SOWERS OF THE WORD is a place where you can come to and recieve an inspirational devotional reading of The Word of God, along with commentaries of The Scriptures to increase your understanding and grow in the knowledge and wisdom of God's Word. This ministry is founded on the parable of The Sower in the Gospel of (Matthew 13: 1-23). God bless you all as you go forth bearing the precious seed of The Word of God.
JESUS IS LORD.
Thank you all for you service to the Lord here and in the world over.
May the Lord bless and use you all and your families to be a blessing to many in the coming new year to win many souls into His kingdom, build up the Body of Christ's Church and to bring our heavenly Father much praise and glory for all eternity.
- When a person works an eight-hour day and receives a fair day's pay for his time, that is a wage.
- When a person competes with an opponent and receives a trophy for his performance, that is a prize.
- When a person receives appropriate recognition for his long service or high achievements, that is an award.
- But when a person is not capable of earning a wage, can win no prize, and deserves no award-yet receives such a gift anyway-that is grace. This is what we mean when we talk about the grace of God.
-Author Unknown
For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any many should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has ordained that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-10).
2:8 Paul again reminds his readers (cf. v.5) that they owe their salvation entirely to the undeserved favor of God. "Grace" is the objective, operative, and instrumental cause of salvation. Paul expands v.5 by adding that the medium that apprehends salvation is "faith", which is also its necessary condition. Faith, however, is not something a person can produce; it is simply a trustful response that is self evoked by the Holy Spirit.
Lest faith should be in any way misinterpreted as our contributing in any way to our own salvation, Paul immediately adds a rider to explain that nothing is of our own doing; rather, everything is a "gift God." The entire process of salvation comes from nothing that we have done (cf. Rom 10:17).
2:9 Paul firmly excludes every possibility of self-achieved salvation by adding to his emphasis in v.8, "not of works." The apostle does not specify these "works" as those related to the law, since he is not thinking only of Jewish Christians. Any kind of human self-effort is comprehensively ruled out by this terse expression. The reason is immediately attached: it is to prevent the slightest self-congratulation. If salvation is by sheer unmerited favor of God, boasting is altogether out of place.
2:10 This verse is the outcome of the whole process. It shows what salvation is intended for: to produce the good works that attest its reality. While works play no part at all in securing salvation, Christians will prove their faith by works. Here Paul shows himself at one with James (see Jam 2:14-26).
We are God's "workmanship"-his work of art, his new creation. "Created" is a verb used exclusively of God and denotes the creative energy he exerts. The creation takes place "in Christ Jesus" (cf. vv.6-7). The life of goodness that regeneration produces has been prepared for believers to "do" from all eternity. Here is a further reason why Christians have nothing left to boast about. Even the good they now do has its source in God, who has made it possible.
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
1-2 Praise of God begins with the self. As the psalmist exhorts himself to praise the Lord with his "soul" and "inmost being" (i.e., his whole person), he has nothing else in mind than full commitment to the act of giving thanks. The "name" of the Lord calls to remembrance all his perfections and acts of deliverance. "Praise" is the response of awe for God, while reflecting on what the Lord has done for his people. The opposite of "praise" is forgetfulness. To "forget" the "benefits" of the Lord is to disregard his covenantal lordship.
3 The forgiveness of "sins" is God's gracious act pf removing the consequences of sin as well as the sin itself. The "diseases" may be sicknesses, but are more likely a metaphor for adversities or setbacks.
4 Instead of letting his beloved be taken by adversity, the Lord redeems by exalting him to royalty with his "love and compassion." "Love" is the assurance of the constancy of his fidelity toward his own. The complement of "love" is divine "compassion", that quality by which God as the heavenly Father empathizes with human frailty.
5 The Lord forgives, redeems, sustains, and fully restores all the covenantal benefits, even though sin has breached the covenant. The Lord "satisfies" his children with all the blessings of the covenant so as to "renew" them like an "eagle." The "eagle" symbolizes vigor and freedom. [NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 1: Old Testament].
[http://twitter.com/SowersOfTheWord]. JESUS IS LORD.
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
(Read: Psalm 46).
10 The Psalmist encourages the godly to "be still" and to "know" that the Lord is God. Though it was tempting to ally themselves with foreign powers, to rely on military strength, or to give themselves over into idolatry and pagan ways, the godly must learn to persevere to the end. The "knowledge" of God includes a factual knowledge about him, his past acts, and his promises. The life of faith is lived in commitment to God's sovereignty, rule, and ultimate exaltation over all the nations.
[NIV BIBLE COMMENTARY Volume 1: Old Testament].
[http://twitter.com/SowersOfTheWord]. JESUS IS LORD.
