Daily Archives: January 10, 2013

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Wise men who knew the times – Bro Bo in Hawaii

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1 Chronicles 12:32 (KJ21)  And of the children of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do, the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their command.

Esther 1:13 (KJ21) Then the king said to the wise men who knew the times (for so was the king’s manner toward all who knew law and judgment;

These Scriptures give notice to the fact that the people being talked about knew what was going on around them. They were not deceived by popular current news stories or mislead by gossip and rumor that is present at all times in history.

Wouldn’t you like to be known as one of these? Trusted men who understand their times.

What this really means is that we need to know what is going on around us, just like in King David’s time or with Esther, there will be confusing and misleading news and information. There will always be bad news, false reports and people’s opinions. So the question becomes can you tell the difference between the truth and the lies?

This will be what sets you apart to become one of the Trusted Men, One who can cut through all the crap and give good answers and advice. More than ever there are so many lost and desperate people in this world looking for answers. Family, friends and neighbors all around you need to hear the truth.

Whatever method works best for you, use it. Look at where you get your news and information from and always question the sources. Challenge what you see and hear and compare everything to the Word of God and use the Bible to establish the cornerstones of your faith.

Find reliable sources of Biblical based information on the Internet and visit the sites daily.

Pray and ask for Wisdom and use what you learn every day to grow into the person God wants you to be.

Peace be to you all from Bro Bo in Hawaii

– Life is a long journey but we all end up before the same God in Heaven, What will He say to you?

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Our Riches in Christ – Charles Stanley

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Philippians 4:19-20

As believers, we are truly wealthy because of the riches and grace that are ours in Christ. We have been chosen, redeemed, justified, united with God, and made citizens of heaven. But there is even more to include on our list.

Jesus told the disciples that His departure was necessary: it would actually benefit His followers, as He could then send the third member of the Trinity to indwell each believer (John 16:7). Upon salvation, we are given the Holy Spirit, who seals us as God’s children, comforts us in our pain, and teaches us how to live righteously.

Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, we become more and more like Jesus, which is another blessing from the Lord. His Spirit transforms us from the inside out and produces godly fruit in our life (Gal. 5:22-23). He also empowers us to choose righteous living and break unholy habits.

Another amazing blessing for Christians is access to the throne of grace. At any time, we can enter into God’s presence through prayer and worship. And resurrection and glorification are also treasures for the child of God. Just as the Savior’s body was resurrected, our bodies will likewise be raised; in heaven, they will be made perfect, and we will be free from sin’s presence forever.

Our wealth in Christ surpasses anything this world offers. Don’t let yourself be seduced by earthly thinking, which values comfort and pleasure above all else. Instead, treasure who you are in Christ and what you have been given. When you do, peace and contentment will become yours.

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Resolution and Mission – Ravi Zacharias Ministries

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“Make a New Year’s resolution to give up an old habit,” proclaims a billboard put up by a fledgling newspaper trying to woo away readers from a more established paper. This is the time of the year when the very word “resolution” catches our attention, and the advertisement was cashing in on the sentiment.

Resolutions clearly vary in depth of meaning. You can have a new resolution every new year if you would like. Most resolutions are short-term and can therefore be more easily evaluated than overarching values or life purposes. But even if one is successful every year in keeping a resolution, does that mean that one can, towards the twilight years of one’s life, say one has lived successfully? I’m not sure we would go as far as to say this.

In the early chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus shows far more than resolution to live a particular life. Overwhelmed with the pressures of popularity to the extent that “the whole city gathered at the door,” Jesus did two things (Mark 1:33). In response to the people before him, he first met all of their needs. He healed their diseases and cast out their demons. But then, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place to pray.

Immediately upon finding him, his disciples gave him what seems like an exaggerated report: “Everyone is looking for you!” they exclaimed (1:37). Gently and confidently, Jesus set the course, telling them his plans on fulfilling his mission. “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for” (1:38). Popularity did not distract him. The demands of the crowds did not prevent him from focusing on what he needed to do. Jesus knew his mission in life, and every action worked toward this end.

Everyone in this world has some form of a mission statement, though often it is not formally stated. Many have implicit mission statements to make money or to become powerful or to be successful or to optimize pleasure. Though many of our goals or resolutions are not necessarily wrong in and of themselves, they become empty when elevated beyond what the accomplishment itself can provide. Success in the stock market does not make for a successful life. There is a vast difference between a resolution and a mission statement. We were meant for far more than any accomplishment of our own can provide.

If you look in the mirror of God’s Word, you will find that God not only has a plan for life itself, but a plan for your life. John reports, “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’” (John 8:12). Jesus gives us the only mission statement that extends beyond this life and into the next.

A clearly expressed mission statement may go against the grain of our natural inclinations and thinking. But having a clear purpose in mind helps to expose our unvoiced, inadequate mission statements and verbalize the larger existential purpose of life and the direction God has set before us. We may sometimes struggle to remain on track, but we walk not alone. As someone has said, “There is joy in the journey.” And I might add, for the follower of Christ, there is also a sense of fulfillment at the journey’s end.

Why not take the time this year to articulate a mission statement for your life? This could well be the resolution that leads to the one who revolutionizes all of life.

Cyril Georgeson is a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Delhi, India.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning “There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness.” / 2 Timothy 4:8

Doubting one! thou hast often said, “I fear I shall never enter heaven.” Fear

not! all the people of God shall enter there. I love the quaint saying of a

dying man, who exclaimed, “I have no fear of going home; I have sent all

before me; God’s finger is on the latch of my door, and I am ready for him to

enter.” “But,” said one, “are you not afraid lest you should miss your

inheritance?” “Nay,” said he, “nay; there is one crown in heaven which the

angel Gabriel could not wear, it will fit no head but mine. There is one

throne in heaven which Paul the apostle could not fill; it was made for me,

and I shall have it.” O Christian, what a joyous thought! thy portion is

secure; “there remaineth a rest.” “But cannot I forfeit it?” No, it is

entailed. If I be a child of God I shall not lose it. It is mine as securely

as if I were there. Come with me, believer, and let us sit upon the top of

Nebo, and view the goodly land, even Canaan. Seest thou that little river of

death glistening in the sunlight, and across it dost thou see the pinnacles of

the eternal city? Dost thou mark the pleasant country, and all its joyous

inhabitants? Know, then, that if thou couldst fly across thou wouldst see

written upon one of its many mansions, “This remaineth for such a one;

preserved for him only. He shall be caught up to dwell forever with God.” Poor

doubting one, see the fair inheritance; it is thine. If thou believest in the

Lord Jesus, if thou hast repented of sin, if thou hast been renewed in heart,

thou art one of the Lord’s people, and there is a place reserved for thee, a

crown laid up for thee, a harp specially provided for thee. No one else shall

have thy portion, it is reserved in heaven for thee, and thou shalt have it

ere long, for there shall be no vacant thrones in glory when all the chosen

are gathered in.

 

Evening “In my flesh shall I see God.” / Job 19:26

Mark the subject of Job’s devout anticipation “I shall see God.” He does not

say, “I shall see the saints”–though doubtless that will be untold

felicity–but, “I shall see God.” It is not–“I shall see the pearly gates, I

shall behold the walls of jasper, I shall gaze upon the crowns of gold,” but

“I shall see God.” This is the sum and substance of heaven, this is the joyful

hope of all believers. It is their delight to see him now in the ordinances by

faith. They love to behold him in communion and in prayer; but there in heaven

they shall have an open and unclouded vision, and thus seeing “him as he is,”

shall be made completely like him. Likeness to God–what can we wish for more?

And a sight of God–what can we desire better? Some read the passage, “Yet, I

shall see God in my flesh,” and find here an allusion to Christ, as the “Word

made flesh,” and that glorious beholding of him which shall be the splendour

of the latter days. Whether so or not it is certain that Christ shall be the

object of our eternal vision; nor shall we ever want any joy beyond that of

seeing him. Think not that this will be a narrow sphere for the mind to dwell

in. It is but one source of delight, but that source is infinite. All his

attributes shall be subjects for contemplation, and as he is infinite under

each aspect, there is no fear of exhaustion. His works, his gifts, his love to

us, and his glory in all his purposes, and in all his actions, these shall

make a theme which will be ever new. The patriarch looked forward to this

sight of God as a personal enjoyment. “Whom mine eye shall behold, and not

another.” Take realizing views of heaven’s bliss; think what it will be to

you. “Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” All earthly brightness

fades and darkens as we gaze upon it, but here is a brightness which can never

dim, a glory which can never fade–“I shall see God.”

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Living to the Glory of God – John MacArthur

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God chose us “to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in [His beloved Son]” (Eph. 1:6).

Englishman Henry Martyn served as a missionary in India and Persia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Upon his arrival in Calcutta, he cried out “Let me burn out for God.” As he watched the people prostrating themselves before their pagan idols and heard blasphemy uttered against Christ, he wrote, “This excited more horror in me than I can well express. . . . I could not endure existence if Jesus was not glorified; it would be hell to me, if He were to be always thus dishonored” (John Stott, Our Guilty Silence [InterVarsity, 1967], pp. 21-22).

Martyn had a passion for God’s glory–and he was in good company. Angels glorify God (Luke 2:14), as do the heavens (Ps. 19:1) and even animals (Isa. 43:20). But as a believer, you glorify God in a unique way because you are a testimony to His redeeming grace.

You were created for the purpose of glorifying God–even in the most mundane activities of life, such as eating and drinking (1 Cor. 10:31). You are to flee immorality so you can glorify God in your body (1 Cor. 6:19- 20). You are to walk worthy of your calling “that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified” (2 Thess. 1:12).

Glorifying God is an enormous privilege and an awesome responsibility. When others see His character on display in your life, it reminds them of His power, goodness, and grace. But when they don’t, it dishonors God and calls His character into question.

Aim your life at God’s glory and make it the standard by which you evaluate everything you do.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank the Lord for the privilege of glorifying Him.

Ask Him to show you any areas of your life that do not honor Him.

Find a trusted Christian friend who will pray with you and hold you accountable for the areas you know need to change.

For Further Study: Read Exodus 33:12-34:8

What did Moses request?

What was God’s response and what does it teach us about His glory?

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A Means for Growth – Greg Laurie

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Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow—James 1:2–3

When we experience suffering in our lives, we naturally want the pain to go away. But sometimes God can do things through our pain that cannot be accomplished in any other way. Alan Redpath said, “When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible individual and crushes him.”

James wrote, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing” (James 1:2–4).

Sometimes the Lord will turn a disability into an ability. Sometimes He will take a weakness and turn it into a strength.

If you are trying to get stronger physically, you need to use your muscles. When you work out, you are essentially breaking your muscles down to build them back up again.

In the same way, God may allow hardship into our lives to make us stronger in our faith.

Here is what the apostle Paul said when he asked God to take away his thorn in the flesh, but God said no: “Each time He said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)

We always want things to go reasonably well. We don’t want to suffer. We don’t want hardship. But that hardship may be the best thing for us.