April 20: Be Generous to Consume?
#Devotional
Joshua 4:1–6:27; 2 Corinthians 9:6–15; Psalm 48
Our culture encourages us to absorb the latest and greatest, and then cast off our gently used devices. We are targeted to accumulate and consume. The new feature we learned about yesterday is now the one we can’t live without. At first, 2 Corinthians 9 seems to appeal to our consumer lifestyle: “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6).
This verse has often been used to encourage giving, because then, God will provide us with even more. But should we give more for the sake of consuming more? Should this be our motivation for generosity?
Paul debunks this idea in the next verse:
“Each one should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).
Certainly God will provide for those who give; He takes care of those who follow Him. But our willingness to give should not be out of compulsion, obligation, or giving in order to receive. Selfish giving produces selfishness, not the love and mercy God desires (Micah 6:8).
God is incredibly generous. He gives us gifts—even sending His Son to die for us. As a result of His gracious love, we should also freely give. It reflects the thankfulness in our hearts:
“being made rich in every way for all generosity” (2 Cor 9:11).
God’s generosity doesn’t hinge on our giving. We should give out of love for Him, and not from expecting a return on our investment.
What are your motives for giving?
#Devotional
Joshua 4:1–6:27; 2 Corinthians 9:6–15; Psalm 48
Our culture encourages us to absorb the latest and greatest, and then cast off our gently used devices. We are targeted to accumulate and consume. The new feature we learned about yesterday is now the one we can’t live without. At first, 2 Corinthians 9 seems to appeal to our consumer lifestyle: “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6).
This verse has often been used to encourage giving, because then, God will provide us with even more. But should we give more for the sake of consuming more? Should this be our motivation for generosity?
Paul debunks this idea in the next verse:
“Each one should give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or from compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).
Certainly God will provide for those who give; He takes care of those who follow Him. But our willingness to give should not be out of compulsion, obligation, or giving in order to receive. Selfish giving produces selfishness, not the love and mercy God desires (Micah 6:8).
God is incredibly generous. He gives us gifts—even sending His Son to die for us. As a result of His gracious love, we should also freely give. It reflects the thankfulness in our hearts:
“being made rich in every way for all generosity” (2 Cor 9:11).
God’s generosity doesn’t hinge on our giving. We should give out of love for Him, and not from expecting a return on our investment.
What are your motives for giving?
April 20 - Desire, the Root Sin of Adultery
#LifeOfChrist
“‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery”; but I say to you that everyonewho looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart’” (Matthew 5:27–28).
The seventh commandment protects the sanctity of marriage, and anyone who relies on external righteousness to keep it is prone to break it. Just as anger equals murder, lustful desire equals adultery.
In Jesus’ admonition, “looks” indicates intentional and repeated gazing. Therefore He means purposeful looking that arouses lust. In contemporary terms, it condemns a man who sees an X-rated movie, watches a salacious television show, or visits pornographic websites. It encompasses any thought or action done to arouse sexual desire.
Jesus is not referring to accidental exposure to sexual temptation. It is no sin if a man looks away from a provocative scene. It is the continued look that Christ condemns, because that demonstrates an adulterous heart. And by inference this prohibition would apply to women also, who must not gaze at men or dress in seductive ways to elicit stares.
In earliest redemptive history, Job understood these principles:
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? . . . If my step has turned from the way, or my heart followed my eyes, or if any spot has stuck to my hands, let me sow and another eat, and let my crops be uprooted”(Job 31:1, 7–8).
If the adulterous heart gives in to temptation, the godly heart will protect itself, praying,
“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You” (Ps. 119:37–38; cf. 2 Tim. 2:22).
Ask Yourself
What could replace your next lustful thought or glance? Instead of focusing on what God has graciously restricted, what blessings, privileges, and freedoms can capture your attention instead?
#LifeOfChrist
“‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery”; but I say to you that everyonewho looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart’” (Matthew 5:27–28).
The seventh commandment protects the sanctity of marriage, and anyone who relies on external righteousness to keep it is prone to break it. Just as anger equals murder, lustful desire equals adultery.
In Jesus’ admonition, “looks” indicates intentional and repeated gazing. Therefore He means purposeful looking that arouses lust. In contemporary terms, it condemns a man who sees an X-rated movie, watches a salacious television show, or visits pornographic websites. It encompasses any thought or action done to arouse sexual desire.
Jesus is not referring to accidental exposure to sexual temptation. It is no sin if a man looks away from a provocative scene. It is the continued look that Christ condemns, because that demonstrates an adulterous heart. And by inference this prohibition would apply to women also, who must not gaze at men or dress in seductive ways to elicit stares.
In earliest redemptive history, Job understood these principles:
“I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin? . . . If my step has turned from the way, or my heart followed my eyes, or if any spot has stuck to my hands, let me sow and another eat, and let my crops be uprooted”(Job 31:1, 7–8).
If the adulterous heart gives in to temptation, the godly heart will protect itself, praying,
“Turn away my eyes from looking at vanity, and revive me in Your ways. Establish Your word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You” (Ps. 119:37–38; cf. 2 Tim. 2:22).
Ask Yourself
What could replace your next lustful thought or glance? Instead of focusing on what God has graciously restricted, what blessings, privileges, and freedoms can capture your attention instead?
❤2
DAY 20: How deep of a commitment does Christ ask of His followers?
https://telegra.ph/DAILY-BIBLE-04-20
https://telegra.ph/DAILY-BIBLE-04-20
Telegraph
DAILY BIBLE
Reading for Today: Judges 5:1–6:40 Psalm 49:1-9 Proverbs 14:20-21 Luke 15:1-10 Notes: Judges 6:8 the LORD sent a prophet. He used prophets in isolated cases before Samuel, the band of prophets Samuel probably founded (1 Sam. 10:5), and later such prophets…
Satan is the god of this world, and he has deceived millions. But his deception hasn’t stopped there. It has moved into the church.
❤1
Not everyone who dies “goes to a better place”. Only those saved by Jesus do.
🔥1
Jesus Christ, eternal God, virgin born, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, glorious ascension, sovereign Lord, coming King, final judge!
Steve Lawson
Steve Lawson
❤4
Dear Heavenly Father, we commit this week to You. Please direct our thoughts, words, and actions. Keep us safe from harm, grant us wisdom in our choices, and bless our families. Let us radiate Your light wherever we go and bring honor to Your Name in everything we do. Amen.
🙏5❤2
The goal of the church gathering isn't for people to leave being impressed with our buildings, stage design, production quality, music, or even preaching.
The goal is for people to leave being so impressed with Jesus that they want to know Him more, & tell the world about Him.
The goal is for people to leave being so impressed with Jesus that they want to know Him more, & tell the world about Him.
❤2
Marriage is more than just a legal contract between two people. It's a living picture of Christ's love for his church. We must treat it with the honor it deserves.
❤6
Late-April encouragement:
God is still writing your marriage story! 📖🌟 The best chapters may still be ahead! Keep trusting! Keep growing! Keep loving like Jesus! 💪 Phil 1:6 ❤️
What chapter do you believe God is writing in your marriage right now? #StrongMarriage #April
God is still writing your marriage story! 📖🌟 The best chapters may still be ahead! Keep trusting! Keep growing! Keep loving like Jesus! 💪 Phil 1:6 ❤️
What chapter do you believe God is writing in your marriage right now? #StrongMarriage #April
❤3
Don't follow your heart.
It's often the very thing that got you in that situation to begin with.
Instead, follow Jesus and His Word.
It's often the very thing that got you in that situation to begin with.
Instead, follow Jesus and His Word.
💘4🔥3
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens, and the earth, is Yours.
1 Chronicles 29:11
1 Chronicles 29:11
The goal of the church gathering isn't for people to leave being impressed with our buildings, stage design, production quality, music, or even preaching.
The goal is for people to leave being so impressed with Jesus that they want to know Him more, & tell the world about Him.
The goal is for people to leave being so impressed with Jesus that they want to know Him more, & tell the world about Him.
🙏5
As we move toward the cross, let us prepare our hearts for the weight and wonder of what’s to come.
❤3
Believers, our citizenship is in Heaven.
Don't get too comfortable in a world that isn't your home.
Don't get too comfortable in a world that isn't your home.
🔥1
April 21: The Misnomer about God’s Will
#Devotional
Joshua 7:1–8:35; 2 Corinthians 10:1–8; Psalm 49:1–20
We often hear a great misnomer about following God’s will. It usually sounds something like this:
“God has commanded me to do x, so I’m going to go into x blindly without fear.”
A phrase like this has elements of great truth—faith should carry us. But it’s missing a piece.
Sometimes God instructs us to follow Him quickly and blindly. When that’s the case, we should certainly do it. However, His commands should almost always be combined with the abilities that He has given us, including logic and rationality. We have to find the balance. If we get too rational, it can be at the detriment of God’s will; we can reason ourselves out of taking the risks God wants us to take.
Joshua, the leader of the Israelites after Moses, is a great example of proper behavior within God’s will. He learned from Moses and led out of that strength and experience, but he was led by the Spirit (Deut 34:9–12). He also did the proper legwork, even though he knew that God had guaranteed success if he and the people were faithful.
We see a glimpse into this strategy in Josh 7:2–5, the battle of Ai. Joshua sent spies into enemy territory before invading it. He then paced the troops by sending only a small regiment at first (Josh 7:3). Despite his proper behavior, Joshua was unsuccessful because of the people’s disobedience (Josh 7:1).
After this, we see the pain that Joshua felt as a result of the people’s spiritual failures (Josh 7:6–9). Yahweh didn’t allow for this to continue, though, because He was aware of the root cause of the problem; God called Joshua to find it and change it, so he did (Josh 7:10–26).
Joshua shows us what it means to follow God’s will: receive a call, be trained, act out of wisdom and preparation, accept defeat when it comes, seek Yahweh’s will again to fix it, and then confront the problem head on. The result: success (Josh 8:1–29). Following their victory, Joshua rededicated himself and those he led to Yahweh (Josh 8:30–35).
If we understood how to function within God’s will, we would be much more successful for God. We would see great and miraculous things happen. And this understanding is not just reserved for the leader, but for all people.
What patterns of following God’s will do you need to change? How have you misunderstood what it means to live for Him?
#Devotional
Joshua 7:1–8:35; 2 Corinthians 10:1–8; Psalm 49:1–20
We often hear a great misnomer about following God’s will. It usually sounds something like this:
“God has commanded me to do x, so I’m going to go into x blindly without fear.”
A phrase like this has elements of great truth—faith should carry us. But it’s missing a piece.
Sometimes God instructs us to follow Him quickly and blindly. When that’s the case, we should certainly do it. However, His commands should almost always be combined with the abilities that He has given us, including logic and rationality. We have to find the balance. If we get too rational, it can be at the detriment of God’s will; we can reason ourselves out of taking the risks God wants us to take.
Joshua, the leader of the Israelites after Moses, is a great example of proper behavior within God’s will. He learned from Moses and led out of that strength and experience, but he was led by the Spirit (Deut 34:9–12). He also did the proper legwork, even though he knew that God had guaranteed success if he and the people were faithful.
We see a glimpse into this strategy in Josh 7:2–5, the battle of Ai. Joshua sent spies into enemy territory before invading it. He then paced the troops by sending only a small regiment at first (Josh 7:3). Despite his proper behavior, Joshua was unsuccessful because of the people’s disobedience (Josh 7:1).
After this, we see the pain that Joshua felt as a result of the people’s spiritual failures (Josh 7:6–9). Yahweh didn’t allow for this to continue, though, because He was aware of the root cause of the problem; God called Joshua to find it and change it, so he did (Josh 7:10–26).
Joshua shows us what it means to follow God’s will: receive a call, be trained, act out of wisdom and preparation, accept defeat when it comes, seek Yahweh’s will again to fix it, and then confront the problem head on. The result: success (Josh 8:1–29). Following their victory, Joshua rededicated himself and those he led to Yahweh (Josh 8:30–35).
If we understood how to function within God’s will, we would be much more successful for God. We would see great and miraculous things happen. And this understanding is not just reserved for the leader, but for all people.
What patterns of following God’s will do you need to change? How have you misunderstood what it means to live for Him?
April 21 - Dealing Radically with Sin
#LifeOfChrist
“‘If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell’” (Matthew 5:29–30).
We must be willing, as Jesus teaches here, to relinquish whatever is necessary to protect us from evil and preserve righteousness. Mutilation will not cleanse our hearts, but Jesus’ figurative words call for dramatic severing of any impulse that could lead to sin (cf. Matt. 18:8–9).
In other words, we must deal radically with sin, as Paul says,
“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified”
(1 Cor. 9:27). If we don’t purpose to carefully control the worldly influences around us, they will control us. Those we can’t control we should not hesitate to discard.
Cutting off harmful influences will not necessarily and automatically turn a corrupt heart into a pure one. But just as external acts of murder or adultery reflect internal hearts of sin, the outward act of fleeing sinful effects reflects the inward attitude that seeks holiness and God’s will rather than human pleasure.
Jesus reminds us again that His standards of righteousness are humanly impossible to attain. We have all been murderers and adulterers in our hearts, and often we don’t realize this because of sin’s subtlety and blinding effect. But the impossibility of measuring up to divine standards points to our need to receive a new heart and turn over our helplessness to His sufficiency.
Ask Yourself
How have you practiced this kind of severing in your Christian life? What familiar sins and seductions have proven so injurious in your past, it’s best if they’re just never in the same room with you?
#LifeOfChrist
“‘If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell’” (Matthew 5:29–30).
We must be willing, as Jesus teaches here, to relinquish whatever is necessary to protect us from evil and preserve righteousness. Mutilation will not cleanse our hearts, but Jesus’ figurative words call for dramatic severing of any impulse that could lead to sin (cf. Matt. 18:8–9).
In other words, we must deal radically with sin, as Paul says,
“I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified”
(1 Cor. 9:27). If we don’t purpose to carefully control the worldly influences around us, they will control us. Those we can’t control we should not hesitate to discard.
Cutting off harmful influences will not necessarily and automatically turn a corrupt heart into a pure one. But just as external acts of murder or adultery reflect internal hearts of sin, the outward act of fleeing sinful effects reflects the inward attitude that seeks holiness and God’s will rather than human pleasure.
Jesus reminds us again that His standards of righteousness are humanly impossible to attain. We have all been murderers and adulterers in our hearts, and often we don’t realize this because of sin’s subtlety and blinding effect. But the impossibility of measuring up to divine standards points to our need to receive a new heart and turn over our helplessness to His sufficiency.
Ask Yourself
How have you practiced this kind of severing in your Christian life? What familiar sins and seductions have proven so injurious in your past, it’s best if they’re just never in the same room with you?