Feasting on God's Word (One Year Bible)

"His dominion shall be ... to the ends of the earth" ( Zechariah 9:10 ). God's purpose was moving on. He had begun with Israel. Their deliverance from bondage in Egypt was a mighty demonstration of His saving power. This was only the beginning. God was moving on to Jesus - "the Saviour of the world" ( John 4:42 ). In Jesus Christ, crucified for us, God was reaching out, in love, to "the whole world" ( 1 John 2:2 ). The Gospel is not only for the Jews: "It is it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" ( Romans 1:16 ). Jesus is calling us, His redeemed people - empowered by the Holy Spirit - to take His message of salvation to the ends of the earth: "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" ( Acts 1:8 ).

Amos was commissioned by the Lord - “Go, prophesy to My people Israel ” ( Amos 7:15 ). The purpose of such prophecy, in our generation, is to declare the Gospel: “God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” ( Romans 5:8 ). If this message of love is to be brought to the people, the preacher must pray: “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth ...” ( Psalm 86:11 ).

Religion is not salvation. “Sacrifices and offerings” ( Amos 5:25 ), circumcision ( Romans 4:9-12 ) - All of this can be “works” which are given to God as a means of earning His favour. The Gospel shows us another way - “righteousness apart from works” ( Romans 4:6 ). This is the way of which the Psalmist speaks: “You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You” ( Psalm 86:5 ).

Scripture speaks honestly about sin - “You have not returned to Me” ( Amos 4:6 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ); “There is no fear of God before their eyes” ( Romans 3:18 ). God’s reply to sin is salvation - “Surely His salvation is near those who fear Him, that His glory may dwell in our land” ( Psalm 85:9 ).

God is perfectly holy. He cannot stand sin. This is clear in both Amos and Romans. It is stressed in Proverbs, which emphasizes that sin is not so much sin against man but “contempt for their Maker” (17:5). Proverbs 17:9 tells us that we are to “promote love.” This love is to be modelled on the love of God. He is always the One who is sinned against. He is never the One who has done the sinning. Nevertheless, His love remains constant. It is the divine pattern for our living in love.

Read the words of John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. Put your name into these great verses. Make it personal – Jesus is my Saviour. Jesus is my Lord.

Is this no longer true just because a lot of people have lost interest in singing the song of salvation? No! This was Good News in Paul’s day. It’s still Good News for today. It will always be the Good News of God’s love. It will always be the great reminder of God’s “for ever” love (Psalm 136).

God's way of righteousness begins with this - He is " just " - and leads to this - He " justifies those who have faith in Jesus " (Romans 3:26). "For our salvation Christ came down from heaven" (Nicene Creed) - This is Good News for sinners.  As we rejoice in the "for our salvation" message of the Gospel, let us never forget the "for His glory" message!  "To God be the glory, great things He has done! So loved He the world that He gave us His Son, who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life-gate that all may go in.   Praise the Lord!  ... Give Him the glory! "

"From him will come the cornerstone... they shall be as mighty men, treading down their enemies... because the Lord is with them" (Zechariah 10:4-5). * Jesus Christ is "the cornerstone" upon which our faith is built  - "The Church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord" (Samuel John Stone). * In Christ, we are "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37) - "From victory unto victory His army shall He lead, till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed" (George Duffield). * Jesus is with us. He is our Saviour. He has forgiven our sins. He is our Lord. He leads us in triumph over Satan.

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....

Romans 1:1-32 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith” (Romans 1:16). Lord, we thank You for Your Gospel. It is Good News. It comes to us with power. It brings to us salvation. Help us to believe Your Gospel, to release its power and to receive Your salvation. Romans 2:1-29 Help us, Lord, not to come to You with the Pharisee’s pride: “God, I thank You that I am not like other men.” Help us to come with the sinner’s prayer: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (Luke 18: 11-13). Help us, Lord, to confess our sin and rejoice in Your salvation: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). Romans 3:1-31 “All have sinned” (Romans 3:23). Lord, this is more than the Bible’s teaching about sin. It’s our own personal story. It’s the story of our life. Sin – This is not the only story. There’s another story, a better story – the Story of Your salvation. You have sent Jesus to our world. He is our S...

' He has blinded their eyes...  I would heal them.' (John 12:40). What are we to say about these words? Are we to say, "It is God who blinds their eyes"? or Is there a difference between He - "He has blinded their eyes" - and I - "I would heal them"? Could "He" be understood as a reference to "the god of this world" -  " The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4)? Here, we may recall the parable of the sower - "When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts" (Mark 4:15).   * Matthew Henry comments on John 12:39-40. "God damns none by mere sovereignty... They could not believe, that is, they would not; they were obstinately resolved in their infidelity... God is not the author of sin... yet... (t)here ...

"John Wesley’s Forty-Four Sermons" (published by the Epworth Press in 1944:  reprinted in 1977) - These sermons were first published, as four volumes, in 1746, 1748, 1750 and 1760. The language will seem, to the modern reader, to be very old-fashioned. There is, however, a great deal, in what Wesley says, that we need to hear today. My basic observations in reading theses sermons is this: Here is preaching which is centred on Jesus Christ, who is “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). When Wesley speaks of our sin, he speaks with great directness. When he speaks of God’s grace, he speaks with great warmth. This is preaching which is centred on our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Wesley shows us that we are sinners who need the Saviour. He shows us that the Saviour is always ready to receive sinners. John Wesley on "The Righteousness of Faith" Righteousness of Faith, The This sermon is based on Romans 10:5-8. It is found in John Wesley’s Forty-Four Sermons, (Epworth P...

“… watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned … By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people” (Romans 16:17-18). These are very strong words. They are words which have a great deal to say to the Church at a time when it seems that the voice of permissive society is threatening to drown out completely the voice of Holy Scripture.  When Paul addresses the problem of divisions among God’s people, He calls us to be faithful “to the teaching you have learned.” Behind Paul’s words concerning “the teaching you have learned”, there is something else: “according to the Scriptures.” We see this in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. Paul begins by speaking about “the gospel which I preached to you” (1 Corinthians 15:1). As we look on to 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, it becomes clear that he is not concerned with drawing attention to himself. What he is concerned about is this: “according to the Sc...

Where has the blessing come from? Does it say something about how worthy we are? No! It's not about us. We haven't done anything to deserve God's blessing. The blessing comes from the Lord. To Him be all the glory!

I was reading Romans 1:1-7. I was asking the question, "What's this about?" There's one simple answer to this question: "This is all about Jesus!"

In a book full of so many names, David’s psalm of thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 16) stands out. It is a high-point in the midst of the commonplace. The commonplace is not insignificant in God’s purpose. It is the backcloth against which God gives to us His special high-points. In the commonplace, we long for the deeper experience of worship. From the deeper experience of worship, we return to the commonplace with renewed vigour. Romans 16 is a chapter of the many names, the names of men and women who are precious to the Lord and valued by the Lord’s people. As we think of many names, we are to pray, “May Your deeds be shown to Your servants, Your splendour to their children” ( Psalm 90:16 ).

God’s purpose concerns all the nations - “The Lord made all the nations fear David” ( 1 Chronicles 14:17 ). Paul was “a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles” ( Romans 15:16 ). God’s purpose concerns all generations - “Lord, You have been our dwelling-place throughout all generations” ( Psalm 90:1 ).

1 Chronicles 11 speaks of “David’s mighty men” ( 1 Chronicles 11:11 ). The focus is not, however, on either David or the “mighty men.” It is on the Lord - “The Lord brought about a great victory” ( 1 Chronicles 11:14 ). In their warfare, “the Spirit” brings this message - “... your God will help you” ( 1 Chronicles 12:18 ). What are we to say about these things from the Old Testament Scriptures? They were “written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” ( Romans 15:4 ). As we consider what God has done in the past - His “former great love”, we are encouraged to believe in His “faithfulness”, and we say, from our hearts, “Praise be to the Lord for ever! Amen and Amen” ( Psalm 89:52 ).

1 Chronicles 10 tells of the death of Saul - “Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord ...” ( 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 ). Romans 14 speaks of the strong and the weak. Physically, Saul was strong.  Spiritually, he was weak. Maintaining our spiritual strength, our relationship with God, is to be the great priority of our life: “The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” ( Romans 14:17 ). There is a physical harvest. There is also a spiritual harvest: “The tongue has the power of life and death and those who love it will eat its fruit ( Proverbs 18:20-21 ).