John 15
CHAPTER: JOHN 15
Jesus is the true vine verse 1- 8
I AM the true vine – and MY Father is the husbandman
every branch in ME that bears not FRUIT HE takes away
and every branch that bears fruit – HE purges it
that it may bring forth MORE FRUIT
Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken to you
abide in ME -and I in you
as a branch cannot bear FRUIT of itself
except it abide in the vine
no more can you – except you abide in ME
I AM the vine – you are the branches – he that abides in ME
and I in him the same bring forth MUCH FRUIT
for without ME you can do nothing
IF a man abides not in ME – he is cast forth as a branch – and is withered
and men gather them – and cast them into the fire
and they are burned
IF you abide in ME – and MY words abide in you
you shall ask what you will
it shall be done to you
Herein is MY Father glorified – that you bear MUCH FRUIT
so shall you be MY disciples
Jesus commands love for one another verse 9- 17
As the Father has loved ME – so have I loved you
continue you in MY love
IF you keep MY commandments – you shall abide in MY love
even as I have kept MY Father’s commandments
and abide in HIS love
These things have I spoken to you – that MY joy might remain in you
and that your joy might be full
This is MY commandment – That you love one another
as I have loved you
Greater love has no man than this
that a man lay down his life for his friends
you are MY friends
IF you do whatsoever I command you
Henceforth I call you not servants
FOR the servant knows not what his lord does
But have called you friends
for all things that I have heard of MY Father
I have made known unto you
You have not chosen ME – BUT I have chosen you and ordained you
that you should go and bring forth FRUIT
and that your FRUIT should remain
that whatsoever you shall ask the Father in MY name
HE may give it you
These things I command you – that you love one another
Hatred of world verse 18- 25
IF the world hate you – you know that it hated ME before it hated you
IF you were of the world – the world would love his own
BUT because you are not of the world
BUT I have chosen you out of the world
THEREFORE the world hates you
Remember the word that I say to you
The servant is not greater than his lord
IF they have persecuted ME
they will also persecute you
IF they have kept MY saying – they will keep yours also
BUT all these things will they do to you for MY name’s sake
BECAUSE they know not HIM that sent ME
IF I had not come and spoken to them – they had not had sin
BUT NOW they have no cloak for their sin
He that hates ME hates MY Father also
IF I had not done among them the works which
none other man did
they had not had sin
BUT NOW they have both seen and hated both ME
and MY Father
BUT this comes to pass
that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law
They hated ME without a cause
Jesus promises a Comforter again verse 26- 27
BUT when the Comforter is come
WHOM I will send unto you from the Father
even the Spirit of truth
which proceeds from the Father
HE shall testify of ME
AND you also shall bear witness
BECAUSE you have been with ME from the beginning
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 2 Every branch in me that bears not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bears fruit, he purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit. (2508 “purges” [kathairo] means to cleanse, prune, clear unproductive wood, purify, or expiate)
DEVOTION: Once we become followers of Christ or HIS disciples, HE wants us to produce fruit for HIS kingdom. HE wants us to be soul winners. We are expected to witness to all those who are in our world. This can include showing people the difference between genuine believers and fakes.
Our words are important to the LORD. If our vocabulary is wrong people will judge us because they know what Christians are supposed to say in any conversation.
Our actions are important because again the world knows what the LORD expects from HIS followers and so they will not think you are a believer if you are using drugs, drinking too much if at all, going places that are not right for believers to go. Watch programs or movies that are not appropriate for believers. Some think the highest a Christian should go is PG. Find sexual material or material that is not appropriate on the internet.
Non-Christians have a higher standard for Christians than many Christians. They know what is expected and that is one reason they don’t want to become a follower of Christ.
The LORD wants all these things out of our life, so that those around us see us as different and want to know way. We are not to be weird. We are not to jam a Bible down their throat. We are to lovingly witness to them of the truths of the Word of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit.
If we are genuine believers the LORD will look at our life when we first become a believer and begin the pruning process. HE will start slow with the removal of habits. HE will continue to establish better habits. HE will convict us of what changes need to occur in our life one step at a time.
Sometimes HE might even cause something dramatic to happen in our life to get our attention. These divine appointments can be major surgery rather than minor surgery to help us mature faster. We don’t get a say in our divine appointments, we are just expected to learn from them. HE expects us to get better not bitter.
CHALLENGE: What is the LORD cleansing from our life today? Accept the cleansing to be better servants of the LORD. HE wants you to be more productive for HIM.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 16 You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you
(5087 “ordained” [tithemi] means to set, fix, establish, appoint, designate, assign, or to assign someone to a particular task)
DEVOTION: Those who are followers of the LORD are chosen before the foundation of the world. Some use the word “elect.” The elect are those who will be in heaven for eternity. They are the faithful witnesses. They are the ones that the world is going to hate just like they hated Jesus. This is a special group of people. In this case Jesus is talking to HIS eleven disciples. HE is also talking to all those who are followers of HIM throughout the church age. That includes you and I. We are chosen to serve.
Not only are they chosen but they are assigned a special task. This special task includes producing fruit. Jesus said that those disciples that produced fruit would be pruned to produce more fruit. Then those who produced more fruit would produce much fruit. What is this fruit? They were to go out and reach their world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were to start in their Jerusalem. Then go to all of Judea. Then they were to go to Samaria. Finally, they were to go to the uttermost part of the earth. That was a great assignment. HE chose them to do this task. Their fruit was souls of individuals who would enter heaven for eternity.
The task could only be performed after the Holy Spirit had come to help them. HE would give them the words to say. HE would give them direction. HE would give them encouragement. The Holy Spirit would help them to spread the truth of the message of Christ to the world.
Not only were they to depend on the Holy Spirit but they were to pray for help. They were to depend on the Father. They communicated with the Father through the Son. Their prayer life was important to their mission being successful.
Are we getting the idea of the responsibility of disciples? Do we think that we should produce fruit during our lifetime here on the earth? Do we think that we are to reach our world for Christ?
Another characteristic of the fruit that is produced is that the fruit should remain. What does it take to have fruit remain? It seems to take follow-up. We are not here to just see people follow Christ. We have to teach them how to grow. The Holy Spirit helps in this area but HE uses human beings to help new believers grow.
One area that helps new believers grow is prayer. We need to ask the Father in Jesus name to give us growing Christians. Many Christians are not growing. Why? There are many Christians who never received follow-up after they said they wanted to follow Christ. Part of it might be the prayer life of those who were there to help them grow.
Are we asking the LORD to help us cause others to grow in the LORD? Do we want Christians who never get out of the baby stage? Fruit that remains takes WORK!!!!
CHALLENGE: Develop a good way to present the gospel to those around you. Then before you use it, develop a way to follow them up. This should be taught in the local church to all those who become members. Don’t leave the follow-up to the pastors alone.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
:19 If you were of the world, the world would love his own: but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (2889 “world” [kosmos] means people of the world, universe, earth, world system, the people constituting the world whose values, beliefs, and morals are in distinction and rebellion to God’s, an apt and harmonious arrangement or constitution.)
DEVOTION: There needs to be a difference between us and the world. That means that Christians have to look, sound and act different from those who reject Christ. When people meet us they will see an expression on our face of love. They will notice that we care for them. They will see us a different and want to know what makes us different. Once they hear our testimony, they will either make a commitment to become a follower of Christ or avoid us when we come around again. Some will be willing to let us share more with them but a majority will just not want us around them. They will not invite you to their parties.
It is when those who claim to be believers don’t invite you to their parties that you need to look for new friends. Our parties and other activities should be events that we can invite anyone who is a believer to attend.
If you feel neglected or not liked when you are in school or other places it might be because of your relationship with Jesus. Jesus faced these things and we should accept expect it too.
CHALLENGE: This world, in its present state is not our home if we are a believer. Our eternal home is with Jesus Christ and all those who followed HIM.
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: 26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, HE shall testify of me. (3140 “testify” [martureo] means bear witness, to solemnly assert something, offering firsthand authentication of the fact, speak well of, or give evidence.)
DEVOTION: Again, we see the Trinity mentioned. Jesus is going to send the Holy Spirit who will be a Comforter or Advocate. Remember HE will help us in our prayer life when we just don’t know how to pray. HE is the one who gives us gifts to serve in the local church. HE wants us to be a witness for HIM to those who need to know Christ. If we resist HIS leading, we will be quenching HIS influence in our life. HE will also let us know when we are committing sins.
HE wants us to understand the Truth of the Word of God. HE will give us discernment in our understanding whether we are attending church or events or listening to the radio, television or internet or talking to a friend giving us advice as to whether it is Biblical.
HE is coming from the Father to each believer. So, we find all three persons of the Godhead are active in our daily life. Remember that we are to pray to the Father through the ministry of the Holy Spirit in Jesus name each time we pray. They are concerned and involved in our life once we become a believer.
CHALLENGE: Isn’t it great to know what power we have available to us daily?
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Ask the Father verse 7, 16
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Commandments verse 10
Fulfill that is written verse 25
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Father verse 1, 8- 10, 15, 16,
23, 24, 26
Husbandman verse 1
Glorify in fruit bearing verse 8
Father loves Son verse 9
Father’s commandments verse 10
Not known by world verse 21
Hated verse 23, 24
Comforter with Father verse 26
Spirit of Truth proceeds from Father verse 26
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
I AM the true vine verse 1
Spoken word verse 3
I AM the vine verse 5
Jesus loves us verse 9
Kept Father’s commandments verse 10
Abide in Father’s love verse 10
Commandment: Love one another verse 12
Loved disciples verse 12
World hated Christ verse 18
Persecuted verse 20
Hated verse 24, 25
Send Comforter verse 26
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Comforter verse 26
Spirit of truth verse 26
Testify of Christ verse 26
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Friends verse 13
World verse 18, 19
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Not bearing fruit verse 2
Abide not in Christ verse 6
Hate verse 18, 19, 23 – 25
Sin verse 22, 24
Law verse 25
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Fruit verse 2, 4, 5, 8, 16
Purged to bear more fruit verse 2
Clean through the Word verse 3, 7
Abide verse 4, 5, 7
Branches verse 5
Ask verse 7, 16
Disciple verse 8
Loved verse 9, 10, 12, 17
Keep commandments verse 10, 12, 14
Joy verse 11
Love one another verse 12, 17
Friends verse 14, 15
Chosen verse 16, 19
Ordained verse 16
Persecuted verse 20
Comforter verse 26
Witness verse 27
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Cast into fire verse 6
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QUOTES regarding passage
19–20 Jesus’ choice of the disciples had set them apart for a different kind of life and for a different purpose. Therefore, the world would exclude them. Jesus’ choice was also the guarantee that the lives of his disciples would have permanent value, but it did not guarantee immunity from attack. Jesus could promise them nothing more than what he himself had received. (Tenney, M. C. (1981). John. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: John and Acts (Vol. 9, p. 154). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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The world would love its own (ὁ κοσμος ἀν το ἰδιον ἐφιλει [ho kosmos an to idion ephilei]). Conclusion of second-class condition (determined as unfulfilled), regular idiom with ἀν [an] and imperfect indicative in present time. But because ye are not of the world (ὁτι δε ἐκ του κοσμου οὐκ ἐστε [hoti de ek tou kosmou ouk este]). Definite and specific reason for the world’s hatred of real Christians whose very existence is a reproach to the sinful world. Cf. 7:7; 17:14; 1 John 3:13. Does the world hate us? If not, why not? Has the world become more Christian or Christians more worldly? (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jn 15:19). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
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15:19. A fundamental reason for the world’s hatred of a Christian lies in their differences (cf. 1 Peter 4:4; Rom. 12:2). A believer, having left the kingdom of darkness and having been transferred into the kingdom of God’s Son (Col. 1:13), has a different joy, purpose, hope, and love. He now has certainty, truth, and a standard for life. Christians have been chosen (cf. John 15:16) out of the world system by Christ and they now belong to Him. Since they do not belong to the world … the world hates them. (Blum, E. A. (1985). John. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 326). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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We do not belong to the world (v. 19). When we trusted Christ, we moved into a new spiritual position: we are now “in Christ” and “out of the world.” To be sure, we are in the world physically, but not of the world spiritually. Now that we are “partakers of the heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1) we are no longer interested in the treasures or pleasures of sin in this world. This does not mean that we are isolated from reality or insulated from the world’s needs, so “heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.” Rather, it means that we look at the things of earth from heaven’s point of view.
The world system functions on the basis of conformity. As long as a person follows the fads and fashions and accepts the values of the world, he or she will “get along.” But the Christian refuses to be “conformed to this world” (Rom. 12:2). The believer is a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17) and no longer wants to live the “old life” (1 Peter 4:1–4). We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13–16), but a dark world does not want light and a decaying world does not want salt! In other words, the believer is not just “out of step”; he is out of place! (See John 17:14, 16, and 1 John 4:5.) (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 360). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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These things I command you, that ye love one another.” Not only does the insistent emphasis of our Lord upon this world indicate that here is something which every Christian needs to take seriously to heart, but the large place given to it in the Epistles adds strong confirmation. The following commandments of the Holy Spirit through the apostles are but repetitions and expansions of the precept now before us: “Be kindly affectioned one to another” (Rom. 12:10). “Forbearing one another in love” (Eph. 4:2). “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Eph. 4:32). “If any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13). “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Pet. 1:22). “Love the brotherhood” (1 Pet. 2:17). “And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves” (1 Pet. 4:8). “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (1 Pet. 3:8). Envy, malice, ill-feeling, evil-speaking among brethren are a sure proof of the lack of this brotherly love!
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18). Here the Lord introduces the subject of the world’s enmity, and He begins by pointing out to His apostles that what they would suffer was only what lie had suffered before them; they must not be surprised then at finding themselves in the midst of a hostile people. For their part they must be meek and gentle, living peaceably with all men so far as they would allow them to. They must do nothing maliciously to provoke or warrant the hatred of the world; but if they were faithful to the Lord, they must be prepared for the same evil treatment which He met with.
“Ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” The word “before” here refers not so much to time as it does to experience. Christ was assuring them that He trode the very same path which they would be called on to follow. He had preceded them in it: “When he putteth forth his own sheep he goeth before them” (John 10:4). How this should comfort us! It was Christ identifying the disciples with Himself. If we belong to the Lord Jesus that is sufficient to arouse the world’s rancor. But it is blessed to know that it hates us because of Him, not because of ourselves! It is the repulsion of human nature for what is of God. And nowhere is the awful depravity of fallen man more evidenced than in his hatred of that which is pure, lovely, good, holy.
“If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). Here the Lord proceeds to state the various causes of the world’s hatred. Two are given in this verse: tint, His people are no longer “of the world;” second, Christ had “chosen them out of the world.” The two are really resolvable into one: it is because Christ has chosen us out of the world that we no more belong to it. We no longer share its spirit, are no more actuated by its aims, are not now governed by its principles. Note the Lord’s emphatic emphasis here: five times in this one verse does the Lord mention “the world”! Do you, He seems to ask, desire the smiles of men, are you anxious to stand high in their favor? That would be tragic indeed; that would prove you also belonged to the world. In John 8:23, Christ had declared of Himself, “Ye are from beneath; I am from above; ye are of this world; I am not of this world.” Now, for the first time, He predicates the same thing of His disciples. It is striking to note that this was not until after John 14:31, and Christ had (figuratively) taken His place—identifying the disciples with Himself in that place—on resurrection ground. It is only as united to a risen Christ that we are taken (positionally) out of “the world.”
“I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” It is remarkable that the first reason Christ here gives as to why the world hates believers, is because of their election. “The world cannot endure the thought of God’s sovereignty and electing love” (Mr. F. W. Grant). The world is enraged at the very idea of Christians being the singled-out favorites of God. Strikingly was this demonstrated almost at the beginning of our Lord’s public ministry. After announcing that the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1, 2 found its fulfillment in His mission, He went on to say how that while the heaven was shut up for three years and a half, during the subsequent famine, though there were many widows in Israel, God, in His sovereign grace, sent Elijah unto none but the widow of Zarephath; and though there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, none of them were cleansed, though God in His sovereign mercy healed Naaman, the Syrian. The response to our Lord’s words was very shocking. “And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong” (Luke 4:28, 29). (Pink, A. W. (1923–1945). Exposition of the Gospel of John (pp. 841–844). Swengel, PA: Bible Truth Depot.)
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Ver. 19. If ye were of the world, &c.] Belonged to the world, were of the same spirit and principles with it, and pursued the same practices: the world would love its own; for every like loves its like; the men of the world love each other’s persons, company, and conversation: but because ye are not of the world; once they were, being born into it, brought up in it, had their conversation among the men of it, were themselves men of carnal, worldly, principles and practices; but being called by Christ, and becoming his disciples, they were no more of it; and as he was not of the world, so they were not of it, though they were in it. The Jews distinguish the disciples of the wise men, from אינשי דעלמא, the men of the world, pretending that they were not; but this is a character that only belongs to the disciples of Christ, in consequence of their being called by him out of it: but I have chosen you out of the world; which designs not the eternal election of them, but the separation of them from the rest of the world in effectual vocation, and the designation of them to his work and service: therefore the world hateth you; and since it was upon that account, they had no reason to be uneasy, but rather to rejoice; seeing this was an evidence of their not belonging to the world, and of being chosen and called by Christ out of it. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 2, p. 70). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
James 5
The rich of this world are warned against an uncompassionate use of their wealth.
INSIGHT
James does not condemn wealth; rather he condemns the uncompassionate use of wealth. It is not wrong to have money, but it is very wrong to have money and not use it to further the Gospel and the welfare of the needy of the world. Those in need are often utterly dependent on those with wealth. In support of James’ teaching, Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6:17-18: “Command those who are rich . . . that they be rich in good works.” Neither Paul nor James tells the rich to give up their riches; rather both encourage the rich to use their wealth compassionately and generously. (Quiet Walk)
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OVERCOMING THE WORLD
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:4
John means by this that the Christian is one who conquers the world, who masters it. He actually says a most extraordinary thing here, and for once I have to grant that the Revised Version is superior to the Authorized! The Authorized reads like this: “And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” But the Revised has, “This is the victory that has overcome”; it has already happened.
Now John is saying two things here that at first sight, as so often with John, appear to be contradictory. He says that the Christian is one who has overcome the world and also that the Christian is one who overcomes the world. Christian people, John tells us, are men and women who are in an entirely new position with regard to this matter. They are not like the non-Christian. Christians are in this new position because of their faith. They have come to see the real meaning of the world; they have come to see what it is, and they hate it. They know that the world has already been conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ, and they know that they themselves are in Christ; therefore there is a sense in which the Christian has overcome the world. Christ has overcome it, and I am in Christ, and therefore I have overcome it.
And yet there is a sense in which I am still overcoming it. I am already victorious, but I still have to fight. The New Testament is fond of saying that. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,” says Paul, “who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). He is already that to us; so there is a sense in which I am already sanctified, already glorified. Read the eighth chapter of Romans, and you will find that Paul tells us that explicitly (verses 29-30); in Christ Jesus we are already complete, it has all happened. And yet I am also still being sanctified, and I am still on the way to glorification.
A Thought to Ponder: Christ has overcome the world, and I am in Christ, and therefore I have overcome it. (From Life in God, pp. 41-42, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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His Mercy Found Me
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8)
The third verse of the hymn “And Can It Be That I Should Gain?” sets the stage for the implementation of His majestic plan.
He left His father’s throne above,
So free, so infinite His grace!
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race;
T’is mercy all! Immense and free,
For, O my God, it found out me!
The plan involved the death of God the Son. The Creator dying for the creation. The righteous Judge taking on Himself the penalty of the condemned. The rejected Holy One becoming sin on behalf of the true sinner. The convicted ones, powerless to alter the situation, simply receiving the offered grace through faith (see our text).
First, God had to take on Himself the nature of the condemned, live a guiltless life so that He could die as a substitutionary sacrifice. To do so, God the Son had to leave His Father’s throne. And, although “being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God [i.e., was willing to give up his kingly status]: But made himself of no reputation [literally, ‘emptied himself’], and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: . . . and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8).
Adam had rebelled against his Creator’s authority, and all of mankind suffered. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12), yet Christ’s work on the cross changed all that. “For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many” (v. 15). Amazing love! (JDM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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We were on the way home from a visit with family in another state when I found it. I was pumping gas when I noticed a dirty, bulky envelope on the ground. I grabbed it, dirt and all, and looked inside. To my surprise, it contained one hundred dollars.
One hundred dollars that someone had lost and who at that very moment was possibly frantically searching to find. I gave our phone number to the attendants at the gas station in case anyone came back looking for it. But no one ever called.
Someone had that money and lost it. Earthly treasure is often like that. It can be lost, stolen, or even squandered. It can be lost in bad investments or even in a monetary market over which we have no control. But the heavenly treasure we have in Jesus—a restored relationship with God and the promise of eternal life—isn’t like that. We can’t lose it at a gas station or anywhere else.
That’s why Christ told us to store up “treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20). We do that when we become “rich in good deeds” (1 Timothy 6:18) or “rich in faith” (James 2:5)—lovingly helping others and sharing Jesus with them. As God leads and empowers us, may we store up eternal treasure even as we anticipate our eternal future with Him.
(By Dave Branon (Our Daily Bread)
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PRAYER AND PRAISE:
Prayer request policy: If you want the prayer request to be private or just between me and you please say so in the email. I will pray for those requests. If you don’t mind others praying for the request, then just send the request with no restrictions and I will put it in the devotional for other to pray. We don’t include last names in any of our prayer requests. Thank you.
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Please pray for the persons whose last name begins with the letter “G” on your prayer list, which includes your address book, church directory and email list.
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Please remember to pray for the Biblical churches and pastors in the STATES OF Maryland and Minnesota. (REMEMBER THAT IF YOU KNOW BIBLICAL PASTORS IN THESE STATES TO LET US KNOW THEIR NAMES AND CHURCHES AND WE WILL PRAY FOR THEM)
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Bev Mortz writes Chuck is in the hospital. He went for a physical this morning, he had been coughing the last couple of weeks but he knew he had this appointment so he waited until this morning to go in. The doctor called an ambulance, saying he has pneumonia and “something’s up” with his heart. They did an x-ray, then Chuck told me he would probably be admitted and they were going to do an echocardiogram. I closed up the office but by the time I got here, they told me Chuck was having a procedure & they have me waiting in the lobby. They won’t tell me what procedure he is having so I’m pretty much in the dark. I will update when I can. I have Jennifer on standby to go get Hailey. Chuck has been dealing with the diabetes dr. for the past month, not sending his meds and the equipment he needs for his insulin pump where they need to go, but I don’t know if this is part of the problem or not.
Annette
Please pray for Chuck, for peace for Annette and for wisdom for the doctors… Bev
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Your prayer request HERE
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Please pray for me as I am changing computers and it is giving me a hard time with the devotions. Thank you
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Faith and Bible based ministry that encourages the faithfulness of the local church and their leaders to the LORD.
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Please invite friends to visit our website: www.smallchurchministries.org or visit our Facebook page at Small Church Ministries with a Bible logo.. If they would like to receive the devotions via email – please have them send their address to me with “devotional” in the message box. Also, if you don’t receive the devotions because you have visited our website or some other source please sign up. The devotions normally go out each covering a chapter of the Bible each day. In three and a half years the entire Bible is covered. Thank you.
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