The Daily Word: Monday, August 16th, 2021
Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
1 Corinthians 10:14-33
Psalm 34:11-22
Proverbs 21:14-16
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Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
But the Lord will redeem those who serve him. No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned. – Ps. 34:22
Salvation is part belief, and part action. You are saved “by grace…through faith” (Eph. 2:8). It is faith that activates the grace of God over your life, and it is the grace of God – His “gift” to you! – that fills you with faith to believe in Him in the first place. But then Ephesians 2:10 says that you are “His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” You are saved by grace through faith! But if your salvation is genuine, there will be an outflowing of “good works” that follows your conversion.
Romans 10 captures the same sentiment: “…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”(Rom. 10:9-10). You believe unto righteousness, and you confess unto salvation: part belief, and part action. You must “confess with your mouth” and “believe in your heart.” If your belief is genuine, there will be active evidence that follows in the form of faith-filled speech!
Now look at today’s text. The Lord will redeem those who serve Him. Not those who like Him. Not those who think He is real! Those who serve Him. Are you serving Jesus? When you really and truly receive Jesus as Lord, your life will look different. His fingerprints will be all over you! People who don’t even know Jesus will hear your story and see your devotion to Jesus and want what God has given to you: a peace that “surpasses all understanding” and guards your heart and mind through Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7).
Take refuge in Jesus. Serve Him and trust in Him! Believe in Him; and serve Him from that place of belief. Service will be the evidence of a heart that truly trusts in God. Look to Him and live for Him. And as you live out a life of service from a place of trust, here is God’s promise to you: He will redeem you, and you will never be condemned!
Prayer:
Father, thank You for saving my soul from condemnation and destruction by the precious blood of your Son Jesus Christ. I am grateful for your goodness! I am thankful for Your love. I pray that my life would be evidence of my never-ending trust in Jesus. In Jesus’ name!
© Michael D. White, 2021. All rights reserved.