When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Here is the Gospel.
Salvation not by us or our righteousness. – So we don’t think we can do it on our own.
Salvation by God’s mercy – So we don’t think we earned it.
We’re Washed and Regenerated and Renewed by the Holy Spirit – So we don’t think we need to be clean before we get saved.
All through Jesus, our Savior – So we know who did it.
It’s all in there.
Paul is writing all this to Christians. And I bet they didn’t say “Come on Paul – we know this. This is all stuff we know. We don’t need to be told this again.”
Because we do need to be told this again and again and again.
Have you told this to yourself lately?
What part of this gospel message do you need to remind yourself of today?
The other gods that we’ve heard about in historical mythology, as well as the false idols we worship today – none of them have acted for the people who ‘wait’ for them.
All of those other gods do not help people. They will not help you or your friends or your children. So why do we follow them?
Today, look at the difference between the One True God and all other things that distract you away from him.
Pray to Him, worship Him, serve Him, glorify Him, tell others about Him.
And then wait. And watch how he acts. For His own glory. For you.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 [10]
Can you remember times when you experienced real success, despite feelings that you should have failed?
You ask yourself: How did that happen? How did it work out so that this ministry thrived when we humans added so little to the process? How can so many little failures have added up to this big joyful success?
Was it just luck? It wasn’t. God worked through your weaknesses. To reveal Himself to others who were watching – to those who were thinking, “This will never work”.
So that when it does work they think, “God must have been in it.”
That should be the goal of every ministry, every Christian endeavor.
Is it the goal of what you do?
Can you think of times when God bless your work?
Are you in a season right now that will force you to trust God?
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8
Look at the superlative words in this verse:
All – Abound – All – All – All – Abound – Every
If I had been in the Corinthian Church reading this letter, I fear I would have thought, “Really, Paul?”
Let’s read that again:
All grace Abounding grace All sufficiency All things All times Abounding good work, and not only that but Every good work.
God can’t really do that for me, to me, and through me, can he?
But . . . there it is in black and white. God can do it. God will do it.
He can take your work and what you give and make it abound.
And we know what we have to do from last week – we need to ‘sew bountifully’, which we see in the next few verses means giving to the church, giving to the poor, and supplying for the needs of the saints .
We need to attempt things for God and keep attempting things. And God will make it abound.
So . . .
Do you believe this?
Do you act like you believe this?
What action can you do right now to ‘sew’ so you may later ‘reap’?
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7
God loves a cheerful giver. He does not love when one gives reluctantly, or under compulsion. Each one who gives is able to experience greater and greater joy in greater reward. Giving bountifully results in gaining bountifully.
God desires that we look to him as the provider of all our needs and joyfully move to meet the needs of others.
– In what areas of your life do you struggle for joy in giving? Where can you experience more joy in giving of yourself?
– Pray that God would help you to see opportunities to give of all that he has given you – your time, your talents, and material resources you have.
– Consider that God will supply your every need, and that you cannot “over give.”
How will you use this bible verse song in your life this week? with your spouse? your children? your family? your neighbors?
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12
Steadfastness under trial: Early in this chapter James writes that testing of our faith produces steadfastness. He writes that when steadfastness has its full effect, we are made perfect, complete, lacking in nothing. This is where the blessing comes from. It comes from the good and perfect gift of trial that comes down from the Father of lights. This is why we can count it all joy, my brothers and sisters. We can count it all joy because we know that the trials and tribulations that come our way are from God. They are part of his plan for our lives. They are part of what will make us perfect, complete, lacking in nothing. They are part of what will lead to our blessedness in receiving the crown of life.
If God didn’t love us, if he hadn’t have chosen us, he would not have wanted to refine us. But, he did love us and choose us and promise to give us the steadfastness that comes through the fiery trials of this life.
Are you facing trials right now? Are you asking God why?
It seems clear here in James that at least one reason that we face trials is to produce in us perfection. When I’m going through trials though, perfection, completeness, and wholeness are not what I feel. I am thankful though that I can trust that God is working all of these things for my good and that the present suffering cannot be compared with the future weight of glory to be revealed. If we are trusting in Christ for our salvation, then perfection, completeness, wholeness and blessedness are exactly what we have to look forward to for eternity.
How will you use this bible verse song in your life this week? with your spouse? your children? your family? your neighbors?
Psalm 20 is a royal Psalm: a song that Israel sang about King David and one that can certainly be applied to Christ. In verse 6, Christ can obviously be seen as the anointed that the Lord saves. At church right now we are studying the gospel of John. In John 10, the pharisees pick up stones to kill Jesus. But God intervenes and saves his anointed. This was not the first time that God saved Jesus, even in the gospel. But think of all of the times throughout history that God saved his anointed. When Cane killed Abel, God gave Adam and Eve Seth, saving his anointed. When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, God provided the lamb, saving his anointed. When the nation of Israel was at the water’s edge with Pharaoh’s army at its back, He opened the Red Sea and led them across, saving his anointed. God eventually saved Jesus even from the grave. The examples are spread throughout God’s providential history of redemption. When God declared in Genesis 3:15 that Eve’s seed would crush the serpent’s (Satan’s) head, it was the beginning of that promise. Israelites clung to that promise and waited for a king and eventually a messiah that would fulfill that promise.
That promise and the one who made it is what verse 7 is all about. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” This is what truly set Israel apart from its neighbors. God fought on their behalf. This is what should set us apart as Christians from the world around us. I would substitute money or medicine or control or their jobs all for chariots and horses in our day. But the tale is the same. We Christians, reject through God’s grace trusting in anything but the name of the LORD our God.
Are you trusting in the providential God who saved his anointed?
What do you put in the place of trust reserved for the name of the LORD our God?
Ask God to help you today to trust him and show you how faithful to us he has been in saving his anointed.
How will you use this bible verse song in your life this week? with your spouse? your children? your family? your neighbors?
All last school year, our Wednesday night worship leader, Rob H, chose a theme in the scripture we read during our corporate worship time each night – the passages where God says “Come to me.”
I noticed patterns in these verses and decided to chart out these passages. And since this week’s fighter verse is one of them, I thought I’d post the chart. Here it is.
Knowing the Bible is of primary importance for every Christian. If you have not incorporated Scripture memory into your daily routines, let me encourage you to do so.
John Piper gives five reasons to memorize scripture:
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Jesus offers us rest. I am in need of rest. Are you? I am in need of a refreshing, spiritually and physically. He offers us rest for our souls. Jesus offers us this in a way that no one else can. He created us and knows us better than anyone. This rest is an interesting one though. It is a rest that comes with a yoke and a burden. I can understand this though. We recently purchased a small farm. The work that I do there is unlike any other. When I am done working outside on the mower or with the chainsaw, I feel so refreshed. I feel happy and fulfilled. This is the rest that Christ offers us. It is the renewal that we feel when we have done the good works that have been prepared for us.
Many of us are running through life in at a bewildering pace. We need rest for our souls. The place to seek that is not in idleness, but in taking on the yoke and burden of Jesus Christ. It is in actively seeking the God who is gentle and lowly in spirit. It is in seeking his many means of grace. Through these, we will find true rest for our souls.
How about you? Are you resting in Jesus?
Are you “soul weary”?
Are you in need of rest?
In what way will you seek to receive this rest from the meek and gentle Christ?
How will you use this fighter verse song in your life this week? with your spouse? your children? your family? your neighbors?
The Scripture songs are a wonderful resource. My son likes what he calls “the boy song” (salt and light). My daughter loves “Do not give dogs…”. They both love “No one can serve two masters.” I encourage everyone to give it a listen. The biggest thing is that my children love singing God’s word to the music. May it be forever in their hearts, directing them to Jesus! - Gil McConnell, Pastor for Child and Youth Discipleship
Fighter Verse Songs 