Monthly Archives: January 2014

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; A.W. – First Priority

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George Mueller, a Christian evangelist, devoted his life to the care of over 10,000 orphans. He built several homes and established 117 schools, yet he never went into debt. How did he do this? He relied on God and prayed first for all of the needs of his ministry. On one occasion, 300 children were ready for their day, but there was no food for breakfast. Mr. Mueller had the children sit at the table to pray. As they finished, a baker knocked at the door and provided bread. Then a milkman whose cart had broken down knocked and provided fresh milk because it was going to spoil. Mueller was a true example of praying first to have a successful ministry.

We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.

Acts 6:4

In today’s scripture, the apostles committed to make prayer their first priority. They knew nothing they attempted would be successful without dependence upon God.

As you work towards whatever ministry you are called to, don’t do it in your own strength. Pray first so the power of God might be manifested in your actions. Then intercede for the nation’s leaders to genuinely commit themselves to prayer as they lead the country.

Recommended Reading: I Timothy 2:1-8

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Chasing Sardines

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Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, ll your soul, and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

—Matthew 22:37–39

Some years ago, three hundred whales were found marooned on a beach. Scientists speculated that the whales had been chasing sardines and became trapped in shallow water when the tide went out. Now, that’s an amazing thing. By chasing little sardines, these gigantic creatures were ultimately led to their doom.

Many people waste their lives chasing sardines, so to speak. They major on the minors and have no clear focus or objective in mind. But God tells us what should be the primary goal of every Christian. If we can get our priorities straight in this area, everything else will come together. In fact, if we can get these two principles operative in our lives, then all the commandments of God will become a natural outflow of our commitment to Him. What are these principles? One, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, NLT), and two, “Love your neighbor as yourself ” (verse 39, NLT).

When Jesus spoke these words, He was identifying what should be the focus of every person. Essentially, He was saying that love is the basis for all obedience. If you really love God, then you will naturally want to do the things that please Him.

It has been said that if you aim at nothing, you are bound to hit it. What is your highest priority in life? What are your goals? We all channel our energies and passions and thoughts toward something in life. What is it for you?

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – One of a Kind

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Max Lucado

I have a sweater I never wear. It’s too small.  Some of the buttons are missing, the thread is frazzled.  I should throw it away. I’ll never wear it again. Logic says to clear out the space, get rid of the sweater. But love won’t let me.

What’s unusual about it? It wasn’t produced on an assembly line. It’s the creation of a devoted mother expressing her love. That sweater is unique. It’s one of a kind.  It can’t be replaced. And although the sweater has lost all of its use, it’s lost none of its value.

That must have been what the psalmist had in mind when he wrote, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). You were knitted together. You aren’t an accident. You weren’t mass-produced. You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.

From The Applause of Heaven

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Landmine of Discouragement

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Charles Stanley

Psalm 42:5-8

There are people who suffer the effects of discouragement for years. They don’t know how to repair the damage caused by this devastating landmine. How does this loss of confidence and optimism originate?

Disappointment is our emotional response to a failed expectation. When we refuse to recognize and deal with the failure, that negative reaction can fester—then we can slip into discouragement. Disappointments are inevitable, but believers don’t have to be in bondage to discouragement.

We all periodically face difficulties that make us feel weak. Discouragement, however, like a drive through a dark tunnel, should be temporary: after a short while, we should come out on the other side. I have experienced situations in which I was very discouraged for a season. On occasion, I have had to get on my knees during the night to cry out to God for encouragement. After asking Him for a change in attitude and help in laying down my burden, I have been able to get back to sleep.

In order to gain victory, we must first look within ourselves. We need to admit our specific discouragement as well as the unresolved conflicts in our heart. Identifying the root cause of our disheartened feelings allows us to work through them. Most importantly, we must turn to God. As long as we are talking about our hurt, suffering, embarrassment, or shattered dreams, we will wallow in despair. But the moment we lift our heads and say “Father,” we take our first step out of discouragement.

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Wonder Of The Cross

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Our Daily Bread

Hebrews 12:1-4

[Look] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. —Hebrews 12:2

While visiting Australia, I had the opportunity on a particularly clear night to see the Southern Cross. Located in the Southern Hemisphere, this constellation is one of the most distinctive. Mariners and navigators began relying on it as early as the 15th century for direction and navigation through the seas. Although relatively small, it is visible throughout most of the year. The Southern Cross was so vivid on that dark night that even I could pick it out of the bundle of stars. It was truly a magnificent sight!

The Scriptures tell us of an even more magnificent cross—the cross of Christ. When we look at the stars, we see the handiwork of the Creator; but when we look at the cross, we see the Creator dying for His creation. Hebrews 12:2 calls us to “[look] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The wonder of Calvary’s cross is that while we were still in our sins, our Savior died for us (Rom. 5:8). Those who place their trust in Christ are now reconciled to God, and He navigates them through life (2 Cor. 1:8-10).

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is the greatest of all wonders! —Bill Crowder

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride. —Watts

Christ’s cross provides the only safe crossing into eternity.

Bible in a year: Exodus 16-18; Matthew 18:1-20

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – Personal Choices

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There are some stories that move us whether we hear them at five or fifty-five. The 1965 release of the first Peanuts movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas, was instantly loved by adults and children alike. But it almost did not make it past the television executives who hated it. The movie was criticized for everything from being too contemporary in music, to being too religious in tone. But audiences everywhere confidently disagreed. Having aired every year since its debut in 1965, it is now the longest-running cartoon special in history.

One of my predictably favorite scenes finds Charlie Brown on a hunt for the perfect “great big, shiny, aluminum tree—maybe even a pink one” as instructed by Lucy for their Christmas pageant. At the tree lot, Charlie Brown walks through row after row of flashing, shiny spectacles of color, trying his best to choose well and please his friends. But then he sees a small, natural tree, nearly overshadowed by the flash and glitter of the rest. It is pitiful and loosing needles, but it is the only real tree on the lot. In a moment of confidence, Charlie Brown chooses the unlikely sapling over all the others (and is thus the target of laughter and mockery by all).

Even as children, we seem to know intuitively that there is something remarkable—perhaps something even sacred—about being selected long before we understand the implications of choice at all. That someone saw anything worth choosing in this sickly little tree is a turn in the plot that quiets us. Charlie Brown claims the unlikely, pathetic tree as his own, and there is a part of us that feels claimed too.

The Christian story of God among the world is filled with the language of claiming and calling, gathering and choosing. Yet, stripped of the story and its characters, these words often offend us. We speak of the injustice of a God who claims anyone, who shows signs of favoritism, or calls anyone particularly. We forget what we felt deeply as children—namely, that being claimed among a group of the prettiest and the smartest and the fastest is not about deserving it at all.

In a country of wealth and grandeur, the people of Israel were slaves who were exploited and abused. They were overshadowed, inconsequential, and cast aside, not unlike the tiny tree in the vast lot of color. But God came near and claimed an unlikely people, picking them up, giving them a name, collecting them like a hen gathers her chicks. The book of Deuteronomy recounts the fledging relationship: “For the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance. In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye” (32:9-10).

God’s gathering of the Israelites was not based on prerequisites. Yet it was far from passive and unfeeling, emerging from God’s love, mercy, and wisdom. The prophets would later describe it as the selection of a bride for a bridegroom, and Jesus would later describe himself as the bridegroom who came even closer to beckon that bride to his side. God’s own are referred to as the “apple of his eye,” an expression reserved for those who are most endeared to us. The original Hebrew for the expression can be literally translated as “little person of the eye.” The idiom is surprisingly close to the Latin “pupilla,” from which we get the word pupil. The word means “little doll,” and was applied to the dark center of the eye because of the tiny image of oneself that appears when looking into someone’s eyes. In these words, it is if God expresses, “If you get close enough, you will see that it is you who is held in my eyes.” God’s claiming, in other words, is inherently personal; and the story of the Incarnation is further a claim that God would gather every chick, every creature, every soul as a hen would gather her young.

What we often forget is that our own choices are inherently the same. A spirituality based on preference fails to consider the one it rejects, which is particularly ironic when it rejects due to a distaste of exclusivity. If God comes near enough to choose a forgotten nation, to gather the unlikely, to love them out of no merit of their own, and to give them his name regardless, can we not consider this God behind all of the things we have to say about religion and exclusivity? If God comes even nearer, sending a vulnerable son to reach a dejected people, to cleanse them and claim them out of no doing of their own, and to give them his grace regardless, will we not consider the one we reject when we accuse him of injustice, tyranny, or favoritism? For meanwhile, and regardless, the incarnate God of the Christian story continues to give the weak, the unwise, and the forgotten a new place and name: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.”

Jill Carattini is managing editor of A Slice of Infinity at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Exercise of Three Powers

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Alistair Begg

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.

Luke 2:19

There was an exercise, on the part of this blessed woman, of three powers of her being: her memory–she kept all these things; her affections–she kept them in her heart; her intellect–she pondered them; so memory, affection, and understanding were all exercised about the things that she had heard.

Beloved, remember what you have heard of your Lord Jesus and what He has done for you; make your heart the golden pot of manna to preserve the memorial of the heavenly bread whereon you have fed in days gone by. Let your memory treasure up everything about Christ that you have either felt or known or believed, and then let your fond affections hold Him fast forevermore.

Love the person of your Lord! Bring forth the alabaster box of your heart, even though it be broken, and let all the precious ointment of your affection come streaming onto His pierced feet. Let your intellect be exercised concerning the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon what you read. Stop not at the surface; dive into the depths. Be not as the swallow, which touches the brook with her wing, but as the fish, which penetrates the lowest wave.

Abide with your Lord: Let Him not be to you as a wayfaring man who tarries for a night, but constrain Him, saying, “Stay with us . . . the day is now far spent.”1 Hold Him, and do not let Him go. The word ponder means to weigh. Make ready the balances of judgment. Oh, but where are the scales that can weigh the Lord Christ? “He takes up the coastlands like fine dust”–who shall take Him up? He weighs “the mountains in scales”–in what scales shall we weigh Him?2 If your understanding cannot comprehend, let your affections apprehend; and if your spirit cannot compass the Lord Jesus in the grasp of understanding, let it embrace Him in the arms of affection.

1Luke 24:29

2Isaiah 40:15, 12

 

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Christ of Patmos

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“… one like unto the Son of man,… His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow… And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.” Revelation 1:12-18

Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 22:41-46

“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow.” When the Church described him in the Canticles she said “His locks are bushy and black as a raven’s.” How do we understand this apparent discrepancy? My brethren, the Church in the Canticles looked forward, she looked forward to days and ages that were to come, and she perceived his perpetual youth; she pictured him as one who would never grow old, whose hair would ever have the blackness of youth. And do we not bless God that her view of him was true? We can say of Jesus, “Thou hast the dew of thy youth;” but the Church of to-day looks backward to his work as complete; we see him now as the ancient of eternal days. We believe that he is not the Christ of 1800 years ago merely, but, before the day-star knew its place, he was one with the Eternal Father. When we see in the picture his head and his hair white as snow, we understand the antiquity of his reign. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” When all these things were not, when the old mountains had not lifted their hoary heads into the clouds, when the yet more hoary sea had never roared in tempest; ere the lamps of heaven had been lit, when God dwelt alone in his immensity, and the unnavigated waves of ether, if there were such, had never been fanned by the wings of seraphim, and the solemnity of silence had never been startled by the song of cherubim, Jesus was of old in eternity with God. We know how he was despised and rejected of men, but we understand, too, what he meant when he said, “Before Abraham was, I am.” We know how he who died, when but a little more than thirty years of age, was verily the Father of the everlasting ages, having neither beginning of days nor end of years.

For meditation: Glory in the paradoxes of Christ—seen as old, yet young; God and man; A.D. yet B.C.; David’s Son, yet David’s Lord; a Shepherd, yet a Lamb; the Master, yet a Servant; the Great High Priest, yet the Sacrifice; the Immortal who died and rose again!

Sermon no. 357

27 January (1861)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Trusting in God’s Power

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John MacArthur

“I pray that … you may know … the surpassing greatness of [God’s] power toward us who believe” (Eph. 1:18-19).

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the great hope of believers. Because He lives, we will live also (John 14:19). Peter said we have been “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away” (1 Pet. 1:3-4). We and what we have are protected by God’s power (v. 5).

In Ephesians 1:19-20 Paul draws two comparisons. The first is between the power God demonstrated in the resurrection and ascension of Christ, and the power He demonstrates on behalf of every believer. That power is described as God’s “working,” “strength,” and “might.” Together those synonyms emphasize the greatness of God’s power, which not only secures our salvation, but also enables us to live godly lives.

The second comparison is between our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, and ours. The grave couldn’t hold Him, nor can it hold us (1 Cor. 15:54-57). Satan himself couldn’t prevent Christ’s exaltation, nor can he prevent us from gaining our eternal inheritance.

In Christ you have all the power you will ever need. For evangelism you have the gospel itself, which “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). For difficult times you have the assurance that the surpassing greatness of God’s power is at work in you (2 Cor. 4:7). For holy living you have God Himself at work in you “both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

No matter how weak or ill-equipped you may at times feel, realize God “is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that [you] ask or think, according to the power that works within [you]” (Eph. 3:20). So keep striving according to that power (Col. 1:29), but do so with the confidence that ultimately God will accomplish His good in your life.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Pray for greater spiritual enlightenment and a clearer understanding of your security in Christ. Nothing will rob you of your assurance quicker than unconfessed sin. If that has happened to you, confess it immediately and turn from it. Then ask God to restore to you the joy of your salvation.

For Further Study:

Read 1 Chronicles 29:11-13

What prerogatives did David attribute to God (vv.11-12)?

What was David’s response to God’s power (v.13)?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, Nobody

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Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins. —James 4:17, NIV

Years ago I heard a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. In the end, Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

I once read about a shocking incident that shows the principles of this story at work—tragically—in real life. In 1964 Catherine Genovese was stabbed to death over a period of 35 minutes while 38 neighbors watched. Their reaction was described as cold and uncaring, a result of urban apathy and alienation. Later, research by Latane and Darley revealed that no one had helped simply because there were so many observers. The observers looked to one another for guidance on what to do. Since no one was doing anything, they determined that no one should be doing anything.

People are less likely to receive help in time of need as the number of by-standers increases. A student appearing to have an epileptic seizure was helped 85 percent of the time when only one bystander was present, but when several people were standing by and watching he received help only 31 percent of the time.

This study proves that the more people do nothing, the more people will do nothing, but if even a small group of committed people will begin to reach out to others with care and love, smiles and compliments, appreciation and respect, the movement can and will grow.

We are affected by the actions of people around us. We look to one another for direction, often without even knowing it. Most people will agree with the majority even if they really don’t agree.

If, as Christians, we want to demonstrate love to the world around us, we must become examples to others instead of merely following the crowd.

Love OthersToday: When you have the ability to help someone, don’t assume somebody else will do it. Do it yourself.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright

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dr_brightHe Orders Your Steps

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:23, KJV).

Miriam Booth – a beautiful, brilliant, cultured woman – daughter of the Salvation Army founder, began her Christian work with great promise. She had unusual success. Before long, however, disease struck her and brought her to the point of death. A friend visiting her one day said it seemed a pity that a woman so capable should be hindered by illness from doing the Lord’s work. “It is great to do the Lord’s work,” she replied with gentle grace, “but it is greater to do the Lord’s will.”

Are you looking for direction, for purpose, for meaning to your life?

The psalmist wanted to make it very plain that the person who is “good,” the one who is clothed with the righteousness, the goodness of Christ, can have the absolute assurance that His steps, one by one, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day, are ordered by the Lord (planned and directed by Him).

That wonderful truth is made even more meaningful by the reminder that our “stops” as well are directed by the Lord. He knows when we need to slow down, to wait on Him. As a Christian leader once said, after several weeks of being bedridden: “I needed to be flat on my back so that the only way I could look was up.”

Finding the will of God has been difficult for many people – for most of us at one time or another. But the truth remains that He promises to give wisdom to any who ask, and we have that privilege when we belong to Him by virtue of having received the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior.

If you are facing a crossroad in your life, wait on Him and avoid the usual rush to a decision that might be disastrous. “He is faithful who promised.” Depend upon Him to make the way clear as you lay the decision prayerfully before Him.

Bible Reading: Isaiah 58:9-14

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: When I need wisdom for a specific decision today, I will breathe an earnest prayer for direction. Then I will thank God for the clear leading which He promises and for enabling me to continue living the supernatural life, as He directs my steps.

 

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.P. – Dig Deeper

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Almost everyone loves a good story. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing has capitalized on that fact. To date, the Chicken Soup series of over 200 titles has sold more than 112 million copies, some translated into more than 40 languages. These true stories, written by everyday people, aim to inspire, encourage and provide hope.

And he began to speak to them in parables.

Mark 12:1

Jesus knew the advantages of telling stories. Stories entertain, stimulate deep thinking and incite decisions. Christ teaching with parables also fulfilled prophecy (Matthew 13:35). And by the Savior sidestepping straightforward speech, it made it more difficult for the Jewish religious leaders of the day to accuse him. What could they charge Him of when He talked about wineskins, finding pearls and building houses?

Are you willing to dig deeper into the parables and what they mean to you? Jesus often said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15) Take a fresh look at the Lord’s parables. What do they say to you for how you want to live out this New Year? Then pray for the leaders and citizens of this country to have “ears to hear” what the Spirit is speaking to them.

Recommended Reading: Matthew 13:18-23

 

 

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Priorities

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Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. —Matthew 6:33

A man was out driving in the country during a heavy rainstorm when he came across an old farmer who was surveying the ruins of his barn. He pulled over and asked the farmer what happened.

“Roof fell in,” the farmer replied. “What happened with it? Why did it fall in?” asked the stranger.

“It leaked so long, it just finally rotted through,” the farmer said. “Why in the world didn’t you fix it before it rotted through?”

“Well, sir,” said the farmer, “I just got around to it. When the weather was good, there wasn’t a need for it. And when it rained, it was just too wet to work on.”

Isn’t it amazing that when you want to do something you somehow manage to find the time, no matter how busy you are? But when someone asks you to do something you don’t want to do, suddenly there is just no room in the schedule.

This can happen when it comes to the Christian life as well. If we are serving God only when it’s convenient, then we are settling for second best. If we make time for the things of God only when something better doesn’t come along first, then we are missing out on what God wants to do in our lives.

How much better it is to make time for the things of God — to put the things of God above everything else. How much better it is to get your priorities right. Instead of making excuses, make time for the Lord. It is not only the simple way to live, but it is also the best way.

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – King of the Mountain

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Max Lucado

King of the Mountain!  Remember playing that game as a kid? The object is to push, claw, and climb until you get to the top. Once there, you fight to hold your position. Don’t even think about sitting down. Forget enjoying the view. Slack up and you’ll be slapped down. And then you’ll have to start all over again.

As grown-ups we still play King of the Mountain, but now the stakes are higher.  The push for power has come to shove. And most of us are either pushing or being pushed.

I might point out the difference between a passion for excellence and a passion for power. The desire for excellence is a gift of God.  It’s characterized by respect for quality, a yearning to use God’s gifts in a way that pleases him. The quest for excellence is a mark of maturity. But the quest for power— it’s childish!

By the way, you don’t have to play King of the Mountain.

From The Applause of Heaven

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Conquering Your Fears

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Charles Stanley

Would you consider yourself a free person? More than likely, you would. But perhaps somewhere in the back of your mind, you wonder, Am I truly free?

We live in a country that has a rich heritage—one that is steeped in freedom and liberty. But many people are not living free lives. They are bound by invisible chains that prevent them from reaching their full potential. These shackles are made up of links that have been cast and shaped in the emotional fires of fear.

Once this deadly emotion captures a person’s heart, breaking its bond is difficult—but it can be done. Though fear’s grasp is strong, it is not greater than the power of Jesus Christ. The Savior told His disciples, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32).

How do we break free from the bondage of fear? There is only one way, and that is through faith in Christ. But before we can do this, we must come to a point where we admit that we are battling a deadly foe and need God’s help.

I’m not fearful!

The young boy leveled his eyes at his mother’s gaze and said, “I’m not afraid. I want to camp outside with my friends!” His mother softened as she thought through the situation. He would be in the fenced-in backyard, within range of her hearing his every move, and more than
likely, she would be awake—watching to make sure he and his friends were safe. And if they needed anything, they could easily come inside the house.

This is exactly what happened. Somewhere around 2 am, she heard the backdoor open and close. She got up, grabbed her robe, and hurried downstairs to check on her son. As she flipped the lights on in the kitchen, she was greeted by the sight of her boy and two of his best friends—sleeping bags in hand along with a crumbled bag of chocolate chip cookies. Sensing their embarrassment, she asked, “Son, what happened?”

“There’s something out there,” her son replied. “I don’t know what it is, but it snarled at us. We could hear it in the yard. Maybe it was a big dog, a wild fox, or even a large bear!” Trying not to smile at the thought of their imagined foes, she said, “Why don’t you just sleep in the den and go back out to the tent in the morning? I’ll make pancakes for you when you wake up.” The mood of the group immediately brightened. She didn’t bother to mention the fact that the chances of meeting up with a fox or a bear were extremely low, especially since they lived in a densely populated city.

Fear attacks without warning. It tempts us to believe things that will not or cannot happen, and often leaves us feeling helpless and without hope. Each day, we are bombarded with words and messages that have the ability to stir thoughts of fear within us. Turn on the news, and more than likely you will hear a dismal rundown on the economy and many other items that strike notes of panic in your heart.

News organizations often broadcast with the goal of creating an emotional reaction from those who watch, listen, and visit their Web sites. To increase their audience, they target people with the messages that produce the greatest response. Therefore, if the fire of fear works, the flame is turned up.

From a worldly perspective, the future may look pretty bleak, especially if you decide to calculate your situation apart from faith in Jesus Christ. The fact is, if you do this, fear will reach out and grab your heart, telling you that the worst will happen and it will be beyond anything you can imagine. Don’t buy into the Enemy’s lies. The nightly news cannot give you a complete picture of reality—certainly not from a heavenly standpoint. And remember, nothing the Devil whispers to you is based on the truth of God’s Word (John 8:44). While we are facing very serious times in our nation’s history, we are not alone. God is with us, and He is never out of control.

The apostle Paul discovered this in a fresh way during a very difficult time in his ministry. Somewhere near the end of his second missionary journey, he was staying in the city of Corinth. He had left Athens to go to Macedonia, but something happened that almost caused him to stumble in his faith. The Jews resisted his teaching to a point where they “blasphemed.” Paul was fed up with their stiff-necked ways. He declared that he would no longer go to the Jews first, but instead would preach God’s message to the Gentiles (Acts 18:5-6).

At every turn, Paul faced opposition from the Jewish leaders. On several occasions, his very life had been threatened. He was tired and likely felt alone and worn thin emotionally—vulnerable to the destruction of fear. One night as he drifted off to sleep, God’s Spirit spoke to him, saying, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10).

There we have it: one of the greatest apostles who ever lived, battling fear. But the verses that follow do not mention this again. Why? Paul changed his focus. He came face-to-face with the reality of his fear and chose to abandon it. Was this something he could do on his own? Absolutely not. There was no way he could move past the anxiety he felt without the assurance found in Jesus Christ. Once God’s Spirit spoke to his heart, the issue was settled, and Paul knew there was only one thing for him to do: complete the work God had given him.

The Enemy uses many things in an effort to distract us and prevent us from reaching our full potential—and fear is one of his choice weapons. He usually follows it with words of discouragement and accusation: “You can’t do that”; “You haven’t been trained”; “What would people think if you fail?” And that was his strategy in Corinth: Satan knew he would face ultimate defeat if Paul succeeded, so he tried to keep the apostle fearful. The Lord’s faithful promise, delivered at just the right moment, was all the encouragement Paul needed to continue preaching the truth of the gospel.

The right steps to overcoming fear

If you are going to overcome fear, the first step is to acknowledge and admit your anxiety. Confess, “Lord, I feel fearful, and I don’t know what to do. Please show me how to go forward from this point.” Next, ask God to enable you to conquer your fear. The more you understand your relationship with God, the more intimately you will relate to Him. Your level of trust will increase, and you will begin to notice the many ways He is at work in your life and circumstances.

Shortly before his death, Paul wrote an interesting word of instruction to Timothy. He reminded his young protégé, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power and love and discipline” (2 Tim. 1:7). Fear doesn’t fit who we are as believers. It usually surfaces when we have the wrong response to disappointment and trial. God wants you to be victorious, not harassed or tormented by anxiety.

Let God remove fear from your life. He may choose to do this by placing you in a frightening situation where you feel out of control. But you do not have to worry, because the One who has promised never to let you go is holding your life in His omnipotent hand.

After you have given your worries to the Lord, meditate on His Word. David understood the power that was available to him through God’s personal promises. He wrote, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; whom shall I dread? . . . My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear” (Ps. 27:1-3).

If you want to keep your confidence strong, study the Bible, apply God’s principles to your life, and walk with Him each day by faith. When you hide His Word in your heart, you will have the light of His truth to guide you—not only for your present circumstances, but also for eternity.

 

Resources About Confidence

Related Video

Confidence That Conquers

There are many people with impressive talents and skills who fail to fulfill God’s will for their lives. Why? They lack confidence. Dr. Stanley teaches us that a person’s confidence level is one of the most reliable predictors of whether or not they will succeed in life. (Watch Confidence That Conquers.)

 

 

 

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Discipline Of Waiting

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Our Daily Bread

 

READ: Psalm 40:1-3

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. —Psalm 40:1

Waiting is hard. We wait in grocery lines, in traffic, in the doctor’s office. We twiddle our thumbs, stifle our yawns, and fret inwardly in frustration. On another level, we wait for a letter that doesn’t come, for a prodigal child to return, or for a spouse to change. We wait for a child we can hold in our arms. We wait for our heart’s desire.

In Psalm 40, David says, “I waited patiently for the Lord.” The original language here suggests that David “waited and waited and waited” for God to answer his prayer. Yet as he looks back at this time of delay, he praises God. As a result, David says, God “put a new song . . . a hymn of praise” in his heart (40:3 niv).

“What a chapter can be written of God’s delays!” said F. B. Meyer. “It is the mystery of educating human spirits to the finest temper of which they are capable.” Through the discipline of waiting, we can develop the quieter virtues—submission, humility, patience, joyful endurance, persistence in well-doing—virtues that take the longest to learn.

What do we do when God seems to withhold our heart’s desire? He is able to help us to love and trust Him enough to accept the delay with joy and to see it as an opportunity to develop these virtues—and to praise Him. —David Roper

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay;
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still. —Pollard

Waiting for God is never a waste of time.

Bible in a year: Exodus 14-15; Matthew 17

 

 

 

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Great Marvels of Our God

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Alistair Begg

 
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Luke 2:18
We must not cease to wonder at the great marvels of our God. It would be very difficult to draw a line between holy wonder and real worship; for when the soul is overwhelmed with the majesty of God’s glory, though it may not express itself in song or even utter its voice with bowed head in humble prayer, yet it silently adores.

Our incarnate God is to be worshiped as “the Wonderful.” That God should consider His fallen creature, man, and instead of sweeping him away with the broom of destruction should Himself undertake to be man’s Redeemer and to pay his ransom price is indeed marvelous!

But to each believer redemption is most marvelous as he views it in relation to himself. It is a miracle of grace indeed that Jesus should forsake the thrones and royalties above to suffer ignominiously below for you. Let your soul lose itself in wonder, for wonder is in this way a very practical emotion. Holy wonder will lead you to grateful worship and heartfelt thanksgiving.

It will cause within you godly watchfulness; you will be afraid to sin against such a love as this. Feeling the presence of the mighty God in the gift of His dear Son, you will put your shoes from off your feet, because the place whereon you stand is holy ground. You will be moved at the same time to glorious hope.

If Jesus has done such marvelous things on your behalf, you will feel that heaven itself is not too great for your expectation. Who can be astonished at anything when he has once been astonished at the manger and the cross? What is there wonderful left after one has seen the Savior? Dear reader, it may be that from the quietness and solitariness of your life you are scarcely able to imitate the shepherds of Bethlehem, who told what they had seen and heard, but you can at least fill up the circle of the worshipers before the throne by wondering at what God has done.
Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Marvellous increase of the church

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CharlesSpurgeon

“Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?” Isaiah 60:8

Suggested Further Reading: Matthew 10:5-16

They were not doves by nature; they were ravens; but they are doves now. They are changed from ravens into doves, from lions into lambs. Beloved, it is very easy for you to pretend to be the children of God; but it is not easy for you to be so. The old fable of the jackdaw dressed up in peacock’s feathers often takes place now. Many a time have we seen coming to our church, a fine strutting fellow, with long feathers of prayer behind him. He could pray gloriously; and he has come strutting in, with all his majesty and pride, and said, “Surely I must come; I have everything about me; am I not rich and polite: have I not learning and talent?” In a very little while we have found him to be nothing but an old prattling jackdaw, having none of the true feathers belonging to him; by some accident one of his borrowed feathers has dropped out, and we have found him to be a hypocrite. I beseech you, do not be hypocrites. The glory of the gospel is not that it paints ravens white, and whitewashes blackbirds, but that it turns them into doves. It is the glory of our religion not that it makes a man seem what he is not, but that it makes him something else. It takes the raven and turns him into a dove; his ravenish heart becomes a dove’s heart. It is not the feathers that are changed, but the man himself. Glorious gospel, which takes a lion, and does not cut the lion’s mane off, and then cover him with a sheep’s skin, but makes him into a lamb! O church of God! these that have come like doves to their windows are trophies of regenerating grace, which has transformed them, and made them as new creatures in Christ Jesus.

For meditation: We should expect to be among wolves in the world, but beware of them when they are in the church, undetected and unconverted (Matthew 7:15).

Sermon no. 63
26 January (Preached 27 January 1856)

 

 

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Maintaining a Clear Perspective

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John MacArthur 

“I pray that . . . you may know . . . what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18).

Throughout Ephesians 1 Paul is clearly struck with the magnificence of our inheritance in Christ. Here he prays that we will know the riches of its glory.

Some commentators see “His inheritance” as a reference to believers, who are God’s inheritance or special possession (v. 14). That view stresses the value God places on us as believers, as demonstrated in Christ’s death, the forgiveness of our sins, and the abundant grace that He lavishes on us (vv. 7-8).

Others see it as referring to the believer’s inheritance, which Paul calls “His inheritance” because God is its source. Just as “His calling” (v. 18) issued from Him and was received by believers, so His inheritance issues from Him.

Both views are theologically sound but the second seems more consistent with Paul’s emphasis in verses 11 and 14. In either case Paul’s point is clear: redemption and its accompanying blessings are so profound that we must have supernatural help to understand them. That’s why he prayed for our enlightenment (v. 18).

Such enlightenment is crucial because how you perceive your spiritual resources dictates how you live. If, for example, you realize you have every resource for godly living (Eph. 1:3), you are less likely to succumb to temptation. Knowing God has given you His very best in Christ (Rom. 8:31) assures you that He won’t withhold lesser things, so you’ll not tend to worry about earthly needs. Understanding that you have already received “grace upon grace” (John 1:16), abundant life (John 10:10), and “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3) gives you confidence that God’s future grace and resources will be more than sufficient (2 Cor. 12:9).

Let that motivate you to praise your rich and glorious God for His rich and glorious inheritance!

Suggestions for Prayer:

  • § Thank God for the privilege of being His child.
  • § Memorize Ephesians 1:3 and 2 Peter 1:3 and recite them often as anthems of praise for the Lord’s abundant grace.

For Further Study:

Read 2 Corinthians 11-12

  • § What kinds of trials did Paul face?
  • § How did God respond to Paul’s prayer to remove his “thorn in the flesh”?
  • § How might Paul’s response influence you when you face difficulties?
Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – God Forgets

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Joyce meyer 

I, even I, am He Who blots out and cancels your transgressions, for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right).
—Isaiah 43:25–26

God holds nothing against you if you are sincerely sorry for what you have done in the past and are trusting in the blood of Jesus to cleanse you from your former wickedness. The minute you repent, God forgives and forgets, so why not follow His example and receive His forgiveness and forget it yourself?

A confident woman does not live in the past; she lets go of it and looks to the future. It may be that you have a decision to make right now. Maybe you failed someone, or had an abortion, or committed adultery, stole something, lied, or did any number of terrible things. But God’s question to you is, what are you going to do today? Will you live the rest of your life serving God and following His plan for you? If you are ready to make that commitment, there is nothing in your past that has enough power to hold you back.

Lord, help me to forget what You have forgotten regarding my past. I thank You that by Your grace I can let the past go and concentrate on the future. Show me Your plans for the days ahead. Amen.