For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
Procrastination can lead to problems. Just as there is a time when crops must be planted in order to gain a harvest, so too must many other tasks be completed at the appropriate time or the benefits will be lost.
Not everyone who can offer us good advice will freely give it, some people do not even know that they have good advice to give us. However, the person with understanding will learn to recognize sources of hidden wisdom and find ways to get those who possess it to share.
Many people will claim to be a friend who can be relied upon, but you will never be sure who the truly reliable people are until the chips are down.
If we trust in the Lord He will give us victory. Those who oppose Him will be consumed and destroyed, but God will preserve the life of those who trust in Him.
Having established that the only route to salvation is through belief in Jesus, Paul then points out some important things. No one can believe in the Gospel unless they hear it. They cannot hear the Gospel unless someone tells preaches it to them. Finally, Paul tells us that no one will preach the Gospel to the unsaved unless someone sends them.
My experience in the Church is that we seem to have a pretty good understanding of the need for Christians to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. We often have a much less developed understanding of how to do so, but we understand the need. However, I am not so sure we pay enough attention to the final piece of Paul’s message here. Do we seek out those among us who have the gift of preaching the Gospel to the unsaved and commission them to go and preach? I know that when someone feels the call to go and preach to the unsaved, we support them. But, do we find those who have not realized their gifts, or are unsure of their calling, and encourage them to make use of the gifts that we see in them?
Paul and Barnabas did not decide to go out on their fist missionary journey. The Church in Antioch sent out on that journey. If we go back a little further, it was not Saul who decided he should go to Antioch to help build up the Church there. Barnabas went and brought Saul to Antioch because he recognized that Saul had gifts which the Church in Antioch needed. How will the unsaved be saved if we do not send those God has given the gift to preach the Gospel to them?
I commented yesterday that Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab led to problems later. Today, we have mentioned that when Jehoshaphat returned from going to war with Ahab a prophet confronted him. The prophet told Jehoshaphat that God was angry with him for allying himself with someone who was wicked. Despite being angry with Jehoshaphat over his alliance with Ahab, God was pleased with the way he ruled his own kingdom.
Jehoshaphat traveled throughout his kingdom, encouraging the people to faithfully follow the Lord. He appointed judges to judge the various disputes. He instructed the judges to act in an honest manner and to make their judgements in fear of the Lord. Jehoshaphat further instructed the judges to encourage the people to follow God’s laws and not to sin.
The surrounding nations allied together to make war against Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah. Jehoshaphat was frightened by the size of the army mustered against him. Rather than follow his father’s example and seek an alliance with another nation to defeat his enemies, Jehoshaphat turned to God for guidance. He called on the people of Judah to fast and pray to God. He asked them to come to Jerusalem for a gathering before the Lord. There in front of the gathered people of Judah, Jehoshaphat cried out to God and admitted that he did not know what to do. God sent His Spirit on to one of the men so gathered to prophecy that the army should march forth to meet the enemy, but that they would not need to fight.
The next morning Jehoshaphat led the army out to battle. He told them that despite the fact that they were facing an overwhelming force, they should believe God’s prophets and trust in Him. He then led the army in songs of praise as they marched into battle. At the same time, that the army of Judah began singing praise to God, the armies of the nations gathered against them turned on one another. By the time the army of Judah arrived at the battlefield, the opposing armies had wiped each other out. Jehoshaphat won a great victory without having to enter into battle at all. As a result of this victory, Jehoshaphat had peace for the rest of his life.