Monday, September 7, 2015

Be alert and on your guard. 9/7/15

Day 248- Reading the New Testament in one year.

https://www.biblegateway.com/audio/dramatized/niv/1Cor.16

1 Corinthians 16 Amplified Bible

Now concerning the money contributed for [the relief of] the saints (God’s people): you are to do the same as I directed the churches of Galatia to do.

2 On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come.

3 And when I arrive, I will send on those whom you approve and authorize with credentials to carry your gift [of charity] to Jerusalem.

4 If it seems worthwhile that I should go too, they will accompany me.

5 After passing through Macedonia, I will visit you, for I intend [only] to pass through Macedonia;

6 But it may be that I will stay with you [for a while], perhaps even spend the winter, so that you may bring me forward [on my journey] to wherever I may go.

7 For I am unwilling to see you right now [just] in passing, but I hope later to remain for some time with you, if the Lord permits.

8 I will remain in Ephesus [however] until Pentecost,

9 For a wide door of opportunity for effectual [service] has opened to me [there, a great and promising one], and [there are] many adversaries.

10 When Timothy arrives, see to it that [you put him at ease, so that] he may be fearless among you, for he is [devotedly] doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.

11 So [see to it that] no one despises him or treats him as if he were of no account or slights him. But send him off [cordially, speed him on his way] in peace, that he may come to me, for I am expecting him [to come along] with the other brethren.

12 As for our brother Apollos, I have urgently encouraged him to visit you with the other brethren, but it was not at all his will or [a]God’s will that he should go now. He will come when he has opportunity.

13 Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in your faith ([b]your conviction respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, keeping the trust and holy fervor born of faith and a part of it). Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength!

14 Let everything you do be done in love (true love to God and man as inspired by God’s love for us).

15 Now, brethren, you know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts and our firstfruits in Achaia (most of Greece), and how they have consecrated and devoted themselves to the service of the saints (God’s people).

16 I urge you to pay all deference to such leaders and to enlist under them and be subject to them, as well as to everyone who joins and cooperates [with you] and labors earnestly.

17 I am happy because Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus have come [to me], for they have made up for your absence.

18 For they gave me [c]respite from labor and rested me and refreshed my spirit as well as yours. Deeply appreciate and thoroughly know and fully recognize such men.

19 The churches of Asia send greetings and best wishes. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church [that meets] in their house, send you their hearty greetings in the Lord.

20 All the brethren wish to be remembered to you and wish you well. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

21 I, Paul, [add this final] greeting with my own hand.

22 If anyone does not love the Lord [does not have a friendly affection for Him and is not kindly disposed toward Him], he shall be accursed! Our Lord will come! (Maranatha!)

23 The grace (favor and spiritual blessing) of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

24 My love (that true love growing out of sincere devotion to God) be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen (so be it).

Supplied Life Devotional by Bill Freeman

Christ formed in us September 7th

“My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.” GALATIANS 4:19

There are two ways that this verse has been understood. One way is that Christ is formed in us progressively; the other is that Christ is formed in us instantly. Christ being formed in us in a progressive way has been illustrated with a hand and a glove. A glove is shaped according to a hand. Now, I start slipping my hand into the glove in a progressive way. First, I put my index finger into the glove, then my thumb, and then all my other fingers, one by one. Eventually my whole hand is formed into the glove. This illustration has been applied to our experiencing the Lord gradually over a long period of time until Christ is formed in us. Experiencing the Lord progressively in our daily living is a reality that we enjoy. Such an experience is scriptural, yet it should not be applied to this portion of the Word. The question then is, What did Paul mean when he spoke of laboring again for the believers until Christ was formed in them?

The second way to understand Christ being formed in us is that it happens in an instant. Christ comes into us and immediately is formed in our heart as our point of reference, our relationship with everything. This is a constant inward state that every child of God can live in from the day of his new birth until he reaches full maturity. So Christ formed in us does not refer to our arriving at a final stage of maturity in the growth of life. If this was the case — if Christ being formed in us referred to one, long growth process — then Paul would not be laboring for it to happen once again. And surely Paul is not expecting the believers to be born again a second time. There is no such teaching in the New Testament. They were already born again. But something had happened in their experience to remove them from Christ (Gal. 1:6). He was not formed in their hearts as their point of reference for them to grow in the Lord in a proper way.


Pray Until Something Happens (PUSH)

Anna, Ariana, Ariel, Dexter and Shameka,  Wes, and Zoe.

Health and Healing

Vonetta's mom 

Support and Comfort

Praise Alert
Vonetta's mom health improved

National
Conflict between citizens and  police officer. 

International
Israel and Palestine
Iraq


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