Daily Archives: March 1, 2014

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Matter of Life and Death

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Charles Stanley

Romans 5:6-19

There’s a issue of supreme importance that we often forget about in the busyness of life and the daily challenges of relationships. It is the question of where people will spend eternity.

Looking at the human race from a divine viewpoint, we understand that at the end of time, there will be two groups: those who will live forever with God and those who will experience eternal death, separated from Him. Every living person’s final destination will hinge on the simplicity of receiving God’s forgiveness for his or her sins.

Nobody—saved or unsaved—deserves God’s mercy. No amount of good deeds, religious activity, or church attendance can earn the free gift of forgiveness and eternal relationship with our Maker. From the kindest to the cruelest, we each inherited the sinful nature of “the first Adam,” who was the first man to know the Lord and also the first to rebel against Him.

Without God’s gift of grace—namely, a new spirit, made possible by Jesus’ substitutionary death and resurrection—we could never be washed and made clean. Through a simple act of faith, we receive God’s offer of total pardon and a completely new spiritual nature.

Everyone is born into the world with a “flesh” nature bent away from God, (Rom. 8:7-8), and spiritual death can be avoided only through Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that He offers. Have you received Him as your personal Savior? If not, pray right now, sincerely asking for salvation. God wants you to receive His free gift of eternal life, perfect righteousness, and adoption into His family.

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Sunrise

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Our Daily Bread

Exodus 3:1-12

Then Moses said, “I will now turn aside and see this great sight.” —Exodus 3:3

There was a magnificent sunrise this morning, but I was too busy to enjoy it. I turned away and became preoccupied with other things. I thought about that sunrise a few moments ago, and I realize I lost an opportunity for worship this morning.

In the midst of the busyness and stresses of our days, there are patches of beauty all around us, glimpses of God’s goodness that we catch here and there along the way. These are the places in the walls of the universe where heaven is breaking through—if only we will take the time to stop and to reflect upon God’s love for us.

What if Moses had taken only a fleeting glance at the bush that was burning but “was not consumed”? (Ex. 3:2). What if he had ignored it and hurried on to other things? (He had those sheep to take care of, you know, and important work to do.) He would have missed an epic, life-changing encounter with the living God (vv.4-12).

Sometimes in life we must hurry. But overall, life should be less hurrying and more noticing. Life is the present. Life is being aware; it is seeing God’s love breaking through. It is turning aside to the miracle of something like a sunrise. Something transitory, yet symbolic of the eternity that awaits us. —David Roper

Open my eyes, that I may see

Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;

Place in my hands the wonderful key

That shall unclasp and set me free. —Scott

Lord, open our eyes that we may see.

Bible in a year: Numbers 23-25; Mark 7:14-37

Insight

Psalm 119, the longest “chapter” in the Bible, is David’s great anthem about the Word of God. In it, he calls us to honor that Word in order to honor God. He has given us His Word so that we might know Him.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Preciousness of Jesus

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Alistair Begg

Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious.

1 Peter 2:6

As all the rivers run into the sea, so all delights center in the Lord Jesus. The glances of His eyes outshine the sun: the beauties of His face are fairer than the choicest flowers; no fragrance is like the breath of His mouth. Gems of the mine and pearls from the sea are worthless things when measured by His preciousness.

Peter tells us that Jesus is precious, but he did not and could not tell us how precious, nor could any of us compute the value of God’s unspeakable gift. Words cannot convey the preciousness of the Lord Jesus to His people, nor fully tell how essential He is to their satisfaction and happiness.

Believer, have you not found in the occasion of plenty a sore famine if your Lord has been absent? The sun was shining, but Christ had hidden Himself, and all the world was dark to you; or it was night, and since the bright and morning star was gone, no other star could yield you so much as a ray of light. What a howling wilderness is this world without our Lord! If once He hides Himself from us, withered are the flowers of our garden; our pleasant fruits decay; the birds suspend their songs, and a tempest overturns our hopes. All earth’s candles cannot make daylight if the Sun of Righteousness be eclipsed. He is the soul of our soul, the light of our light, the life of our life.

Dear reader, what would you do in the world without Him when you wake up and look ahead to the day’s battle? What would you do at night when you come home jaded and weary if there were no door of fellowship between you and Christ? Blessed be His name, He will not leave us to face the struggle without Him, for Jesus never forsakes His own. Yet, let the thought of what life would be without Him enhance His preciousness.

The family reading plan for March 1, 2014 Job 30 | 1 Corinthians 16

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Rahab’s faith

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“By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.” Hebrews 11:31

Suggested Further Reading: James 2:18-26

Rahab’s faith was a sanctifying faith. Did Rahab continue a harlot after she had faith? No, she did not. I do not believe she was a harlot at the time the men went to her house, though the name still stuck to her, as such ill names will; but I am sure she was not afterwards, for Salmon the prince of Judah married her, and her name is put down among the ancestors of our Lord Jesus Christ. She became after that a woman eminent for piety, walking in the fear of God. Now, you may have a dead faith which will ruin your soul. The faith that will save you is a faith which sanctifies. “Ah!” says the drunkard, “I like the gospel, sir; I believe in Christ:” then he will go over to the Blue Lion tonight, and get drunk. Sir, that is not the believing in Christ that is of any use. “Yes,” says another, “I believe in Christ;” and when he gets outside he will begin to talk lightly, frothy words, perhaps lascivious ones, and sin as before. Sir, you speak falsely; you do not believe in Christ. That faith which saves the soul is a real faith, and a real faith sanctifies men. It makes them say, “Lord, thou hast forgiven me my sins; I will sin no more. Thou hast been so merciful to me, I will renounce my guilt; so kindly hast thou treated me, so lovingly hast thou embraced me, Lord, I will serve thee till I die; and if thou wilt give me grace, and help me so to be, I will be as holy as thou art.” You cannot have faith, and yet live in sin. To believe is to be holy. The two things must go together. That faith is a dead faith, a corrupt faith, a rotten faith, which lives in sin that grace may abound. Rahab was a sanctified woman.

For meditation: Faith has to be seen to be believed (Joshua 2:17-21).

Sermon no. 119

1 March (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Unceasing Prayer

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John MacArthur

“Pray at all times in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18).

Prayer is communication with God, and like all communication, it can be developed to maximum efficiency or allowed to languish. Which you choose will determine the quality of your spiritual life.

Ironically, the freedom of worship we enjoy in our society and our high standard of living make it easy to become complacent about prayer and presume on God’s grace. Consequently, many who say they trust in God actually live as if they don’t need Him at all. Such neglect is sinful and leads to spiritual disaster.

Jesus taught that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1, KJV). “Faint” speaks of giving in to evil or becoming weary or cowardly. Paul added that we should pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and petition, and “be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Eph. 6:18).

First Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” That doesn’t mean to do nothing but pray. It simply means living in a constant state of God-consciousness. If you see a beautiful sunrise or a bouquet of flowers, your first response is to thank God for the beauty of His creation. If you see someone in distress, you intercede on his or her behalf. You see every experience of life in relation to God.

God wants you to be diligent and faithful in prayer. With that goal in mind we will devote this month to a study of prayer from two texts: Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9:1-19, and the disciples’ prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. Both are models of majestic, effective prayer.

As we study those passages together, be aware of your own pattern of prayer. Examine it carefully for strengths and weaknesses. Be prepared to make any necessary changes.

Suggestions for Prayer:

Thank God for the privilege of communing with Him in prayer.

Ask Him to reveal any areas in your praying that need to be strengthened.

For Further Study: Read Daniel 9:1-19.

What prompted Daniel’s prayer?

What was Daniel’s attitude toward God? Toward himself and his people?

What did Daniel request?

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – You Are One of a Kind!

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Joyce meyer

The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own [distinctive] way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.—1 Corinthians 15:41

We are all different. Like the sun, the moon and the stars, God has created us to be different from one another; and He has done it on purpose. Each of us meets a need, and we are all part of God’s overall plan. When we struggle to be like others, not only do we lose ourselves, but we also grieve the Holy Spirit. God wants us to fit into His plan, not to feel pressured trying to fit into everyone else’s plans. Different is OK; it is all right to be different.

We are all born with different temperaments, different physical features, different fingerprints, different gifts and abilities, etc. Our goal should be to find out what we individually are supposed to be, and then succeed at being that. Romans 12 teaches us that we are to give ourselves to our gift. In other words, we are to find out what we are good at and then throw ourselves wholeheartedly into it.

I have discovered that I enjoy doing what I am good at doing. Some people feel they are not good at anything but that is not true. When we make an effort to do what others are good at doing, we often fail because we are not gifted for those things. But that does not mean we are good at nothing. We all have limitations and we must accept them.

That is not bad; it is just a fact. It is wonderful to be free to be different, not to feel that something is wrong with us because we are different.

We should be free to love and accept ourselves and one another without feeling pressure to compare or compete. Secure people who know God loves them and has a plan for them are not threatened by the abilities of others. They enjoy what other people can do and they enjoy what they can do. When I stand before God, He will not ask me why I wasn’t like Dave, or the Apostle Paul, or my pastor’s wife, or my friend. I don’t want to hear Him say to me, “Why weren’t you Joyce Meyer?” I want to hear Him say, Well done, good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23 KJV).

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – We Hear His Voice

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dr_bright

“My sheep recognize My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them away from Me, for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else, so no one can kidnap them from Me. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).

Are you one of God’s “sheep”? Do you know for sure that you are a child of God? Do you have any question about your salvation? How do you know that Christ is in your life and that you have eternal life and that no one can take you away from our Lord? What is the basis of your assurance?

Frequently, one hears a Christian share the dramatic testimony of how Christ changed his life from years of drug addiction, gross immorality or some other distressing problem. On the other hand, there are many, like myself, who have knelt quietly in the privacy of the home, at a mountain retreat, or in a church sanctuary, and there received Christ into their lives with no dramatic emotional experience at that time of decision. Both are valid, authentic ways to come to Christ.

The apostle Paul had a dramatic conversion experience. However, Timothy, his son in the faith, had learned of Christ from his mother and grandmother in his early youth. The important thing is not how you met Christ, but the assurance that you are a child of God, your sins have been forgiven and you have eternal life. It is not presumptuous or arrogant to say that you know these things to be true, because God’s Word says so (1 John 5:11-13): “And what is it that God has said? That He has given us eternal life, and that this life is in His Son. So whoever has God’s Son has life; whoever does not have His Son, does not have life. I have written this to you who believe in the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.”

Bible Reading: John 10:22-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: As one of God’s sheep, I will ask the Holy Spirit to help me be more sensitive and alert to the voice of my Savior, in order that I may follow Him more closely and always obey Him, and especially that I may be sensitive to what He would have me say to those around me who are in need of His love and forgiveness.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Prison Preacher

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John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was in jail from age 32 to 44. His crime? Preaching as a “nonconformist.” English prisons in the seventeenth century were dreadful places, and in addition to his own suffering Bunyan had to worry about providing for his wife and children. From his cell, Bunyan made shoelaces…thousands of them. And while he could have been released by simply agreeing to conform, Bunyan would not dishonor his faith or his family, vowing that since God had commanded him to preach, he would stay in prison until “the moss grew on his eyelids.”

Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this life.

Acts 5:20

Are you speaking words of life to others? Many, like John Bunyan, have suffered and sacrificed so that you might have that right. Don’t take it for granted! As you pray for America’s leaders today, ask God to give you the opportunity and wisdom to communicate His truth to the world – including your political representatives, friends, co-workers and loved ones.

As you do, you will discover, as Bunyan did, that real freedom may be found by standing firm in your faith.

Recommended Reading: II Thessalonians 2:13-17  Click to Read or Listen

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Just Pray

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greglaurie

I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. —1 Timothy 1:8

Three ministers were debating the best posture for prayer. One claimed the best way to pray is to always have your hands pressed together and pointing upward. The second insisted the best way to pray is on your knees, while the third was convinced the best way to pray is stretched out on the floor, flat on your face.

As they were debating, a repairman from the telephone company overheard their conversation while he was working in the next room. He walked in and said, “Excuse me, gentlemen. I don’t mean to interrupt, and I am certainly no theologian. But I have found that the most powerful prayer I have ever prayed was when I was dangling upside down from a power pole, suspended forty feet above the ground.”

When we look at instances of prayer in the Bible, we discover that any posture will do. People prayed while standing, lifting their hands, sitting, lying down, kneeling, lifting their eyes, bowing, and pounding their chest.

We also see that any place will do. People prayed during battle, in a cave, in a closet, in a garden, on a mountainside, by a river, in the sea, in the street, in a home, in bed, in prison, in the wilderness, and in the belly of a great fish. So any place will do.

Last, we find that any time will do. People prayed early in the morning, in the mid-morning, in the evening, three times a day, before meals, after meals, at bedtime, and at midnight. Both day and night are good times for prayer. Isn’t that great to know? You can pray anytime, anyplace, and in any posture. So just pray.