Fidelity, February 4
…if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.
But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.
… we know that … there is no other God but one.
For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.
1 Corinthians 8:2-6, www.solascriptura.com
Father, We know nothing of what we will yet know. We see things dimly now that You will yet fully reveal. Help us O’God to gain better and better insight from Your Holy word. You have just told us that if we love You, we are known by You. It is You alone we worship.
Keep us from valuing anything or anyone more than our relationship with You. You are the constant, unchanging Presence. Jesus, You alone are our Judge and our Redeemer. Strengthen our fidelity to You. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: earth, fidelity, God, Heaven, Jesus, know, loves
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Industriousness, February 3
And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
… he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
… a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
1 Peter 1:17, James 1:25;27; 2:24-26 , www.solascriptura.com
Father, we do fear not being in the center of Your will for our lives and we seek diligently to please you. Help us O’God to know that we never stand before You in our perfection, since we are indeed imperfect. We come to you in all humility and contrition, cloaked in the righteousness of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer with thankful hearts.
Father, Your law reveals Your will for us. When we stand within Your law we stand in liberty. Forgive us O’God when we sin. Deliver us from temptation, constantly, because it is ever upon us. As we proclaim our faith, help us to do good works that verify our words. In the name and power of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: blessed, body, conduct, faith, Father, fear, God, harlot, Industriousness, James 1:25;27; 2:24-26, judges, law, liberty, orphans, partiality, perfect, pure, Spirit, undefiled, widows, work
Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Holy Spirit, Industriousness, Law of God, Religion, faith | 2 Comments »
Conscience, February 2
O LORD, You have searched me and known me.
You know my sitting down and my rising up; you understand my thought afar
off.
You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my
ways.
For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it
altogether.
You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in hell, behold,
You are there.
If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of
the sea,
Even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me.
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of
them!
If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I
awake, I am still with You.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way
everlasting.
Psalm 139:1-10;17-18;23-24, www.solascriptura.com
Father, Your omnipresence in our lives and world is beyond our
comprehension. We know you have none of the boundaries of the flesh and
that You created each of us. Now You teach us that You search us, You know
when we arise and lay down, You know the words on our tongues and the
thoughts of our hearts. You encompass us, Your thoughts toward us are
greater than the sand, a quantity we can not count.
Father, if we could but respond to You in the same way and give the same
consideration, attention and time back to You that You give to us, that
would keep our focus on our source of strength. We have access, all day
long, to Your wisdom and presence. Help us respond, constantly. In Jesus
Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: anxieties, Conscience, count, Heaven, hedged, hell, knowledge, known, Lord, presence, Psalm 139:1-10;17-18;23-24, rising, sand, sea, searched, Spirit, thought, tongue, wicked, wings
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Joy, February 1
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life–
the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us–
that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.
I John 1:1-4, www.solascriptura.com
Father, The beloved apostle John was a disciple, witness and friend of Jesus. John saw Jesus, listened to Him speak and touched Him. Here we learn again that Jesus was with You in the beginning and that He was a manifestation of You to us. Father, we know that Jesus said, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father”. Thank You Father for providing us with a tangible reality, Your living Son.
Father, we pray that this quotation from C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity is helpful to us all.
“I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. … Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.
Amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: beginning, C.S.Lewis, eternal, Father, joy, witness, word
Posted in Christianity, Inspirtation, Religion, joy, peace | 18 Comments »
Prayer, Part I, January 31
…there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked
and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:13-16, www.solascriptura.com
Father, we stand before You all day, every day, completely exposed. We
have no secret thoughts or actions and You tell us here that we must give
an account for our decisions.
Sending Jesus to us, to be tempted as we are, and then raising Him up as
our eternal High Priest, gives us an advocate unlike any other. Our Jesus
knows what we are encountering and is there for us, all the time. We come
boldly to You Jesus, seeking Your love and guidance that the grace of God
may prevail in our lives. In Jesus Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: confession, creature, God, grace, heavens, hidden, Jesus, naked, Prayer, Priest, Son, sympathize
Posted in Christianity, God's Children, Inspirtation, Perseverance, Prayer, faith | 12 Comments »
Revenge, January 30
For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.
For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:
”Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
1 Peter 2:20-24,www.solascriptura.com
Jesus, our objective is to be like You. We will need a lot of help not to return evil for evil. If people are critical of us, to take such criticism without angrily giving it back to them, doubly for some of us, requires Your Spirit in us.
We read that when You suffered, You did not threaten those who were punishing You, unto death. Jesus, we can not relate, easily, to that circumstance. Your patient endurance of undeserved punishment resulted in each of us now being able to not receive the punishment for our transgressions that we truly deserve. Your suffering set the stage for eternal life for all those You have cleansed.
You suffered for our sins that we might live righteously. Our flesh wants to retaliate; our spirit wants to be like You. Help us reflect Your countenance and heart as we experience persecution.
In the Holy name of Jesus we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: Christ, deceit, example, faults, God, patiently, Revenge, sin, suffered
Posted in Christianity, Courage, Fidelity, Perseverance, Revenge, faith | 8 Comments »
Mind of Christ, January 29
Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,
do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
Ephesians 1:15-19, www.solascriptura.com
Father, the words we have just read are now a part of us. Your word has invaded our hearts, whether by a small amount or in a life changing way. Your word is never able to be stamped void. It is alive and active, giving us discernment and hope or convicting us. We truly respect and treasure Your word.
Father, we thank You for Paul’s ministry. He taught us how to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, who he refers to as saints. We do pray for each other, perhaps not as fervently or constantly as we should, but we know that the prayers of a righteous man availeth much. You hear the prayers of those that love You so we never speak in vain when we bring our needs and hopes to You.
We pray, this day, that You will reveal to us Your wisdom, Your insight, into situations where we feel incompetent. Help us know that You know our circumstance, that Your thoughts toward us exceed number. What a wonderful truth. Help us respond, we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: Christ, Ephesians 1:15-19, faith, glory, God, Hope, inheritance, Lord, mind, power, saints, Spirit, thanks, wisdom
Posted in Christianity, Inspirtation, Mind of Christ, Providence of God, salvation, wisdom | 23 Comments »
Law of God,January 28
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.
For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
James 2:10-13, www.solascriptura.com
Jesus, here we have Your half brother, James (same mother), clarifying that sin is sin and that there is no hierarchy of sin. Whether we have committed relatively small sins or grievous sins, we are all in the same place. We need Your forgiveness and cleansing and we need to show mercy to others as You have shown mercy to us.
Jesus, James tells us, that we who have been born again now stand in the law of liberty, a position in which “mercy triumphs over judgment”. Yes, Jesus, we are cleansed but our renewal is constant and Your mercy is constant because we need forgiveness every day for every action and thought that disappoints You.
Father, You have taught us that “being saved” is a moment in time wherein we acknowledge Your grace, mercy and calling to us and when we proclaim our love of Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit that enables us to be led by You. We also know that You, Father, will judge we who are Christians, by our deeds. What we do after we are born again, matters. We will be forgiven for our imperfections but help us today to endeavor to be obedient and to increasingly mature in our faith.
Help us be like You Jesus. Our fleshly instincts must decrease but our willingness to serve You and be led by You must increase. It would be great to say “I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” and have it be truer for every tomorrow than it is today. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: adultery, God, guilty, law, liberty, mercy, murder, transgressor
Posted in Christianity, Law of God, Religion | 16 Comments »
Prayer, January 27
LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart;
You have tested my heart; you have visited me in the night; you have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
Psalm 15:1-2; 17:3, www.solascriptura.com
Father, here we learn from David that works of righteousness matter. What we say and do is noticed by You. But, You have taught us elsewhere that Your grace, in calling us to Your side, and that Your mercy and our faith in Jesus, makes our works become a reflection of our faith. We know that without works our faith seems powerless and that works alone hardly distinguish us from being like any other good citizen.
Help us today to be free of self-imposed guilt. We know that You have lifted our guilt from us and that if we try to continue to bear it, we miss the point of Your sacrifice. You have taught us that it is Satan who is the “accuser”. We also know it is You who stand as our advocate. We are no longer guilty! We, like David, have been tried and we stand before You, forgiven and cleansed.
Lead us as we seek to be obedient and righteous, empowered by You. Help us, especially, not to transgress with our mouth. You have taught us that an olive tree should not bear figs and vice versa. Let our words be consistent with our faith. May we glorify You and be an encouragement to others. In Your Holy name, we pray, amen.
Bruce Caldwell
The Sola Scriptura Project, P.O. Box 302, Franklin TN 37064
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Tags: heart, Holy, Lord, Prayer, Psalm 15:1-2; 17:3, righteousness, tabernacle, tested, transgress, truth
Posted in Christianity, Fidelity, Prayer, Providence of God, faith | 13 Comments »