Warning signs for Christians:

• A loss of interest in the Bible
• Finding excuses to avoid the local church
• Being more concerned with earthly success
• A lack of sorrow over personal sin

If these things are present, your soul is in jeopardy.

Born a King.

Died a King.

Rose a King.

Returning a King.

Jesus is King!

Browsing godly posts on social media is wonderful, but it can never be a substitute for gathering with our local church every week.

Top 3 most important events in human history:

1. Christ's birth
2. Christ's death
3. Christ's resurrection

@StudyBibleFam

April 7: An Irrational Life

#Devotional

Deuteronomy 11:1–12:28; 2 Corinthians 3:9–18; Psalm 35:12–28

Love is irrational. It requires doing things that compromise every survival instinct.

Moses tells God’s people to have a memory of what God has done among them and to love Him as a result: “And you shall love Yahweh your God, and you shall keep his obligations and his statutes and his regulations and his commandments always. And you shall realize today that it is not with your children who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God, his greatness, his strong hand, and his outstretched arm” (Deut 11:1–2).

The Bible doesn’t say, “Keep Yahweh’s commandments when you feel like you love Him,” or “Keep Yahweh’s commandments when things are going your way.” It says, “You shall keep [Yahweh’s] … commandments always.” God’s greatest commandments are about loving Him and others (Mark 12:28–31; compare John 15:12).

We love God and keep His commandments because He first loved us; we remember what He has done whenever things get difficult. And we teach it to the next generation. That’s what God has called us to.

When we sacrifice ourselves for others, we are doing what God was willing to do for us when He came as a man to die on a cross. Similarly, when we love Yahweh by doing His will, we often make decisions that seem irrational. But in actuality, they are the most rational of all decisions.

The Spirit’s work within us prompts us to love, and it also opens the Scriptures for us. As Paul says, “But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart, but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.… And we all, with unveiled face, reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image … glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:15–18).

Yahweh has lifted the veil from Scripture and reveals His glory in the love He manifests among us through His Spirit. Living sacrificially, out of love, richly displays His love.

Which of God’s commands are you breaking? What can you do to change that behavior and show more love?

April 7 - Positive Response to God’s Law

#LifeOfChrist

“‘Whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 5:19).

Those saints who uphold every part of God’s Word in their lives and in what they teach exhibit a most positive response to His law and receive from Him the commendation “great.” They see Paul as their pattern, when he told the Thessalonians, “You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers; just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children, so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory” (1 Thess. 2:10–12; cf. 1 Tim. 4:11–12; 6:11–12).

The apostle kept and taught the entire purpose of God (Acts 20:27) and therefore ranks among the greatest in God’s kingdom. If we do the same, we too will be among the greatest in heaven.

One key to our positive response to God’s moral law is knowing that it’s changeless and eternal. In heaven, the traits it requires will not need to be commanded, for they will simply be manifested as part of God’s own character. But we do not naturally reflect those characteristics while still on earth. Thus His moral standards must continue to be taught and heeded so that we might bear Spirit-produced fruit while we wait for its ultimate fulfillment (cf. Rom. 8:2–4).

Greatness does not come by gifts, success, or popularity but by our reverence for, respect of, and obedience to the Word in daily life and how we encourage those attitudes in others.

Ask Yourself

What specific, noticeable things are “great” about a person who deliberately pursues obedience to the Word? How do they distinguish themselves from others in expression, attitude, and outlook?

DAY 7: How do the Proverbs apply to specific life decisions and experiences?

https://telegra.ph/DAILY-BIBLE-04-07

Depression & anxiety are ravaging a generation of young people, but there is...

-HOPE: the Gospel
-a HERO: Jesus
-HELP: God's common grace of
pastors, counselors, & doctors
-a HOME: church & family, so
don't isolate yourself
-HEAVEN: where suffering isn't allowed

Not a single molecule moves without the sovereign decree of Almighty God. You can have rest and peace in His perfect plan.

If you're a follower of Jesus...

No matter how difficult today seems, you still win in the end.

Woke Christians: Jesus ate with sinners!

Me: Yes, and the dinner conversation was – “Repent and believe, or perish.”

The goal of the Gospel is not to affirm you, celebrate you, or empower you to do whatever you want.

The goal of the Gospel is to rescue you, transform you, and empower you to do whatever God says.

EASTER is proof that God specializes in RESURRECTION! 🌟

Bring your tired marriage, your wounded marriage, your struggling marriage to the risen Savior — He makes ALL THINGS NEW! ✨ Rev 21:5 💞

What part of your marriage are you trusting Him to make NEW this Easter? #StrongMarriage #Easter"

God did not send Christ to come and address individual sins, He came to tell us about our sinful nature and warn us about the repercussions of our fallen nature. He brought a one time solution, not stages and levels of rescue plans.

Jesus isn’t a mascot for our agendas. We are servants for His mission.

Christian, if you’re more concerned about your political party winning an election than about winning souls for the gospel, your heart is in the wrong place.

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force; He is the third Person of the Trinity, indwelling believers, empowering us for life and ministry. The Spirit convicts us of sin, but He also comforts us in sorrow. He is our constant companion and guide.

April 8: Compelled to Worship

#Devotional

Deuteronomy 12:29–14:29; 2 Corinthians 4:1–6; Psalm 36

When we experience God’s mercy, it shows. Our instincts change and our priorities shift from gratifying our own ego to making much of God. We stop fearing what others think of us and find our identity grounded in Christ. It’s a transformation that shows God is working in our lives. Paul recognized the transformative power of the gospel, and it drove his ministry. This is evidenced in his second letter to the Corinthian church:

“Just as we have been shown mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced shameful hidden things, not behaving with craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but with the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience before God” (2 Cor 4:1–2).

Paul wasn’t manipulating or distorting the good news for his own gain, as some were doing in the community. He preached the good news to all people with openness and sincerity. He allowed the gospel to convict people as it should, refusing to distort it to make people comfortable. He proclaimed “Christ Jesus as Lord” and he and his disciples as “slaves for the sake of Jesus” to those in Corinth (2 Cor 4:5). Bound to Christ, they lived as free slaves for His cause. They were solely dedicated to Jesus because they wanted to be, and because of the salvation He had brought them.

Psalm 36 provides an illustration of Paul’s approach, highlighting the qualities of those who don’t fear God. This person is characterized by “rebellion in the midst of his heart” (Psa 36:1). He is self-absorbed and rejects his need: “he flatters himself in his eyes, hating to detect his iniquity” (Psa 36:2). He is deceitful (Psa 36:3).

The psalmist doesn’t contrast this picture with one of the righteous man. Instead, he honors Yahweh—His loyal love, faithfulness, righteousness, and judgments (Psa 36:5–6). The psalmist says, “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light” (Psa 36:9). Paul echoes “For God … is the one who has shined in our hearts for the enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). God’s grace puts everything in perspective. Both passages help us assess with wisdom the message and posture of those who teach. They also challenge us to take a look at our own standing before God.

Take an honest look at what motivates you. Are you transformed by the good news? Is it apparent to others around you?

April 8 - Our Responsibility Clarified

#LifeOfChrist

“‘Whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven’” (Matthew 5:19).

The New Testament presents a paradox concerning God’s law. On one hand, it is abolished; on the other, responsibilities to it remain. Regarding Jews and Gentiles, Paul writes that Christ “is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace” (Eph. 2:14–15). With the church’s emergence, the “dividing wall” of civil ordinances disappeared.

The ceremonial law also has terminated. While Christ was on the cross, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38). With Jesus’ death the Old Testament sacrifices became invalid and unnecessary.

In a certain sense God’s moral law seems no longer binding on His children (Rom. 10:4; 6:12–15; Gal. 5:17–18). Paul harmonizes this notion when he speaks of being “without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ” (1 Cor. 9:21). In Christ, believers are anything but without the law. Whereas His law is totally different from the Old Testament moral law with its penalties for disobedience, it is not different at all from the righteous standards which that law taught.

Whenever we look at the moral law with humility and a sincere desire to obey, the law will invariably point us to Jesus Christ—as was always its ultimate intention.

Ask Yourself

What benefits do the teachings of the law continue to deposit in the life of the believer? If not for its guidance and its setting of boundaries, where would our human nature choose to live and operate?