Daily Archives: July 20, 2013

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Humility Leads to Blessing

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Charles Stanley

Luke 14:7-11

The Lord promises to exalt believers who live humbly, but we often look at our circumstances—job situation, finances, or lack of material things—and question whether He’s coming through on this pledge. However, it’s important to view things from His perspective rather than the world’s. While God may choose to give us material blessings, such benefits are hardly comparable to the greater rewards He longs to bestow, like a deeper understanding of who He is, or prayers answered beyond all imagination.

Certain attitudes prevent our receiving the Father’s intended blessings:

•Impatience. We want it now and are unwilling to trust that God is in control.

•Insecurity. We feel that if certain things don’t happen, we simply cannot continue.

•Identity in the wrong things. We feel good about ourselves only if we are a success by societal standards.

•Ignorance of the Word. We decide for ourselves what is right.

•Impure motives. Discontent or jealousy causes us to push ahead of God and use manipulation to get our way.

•Impulsiveness. Without asking God, we assume every seeming opportunity is a door He has opened.

•Ingratitude. Lack of thankfulness for what He’s given skews our perspective.

Notice these obstacles all start with “I”! Humility doesn’t come naturally. It requires deliberate, ongoing effort to remain in God’s presence so we can see how worthy He is of our total submission. Begin by “bowing” your heart before the Lord and surrendering everything. Then wait patiently for His promised blessing.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Earworms

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Our Daily Bread

Philippians 4:4-9

If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. —Philippians 4:8

They burrow. They bore in. They attach themselves inside your head. Earworms, a term once used exclusively for insects, is now the name for those unrelenting tunes that you can’t get out of your head. Songs like, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” the “Barney” song, or my personal nightmare: “It’s a Small World After All.”

They say the only way to rid yourself of the insidious infestation is to replace it with another tune—your “cleaner” song. New words and a fresh tune can crowd out the old.

Maybe we could use a cleaner song for our thought-life as well. When lustful or vengeful thoughts creep into our minds, reading and meditating on God’s Word can help to clean up our thinking.

Scripture tells us to love the Lord “with all [our] heart, with all [our] soul, and with all [our] mind” (Matt. 22:37) and not to “be conformed to this world” but to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” (Rom. 12:2). It instructs us to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).

When our minds wander to evil, the best “cleaner” is to allow the wisdom of the Bible to permeate our thoughts and hearts (2 Tim. 3:16). —Cindy Hess Kasper

Dear Lord, our desire is to spend time in Your Word.

We know that meditating on Your Word fills our minds

with thoughts of You and helps to keep our thinking

from wandering to evil. Help us to do so.

Character is the sum total of all our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Bible in a year: Psalms 26-28; Acts 22

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Anticipate Heaven for a Few Years

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Alistair Begg

The guarantee of our inheritance.  Ephesians 1:14

Oh, what enlightenment, what joys, what consolation, what delight of heart is experienced by that man who has learned to feed on Jesus, and on Jesus alone. Yet the realization that we have of Christ’s preciousness is, in this life, imperfect at best. As an old writer says, “‘Tis but a taste!”

We have tasted “that the LORD is good,”1 but we do not yet know how good and gracious He is, although what we know of His sweetness makes us long for more. We have enjoyed the firstfruits of the Spirit, and they have set us hungering and thirsting for the fullness of the heavenly vintage. We groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption. Here we are like Israel in the wilderness, who had but one cluster from the vine; there we shall be in the vineyard. Here we see the manna falling small, like coriander seed; but there shall we eat the bread of heaven and the old corn of the kingdom. We are but beginners now in spiritual education, for although we have learned the first letters of the alphabet, we cannot read words yet, much less can we put sentences together.

But as one says, “He that has been in heaven but five minutes knows more than the general assembly of divines on earth.” We have many unfulfilled desires at present, but soon every wish shall be satisfied, and all our powers shall find the sweetest employment in that eternal world of joy.

O Christian, anticipate heaven for a few years. Within a very little time you will be rid of all your trials and your troubles. Your eyes now suffused with tears shall weep no longer. You will gaze in ineffable rapture upon the splendor of Him who sits upon the throne. Better still, you shall sit upon His throne. The triumph of His glory shall be shared by you; His crown, His joy, His paradise-these will be yours, and you will be co-heir with Him who is the heir of all things.

1 – Psalm 34:8

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Continental tour H1

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Suggested Reading: Mark 9:38-41

In Brussels I heard a good sermon in a Romish church. The church was crowded with people, many of them standing, though you might have a seat for a halfpenny or a farthing. But I stood too. And that good man—for I believe he is a good man—preached the Lord Jesus with all his might. He spoke of the love of Christ, so that I, a very poor hand at the French language, could fully understand him, and my heart kept beating within me as he spoke of the beauties of Christ and the preciousness of his blood, and of his power to save the chief of sinners. He did not say justification by faith, but he did say, “Efficacy of the blood,” which comes to very much the same thing. He did not tell us we were saved by grace and not by our works, but he did say that all the works of men were less than nothing when they were brought into competition with the blood of Christ, and that that blood was in itself enough. True there were objectionable sentences, as naturally there must be, but I could have gone to that man and could have said, “Brother, you have spoken the truth;” and if I had been handling the text myself, I must have done it in the same way, if I could have done it as well. I was pleased to find my own opinion verified in that case, that there are some, even in the apostate church, who cleave unto the Lord; some sparks of heavenly fire that tremble amidst the rubbish of old superstition, some lights that are not blown out, even by the strong wind of popery, but still cast a feeble gleam across the waters sufficient to guide the soul to the rock Christ Jesus.

For meditation: We may find it impossible to understand or agree with their position, but the true believing saints of God can sometimes be found in the most unexpected places (1 Kings 18:3-4; Philippians 4:22. NB: The Caesar in question was Nero!)

Part of nos. 331-332

20 July ( From A Lecture on August 21 1860 )

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Proclaiming the Excellencies of God

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John MacArthur

“That you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).

The privilege of proclaiming the excellencies of God takes us back to 1 Peter 2:9, but we consider it here because it summarizes the purpose of all our Christian privileges.

The Greek word translated “proclaim” is an unusual word used only here in the New Testament. It means “to advertise” or “publish,” and refers to making something known that would otherwise be unknown. “Excellencies” speak of powerful and heroic deeds. You are an ambassador of Christ, having the great privilege of proclaiming what God has done for His people.

That was an intrinsic part of Hebrew worship. For example, Psalm 103 says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; who pardons all your iniquities; who heals all your diseases; who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion; who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. The Lord performs righteous deeds, and judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness” (vv. 2-8).

It would be an honor to be an ambassador of the United States, representing this country’s power and capabilities to other countries. But you have an even greater honor: to represent the power and capabilities of the living God. When you have an opportunity to speak for Him, you can rightly say, “I have the privilege of announcing the mighty and heroic deeds of the living God, who has called me into His service.”

Because you are in Christ, you have glorious privileges that include union with God, access to the Father, spiritual sacrifices, security, affection, dominion, possession, holiness, illumination, and compassion. What greater honor can there be than to proclaim the excellencies of the One who has granted you such marvelous privileges?

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for calling you as His ambassador.

Ask Him for the courage and integrity to represent Him well always.

For Further Study:

Read Psalm 147, noting all the mighty deeds of God there proclaimed.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Always Start with Prayer

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Joyce meyer

[And Nehemiah prayed] Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity. —Nehemiah 4:4

In Nehemiah 4:4, we find three words that are vitally important to remember when we are trying to stand through a storm: “And Nehemiah prayed.” How did he respond to all the attacks that came against him—the laughing, the anger, the rage, the judgment, the criticism, being told his desired goal was impossible? He prayed!

Let me ask you: What would happen if you prayed every single time you felt afraid or intimidated? What if you prayed every time you were offended, or every time someone hurt your feelings? What if you prayed immediately every time some kind of judgment or criticism came against you? Would your life be different? Would you be able to withstand those storms better? Of course you would.

We can learn an important lesson from Nehemiah’s prayer: “Hear, O our God,” he said, “for we are despised. Turn their taunts upon their own heads, and give them for a prey in a land of their captivity.” Notice that Nehemiah didn’t go after his enemies himself; he asked God to deal with them. His attitude was, “I’m doing Your will! You told me to build this wall and I am busy building it. You will have to take care of my enemies!”

Many times, God tells us to do something or gives us an assignment and we begin doing it. But then the enemy comes against us, and when we turn to fight him, we turn away from God. Suddenly, the enemy has all of our attention. We spend our time fighting him instead of praying and asking God to intervene.

Nehemiah knew better than to let his enemies command his focus. He was aware of them, but he kept his eyes on God and the job God called him to do. And he simply prayed and asked God to deal with those who were attacking him.

Trust in Him: What do you need to pray about? When the enemy attacks, don’t take your focus off the task God has placed before you. Pray! And trust God to take care of the enemy.

 

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – In the Book of Life

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“Everyone who conquers will be clothed in white, and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, but I will announce before my Father and His angels that he is Mine” (Revelation 3:5).

Perhaps you have rejoiced – as I have – at the reminder that our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, God’s heavenly record of the redeemed.

Here are two more promises to the conqueror, the overcomer, the victorious Christian – one having to do with future reign, the other with our security in Him.

Not only to the believers in Sardis who should be victorious, but also to those in every age and every land, lies the hope – indeed the promise – of appearing with Christ in white robes expressing holiness and joy in that future day when He shall rule and reign on this earth.

If you are a believer in Christ, your name is in the that book which contains the names of those who are to live with Him throughout eternity. Not to have our names erased, of course, means that the names will be found there on the great day of final account, and forever and ever.

What better way could we use our time today – and tomorrow – and the next day – than to add names to the Book of Life, by faithfully witnessing to others about the good news of the gospel? Our privilege and responsibility is to share; God’s Holy Spirit does the work of convicting and saving.

Bible Reading: Revelation 3:1-6

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: “Dear Lord, help me to add names to Your Book of Life by sharing my faith in You at every possible opportunity.”

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. – Reflect Your Trust

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Sometime between 701 and 681 BC, the prophet Isaiah predicted the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14) Seven hundred years later, a young virgin named Mary gave birth to the Son of God.

A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. Deuteronomy 32:4

As amazing as it is, Christians shouldn’t be surprised when Bible prophecies come true. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. As today’s verse points out, He is a God of faithfulness. You can count on the Lord to do what He says. He will never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:8). He will give you strength (Psalm 89:21). He will work things out for good (Romans 8:28). He grants new life through Christ (II Corinthians 5:17).

God also promises to heal the nation (II Chronicles 7:14). Do you genuinely believe your Heavenly Father always keeps His word? Be sure to live your life that way. Then pray today your words and deeds will reflect your trust in a faithful God. Ask Him to heal this nation as His people seek Him, and prove to those in political office how just and upright He is.

Recommended Reading: II Chronicles 7:11-22

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – An Eternal Perspective

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So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. —2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT

When you are younger, you think certain things are always good, while other things are always bad. For example, success is always good, and hardship is always bad. But when you have lived life for a while, you can look back and realize that success actually can be bad for some. And hardship actually can be good for others. You begin to see things differently. And sometimes the things you thought were really good things turned out to be bad things. And the things that you thought were bad things turned out to be good things.

We must realize as Christians that God is in control of all circumstances surrounding our lives. God takes all of the events of life, the good things and the so-called bad things, and works them “together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28).

We must also realize that God loves us and is always looking out for our eternal benefit—even if what we are presently going through is difficult. We are told in 2 Corinthians 4:17–18, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever” (NLT).

Are you thankful for what God has blessed you with? Have you given thanks recently for your health? For the freedom to worship openly? For the clothes on your back and the roof over your head? We need to give thanks to God—because there is so much to give thanks for.