God's Word For Every Day

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).  These are tremendous words of faith. They lift our eyes above “our light and momentary troubles.” They set our eyes on the “eternal glory.” When we see our times of suffering in this eternal perspective, our hearts are encouraged in the Lord. Our suffering isn’t the last word. God’s eternal glory is – and we will share in His eternal glory – “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! … Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be li...

"But with You there is forgiveness  so that You can be feared" (Psalm 130:4). There is a sense in which forgiveness means the end of fear -   " There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). When we are rejoicing in God's salvation, we rejoice in this - " perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). There is another sense in which "the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 1:7) continues after we've been forgiven. Filled with with thanksgiving to God for His free gift of salvation, we seek to glorify the Lord in our lives. Loving the Lord, who first loved us (1 John 4:19), we pray that He will keep us close to Himself. There will be times when we're looking to the Lord to lead us in His way - "This is the way, walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). There will be times when we need to hear the word of warning - This is not the way. Do not walk in it. "The fear of the Lord" keeps us f...

"Faith is the victory that overcomes the world" (1 John 5:4). Jesus has won the victory.  He gives His victory to us. We receive His victory by faith. For Jesus, the pathway to victory was the way of the Cross. We will be led in the pathway of victory, as we learn to follow Jesus. He calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him ( Luke 9:23).

Daniel 5:17-6:28; 1 John 1:1-2:11; Psalm 136:1-12 “For He is the living God and He endures for ever; His Kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end” (Daniel 6:26). “His love endures for ever” (Psalm 136). God is the God of love. His Kingdom is the Kingdom of love. God is eternal. His Kingdom is eternal. The love of God is eternal  in its origin. It is eternal in its outcome. The love of God has been revealed in history. Between the beginning and the end, there is the Cross of Jesus Christ: “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours  but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). From my One Year Bible

Daniel 7:1-8:14; 1 John 2:12-27; Psalm 136:13-26 Daniel 7:13-14 looks forward, prophetically, to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the future towards which history is moving, the future towards which God is working, the future of the Kingdom of God. This world is passing away, “but the man who does the will of God lives for ever” (1 John 2:17). Psalm 136 continues to emphasize, over and over again, that “His love endures for ever.” This love does not guarantee salvation to those who refuse to welcome God’s Son, Jesus Christ, as their Saviour. Responding to God’s love by doing His will, we receive, eternal life. Those who belong to the Lord, those whom He has redeemed, are His for ever. Psalm 136 contains the contrast between Israel and Egypt. Israel are brought through the midst of the Red Sea. Pharaoh and his army are swept into the Red Sea (Psalm 136:13-15). The Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will bring the ultimate division of ...

Daniel 8:15-9:19; 1 John 2:28-3:10; Proverbs 29:10-18 There is real urgency about Daniel’s prayer: “O Lord, look with favour on Your desolate sanctuary … O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act!” (Daniel 9:17,19). We do need to pray with urgency. There are many who seek to lead us astray (1 John 3:7) – “Bloodthirsty men hate a man of integrity and seek to kill the upright” (Proverbs 29:10). Who can help us in this situation? – Only the Lord: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). He alone will give us strength to “continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His Coming” (1 John 2:28). From my One Year Bible

Daniel 9:20-11:1; 1 John 3:11-4:6; Psalm 137:1-9 “When He spoke to me, I was strengthened” (Daniel 10:19). The strength we receive from the Lord is a greater strength than the temptations we face – “the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). To know that we receive such strength from the Lord is very encouraging when we are mocked by “our tormentors” (Psalm 137:3). Their scorn makes us wonder, “How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4). When this question arises in our hearts, “God who is greater than our hearts” (1 John 3:20) speaks His Word, and we are strengthened with the strength which comes from Him, His strength. With His strength, we are able to sing “songs of joy” (Psalm 137:3). We have this testimony – “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” By ourselves, we are cast down with weeping (Psalm 137:1). Strengthened by the Lord, we have joy. We rejoice in Him. From my One Year Bible

Daniel 11:36-12:13; 1 John 5:1-21; Psalm 139:1-10 Scripture speaks of “the time of wrath” (Daniel 11:36), “a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then” (Daniel 12:1). For some, this will bring “shame and everlasting contempt.” Through the grace of God, others will receive “everlasting life” (Daniel 12:20). This “everlasting life” is in Christ – “God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life.” Scripture also contains the Word of warning – “He who does not have the Son does not have life” (1 John 5:12-12). As we hear Scripture speaking to us concerning eternal life, we say in our hearts, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain” (Psalm 139:6). Too wonderful? Too lofty? – Yes, but, by the grace of God, it is given to us – “I write these things to you who believe in the Name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). From my One Ye...

Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 4:7-21; Psalm 138:1-8 Daniel 11 is concerned with conflict. This is part of our spiritual experience as well as Israel’s military experience. There is an enemy who opposes the Lord and His people. Nevertheless, “the people who know their God will firmly resist him” (Daniel 11:32). How are we able to resist the enemy? We are strengthened by love, the love of God. We learn to love God as we learn to appreciate His love for us: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). This love, His love, gives us the strength to firmly resist the enemy. God’s love is a faithful love – “Your love, O Lord, endures for ever” (Psalm 138:8). His love and His faithfulness belong together – “Your love and Your faithfulness” (Psalm 138:2). How do we know of the faithful love of God? – Through His Name and His Word: “You have exalted above all things Your Name and Your Word” (Psalm 138:2). As the Name of the Lord and the Word of the Lord become precious to us, so the lov...

"His dominion shall be ... to the ends of the earth" ( Zechariah 9:10 ). God's purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus - "the Saviour of the world" ( John 4:42 ). In Jesus Christ, crucified for us, God was reaching out, in love, to "the whole world" ( 1 John 2:2 ). The Gospel is not only for the Jews: "It is it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" ( Romans 1:16 ). Jesus is calling us, His redeemed people - empowered by the Holy Spirit - to take His message of salvation to the ends of the earth: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" ( Acts 1:8 ).

" Do not love the world or the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  16  For all that  is  in the world—the lust of the flesh,  the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.  17  And  the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17). Each of us must choose. How are we going to live? Will we live for the Lord? or Will we live for the world? What difference will it make? Here, John speaks about the long-term view - "the world is passing away ... but he who does the will of God  abides forever" (verse 17). Forever? The world says to us, "Does anything really last forever?" It may go against the direction of this-worldly thinking, but we, who believe in the eter nal God, must continue to take seriously what John says here: "he who does the will of God abides forever."

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). Do you want to know what love is? Go to the Cross of Christ. This is where we’ll see the greatest love of all. There is no love like the love of Jesus. This is the best love. There can be nothing better than His love.

'He's a born again Christian.' This phrase suggests that there are some Christians who are born again, and there are  other Christians who are not born again. What are we to make of this? According to Jesus, you cannot be a Christian unless you have been born again. There is no such thing as a Christian, who has not been born again. To be a Christian is to be born again. Jesus doesn't say that some people need to be born again, and other people can be Christians without being born again. Jesus says, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again" (John 3:3). He doesn't say, 'Being born again might be a good idea for some of you, but there are others for whom it's not really all that important.' Jesus says, "You must be born again" (John 3:7). The new birth can be described in different ways: 'born from above', 'born of the Spirit', 'born anew.' Each phrase teaches us somethin...

1 John 1:1-2:17 We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, “Jesus Christ” died “for our sins” (1 John 2:1-2). This is Good News. It’s great news! It’s the best news we could ever hear – and it comes from You. What love You have for us. Help us not to keep this love to ourselves. Help us to share the Good News – “the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). 1 John 2:18-3:18 We thank You, Lord, for Your gift of “eternal life” (1 John 2:24-25). Our enjoyment of eternal life has already begun – “We are God’s children now.” Our full enjoyment of eternal life is still to come – “It does not yet appear what we shall be” (1 John 3:2). Here-and-now, help us to experience Christ’s victory: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Help us to look beyond the here-and-now, to look ahead to our full enjoyment of Christ’s victory – “When He appears, we shall be like Him” (1 John 3:2). 1 John 3:19-4:21 “God is gr...