Daily Archives: April 13, 2014

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – The Story of the 10 Lepers

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Charles Stanley

Bible Study: Luke 17:11-19

 

Ten leprous men stood at a distance (which the law required them to do), begging Jesus to have mercy on them. The Lord instructed them to show themselves to the priests—the health inspectors of sorts, who could pronounce the disease healed or not (Lev. 14:7). Ironically—even surprisingly—Jesus didn’t heal them on the spot.

They were being invited to exercise faith, as none were yet “clean.” Picture these lepers, hobbling, limping, some with decaying limbs and rotting skin, going to show the priests that their leprous bodies had been healed—when they weren’t yet. That’s why it’s called faith. But as they obeyed, the hobbling and limping became less noticeable, and their skin started to renew itself, as the power of the living God marvelously regenerated their bodies.

Jesus wanted them to personally experience faith, which is an invitation to join God in a miracle. We step out in faith, and He meets us. Yet only one leper, when he realized he had been entirely healed, was so overcome with joy that he rushed back to thank Jesus. Only one. And it was a Samaritan. Jesus tells the man, “Your faith has made you well.”

An invitation.

An acceptance.

Salvation of body and soul.

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. Most of Jesus’ healings were instantaneous, but that wasn’t the case with the 10 lepers. How did the delayed cure build their faith in Him? How might your faith be stretched or strengthened if you aren’t healed right away?

2. Though 10 men were healed, only one returned to give thanks. How many times over the last year has God answered a prayer of yours or given you some good thing? How have you returned to Him in gratitude?

3. Jesus sent still-leprous men to report to priests that they’d been healed. Scripture

tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). Can you remember a time when you had to step out in faith and God met you there? In which areas is He currently asking you to walk by faith?

 

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Determination

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Our Daily Bread

Ruth 1:6,11-18;

Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. —Ruth 1:16

During a television news report on the plight of refugees displaced from a war-torn country, I was struck by the words of a 10-year-old girl. Despite there being little possibility of returning to their home, she showed a resilient spirit: “When we go back, I’m going to visit my neighbors; I’m going to play with my friends,” she said with quiet determination. “My father says we don’t have a house. And I said we are going to fix it.”

There is a place for tenacity in life, especially when it is rooted in our faith in God and love for others. The book of Ruth begins with three women bound together by tragedy. After Naomi’s husband and two sons died, she decided to return to her home in Bethlehem and urged her widowed daughters-in-law to stay in their country of Moab. Orpah remained but Ruth vowed to go with Naomi, saying, “Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God” (Ruth 1:16). When Naomi saw that Ruth “was determined to go with her” (v.18), they began their journey together.

Stubbornness is sometimes rooted in pride, but commitment grows from love. When Jesus went to the cross, “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). From His determination to die for us, we find the resolve to live for Him. —David McCasland

My life, my love, I give to Thee,

Thou Lamb of God who died for me;

Oh, may I ever faithful be,

My Savior and my God! —Hudson

Love calls for commitment.

Bible in a year: 1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg  – He Was Made Sin

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Alistair Begg

He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.

Leviticus 1:4

Our Lord’s being “made . . . sin”2 for us is pictured here by the very significant transfer of sin to the bullock, which was done by the elders of the people. The laying of the hand was not a mere touch of contact, for in some other places of Scripture the original word has the meaning of leaning heavily, as in the expression, “Your wrath lies heavy upon me” (Psalm 88:7).

Surely this is the very essence and nature of faith, which not only brings us into contact with the great Substitute, but also teaches us to lean upon Him with all the burden of our guilt. Jehovah made all the offenses of His covenant people rest upon the Substitute, and each one of the chosen is brought personally to confirm this solemn covenant act, when by grace he is enabled by faith to lay his hand upon the head of the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.

Believer, do you remember that wonderful day when you first realized pardon through Jesus the sin-bearer? Can you make a glad confession and join with the writer in saying, “My soul recalls the day of deliverance with delight. Burdened with guilt and full of fears, I saw my Savior as my Substitute, and I laid my hand upon Him—timidly at first, but courage grew and confidence was confirmed until I leaned my soul entirely upon Him. And now it is my unceasing joy to know that my sins are no longer imputed to me but are laid on Him. Like the debts of the wounded traveler, Jesus, like the good Samaritan, has said of all my future sinfulness, ‘Set that to My account.'”

Blessed discovery! Eternal solace of a grateful heart!

My numerous sins transferr’d to Him,

Shall never more be found,

Lost in His blood’s atoning stream,

Where every crime is drown’d!

22 Corinthians 5:21

Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth For Life with written permission.

The family reading plan for  April 13, 2014  Proverbs 31 | 1 Timothy 2

 

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon –  A willing people and an immutable leader

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“Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.” Psalm 110:3

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Kings 19:9-18

Christ shall always have a people. In the darkest ages Christ has always had a church; and if darker times shall come, he will have his church still. Oh! Elijah, thy unbelief is foolish. Thou sayest, “I, only I, am left alone, and they seek my life.” No, Elijah, in those caves of the earth God has his prophets, hidden by seventies. Thou too, poor unbelieving Christian, at times thou sayest, “I, even I, am left.” Oh! If thou hadst eyes to see, if thou couldst travel a little, thy heart would be glad to find that God does not lack a people. It cheers my heart to find that God has a family everywhere. We do not go anywhere but we find really earnest hearts—men full of prayer. I bless God that I can say, concerning the church wherever I have been, though they are not many, there are a few, who sigh and groan over the sorrows of Israel. There are chosen bands in every church, thoroughly earnest men who are looking out for, and are ready to receive their Master, who cry to God that he would send them times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Do not be too sad; God has a people, and they are willing now; and when the day of God’s power shall come, there is no fear about the people. Religion may be at a low ebb, but it never was at such a low ebb that God’s ship was stranded. It may be ever so low, but the devil shall never be able to cross the river of Christ’s church dry shod. He shall always find abundance of water running in the channel. God grant us grace to look out for his people, believing that there are some everywhere, for the promise is, “thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.”

For meditation: Do you feel one of the few? God’s people may be nearer and more numerous than you imagine (Acts 18:9,10); even when we are very few, Christ is nearer than we sometimes imagine (Matthew 18:20).

Sermon no. 74

13 April (1856)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Being Filled with Mercy

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John MacArthur

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy” (Matt. 5:7).

Like the other beatitudes, Matthew 5:7 contains a twofold message: to enter the kingdom you must seek mercy. Once there, you must show mercy to others.

The thought of showing mercy probably surprised Christ’s audience because both the Jews and the Romans tended to be merciless. The Romans exalted justice, courage, discipline, and power. To them mercy was a sign of weakness. For example, if a Roman father wanted his newborn child to live, he simply held his thumb up; if he wanted it to die, he held his thumb down.

Jesus repeatedly rebuked the Jewish religious leaders for their egotistical, self-righteous, and condemning attitudes. They were intolerant of anyone who failed to live by their traditions. They even withheld financial support from their own needy parents (Matt. 15:3-9).

Like the people of Jesus’ time, many people today also lack mercy. Some are outright cruel and unkind, but most are so consumed with their quest for self-gratification that they simply neglect others.

Christians, on the other hand, should be characterized by mercy. In fact, James used mercy to illustrate true faith: “What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself” (James 2:14- 17). He also said mercy is characteristic of godly wisdom: “The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy” (3:17).

As one who has received mercy from God, let mercy be the hallmark of your life.

Suggestions for Prayer:

•             Thank God for His great mercy.

•             Ask Him to give you opportunities to show mercy to others today.

For Further Study:

Read Luke 10:25-37.

•             Who questioned Jesus and what was his motive?

•             What characteristics of mercy were demonstrated by the Samaritan traveler?

•             What challenge did Jesus give His hearer? Are you willing to meet that challenge?

 

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Sufficient Grace

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Joyce meyer

My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness.—2 Corinthians 12:9

Do you ever wonder why God does not always deliver you from your bondage and problems immediately? The reason is because only the Lord knows everything that needs to be done in the lives of His children—and the perfect timing for it to be done.

You are not always delivered from your distress at the precise moment you call on the name of the Lord. Sometimes you must endure for a while, be patient and continue in faith. Thank God, during those times in which the Lord decides for whatever reason not to deliver you right away, He always gives the grace and strength you need to press on toward eventual victory.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Inner Strengthening

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dr_bright

“That out of His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you the mighty inner strengthening of His Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 3:16).

In Christ are all the attributes and characteristics promised to His children as the fruit of the Spirit. And the Holy Spirit was given to glorify Christ.

Do you need love?

The Lord Jesus Christ is the incarnation of love. Paul prays that our roots may “go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep and how high His love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves (though it is so great that you will never see the end of it, or fully know or understand it”) (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Do you need peace?

Christ is the “Prince of Peace.” “I am leaving you with a gift,” said Jesus, “peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives” (John 14:27).

Do you need joy?

Christ is joy.

Do you need patience?

Christ is patience.

Do you need wisdom?

Christ is wisdom.

Are you in need of material possessions so that you can better serve Christ?

They are available in Him, for God owns “the cattle on a thousand hills,” and He promised to supply all our needs (Philippians 4:19).

All that we need is to be found in Christ and nowhere else. The supernatural life is Christ, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Bible Reading: Ephesians 3:17-21

TODAY’S ACTION POINT:  Knowing that God’s unlimited resources make possible the mighty inner strengthening in my life, I shall focus my attention upon Him through reading His inspired Word and obeying His commands.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; C.H. –  Keep Shouting

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ppt_seal01

Thousands of frenzied fans made it almost impossible for the Beatles to get inside their venue whenever they came to town. Screaming admirers went to great lengths for even a glimpse of the Fab Four. When musical acts opened for the group, the volume of the audience was so great the bands couldn’t be heard. When you are passionate about something, you can’t help but share your excitement with others.

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!

Luke 19:38

In today’s verse, Jesus’ triumphal entry was also an exciting moment. He rode in on a donkey while onlookers laid their coats and palm branches on the ground in front of Him and screamed praises. When the Pharisees told Christ to quiet His followers, He told them, “If these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” (Luke 19:40) Now imagine the throngs of people joined together in worship at Jesus Second Coming, and the shouts of exultation that glorious day.

Rejoice! Give thanks this Palm Sunday for the one and only Son of God. Read today’s verse out loud as a praise to your King. Ask God to strengthen your witness as you lead others to become disciples of Christ. Then pray for your nation and its leaders to turn to God before Jesus returns.

Recommended Reading: Psalm 95:1-7