Verse of the Day 7/21
1 Peter 4:10-11 ?? As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,??as good stewards of God's varied grace:??11??whoever speaks, as one who speaks??oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves??by the strength that God supplies???in order that in everything??God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.??To him belong glory and??dominion forever and ever. Amen.?? English Standard Version (ESV)
For our men's Bible study which meets on Monday morning, I was looking for a book of the Bible that I hadn't taught, at least for several years.?? I read today's verse and the word "varied grace" jumped out at me.?? It reminded me of 1 Peter 1:6 which mentions the "various trials" that we will face.?? The word varied can be related to "all the colors" of the rainbow, all colors, all shapes, sizes and forms.?? Having come off of several days of God's Word being a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, His light, shining before is, is often the "varied grace" in our lives that helps us to deal with and cope with those various trials.
John Piper writes, "Future grace is ???varied grace.??? It comes in many colors and shapes and sizes. This is one of the reasons spiritual gifts in the body are so diverse. The prism of your life will refract one of the colors of grace that would never come through my prism.....There are as many future graces as there are needs in the body of Christ ??? and more. The purpose of spiritual gifts is to receive and dispense the future grace of God to those needs."
Being good stewards of that grace will mean sharing that grace, shining the light which reveals His path for our lives and can be used to shine forth for others as we share it in the form that we are called to by His Spirit "as one who speaks the oracles of God".
A.W. Tozer writes, "To please God, a person must be just an instrument for God to use. For a few seconds, picture in your mind the variety of wonderful and useful appliances we have in our homes. They have been engineered and built to perform tasks of all kinds. But without the inflow of electrical power they are just lumps of metal and plastic, unable to function and serve. They cannot do their work until power is applied from a dynamic outside source."
How shall my tongue describe it,
Where shall its praise begin?
Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free;
O the Wonderful Grace of Jesus reaches me!
Wonderful the matchless Grace of Jesus,
the matchless Grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
the rolling sea;
Wonderful Grace, all sufficient for me, for even
Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,
All sufficient Grace for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
sing it!
Greater far than all my sin and shame
my sin and shame,
O magnify the precious name of Jesus,
PRAISE HIS NAME!
-- 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
1 Peter 4:7-11??New King James Version (NKJV)
Serving for God???s Glory
7??But??the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.??8??And above all things have fervent love for one another, for?????love will cover a multitude of sins.?????9??Be??hospitable to one another??without grumbling.??10??As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another,??as good stewards of??the manifold grace of God.??11??If anyone speaks,??let him speak??as the??[a]oracles of God. If anyone ministers,??let him do it??as with the ability which God supplies, that??in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the??[b]dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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