Think On These Things: Daily Bible Devotions for Christian Life and Ministry

By Thomas Overmiller

Do you desire to think more biblically and serve God more effectively? This Bible study book will help you accomplish this goal. Enjoy uplifting and thoughtful insights from Scripture, shared by 19 church leaders with extensive experience in Bible study and church ministry worldwide. Together they will provide you with 32 daily readings focused on a verse or brief passage of Scripture, using an expositional approach. Read one entry each day in the morning, then reflect on it throughout the day and review it at night. Look for ways to share what you are learning with others. Better yet, get a copy to share with a friend!

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 4, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543919011

Book preview

calvarygeneva.com.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

(2 Corinthians 3:18)

What is God’s overarching purpose for your life? God’s goal for every believer is to be like Christ. The New Testament repeatedly underscores this goal in passages such as Romans 8:29, Colossians 1:27-29, Ephesians 4:13, and Philippians 3:14, 20-21. The Christian life centers upon a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. It begins with him, is sustained by him, and results in your being with him and like him! God’s goal for every believer is to be like his Son in his spiritual and moral excellence. You must purpose to be changed from your sinful ways into his image. When he comes again, We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

Who can and should pursue Christ-likeness? All those who have been liberated from the bondage and condemnation of sin’s penalty are free to pursue a truly godly life. The blinding veil of unbelief is lifted (2 Cor. 3:16; 4:3-4) and the power of the Spirit is available. Now we all must pursue a true life of seeking to please the Lord. This includes every believer – children, teens, young adults, singles, married, middle-aged, older adults, and the elderly – we all are to manifest the character of Jesus Christ.

So, how do you become Christ-like? Paul explains this as beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord (2 Pet. 3:18). You are changed by looking upon the character of Jesus Christ as revealed in his life and ministry. Robert Murray McCheyne said, The glance of faith may save, but it is the gaze of faith that sanctifies. Most people today take time to look at themselves in a mirror in order to be presentable. Even more, believers should prepare themselves daily through Bible reading and prayer. Read through the four gospels every year. Stay under sound biblical preaching at church. Keep a list of the character traits of Jesus Christ. Ask God to help you be more like Him.

What kind of growth can you expect? Paul speaks of being changed ... from glory to glory. This same original word changed is used in Romans 12:2, which says, Be ye transformed. It is God’s will that you change. You are transformed in your character progressively rather than instantly, from one level to the next. While due to your sinful decisions there may be temporary setbacks, the growth curve should be continually upward. To be sure, this pathway is not without trouble. Paul speaks freely about the troubles and difficulties he faced in his life and ministry (2 Cor. 4:8-12).

So then, by what power will this change take place? It is challenging to change your diet, increase your exercise, and trim your weight. Thankfully, when it comes to spiritual growth, God has provided an unseen Helper. Change comes even as by the Spirit of the Lord. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19) and desires to fill or control your life (Eph. 5:18). You are to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16). And you must not grieve or quench the Spirit (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thess. 5:19). The Spirit of God is continually at work in your life to enable and lead you to be more like Christ, turning away from all that would deter you from that goal.

Why are thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

(Psalm 42:5)

People who talk to themselves may be eccentric, but what about King David? He apparently talked to himself in a good way. By perusing the Psalms, you will discover that he often talked to himself. And so did the author of Psalm 42. Let’s take a look at his circumstances and listen in to his conversation to see what we can learn.

The author of Psalm 42 writes from the northern wilderness of Israel at the base of Mount Hermon and the headwaters of the Jordan River (vv. 6-7). He looks at the Banias Waterfall and sees it as an illustration of his plight. The nonstop cascade of water pictures the never-ending series of trials and troubles in his life. When it rains, it pours. The deafening roar of the falls, with all its majestic power and might, represents the overwhelming force of these difficulties in life. He apparently was facing a crushing ordeal that was overpowering and never-ending.

What was the source of this ordeal? God himself. Whether the Lord was testing his faith or disciplining him for sin, the psalmist is clear about the source: these trials are thy waterspouts, thy waves, and thy billows in which he