God's Sovereign Will (James 1:18)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-29-03

 

My Worship Time                              Focus:  God’s Sovereign will

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  James 1:18

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.”  (NASB)

“In his goodness he chose to make us his own children by giving us his true word.  And we, out of all creation, became his choice possession.”  (NLT)

            As noted before this section from James 1:13-18 teaches us how we as believers are to defeat temptations.  There are three barriers explained to aid us in this battle.  Verses 13-16 speak of God’s judgment, and verse 17 speaks of God’s goodness to us, and now verse 18 tells us of God’s divine nature within us.  I might add that the construction of this verse in the Greek language surely declares the sovereignty of God at work in saving sinners.  * “Of His own will.  This phrase translates a Gr. Word that makes the point that regeneration is not just a wish, but an active expression of God’s will, which He always has the power to accomplish.  This phrase occurs at the beginning of the Gr. Sentence, which means James intends to emphasize that the sovereign will is the source of this new life.”  (* MaCarthur study Bible)  “1014 boulomai boulomai boo'-lom-ahee 1) to will deliberately, have a purpose, be minded 2) of willing as an affection, to desire.”  (Strong’s Concordance)

            James uses the picture of birth to explain the goodness of God’s nature within us.  (The KJV uses the word begat in the first part of this verse). 1) The new birth is divine, and this can be seen in the story of Nicodemus in John chapter 3.  God is the One who gives us this new birth.  2) The new birth is gracious, for man can do nothing to earn it; the new birth is an act of God’s grace.  (See Eph 2:8,9) 3) The new birth comes through the Word of God.  Peter puts it this way, “23 for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.”  And 4) the new birth is the finest birth possible.  Dr. Wiersbe puts it this way, “Of all the creatures God has in this universe, Christians are the very highest and the finest!  We share God’s nature.  For this reason it is beneath our dignity to accept Satan’s bait or to desire sinful things.  A higher birth must mean a higher life.” 

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today: Now that I am beginning to learn that I can defeat the temptations that come my way through knowing about the judgment of God, and also knowing about the goodness of God, and also knowing about the divine nature of God within me.  I think that I need to begin to meditate on these truths so that when temptations come my way I will be better prepared to defeat them through these means that James writes about. 

 

The Word of God has taught me in this verse about correction, about reproof, and about the instruction of righteousness.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To trust the word of God to show me how to defeat temptations that comes my way through Satan, and the old nature.

 

Memory verses for the week:  James 1:1

 

James, a bond- servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes that are dispersed abroad, greetings.

 

 

 

 

The Goodness of God (James 1:17)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-28-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  The goodness of God

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  James 1:17

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  (NKJV)  “Whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God above, who created all heaven’s lights.  Unlike them, he never changes or casts shifting shadows.”  (NLT)

            If I understand what Dr. Wiersbe says about this verse it could start out something like this:  Every gift that God gives us is perfect, and the way that He gives it to us is perfect, and He keeps on giving us gifts all of the time, even when we do not realize that HE is giving them to us, and God is not like the moving of the planets and stars, for He never changes because He cannot change for worse because He is holy, and He cannot change for better because He is perfect.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  When I am tempted I believe this verse teaches me that I should meditate on the goodness of God.  I can also think about the judgment of God, which is something I do not like to do, and realize that by falling to the temptation I then can experience the judgment of God, or the discipline of God.  Trials can come by the Lord, and even those trials are good for me because of what they will produce in my life, and they are also good because they come from God.  This can be seen in the life of David, but at one point he did fall to temptation and then experienced the chastisement of the Lord. 

            Moses wrote about not forgetting the goodness of the Lord when things were going good for us.  This is what he said in Deu. 6:  “10  ‘Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, 12 then watch yourself, lest you forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.13  ‘You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name.  14  ‘You shall not follow other gods, any of the gods of the peoples who surround you, 15 for the LORD your God in the midst of you is a jealous God; otherwise the anger of the LORD your God will be kindled against you, and He will wipe you off the face of the earth.’”  These are some sobering verses to think on.

 

The Word of God has given me instruction, it has also challenged me, and it has given refreshment to my heart as I read it this morning. 

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To remember the goodness of the Lord, and to fear the Lord as He has explained in His Word to do.

 

Memory verse for the week:  James 1:1

 

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.

 

 

 

Temptation, Deception, Sin and Death (James 1:15-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-27-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Temptation, Deception, Sin, and Death

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 1:15,16

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.  16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”  (NASB)  “These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death.  So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters.”  (NLT)

            James continues to write on the process of sin and in this verse he uses the picture of a woman giving birth as the person sinning.  Satan used this same process on Eve to get her to sin in the garden.  Satan used desire to tempt Eve by saying that God was lying to her because if she did eat of the fruit she would become like God knowing good and evil.  These desires caused her to think about it, and when she thought about it she took the bait that Satan had given her to trap her and ate of the fruit of the tree, which brought forth death, spiritual death at once, and physical death later on.  Adam ate of the fruit with his eyes wide open and this is what plunged the human race into sin.  So death is what comes forth froth from sin.  Now believers cannot die spiritually because of sin, however they certainly can die physically because of sin.  Paul writes in 1Corthians 11:30, “For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep,” and John writes in 1John 5:16, “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this.”

            James give another warning about this process of sin which can lead to death in verse sixteen where he warns his readers not to be deceived or do not err.  Believers are not to make the mistake of blaming God for them sinning, because God does not cause anyone to sin, as James has explained in these proceeding verses.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I look at this process, actually a process that when left unchecked can lead to premature death in my life, I need to understand this process that has been used throughout history to trap people in sin, and by God’s grace not fall into it, not take the bait, realize when I am being tempted and run from it.  Trust the Word of God in 1Corthians 10:13 where Paul writes, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”  The easiest way to check temptation is when it first comes on you, and I also must remember it is not sin to be tempted.

 

The Word of God again has brought forth challenges to me as I read it and studied it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to remember 1Corthians 10:13 when I am being tempted.  I need to put on the spiritual armor that God has provided for me each day, and to use it.  To trust the Lord in all the tests He brings into my life and not to fall to temptation when I am tested by the Lord, for His testing is for my good even though at times it does not seem so.

 

Memory verse for the week:  James 1:1

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Process of Sin (James 1:14)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-26-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  The Process of sin

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 1:14

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “4 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”  (NKJV)  “Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires.”  (NLT)

            There is a process to sin, for when Adam and Eve sinned it did not just end there, but actually that was just the beginning of sin for the human race.  There is a process of sin in the individual lives of people too, for one sin can surely lead to another sin and so on.  In this 14^th verse of the first chapter of James we see two parts of this process of sin; desire and deception.

The word desire is properly translated in the NKJV, for in the NASB it is translated lust and that is why I chose this version.  Strongs writes this about this Greek word:  “1939 epiyumia epithumia ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah 1) desire, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden, lust.” 

            There is nothing wrong with natural functions such as eating, drinking, sex, or other natural desires that we as human being do.  When these desires are satisfied outside the will of God then they become sin.  Sex is fine in marriage, but not outside of marriage.  Eating is fine but eating too much is sin, sleep is fine, but laziness is not. 

            The next process that James talks about in this verse is desire, and we see that from the phrase “drawn away.”  Strongs writes this about these words, “ 1828 exelkw exelko ex-el'-ko 1) to draw out 2) metaph. lure forth: in hunting and fishing as game is lured from its hiding place, so man by lure is allured from the safety of self-restraint to sin. In #Jas 1:14, the language of the hunting is transferred to the seduction of a harlot.”

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Satan tried to lure Jesus in Matthew chapter four by saying to Him, “since your are the Son of God why don’t you turn these stones into bread?”  Jesus answered Satan with “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but every word that proceeds from God.”  Jesus was hungry after His forty day fast and could have turned those stones into bread, but that would not have pleased God so to combat the lure of the Devil He used the Word of God, and I, as one of His children are to do the same thing when being lured by sin in my life.  In order for me to know about these lures of temptation, I have to know the Word of God.  Paul says that we are to put on the full armor of God and part of that armor is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.  In order to use it you have to know it.

 

The Word of God was a challenge to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To walk by faith and not by sight so that I will now fall prey to the wiles of the evil one.

 

Memory verse for the week:  James 1:1

 

James a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings. 

 

 

 

 

 

Consider God's Judgment (James 1:13-16)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-25-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Consider God’s Judgment (1:13-16)

 

My Worship Time                  Reference:  James 1:13-16

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “13 ¶ Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”  (NASB)  “And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, ‘God is tempting me.’  God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either.”  (NLT)

The focus that is written down is the focus on verses 13-16, and I am only going to look at verse 13 today.  The word for tempted and the word for trial that has been used in the previous section (2-12) comes from the same root word in the Greek.  “Tempt 29, try 4, tempter 2, prove 1, assay 1, examine 1, go about 1” These are some of the definitions that Strong’s Concordance gives for this word.  The reason that I bring this up is that James uses this section to describe temptation, where as he used the first section to describe trials.  There is a difference between trials or tests, and temptations, however a trial can become a temptation if the believer tries to handle it on his own, and not trust the Lord to bring about good from the trial.  Temptations come from Satan, and he uses the fallen nature to accomplish temptation in a believer’s life.  In 1Corthians 10:13 Paul writes about temptations and has this to say, “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”  James goes on to give the believer three facts that must be considered if believers are to overcome temptations.  The first one is Consider God’s Judgment, (1:13-16), Consider God’s Goodness (1:17), & Consider God’s Divine Nature Within (1:18).

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have learned the difference between trials and temptations from this verse in James, and I believe that knowing this will help me to mature as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The Word of God has certainly challenged by heart today, as well as instructed me too.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  Not to allow trials to cause me to give in to temptations.

 

Memory verse for the week:  James 1:1

 

James, a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.

 

 

 

The Crown of Life (James 1:12)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-23-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Crowns because of love

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 1:12

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”  (NASB)  “God blesses the people who patiently endure testing.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”  (NLT)

            Verse 12 is the end of this first section in James as outlined in Dr. Wiersbe’s book.  This section started in verse 2 with joy and ends in verse 12 with joy, for blessed does mean to be happy or joyful.  This verse tells us that the believers who perseveres und trial is blessed and will be rewarded with the crown of life.  This is not a crown that will be given to him on earth, but will be given to him when the Lord returns.  This crown is given to the believer because of love as seen at the end of the verse.  John tells us that we love God because He first loves us, and proved that love for us by sending His Son to die in our place for sins we should have died for.  Therefore when we get to heaven and are given crowns for things done well while we were on the earth we will cast our crowns at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are also rewarded by growth in Christian character, and this will bring glory to the Lord.  In Hebrews 12 the writer speaks of Christ enduring the cross because of the joy that was set before Him.  First there was the cross and then the crown, and this is the same for the believers who stand up under trials, first the suffering and then the glory.  If God did not send trials to us we would not grow and mature as believers.  

            At the end of this verse James says the crown of life is given to those who love the Lord.  He did not say for those who trust Him or obey Him but love Him. There are four imperatives in this section of James and love is the spiritual force behind each of them.  Dr. Wiersbe says that if we love God we will have no problem counting, (a joyful attitude), knowing, (an understanding mind), letting, (a surrendered will), or asking, (a believing heart).

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I think that what I can learn from this verse and from this section is that the love of God should be the motivation for every thing that I do.  I believe that if you look at the life of Jesus Christ while He was on earth that you can surely see that He did everything because of love, love for His Father by obeying Him, and love for us by dying for us.  Johns Gospel and letters are full of love and so love is the greatest motivation for living the Christian life.

 

The Word of God was full of challenges, and even the greatest challenge to love God.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To love the Lord with all my heart and all my soul and my neighbor as myself.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 121:8

 

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

 

Do Not be Double Minded (James 1:6-8)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-22-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Do not be double minded

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 1:6-8

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “6 But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.  7 For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”  (NASB)  “But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave on the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.  People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  They can’t make up their minds.  They waver back and forth in everything they do.”  (NLT)

            In verse five James says we are to ask God for wisdom, and in verse six he tells us how to ask God, and that it in faith.  When one prays he must believe that God is able and willing to answer our prayers.  When God answers our prayers He may at times say no to our request, or maybe He will ask us to wait, but God wants us to align our wills with His will for us, and we must believe that this is best for us in spite of what things may look like at the present.  Also in verse six James says we are not to doubt God when we ask Him and he describes this doubting as being double minded, (having ones soul or mind divided between God and the world).  These verse tell us that we must trust the Lord to do His will in our lives, doing what He knows is best for us, and for His glory in spite of consequences and circumstances. 

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am glade that the Lord has shown me more about what this section of James means.  I use to think that it was all up to me, that if I did not have enough faith to believe God would answer my prayers, and if I would just doubt for an instant then God would forget answering me all together.  I do not want to have my mind or soul go between God and the world, for I want to have the strong faith that God is in control of my life and to trust Him to do what is best for me, and bring glory to His name.

 

The Word of God was both refreshing to my heart and at the same time convicting to my soul.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  I want to trust the Lord to continue to fill me with His Spirit for the things that He would want me to do.  I want to be able to trust the Lord completely for the outcome of our investments, and also that He will guide Sandy and I to a place where we can invest them for our good and His glory.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 121:8

 

The Lord will guide your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever more.

 

Wisdom: The Right Use of Knowledge (James 1:5)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-21-03

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Wisdom:  The right use of knowledge

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 1:5

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  (NASB)  “If you need wisdom—if you want to know what God wants you to do—ask him, and he will gladly tell you.  He will not resent your asking.”  (NLT)

            In order to understand this verse you must be able to understand exactly what “Godly wisdom” is, and in order to understand godly wisdom you must know the Scriptures, for in them Godly wisdom is found.  “The readers of James’ letter recognized this as the understanding and practical skill that was necessary to life to God’s glory, wisdom contained in the pure and peaceable absolutes of God’s will revealed in His Word, and lived out.”  (From Dr. Macarthur’s study Bible) 

            When a person is going through a trial that is God authorized he must ask God for the wisdom he needs to understand what he is to get out of that trial so that it will cause him to grow in his faith and to mature as a believer.  The verse then assures us that God will give wisdom, in fact He will gladly give it to you in a generous way and without reproach, in other words He will not resent your asking.

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  As I try to put this verse into show leather for my life today I face a problem that has been with me ever since I can remember, and that is being nervous.  I am going to play golf with three fine believers this morning and being nervous about it causes my IBS to react in a way that makes me even more nervous.  I think of the verses in Phil. 4:6 & 7 which say that a believer is to be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let his requests be known unto God, and the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  I can learn from this wisdom of the Scriptures that I am not to be nervous, that when I am nervous that I am to give thanks, and I believe the reason to give thanks is that this trial draws me closer to the Lord.  I am to my request of not being nervous know unto God, who is glade to hear this request according to James 1:5.  Then God is to give me his peace which passes all understanding and will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.  In an earlier devotion on James I learned that I am to surrender my trials to the Lord so that He can use them to cause me to mature in my faith. 

 

The Word of God was a challenge to my heart, and it was also convicting to my soul.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To surrender to the Lord my nervousness and to ask Him to give me wisdom to deal with it so that it will bring glory to Him and good to me.  I trust the Lord to work out Phil. 4:6 & 7 in my life today.

 

Memory verse for the week: Psalm 121:8

 

The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever more.    

An Example of a Surrendered Will (James 1:9-11)

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 08-20-03

 

My Worship Time      Focus:  An example of a surrendered will

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                         Reference:  James 1:9-11

 

            1.  Message of the verses:  “9 But let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position; 10 and let the rich man glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.  11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind, and withers the grass; and its flower falls off, and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.”  (NASB)  “Christians who are poor should be glad, for God has honored them.  And those who are rich should be glad, for God humbled them.  They will fade away like a flower in the field.  The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away.  So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements.”  (NLT)

            The reason for skipping to verses 9-11 is because that is the outline the Dr. Wiersbe has in his book on James, “Be Mature.”  Yesterday when doing verse 4 I learned from Dr. Wiersbe’s book that one of the most difficult stages of maturing is weaning and he sites a verse in the Psalms where David dealt with this principle of weaning.  “2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; Like a weaned child rests against his mother, My soul is like a weaned child within me.”  A weaned child is a sign of a maturing child, for it does give liberty to the child, but at times it is difficult for the child.  God weans the believer in order to bring maturity to him and He does it through trials and in verses 91-11 James gives and example of this by writing about a poor believer and a rich believer.  The poor believer can rejoice when realizing that his true riches are in the Lord tests him.  The rich man can rejoice in the Lord when testing comes knowing that some day all of his riches will fade away any way.  One point that needs to be made about testing that comes from the Lord and that if believers do not surrender to the Lord then these believers will become even more immature. 

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I can say that in the standards of many people around the world my family would be considered rich, and I can say with a sincere heart that the Lord has blessed my family with an abundance of material blessing, along with more than an abundance of spiritual blessing, of neither do we deserve. God is certainly testing us with the uncertainty of our investments, and I can thankfully say that He has given me the grace to deal with this testing, and I hope that I can say that I have surrendered to His will as to what He will do concerning the returning of our investments, for He owns it all, and even though I have made some mistakes investing the funds that He has trusted me with I am learning what these mistakes are and by His grace will never make them again.  But it is the joy of knowing that the Lord cares for me so much that He has allowed these things to happen to me in order to take me further along in the maturing process of becoming more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The Word of God has been a challenge to my heart as I read it this morning. 

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To continue to surrender to the Lord in this testing that He is putting me through.  I do count it all joy because I know that the Lord is in control of my life and also He will not do things to harm me, only doing things for my good and His glory.

 

Memory verses for the week:  Psalm 121:1-8

 

1.      I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come?

2.      My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.

3.      He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.

4.      Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

5.      The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

6.      The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night.

7.      The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.

8.      The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.       

 

Endurance (James 1:4)

SPIRITUALL DIARY FOR 08-19-03

 

                                                                                   

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  Endurance

 

Bible Reading & Meditation             Reference:  James 1:4

 

            1.  Message of the verse:  “4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  (NASB)  “So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”  (NLT)

            I want to explain the word translated for “complete” in this verse from the Strong’s Concordance:  “complete in all its parts, in no part wanting or unsound, complete, entire, whole.”  This is speaking of maturity. This verse seems to be part of a process that the Lord takes us through on the maturing process.  Yesterday I spoke about the trials bring about endurance or patience, and that you get this through faith in the Lord through His Word and His Holy Spirit.  Now the believer is to allow this patience or endurance to work in their life to bring about maturity.  God wants the believer to trust Him through these trials to bring about maturity in their lives.  Paul spoke of this in his writings in Ephesians 2:8-10.  There are three works that are involved in the Christian life that are explained in these verses.  1.  Salvation, which is the work that God has done for us through Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross on our behalf.  2.  The is the work done in us through God which is sanctification, which is where God builds character in our lives, and we become more like Jesus Christ as Romans 8:29 speaks of:  “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren.”  3.  The next is service, which God does through us.  God has to build character in us before he can work through us in service.  There are examples of this in the OT in the lives of Abraham, and Joseph, and Moses, for God worked to build character in Moses’ life for 80 years before he served the Lord for the next 40 years leading the people of God. 

 

            2.  Spiritual meaning for my life today:  God has been working in my life for 29 plus years, and my prayer is that for the rest of the days He give me will be used in service for the cause of Jesus Christ.

 

The Word of God was indeed a challenge to my heart as I read it this morning.

 

My Steps of Faith Today:  To allow God to use the trials in my life each day to bring about endurance and for the endurance to bring about maturity that I may serve Him as He works through me.  I want my life to be a vessel that the Lord will fill each day for His honor and glory.

 

Memory verse for the week:  Psalm 121:8

 

8.      The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.