Bible Verse of the Day

Monday August 8th thru Saturday August 13th

 

 

Monday August 8^th 2016

Psalm 149:4

4	For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

Psalm 149 is one of the 48 psalms that the writer is unknown. The psalms were written over the span of a millennium, beginning with Moses in the 15^th century BC and spanning to the time of Ezra in the 4^th century BC. There is no clear evidence of when the 149^th Psalm was written or by who.

This Psalm is written as a praise to the Lord, for some victory that God had brought Israel to, although there is no evidence in the Psalm itself as to which victory or when it may have Happened.

As with most all of the Psalms there is a message for God’s people then and now as well. Verse 1 says “sing a new song,” that is what we do when we leave the world behind, turn our focus and set our path for Christ Jesus. The old music of the world does not have the magnetic pull that it once had. We are now singing new songs of excitement, joy and praise because we are now living a new life.

 The LORD takes delight in his people: There is some misconception surrounding the phrase “God’s People,” some believe it is referring to all people on the earth. When we are saved we are adopted into the royal family of God (Ephesians 1:5) and it brings great pleasure to God. God’s people are those that have allowed their hearts body and souls to become the Temple of God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The Holy Spirit of God dwells within us, Jesus has taken up residence in our hearts and souls when we accept Christ as our Savior. Consequently, when God sees us, He does not see the old person, He sees the New one, He sees Christ in us. At the Baptism of Jesus, The Father said, “this is my son in whom I love, with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). The Lord “takes delight in his people” because in His Son He is well pleased, and we are adopted sons and daughters of God.

He crowns the humble with victory: The opening statement of the “Sermon on the Mound” tells the whole story, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). When we come to God we must come with ourselves emptied of all worldly essence, we must come in absolute and complete humility. Once we have done this we are able to claim the “Victory” over sin and death that Christ Jesus gave His life to attain for His people. 

Tuesday August 9^th 2016

Luke 12:6-7

6	Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
7	Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? The Roman coin the assarion or the cent or penny, was worth approximately one sixteenth of a denarius, which (the denarius) was considered to be a day’s wage (Matthew 10:29).

These two illustrations that Jesus used in this writing was to teach the disciples, then and now, that He is aware of all things, whether by world standards are considered important or insignificant. Since he cares about the things that the world sees as inconsequential or trivial, He cares much more for His children.

The very hairs of your head are all numbered: Except for those like myself, who are losing hair at an alarming rate, the average person has approximately 120,000 hairs on their head. This shows the most extreme detail that God sees in us and the extent that His love and care goes to. 

Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows: There is a parable of two birds, one Cardinal and one Raven talking one day. The Cardinal says to the Raven: “why do these humans run around so fast and worry so?” The Raven replies: “they must not have a Heavenly Father that cares for them like we do” (Luke 12:24-28).

We are all going to go thru struggles and be faced with temptation because it is common to all people, but God will always provide a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13). God is so far beyond the scope of our apprehensions and tribulations, and the sooner we believe and accept that, the sooner we can have the victory that God wants us to have. Don’t worry about tomorrow, today has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34), take it one day at a time. Read and study God’s Word, ask Him to place in your heart and soul a great hunger and thirst for the truth that comes only through the Bible. Develop a strong and consecrated prayer life, and with these two paths you will find the peace and joy that God wants you to know.

In the mid twentieth century Stuart Hamblen composed a song entitled “It is no Secret,” in it he stated that, “it is no secret what God can do, what He’s done for others, He’ll do for you.” Read and study your bible and see how many people God has brought out of situations that seemed hopeless. Sometimes what we are going through seems hopeless but God cares about us and will never let us down.

 Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

 Wednesday August 10^th 2016

Psalms 46:1

1	God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

Though the author of this Psalm is not known, it is believed that it was written by King Hezekiah after God delivered Israel from Sennacherib. Martin Luther, when he was going through some trial or tribulation would call for the singing of the 46^th Psalm, He would say “Let us sing the forty-sixth psalm in concert; and then let the devil do his worst." He later composed a hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” through the inspiration of this Psalm. (Excerpt from Verse of the day Psalm 46:10)

In many of the other Psalms the writer starts off with some particular disaster or catastrophe that they or the people around them might be going through. This psalm begins with God’s shelter and strength.

There was a provision in the Mosaic Law for a City of Refuge (Exodus 21:13-14), so that if someone was involved in an unintentional death they could be protected until the case could be heard by the leaders. The tribe of Levi was not given any country as their inheritance, they were to be the administrators of the Tabernacle and its ceremonies and rituals as well as the furnishings. They (The Levites) were given forty-eight cities among which six of them were designated to be a City of Refuge (Numbers 35:6-7). These cities were Kedesh, Shechem, Hebron, Bezer, Romath and Golan (Joshua 20:7-8).

God is our refuge and strength: The writer of this Psalm talks about God being their refuge as these cities were a refuge to the fugitives in Israel. These cities of refuge were a symbol of Christ, in so much as a sinner will find refuge in Christ Jesus from our enemy, Satan, that will always pursue us (Hebrews 6:18). There is no power in the universe, nor has there ever been or will ever be, that is stronger than God. We, as His children, are under the umbrella of His protection from all evil whose shadow might cover our way.

Ever-present help in trouble: God is not some idea or conception that that is there for us to consider when we are in need. God is real, He is not in some elusive place far away, He is here with us and we can draw near to Him and He will draw near to us (James 4:8). He does not put is on hold, to be dealt with at a later time, He is here right now, Ever-present. 

 

Thursday August 11^th 2016

Psalm 119:14

14	I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.

 Psalm 119 has become a very popular Chapter for the Bible Gateway Verse of the Day. This verse talks about the joy we know in following the decrees of God. There is not enough silver or gold on this planet, or in this universe, that can buy anything that can replace the delight and treasure that comes from being immersed in God’s Word. Earthly riches will bring about a shadow of personal enjoyment, but the Word of God will satisfy all the needs and requirements of our soul. It is a sad state of affairs that there are many that would, like Esau, be willing to exchange their inheritance from the Royal Family of God for the equivalent of a bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29-34).

There is also in this verse an indication and suggestion of the adoption into the royal family of God. As a son or daughter of the King of Kings we will consider obedience to God much joy. The servant will perform the duties laid before him, however, the son or daughter will not only carry out the responsibilities and obligations to the master but will delight and relish in them. To rejoice in the Word of God and in following its precepts are proof positive, that it has taken effect on one’s heart, and consequently cleansing the life of that person.

Jesus illustrated this concept when He said “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34b). “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Mark 8:36)

 

Friday August 12^th 2016

1 Corinthians 16:19-20

19	Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
20	you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies.

Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own: In the writings of Paul, he occasionally uses rhetorical questions to make an important statement, like he is doing here. In chapter 3 verse 16 Paul states that the church is the temple of God as well. This is referring to the Body of Christ not the church building itself.

In the Pagan world of the first century AD sexual immorality was a large part of religious worship, as we have seen in our study of the history, of the beginning of the Christian church. That is in large part what the Jerusalem Council Letter was about (Acts 15). Corinth, being in the heart of Pagan country, was having a problem with attending these Pagan worship ceremonies. There were also other sexual immorality issues that Paul had addressed in 1 and 2 Corinthians.

A temple is a place where God dwells and is free from immorality of any degree. Since the Holy Spirit of God dwells within our bodies then we should keep our physical bodies clean and free from immorality, as well as our spiritual hearts and souls.

You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your bodies: Our spiritual and physical beings do not belong to us, they belong to God. They were bought and paid for on the Hill of Calvary on the Cross, so consequently we do not have the right to contaminate and mistreat our bodies with immorality, sexual or otherwise.

This theory not only applies to sexual misbehavior and wrongdoing. Since our bodies belong to our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, we do not have the right to be idle or careless of time with what belongs to God, we should use them for the glory of God.  Charles Surgeon once said: "Your body was a willing horse when it was in the service of the devil, let it not be a sluggish hack now that it draws the chariot of Christ."  

Since God Himself does dwell within us we are blessed with a power greater that any power ever known to man. This means that we have, to our access, the power to fight the sins of the flesh that we deal with on a daily basis. Harry Ironside made the statement that is very true: “Glorify God in your bodies and the spiritual side will take care of itself

 

Saturday August 13^th 2016

Ephesians 2:8-10

8	For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God —
9	not by works, so that no one can boast.
10	For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast: Paul had a fight throughout his entire ministry with the ones he called Judaizers, which today we refer to as Legalist. Those people that say there is some work that we have to do in order to be saved and in order to keep our salvation. Ephesians 2: 8-9 makes it very clear that we are saved because of what Christ Jesus did, not because of anything we can or will do. Our salvation is based on the grace and mercy of God and not any good works that we might do, through our faith. Faith is not an act or work that earns God’s favor or that He rewards with Salvation, Salvation is a free gift. If you give me a gift and I reach out my hand to take that gift, I am doing nothing to deserve or warrant that gift (Romans 6:23b). The one that gives the gift will receive the recognition and acknowledgement for the gift, not the recipient. Sometimes we take for granted the act of breathing, but we breathe because God breathed life into us. In much the same way, we practice the act of faith because God has opened our spiritual eyes and spiritual ears and allowed us to hear and see the truth of His Holy Word. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do: God does not save us just to free us from the evil and wrath in this life, but He saves us to serve Him. We are not saved to sit on the sidelines and watch the game, we are saved to get into the game. We are saved so that we can spread His gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). God also saves us so that we can spend the balance of our eternal life with Him in heaven, to serve Him throughout eternity (John 14:1-3). Good works is not the tree that bears the fruit, but the fruit that grows on the tree.