| Today's Bible Verse |
| "Draw nigh to God, and he will
draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
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James 4:8 King James
Version (KJV)
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| Today's Bible Study |
When my mother planned to
serve potatoes, she began with potatoes. This may
sound like a needless statement, but when I serve
potatoes, I rarely begin with potatoes.
I begin with a box or a bag. In my freezer are bags
of hash brown potatoes and french fried potatoes.
In my pantry are boxes of potatoes au gratin and
bags of instant potato flakes. I have in my
refrigerator a container of factory-made mashed
potatoes ready to be heated in the microwave.
The ten-pound bag of raw potatoes was probably the
only “potato” item in my mother’s kitchen. Now, I
often have five or more potato “products,” plus a
five-pound bag of shriveling, budding real potatoes
that will probably be thrown out.
We seek speed and convenience in every area of
life. We want quick gas station stops, and ATM’s
that eliminate the need of going to the bank. We
obtain information through Google to avoid visiting
the library. We zip in and out of grocery stores to
buy foods our parents grew in gardens. We certainly
don’t have time to peel potatoes.
We may even seek a quick and convenient
relationship with God. We don’t have time for a
relationship nourished with daily prayer and Bible
study. We go to church when we can and limit our
intake of scripture to what the minister reads
aloud each week. We utter our only prayer of the
day after we go to bed and fall asleep in the
middle of it.
We cheat ourselves out of a close walk with God
when we settle for “the quick and easy” walk. Maybe
we don’t want “that old time religion.” It requires
too much time.
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| Today's Prayer |
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| God, I confess that I claim busyness as an excuse for not spending time with You. Lead me to be single-hearted, not double-minded, in my walk with You. I pray through Jesus. Amen.
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| Yesterday's Bible
Verse |
| "Then said they unto him,
What shall we do, that we might work the works
of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This
is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent."
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John 6:28-29 King
James Version (KJV)
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| Yesterday's Bible
Study |
Christians can easily get
caught up in works, which I know are important.
Today I searched the New Testament for
references to good works.
In the letters written by Paul and others,
“good works” are mentioned several times.
2 Corinthians 9:8 admonishes us to abound in
every good work.
Ephesians 2:10 says we were created in Christ
Jesus for good works.
Colossians 1:10 encourages Christians to be
fruitful in all good work.
I then scanned the Gospels (Matthew--John) to
find passages relating to work or works.
I found over 20 references to works done by
Jesus or God.
Two references to works done by John the
Baptist.
One reference to works done by Abraham.
Two references to the work done by a woman with
an alabaster box of ointment.
The “work” of the only commonplace person on
this list was the action of the woman who, out
of her deep belief, honored Jesus with her own
special gift (Mark14:3-9).
Yes, we must, in love, keep feeding the poor,
tending the sick, providing help to widows and
orphans, and giving to support the church. But
all our righteous acts are as filthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6). They will not save us. Salvation
comes only through Christ.
“But, Jesus,” I ask, “how can I work
the works
of God?”
Jesus answered, “This is the work of God,
that
ye believe on him whom he has sent.”
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| Yesterday's Prayer |
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| Lord, like the father of the sick boy
mentioned in Mark 9, I say, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief.” Through Jesus I pray, Amen.
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