Verse of the Day 8/31

Verse of the Day 8/31

1 Corinthians 2:9

English Standard Version

9 But, as it is written,

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him"—

In today's fast paced society there are probably not many people who thing much about heaven and "what God has prepared for them".  We cannot spend all of our time doing so, but I think it is spiritually healthy for us to stop now and then and think about eternity, think about heaven and hell, because if we believe in Jesus and His words each are a reality.

Pastor James Smith gives us some things to consider about heaven when he writes:

In Heaven . . .

  sin is banished,

  holiness is perfected,

  life is a continual feast, and

  mortality is swallowed up in life!

From Heaven . . .

  all pain is banished,

  all enemies are excluded, and

  all causes of sorrow are shut out!

In Heaven . . .

  all our prayers are answered,

  all our desires are gratified, and

  all our needs are supplied.

There is no weeping, wailing or wishing there.

In Heaven . . .

  our knowledge will be perfect,

  our happiness will be abiding,

  our pleasures will be ever new.

In Heaven we shall . . .

  see Jesus,

  be with Jesus, and

  be like Jesus, forever!      James Smith

As we are facing the challenges of life in a corrupt, imperfect world, it can be helpful to think of what is beyond.   One line from James Smith in particular caught my attention "There is not weeping, wailing or wishing there".  We have hope of an eternity with Christ, but it is not wishing, it is certain. It is wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit Hebrews 11:1-2.  Faith is substance and evidence of things not seen.  For now we can only imagine what will one day be revealed.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

 

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

English Standard Version

Wisdom from the Spirit

6 Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. 7 But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But, as it is written,

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him"—

10 these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Verse of the Day 8/29

Verse of the Day 8/29

1 Corinthians 15:24-25

English Standard Version

24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

Our church celebrated a baptism service yesterday where many we baptized at a local lake, they went under the water and were "raised to newness of life".  They gave testimony to the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead to give us the opportunity to be raised in life not only now but for eternity. We too at some point will face death, but through faith in Him that same power that raised Jesus lives in us and will raise us.

John Piper writes, "There is no disease, no addiction, no demon, no bad habit, no fault, no vice, no weakness, no temper, no moodiness, no pride, no self-pity, no strife, no jealousy, no perversion, no greed, no laziness that Christ will not overcome as the enemy of his honor.....And the encouragement in that promise is that when you set yourself to do battle with the enemies of your faith and your holiness, you will not fight alone."  Jesus and power of the Spirit are right here with us.

I'm reminded of the Jeremy Camp song,  Same Power"

We have hope
That His promises are true
In His strength
There is nothing we can't do
Yes, we know
There are greater things in store
We will not be overtaken
We will not be overcome

[Chorus]
The same power that rose Jesus from the grave
The same power that commands the dead to wake
Lives in us, lives in us
The same power that moves mountains when He speaks
The same power that can calm a raging sea
Lives in us, lives in us
He lives in us, lives in us

My prayer is that the same power lives in you today.

Blessings,

Mike

Folllow the Verse of the Day blog at http://mikesvotd.blogspot.com

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

English Standard Version

20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For "God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "all things are put in subjection," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.

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

Verse of the Day 8/27

Verse of the Day 8/27

Romans 12:12-13

English Standard Version

12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

I had a couple of different verses in mind for today's post, but it seemed like I just couldn't move away from Romans 12 without posting today's verses.  They are easy verses to memorize, but are a couple of the most challenging to apply and live out in our lives. We ge the "rejoice in hope part", but being patient in tribulation won't come easily or naturally.  Prayer is often something that we drift from when things are going right.  But the thing that caught my attention this morning was the "contribute to the needs of the saints  and "seek to show hospitality."

Giving is to be part of our nature as Christians and we should be supporting our church, but we can go well beyond that.  There are plenty of organizations that can use our support such as Feed the Hunger or Samaritan's purse. But where the rubber truly meets the road is hospitality, and i'm thinking of hospitality in the old sense of the word.  Opening up our pockets and our homes to those who may be in need.  It make take some true soul searching and prayer to do so, and that goes back to the previous verse, to be constant in prayer is to be "prayed up", our prayers up to date.  It takes the two, our hearts and our minds working in unison.  Why is is so hard, they're only 18" apart?

Prayerfully, read the short passage below again today.  How does it, how does the Spirit speak to you today?

Blessings,

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

Romans 12:9-13

English Standard Version

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

Verse of the Day 8/26

Verse of the Day 8/26

Romans 12:9-10

New King James Version

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

I've recently posted from Romans 8 about "life in the Spirit" as that passage mentions the Spirit almost 20 times. After 11 chapters on doctrine, Romans 12 changes gears as Paul dives into the application of the principles of which he is teaching.  The heading for the passage varies from translation and edition, but they give a good summary.  The New King James Version above states, "Behave Like a Christian" and the English Standard Version states "The Marks of a True Christian". Our behavior to the outside would should give evidence to who we are on the inside.

I chose the New King James Version above because it starts off by saying "let love be without hypocrisy.  It is probably the biggest charge against the church, "they're all a bunch of hypocrites", and to some degree they are probably right. But the church doesn't corner the market on it.  The world is full of hypocrites.  That being said, as we live by the Spirit and apply the principles outlined in the passage we can turn the tables on that thinking.

Paul presents these traits, these marks in 4 categories in the passage. Our personal duties beginning in verse 9; our family duties in verses 10-13; duties to others in verses 14-16; and duties to those who we may think of as enemies in verses 17-21.  Today's verses show where this all begins.  Abhor, hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Be loving, show brotherly love in our lives, care for others.  Lastly, we are to "outdo" one another in showing honor.  Show respect; give credit when it is due.

Read the rest of the passage below.  Let's try to live our lives "without hypocrisy"; living by the Spirit.

Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me,
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.

Blessings,

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

Romans 12:9-21

English Standard Version

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,[a] serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.[b] Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[c]

Rom 12:9-21 ESV - - Bible Gateway

 to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." 20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Verse of the Day 8/21

Verse of the Day 8/21

Romans 8:31-32

English Standard Version

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

In today's verse we have the second of the 3 "all things" statements in Romans 8.  The these things referred to at the beginning of verse 31 looks back on what was just said in the preceding verses. When we can come to a point in our lives where we have this kind of faith, we cannot be defeated.  God will give us everything that we need. 

Today, I'll post another quote that is longer than usual, but it speaks to me and explains better than I can what these verses mean to me , mean to us who believe.  John Piper writes:

The most far-reaching promise of God's future grace is found in Romans 8:32. This is the most precious verse in the Bible to me. Part of the reason is that the promise in it is so all-encompassing that it stands ready to help me at virtually every turn in my life and ministry. There never has been, and never will be, a circumstance in my life where this promise is irrelevant.

By itself that all-encompassing promise would probably not make the verse most precious. There are other such sweeping promises such as Psalm 84:11: "No good thing does [God] withhold from those who walk uprightly." And 1 Corinthians 3:21–23: "All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." It is difficult to overstate the spectacular sweep and scope of these promises.

But what puts Romans 8:32 in a class by itself is the logic that gives rise to the promise and makes it as solid and unshakable as God's love for his infinitely admirable Son.

Romans 8:32 contains a foundation and guarantee that is so strong and so solid and so secure that there is absolutely no possibility that the promise could ever be broken. This is what makes it an ever-present strength in times of great turmoil. Whatever else gives way, whatever else disappoints, whatever else fails, this all-encompassing promise of future grace can never fail.

Romans 8:32 is a precious friend. The promise of God's future grace is simply overwhelming. But all-important is the foundation: I have called it the logic of heaven. Here is a place to stand against all obstacles. God did not spare his own Son! Therefore! Therefore! The logic of heaven! Therefore, how much more will he not spare any effort to give us all that Christ died to purchase — all things, all good, and all bad working for our good! John Piper

An old chorus that we sand in Sunday school comes to mind.  The second stanza was not part of the original, but I remember singing it this way.

I just keep trusting my Lord as I walk along,

I just keep trusting my Lord and He gives a song,

Though the storm clouds darken the sky o'er the heavenly trail,

I just keep trusting my Lord He will never fail.

He's a faithful friend, such a faithful friend;

I can count on Him to the very end.

Though the road grows weary at times and I'm sad and blue,

I just keep trusting my Lord, He will see me through.

Will you keep trusting, will you keep following?  God wants our yes, even when we don't know what will come next.  We are propelled towards God and by the truth of God in His Word. His plans may never be what we expect, but they will be God's.  Say yes, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day and year by year to His plan, His mercy, His grace and His purposes.  He will see you through.

Blessings,

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

Romans 8:26-32

English Standard Version

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[a] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,[b] for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

God's Everlasting Love

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Verse of the Day 8/19

Verse of the Day 8/19

Romans 8:24-25

English Standard Version

24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

We're continuing in our journey through Romans and today we come to 2 powerful verses dealing with hope.  The faith of a Christian is not "wishy-washy", it is not wishful thinking, it is bedrock to our faith.  Ours is the hope of eternal salvation, built on nothing less than Jesus love and righteousness (quoting an old hymn).

I'm sure that other verses and passages come to mind, but I feel that it is very significant that we find these verses tucked into this portion of Romans 8 which addresses our groans, our yearnings and goes on to give us some of the greatest promises and affirmations in the Bible.  Read the rest of the chapter.

Any time I read about hope in the Bible I think of my son Jeff, permanently disabled (at least here on earth) from an accident when he was 16, he has coined the phrase "hope is my favorite thing to have". His hope is that of which I speak.

I don't often copy long quotes in this space, but today I'll make an exception with some words on hope from James Smith a 19th century pastor in England.  He writes:

To be saved by hope, is to be kept, preserved, upheld, or sustained, in the midst of foes, dangers, and trials.

Hope quickens us in duties, and preserves us from becoming cold and dead.

It comforts us in tribulations, and keeps us from being disheartened and gloomy.

It enables us to overcome temptation, and so to hold on our way, looking unto Jesus.

It gives us peace in death, in the sure prospect of victory over the grave.

Thus hope saves us:

by preventing despair, into which we can never fall while hope lives within us;

by preserving us from desperation, to the verge of which we are sometimes brought;

by guarding us against rebellion, the seeds of which are still thickly sown in our corrupt hearts; and

by protecting us against apostasy, into which we can never fall so long as we hope in God.

From many evils, at many times, in many ways, we are saved by hope!

Hope is in God, as its highest object and best end.

Hope is through Christ, who is the way to the Father, the truth, and the life.

Hope is on the ground of the Word, which warrants, excites, and regulates it.

Hope is for all that God has promised, whether temporal or spiritual, in this world or the next.

Hope should be encouraged, as it brings . . .

glory to God,

comfort to our souls,

credit to our religion, and

honor to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Holy Spirit, fill us with a lively hope, and teach us to expect:

all that God has promised,

all that Christ has procured, and

all that You have revealed in Your most holy Word. 

This is the hope that Jeff has, I pray that you have this hope today.

Blessings,

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

Romans 8:18-25

English Standard Version

Future Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.