God's Word For Every Day

The proclamation of peace with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1) must be carefully dissociated from a proclamation which says, "'Peace, peace', when there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6:14; Jeremiah 8:11).

Romans 1:16 ; 1 Corinthians 2:2 ; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ; Galatians 6:14 Paul was no silent disciple, no half-hearted follower of Jesus. He was not ashamed of his Lord. He was glad to say, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" ( Romans 1:16 ). Why was Paul bold to say, "God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( Galatians 6:14 )? Why was Paul so emphatic in saying, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 )? The answer is very simple and straightforward. He was a man who had been grasped by the power of the Gospel. Through the power of Christ, Paul was no longer his own. He belonged to Christ. This was why he was able to write to the Corinthian Christians, "You are not your own; you have been bought with a price" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ). He was a man filled with the power of the Holy Spirit....

"  I have been  crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the  life  which I now live in the flesh  I live by faith in the Son of God,  who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). Many years ago, in the early years of my Christian life, I was greatly blessed through reading two books - Watchman Nee's book, The Normal Christian Life , and John Stott's book, Men Made New. Watchman Nee concentrated much attention on Galatians 2:20, while John Stott focused on Romans 6 (as part of a series of talks on Romans 5-8, given at the Keswick Convention). These faithful men of God instructed me in the things of God. Their ministry was reinforced by two other booklets - William Still's booklet, Towards Spiritual Maturity , and James Philip's booklet, Christian Maturity. Each of these men - Watchman Nee, John Stott, William Still and James Philip - have entered into the glory of their Lord. They were faithful men in th...

"What is truth?" (John 18:38). This question can be asked in a cynical way, suggesting that searching for truth is pointless, because there is no truth. The sceptics may say to us, "If it's true for you, that's okay by me - but it's not true for me."  It can also be asked as part of a sincere search for truth. Where will such a search lead us? The question was put to Jesus - and the question leads us to Jesus. He described himself as "the truth" (John 14:6).  Do we believe that Jesus speaks the truth? Do we believe that Jesus is the truth? Do we believe him when he says, in prayer to God the Father, "Your Word is truth" (John 17:17)? If we believe that Jesus speaks the truth, and that Jesus is the truth, will we not stand, with him, in the confession of faith - God's Word is truth? How much sense does it make to speak of Jesus being true for one person, and not true for someone else? Surely, that is to reduce faith to f...

"Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:9). The forgiveness of our sins - this is just the beginning. God has so "much more" for us. He is leading us on to our full enjoyment of His salvation: eternal life. We look back to our personal "happy day" - "O happy day! that fixed my choice on Thee, my Saviour and my God!" We look forward to an even more wonderful day- the great Day when all God's people will be gathered together in his heavenly and eternal Kingdom. We think of that great Day, and our hearts are filled with this glorious hope: "When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there." --- I have quoted from "O happ y day" and "When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound." Here are links to the words and tunes of these hymns -  Hymn: O happy day that fixed my choice  and  When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder | Hymnary.org .

Romans 11:1-36 'You stand fast only through faith. So do not become proud, but stand in awe' (20). In 9:32, Paul contrasted 'faith' and 'works'. Here, he contrasts 'grace' and 'works' (6). Grace and faith belong together. 'Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to Thy Cross I cling' ( Church Hymnary , 83) - This is faith, looking away from itself to divine grace. We do not come to God with our religion in one hand and our morality in the other. We hear the Gospel invitation - 'O come to the Father through Jesus the Son'. Trusting in Christ, we say, 'To God be the glory! Great things He has done' ( Church Hymnary , 374). It is only when we bow at the foot of the Cross that we are able to say, with Paul, 'To Him be the glory for ever!' (36; Galatians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Romans 10:1-21   To 'Jew and Gentile', God says, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved' (12-13). The Jews had praised the Lord Jesus: 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!'. Before long, they were shouting, 'Crucify Him, crucify Him!' (John 12:12-13; 19:6). We rejoice that the Gospel has now come to the Gentiles. We remember also that God still 'holds out His hands to Israel'(19-21). Still, Christ says, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem...How often would I have gathered your children together...' (Luke 13:34). 'Pray for the peace of Jerusalem', for the advance of the Gospel among the Jews (Psalm 122:6). Pray also for the 'voice' of the Gospel, 'going out into all the earth' (18). Pray that 'faith will come as the Word of Christ is heard' (17).

"Do not conform  to the pattern of this world,  but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). As we read these words, may each of us pray, "Lord, change our way of thinking - and change our way of living." Let us feed our minds with God's Word - and pray that our lives will be transformed by his presence, his power and his purpose - " you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;  and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).

Where do we find real meaning, purpose and direction in life? How are we to make sense of our life? Why are we here? Where are we going? In our life's journey, as we travel from the past, through the present and on into the future, we need Jesus to guide us.  Without him, we are wandering around aimlessly. Nothing really makes sense. We can't understand what life is all about. We don't really know why we're here. We don't have hope for the future.  With Jesus, everything changes. He takes the many disconnected pieces in the jigsaw of our life. He  puts them together - and we see the big picture. Through him, we see ourselves differently - created by the love of God and redeemed by the grace of God, we're being led towards the glory of God. This is what rings meaning, purpose and direction into our lives. There are many things that challenge our sense of meaning, purpose and direction. In such testing and trying times, let us keep our eyes fixed on J...

"For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by  one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous" (Romans 5:19). Go back to the beginning. It's the story of sin. Move forward, from there, to the Cross. It's the story of salvation. There are two stories in the Bible. There's the story of sin, and there's the story of salvation - the story of tragedy and the story of triumph. There's bad news, and there's Good News. Thank God that sin has not and will not triumph over salvation. As I was thinking about the triumph of our Saviour and His salvation, I began to think a hymn that proclaims of the Lord and His love - "Come and see the shining hope." It's sung to the tune, "Marching Through Georgia." Here's a link to the words and music -  Come and see the shining hope that Christ's apostle saw - Jubilate . Each of the three verses and three choruses ends with the words, "Love has the victory for e...

I was reading Romans 1:1-7. I was asking the question, "What's this about?" There's one simple answer to this question: "This is all about Jesus!"

" I’m not ashamed of the Good News. It is God’s power to save everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). Jesus wasn't ashamed of us. He went to the Cross for us. This is the Good News. Jesus is our Saviour. May we be unashamed of Jesus. May we be glad to speak of Him who died for us. May our lives speak for Him - as well as our words. May we not bring shame on His great Name. May we bring glory to His Name - the Name of our salvation.

"For many times, also, your own heart has known t hat even you have cursed others" (Eccle siastes 7:22).  "Therefore you are  inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge,  for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things" (Romans 2:1).  The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector " Also He spoke this parable to some  who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:  10  “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.   11  The Pharisee   stood and prayed thus with himself,   ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men — extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.   12  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’   13  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise  his  eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘Go...

"Enter not into judgment with Thy servant:  for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified" (Psalm 143:2). In ourselves, we have no hope of salvation. We are sinners. There is no way of saving ourselves. It cannot be done. We're attempting the impossible. It will only end in failure. This is our hopeless situation - " all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). This is bad news - the worst thing we could ever hear. Thank God - He has not left us in this hopeless situation. He has done something about it, something wonderful - " being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). This is Good News. It's the best news we could ever hear. It's the best news we have ever heard. It's the best news we will ever hear. 

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2  By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3  Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7  because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death ...

"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...

Is this no longer true just because a lot of people have lost interest in singing the song of salvation? No! This was Good News in Paul’s day. It’s still Good News for today. It will always be the Good News of God’s love. It will always be the great reminder of God’s “for ever” love (Psalm 136).

Read the words of John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. Put your name into these great verses. Make it personal – Jesus is my Saviour. Jesus is my Lord.

“… watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned … By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Romans 16:17-18). These are very strong words. They are words which have a great deal to say to the Church at a time when it seems that the voice of permissive society is threatening to drown out completely the voice of Holy Scripture.  When Paul addresses the problem of divisions among God’s people, He calls us to be faithful “to the teaching you have learned.” Behind Paul’s words concerning “the teaching you have learned”, there is something else: “according to the Scriptures.” We see this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Paul begins by speaking about “the gospel which I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:1). As we look on to 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, it becomes clear that he is not concerned with drawing attention to himself. What he is concerned about is this: “according to the S...

Romans 9:1-33   We read about 'Jews' and 'Gentiles'. We learn about salvation. The Jews are not saved because of their nationality. It is 'not because of works'. The Gentiles are not excluded because of their nationality. It is 'because of His call'. Salvation comes from God's grace, not from our good works. It is received 'by faith', not 'by works' (24,11,30-32). There is for us here a word of  warning  and a word of  promise . Here's the warning - You can be religious without being saved: 'not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel...it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God' (6-8). Here's the promise - You can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ: Through faith in Him, those who were 'not God's people' became 'sons of the living God' (26). Trust in Christ, not in yourself!