ALL – Psalm 77:1-20
ALL – Proverbs 12:18
OT – Deuteronomy 28:1-68
NT – Luke 11:14-36
Have you ever wondered how much of a blessing it would have been to be Jesus’ mother Mary, or perhaps to be Joseph, her husband? Were they such special people that they deserved this honor more than all others? Should we give them special respect, special attention, special awe? Where do you and I stand in God’s sight, compared to Mary?
As [Jesus] was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother—the womb from which you came and the breasts that gave you suck!” He replied, “Yes, but even more blessed are all who hear the Word of God and put it into practice.” – Luke 11:27-28, The Living Bible
Make no mistake. Mary was blessed to be Jesus’ mother. Joseph was blessed to be called His father. But there is a blessing far greater than the blessing of being Jesus’ parents, and the blessing is available to you and me. It is a blessing which God bestows on all who not only hear His Word, but also put it into practice.
What’s keeping you from pursuing the blessing of God today?
Please find the rest of this week's readings below. To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
April 6, 2010
ALL – Psalm 78:1-31
ALL – Proverbs 12:19-20
OT – Deuteronomy 29:1-30:20
NT – Luke 11:37-12:7
April 7, 2010
ALL – Psalm 78:32-55
ALL – Proverbs 12:21-23
OT – Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27
NT – Luke 12:8-34
April 8, 2010
ALL – Psalm 78:56-64
ALL – Proverbs 12:24
OT – Deuteronomy 32:28-52
NT – Luke 12:35-59
April 9, 2010
ALL – Psalm 78:65-72
ALL – Proverbs 12:25
OT – Deuteronomy 33:1-29
NT – Luke 13:1-21
April 10, 2010
ALL – Psalm 79:1-13
ALL – Proverbs 12:26
OT – Deuteronomy 34:1-Joshua 2:24
NT – Luke 13:22-14:6
April 11, 2010
ALL – Psalm 80:1-19
ALL – Proverbs 12:27-28
OT – Joshua 3:1-4:24
NT – Luke 14:7-35
Showing posts with label God's Word. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Word. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
When Satan Wins
ALL – Psalm 69:19-36
ALL – Proverbs 12:2-3
OT – Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
NT – Luke 8:4-21
Which people can Satan keep out of heaven?
Yikes! That’s not a fun question, for sure. But in one of Jesus’ parables, it seems like it’s a reality for some people that Satan can actually take Jesus’ words out of certain people’s hearts. What’s this mean? How does this work?
Well, as Jesus was explaining his parable, this is what He said:
The hard path where some seed fell represents the hard hearts of those who hear the words of God, but then the devil comes and steals the words away and prevents people from believing and being saved. – Luke 8:12, The Living Bible
Satan’s ability to steal God’s words away from people’s hearts is related to their hearts’ condition. And the kind of hearts that Satan can steal God’s words from are hardened hearts.
The next question is whether we have hardened hearts or not. And to be honest, some who are reading this may have hardened hearts. It’s a real spiritual heart condition, so the chances are that some of us really have this condition. But who? Who has a hardened heart? Who is vulnerable to Satan’s thievery of God’s Word?
Well, Hebrews 3:13 gives us a clue. It says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (NIV). Hardening comes from sin. Specifically, it comes from the deceitfulness of sin. Sin is deceptive. Even as we sin, we convince ourselves that we’re ok. Initially, sin deceives us by saying, “It was just a little sin. I’m not really such a bad person. At least I didn’t do what so-and-so did the other day.” And because we’re listening to our sins rather than God’s words, our hearts are hardened against hearing God’s words. And the sins get worse. And the deception gets worse. And eventually it no longer matters to us whether we’re listening to God or not, or even whether we’re good or not.
A hard heart won’t even consider God’s words. They don’t sink in at all. And Satan doesn’t have a hard time quickly snatching God’s words away from a heart that isn’t trying to listen to God.
Have you been ignoring God, believing sin, believing its lies, following its enticements? Your heart is all the more vulnerable to Satan’s work of snatching God’s words of life away from you. Salvation’s chances of taking root are lowered.
Find believers. Listen to their encouragements. Do what they encourage. Follow God and His commands. Be willing to be good. And then listen. Listen to God. Soak His words deeply into your life. God’s words will produce life in you.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 12:2-3
OT – Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22
NT – Luke 8:4-21
Which people can Satan keep out of heaven?
Yikes! That’s not a fun question, for sure. But in one of Jesus’ parables, it seems like it’s a reality for some people that Satan can actually take Jesus’ words out of certain people’s hearts. What’s this mean? How does this work?
Well, as Jesus was explaining his parable, this is what He said:
The hard path where some seed fell represents the hard hearts of those who hear the words of God, but then the devil comes and steals the words away and prevents people from believing and being saved. – Luke 8:12, The Living Bible
Satan’s ability to steal God’s words away from people’s hearts is related to their hearts’ condition. And the kind of hearts that Satan can steal God’s words from are hardened hearts.
The next question is whether we have hardened hearts or not. And to be honest, some who are reading this may have hardened hearts. It’s a real spiritual heart condition, so the chances are that some of us really have this condition. But who? Who has a hardened heart? Who is vulnerable to Satan’s thievery of God’s Word?
Well, Hebrews 3:13 gives us a clue. It says, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (NIV). Hardening comes from sin. Specifically, it comes from the deceitfulness of sin. Sin is deceptive. Even as we sin, we convince ourselves that we’re ok. Initially, sin deceives us by saying, “It was just a little sin. I’m not really such a bad person. At least I didn’t do what so-and-so did the other day.” And because we’re listening to our sins rather than God’s words, our hearts are hardened against hearing God’s words. And the sins get worse. And the deception gets worse. And eventually it no longer matters to us whether we’re listening to God or not, or even whether we’re good or not.
A hard heart won’t even consider God’s words. They don’t sink in at all. And Satan doesn’t have a hard time quickly snatching God’s words away from a heart that isn’t trying to listen to God.
Have you been ignoring God, believing sin, believing its lies, following its enticements? Your heart is all the more vulnerable to Satan’s work of snatching God’s words of life away from you. Salvation’s chances of taking root are lowered.
Find believers. Listen to their encouragements. Do what they encourage. Follow God and His commands. Be willing to be good. And then listen. Listen to God. Soak His words deeply into your life. God’s words will produce life in you.
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Hardness
ALL – Psalm 37:12-29
ALL – Proverbs 10:5
OT – Leviticus 7:28-9:6
NT – Mark 3:31-4:25
Growing up, I lived in an area where there weren’t many sidewalks, but everyone walked. If they walked across a field, for a while they would be going through fairly tall grass. But over time, as people used the same pathway repeatedly, something happened. The grass under their feet bruised and began to wilt. As it died, the ground under their feet grew harder and harder. Eventually, despite that ground being surrounded by field plants of every kind, despite seeds falling on the pathway frequently, seeds could not take root in that pathway. It was too hard.
The hard pathway, where some of the seed fell, represents the hard hearts of some of those who hear God’s message; Satan comes at once to make them try to forget it. – Mark 4:15, The Living Bible
God’s Word is like a seed. It is intended to produce growth and fruit in our lives. But some of us have developed habits of sinfulness. We justify our sins; whether the sins stay in our hearts, barely leak out our lips, or burst through our behaviors, we justify them and keep on sinning. We walk the path of sin day after day, and we harden our hearts to the fruitful influence of God’s Word. We leave ourselves barren, devoid of obedience, righteousness and peace.
Don’t get used to disobeying God. Don’t get used to turning off the voice of the conscience He’s given you, or your heart will be hardened even to the voice of God. As you hear His voice, don’t just think about it: obey!
What sin has God brought to mind as you read this? Don’t delay. Respond immediately with faith, repentance and obedience. Don’t harden your heart today.
How can we help one another keep our hearts tilled and soft to God’s Word?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
ALL – Proverbs 10:5
OT – Leviticus 7:28-9:6
NT – Mark 3:31-4:25
Growing up, I lived in an area where there weren’t many sidewalks, but everyone walked. If they walked across a field, for a while they would be going through fairly tall grass. But over time, as people used the same pathway repeatedly, something happened. The grass under their feet bruised and began to wilt. As it died, the ground under their feet grew harder and harder. Eventually, despite that ground being surrounded by field plants of every kind, despite seeds falling on the pathway frequently, seeds could not take root in that pathway. It was too hard.
The hard pathway, where some of the seed fell, represents the hard hearts of some of those who hear God’s message; Satan comes at once to make them try to forget it. – Mark 4:15, The Living Bible
God’s Word is like a seed. It is intended to produce growth and fruit in our lives. But some of us have developed habits of sinfulness. We justify our sins; whether the sins stay in our hearts, barely leak out our lips, or burst through our behaviors, we justify them and keep on sinning. We walk the path of sin day after day, and we harden our hearts to the fruitful influence of God’s Word. We leave ourselves barren, devoid of obedience, righteousness and peace.
Don’t get used to disobeying God. Don’t get used to turning off the voice of the conscience He’s given you, or your heart will be hardened even to the voice of God. As you hear His voice, don’t just think about it: obey!
What sin has God brought to mind as you read this? Don’t delay. Respond immediately with faith, repentance and obedience. Don’t harden your heart today.
How can we help one another keep our hearts tilled and soft to God’s Word?
To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.
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