Song of Solomon 1:4
The upright love Thee
Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare to give to any other being. They would sooner lose father and mother then part with Christ. They hold all earthly comforts with a loose hand, but they carry Him fast locked in their bosoms. They voluntarily deny themselves for His sake, but they are not to be driven to deny Him. It is scant love which the fire of persecution can dry up; the true believer's love is a deeper stream than this. Men have laboured to divide the faithful from their Master, but their attempts have been fruitless in every age. Neither crowns of honour, now frowns of anger, have untied this more than Gordian knot. This is no every-day attachment which the world's power may at length dissolve. Neither man nor devil have found a key which opens this lock. Never has the craft of Satan been more at fault than when he has exercised it in seeking to rend in sunder this union of two divinely welded hearts. It is written, and nothing can blot out the sentence, "The upright love Thee." The intensity of the love of the upright, however, is not so much to be judged by what it appears as by what the upright long for. It is our daily lament that we cannot love enough. Would that our hearts were capable of holding more, and reaching further. Like Samuel Rutherford, we sigh and cry, "Oh, for as much love as would go round about the earth, and over heaven-yea, the heaven of heavens, and ten thousand worlds-that I might let all out upon fair, fair, only fair Christ." Alas! our longest reach is but a span of love, and our affection is but as a drop of a bucket compared with His deserts. Measure our love by our intentions, and it is high indeed; 'tis thus, we trust, our Lord doth judge of it. Oh, that we could give all the love in all hearts in one great mass, a gathering together of all loves to Him who is altogether lovely!
~Charles Spurgeon~
______________________
The True Grace of God
Yesterday we read Jude 1:4 which states,
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Before we move away from this verse, I want to point out a phrase that I believe is very dangerous ground for the Church in America today. It is the phrase, "Ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness."
Lewdness literally means unrestrained lust, wickedness, and immorality. These people believed that once you were saved, you could live however you wanted.
There are people in the Church today with this type of thinking. They believe that if you are saved by grace, and good works do not merit salvation, then you can do whatever you want.
You can sleep around, commit adultery, get drunk, the sky's the limit. It's grace, baby! Your works don't have anything to do with it. You can live however you want!
One of the things that I have heard throughout the years is, "Hey, it doesn't matter. It's grace. God will forgive me, so I'm going to go ahead and do this anyway."
You do not want to live that way. Believe me, something begins to break down inside of you, and you will pay the piper eventually.
If you are turning the grace of God into lewdness through immorality, or any other sin, I challenge you to stop today. Confess your sin to God, turn from whatever it is that you have been doing, and ask God to help you live for Him. If you do, you will experience the true grace of God, which teaches us that we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).
~Bayless Conley~
________________________
Today's Reading: Psalms 66; Romans 7
Today's Thoughts: Relationship Over Religion
Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. - Romans 7:18-19
Religion says that we must follow rules and laws. Relationship says something different. We are “to be” not “to do.”Jesus just wants us to be with Him. You ask, "How can I be with someone I cannot see or touch?" Have you ever talked with someone over the phone and felt as though you were right there with them? And even with emails or letters, we can express and share love and support without touching or seeing the person on the other side. Why? Because we have a relationship with that person. We know them. We love them. We know they love us. Whatever the case may be, we have a personal connection. A true friendship does not require rules and guidelines but requires time, attention, forgiveness, communication, openness, unselfishness, honesty and most of all, love. Jesus wants more than just a relationship with us; He wants our friendship. Why is this relationship so important?
When Adam and Eve sinned, all of mankind was doomed to death. One sin brought down every human being who would ever be born. From that moment on, we would all be born of sin, and death would be our destination. One sin is all it took to separate us from God. When Jesus died for us, His one act of sacrifice on the cross was all it took to restore us back to God. Through one man, death entered; through one Man, life was restored. We had no choice in being born. And we had no choice in the condemnation of sin that is within each one of us. But we have a merciful God who by His grace has given us a choice today. We have a choice to believe in His Son. We have a choice to accept His free gift of eternal life. We have a choice for total and complete restoration back to our heavenly Father. We cannot change what happened through Adam, but Jesus changed the outcome that awaits each of us. And not only has Jesus given us life eternal, but also He has given us His peace. There is no need to work or to try to earn His favor. His grace promises us unmerited favor and mercies that are new each morning, not through religion but through a relationship with Him.
Spend some time today just being with Jesus. Talk to Him. Walk with Him. Sit at His feet. He will meet you no matter where you are. Stop working, stressing, trying, and striving. Think of Jesus as you would your best friend. He will help you get to know Him better. Pray to have the relationship with Jesus that He wants to have with you.
~Daily Disciples Devotional~
Yesterday we read Jude 1:4 which states,
For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Before we move away from this verse, I want to point out a phrase that I believe is very dangerous ground for the Church in America today. It is the phrase, "Ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness."
Lewdness literally means unrestrained lust, wickedness, and immorality. These people believed that once you were saved, you could live however you wanted.
There are people in the Church today with this type of thinking. They believe that if you are saved by grace, and good works do not merit salvation, then you can do whatever you want.
You can sleep around, commit adultery, get drunk, the sky's the limit. It's grace, baby! Your works don't have anything to do with it. You can live however you want!
One of the things that I have heard throughout the years is, "Hey, it doesn't matter. It's grace. God will forgive me, so I'm going to go ahead and do this anyway."
You do not want to live that way. Believe me, something begins to break down inside of you, and you will pay the piper eventually.
If you are turning the grace of God into lewdness through immorality, or any other sin, I challenge you to stop today. Confess your sin to God, turn from whatever it is that you have been doing, and ask God to help you live for Him. If you do, you will experience the true grace of God, which teaches us that we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present age (Titus 2:11-12).
~Bayless Conley~
________________________
Today's Reading: Psalms 66; Romans 7
Today's Thoughts: Relationship Over Religion
Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous. - Romans 7:18-19
Religion says that we must follow rules and laws. Relationship says something different. We are “to be” not “to do.”Jesus just wants us to be with Him. You ask, "How can I be with someone I cannot see or touch?" Have you ever talked with someone over the phone and felt as though you were right there with them? And even with emails or letters, we can express and share love and support without touching or seeing the person on the other side. Why? Because we have a relationship with that person. We know them. We love them. We know they love us. Whatever the case may be, we have a personal connection. A true friendship does not require rules and guidelines but requires time, attention, forgiveness, communication, openness, unselfishness, honesty and most of all, love. Jesus wants more than just a relationship with us; He wants our friendship. Why is this relationship so important?
When Adam and Eve sinned, all of mankind was doomed to death. One sin brought down every human being who would ever be born. From that moment on, we would all be born of sin, and death would be our destination. One sin is all it took to separate us from God. When Jesus died for us, His one act of sacrifice on the cross was all it took to restore us back to God. Through one man, death entered; through one Man, life was restored. We had no choice in being born. And we had no choice in the condemnation of sin that is within each one of us. But we have a merciful God who by His grace has given us a choice today. We have a choice to believe in His Son. We have a choice to accept His free gift of eternal life. We have a choice for total and complete restoration back to our heavenly Father. We cannot change what happened through Adam, but Jesus changed the outcome that awaits each of us. And not only has Jesus given us life eternal, but also He has given us His peace. There is no need to work or to try to earn His favor. His grace promises us unmerited favor and mercies that are new each morning, not through religion but through a relationship with Him.
Spend some time today just being with Jesus. Talk to Him. Walk with Him. Sit at His feet. He will meet you no matter where you are. Stop working, stressing, trying, and striving. Think of Jesus as you would your best friend. He will help you get to know Him better. Pray to have the relationship with Jesus that He wants to have with you.
~Daily Disciples Devotional~
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