DEVOTION, MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2011

MONDAY, APRIL 25, 2011

“GOD’S CHOICE OF PEOPLE”

BY

BAYLESS CONLEY

Corinthians 1:26 says,

For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

God does not call a lot of people who our world would consider wise, noble or mighty.  He calls a few, but not many.  The fact of the matter is, God will use anyone who will yield himself or herself to Him.

The idea Paul wants us to understand is that the vast majority of people God chooses are a surprise to everyone else.  God's choices are generally not on our "A" list of people.

Think about the apostle Paul himself, who wrote these very words in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.  And the next words out of his mouth are profound, But by the grace of God I am what I am.

Paul was a persecutor of Christians.  In fact, he was so filled with hatred he even went to foreign cities to have believers arrested, families split apart, Christians jailed, beaten, and at times even executed.  And yet, God chose Paul as His mouthpiece.

It was so astonishing to many in the church that they didn't want to receive Paul when he was first saved.  They thought it was a trick.  It took them a while to understand that God actually had saved him and was using him.

Paul would not have been one of their primary choices as a vessel for God.  I love that about the Lord.  He uses the unexpected and those we might pass over to carry out some of His most important work.

DEVOTION - SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2011

SATURDAY,  APRIL 23, 2011

“JESUS IN ALL SIXTY-SIX”

BY

ADRIAN ROGERS

“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

The thing I love about the Old Testament is the thing I love about the New Testament. The Old Testament and the New Testament both are the inspired Word of God. Don’t get the idea that the Old Testament has a message different from the New Testament. All of the Bible is about Jesus. If you read the Bible and you don’t find Jesus, you better go re-read it.

Somebody may ask if you have read the four gospels, and you can answer them, “I’ve read all sixty-six!”

From Genesis to Revelation,

• It has the same villain – Satan.
• It has the same hero – Jesus.
• It has the same purpose – to present salvation in no other name but Jesus.

Read Isaiah 53. What are the prophecies that were fulfilled in the life of Christ?

DEVOTION - FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

“FOREFATHER OF OUR FAITH”

BY

BOB COY

We now come to a figure whose very name is synonymous with faith…Abraham. Although Abraham was far from perfect, the Bible is very deliberate in holding him up as the prime pattern of what it means to walk by faith. Not only is he the physical forefather of the Nation of Israel, but He is also identified as the spiritual forefather of all who place their faith in God.

Abraham's story starts with God telling him to leave his homeland and to journey to a foreign land that would ultimately become an inheritance for his ancestors. He heard, he believed, and he went. Next, God promised to bless him and his wife with a son, despite their being well into their elder years and being unable to conceive up to that point. But Abraham heard God's promise, he believed God's promise, and the Lord fulfilled His promise.

And that's the recurring theme in Abraham's life. He takes what God tells him, regardless of how difficult or improbable it may seem, and he simply trusts it. He puts his faith in it. So much so that Paul uses Abraham to demonstrate one of the most powerful truths ever expressed, justification by God through faith:

And not being weak in faith…He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith…being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform…therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Romans 4:19-22 NKJV)

DEVOTION - WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2011

“GO ON WITH CONFIDENCE”

BY

DR ED YOUNG

When you are cast down, you will speak with confidence, And the humble person He will save.”
Job 22:29

The promise echoes throughout the Bible: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5 ).  Paul defines humility in surprising words: “Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3 NLT). I watched a dad teaching his daughter how to ice skate. She was shaky, but knew he wouldn’t let go. Her measure of faith in him was based on knowing how much he loved her. She could do little to “help” him skate, and was humbled by the stretch of cold ice. But her assessment of her self-value was in proportion to the confidence she had in the care of her father.

DEVOTION - MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011

MONDAY, APRIL 18, 2011

“HIS PROPITIATION”

BY

F B MEYER

“THE MERCY SEAT”

HIS was the Propitiatory. Beneath it lay the tables of the law, which even Moses had broken, almost as soon as they came into his hands, but which had been renewed. Concealing and covering them lay this golden lid, encrusted with the blood which successive generations of priests sprinkled there on the Great Day of Atonement.

There can be no doubt that this golden slab sets forth our Saviour's obedience unto death. God set Him forth to be "the Propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Our Lord's obedience is priceless in the Divine esteem. - What pure gold is among metals, that is His advent to do God's will, in comparison with all other endeavors to do it. It takes the first place, and is of peerless beauty and excellence. "Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered."

His obedience was to blood. - His wounds tell the story. He held nothing back; but yielded all to blood-shedding. Blood is life, and life is in the Blood: this He freely poured out to meet the claims of justice, and herein gave the sublimest token of His love.

His person and work are the medium of our approach. - In Jesus the Shekinah of God's presence awaits us. On this priceless mercy-seat the Divine Fire trembles, and we may draw near with boldness. We are beloved children; but let us never forget that we are redeemed sinners.

There is a place where Jesus sheds
The oil of gladness on our heads;
A place than all beside more sweet -
It is the blood-stained Mercy-seat.