Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

We have often heard these words spoken. Here, we are reading them in the Word of God. How often do we think about these words? What do they mean? These are life-changing words. Through ‘the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ’, we become ‘rich’ - ‘blessed in Christ with every spiritual blessing’ (2 Corinthians 8:9, Ephesians 1:3). ‘In love God has destined us to be His sons through Jesus Christ’ (Ephesians 1:5). How do these blessings become ours? How do we become God’s children? We hear the Word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation. We believe in Christ. We are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Such great blessing - ‘the Spirit is poured upon us from on high (Isaiah 32:15)!

2 Corinthians 1:1-2:11 Lord, You “comfort us in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). You turn our times of trouble into times of great blessing. When bad things are happening to us, You keep on loving us. You don’t leave us on our own when the going gets tough. You’re with us in the good times – and You’re with us in the bad times. How do we know that You love us? – Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). Thank You, Lord, for Your love. It’s the only love that keeps on going when we feel like giving up. It’s the love that keeps us going, the love that assures us that You have not forgotten us. Your promise is still true: “I will never leave you. I will never abandon you” (Hebrews 13:5). 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:18 “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37). “Thanks be to God, who, in Christ, always leads us in triumph” (2 Corinthians 2:14). We thank You, Lord, for Your words of encouragement. where would we be without Your Word...

2 Corinthians 7:2-8:7 We may face difficult circumstances. We may experience much suffering. In all of this there is one thing we must never forget: ‘God… comforts the downcast’(7:6). He lifts us up when we are down. He enables us to ‘excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, in love, in giving’(8:7). How are we to excel in everything? We must ‘give ourselves to the Lord’(8:5). Everything else flows from this. We are to ‘give ourselves in devoted service to others’(12; 8:4-5). Where does this spirit of ‘rich generosity’ come from? It comes from God, from ‘the grace that God has given’ to us (8:1-2). It comes to us as we give ourselves to Him. Before we can ‘excel in this grace of giving’, we must receive ‘from His fullness, grace upon grace’(8:7; John 1:16). 2 Corinthians 8:8-9:15 How are we to be ‘cheerful’ in giving ourselves to the Lord (9:7)? How are we to be confident that ‘God is able to provide us with every blessing in...

Here are some great words from Jim Elliot, an American missionary who died at the hands of Auca Indians in Ecuador in the 1950s – “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”  * "To gain what he cannot lose" - Eternal life has lasting value.  * "what he cannot keep" - The things of this world don’t have lasting value. After Jim Elliot and four other American missionaries were killed, there was great blessing among the Aucas.  * Think of these faithful martyrs. Think of the blessing which followed.  In 2 Corinthians 4:15, we have a great comment on the wonderful blessing which followed the killing of the American missionaries by the Aucas - “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” The American missionaries laid down their lives. The Aucas found eternal life. It was for their benefit. Grace reached more and more ...

In our thinking about the Lord’s Return, it is very important that we do not forget that the decision between salvation and judgment is one which must be made here and now. The Bible speaks of the Day of the Lord’s Return as a Day of salvation for the Lord’s believing people. The Lord’s Return will also bring a Day of judgment for all who turn their backs on the Saviour. The Bible also speaks of another day of salvation, another day of judgment. That day is today. This is precisely what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 - “Now is the day of salvation.” Now is the time for making your decision for Christ. Now is the time for faith in the Saviour. Jesus underlines the importance of our present response to Him. He does this, in John 3:18, when He speaks of those who are already under judgment because of their unbelief: “he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God.” The Lord awaits for our response now. May God hel...

2 Corinthians 1:1-2:11 Times of trouble can turn out to be times of great blessing - ‘God… comforts us in all our affliction’(1:3-4). Whether good things or bad things are happening to you, don’t forget this: God loves you. His Word is ‘not Yes and No’- ‘Yes, I love you. No, I don’t love you’. In Christ, His Word is ‘always Yes’(1:19). How do we know that God loves us? - ‘God showed His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’(Romans 5:8). Whatever may happen to us, nothing can change this great fact: Christ died for us. This is the great fact of God’s love. Life is not easy. There is ‘Satan’, always seeking ‘to gain the advantage over us’(2:11). We do not stand alone in our battle against Satan. God ‘has given us His Spirit in our hearts’. He is the ‘guarantee’ of our final victory (1:22). 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:18 How do we react when things don’t seem to be going very well? We all need the encouragement of God’s Word: ‘Thanks be to God, who...

What a transformation there is when “the Spirit is poured upon us from on high” ( Isaiah 32:14-15 ). The blessings which God pours upon us are well summed up in 2 Corinthians 13:14 - “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” How are these ongoing blessings communicated to us? - These blessings come to us through “true and reliable words” ( Proverbs 22:21 ). These blessings come to us from the God of perfect wisdom. His teaching is both present and personal - “I teach you today, even you” ( Proverbs 22:19 ).

“In repentance and rest is your salvation” ( Isaiah 30:15 ). Repentance is an ongoing part of our Christian experience - 2 Corinthians 12:21 emphasizes the need for continuing repentance. We have been saved. We continue to sin. We must seek, by God’s grace, to maintain our repentance. Rest is part of our redemption in Christ. To be “redeemed from the hand of the foe” ( Psalm 107:2 ) means the beginning of rest, the beginning of deliverance from the oppressor. This does not mean that the perfect state has been reached. Still, there is “wandering in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle” ( Psalm 107:4 ). In Christ, we have entered into our rest. Still, however, there is restlessness - a God-given restlessness - as we continue to hunger and thirst ( Psalm 107:5 ) for “a city where they could settle” ( Psalm 107:7 ), a heavenly city that is permanent, and not merely transient.  In His faithful love, God assures us that...

Isaiah 28:29 contains a great description of God - “The Lord Almighty, wonderful in counsel and magnificent in wisdom.” Paul speaks, in 2 Corinthians 12:7 , of “surpassingly great revelations.”  Whenever God reveals an increased measure of His wonderful counsel and magnificent wisdom, He wants us to remain humble, resting only in His grace and power ( 2 Corinthians 12:9 ) and not in any supposed achievement or attainment of our own. He wants us always to say, from the heart, “Praise be to the Lord” ( Psalm 106:48 ).

“Lord, ... all that we have accomplished You have done for us” ( Isaiah 26:12 ). “I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised for ever ... “ ( 2 Corinthians 11:30-31 ). The way of pleasing God is the God-centred way of living. The way of angering the Lord ( Psalm 106:32 ) is the way of self-centredness. The words of Psalm 106:32-39 are full of self - “they ... they ... they.” It’s all about them. The only references to God  are descriptions of their refusal to do God’s will ( Psalm 106:32-34 ).

The people of God live in a situation of conflict. We are at war with the enemy. Nevertheless, we need not be afraid. The enemies of the Lord will be brought to nothing: “ Babylon has fallen, has fallen! All the images of its gods lie shattered on the ground!” ( Isaiah 21:9 ). “Look at the land of the Babylonians, this people that is of no account!” ( Isaiah 23:13 ). There will be “false apostles”, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ” ( 2 Corinthians 11:13 ). We must not become discouraged. We must not say, “There is a lion outside!” or “I will be murdered in the streets!” ( Proverbs 22:13 ). We must remember that “the Lord ... frustrates the work of the unfaithful” ( Proverbs 22:12 ).

Much of the “oracle concerning Egypt ” ( Isaiah 19:1 ) speaks of the negative aspects which are associated with the nation of Egypt . Nevertheless, there is a Word of hope at the end of this oracle ( Isaiah 19:18-25 ). In 2 Corinthians 10:15-16 , Paul expresses the hope that “our area of activity among you will greatly expand, so that we can preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you.” It is so important that we do not write people off, that we do not give up hope, that we continue to believe that God can turn things around for His glory and for the salvation of men and women. The story which is told in Psalm 106:16-29 is one which makes us wonder, ‘Can this situation be turned around? Is there any hope?’ In Psalm 106:30-31 , we catch a glimpse of hope, it is hope “for endless generations to come.”

Christ came to destroy the evil one, Satan - to bring him “down to the grave, to the depths of the pit” ( Isaiah 14:12-14 ). Satan seeks to impoverish our lives. God, however, is very different. He gives us His “surpassing grace.” This is given to us in His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s “indescribable gift!” ( 2 Corinthians 9:14-15 ). God’s gift of grace is so great that it surpasses our capacity for praising Him - “Who can proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord or fully declare His praises?” ( Psalm 106:12 ).

Jesus Christ was filled with “the Spirit of the Lord” ( Isaiah 11:2 ). It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we are to live for Christ. As we give ourselves to the Lord in service, our first priority is “to honour the Lord Himself.” We do this as we “show our eagerness to help” ( 2 Corinthians 8:19 ). We, who have been so richly blessed by the Lord, are to live in obedience to Him out of joyful gratitude to Him, our Saviour ( Psalm 105:42-45 ).

Who is Jesus Christ? What has He done for us? God’s answer to these questions is found in Isaiah 9:6 - “He will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” and 2 Corinthians 8:9 - “our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” We have true riches when we know God: “Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all” ( Proverbs 22:2 ).

“The holy seed will be the stump in the land” ( Isaiah 6:13 ). God preserves the faithful remnant, the remnant of faith. “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all”( Isaiah 7:9 ). What or who can keep us firm in the faith? - “Immanuel (God with us)” ( Isaiah 7:14 ). In the face of much opposition, we could easily become discouraged, “But God ... comforts the downcast” ( 2 Corinthians 7:6 ). To those who turn to Him, God brings His comfort. To those who turn from Him, He sends His judgment ( Psalm 105:28-36 ).

“Those who are left ... will be called holy” ( Isaiah 4:3 ). “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers” ( 2 Corinthians 6:14 ). The Lord is calling His people to holiness. They are not to be in bondage to the world and its way of living. Even though the Lord’s people are “few in number”, they have this encouragement - they are protected by the Lord: “Do not touch My anointed ones, do My prophets no harm” ( Psalm 105:15 ).

The ministry of Isaiah calls for reality, for transformed lives. This renewal of our lives can only be achieved through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don’t have the power to change ourselves. It is in Christ that we become “a new creation” ( 2 Corinthians 5:17 ). This great Gospel blessing gives us much reason for praising the Lord and giving thanks to Him ( Psalm 105:1-2 ).

“All the nations may walk in the names of their gods; we will walk in the Name of the Lord our God for ever and ever” ( Micah 4:5 ). This is the kind of commitment the Lord is looking for. We commit ourselves to Him not for our benefit but for this purpose: “so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God” ( 2 Corinthians 4:15 ). As part of this thanksgiving to God, we offer our song of praise to Him: “I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” ( Psalm 104:33 ).

The glory of Israel was a fading glory. We should read the closing chapters of 2 Chronicles in the light of 2 Corinthians 3:7 - The glory was fading. God, however, has revealed His glory in greater fullness - “what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory” ( 2 Corinthians 3:10 ). The renewal of God’s glory comes through the Spirit ( Psalm 104:30 ).