Today's Soul Food — April 16

 

GOLDEN WORDS



I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

Philippians 4:11  KJV  


Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 

Philippians 4:11  NASB


I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 

 Philippians 4:11  NIV

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God's in heaven –
All's right with the world.

Robert Browning, "Pippa Passes"

 

Daily Meditations by  Pat Nordman ©

 


April 16

"Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's...You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you." 2 Chronicles 20:15,17.

With God and the good angels on our side, we do not need to worry about the vast army of troubles and evils in this world. As for safety and courage in numbers, history proves that it is the crowd which degenerates into chaos, so God wants us to trust in One. If life's battles are not with the humanly strong (Ecclesiastes 9:11), then surely they are not with the irresponsible multitudes. The battle is God's and the victory is His. We are only to stand firm and expect His goodness. "They also serve who only stand and wait." John Milton. This particular text also embraces those undergoing severe temptations; those who work for the good of humankind; and those discouraged because of the inequities of life. We can't possibly defend everyone and everything in our own strength. We aren't supposed to, for only God knows the end from the beginning, and He has ordained that others' lives are to experience Divine discipline, as well. "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10). How difficult this is, when we are inclined to run ahead and fight God's battles for Him.

We are to commit to the Lord whatever we do (Proverbs 16:3). This especially includes our "conflicts on the outside, fears within" (2 Corinthians 5). Life is perforated with dichotomies, and one of these is the insufficiency of the known and the allsufficiency of the unknown. We don't need to take up a sword against what we do not understand of that we see and feel. "Now faith is being...certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1), and this includes the outcome of the incidents of our lives.

Pat Nordman ©

 

Excerpts from today's Spurgeon's Devotions


Spurgeon's Morning for April 16

birds in winter


Spurgeon's Evening for April 16
 

"The precious blood of Christ."

-  1 Peter 1:19

  

"And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun."

-  Exodus 17:12

The blood of Christ is likewise "precious" in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God's seeing the blood which is the true reason for our being spared.

You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God. Prayer, like Moses', holds up the token of the covenant before the Lord. The rod was the emblem of God's working with Moses, the symbol of God's government in Israel.

 

 

 

 

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 April 16  1Samuel 12:1 - 14:23

365 days of Bible Readings Linked to Bible Gaitway TM 


Today's Bible Question ?



Who was forbidden to mourn the death of his beautiful wife?
 

Previous question and Answer:

What was the name of the secretary that wrote the book of Romans for Paul?

Answer: Tertius
I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Romans 16:22 (KJV)

 


 


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The Robe of Righteousness

EVER since the fall of Adam there is a powerful instinct in man to adorn himself. Love of self and personal adoration have taken the place of love to and admiration of God. The savage hopes to be admired because of his tattooing, and the fashionable lady because of her Parisian finery. Adam and Eve may have admired their fig-leaves, but they were not clothed till God covered them with skins. We may be priding ourselves on our beauty and accomplishments while God sees only our nakedness. The righteousness of God alone can cover the shameful nakedness of man as a sinner. It is ''unto all and open all them that believe" 

James Smith, Handfuls on Purpose, vol. 2,

even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; Rom 3:22 NASB 

 

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Today's  Devotion
 

Worth Living

 

"At this they were seized with astonishment. Full of awe, they gave praise to God, saying, `We have seen incredible things today!"

Luke 5:26 

What awesome things we have not seen and heard because we take so much for granted. When one of my sons called me long-distance and told me he had been in an accident, it was at that moment I realized how much I cherish him. But why does it take such gut-tearing news for us to realize this? Can't we praise our God and treasure our loved ones now, at this very moment?

The miracle is already here. We see and hear stirring things every day. Nature is filled with visual and auditory delights, and our homes are havens of delight and security. We hear sobs, too, for these are the compensations of life, strange as that sounds. Our lives report wonders already, while we wonder why we are filled with wanderlust and a constant search for the Incredibles of life.

In this verse these people saw Jesus tell a lame man to get up and go on with life, and they were amazed. Is it any less amazing that he tells us to get up and go about our daily duties--and while doing so, to see and hear his daily miracles?

Lk 5:17-26 Is 35:1-10 1 Thes 5:18 Jb 9:10 Mk 6:5,6

© Pat Nordman

The miracle is already here.