Daily Archives: July 7, 2013

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Friendship with the Lord

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Charles Stanley

Would you like to know God? Would you like to be sure that you’re following His will? If you are a believer, more than likely your answer is “yes.” But you may not know how. Even if you read your Bible faithfully, pray daily, tithe, and attend church regularly, you may sense that something is lacking in your relationship with Him.

Perhaps you believe God loves you. But have you experienced the depth of His affection in an intimate and personal way? Until you begin to understand His nature and character, a spiritual window shade will remain closed in your life. You may know right from wrong in certain areas, but it’s important to know why God wants you to live a certain way. Once you begin to understand the way the Lord thinks and operates, you will know Him better. You will be able to grasp that He loves you with an eternal love. And as your knowledge of God deepens, your desire to please Him will naturally increase.

What is required?

I believe the Father reveals Himself to those who hunger to know Him. Consider how Moses responded to the burning bush: he drew near to it and was eager to know the one true God. Later he prayed, “If I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You so that I may find favor in Your sight” (Ex. 33:13, emphasis added). It is obvious that Moses had one clear goal: to know his Creator, not simply know about Him. He wanted to relate to God on an intimate level—something much deeper than simply realizing that He exists. Moses’ quest to know the Lord led him to a relationship with the Almighty that changed his life forever.

In order to draw near to God, we must be willing to seek Him fervently, rather than pursuing solely our own comfort or ambitions. For example, David passionately sought the Lord and His ways. He wrote, “As the deer pants for water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Ps. 42:1-2). As a result, he became the person the Lord called “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22 NIV).

And consider Mary, the mother of our Savior—she made a sacrificial choice to surrender to God’s will. When the angel told Mary she would bear a child conceived of the Holy Spirit, she knew obedience would make her life difficult. Yet she replied, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

As Moses, David, and Mary discovered, getting to know God may include walking with Him through life’s darkest valleys. But in these times, we gain tremendous insight into the Father’s character. Some of the most important lessons I’ve learned have come as a result of inexpressible heartache. God could have spared me from disappointment, but that was not His will for my life. He had greater things He wanted to teach me, and they could be learned only through sorrow and suffering.

Should we pray for trouble? No. But when it does strike, I counsel people to ask God to reveal what He wants them to learn through the situation. He “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). And as we draw near to the Father, He will reveal “great and mighty things” to our hearts and minds (Jer. 33:3).

What about you?

Perhaps you’ve wondered, Where is God? What is He like? Can I know Him personally? Does He care about me? The good news is that the Lord is here, right now, right beside you. His presence is with you constantly. The Lord calls to you as He did to Moses—inviting you to draw near and learn of His ways so that you may know and experience the depths of His lovingkindness.

My desire is for you to pray, “Let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight” (Ex. 33:13). When you begin to understand God’s mind and the way He works, you suddenly have the right tools to live an abundant life—one that is full and complete. Beyond this, you will have the Holy Spirit abiding within you, and He delights in supplying you with knowledge, love, peace, joy, intimacy, and hope. You will never know all there is to know about the Father’s ways, but you will learn quickly that He is in control and willing to guide you at every turn.

Nothing is more valuable than knowing God. The world may entice you to search for wisdom in any number of ways, but there is only one Source of ultimate truth. He patiently waits to reveal Himself to you.

 

Related Resources

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Welcome To All!

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Our Daily Bread

Isaiah 55:1-9

Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. —1 Samuel 16:7

A beautifying project on the main road of my town prompted the demolition of a church built in the 1930s. Although the windows of the empty church had been removed, the doors remained in place for several days, even as bulldozers began knocking down walls. Each set of doors around the church building held a message written in giant, fluorescent-orange block letters: KEEP OUT!

Unfortunately, some churches whose doors are open convey that same message to visitors whose appearance doesn’t measure up to their standards. No fluorescent, giant-size letters needed. With a single disapproving glance, some people communicate: “You’re Not Welcome Here!”

How people look on the outside, of course, is not an indicator of what is in their hearts. God’s focus is on the inner life of people. He looks far below the surface of someone’s appearance (1 Sam. 16:7) and that’s what He desires for us to do as well. He also knows the hearts of those who appear to be “righteous” but are “full of hypocrisy” on the inside (Matt. 23:28).

God’s message of welcome, which we are to show to others, is clear. He says to all who seek Him: “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters” (Isa. 55:1). —Cindy Hess Kasper

Thank You, Lord, that You welcome all into

Your family, and You have welcomed me. Show me

how to be as accepting of others as You are.

May I reveal Your heart of love.

No one will know what you mean when you say, “God is love”—unless you show it.

Bible in a year: Job 34-35 & Acts 15:1-21

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Power of Beauty

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The Power of Beauty / Just Thinking RZIM publication by Stuart McAllister – March 6, 2013

“Day after day they pour forth speech,” says the psalmist of nature’s glory. “Night after night reveals his greatness” (Psalm 19:2)

As a Scot, I grew up with a love of the countryside. My parents would take us on drives to Loch Lomond, to places like the Trossacks (a beautiful hill and moor area) and many more. These early encounters evoked something that I did not, as a non-believer then, understand. It was the power of beauty itself to speak—not in an audible voice of course, but in some very real sense.

I once drove from Florida to Georgia as the verdant green and array of colors were exploding. I was captivated by trees blooming in all their glory, wisps of white, pink, and other shades all mingling in a medley of splendor, and then surprised by bursts of red (which I learned were Azaleas). It was all quite wonderful! Now lest you think I am some strange, European romantic, I have to say that this “noticing” is a result of the patient, constant, and enthusiastic education granted me by my wife.

She has always loved flowers. In my early days of “serious” ministry and dedication to God, I often wondered how one could be sidetracked by such trivia, such commonalities. Yes, flowers and things pointed out were nice when a passing glance was permitted, but they were not important in my mind. They were not the real thing, the serious thing, the main show!

John Calvin reminded the world that God has given his creatures two books: the book of nature and the Word of God. For the Christian, they are not equal in authority or revelatory power, and yet it is a serious neglect to focus on one at the exclusion of the other.

Perhaps it was age, or more likely a divine breakthrough, but one day I began to notice. These things were splendid; they were so unique. They had such detail, so much grandeur, and they evoked delight and joy. C.S. Lewis describes a childhood encounter with a miniature garden that his brother had made in a tin box. He describes the sense of longing, the experience of what he called joy, though fleeting, which was profound and real. Though he didn’t know what to call it then, Lewis was gradually awakened to the power and role of beauty, an influence he would employ to great effect in his writings.

Similarly, John Calvin reminded the world that God has given his creatures two books: the book of nature and the Word of God. For the Christian, they are not equal in authority or revelatory power, and yet it is a serious neglect to focus on one at the exclusion of the other.

In today’s world, many are sincerely inspired by nature. They love long walks, visits to the country, and absorbing the beauties of the world around. They often make nature an end in itself. They celebrate its magnificence, but are left to see it all as a random outcome of chance and necessity. Some Christians, through neglect, do much the same thing. A number of years ago, some monks in an Austrian monastery had gotten used to overlooking a particular painting that hung in their hallways. One day a visitor looked in astonishment and realized it was a Rubens, the prolific seventeenth-century Flemish Baroque painter. A connection was suddenly made between a work of art and its renowned artist. It caused a sensation, an awakening, not the least of which to its value, which was now known.

The psalmist, the Celts, and many others across the centuries learned to see God’s hand in nature and to celebrate God’s goodness and provision from it. Take a few moments today to look at the birds, contemplate the trees, enjoy a walk, and smell the flowers. Perhaps you may just experience a glimmer of God’s glory too.

Stuart McAllister is vice president of training and special projects at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Profit and loss

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“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36

Suggested Further Reading: Luke 12:15-21

Spiritually man is a great trader—he is trading for his own welfare; he is trading for time and for eternity; he keeps two shops: one shop is kept by an apprentice of his, a rough unseemly hand, of clayey mould, called the body; the other business, which is an infinitely more vast concern, is kept by one that is called “the soul” a spiritual being, who does not traffic upon little things, but who deals with hell or heaven, and trades with the mighty realities of eternity. Now, a merchant would be very unwise who should pay all attention to some small off-hand shop of his, and take no account whatever of a large establishment. And he would, indeed, be negligent, who should very carefully jot down every trifle of the expenditure of his own household, but should never think of reckoning the expenses of some vast concern that may be hanging on his hands. But the most of men are just as foolish—they estimate the profits (as they conceive them to be) which are gained in that small corner shop called the body, but they too seldom reckon up the awful loss which is brought about by a negligence of the soul’s concerns in the great matters of eternity. Let me beseech you, my brethren, while you are not careless of the body, as, indeed, you ought not to be, seeing that it is, in the case of believers, the temple of the Holy Spirit, to take more especial care of your souls. Decorate the tenement, but do not suffer the inhabitant to die of starvation; do not paint the ship while you are letting the crew perish for want of stores on board. Look to your soul, as well as to your body; to the life, as well as to that by which you live.

For meditation: We can be so bodily minded that we are no heavenly use

(1 Timothy 4:8 gives the right balance).

Sermon no. 92

7 July (Preached 6 July 1856)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Your Priestly Service

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John MacArthur

“You . . . are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

Peter identified believers as holy priests, but many Christians don’t really know what that means because priests aren’t part of our culture as a whole.

The primary purpose of an Old Testament priest was to offer acceptable sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Priests were chosen by God Himself, specially cleansed through prescribed ceremonies, clothed in a prescribed manner, and anointed with oil as symbolic of God’s Spirit upon them. They were expected to obey God, love His Word, and walk with Him.

Faithful priests had a positive impact on believers and unbelievers alike. Malachi 2:6 says they “turned many back from iniquity.” Verse 7 adds that “the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”

Those qualifications are paralleled in Christians, whom God regards as the only true priests. You were chosen by Him from before the foundation of the world and cleansed by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. You are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and anointed by the Holy Spirit. Your purpose is “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).

Scripture tells you therefore to present your body a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship (Rom. 12:1). Obedience, love for the Word, and communion with God should characterize your life; saints and sinners alike should see Christ in you and be affected by what they see.

The priesthood of believers is a high and holy calling to which no one is suited apart from God’s grace and power. But be assured that He who called you will accomplish His good pleasure in you. Be committed to that goal each day as you lean on His resources and trust in His sufficiency.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for the priesthood He has entrusted to you. Ask Him to use you today to influence others in godly ways.

For Further Study:

Read Leviticus 8 and 9, which tell of the consecration and inauguration of the Aaronic priesthood.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Loving One Another

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Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in dark­ness even until now. Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin. But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [in Christ] is in darkness and walking ­(living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. —1 John 2:9–11

Hate is an extremely strong and harsh word. Any discussion among believers about hating other Christians would lead most of them to say, “I don’t believe I have ever hated anyone.” If we think about these words of John, however, perhaps he didn’t mean hate as we think of it—feeling great hostility or animosity toward someone. Perhaps our form of hatred today is more like indifference. We don’t really dislike people, but we don’t care enough to help them when they have troubles and problems.

“Most of the loving I see today in the church is based on convenience,” someone told me recently. He went on to say that we will reach out to others as long as it’s convenient or doesn’t demand too much time or effort.

This opens a wide door of opportunity for Satan to separate us from those who most need our love. Jesus commanded us to love each other. In John 13:34–35, He said that people would recognize us as His disciples by our expressions of love toward one another. Perhaps one reason they don’t say that about many of today’s Christians is because too often we’re unwilling to go out of our way to meet the needs of others.

Love is an action verb. If you love others, you do things for them. To hate (in the biblical sense) is to do nothing or to turn away. To make it worse, you judge and criticize others and think, If they really loved God, they wouldn’t be in such a predicament.

You need to see that if you practice God’s “love walk,” you not only grow yourself, but you enable others to grow. The devil can’t do you much harm if you truly walk in loving relationship with others.

In my book Battlefield of the Mind, I shared the story of how I was extremely sick during my fourth pregnancy. When I prayed for healing, God reminded me that I had criticized another woman in our church who was always tired and sick during her pregnancy. Now, here I was in the same circumstances. I realized how wrong I had been and repented. But it took more than repenting—it also became a time of learning for me. God forced me to realize how often I had judged or criticized others because they didn’t measure up to the standards I thought they ought to live by.

All of us make mistakes. All of us have weaknesses. God didn’t call us to point out those weaknesses to the person (or worse, to someone else), but He did call us to care—to show Christ’s love in any way we can. The Bible tells us to be tenderhearted, understanding, and forgiving. That’s how we can win over satanic attacks. Paul says it this way: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him], by Whom you were sealed (marked, branded as God’s own, secured) for the day of redemption (of final deliverance through Christ from evil and the consequences of sin). Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:30–32).

God used these verses to help me see that being Jesus’ disciple means being kind to others, tenderhearted, and forgiving. I also realized it meant overlooking their weaknesses and shortcomings. If we truly love others as Christ loves us, it isn’t difficult at all.

Lord Jesus, I want to love others, and I want to be kind and caring. I also know that I fail at times. In Your name, I ask You to forgive me, and enable me to forgive others who hurt me or don’t live up to my standards. Amen.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Riches in Glory

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“And it is He who will supply all your needs from His riches in glory because of what Christ Jesus has done for us” (Philippians 4:19).

God has faithfully met the needs of this great worldwide ministry since its inception. He met our needs when there were only two of us – Vonette and I – on the staff. He meets our needs today (1983) with more than 16,000 full-time and associate staff members serving in most communities of America and in 151 other countries.

He met our needs when our budget was a few thousand dollars a year. He continues to meet our needs when our budget is approximately $100 million a year. During this exciting, incredibly rich and rewarding adventure with our gracious Lord, we have never had an extra dollar at the end of any day. We get only what we need – and no more.

During these years, there have been many dramatic demonstrations of His faithfulness, when He has led us to undertake major and frequently expensive projects. He has always supplied the funds to pay for what He orders. We have learned many lessons concerning God’s faithfulness.

First, whatever He leads us to do He will enable us to do by supplying the manpower, the finances and the know-how – oftentimes dramatically – if we continue to trust and obey Him.

Second, “we have not because we ask not” (James 4:2 KJV).

Third, we do not receive when our motives are impure.

But of this we can be sure: if our hearts are pure, our motives are pure and we do what we do for the glory of God – to help fulfill the Great Commission through the winning and discipling of men for Christ throughout the world -we can always be assured that God will supply our needs. Not to do so would be a contradiction of His attributes, for the idea of the Great Commission began with our Lord.

Bible Reading: II Corinthians 9:6-11

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will examine my heart to determine my motives and relate my needs to the scriptural commands with the confidence that God will supply all of my needs from His riches in glory, because of what Christ Jesus has done for me. I will thank Him in advance for meeting my needs, and encourage others to trust Him also. This is a part of my commitment to supernatural living.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; G.C. – Best Practices

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ppt_seal01

One of the hottest and fastest growing industries today is “service” businesses, especially those providing assistance to the aging or elderly. From grocery shopping to dog walking, private health aides to lawn service, home beauty treatments to personal readers; every necessity or convenience is for hire these days. Experts agree the key for success for these or any business is one thing … how well the customer is treated.

Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. Colossians 1:7

Today’s verse mentions one of the Bible’s many servants, recognizing his efforts…and showing the importance of service. In Scripture, there are at least 38 verses dedicated to exactly how we are to treat “one another.” They are like a “best practices” plan in managing relationships for the follower of Christ. At first glance, they seem to be reminders for simple things: love one another, encourage one another, build each other up, forgive one another. While simple in concept, many prove to be challenging in practice.

As America’s population ages, many people find themselves in need of assistance. How are you doing in loving and supporting those in your family, your circle of friends, and your neighborhood? Remember, God’s love is never seems clearer than in how you treat others.

Recommended Reading: I John 4:7-12