Page 17 - The MacArthur Daily Bible

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FIFTY-TWO KEY PASSAGES OF THE BIBLE
Don’t let yourself think and act according to the Stand in the path of the righteous. Sit in the seat of the
system of beliefs and values around you. You cannot holy. You want to give your life to the law of the Lord
allow yourself to be shaped by the spirit of the age. so that rather than ungodly, sinful, scornful ideas per-
And the key to all of that is to present yourself as a liv- meating your thoughts day and night, you’re literally
ing sacrifice to God. Paul is saying you need to get up filled with the law of God. Meditate on it. Let it grip
on the altar and hold back nothing. And you’re going your heart. Find your delight in the law of the Lord
to have to stay there, because we have a habit of crawl- and let that be the content of your thought day and
ing back off again. Get up on that altar, offer yourself night. This is the path to blessing.
to God as your act of reasonable or logical or spiritual
worship. Paul says, “I beseech you to do that.” And he Week 45
bases it all on the mercies of God which are yours in For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor
Christ. He’s been good to you. Do this in return.
angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present
Week 43 nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other
created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immov- of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.—ROMANS
able, always abounding in the work of the Lord, know- 8:38,39, page 797
ing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. This is one of those really monumental biblical
—1 CORINTHIANS 15:58, page 897
passages. The apostle could have written that nothing
We live in a capitalistic system, and we understand can separate us from the love of God, but somebody
the principle of rewarding people for their work. It’s would have said, “But what about this?” So Paul spoke
very different from the communist world, where in expansive terms of what could not separate us from
there are no rewards to motivate people. Fortunately, God’s love. “I am absolutely sure that neither the
our Lord isn’t like that. Whatever you do in His name realm of death nor life, which covers all of existence,
will receive an appropriate reward. You can count on can do it. Nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers—
that. God makes His promise that if you’re abounding all spirit beings, whether holy or unholy. Nor things
in the work of the Lord—in other words, if you’re present; nor things to come, which covers all of time,
going over the top in serving the Lord—your labor is both now and in the future. And just in case that doesn’t
not in vain in the Lord. No work done in His name is cover it, there’s nothing all the way up into infinity,
wasted, no work done in His name is ever unaccount- there’s nothing all the way down into infinite depth,
ed for, and all work done in His name is appropriately and there isn’t any other created thing that can sepa-
rewarded. That’s His promise. rate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”
And what is that reward? It might not be money or There is nothing in the created universe that can
acknowledgment here, but there will be acknowledg- change your eternal relationship to God if you are in
ment in the time of rewards when we stand before the Christ Jesus our Lord. You can know this: the One
Lord and He rewards every man according to his who justified you, the One who sanctifies you, will one
work. So serve the Lord with all your heart and know day glorify you. He will bring all His sons to glory.
that He’s keeping a record of your faithfulness, and This is because God loves us with an everlasting love,
you’ll enjoy His loving reward when you see Him face- and we are hidden with Christ in God’s love.
to-face.
Week 46
Week 44
Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands
the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an
in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from
of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salva-
night.—PSALM 1:1,2, page 2 tion.—PSALM 24:3–5, page 162
This is a promise for spiritual well-being—for In the city of Jerusalem, the steps are still there
deep-seated heart-blessing contentment, peace, and that led up through the wall into the temple mount,
joy that’s below the surface of circumstances. If you the steps that even Jesus went up into the temple to
want to be blessed like that, the psalmist says, don’t worship. Here the people ascended “the holy hill.”
walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Don’t listen to And as they went, it’s likely the priests would ask the
their spin, their solution, their assessment, their questions recorded in Psalm 24. “Who may ascend
evaluation. Don’t even walk with them, and don’t into the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy
stop and stand in the path of sinners. Don’t even place?” And the people antiphonally would give
engage yourself with them casually, and don’t let that answers. “He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
conversation become deeper and more penetrating. who has not lifted up his soul to an idol nor sworn
And don’t sit in the seat of the scornful. Don’t take deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord
your seat in their classroom while they scoff at and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”
divine truth.
Today we have worship bands and worship lead-
You want to be blessed? Then find your delight in ers, but do we ever ask ourselves: Do I have a right to
the law of the Lord. Walk in the counsel of the godly. come rushing into the holy presence of God? Because

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