A MUTUAL CALLING

READING: 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-10

Verse 1: “We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”

Paul’s words in the verse above communicate his grave concern about the misuse of God’s grace. He must have been aware of the very great loss to be experienced by anyone who receives the grace of God in vain. Certainly loss in such a situation is inevitable, because it means not allowing His grace to accomplish its purpose. An example of this in human terms might be as follows. If a criminal is granted  probation, but then violates it, that person has not allowed human grace to serve its purpose. The freedom that had been granted is forfeited and therefore received in vain. In spiritual terms, the primary purpose of the grace of God is defined in Ephesians 2:8. It states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith.” Grace is the provision that permits our salvation. Therefore, allowing that provision of grace to be in vain or for no purpose denies salvation; producing the terrible consequence of condemnation. That is good reason for Paul’s grave concern. Because of the seriousness of this matter, we are called even as Paul was. That mutual calling that we share with him, is to help others to receive the grace of God unto their salvation. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. Why do people “receive the grace of God in vain”?

2. What is another calling that we share with Paul that you consider to be of grave importance?

BEYOND A BOAT

READING: JOSHUA 3:11-17

Verse 17: "Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.” 

Here is the scene in Joshua, Chapter 3. The Israelites have agreed that the Promised Land is theirs to take. Joshua is preparing them to cross over, and gives them instructions about how to proceed. All is ready except for one complication. The Jordan River, which was swollen and flooded, was before them as a major obstacle to their progress. There was nothing they could do. The situation was entirely beyond their control. The Israelites were not in control, but their God was fully in control. His response was to hold up the water of the Jordan so that the people of God were able to walk across on the river bottom. What was an insurmountable problem to the Hebrews, was a circumstance made to order for the Lord to prove His faithfulness. I suppose it can be said that an insurmountable problem for them, was an “insurmountable opportunity” for their God. The lesson here is very pointed. When things seem out of control we don’t have to be fearful, worried or stymied. Instead, we can look to God and accept those times as opportunities granted to us for Him to prove His faithfulness. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What would you have thought while walking across the river bed?

2. What will you do in your next out of control situation?

READY, OR NOT REALLY

READING: 2 CORINTHIANS 8:8-15

Verse 11: “but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there may also be a completion out of what you have.”

Rob is one of a group who are volunteering to work at church. No one seems to be willing to mark and paint parking spaces in the parking lot, so he takes the job on. Rob spends many hours working and sweating in the summer heat. At last the grueling job is almost at an end, this assignment is nearly completed. At that time Steven, who is also in the group, shows up saying, “Hey, I was going to do this job.” Verse 11 applies to Steven’s statement. Being ready to do something is a good beginning, but it is far from a completion. When there is a need for something to be accomplished, the completion of it is much preferred over just the willingness to start it. In this verse the Apostle Paul stated what Rob was feeling. When there is a task at hand, more than good intentions is needed. In a like manner, as we are called by the Lord to Christian service, may we be Robs and not Stevens. Let us be found procucing completions and not just good intentions. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. How could Steven have responded in a better way?

2. How should Rob respond to Steven?

A SECRET NOT WELL KEPT

READING: PSALM 27:5-14

Verse 14: “Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD.”

Because of rejection of godly principles and the resulting moral decline, people are experiencing frightful situations today. Some encounter one horrible hardship after another. As the result, one consequence that occurs is that some lose heart. They become ready to give up. King David states that his situation nearly caused that to happen to him. He wrote that he would have lost heart, the King James Version says he would have fainted, if he had not believed the goodness of God would intervene. David was confident that God would always deliver him and redeem his situation. What secret is there that gave this man so much assurance? Well it isn’t a secret at all. David’s source of overcoming provision is well published and available to anyone who accepts it. People today can also avoid losing heart by using the principled wisdom that helped David. That wisdom is quoted in today’s verse above. The act of assuredly waiting on the Lord is a great and deep well of peace and security. God’s provision, granted according to His timing, provides universal and eternal resolution for every situation. Those who wait on the Lord will not lose heart. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What picture comes to your mind from the term “lose heart”?

2. Who do you know personally who has not lost heart in adversity?

GET ‘ER DONE!

READING: DEUTERONOMY 8:11-20

Verse 18: “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth...”

As Christians we encounter various difficulties in our relationships with the Lord. However, there is one problem that seems to stand out as being particularly troubling. Sometime we struggle considerably when the Lord does not support goals and objectives that we establish as important. These are times when we employ the best of our gifts, talents, skills and abilities to accomplish something, and we can’t make it happen. We can be encouraged to know that the Lord has purposes for permitting such times to happen. Although it may be frustrating, in such an experience He just may be preventing us from the deception of believing we achieve by our own power. In His love for us, He protects us from this deception because it leads to rebellion which is soon followed by destruction. Our loving Father brings us back to the principle expressed in verse 18 above. It is God who grants to people the power to be productive and to increase. Our true successes are not by our power to accomplish, but by His provision. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What can a person do to affirm their trust in the Lord as their source?

2. Is there a lesson for you in a frustration you have experienced?

WHO SAID?

READING: JOSHUA 2:15-24

Verse 24: “And they said to Joshua, ‘Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands, for indeed all the inhabitants of the country are fainthearted because of us.’”

There are times when people reach conclusions based on their own observations. At other times understanding is shaped by what God causes to be seen or heard. For example in Numbers, Chapter 13, we read of Moses sending men to find out about the conditions that awaited them in the Promised Land. When they returned, most of them reported that the inhabitants of the land were too powerful for them. This report of defeat came from their personal interpretations and conclusions. It was their report. A contrast to this response is provided in Joshua, Chapter 2. In this passage we see that men were once again sent to investigate the territory they were about to enter. This time, however, the men heard what the Lord wanted them to hear. They learned that their enemy was terrified of them. Therefore their report was one of victory. It was the report of the Lord. The biblical message is that there is victory for those who esteem the report of the Lord above of their own. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. What positions a person to hear the report of the Lord?

2. What is a good response when people give their report of defeat?

EXPELLED to ACCEPTED

READING: 2 SAMUEL 14:13-24

Verse 14: “...Yet God does not take away a life; ...but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him” 

The quote above was spoken by the wise woman of Tekoa to King David. She had been sent to him by Joab, the general of David’s armies, and schooled by Joab concerning what to say. Even though the two of them lacked knowledge of this, what they devised for her to say reflects a profound spiritual reality. Because of what must have been the influence of the Holy Spirit, her statement constitutes a forecast of the Lord Jesus who was to come. Although neither Joab nor this woman knew of our Savior, the statement in verse 14 clearly identifies His mission. Jesus is God’s means by which the banished ones are not expelled or cast away from the Heavenly Father. In the unredeemed sinful condition that is natural to mankind, no person is worthy of a place before the Holy God. Accordingly, because of that condition every person deserves to be a banished one. But our loving Lord was faithful, as this verse states, to “devise a means”. The means He devised was the sacrifice of His Son for our salvation. Praise to our God for His means! It is our way to eternal life in Him. That’s a thought – about God’s Word.

RESPONSE

1. If a person is expelled from God, where does that leave them?

2. What have you to say to the Lord about His means?