Refrain:

Just when I need Him most,

Just when I need Him most,

Jesus is near to comfort and cheer,

Just when I need Him most.

 

Just when I need Him, Jesus is strong,

Bearing my burdens all the day long;

For all my sorrow giving a song,

Just when I need Him most.

 

If you are in need of His grace, His help in time of need for you, a friend or loved one,  approach the throne with confidence.

 

Blessings,

 

Mike

 

Hebrews 4:14-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

 

Our Compassionate High Priest

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

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Verse of the Day 7/18

Verse of the Day 7/18

Acts 4:33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. New King James Version (NKJV)

Many people in the world today desire power, even great power and in most instances they try to seize that power, basically taking it from others. The purpose is to try to make themselves great.

It is not so for the Christian. Power is given to us, it 'finds us" , but not for ourselves but to share God's wisdom, to give, to show mercy, love, compassion and hope (to name a few).

John Piper writes, "The power to witness with faithfulness and effectiveness did not come mainly from memories of grace; it came from the new arrivals of "great grace." "Great grace was upon them all." That's the way it was for the apostles, and that's the way it will be for us in our ministry of witnessing."

When I first read the verse this morning what caught my attention as "great grace". It is beyond the norm, something not of ourselves or our own capabilities. After I had read the verse again, the Matt Redman song "Your Grace Finds Me" also came to mind.

May such grace, such great grace "find me", find all of us as Christians today and give us power to witness with faithfulness and effectiveness where He has placed us today.

It's there in a newborn cry
There in the light of every sunrise
There in the shadows of this life
Your great grace

It's there on the mountain top
There in the everyday and the mundane
There in the sorrow and the dancing
Your great grace
Oh, such grace

From the creation to the cross
There from the cross into eternity
Your grace finds me
Yes, Your grace finds me

It's there on the wedding day
There in the weeping by the gravesite
There in the very breath we breathe
Your great grace

Blessings,

Mike

Acts 4:32-35 English Standard Version (ESV)

They Had Everything in Common
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

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