For Reading and Meditation:      Romans 16:1-16A word which the gospel associates with salvation is the word "conversion." Salvation is the offer of divine forgiveness and the gift of eternal life; conversion is the way we enter into that experience and receive the gift. The word "conversion" means to turn about or change one's direction. Though other religions talk about spiritual conversion, the experience they speak of bears no relation whatsoever to the thought in the mind of Jesus when He said: "Except ye be converted ... ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3 KJV). We divide people into races, classes, sexes, nationalities, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, but Jesus divided men and women into just two classes - the converted and the unconverted. Apparently, to Him no other distinctions mattered. If you are converted, you are in the kingdom; and if you are not converted, you are not in the kingdom. There are no exceptions. Listen to the words once again: "Except ye be converted ... ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." I think it sad that the NIV translation of the Bible doesn't use the words "except" or "converted" in Matthew 18:3. It simply says: "unless you change and become like little children." The truth is still there, but in my opinion the words used are not as picturesque or as powerful. Conversion can be explained like this: it is the change, gradual or sudden, by which one passes from the kingdom of self to the kingdom of God. And if there is no change, there is no conversion. O God, I am thankful that amidst all the awakenings and new experiences I can enter into in this life, You are eager to give me the supreme awakening - spiritual conversion. May multitudes enter into it today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>Isaiah 43:25</li><li>Isaiah 55:7</li><li>Micah 7:18</li><li>1 John 1:1-9</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What does God display toward the unconverted?</li><li>What is the consequence of conversion?</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"Greet ... Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia." (v. 5) 

The Bible is full of paradoxes, that is, truths that seem contrary to what we would normally suppose or truths that seem to contradict one another. G. K. Chesterton maintained that paradox is truth standing on its head to attract attention. Here are a few of the paradoxes trying to attract our attention.We save our lives by losing them; we lose our lives by loving them (Mark 8:35).We are strong when we are weak (2 Corinthians 12:10), and powerless in our own strength (John 15:5).We find perfect freedom in being Christ's slave, and bondage when we are free from His yoke (Romans 6:17-20).We find more joy in sharing what we have than we do in getting more. Or, in the words of our Lord, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).We increase what we have through scattering it, and experience poverty through hoarding it (Proverbs 11:24).We have a new nature that cannot sin (1 John 3:9), yet everything we do is stained by sin (1 John 1:8).We conquer by yielding (Genesis 32:24-28) and experience defeat by fighting (1 Peter 5:5 c).We are abased when we exalt ourselves, but He exalts us when we abase ourselves (Lu. 14:11).We are enlarged by pressure (Psalms 4:1 JND) and shrunk by prosperity (Jeremiah 48:11).We can possess all things, yet have nothing; we can be poor, yet make many rich (2 Corinthians 6:10).When we are wise (in man's view) then we are fools (in God's sight), but when we are fools for Christ's sake, then we are truly wise (1 Corinthians 1:20-21).The life of faith brings freedom from care and anxiety; the life of sight brings fear of loss through moths, rust and thieves (Matthew 6:19).The poet sees the Christian life as paradox from start to finish:How strange is the course that a person must steer,How perplexed is the path he must tread;The hope of his happiness rises from fear,And his life he receives from the dead.His fairest pretensions must wholly be waived,And his best resolutions be crossed;Nor can he expect to be perfectly savedTill he finds himself utterly lost.When all this is done, and his heart is assuredOf the total remission of sins;When his pardon is signed and his peace is procured,From that moment his conflict begins. (Selected).

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"…as dying, and, behold, we live." (2 Corinthians 6:9)

The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. § Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. To will is present with me, but how to preform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will do, I do not do; but the evil I will not do, that I practice. § We are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. The Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. § God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 Who can say, “I have made my heart clean …”? 

I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. § Who can forgive sins but God alone? I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins. § Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. § Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity? God in Christ forgave you. § The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. § Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace … Having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

 Your sins are forgiven you. 

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. § There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands… They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable. You were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. §  I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I do not forget Your commandments. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. . . . I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. • What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?

Evening Daily Light

 All we like sheep have gone astray. 

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we claim to be without sin,<cr>1</cr> we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.<cr>2</cr>

1 John 1:8

 8 If we claim to be without sin,   we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

 If we claim to be without sin,   we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  

Bible Verse of the Day

December 7, 2018

1 John 1:8 NIV

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