Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

At the cross, we see Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” ( John 1:29). In the cross, we see the fulfilment of God’s eternal plan of salvation – “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). In the cross, we catch a glimpse of the eternal glory of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb … For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘He will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (Revelation 7:10,17). As we consider the glory of our Saviour sent to us from eternal love, crucified for us, leading us on to eternal glory, let us join with Paul in saying “I will glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We rejoice in our Saviour. We give all the glory to Him. He's "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). What a great salvation He has given to ...

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is – “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son … ” (John 3:16). In Jesus, we see perfect love – “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love – “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life – a life of love.

 * The love in us comes from the love of God.  * The joy in us comes from the joy of God.  * The peace in us comes from the peace of God.  ... The God of love, the God of joy, the God of peace ...   Without God, there can be no love in us, no joy in us , no peace in us ...  ... Love, Joy peace ... That's what we find in Jesus. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we are learning to love Jesus, learning to rejoice in our Saviour, learning to rest in the peace of Christ. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we learn to walk with Jesus in the way of patience, kindness and goodness. The fruit of the Spirit grows in us as we travel to the Cross of Christ where we learn the way of faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Two men with the same name – Saul, the first king of Israel, and Saul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christ and His servants. In both stories, we read of a new man. * In the case of Saul, the first king of Israel, David was the new man. Saul was rejected. He was replaced. The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king … So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah” ( 1 Samuel 16:1, 13 ). * In the case of Saul of Tarsus, it was very different. Saul became the new man. He became Paul the apostle. He was saved by the Lord. His life was transformed by the power of Christ’s love. He became a new creation in Christ Jesus. He had this great testimony: “It is no lon...

The Law of God, the Spirit of God and the Son of God Some schoolmasters may be viewed as disciplinarians. I think, however, we should see the work of the Holy Spirit here. He convicts us of sin and leads us to Christ. This is not the impersonal law. It's the personal approach of the Holy Spirit. In grace and mercy, He shows us how far we have  fallen short of God's perfect standard so that He might gently lead us to the Cross of Christ, the place where we receive the forgiveness of all our sins. In Galatians 4:6, we learn that ‘God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.’ The Spirit is not a reward which we earn by being good people. We are bad people who have broken God's law. The Spirit is God’s gift (Titus 3:5). The Spirit is not a reward which we earn because of our good works. Paul connects the gift of the Spirit with Christ’s death for us and our faith in Christ (Galatians 3:13-14). When the Spirit brings us to Christ our Saviour, He takes us ...

Romans 1:16 ; 1 Corinthians 2:2 ; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ; Galatians 6:14 Paul was no silent disciple, no half-hearted follower of Jesus. He was not ashamed of his Lord. He was glad to say, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith" ( Romans 1:16 ). Why was Paul bold to say, "God forbid that I should glory save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( Galatians 6:14 )? Why was Paul so emphatic in saying, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" ( 1 Corinthians 2:2 )? The answer is very simple and straightforward. He was a man who had been grasped by the power of the Gospel. Through the power of Christ, Paul was no longer his own. He belonged to Christ. This was why he was able to write to the Corinthian Christians, "You are not your own; you have been bought with a price" ( 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ). He was a man filled with the power of the Holy Spirit....

Galatians 1:1-2:10 Lord, we thank you that You have given to us "a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12). Christ is the Gospel. He is our testimony. He is our message. Help us to keep Him at the very centre of our life. In our ever-changing world, help us to keep on saying, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Galatians 2:11-3:22 Lord, we thank You that Jesus died for us. we thank You that He lives in us. In Him, there is love - "He loved me." In Him, there is life - "He lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). Thank You, Lord, for Jesus, for the love that He has shown to us and the life that He has given to us. Galatians 3:23-5:6 Lord, we do not come to You with our religion in one hand and our morality in the other. We do not come, insisting that we deserve to be blessed by You. Help us to bring our pride to the Cross of Christ. Help us to pray, "Spirit of the living God, fall...

When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we learn to walk with Him on the way of the Cross – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) When our devotion to the Lord is being deepened, we will be less concerned with being more popular and more concerned with pleasing the Lord – “approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15).

“The ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away” ( Isaiah 51:11 ). “May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” ( Galatians 6:14 ). Our boast is in the Lord who has ransomed us. We rejoice in Him. He has given us a new song of joy. We no longer sing the world’s song. Now, we are singing the Lord’s song. The world’s way is always there to pull us away from the Lord. We must “always be zealous for the fear of the Lord” ( Proverbs 23:17 ).

The God who says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other”, also says, “I will not yield My glory to another” ( Isaiah 48:11 ). The uniqueness of the Lord is directly related to the glory of the Lord. God is unique, the one true God. We are to give glory to Him alone. How do we glorify God? - “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” ( Galatians 5:24-25 ). The way of the flesh brings judgment ( Psalm 109:1-20 ). The way of the Spirit is the way of “inheriting the Kingdom of God ” ( Galatians 5:21-24 ).

“I am the Lord, and there is no other” - This truth is repeated several times over in this part of Israel ( Isaiah 48:5-6 , 14 , 18 , 21-22 ; Isaiah 46:9 ). The contrast, in Isaiah, is between God and the gods. The contrast, in Galatians, is between Christ’s salvation and other ways of salvation ( Galatians 4:25-26 ; Galatians 5:1 ). There are always contrasts between what is godly and what is ungodly, what is Christ-centred and what denies Christ. In the face of such conflict, we have God’s own promise: “With God we shall gain the victory, and He will trample down our enemies” ( Psalm 108:13 ).

What a majestic description of God we have in Isaiah 44:6 - “This is what the Lord says - Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty; I am the First and I am the Last; apart from Me there is no God.” This is the God to whom we pray, “Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let Your glory be over all the earth” ( Psalm 108:5 ). He is exalted, but He is also the God who draws near to us; “God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’” ( Galatians 4:6 ).

The Old Testament looks forward to the coming of Christ - “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One in whom I delight; I will put My Spirit on Him and He will bring justice to the nations” ( Isaiah 42:1 ). He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament hope: “He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit” ( Galatians 3:14 ). Proverbs 22:28 says, “Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers.” Jesus Christ may be ancient, He is still the boundary stone, set not only by our forefathers but by our Heavenly Father. He is the Rock of our salvation. He is the criterion by which the boundaries are set. We are not to move the boundaries because modern man has become impatient with a faith that is based on the Bible. In this generation and every generation, we are to set our feet firmly on the Rock of ages, our Lord and Saviou...

“The Lord will save me, and we will sing with stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the Temple of the Lord” ( Isaiah 38:20 ). Saved by the Lord, we are to give ourselves to Him in worship. This worship is to be in the Spirit ( Galatians 3:3 ). we are to be “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” ( Revelation 1:10 ). As we worship in the Spirit, God Himself will turn “parched ground into flowing springs” ( Psalm 107:35 ). As His Word is sown in the hearts of men and women, it will yield “a fruitful harvest - He blessed then, and their numbers greatly increased” ( Psalm 107:37-38 ). May the Lord look upon us in mercy. May His “fruitful harvest” be our future, and not the tragic situation described in Psalm 107:39 - “Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow.” At the end of Psalm 107, we have this challenging exhortation: “Whoever is wise, let him heed these things and consider the great love of the Lord” ( P...

“For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this” ( Isaiah 37:32 ). In a time when many people are turning away from the Lord, God is still preserving His own people for Himself. He keeps us for Himself so that we might be used by Him to bring others to Him. In response to His revelation, we are to preach His Gospel among the Gentiles (the unbelieving world) ( Galatians 2:2 ), so that they, with us, may “exalt Him in the assembly of the people ...” ( Psalm 107:32 ). 

Isaiah 35:8 speaks of “the Way of Holiness.” Isaiah 35:9 stresses that “only the redeemed will walk there.” This is also the teaching of Paul in Galatians. We must be redeemed by the Lord if we are to walk in the Way of Holiness. Any attempt yo walk in the Way of Holiness as a means of earning salvation is “ a different gospel - which is really no gospel at all”, a perversion of the Gospel of Christ ( Galatians 1:6-7 ). Only God - and not ourselves - can break the chains of sin. “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron” ( Psalm 107:15-16 ).