SATURDAY APRIL 9TH 2011
Inside Out
Today’s Bible Verse Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
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Notes from Today’s Scriptures
The Psalmist makes it clear that this is not an “either or statement". The words that come from your mouth are connected to what resides in your heart, or your heart’s meditation.
If a person says nasty things to you, you wouldn’t be led to believe there are kind thoughts in that person’s heart concerning you, right? Jesus also knew this to be the case. He called the Pharisees white washed tombs because they looked good on the outside, like a nice grave marker, yet on their inside they were nasty and dirty, much like a rotting body (Matthew 23:27-28).
He also brought this up again when talking about food defiling the body. He let the religious leaders know that it is the heart that defiles a body, or what is already inside, and not the food that comes in (Matthew 15:18-20).
Too often when we are dealing with: gossip, mean thoughts towards others, coarse language, lust, you name it. We try to just stop ourselves from saying the words or thinking the thoughts. Instead we should be getting to the root of the problem, our heart. It all boils down to the meditation of our heart, which should ever be on Christ.
Memorize this verse this week and use it when the words you speak and the thoughts you think are not pleasing to God.
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SUNDAY APRIL 10TH 2011
Everybody’s Feeling It
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Sunday’s Bible Verse is I Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
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Notes on Sunday’s Scriptures
Your temptation is not special. It never has been, and it never will be, and as Solomon so aptly commented, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Eccl. 1:9). The moment we allow ourselves to believe that our temptation is unique and different from others’ is the moment we so often allow ourselves to indulge or give in to that particular sin. If it’s not like everyone else’s and somehow different we can rationalize a license to continue in defeat. But if we allow ourselves to be confronted with Paul’s words here we are forced to grapple with the fact that “no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man”.
Basically, the sin with which you are tempted, in bondage to, and struggling with has been faced ever since Eden, and the same God rules and reigns today as did then, and He does and will always provide a way of escape. Stop letting yourself believe the lie that no one has ever encountered what you are currently facing, and open your eyes to see where God has made provision for your escape from this temptation.
Do you allow yourself to believe that you are alone and somehow isolated in your struggle against a particular sin? How does that belief compare with today’s Scripture?
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