Daily Archives: June 1, 2013

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Charles Stanley – Confidence to Face the Unknown

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Hebrews 11:23-29

The phrase “by faith” occurs five times in today’s short Scripture reading from Hebrews. In fact, it appears in every full sentence. Essentially, we are told that by faith Moses endured ill treatment, left Egypt, observed the Passover, and passed through the Red Sea.

Why are the words “by faith” so critical to this story? The reason is that Moses’ faith allowed him to join a long list of biblical heroes who were called to move forward into impossible situations, armed only with their trust in God.

Of course, at times these great men and women—Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, David, and many others—must have been filled with reservation and even fear. Yet by choosing to place their lives in God’s hands and to follow His call, each of them was able to accomplish great and mighty things in the name of the Lord.

The path through life can be dark and confusing; it can be difficult and at times unsettling to move forward with the lantern of God’s guidance shining only a step or two ahead of us. We want to know more, we want to see what lies ahead, and we want a guarantee of success.

Our worries and fears of the unknown, however, do not in any way diminish or deter our sovereign, omniscient Lord. Instead, He desires that each of us step forward in faith. He has promised that when we do so, He will provide us with the guidance we long for (Isa. 30:21).

If you’re currently being called to move forward by faith but are having trouble doing so, call upon the Lord of Abraham, Moses, and David. He strengthened each of them, and He’ll surely strengthen you.

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Our Daily Bread — I’m Bored

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John 10:7-14

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. —John 10:10

When our kids were teens, we repeatedly had the following discussion after their church youth group meeting: I asked, “How was youth group tonight?” And they responded, “It was boring.” After several weeks of this, I decided to find out for myself. I slipped into the gym where their meeting was held, and I watched. I saw them participating, laughing, listening—having a great time. That night on the way home I asked about their evening and, once again, they said, “It was boring.” I responded, “I was there. I watched. You had a great time!” They responded, “Maybe it wasn’t as bad as usual.”

I recognized that behind their reluctance to admit they were enjoying youth group were things such as peer pressure and a fear of not appearing “cool.” But then I wondered, Am I similarly afraid to get too excited about spiritual things?

Indeed, there is nothing in this universe more worthy of our enthusiasm than who Christ is and what He did for us. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). That’s the opposite of boring! At any age, we have a gift from the Savior that is worth celebrating. Our salvation is something to get excited about! —Bill Crowder

Father, please fill my heart with the joy of Christ.

I desire that the abundant life I have found

in Him might contagiously reach

out to others around me.

If you know Christ, you always have a reason to celebrate.

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Alistair Begg – Light & Darkness

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Was it so even in the beginning? Did light and darkness divide the realm of time in the first day? Then it should be no surprise if I have also changes in my circumstances from the sunshine of prosperity to the midnight of adversity. It will not always be the sunshine of noonday, even in my soul; I must expect at times to mourn the absence of my former joys and seek my Beloved in the night. I am not alone in this, for all the Lord’s loved ones have had to sing the mingled song of judgment and mercy, of trial and deliverance, of mourning and delight. It is one of the arrangements of divine providence that day and night will not cease either in the spiritual or natural creation until we reach the land of which it is written, “there will be no night there.”1 What our heavenly Father ordains is wise and good.

What, then, my soul, is it best for you to do? Learn first to be content with this divine order and be willing, with Job, to receive evil from the hand of the Lord as well as good. Then work at beginning and ending your days with joy. Praise the Lord for the sun of joy when it rises and for the gloom of evening as it falls. There is beauty in both sunrise and sunset; sing of it, and glorify the Lord. Like the nightingale, sound your notes at all hours. Believe that the night is as useful as the day. The dews of grace fall heavily in the night of sorrow. The stars of promise shine forth gloriously against the darkness of grief. Continue your service under all circumstances. If in the day your watchword is work, at night exchange it for watch. Every hour has its duty; so continue in your calling as the Lord’s servant until He shall suddenly appear in His glory.

My soul, your evening of old age and death is drawing near; do not dread it, for it is part of the day, and the Lord has said in essence, “I will cover him all the day long.”

1 – Revelation 21:25

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Charles Spurgeon – Indwelling sin

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“Then Job answered the Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile.” Job 40:3,4

Suggested Further Reading: Galatians 5:13-24

When we believe in Jesus Christ all our sins are pardoned; yet the power of sin, although it is weakened and kept under by the dominion of the new-born nature which God infuses into our souls, does not cease, but still lingers in us, and will do so to our dying day. It is a doctrine held by all the orthodox, that there still dwells in the regenerate the lusts of the flesh, and that there still remains in the hearts of those who are converted by God’s mercy, the evil of carnal nature. I have found it very difficult to distinguish, in experimental matters, concerning sin. It is usual with many writers, especially with hymn writers, to confound the two natures of a Christian. Now, I hold that there is in every Christian two natures, as distinct as were the two natures of the God-Man Christ Jesus. There is one nature which cannot sin, because it is born of God—a spiritual nature, coming directly from heaven, as pure and as perfect as God himself, who is the author of it; and there is also in man that ancient nature which, by the fall of Adam, has become altogether vile, corrupt, sinful, and devilish. There remains in the heart of the Christian a nature which cannot do that which is right, any more than it could before regeneration, and which is as evil as it was before the new birth—as sinful, as altogether hostile to God’s laws, as ever it was—a nature which, as I said before, is curbed and kept under by the new nature in a great measure, but which is not removed and never will be until this tabernacle of our flesh is broken down, and we soar into that land into which there shall never enter anything that defiles.

For meditation: Are there times when you cannot understand your own behaviour? You are in good company (Romans 7:15-25). But the Christian, having received the new nature, need not and should not give in to the old nature as if he could do nothing about it.

Sermon no. 83

1 June (1856)

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John MacArthur – Examining Your Faith

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“Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22).

Our studies this month center on James 1:19þ2:26, which deals with the issue of true faith–a most important consideration indeed. Knowing your faith is genuine is a wonderful assurance, but thinking you’re saved when you’re not is the most frightening deception imaginable. In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus speaks of those who call Him Lord and even do miracles in His name, but aren’t redeemed. Second Timothy 3:5 speaks of those who have a form of godliness but deny its power. They’re religious but lost. Sadly, many people today are victims of the same deception. They think they’re Christians, but they’re heading for eternal damnation unless they recognize their true condition and repent.

Deception of that magnitude is a tragedy beyond description, but you need never fall prey to it because James gives a series of tests for true faith. This month we’ll be applying one of those tests: your attitude toward God’s Word. That’s an especially crucial test because the Word is the agency of both your salvation and sanctification. The Holy Spirit empowered it to save you, and He continually works through it to conform you to the image of Christ. That’s why Peter said, “You have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God. . . . [Therefore] like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet. 1:23þ2:2).

Jesus Himself characterized believers as those who abide in His Word and obey His commandments. They receive the Word with an attitude of submission and humility. However, unbelievers resist and disobey the Word (John 8:31, 43-45). Psalm 119:155 says, “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Thy statutes.”

As you study this test of true faith, ask yourself, Do I pass the test? I pray that your answer will echo the words of the psalmist: “I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes always, even unto the end” (Ps. 119:112).

Suggestions for Prayer:

Ask God for clarity and confidence about your faith in Christ.

For Further Study:

Read the book of James, noting the instructions he gives regarding Christian living.

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Joyce Meyer – Under Construction

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My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. —James 1:2-4 NKJV

As God is working out His perfect plan for us, we often want it to happen right now. But character development takes time and patience. James tells us that when patience has had its perfect work, we will be perfect (fully developed) and complete, lacking nothing. James also speaks about trials of all kinds, and it is during these trials that we are instructed to be patient. Patience is not the ability to wait; it is the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that manifests itself in a calm, positive attitude despite the circumstances.

“Due season” is God’s season, not ours. We are in a hurry, but God isn’t. He takes time to do things right–He lays a solid foundation before He attempts to build a building. We are God’s building under construction. He is the Master Builder, and He knows what He is doing. God’s timing seems to be His own little secret. The Bible promises that He will never be late, but I have also discovered that He is usually not early. It seems that He takes His every available opportunity to develop the fruit of patience in us.

Love Yourself Today: When you’re feeling impatient, remember: You’re still under construction.

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Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Life-giving Fruit

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“Godly men are growing a tree that bears life-giving fruit, and all who win souls are wise” (Proverbs 11-30).

“The monument I want after I am dead,” said Dwight L. Moody, “is a monument with two legs going around the world – a saved sinner telling about the salvation of Jesus Christ.”

When a young minister asked the Duke of Wellington whether he did not consider it useless to attempt to evangelize India, the Iron Duke sternly replied:

“What are your marching orders, sir?”

No doubt one of Satan’s greatest weapons of deceit in the world today is that of procrastination. Tomorrow I am going to become a soul-winner. Next month, after an evangelistic training program, I will become a great witness. As soon as I finish seminary or Bible college, I’ll begin sharing the good news of the gospel.

But “today is the day of salvation, now is the accepted time,” declares the Word of God. Sensitivity to God’s Holy Spirit – dwelling within to give me supernatural ability – will enable me to tell others what Christ means to me, and what He has done for me.

In God’s economy, the truly wise person, is that one who is redeeming the time, buying up every opportunity to share his faith, refusing to put off that which he knows should become a natural, every-day, moment-by-moment part of his life. Wonder of wonders, God even promises to put the very words in our mouths, if we ask Him, as we go in His name.

Bible Reading: II Corinthians 5:11-17

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will do what God leads me to do this day to bear life-giving fruit.

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Presidential Prayer Team; P.G. – Keep the Faith

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Hundreds of years ago Edward Gibbon penned his great treatise on the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Among the reasons that great civilization capsized into the seas of history were the undermining of the dignity and sanctity of the home – the firm underpinning of all society. Higher and higher taxes crept in, people desired pleasures from sports or other more brutal or immoral activities; individual responsibility collapsed; and Christianity lost its pure and gentle influence to guide people. Can you overlay that on today’s America?

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! Psalm 33:12

This weekend you may hear patriotic sermons based on today’s verse. There can be no doubt that for 200 years or more, God has blessed the United States. The second half of today’s passage reminds you that it is people who make up a nation. To keep God’s blessing on America, each citizen has the responsibility to keep faith in Him.

Revival takes place one person at a time. Hold onto the sanctity of life, marriage and family. Pray for the spiritual revitalization of leaders in government; for a return to individual responsibility; and for the Church to grasp, hold and teach God’s highest moral standards.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 33:8-18

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Greg Laurie – All Things

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And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. —Romans 8:28

There are times in our lives as Christians when God will do things or fail to do things that we want Him to do, and it won’t make a bit of sense to us. And because we don’t see the big picture, we may falsely conclude that God has abandoned us. But we need to trust Him during these times, remembering that Jesus Christ is the author and finisher of our faith. In other words, what God starts, He completes.

Remember that wonderful word from the first chapter of Philippians? “There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears” (Philippians 1:6 THE MESSAGE).

It seems as I get older, I get distracted and forget things all the time. But what if God forgot about us? What a frightening thought. Imagine being in the midst of a fiery trial as God is watching and waiting for that moment to take us out of it. Then the phone rings, and He’s gone for a decade! Thankfully, God never forgets about us. He remains—forever and ever—in full control. He knows exactly what He is doing. He will complete what He has begun.

Sometimes in the middle of that process, we may think the Lord is missing it. But He isn’t. We’re the ones who are missing it. From our limited human viewpoint, we think of the temporal, but God lives in the eternal. We are thinking of today, but God is planning for tomorrow. . .in fact, He’s already been there. We are thinking of comfort, but God is thinking of character. We are thinking of an easy time, but God is thinking of how to make us better people.

So let’s trust Him. Whatever our circumstances or hardships, let’s believe His promise to His children. . . . All things are working together.