Daily Archives: July 26, 2014

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Our Firm Foundation

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Charles Stanley

Ephesians 2:1-9

What we believe determines how we will act. To behave in a godly manner, we must embrace biblical truth. So let’s take a look at some basics of the faith:

  • Man’s relationship with God is broken, apart from Jesus Christ. When Adam and Eve rebelled, their nature became corrupt and alienated them from God. That “flesh” nature was then passed down to all subsequent generations, separating man from the Father (Rom. 5:12). On our own, we can neither make amends for our sin nor change our nature.
  • Salvation comes through Jesus alone (Acts 4:12). God’s justice required a penalty for sin, but only a sacrifice without defect would suffice. Jesus, who lived a perfect life on earth, was uniquely qualified. He bore our sins and died in our place so we might be forgiven and adopted into God’s family. When we receive Him as Savior, we’re given a new nature, and Christ’s righteousness is counted as ours (Phil. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:17).
  • The church—Christ’s body—is made up of born-again believers throughout the world (1 Cor. 12:13). All Christians are commanded to worship the Lord, care for one another, and share in the work of spreading the gospel. God’s followers are also given spiritual gifts to use in building up other believers.

If these truths are the basis for our view of life, we will find ourselves growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Forgiving others will become a possibility—and dying to self a more common occurrence. Ungodly traits will fade away and be replaced by the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23).

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — The Work Of Our Hands

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Our Daily Bread

Isaiah 17:7-11

Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, . . . the harvest will be a heap of ruins. —Isaiah 17:10–11

Spring had just turned into summer and crops were beginning to produce fruit as our train rolled across the fertile landscape of West Michigan’s shoreline. Strawberries had ripened, and people were kneeling in the morning dew to pick the sweet fruit. Blueberry bushes were soaking up sunshine from the sky and nutrients from the earth.

After passing field after field of ripening fruit, we came to a rusty pile of abandoned metal. The harsh image of orange scrap metal poking out of the earth was a sharp contrast to the soft greens of growing crops. The metal produces nothing. Fruit, on the other hand, grows, ripens, and nourishes hungry humans.

The contrast between the fruit and the metal reminds me of God’s prophecies against ancient cities like Damascus (Isa. 17:1,11). He says, “Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, . . . the harvest will be a heap of ruins” (Isa. 17:10-11). This prophecy serves as a contemporary warning about the danger and futility of thinking we can produce anything on our own. Apart from God, the work of our hands will become a pile of ruins. But when we join with God in the work of His hands, God multiplies our effort and provides spiritual nourishment for many. —Julie Ackerman Link

Lord, I want to be a part of what You are

doing in Your world. Apart from You, my

work is nothing. Lead me, fill me, use

me. Nourish others through me.

“Without Me you can do nothing.” —Jesus (John 15:5)

Bible in a year: Psalms 40-42; Acts 27:1-26

Insight

At the time of Isaiah’s prophecy, the Assyrians were a military threat to the region. The northern kingdom of Israel formed a military pact with Syria to fight the Assyrians. Because King Ahaz of Judah refused to join the alliance, Syria and Israel attacked Judah (2 Kings 16:5; Isa. 7:6). Isaiah had assured King Ahaz that God would protect and deliver Judah. But instead of trusting God for help and deliverance, Judah turned to the Assyrians for help and protection (2 Chron. 28:16-21; Isa. 7:1-12). Ahaz rejected God and turned to idols instead (2 Chron. 28:22-26). In Isaiah 17, the prophet pronounced judgment on Israel and Syria, warning that they would be defeated by the Assyrians (see also Isa. 7:17; 8:4).

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – With Princes

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Alistair Begg

…to make them sit with princes. Psalm 113:8

Our spiritual privileges are of the highest order. “With princes” is the place of select society. “Indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”1 There is no more select society than this! “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.”2 “. . . to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.”3

The saints have direct and immediate access: Princes are admitted to royalty when common people must stand afar off. The child of God has free access to the inner courts of heaven. “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.”4 “Let us then with confidence draw near,” says the apostle, “to the throne of grace.”5

Among princes there is abundant wealth, but what is the abundance of princes compared with the riches of believers? For “all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.”6 “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?”7 Princes have peculiar power. A prince of heaven’s empire has great influence: He wields a scepter in his own domain; he sits upon Jesus’ throne, for “You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”8 We reign over the united kingdom of time and eternity.

Princes, again, have special honor. We may look down upon all earthborn dignity from the eminence upon which grace has placed us. For what is human grandeur to this: “[He] raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus”?9 We share the honor of Christ, and compared with this, earthly splendors are not worth a thought. Communion with Jesus is a richer gem than ever glittered in a royal crown. Union with the Lord is an emblem of beauty outshining all the blaze of imperial pomp.

1) 1 John 1:3  2) 1 Peter 2:9  3) Hebrews 12:23  4) Ephesians 2:18  5) Hebrews 4:16  6) 1 Corinthians 3:22-23  7) Romans 8:32  8) Revelation 5:10  9) Ephesians 2:6

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The family reading plan for July 26, 2014 * Jeremiah 22 * Mark 8

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

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – A preacher from the dead

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“And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” Luke 16:31

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Samuel 28:3-19

Spirit that hath returned from another world, tell me, how are men judged? Why are they condemned? Why are they saved? I hear him say, “Men are condemned because of sin. Read the ten commandments of Moses, and you will find the ten great condemnations whereby men are for ever cut off.” I knew that before, bright Spirit; thou hast told me nothing! “No,” says he, “and nothing can I tell.” “Because I was hungry, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was sick, and ye visited me not; I was in prison, and ye came not unto me; therefore, inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it not to me. Depart, ye cursed!” “Why, Spirit, was that the word of the king?” “It was” says he. “I have read that too; thou hast told me no more.” If you do not know the difference between right and wrong from reading the Scripture, you would not know it if a spirit should tell you; if you do not know the road to hell and the road to heaven from the Bible itself, you would never know it at all. No book could be more clear, no revelation more distinct, no testimony more plain. And since without the agency of the Spirit, these testimonies are insufficient for salvation, it follows that no further declaration would avail. Salvation is ascribed wholly to God, and man’s ruin only to man. What more could a spirit tell us, than a distinct declaration of these two great truths.—“O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help found!” Beloved, we do solemnly say again, that Holy Scripture is so perfect, so complete, that it cannot want the supplement of any declaration concerning a future state. All that you ought to know concerning the future you may know from Holy Scripture.

For meditation: The rich man in the account (not called a parable) given by Jesus was full of false doctrine—praying to a saint, seeking some kind of second chance after death, rejecting the sufficiency of Scripture (Luke 16:24,30). Note the place from which these doctrines come (1 Timothy 4:1; James 3:15).

Sermon no. 143

26 July (1857)

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Your Secure Inheritance

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John MacArthur

“To obtain an inheritance which is . . . reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:4-5).

When Peter wrote his first epistle, attitudes toward Christians in the Roman Empire were not at all favorable. Because they would not worship the emperor as a god, or enter into other sinful pagan practices, Christians were looked upon with suspicion and disdain. In addition, Nero had blamed them for burning Rome (an act he himself perpetrated), so anger and hatred toward them was at its peak.

Peter wrote to encourage them—and all believers—to live out their faith amid persecution, just as Jesus had done when He suffered unjustly (cf. 1 Pet. 2:21-23). He reminded them that despite the sufferings they might endure in this life, God will reward them with an inheritance that is eternally secure because it is reserved in heaven for them.

“Reserved” in 1 Peter 1:4 indicates an inheritance that already exists, is presently protected, and will continually be protected. The place of its protection is heaven, where “neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal” (Matt. 6:20), and where “nothing unclean and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever [enter], but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Rev. 21:27). There is no safer place!

Not only is your inheritance protected for you, but also you are protected for it! That’s what Peter meant when he said that it is “reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:4-5). The omnipotent, sovereign power of God will continually protect you until His work is fully accomplished in your life. Then He will grant you glorification: the fullness of the salvation for which He redeemed you.

You needn’t fear the loss of your inheritance. Instead, rejoice in the protection of our gracious God.

Suggestions for Prayer:  Thank God for His protection and for the assurance of your inheritance.

For Further Study: What do these verses teach about the security of your salvation: Romans 8:31-39, Philippians 1:6, and Jude 24?

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Like the New You

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Joyce meyer

Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! —2 Corinthians 5:17

You can be a blessing everywhere you go because Jesus lives in you and His life overflows from within you. Not only that, you can like yourself because of what Jesus has done in your life. According to today’s scripture He has completely recreated you. There’s a new you!

The old you died with Christ. Now spiritually you’re alive in Christ, a new creature, filled with possibilities. As you learn God’s word, He will use it to change you into His image. The new you that is inside will make its way to the outside where other people can see it.

God says that you are valuable so don’t determine your worth and value by they way other people have treated you and what they have said about you. The fact that someone rejected you doesn’t mean you are a bad person.. Perhaps the person rejecting you has problems of their own and are merely critical. God says you’re accepted in Christ and what He says is more important than what anyone else says. (see Ephesians 1:6, NKJV).

Why don’t you decide right now to like yourself?. Plunge into the ocean of God’s love and say, “If You love me, God, I can love myself.”

I’m talking about loving yourself in a balanced way, not a selfish, self-centered way. I finally got tired of thinking negative thoughts about myself, not liking myself, hating myself, listening to every negative person who wanted to tell me everything that was wrong with me. I decided to believe what God said about me, and you can do the same thing.

Stop letting people run your life, and be led by the Holy Spirit. Stop trying to please people all the time and be a God-pleaser instead. Enjoy the new you and maintain peace with yourself by refusing to live in guilt and condemnation, recognizing that God is greater than all your sins. Let go of your past mistakes and embrace all the new things God has for you.

Love Yourself Today: You are a new creation in Christ. I hope you like what He has made!

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Promise of the Spirit

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“And Peter replied, ‘Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit. For Christ promised Him to each one of you who has been called by the Lord our God and to your children and even those in distant lands!'” (Acts 2:38- 39).

The most important truth that I or anyone else could share with Christians is to help them understand the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. My own life was dramatically transformed when by faith I claimed the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.

“One day in New York – what a day!” declared Dwight L. Moody. “I can’t describe it. I seldom refer to it. It is almost too sacred for me to name. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me. I had such an experience of love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand.

“I went to preaching again. The sermons were no different. I did not present any new truth. Yet hundreds were converted. I would not be back where I was before that blessed experience if you would give me Glasgow.”

The Holy Spirit is the key to revival. He is the key to revival because He is the key to supernatural living, and apart from living supernaturally – living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit – the believer has no power to introduce others to Christ and help fulfill the Great Commission.

The Holy Spirit is convicting many Christians of their lethargy, their coldness of heart and unbelief, the loss of their first love. A spiritual Mount St. Helens is about to erupt, spreading the good news of love and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ far and wide through our land and the world. We shall see a resurgence in evangelism and a zeal unparalleled in church history as we endeavor – in the power of the Holy Spirit – to help fulfill the Great Commission.

Bible Reading: Acts 2:32-37

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I shall ask the Holy Spirit to empower and control my life so that I may be a part of a mighty spiritual awakening to help fulfill the Great Commission, beginning in my home, community and church in obedience to the Lord’s command.

Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Clear Directives

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ppt_seal01

As one commentary stated, “After 11 verses describing the terrible state of the fool, [today’s verse] becomes a forceful punch line: even more hopeless than the situation of the fool is the situation of the stubbornly unteachable person, who is wise in his own eyes.” A dire state of mind is this spiritual disease of self-conceit. It is deceiving, sometimes leading to hard-heartedness.

Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 26:12

The Pharisee in the temple thanked God he was not as other men; he was morally blind, not realizing his spiritual need (Luke 18:11; John 9:41). Conceited ones are often opinionated and dogmatic. Puffed up by what little knowledge they have, they see no need to seek instruction or counsel from others.

Today, lift up your prayers for those in leadership who think they know what is best for this nation without consulting the One who is in control. God’s directives are clear: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7)

Recommended Reading: Romans 12:9-21

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Gone for Good    

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greglaurie

He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. —Micah 7:19

Have you ever done anything you wished you hadn’t done and were ashamed of? If you have repented of that sin and have turned your back on it, then the Bible clearly declares that you are forgiven.

In speaking of our sins, God says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25). And Micah 7:19 tells us that God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.

Have you ever lost anything in a lake or in the ocean? It’s pretty much a lost cause. Once it goes down, it goes way down.

Years ago I was scuba diving in Hawaii. As we started making our way out, it was about fifteen feet deep, then about twenty feet deep, then about seventy feet. We kept going, and the shelf of sand kept lowering and lowering. Then all of a sudden, it dropped straight down. I looked down and could not see the bottom. It was scary. I looked at that and hovered there for a minute. Although I wasn’t any deeper than I had been three minutes before, I turned around and started swimming back. I can guarantee that if you dropped something down to those depths, you would never see it again.

God has taken your sin and has thrown it into the deepest part of the sea. To put it another way, it is gone. Therefore, you need to accept God’s forgiveness and put it behind you.

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