Daily Archives: July 24, 2014

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – God’s Perfect Love

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Charles Stanley

1 John 4:7-9

We were created to be members of God’s family and recipients of His perfect love. In fact, through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus, He demonstrated just how much He loves us.

When we receive Christ as our Savior, we become children of God and experience His unconditional love. Divine affection for us does not vary in quality or quantity. It will never end or even diminish. No circumstance can cause the Lord to stop loving us. Several stories in the New Testament exemplify this:

  • Consider the Roman centurion who asked Jesus to heal his servant. Was the soldier’s request ignored because he wasn’t one of God’s chosen people—the Jews? No. Seeing the man’s genuine faith, the Lord granted his request out of love for him (Luke 7:2-10).
  • Jesus extended forgiveness to the thief on the cross, who placed his faith in Christ (23:39-43).
  • Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus was convinced that Jesus was not the promised Messiah and His followers must be stopped. To that end, the future apostle Paul persecuted the Christian Jews and uttered murderous threats against the church. God’s love did not even skip over one so violently opposed to His children. On the road to Damascus, the Lord appeared to him with an offer of salvation and gave him a great work to do—evangelizing the Gentile world (Acts 9:15).

The human mind cannot fully comprehend divine love. In Christ, thieves, persecutors, and those who may look like outsiders are all equally loved.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — He Calls The Stars By Name

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Our Daily Bread

Psalm 147:1-9

He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. —Psalm 147:4

On a plateau high above the Atacama Desert in Chile, the world’s largest radio telescope is giving astronomers a view of the universe never seen before. In an Associated Press article, Luis Andres Henao spoke of scientists from many countries “looking for clues about the dawn of the cosmos—from the coldest gases and dust where galaxies are formed and stars are born to the energy produced by the Big Bang.”

The Bible celebrates the mighty power and infinite understanding of God who “counts the number of the stars” and “calls them all by name” (Ps. 147:4). Yet the Creator of the universe is not a remote, uncaring force, but a loving heavenly Father who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (v.3). “The LORD lifts up the humble” (v.6) and “takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy” (v.11).

He loves us so much that “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

British author J. B. Phillips called Earth “the visited planet,” where the Prince of Glory is still working out His plan.

Our hope for today and forever lies in the loving mercy of God who calls each star by name. —David McCasland

The God who made the firmament,

Who made the deepest sea,

The God who put the stars in place

Is the God who cares for me. —Berg

God, who knows the name of every star, knows all our names as well.

Bible in a year: Psalms 35-36; Acts 25

Insight

The book of Psalms concludes with five hymns of praise (Psalms 146–150) that begin and end with the refrain, “Praise the LORD!” (Hebrew, Hallelujah). In Psalm 147, the psalmist calls for grateful worship (vv.1,7) as he reflects on the goodness of God to Israel (vv.2-3,6) and on His greatness in creation (vv.4-5,8-9). The psalmist celebrates God’s loving faithfulness in caring and blessing His chosen people individually (vv.2-3,7) and in displaying His mighty power in creating and sustaining His creation generally (vv.4-5,8-9). Focusing not only on God’s greatness but also on His closeness, goodness, and kindness, the psalmist affirms that it is God alone who provides security and prosperity (vv.13-14).

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias Ministry – The Book of Nature

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Ravi Z

“Day after day pours forth speech,” says the psalmist of nature’s glory. “Night after night reveals his greatness.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Stuart McAllister is regional director for the Americas at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – Consider God’s Mightiness

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Alistair Begg

His camp is exceedingly great. Joel 2:11

Consider, my soul, the mightiness of the Lord who is your glory and defense. He is a man of war; Jehovah is His name. All the forces of heaven are at His command; legions wait at His door; cherubim and seraphim, watchers and holy ones, principalities and powers are all attentive to His will. If our eyes were not blinded by the dust of sin, we should see horses of fire and chariots of fire round about the Lord’s servants. The powers of nature are all subject to the absolute control of the Creator: Stormy wind and tempest, lightning and rain, snow and hail, and the soft dews and cheering sunshine come and go at His decree.

The bands of Orion He looses, and He binds the sweet influences of the Pleiades.1 Earth, sea, and air and the places under the earth are the barracks for Jehovah’s great armies; space is His camping ground, light is His banner, and flame is His sword. When He goes forth to war, famine ravages the land, pestilence smites the nations, hurricane sweeps the sea, tornado shakes the mountains, and earthquake makes the solid world to tremble.

As for animate creatures, they all own His dominion, and from the great fish that swallowed the prophet down to “all manner of flies,” which plagued the field of Zoan,2 all are His servants, and even the caterpillars and the worms are squadrons of His great army, for His camp is very great. My soul, see to it that you are at peace with this mighty King. Be sure to enlist under His banner, for to war against Him is madness, and to serve Him is glory.

Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, is ready to receive recruits for the army of the Lord: If I am not already enlisted, let me go to Him before I sleep and beg to be accepted through His merits; and if I be already, as I hope I am, a soldier of the cross, let me be of good courage, for the enemy is powerless compared with my Lord, whose camp is very great.

1) Job 38:31  2) Psalm 78:43-45

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The family reading plan for July 24, 2014 * Jeremiah 20 * Mark 6

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Inheriting Heaven or Hell

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John MacArthur

“[God] caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3).

We have seen several aspects of the believer’s inheritance, and will see more in future days. But realize that unbelievers also will receive an inheritance, for Jesus will say to them, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. . . . And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:41, 46).

Only Christians have eternal life and a royal inheritance. When you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you became a new creation in Christ and your life began to center on Him rather than yourself. The Holy Spirit indwelt you and began to transform your attitudes and actions. That’s the new birth! It’s like starting all over again, only this time you’re pursuing God’s glory rather than worldly pleasures or goals.

Also, when you were saved you became an heir of God and a fellow heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17). So the new birth was the means of your salvation and your eternal inheritance.

Having said that, I must admonish you, just as Paul admonished the Corinthians, to “test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?” (2 Cor. 13:5). You never want to be deluded about your relationship with Christ. When you trust in the living Lord, you have a living hope and a glorious eternal inheritance. Anything less results in an inheritance of eternal damnation.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies” (John 11:25). Be sure your faith is firmly fixed on Him.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Pray for family and friends who don’t know Christ. Ask the Lord to redeem them so He will be glorified, and they will become joint heirs with Christ.

For Further Study: What do these verses teach about the new birth: John 1:12- 13, John 3:3, and 1 Peter 1:23?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Rest in the Gift

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Joyce meyer

While the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered [today], let us be afraid [to distrust it], lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of [reaching] it. —Hebrews 4:1

When I teach on righteousness, I like to use the following illustration, and I ask you to give it a try. Sit in a chair, then try to sit in the chair. I know that sounds silly, because you are already sitting in the chair. Once you are in the chair, you cannot get into it any more than you already are.

The same idea applies to righteousness. Jesus has made us right with God through His sacrifice and we cannot do anything to make ourselves more righteous than He has made us. Our behavior can improve, but not until we fully accept our righteousness through Jesus. Jesus puts us in the seat of righteousness and we need to learn to relax and stop trying to be what we already are. No amount of right actions can ever make us right with God apart from Christ.

Affirming this, the apostle Paul prayed that he would be found and known as being in Christ, having no righteousness of his own, but only that right standing that comes through faith in Christ (see Philippians 3:9).

When we truly understand that we cannot do anything to make ourselves righteous and that we do not have to prove anything to God, we are able to rest in the gift of righteousness Jesus gives to us—and that will make us bold in our petitions and confident in God’s desire to answer us. I know that God does not hear or answer my prayers because I am good; He hears and answers because He is good!

God’s word for you today: Love who you are because God created you with His own hand.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Can’t Keep on Sinning

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dr_bright

“The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning, because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him – he has been born again” (1 John 3:9).

I am sobered by the very thought that, having served the Lord for more than 30 exciting, wonderful, fruitful years, I might yet dishonor His name and bring disgrace to His cause. I know what has happened to other brothers and sisters in Christ – some of whom had apparently at one time been Spirit- filled Christian leaders, and I know that I too could fail the Lord if I do not continue to trust and obey Him. Even the apostle Paul lived in reverential fear that he might dishonor the name and cause of our Lord.

“So be careful. If you are thinking, ‘Oh, I would never behave like that,’ let this be a warning to you. For you too may fall into sin. But remember this: The wrong desires that come into your life aren’t anything new and different. Many others have faced exactly the same problems before you. And no temptation is irresistible.

“You can trust God to keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it, for He has promised this and will do what He says. He will show you how to escape temptation’s power so that you can bear up patiently against it” (1 Corinthians 10:12,13).

For many years it has been my prayer, as I pray on the offensive, “Oh, God, if there is a possibility that I may dishonor or disgrace Your name by becoming involved in a moral, financial or any other kind of scandal that you would discredit my ministry and nullify my love and witness for You, I would rather You take my life first before such a thing could happen.”

The Scripture warns all believers that any one of them, too, could fall. No one reaches the place of spiritual maturity or perfection where he can say, “I don’t need the Lord’s help anymore.” The only one who can enable us to live victorious lives is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

Bible Reading: I John 2:21-29

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: At the very first sign of yielding to Satan in any way, large or small, I will remind the Lord of my utter dependence on Him and I will claim by faith His power to live a supernatural life.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Purposely Follow

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ppt_seal01

The Founding Fathers of the United States understood the intense responsibility they had in establishing a government for a new nation. Faith in God and His leading determined their actions. Thomas Jefferson penned these words within the Declaration of Independence: “With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”

By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established.

Proverbs 24:3

Even before convening with the Continental Congress, Benjamin Franklin wrote an essay in 1757 in which he advised, “Do not depend too much upon your own industry and frugality…for they may all be blasted without the blessing of Heaven.” In his autobiography, Franklin wrote that his daily prayers began with these words: “Bountiful Father! Merciful Guide! Increase in me that wisdom.” For many of the Founders, Bible reading was a part of their daily lives. They stood in awe of the Lord. They purposefully followed His guidelines to establish the best government for a free people.

Be encouraged in these difficult times to study Scripture. Pray for wisdom and discernment. Intercede for government leaders that they might know the One who guides. Then they will understand what is God’s best for this country.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 1:11-21

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Accepted     

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greglaurie

He made us accepted in the Beloved. —Ephesians 1:6

All that God has done has been because of His grace, which means “unmerited favor.” You aren’t merely forgiven, justified, and cleansed of your sins; you have been received in love by God Himself. This is because of His deep love for His own Son, Jesus. Because His Son lives in you, you have found His favor. You have the approval of God because of what Jesus has done.

Some people have been raised in homes in which their father may have never demonstrated any kind of love toward them. Maybe he was cold and distant. Or maybe they, like me, were raised in a home where there wasn’t a father at all. We can transfer those emotions to God the Father. We can walk around in life feeling as though we don’t have the approval of God: If I just did this, God would notice. If worked a little harder, then God would love me.

God approves of you. You are “accepted in the Beloved” — not because you read your Bible a little bit longer, share Christ with more people, or give a little more in the offering. You are still accepted even when you don’t do all of that. You are accepted in the Beloved when you fail, when you trip up. You are accepted in the Beloved not because of what you have done, but because of what He has done.

In understanding this great truth, however, you should want to do everything for His glory—not to earn His approval, but because you already have it.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Max Lucado

Max Lucado – Look Inside Yourself

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Max Lucado

When my daughter Jenna was six years old, I discovered her standing in front of a full-length mirror looking down her throat. I asked her what she was doing and she answered, “I’m looking to see if God is in my heart.”  I chuckled and turned then overheard her ask Him, “Are you in there?”

She was asking the right question. “Are you in there?” It wasn’t enough for you to appear in a bush or dwell in the temple? It wasn’t enough for you to become human flesh and walk on the earth? You had to go further? You had to take up residence in us?

Paul wrote, “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?” (I Corinthians 6:19). Perhaps you didn’t. If not, thanks for letting me remind you. The world says look inside yourself and find self. God says look inside yourself and find God.

From When God Whispers Your Name

Encouragement for Today

Encouragement Today – What to Say When You Don’t Know What to Say

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Lysa Terkeurst

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” Philippians 4:13-14 (NIV, 1984)

I don’t understand some things that happen in life. When one of the most vivacious, fun-loving, beautiful, determined-to-tell-the-world-about-Jesus women I knew found out her cancer was back, my heart broke.

Short of a miraculous healing from God, Brenda wouldn’t make it through the end of the year.

One afternoon, I sat with Brenda talking and processing her reality. At one point she got very quiet. It was as if she could see things I couldn’t. After a few minutes of silent reflection, she leaned over and whispered, “I know in my heart I’m not going to be here much longer. And I need to know my girls will be okay. They need godly women to walk with them, speak into them and guide them into the future God has for them.”

With tears streaming down my face, I committed to being one of those women.

A few weeks later, Brenda’s feeling was confirmed as she let go of her family’s hand and walked into glory.

Paige and Philecia were 19 and 14 years old, the same ages as my oldest and youngest daughters. I had no idea how to do this right. I didn’t have a game plan or a degree in grief counseling. My schedule was crazy. My own kids made me question my sanity some days. And I was so hyperaware of all the many ways I’m flawed. But one thing I knew I could do — be a female voice that whispered often into their lives, “I love you.”

Uttering three simple words into the deep grief of two brokenhearted little girls didn’t seem like much, but God used it in profound ways.

I couldn’t take away their pain. But I could bring joy in the midst of it.

I whispered “I love you” at simple, everyday dinners at my house. I wrote “I love you” on the tops of their birthday gifts and Christmas morning surprises. I texted it when I invited them for afternoon coffee and movie dates. Nothing about it was organized or done perfectly. But just the effort seemed to be what mattered most.

And bit by bit, day by day, love is helping us all figure out this hard time together.

I wonder if you have a friend going through a really tough time. Have you wrestled like I did with not knowing what to say? Being afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing? I understand.

But I’ve learned it’s better to risk doing it wrong than to do nothing at all. A simple “I love you” said or written in conjunction with meeting a practical need is a great place to start.

In May, the girls celebrated their first Mother’s Day without Brenda. I knew they would need an “I love you” to help ease the ache of this day. So, I invited their family to join mine for dinner that night.

Halfway through the meal, I wished I had thought in advance of some wonderfully profound words to share to honor Brenda. But right as I was lamenting not being better prepared for this moment, Paige pulled out a framed letter they’d written to me. In honor of Brenda, they’d decided to give me a gift they knew she would have loved … a gold cross necklace.

I was crying so hard I could barely read their letter. But since then, I’ve read it many times. It sits on my bedside table as a reminder of how powerful love is. In the letter they included one of Brenda’s favorite verses, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” (Philippians 4:13). Interestingly enough, the very next verse reads, “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles” (v.14).

Yes, it is good to share in each other’s troubles. And so, with a willing but very imperfect heart, I will keep whispering “I love you” into the lives of Brenda’s beautiful girls.

I still don’t understand why this happened. And I don’t always know the right things to say in response to deep grief. But I do know love is a beautiful thing to bring into the gap of all the unknowns.

Dear Lord, thank You for showing me the power of Your great love. Help me to be a reflection of Your love to the ones You have entrusted to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY: 1 John 4:7, “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (NIV)

REFLECT AND RESPOND: Who is God calling you to come alongside and show love to?

This month, choose one person/family and think of ways to bless and encourage that person/family. It could be through prayer, quality time, helping with errands, anything!

by Lysa TerKeurst. – Proverbs 31 Ministries