Daily Bible Verses for 8/11/2016
Bible Verse
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.
Reading Notes
As we grow closer to God through Christ, the Lord softens our hearts. Before salvation, we were dead in our trespasses and sins and our hearts, were hardened by our sins and the cares of this world. However, with our salvation, we become more sensitive to the things of God and the Lord’s direction in our lives. As a result, we also grow more sensitive to the sin in our life. The true heart of salvation is one of repentance over sin because of our love for Jesus. This is because of the work of the Holy Spirit carried out in our lives. With our salvation, we receive a new spirit which is no longer dead in trespasses and sins, in addition, we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and His work of sanctification. Sanctification is the process of spiritual growth carried out by God in our lives. As a result of the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts, our actions and our sins will start to have a greater effect on our hearts and minds, bringing about repentance, as we come to better understand what Jesus has done for us.
Therefore, we are to rejoice in the work of God in our lives! The Bible tells us we are not to regret this, but we are to rejoice because we who were once dead in our trespasses and sins, through the power of God have been made alive in Christ. And through our submission to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can walk closer to Jesus as we live our lives day to day. Because of Jesus’ work on the Cross and our faith in Him, we are not only alive to God, but we become children of God. We have become children of God through faith, because with our salvation, we are adopted into the family of God, as we become joint-heirs with Christ in the kingdom of God. And as the Holy Spirit begins His work of sanctification in our hearts, He brings about a change which is evident to those around us. As we grow in the Lord others will see a change in our character and our behavior. As that happens the things of God become closer and dearer to us than the things of this world, and we develop an overwhelming desire for the word of God. In addition, as we grow in Christ, the Lord develops and prepares us for His kingdom work and we begin to have a greater impact for Jesus on the world around us.