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Devotion and Honor
You were created for community. When God designed humans, He made us with the intention of placing us within a loving family. Today, we call that family the Church.
God’s original intention was that we would exist within a family of other believers. He didn’t intend for us to exist in isolation or separated from other people. Life was not meant to be lived alone.
Regardless of what your family experience was like, God intended for His family to be loving and caring. And it’s the qualities of God’s family that Paul is writing about in Romans 12.
Paul says to be devoted to one another in love. That means that we are to walk alongside other people through the various seasons of life. We should never abandon people when life gets hard.
Paul also encourages us to honor others. Instead of seeking self-recognition, we should honor and encourage each other. Instead of pursuing what seems best for us, we should seek the good of other people first.
Devotion and honor are just two aspects of loving people well, but Jesus said that the world will recognize us as His disciples by the way that we love. This means that we have to genuinely love others—not just pretend to love them. And the place we need to start showing genuine honor is within our spiritual family. Rather than letting self-promotion divide the family of God, our goal should be to honor those around us.
If we won’t learn how to love people who follow Jesus, then we won’t know how to love people who don’t.
That’s why we should frequently pause and take an assessment on how we are doing at loving others. So take a moment right now to think about the ways in which you loved and honored people this past week. Write down two or three things you can do to continue to show love to those in your life.
I know that I always talk about Jesus returning. I talk about it because it is true. The things that are going on in the world prove it. The Word of God tells us of all of these things that will happen before Jesus returns to earth. The question is this, will we be ready when Jesus returns? Will we be ready to stand before Him in Judgement? If not, we had better get ourselves right before Him before that day comes.
2 Peter 1:19-21-We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (KJV)
We know that the Word of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit. We know that nothing can be added to it, and nothing can be taken from it. This is why if we want to know about the return of Jesus, we must study the Word of God. All of the answers are in the Word. We do not know when Jesus will return, but He will come like a thief in the night at last trumpet sound.
Some will be taken up, but there will be those who will be left behind when the rapture happens. This is why it is important to study so we will know what’s going to happen when that day comes. We do not want to be unknowing. We may ask why God preserved these prophecies for us? The Great God is working out a marvelous purpose here below, nationally and individually. We need to study God’s inspired prophecies if we wish to understand His purpose.
Everything God tells us in His Word is true. We need to take heed of what He is telling us. He would never have left this for us if it were not important for us to know. We are important to God. He created us, we are the sheep of His pasture. We are His children. He knows that we all will have questions about the things He has written. He knows that we do not understand everything.
Will we be ready when Jesus returns?
The NLT Study Bible is broadly and favorably regarded for its accessible and clear translation. It is based on the New Living Translation, which translates whole thoughts instead of words into conversational English—thus making it as forceful for contemporary readers as it was for the first readers. Yet it includes the scholarship of a cross-denominational gathering of biblical authorities: every note and supplement is designed with you, the reader, in mind—to help you experience God’s message clearly, faithfully, and with transformational power.
While other study Bibles emphasize explaining complex meanings of the text, the NLT Study Biblecomes in clear, lively language that allows you to consider other issues, such as historical/cultural background and theological implications. Culturally murky terms are translated with immediate understanding in mind. All of this adds a compelling layer of knowing to a text that is already completely, powerfully alive.
Primary Features of the NLT Study Bible:
When we were children we wondered what was our purpose on this earth, why were we here? Growing up, all we knew is that we were supposed to obey our parents. We didn’t know about what was going on around us. We just grew up learning about things that we needed to know about that was good for us. We never worried about what the meaning of life was. We were not worried about the next day or the events that could happen in it.
Did we ever think about where we were going in our life? Did we ever think about what we wanted to be and do? Did we ever ask questions about the things we didn’t understand about life? Did we ever think about God and what He wanted for us while we were growing up? Maybe we should have been asking those questions. Maybe we should ask those questions now. Clearly, we all need to know where we are going in life and why. If we have no goals, no purpose, and no guiding principles, we will waste our lives (and many have!). We should be asking these questions, because life goes by more quickly than we can now imagine.
Do we think that life is going by fast nowadays compared to the way things were back then? How do we feel when we see life taken knowing that person will never experience the fullness of life? Knowing that when life is taken, life goes on as hard as it may be, but pain of life lost lingers long.
We search for meaning and happiness in relationships, sex, possessions, accomplishments, fame, drugs, drink, and even religion. We are all searching for meaning and purpose in life.
It doesn’t matter how old we become we will always wonder about the meaning of life.
Will we ever understand the meaning of life? Do we ever think to ask God what is the meaning of our lives? Do we ever consider going to God because He has all of the answers to the questions we have about all life and the meaning of it? Why is it so hard to do that? How do we really see God? Do we see God smiling or frowning? How does He look at us knowing we are going to make mistakes along the way? How does He look at us when we are all sinful people? How can He bless us when He knows we don’t always deserve it? The answer is, because He is love. He loves us regardless of who we are. He loves us because we are His Creation. He loves us because we are created in His image. He lives in our heart. There is not one place we can go and He isn’t with us. He is everywhere we are. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
The real meaning of life is acceptance. Accepting Jesus is the real meaning of life. Living according to God’s Word is the real meaning of life. Repenting of our sins is the real meaning of life. Holding on to God’s unchanging hand is the real meaning of life. Living in the presence of God is the real meaning of God. Never giving up on God is the real meaning of life because He will never give up on you. That is the real meaning of life.
The MacArthur Bible Commentary (1 Volume) explains every passage of the whole Bible phrase by phrase with over one hundred word studies. You will glean wisdom from the Word as you study from a seasoned Bible teacher.
Features of the MacArthur Bible Commentary:
• Passage-by-passage commentary of the whole Bible
• A short introduction covering author, date, time, and setting for each book of the Bible.
• Each introduction also includes discussion of God’s character, how Christ is seen, key doctrines, key words, key people, and key Scripture passages that represent the core theme of each book of the Bible.
• Over 500 charts, maps, and articles, including over 300 additional pieces of content not found in the MacArthur Study Bible
• Outline of every book of the Bible
• References to The MacArthur Bible Handbook, and other Thomas Nelson study resources as alternate sources for more in-depth treatment
John MacArthur has served as the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, since 1969. His ministry of expository preaching is unparalleled in its breadth and influence. In more than four decades of ministry from the same pulpit, he has preached verse by verse through the entire New Testament (and several key sections of the Old Testament). He is president of the Master’s University and Seminary and can be heard daily on the Grace to You radio broadcast (carried on hundreds of radio stations worldwide). He has authored a number of bestselling books, including Twelve Ordinary Men, and One Perfect Life.
Since there are hundreds of proverbs in the book we know as Proverbs, it can be helpful to condense or distill some of them down into a more manageable list. This can also help because often the proverbs are not arranged by topic. Instead, they are scattered throughout the book. With that in mind, here are 10 key proverbs on children. We adapted this list and notes from the MacArthur Bible Commentary. May this list instruct and encourage you as you seek to raise your children in the Lord.
“The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.”
This parental grief is most deeply felt by the mother, who plays a more intimate role in raising a child.
“A wise son accepts his father’s discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.”
“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he grows older he will not abandon it.”
There is only one right way, God’s way, the way of life. That way is specified in great detail in Proverbs. Since it is axiomatic that early training secures lifelong habits, parents must insist on this way, teaching God’s Word and enforcing it with loving discipline consistently throughout the child’s upbringing (cf. Deuteronomy 4:9; 6:6–8; 11:18–21; Joshua 24:15; Ephesians 6:4).
“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him.”
Early childhood teaching requires both parental discipline, including corporal punishment (cf. 10:13; 19:18; 22:15; 29:15, 17), and balanced kindness and love. There is great hope that the use of the “divine ordinance” of the rod will produce godly virtue (cf. 23:13, 14) and parental joy (cf. 10:1; 15:20; 17:21; 23:15, 16; 28:7; 29:1, 17). Such discipline must have the right motivation (Heb. 12:5–11) and appropriate severity (Eph. 6:4). One who has genuine affection for his child, but withholds corporal punishment, will produce the same kind of child as a parent who hates his offspring.
“Listen to your father, who fathered you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Buy truth, and do not sell it, get wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and your mother be glad, and let her rejoice who gave birth to you.”
Buy the truth. Obtain the truth at all costs (cf. 4:5–7; Matthew 13:44–46). Then, never relinquish it at any price (see Dan. 1:8ff.).
“My son, fear the Lord and the king; Do not get involved with those of high rank, for their disaster will rise suddenly, and who knows the ruin that can come from both of them?”
The king. Loyalty to the king is proper because he is the agent of the Lord’s wisdom (cf. Deut. 17:14–20; Rom. 13:1–7). That loyalty includes having no part with rebels who seek to subvert or overthrow him (“change”). Peter draws on this verse in his call to good citizenship in 1 Peter 1:17; 2:17.
The ruin those two can bring. A reference to the retributive power of the king and the Lord (cf. Job 31:23).
“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”
Boast…tomorrow. Fools think they know the future or can affect its outcome, but the future rests with the sovereign God.
“He who keeps the Law is a discerning son, but he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.”
The son who obeyed God’s law would not be a glutton and shame his father.
“A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who involves himself with prostitutes wastes his wealth.”
“The rod and a rebuke give wisdom, but a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.”
The MacArthur Bible Commentary by well-known pastor John MacArthur provides clear and succinct explanations of the text. Additionally, this resource comes packed with extra features. It includes:
Interested?
TAP HERE for a copy of the MacArthur Bible Commentary.
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Food for the Soul 