Verse of the Day 7/18

Verse of the Day 7/18

Acts 4:33

New King James Version

33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.

Have you ever heard someone's testimony and were amazed at their willingness to share and wished that you could speak with such power?  We may not all have great stories to tell, (in our opinion), but sharing what God has done in your life, in the grace and power He supplies can make an impact.  In all of it, it is not about us, it is not our story but His story.

Pastor John Piper writes, "If our ministry is to witness to Christ tomorrow in some unsympathetic situation, the key will not be our brilliance; the key will be abundant future grace….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."

No matter what we've done or what we've been through God's grace was and is greater.  We should be ready, willing and able to tell of His great grace.

1 Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary's mount out-poured–
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Refrain:
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God's grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

2 Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater– yes, grace untold–
Points to the Refuge, the mighty Cross. [Refrain]

3 Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
All who are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive? [

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

Acts 4:32-37

New King James Version

Sharing in All Things

32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

36 And [a]Joses, who was also named Barnabas by the apostles (which is translated Son of [b]Encouragement), a Levite of the country of Cyprus, 37 having land, sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Verse of the Day 7/16

Verse of the Day 7/16

1 Corinthians 15:10

New King James Version

10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

One of my favorite hymns ins Amazing Grace.  When we sing or read the words we often think of God's grace of something that occurred in the past because he "saved a wretch like me".  But His grace is at work now and it will continue in future grace as long as we live.

Pastor John Piper writes, "Paul does not trace his obedience back to his thankfulness for past grace. He traces it up to moment-by-moment, ever-arriving grace. He is banking on the promise of God's future grace to arrive at every moment of need. In every instant of Paul's intention and effort to obey Christ, grace was at work to produce that intention and that effort. Paul did not bring about his work merely out of gratitude for past grace, but in moment-by-moment reliance on the arrival of promised grace. Paul wants to emphasize that the ever-arriving grace of God is the decisive cause of his work.....If we let all the parts of this verse stand, the end result is this: grace is the decisive doer in Paul's work. Since Paul is also a doer of his work, the way grace becomes the decisive doer is by becoming the enabling power of Paul's work."

I like Chrs Tomlin's modernization of the hymn.  Read and consider the line "like a flood His mercy reigns, amazing love, amazing grace".  It is what this verse speaks of and what John Piper writes about.

Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed

My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, amazing grace

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures

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

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

New King James Version

The Risen Christ, Faith's Reality

15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by [a]Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have [b]fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.

Verse of the Day 7/11

Verse of the Dayb 7/11

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

 New King James Version

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not [a]carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Our Tuesday Men's Bible study reviewed this passage today and today's verses are a good reminder that we are to depend on God's Word and the work of the Holy Spirit to stand up to those who stand opposed to the gospel.

I believe that most, if not all of us, would agree that we are in a daily spiritual battle out there.  But we don't fight it on our own or rely on our own resources or even our own previous knowledge that we've accumulated over the years.  We stay in His Word, we continue in prayer and continue to submit to the Holy Spirit's promptings.  It is called faith, it involves trust and "leaning not on our own understanding" (Prov. 3:6).

After reading these words and hearing a testimony from a friend on a spiritual battle which he shared I was reminded of the old hymn "Trust and Obey".  Our hope in battle is in the first line below, we are to "walk with the Lord in the light of His Word".  He will show us where we need to go and what we need to do as we "trust and obey".

When we walk with the Lord   In the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way;   While we do His good will,   He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.
	Trust and obey, For there's no other way To be happy in Jesus,   But to trust and obey.
2	Not a shadow can rise,   Not a cloud in the skies, But His smile quickly drives it away;   Not a doubt or a fear,   Not a sigh or a tear, Can abide while we trust and obey.
3	Not a burden we bear,   Not a sorrow we share, But our toil He doth richly repay;   Not a grief or a loss,   Not a frown or a cross, But is blest if we trust and obey.

Think of what it would mean to us to have "every thought captive" to obey Christ.  No more unfiltered thoughts.  Let His Word and the Holy Spirit be our filter as we trust and obey.

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

2 Corinthians  10:1-6

New King James Version

The Spiritual War

10 Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. 2 But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not [a]carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Verse of the Day 7/8

Verse of the Day 7/8

Isaiah 45:5-6

New King James Version

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;

There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;

Over the past few weeks I've been having my devotions out on the screened in back porch.  Summer has set in and the mornings are usually cool, but not cold and I've noticed how far north the sun is as it rises.  I leads to the longest days of the year.  But whether it is the long days of late June or early July or the short days of mid Decemberr, God has established the pattern.  He has set things in place and is still in control of all that goes on under the sun.

The verses and these thoughts remind me of the old hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and the lines "summer and winter and springtime and harvest, sun moon and stars in their courses above.' Daily we are witnesses to His great love in creation and our lives.  Read or sing the hymn, think of His great faithfulness, mercy and love.

1. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
   There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
   Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
   As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.
   • Refrain:
     Great is Thy faithfulness!
     Great is Thy faithfulness!
     Morning by morning new mercies I see:
     All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
     Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
2. Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
   Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
   Join with all nature in manifold witness
   To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.
3. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
   Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide,
   Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow—
   Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Lamentations 3:21-23

New King James Version

21 This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope.

22 Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

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

Isaiah 45:5-10

New King James Version

5 I am the Lord, and there is no other;

There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
7 I form the light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things.'

8 "Rain down, you heavens, from above,
And let the skies pour down righteousness;
Let the earth open, let them bring forth salvation,
And let righteousness spring up together.
I, the Lord, have created it.

9 "Woe to him who strives with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth!
Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?'
Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?
10 Woe to him who says to his father, 'What are you begetting?'
Or to the woman, 'What have you brought forth?' "

Verse of the Day 7/5

Verse of the Day 7/5

Psalm 107:8-9

New King James Version

8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

Today's verses came up in my daily reading in Psalms as part of my devotions.  The passage is fitting coming off of July 4 and the celebrations of our country's independence hundreds of years ago.  Many, if not most of our founding fathers thanked the Lord for accomplishing this independence and were careful to acknowledge Him in their declaration of independence.

Whenver I read "oh" in Bible verses I feel that there was a sense of longing with it.  Such as "oh" that we would remember, that we would return to that mindset.  Holidays are a good time to look back and reflect, to give thanks, to shout praise and to celebrate what God has done for us.  But it not just holidays, it should be every day, all the way.

Thinking of our longings, I'm reminded of the old hymn, Jesus, Sweetest Name I Know.

There's within my heart a melody
Jesus whispers sweet and low,
Fear not, I am with thee, peace, be still
In all of life's ebb and flow.

Chorus
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus
Sweetest Name I know
Fills my every longing
Keeps me singing as I go.

Verse 2
All my life was wrecked by sin and strife
Discord filled my heart with pain
Jesus swept across the broken strings
Stirred the slumb'ring chords again

Verse 3
Feasting on the riches of His grace
Resting 'neath His shelt'ring wing
Always looking on His smiling face
That is why I shout and sing

Verse 4
Tho' sometimes He leads thro' waters deep
Trials fall across the way
Tho' sometimes the path seems rough and steep
See His footprints all the way

Verse 5
Soon He's coming back to welcome me
Far beyond the starry sky
I shall wing my flight to worlds unknown
I shall reign with Him on high

May you have and may He fill such longings 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

Psalm 107:8-16

New King James Version

8 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,

And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For He satisfies the longing soul,
And fills the hungry soul with goodness.

10 Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Bound[a] in affliction and irons—
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And [b]despised the counsel of the Most High,
12 Therefore He brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And broke their chains in pieces.
15 Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness,
And for His wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For He has broken the gates of bronze,
And cut the bars of iron in two.