Tag Archives: works

Please God and work for Him (Philippians 2:5-18) December 6, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Philippians 2:5-18

Set – Philippians 2-3

Go! – Philippians 1-4

Philippians 2:5-18
5 In other words, adopt the mind-set of Jesus the Anointed. Live with His attitude in your hearts. Remember:
6 Though He was in the form of God,
He chose not to cling to equality with God;
7 But He poured Himself out to fill a vessel brand new;
a servant in form
and a man indeed.
The very likeness of humanity,
8 He humbled Himself,
obedient to death—
a merciless death on the cross!
9 So God raised Him up to the highest place
and gave Him the name above all.
10 So when His name is called,
every knee will bow,
in heaven, on earth, and below.
11 And every tongue will confess
“Jesus, the Anointed One, is Lord,”
to the glory of God our Father!
12 So now, my beloved, obey as you have always done, not only when I am with you, but even more so when I can’t be. Continue to work out your salvation, with great fear and trembling, 13 because God is energizing you so that you will desire and do what always pleases Him.
14 Do all things without complaining or bickering with each other, 15 so you will be found innocent and blameless; you are God’s children called to live without a single stain on your reputations among this perverted and crooked generation. Shine like stars across the land. 16 Cling to the word of life so that on the day of judgment when the Anointed One returns I may have reason to rejoice, because it will be plain that I didn’t turn from His mission nor did I work in vain. 17 Even if my lifeblood is to be poured out like wine as a sacrifice of your faith, I have great reason to celebrate with all of you. 18 And for the same reason, you can be glad and celebrate with me.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Paul inserted the words of a hymn the early Christians sang as they gathered together for worship. They wanted to remember who I am and why I came to live alongside you. It’s a good hymn. It tells the story of My departure from heaven to be with you. It tells of My death and resurrection and intercession for you at the right hand of the Father. But Paul doesn’t stop with the short hymn. He lets the Philippians and you know your responsibility because of the truth of they hymn those early Christians passed on to you.

Paul says, “Continue to work out your salvation, with great fear and trembling, because God is energizing you so that you will desire and do what always pleases Him.”

That doesn’t mean good works will get you to heaven, but James also reminds you that faith without a demonstration of your faith by good works is dead. Paul tells you often it is by faith you are saved so that none may boast. I told you that all who believe in Me will not perish but will have eternal life. So it’s faith that gets you to heaven, but your good works demonstrate the faith you have in Me. The demonstration comes not because of duty, but because of love. Love for Me and love for your brothers and sisters in My kingdom.

That’s also why in the next breath Paul says do everything for Me without complaining. If you do good works for Me out of duty, you’ll begin to complain. You can’t keep it up without grumbling. Just look at the history of the Israelites. They couldn’t help but grumble when they followed Me out of duty. It takes love to continuously do good works without grumbling. And until My love lives in you, you can’t please Me. You can’t live the life I want you to live. You can’t do the good works I have for you.

So work out your salvation. It requires faith first, but I created you to work. I didn’t create you to just sit around. I intend for you to do good works so that all may understand that I am a God of love and grace and mercy. You are the instrument of those attributes when you give yourself fully to Me. Never forget everything starts with faith. Without it you can’t begin to please Me, but then do what I ask of you, and I will ask you to good works for Me, because it pleases Me. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Believe in God (Romans 3:21-31) November 30, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Romans 3:21-31

Set – Romans 3-4

Go! – Romans 1-4

Romans 3:21-31
21 But now for the good news: God’s restorative justice has entered the world, independent of the law. Both the law and the prophets told us this day would come. 22 This redeeming justice comes through the faithfulness of Jesus, the Anointed One, the Liberating King, who makes salvation a reality for all who believe—without the slightest partiality. 23 You see, all have sinned, and all their futile attempts to reach God in His glory fail. 24 Yet they are now saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus the Anointed. 25 When God set Him up to be the sacrifice—the seat of mercy where sins are atoned through faith—His blood became the demonstration of God’s own restorative justice. All of this confirms His faithfulness to the promise, for over the course of human history God patiently held back as He dealt with the sins being committed. 26 This expression of God’s restorative justice displays in the present that He is just and righteous and that He makes right those who trust and commit themselves to Jesus.
27 So is there any place left for boasting? No. It’s been shut out completely. And how? By what sort of law? The law of works perhaps? No! By the law of faith. 28 We hold that people are justified, that is, made right with God through faith, which has nothing to do with the deeds the law prescribes.
29 Is God the God of the Jews only? If He created all things, then doesn’t that make Him the God of all people? Jews and non-Jews, insiders and outsiders alike? Yes, He is also the God of all the outsiders. 30 So since God is one, there is one way for Jews and outsiders, circumcised and uncircumcised, to be right with Him. That is the way of faith. 31 So are we trying to use faith to abolish the law? Absolutely not! In fact, we now are free to uphold the law as God intended.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

No one is exempt from the fall. Everyone fails to reach Me in their attempts at righteousness. Since Adam and Eve, all have been born with the propensity toward wanting your own way. But I came into the world to pay the penalty for your sinful ways. I came as the perfect sacrifice for your sins. All you need to do is believe in Me for your salvation. The law points out your sin, I redeem you from it. I give you real freedom from the law.

Many think I abolished the law, but that really isn’t true. What I really do for you is make it possible for you to live as the law intended. The law gave you guidelines and pointed out your wickedness, but couldn’t do anything to redeem you because you couldn’t keep the law. But with Me in you, covering your sin by the sacrifice I made for you, you can keep the law the way I intend you to keep it.

I gave My life so you may live in freedom. Not freedom to do anything you want as many sometimes think, but freedom from the guilt and penalty of sin. Freedom from the prison chains that hold you fast because of the selfish ways you live because of the heritage that comes by way of Adam’s sin. Freedom to live the life I intend for humankind.

The simplicity of becoming one of My children rests in believing. It’s that simple. It’s not always easy to live for Me, but it is simple. Coming to Me is so simple a child can do it. Just believe that I am who I say. Just believe I came to save you from your sins. Just believe I died for you and I rose from the grave because death cannot hold Me. Just believe that I can redeem you from the evil one that tries to hold you to this wicked world. Believe that I can free you from his death grip. Believe I have a better way for you.

It’s not hard to believe. Just look around. Look at the universe I created for you. Examine the order of all I made. How can you not believe in Me? How can you not believe in the Creator of all things when you see the perfect design of the universe and all within it. How can you not believe in Me when you see the majesty of the mountains and the seas, the stars and the galaxies above you.

So just believe in Me and you will be saved. It is faith and nothing else that saves you. But when you are saved you will do good things for those around you because of your love for Me. Your good actions will demonstrate the faith you have in Me. So just believe in Me and get ready for a great ride for the rest of your eternal life. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Faith and works are meant to go together! (James 2:14-26), July 18, 2015

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Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Scriptures

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – James 2:14-26

Set – Isaiah 32; James 2

Go! – Isaiah 32-35; James 2

James 2:14-26
14 Brothers and sisters, it doesn’t make any sense to say you have faith and act in a way that denies that faith. Mere talk never gets you very far, and a commitment to Jesus only in words will not save you. 15 It would be like seeing a brother or sister without any clothes out in the cold and begging for food, and 16 saying, “Shalom, friend, you should get inside where it’s warm and eat something,” but doing nothing about his needs—leaving him cold and alone on the street. What good would your words alone do? 17 The same is true with faith. Without actions, faith is useless. By itself, it’s as good as dead. 18 I know what you’re thinking: “OK, you have faith. And I have actions. Now let’s see your faith without works, and I’ll show you a faith that works.”
19 Do you think that just believing there’s one God is going to get you anywhere? The demons believe that, too, and it terrifies them! 20 The fact is, faith has to show itself through works performed in faith. If you don’t recognize that, then you’re an empty soul. 21 Wasn’t our father Abraham made right with God by laying his son Isaac on the altar? 22 The faith in his heart was made known in his behavior. In fact, his commitment was perfected by his obedience. 23 That’s what Scripture means when it says, “Abraham entrusted himself to God, and God credited him with righteousness.” And living a faithful life earned Abraham the title of “God’s friend.” 24 Just like our father in the faith, we are made right with God through good works, not simply by what we believe or think. 25 Even Rahab the prostitute was made right with God by hiding the spies and aiding in their escape. 26 Removing action from faith is like removing breath from a body. All you have left is a corpse.

Today’s Devotional

From today’s background scripture God might say:

Listen carefully to what James says here. Faith always comes first. He doesn’t say faith is not necessary, it is. Faith is paramount in walking with Me. But understand that faith without works really isn’t faith. Faith demonstrates itself through the works you do. Faith without works only amounts to a bunch of words that does no one any good. And I placed you on earth to do good for others on My behalf.

Let Me use a simple metaphor. Suppose you tell Me you have faith in the electric company in your town. You believe they will supply power to your house and if you turn the light switch on your table lamp, light will flood your room. But you never turn the switch because in the back of your mind you’re afraid it might not work. Or you’re afraid if you use too much of the power coming through the lines it will use up the power and it will run out. Or if you turn on the switch someone else might see the light, come into your room and use it for their own benefit along with you.

Instead of turning the switch, you just sit in darkness and no one around you recognizes the light available because of the power that surges through the wires in your room. Do you really have faith in the power company? Aren’t you saying that you don’t have faith? You don’t believe the power will light the lamp or the power will be enough or if you share it, the power will run out? Aren’t you limiting and belittling the power of the dynamos the power company put at your disposal?

So it is with faith in Me. When you don’t act on your faith, you belittle My power in you. You tell the world around you that I’m limited in what I can do, that I’m not who you have proclaimed Me to be. You tell those around you that I’m not real. Otherwise, you would step out on your faith in Me and act. You would know I deal in the impossible and you wouldn’t hesitate to take the first step in acting on the things I want you to do. You wouldn’t walk past the naked and hungry and just pray for them, but would take them in, feed them and clothe them.

Faith is more than words. Like My servant James says, “Without actions, faith is useless.” Like the switch on the lamp, if you never turn the switch, you never light the room. How can you exercise your faith if you never act on it. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.