Bible Verse of the Day

Monday July 25^th thru Saturday July 30^th

  

Monday July 25^th 2016

Psalm 119:59-60

59	I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes.
60	I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands.

 Psalm 119 has been a reoccurring subject in the “verse of the day” in the month of July.  Verses of scripture from Psalm 119 has occurred on July the 18^th and July 21^st. You can refer back to the one on the 18^th for all the general information concerning this beautiful Psalm.

I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to your statutes:  As we spend more and more time immersed in God’s Holy Word, we will begin to evaluate our own lives and realize that we do need to turn our walk towards our Savior. Some will say “I need to turn my life around,” but when one turns his or her life in another direction it is vital that the turn is made towards God. There are 360 degrees on the compass, there is only one degree that heads us towards God, as Jesus said: “the path is narrow and few will find it” (Matthew 7:14).

The time in one’s life that they decide to turn their steps towards God is a major turning point, it is a change of life that cannot even be imagined prior to coming to Christ Jesus. All the peace and joy that we search for without Jesus in our lives is a futile pursuit. Once we accept Christ Jesus, and turn our steps toward Him, there will be a peace and joy available to us that is everlasting and without boundaries.

I will hasten and not delay to obey your commands: Once we have set our steps towards God, we may rapidly move in a direction of obedience to God and His decrees. It is a hazardous and treacherous journey when we have set our steps in a direction away from God, but a glorious and magnificent journey when we are traveling in the Kingdom of God. A haste towards repentance and obedience is an excellent move, but sometimes one will delay when it is time to quickly move away from some sin in our lives. A case in point can be found in the story of Lot, when the time came for him to leave Sodom and Gomorrah. The Bible says that Lot “hesitated” when the Heavenly messengers told him to leave that evil city (Genesis 19:16).  

 Tuesday July 26^th 2016

Hebrews 11:1

1	Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

 Hebrews chapter 11 is considered the faith chapter, it is God’s hall of fame of faith. It speaks of many of the Old Testament saints and the faith by which they lived by. They were saved the same way we are saved today, faith in the promised Messiah, Christ Jesus. In their case it was faith in the coming of the promised Messiah, (Genesis 3:15) in our case it is faith in Christ, who was the promised Messiah. (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Verse 1 is by no question the most comprehensive definition of faith that can be spoken.  With our physical eyes we are able to see and comprehend what is around us in the tangible, touchable world. Faith is how we are able to perceive, be aware and sure of the invisible, spiritual world. Faith is not, like some believe, a “blind leap,” but it is having certainty and sureness in our hope in Christ Jesus and all that we are promised through the Holy Word of God.

When there is substance around that you can see with your physical eyes, there is no need for faith, only when the matter is something we cannot see or touch do we need to have faith. One could quantitatively and factually prove that the bible has had a positive influence upon the world and humankind, as no other book has had. It would not take faith to prove that, it could be demonstrated through simple reason. However, only through and with our faith can we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the bible is the true Word of God, it is God speaking to His children. Faith is our eagerness to humbly submit ourselves and surrender our lives to Christ Jesus, putting His agendas and plans first in our lives.  

 Wednesday July 27^th 2016

Hebrews 12:1

1	Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

 Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses: There are some that take this verse as indicating that the “hall of famers” of faith from Hebrews 11 are watching us from heaven, rooting and applauding for us as we move forward to engage in the battles we must fight with Satan every day. This has led to the belief that anyone in heaven is able to observe and watch over those in the realm of the living, in this world. However, the evidence that this is the case is inconclusive and unfounded, in the Holy Word of God. We justly and correctly think of those in heaven as being happy, tranquil and untroubled about the evil and immorality that is occurring on this earth. So it is problematic, using the Word of God, to say that our loved ones that have passed on are watching us from heaven.

It is more likely that what the writer is attempting to bring forth here is that these Old Testament saints, spoken of in Hebrews 11, are witnesses to us of faith and perseverance. The term cloud from the first sentence in this verse is symbolic of a large number, in this case a vast number of people.

Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles: Sin can and does hinder us from the joy and peace we can enjoy from having a good and strong relationship with our Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit of God, that indwells within us, can be muffled and clouded over by the sin we allow to overtake our lives. Sin can entangle us to a point that we spend all of our time focused on the sin itself, then we lose the determination to follow the precepts of Christ and consequently the work for our Savior is hindered. There can sometimes be things that are not sin, everything that hinders, but simply obstructions and encumbrances that prevent us from running the good race (1 Corinthians 9:24; 2 Timothy 4:7). “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

 Thursday July 28^th 2016

Philippians 3:13-14

13	Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,
14	I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

 n verse 13 Paul was saying that he had not yet reached the pinnacle of conformity to Christ Jesus, but he was not going to look back, he was positively moving forward towards the prize that was awaiting him. Paul did not say that he would not remember what had happened to him in the past, in the previous few verses he had spoken of some of these (Philippians 3:5-7; 9-12). He had discarded and forsaken the worthless path he was once on and now had a new goal, in Christ Jesus, which he was pursuing with enthusiasm and delight. If we try to hold on to the things of our past, good or bad, it can create a barrier on our spiritual growth and surrender to Christ Jesus, in the present and going into the future.

 In the 15^th century Spain was the world’s superpower of the day. They showed their superiority and egotism with an inscription on their coins, Ne Plus Ultra, which translates into English as “Nothing Further.” When the continent, that we call home, was discovered in the late 15^th century, and Spain realized they were not the end of the world, they changed the wording on their coinage to, Plus Ultra, meaning “More Beyond.” Today there are many Christians that live by the first caption, “Nothing Further” instead of “More Beyond.”

In verse 14 he says “I press on,” which in essence he is proclaiming that he has put his hand to the plow and is not going to look back for any reason (Luke 9:62), but continue to move forward to the prize that lay ahead of him.

For which God has called me: The apostle here is saying that he no longer focuses on or pursues his own agenda or plans, but will going forward, put all of his determination, energy and strength towards God’s will for his life.

the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus: There are some that see this as a reference to the Rapture. The prize that Paul anticipated, would come at the end of the race, not before. Paul’s goal was to get to know as much about God that he could in this life and one day see Him face to face, and know his Savior completely (1 Corinthians 13:12; 9:24). The Rapture is not a reward for the good work we have done for Christ Jesus in this life, it is for every saved believer, no matter how they “run the race” (Ephesians 2:8-9;1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

 Each of us have a calling, just like Paul had a calling in Christ Jesus. This is a high calling because it comes from above, heavenward in Christ Jesus. It is a high calling also, because the idea behind it is higher than even the imagination of humans can conceive or even comprehend. It is also a high calling because it summons us to where Christ sits, at the right hand of God.

Friday July 29th 2016

Psalm 119:93

93	I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life.

 Psalm 119 being the longest psalm in the bible as well as the longest chapter, has been a recurring theme as the “verse of the Day” in the months of June and July. In 1542, four months before his death, Martin Luther wrote, in his own hand, this magnificent Psalm in his bible.

God’s Word is eternal, everlasting and secure, as is evident due to the fact that it “stands firm” in Heaven (Psalm 119:89-91). As long as we always remember the principles, teachings and guidelines of the Bible, it will be the solid rock that we may always stand on. It will always be the “sword of the spirit” that we use to battle Satan when he comes after us, as he will do on a daily basis. This world will attempt to offer us shiny things that it will claim are good and needful, but all of this is temporary and will eventually turn to dust. On the other hand, God’s word is unlimited in what it has to extend and advance to us, as well as being eternal (psalm 119:96).

The Word of God produces, in us, life eternal because God’s Word is itself, alive and eternal, so it will speak to us. Some say that the Bible is old-fashioned and not practical or useful for us today. It is not old-fashioned or modern, it is God’s spoken word to the world, preserved and protected in Heaven, with and by God Himself, for eternity.   

Saturday July 30^th 2016

Matthew 5: 14-16

14	"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
15	Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
16	In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

 Matthew chapters 5-7 is the account by the apostle Matthew of what is known as the Sermon on the Mound.  Mark and John do not have any accounts of this greatest of all sermons, but Luke does have, what appears to be a summary of the same event (Luke 6:17-49). Some contend that this may be a separate event, however, the parallels between the two writings (Luke and Matthew) would certainly tend to support that they are the same event, with Luke’s account being a summary of the sermon.

Light is a recurring representation throughout God’s Word. It symbolizes cleanliness, truth, wisdom, divine revelation, and God's presence. The Old Testament spoke of the true light of the world as being the Promised Messiah (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6), the New Testament declares that Jesus was the Light of the world (Matthew 4:16; 1 John 1:7), Jesus also said that He was the light of the world (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:35;).

You are the light of the world: The followers of Jesus are the light of the world in the sense, that the moon is a light only because it reflects the light from the sun. We are the light, in the sense that we reflect the light of the Son. When Jesus says here that we are the light of the world, He is not only paying us a great complement, but is bestowing on us an even greater responsibility. We must not only be ready to receive the light, that Jesus wants to shine on us, but we must always be prepared to reflect that light to a lost, dark and dyeing world.

In the lighthouses of the nineteenth century they had no electric lights, they used oil lamps. The secret to that dim oil light, from the lighthouse, shining far enough out to sea to warn incoming mariners of the rocky coast was the reflectors. There was, in the tower of every lighthouse, surrounding that small, dim oil wick a great series of reflectors. If the lighthouse keeper allowed these reflectors to become soiled and grimy, the light would not go out far enough for the incoming ships to be forewarned of the dangers that lay ahead.

In the same way, as we are the reflectors for the Light of Christ Jesus, we must keep our reflectors clean and free from the soil of the world. If we allow our reflectors to become fouled and stained by the evil of the world, the light of Jesus will not be able to reach the lost and forewarn them of the dangers that lay ahead, if they do not come to the light.